You Just Have To Wiggle It

Hi all!

It’s a sunny, warm day today, and I am sitting out on my back porch enjoying a breeze. It’s really lovely, I’m very lucky to be living here with my family and friends. That being said, I’m going to need to move inside soon, because I need to plug in my laptop, and while there’s some plugs outside, for some reason, a week or so ago, they stopped working for no discernible reason.

And that, my friends, is the joy of living in a 1945 farmhouse. Things just are weird sometimes.

I always laugh when watching Green Acres (which has started happening a lot for some reason, that show is always on), and they have to do things like climb the power pole to answer the phone or unplug the dishwasher to run the fridge. Luckily nothing in my house is that dire, but when you move into an old house, sometimes things are just odd. Currently the craziest issue is with my plumbing, every toilet has a “special” way you have to wiggle, hold, or otherwise cajole the lever for a proper flush, and my bathroom sink pours just about as much water out of the handles as the actual faucet itself. Funnily enough, in the summer it leaks from the cold water handle, and in the winter, it leaks from the hot. Also, luckily, so far it pretty much only leaks when the water is running. Since it’s an integrated pedestal sink, I can’t super easily pull it all apart, so I’ve learned to not leave anything on the side of the sink.

Another hilariously common issue is the door handles on this property, as my back door deadbolt likes to lock but refuses to unlock without copious effort, and my tack room door won’t latch at all anymore. It’s not just door latches, you all have heard my gate latch saga, I’m sensing a pattern. Possibly one of my favorite stories actually involves a cousin of mine. The front door handle was really sticky and hard to use when we purchased the house, so we had intended to switch it out eventually, but we had to expedite the process when, during thanksgiving our first year (my first time hosting Thanksgiving too) the door handle came off in my cousin’s hand, effectively locking her out of the house. We put it back together temporarily and it happened to two other people before the night was out.

This has also led to the interesting task of occasionally breaking into our own home, which has now occurred a few separate times. Possibly the most dramatic was my dad taking out the entire laundry sorting system trying to get into the master bedroom window, and most recently was my brother and his friend launching themselves through my front room windows. I have to replace a window screen now, but honestly, I should just focus on fixing the latches and this nonsense would slow…. maybe.

Another fun quirk to my vintage farmhouse is our kitchen cabinets. Not only are they weirdly set up (there’s drawers IN cabinets, and none of the “snazzy” lazy susans work properly at all) the doors like to randomly pop open. I had invested in magnets to function as closures at one point, but really that didn’t help much because they open with a stupid amount of force. I’ve gotten smacked in the knees a few times with these cabinet doors. I’d swear we have a mischievous ghost if I believed in those kinda things. One day I’m going to overhaul those cabinets, that’s one of those win-the-lottery plans. Along with updating my grumpy appliances and maybe fixing up the harvest gold linoleum flooring. It’s glorious.

Honestly though, this house is lovely, it needs some love, and maybe some updating, but we got really lucky nabbing this one when we did. We have fantastic water, which is a little tough around here, but we were very blessed with the well we have, and the water rights and mineral rights are ours too, which is becoming less and less common.

One other important thing that we’ve managed to fix about the farm is the internet situation. When my parents first moved in, they were told internet was already up and running, so it would be no worries to set up an account. To be fair, I don’t think anyone lied intentionally, I think the little old people who lived here thought we meant a phone line. So, we found out really quickly we couldn’t get internet, which is a major bummer when you work remotely, like I do. We made do for a couple of years by paying for a connection at my grandma’s, and I worked from there, but it was still so frustrating to not be able to google things. Especially considering cell service is a little hit or miss out here with the hill.

We tried a particular satellite internet company that I won’t name because I don’t want to be associated with them in any way, but they were rude, and the service was so poor we really paid a lot of money to have a house decoration because that’s all that crazy dish was good for. I was completely unhappy with the whole experience.

Luckily! Just this last March I noticed my neighbor putting up a weird radio pole in their yard. Being the avid sleuth (snoop) that I am, I googled the company name and it turned out to be a small radio internet company that I had not heard of. I, again, am not going to share the name, this time because I don’t have explicit permission to and they are actively rebranding as they grow anyway, so I probably would goof the name as it is.

I was highly skeptical because of previous experiences, but so far, I have been really, really pleased with the service. I can google recipes, write and post this blog, and occasionally play an online video game or two with friends.

My favorite part of all of this is that I can now work more often from home. This has been especially important with the serious heat wave. While I miss hanging out with my grandma all day, it makes it a lot easier to shift work around the farm schedule, I can start a little earlier in my day, and if I’m not feeling great, I can log in from the couch. It’s wholly pleasant.

I also love how much easier it feels to “see” my friends with an internet connection. I am very lucky to have friends all over the globe, and it’s fantastic to catch up!

Overall, I love slowly fixing what I can, and learning to love the quirks of this little farmhouse. Everything from replacing the roof to adding another shelf in the linen closet makes it home and adds that more personal touch.

Sometimes I wished loving this home was a little cheaper though, and required less petty crime (although, is it a crime to break into your own home?). Oh well.

Until we chat again, my friends!