We bought a new tub!!!
Long story short - two weeks ago, our freezer died (turns out it was fine) so I hopped on Craigslist to find one that might get us through and in the appliance section, there was a listing for a claw foot tub! Why it was there, I will never know, but there it was. Now, I've had my heart set on this tub since we first made an offer on this house and I knew it would be a while before we could afford it. At $1300 for the tub, plus the shower kit, it could have been forever. But here it was, listed for $600, with the kit!! So we shuffled finances (after clearing out our savings to buy a new freezer that we could have put off buying) and last Friday, Mr. Ireland and my brother Owen went to purchase the tub and bring it home! It is waiting in the shed for our bathroom remodel. All the major pieces for my bathroom (well, the girls bathroom) are waiting in the wings; I have the new mirror, the paint, the tub, the towel bar.... Everything but the tiles, which is really all we are waiting on.
By the way, we are still collecting bottle caps for our flooring and I am now collecting broken dishes and pottery to help with that. I have been saving any dish we break since we have been married, hoping to do a mosaic table or something, but I think I will use the pieces to create tile sheets for the bathroom. I haven't settled on a design, but the colors are greens, golds, whites and blues. If you have any of these lying around, let me know and I will take them off your hands! I'm open to odd, leftover tiles as well.
If you are wondering, the second floor bathroom is the boy's bathroom, and is also due for a remodel. I won't neglect them, I promise. First thing on the list: add a window to their dark bathroom! Something that will fit between the studs to make it an easy install, like a port window.
Lets see... Other interesting things from the month of July...
As I said, we thought our freezer died, so we bought a new one to replace it. We had planned on purchasing one this fall and then shifting the older, small one upstairs to become a refrigerator. When we got the new one home, we plugged it in and nothing happened! Huh. Mr. Ireland is a good electrician. He tests things before rushing off to spend money, trust me. It wasn't the outlet and it obviously wasn't the new freezer. No, it was the tip switch! In both freezers! Apparently the house had shifted enough to trip the tip switch (say that 5 times, fast) and shut it off. I blame all the earthquakes we've been having. We had already purchased the freezer, so we rotated everything anyway. Lesson learned!
We also had a fire drill! One of the electrical outlets in the nursery started smoking! Thankfully, we were all up and it was early in the morning, so Mr. Ireland was home. He smelled an electrical fire and we all ran out the front door in our pajamas, me with the littlest 2 in my arms, and piled the kids into the car. Mr. Ireland ran down the steps into the basement and started flipping breakers to isolate the bedroom. This is something that we have not done - label our circuit board! But he quickly found it and later that day, replaced the receptacle with a brand new one. It turns out that a piece of a plastic outlet plug had somehow started a fire in the outlet! Like a friend of mine said "Aren't those child safety devices supposed to make your house more safe?" We will be switching to child proof outlet covers. I am very proud of how our boys responded to the "fire drill".
Fourth of July fun with red, white & blueberry popsicles; the enigmatic Mr. Ireland, watching the parade with Liam.
Other than that, not much is happening around Ireland Manor. We are gearing up to move our chickens to a bigger coop and yard. Something that will stay fairly warm through the winter, so probably up against the exterior of the house to utilize the heat coming off of it.
The chickens are nearly grown and should start laying around the end of September. Our roosters have started crowing, but we have not had any complaints yet. We have great fun watching the chickens defend their feed from the Steller's jays, running straight at them when the get too close! Our Araucana's seem to be the fiercest.
Chickens!
The potatoes are growing well and I have managed to find a few minutes to bury the plants as they grow. With any luck, we will have a good deal of potatoes for the winter.
I have not finished my garden as I had planned, but I am learning to forgive myself and continue to acquire the wood mulch for the flower beds. I am determined to have it done before the snow flies!
I have also decided to forgive myself for not fishing or canning fruits and veggies this summer. We have never had a baby this late in the spring and I have to say, it has really put a crimp in my summer plans! I wouldn't trade our little girl for the world, of course, but sitting still during the summer is a difficult task for me! Before long, she will sleep regularly and I will be able to resume a semi normal day of homeschooling, cooking, cleaning and projects. And I'm guessing she will be my best little helper :)
Little Verity; the whole motley crew :)
Hope you are enjoying the lovely summer we are having in Alaska - beautiful, warm sunny days and the lovely rain at night (which means I haven't had to drag the hose out even once to water the potatoes!). I'm ready for August! Are you?
