The Money Pit: Chapter I

Thursday, July 20

Tomorrow I will finally be able to move back to my beloved family farmhouse in Geneseo.

SO. EXCITED. Finally, back where I belong.

I’m grateful that my mom handed it down to me when she passed years ago.

I’ve had other family members living there for the last 12 years, and I know there will be a lot of “deferred maintenance.” It was built in 1893.

But screw it! I am up for it!

Friday, July 21

I moved today. The piano alone was a big moving cost. I am out $1400 in total. Oh, well, making a new start, and all that. It should be worth it. Yay!

Hmm. The inside of the house is in much worse condition than I anticipated. So I’m just going to sit on the porch overlooking the fields. I have been waiting for this moment for years. Just sitting on the porch, admiring the view. It has always been my favorite place in the world.

Wait. Why can’t I see the fields? I guess the trees haven’t been trimmed. I had not known that regular tree trimming was a “thing.” The view is completely obliterated.

I have very few skills, and keeping an eye on my house when I am not in it, is apparently not one of my skills.

That’s OK. I knew there would be challenges! I’ll just get a ladder and cut all the branches off the trees!

But after about 5 minutes of effort, I realized that idea was pretty stupid.

And by 5 minutes of effort, I mean the time it took to remember where the ladder was, then realizing that I wasn’t strong enough to carry it from the barn to the house.

Screw the porch. For now.

Saturday, July 22

Today I scrubbed the refrigerator, taking out all the shelves and drawers. The previous tenant did not have much attention to cleanliness. The scrubbing took hours. Only to find that the bottom of the inside of the fridge had rusted out. I don’t know how to fix that.

That’s OK. I knew there would be challenges! Having no spatial reasoning, I was unable to put all the shelves and drawers back where they belonged. I’ve placed all my items throughout the rest of the fridge until I figure out what to do with the rusted part.

Screw the fridge. For now.

Sunday, July 23

I have a beloved kitchen table with a wood wainscoting top. I cleaned it for hours today. Only to find when I was done that the table itself has been ruined.

That’s OK. I knew there would be challenges! Determined to save what was originally a beautiful piece, I decided that I would use sandpaper. Only to end up ruining the tabletop even more. I guess there is something called a grain, and the one I used was too coarse–it took all the varnish off and then some.

I threw a tablecloth over it.

Screw the kitchen table. For now.

Monday, July 24

The entire house smells terrible. I’m not quite sure what is causing it.

That’s OK. I knew there would be challenges! I bought $100 worth of Glade plug-in air fresheners (not exaggerating, $100) and plugged them into outlets in nearly every room. I also opened the windows that would open, of which there were few. Later, I found the smell had slightly improved, but not by much. I cover my nose with my blanket when I sleep, to avoid being poisoned.

Screw the smell. For now.

Tuesday, July 25

There are two toilets in the house. The tenant had informed me that they had broken the toilet on the second floor. I didn’t even want to look at it. The first floor toilet would be enough for now. I had the hardware replaced a few days ago. But all of a sudden, today it leaked when flushed, through the bottom, because the seal had failed. There was a huge flood.

That’s OK. I knew there would be challenges! I turned the water off to the toilet, and threw blankets and towels at it to sop the water up. There is probably something called “caulking” involved and I don’t know how to do it.

From now on, I’ll just have to use the neighbor’s bathroom.

Screw the toilet. For now.

Wednesday, July 26

Today I found a dead mouse in the bathtub. Good thing I don’t take baths anymore, but it’s a shame, as it was a nice tub.

That’s OK. I knew there would be challenges! I’ve set traps all over the bathroom, kitchen, and surrounding rooms.

Screw the bathtub. For now.

Thursday, July 27

I have a washer and dryer someone gave me, but I can’t install them; the pipes are corroded.

That’s OK! I knew there would be challenges. I can do my laundry at my neighbor’s.

Screw the washer and dryer. For now.

August and September

Don’t ask. One thing after another. That’s OK. I guess I knew there would be challenges?

Sunday, October 1

A new low. I entered the kitchen to find water all over the hardwood floor. The kitchen ceiling had buckled, and it looked like a pipe must have broken above it.

That’s OK! I knew there would be challenges!

And…well…I’ll confess. At that point, I finally started to crack a bit. You can only take so much.

I didn’t know what to do. I felt very alone.

I concluded that in order to try to prevent the ceiling from crashing down into the kitchen, I would turn the water to the house completely off. Except, I didn’t know how. There was no obvious water turnoff place thingie.

This involved family members coming over to help me, trying to figure out how to turn the water off in a very old house where the water lines look like they haven’t been touched since the 1950s.

They finally figured it out. I was very grateful for the effort.

Screw the water for now. Whenever I need water, I guess I’ll just get it from the neighbor’s.

The most important thing for me to remember: Mom always told me that the only way out–is through. “Just put one foot in front of the other.” She was right. One day at a time. One problem at a time.

It’s OK. I knew there would be challenges. And this is only the beginning. But I can do this. I have survived 100% of the days leading up to this.

I AM NOT GIVING UP. YOU WILL NOT BREAK ME, OLD HOUSE.

Money Pit: Chapter II