Ramblings... Beds... Bliss and BAD Things!!

The A/C in the house works decently, considering there are few vents to the 2nd floor (the only duct work going up there is in the master bedroom and the bathroom, none to the other rooms!) The main floor is very comfy and I set the commercial fan at the bottom of the stairs pointed up and its done a remarkable job of cooling the upstairs. Its still warmer up there, but tolerable. Jess's room and Kyle's room (aka the guest room) are warmer, as the cool air doesn't turn the corners and go there, but its *something*.

Today Jess and I removed the other cupboard door on the left side of the sink. Its partner came loose soon after we moved in and was removed before it conked anyone on the head. This one has just been in the way since. A few minutes with a pry bar and all was good!!

We also mailed Kyle's pictures off to him that he forgot. They should arrive sometime next week with a bit of luck :)

After we picked Shawn up from work, we went to Mattress Mart in Kanata. After poor Kyle spent 3.5 weeks on the air mattress, we went and bought a new queen sized mattress set for the guest room (aka Kyle's room ;) ) It's not the top of the line set, but its way nicer than the bottom of the line sets, also. Its quite firm (in my opinion) but also has a pillow top for some "give" in the hip and shoulder area. Hopefully all our guests will find it acceptable.

We also bought one of their metal bed frames for it... no head board... we figure at some point in the future we'll build a head board for it and attach it to the frame... that'll take some time, I'm sure. The box spring is kinda neat, actually... with king sized beds, box springs always come in 2 pieces... well apparently you also get that option with queen sized beds now... which I didn't know... we opted for that, so their shouldn't be any issues getting it in the house and up the stairs, which is a nice relief! :)

The guest room is going to turn out nice, I think... nicer than any of the other rooms at this point! So next time my parents come to visit, I'm hoping they will save some $ and slum it here at Four Horse Haven with us. The other day, Jess and I went to Ikea and picked out a new duvet cover and got 2 pillows. On a previous trip there, I picked out a mirror I really liked and bought it thinking I might put it in the downstairs laundry room/bathroom, but I've now changed my mind and it'll go in the guest room.

Today Jess and I cleaned up that room, deflated the air mattress, took down the white folding table and vacuumed. Then I put in a small antique desk that my mom and Aunt Jude gave Jessica and set up the computer on it. I ordered a usb wireless networking device to plug into that computer so it'll have wireless internet capabilities, as well. They are remarkably cheap now!

I want to get some curtains for that room as well... its rather bright in there first thing in the morning, even with the blinds. I also want to see if we can squeak out enough space to install a ceiling fan in there or not... or at least change out the ugly fixture!

I'm gonna get some coordinating sheets and tada, it'll be pretty and useful! I may also use one of my newly stripped antique chairs as a bedside table, if space permits... to hold a lamp and a clock radio, perhaps.

I'm really enjoying the guest room project... its kinda fun to set up a "hotel" type room... more fun than I thought it would be, actually. And now that I'm just waiting for the bed to be delivered, it will happen fairly quickly and easily, which is also fun :)

And just before you think everything is blissful and wonderful and the gagging starts... tonight I saw a friggen snake. Ok, "friggen" was NOT the word I used... ok *screamed*, but you get the idea.

Here's how it happened...
So last night, we cut a bunch of grass... specifically, Shawn weed whacked around some of the outbuildings that I had never been in yet. I wasn't going to walk through the deep grass and into the scary building... Nope. But with the grass hacked back, I was willing to have a look around.

So, tonight I decide I'm going out to look in one of the buildings. Jess and Shawn came with me and we brought flashlights, even though it was still plenty light out. I made Shawn go on ahead and open the door... none of the doors on any of the outbuildings work well for whatever reason, so he banged away at it and got it about halfway open. He looked around inside but didn't go in... then I looked in... looked up... looked left... looked right... looked straight ahead... looked ok.... so I went in a bit... its a bit of a mess... there's some poop from some animal... maybe raccoon? but nothing *horrible*.

I'm standing just inside, then Shawn is in the doorway and Jess is kinda outside poking her head in. I'm standing there talking about how it doesn't seem so bad... that some sheeting could be put up on the studs... some ventilation added easily enough by doing this and that... how this board could be removed as its not serving any purpose, blah blah blah... then I start thinking that maybe I should see if the floor is structurally sound all around.... then I SEE it. A snake... a friggen snake!

And I immediately start screaming FRIGGEN SNAKE! FRIGGEN SNAKE! In all fairness, it DID have the decency to slither AWAY from me... fairly quickly even... but now remember my phobia... and most of all remember that Shawn and Jess are both blocking my exit!! As soon as Jess hears the screaming start, she runs... now its just Shawn in my way... and he friggen moves slowly!!

It was very lucky for him that he's big... because anyone smaller, I would've just pushed down and trampled on my way out. Unluckily for me, him being so big and slow just increases my panic... don't block my exit!!

In what seemed like hours, but was really just seconds, we're all back outside and I can start to breathe again now that I'm not trapped. I sent Shawn back to close the door and that was it for outbuilding tours for the night!

I'm ok now... I can even laugh about it (just a BIT!)... but man the panic was horrible! I hate that.

So the outbuilding isn't huge... maybe 10 x 10? maybe a bit more? its fairly tall... 8 ft ish...the roof seems to be in ok shape... the walls look like they could be easily fixed up... I'm not sure about the floor... but at this point, with a bit of work, I think the building could house a mini donkey and a goat during bad weather and overnight. Of course, fencing is still required and all that, but if I have a place to put a couple small animals, that does solve a few issues.

With all the coyote yips and songs I hear at night, I'm a little hesitant about leaving such little animals out without decent protection. Big strong healthy horses I wouldn't worry about... but goats... well they are bait ;) The little building would also probably house rabbits just fine, if such a thing was desired :)

Next to this outbuilding there's another... and its a drive shed... there was an ancient tractor in that building when we first saw the house, in fact. I haven't looked it over carefully, but while mowing there yesterday, I thought it looked like it had a somewhat uneven concrete floor or maybe just partially? Having not walked in it, I cant visualize how tall it is, but depending on what kind of shape it is in, it may make an ok run in shelter... maybe I'm just overly hopeful? We'll see.

I have to work up my nerve to go back out there at some point and poke around. I might wait and let Shawn clear away more grass with the weed whacker and get it a bit more civilized and less hospitable to creatures first.

And I'll definitely be wearing my rubber boots again!!