THE ADVENTURES OF PLATY AND THE GANG Back in Virginia

(click on pictures for a larger view)

After Judy finished hiking we returned to Virginia to continue working on our new house.  The first floor was completely finished and the second floor was complete except for carpeting. 
We ordered the carpeting and also ordered a heat pump to be installed.  Since both would not be installed for at least a week we decided to make a quick to Florida to retrieve the furniture we were moving north.
We filled the pickup and rented a UHaul trailer.  We had a little extra room in the trailer so we bought a a couple of lamps and a desk  at the Hope Chest Thrift Store.
We brought back our antiques and the chairs that I re-upholstered last winter.  The trip was fast.  Two days down, 1.5 days there and the two days driving back.  The truck only has a 4 cylinder engine and had to struggle to get back up the mountain.
We also brought back a project chair to redo.  The ottoman we found a the thrift shop in Independence for $5, so it got recovered to match.  The table is half of a pair we bought at a local antique shop and the lamp is from a thrift shop.  All together they make a great place for Judy to read and relax.
The matching table and lamp are at the other end of the living room with the chairs that were redone last winter in Florida.
Our first piece of furniture was the dining room table and chairs we bought that are new. This is the finished room.  Judy says it's her favorite.

The carpet and the heat pump finally arrived and installation started.  Two days later we had the entire second floor and stairs carpeted and an operational heating/cooling system.  When we bought the house it had the inside coil for the heat pump but the outdoor portion was never installed.   The electric heat strips were the only heat available which can be very expensive.  Now we have a cheaper heat source and air conditioning to boot.
Once the carpet was finished we were able to furnish the bedroom.  We found a factory outlet for Vaughn Furniture in Galax and the bedroom suite for less than half price.  A couple of pieces from the antique store and we were finished.  
An end table from there made a great side table for Judy's chaise in another bedroom and the third room became an office/computer room.
We were finally able to move out of the RV and into the house on 6/26.
Once the inside was finished it was time to start on the outside.  The side yard was sort of shabby looking and had no walkway to the porch steps.  I built a stone wall to level up the walkway and an area for future planting was added on the sides of the AC unit.
The driveway had become overgrown with grass and weeds and needed widening to accommodate the RV.  There was also no sidewalk to the front steps.
We had 15 tons of crushed rock delivered.  The original plan was to have the driver spread a lot of it but because of the low hanging electric wire above the drive he could not do much.  He was able to dump it in two piles. We ended up having to shovel and spread about 10 tons of it. 
A few days of shoveling, a trip to Lowes for landscape timbers and a pickup truck load of mulch later, the project was finished.

The rest of the summer was spent doing several other projects:

	The old kitchen cabinets were installed in the basement, repainted and a new counter top made.  The floor was also resurfaced.  When it was installed it wasn't finished correctly and was really rough and the surface was crumbling.    It will get a coat of epoxy next year.
	The stairway still retained the "dog" smell whenever it got wet so it was painted.
	The barn got a coat of paint and a couple of new windows.
	The old countertop and sink from the kitchen was recut and installed in the basement.  One of the old cabinets from the laundry room became a storage cabinet next to a new set of shelves.
	Lowes got in their fall shipment of fireplaces so we were  finally able to install one and move the TV to it's correct location.  We were planning on mounting the TV above the fireplace but that was not recommended by the manufacturer.   We found a table at the antique mall that worked nicely as a stand.
	There was no fixed ladder up to the attic so I had to carry a ladder up 2 flights of stairs every time I needed to go up there.  The opening was smaller than required for standard attic stairs and I didn't want to go to all the hassle to enlarge it. Lowes had just what I needed shown online but none for sale.  Finally (2 months later) I guess they got it in stock and I was able to buy it. It didn't include the door but only the hardware.  That was great because the opening was non-standard anyway.

We discovered we have a problem with thieves.  I happened to look ot the upstairs window and caught one of them red handed, or should I say 'red hoofed'.

A few days later I found they had a accomplice.  Our resident groundhog Gerard was eating apples also.  A few minutes later I looked out again and saw him climbing the tree.  Soon apples were falling down to the ground.  He was harvesting apples for him and the deer!!!

Judy later saw a crow fly from the tree with an apple in his beak.  No wonder we don't have many apples.

Ken and Phyllis Weber visited us in August for a couple of weeks.  We biked the Creeper Trail and part of the New River Trail during their visit and even cut down 2 dead pine trees in the yard.
The beginning of October brought several cold fronts along with 35 deg. temps, 50 MPH wind gusts and snow flurries.  We decided to leave early and visit our friends the Canfield's.  So, after winterizing and stowing everything we were off to Texas.

Send Email to: bob@bgeisler.com