Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Happenings

Well, I've been spectacularly bad at keeping you up to date on the garage construction, but it's pretty well done.
Hard to believe a month ago this was just empty space
(or maybe just the concrete pad, I've lost all sense of time thanks to covid-19)
Our last contractor is supposed to be here today to install the doors, and then we'll have a tiny amount of finish work in terms of insulating the inside, but as far as the bank is concerned, it's done. And just in time, phew! We are our loan officer's favorite apparently, he just cannot wrap his brain around the fact that we finished the house so far under budget that we could also build a garage and still not go over... haha. He recommended DH look into being a general contractor, but I think the general consensus after this experience was never again ;) quite pleased with our little project but zero interest in ever doing it again! Storm shelter is being delivered tomorrow and we still need to sort out a more permanent backyard fence option for the dogs, so you'll still see a few more construction photos I imagine (plus you HAVE to see the fully installed doors once they're done), but I'm not sorry to be wrapping up this chapter in my life! 
Bebe goats are all my work coworker's new favorites, as I text spam them daily from my home. 



I'm still trying to settle in to my new global-pandemic induced schedule. WFH is... not all I thought it would be (for me, there are certainly lots of people who do it far better than I ever will). Parts of it are great, parts of it are not great. I'm struggling to adapt to being able to "turn on" for work in the morning and then "turn off" at night -- I'm kind of swimming through most days half on all the time, which has caused a lot of generalized anxiety and brought back my insomnia in a BAD WAY. But, I have both supportive coworkers and friends helping me talk it out and make better choices (like the friends who spam me with GIFs at the end of my work day to remind me to LOG OUT and get off the computer lol), so I think I'll get better at it. 
This dirty, chunky, Spanish donkey makes me laugh. 
Luckily the weather is FINALLY NOT QUITE SO SHITTY and my arena dried out and I've been able to start working horses again. I'm feeling unusually blessed to have my horses at home right now, as I watch so many friends struggle with getting to see their horses, or feeling guilt for doing so :( hang in there! However, even with the horses in my backyard, I am making deliberate decisions about how I bring them back into work to maximize safety. Both of my girls are GOOD EGGS. But, they have been off for an extended period of time (basically the entire year of construction plus a few months before it started during the wet winter from hell). So even though they're GOOD EGGS, the potential for shenanigans does exist. So I plan for an extended period of regular groundwork and lunging before I swing a leg back over. Is that perhaps overkill? Sure. But I don't want to give in to the temptation to just jump back aboard and risk a silly accident sending me to an already overburdened healthcare system. My particular county is not under a shelter in place/stay at home order, but neighboring counties are (including the county I work in and the county I would seek medical attention in), so I'm trying to play it safe. 
The dogs are living their best lives right now. Cici, in particular, is pretty sure she's actually a barn dog, and every time I go out a door she comes bouncing over like a demented ping pong ball demanding to go with me -- and most of the time I let her, haha. 
Aside from being eased back into work, the horses are also getting acclimated to spring grass again. WFH does make it convenient to very carefully time them on it, and increase it incrementally. I did order Ruby a grazing muzzle -- we got by without it last year but she was quite fat by fall (partially due to not riding but also she's an air fern) so I'm hoping to prevent future issues. Since she and Cinna will have matching muzzles and be unable to bite each other, it's possible I may be able to do more combined group turnout instead of keeping them in pairs. Which would be nice, because our next big project is to rip out and redo most of our fencing (FML). The fun on a farm never ends!
Anyway, sorry for this rather not cohesive mishmash of what's going on in my brain right now. It's possible that I could resume blogging regularly again if I'm not commuting 10 hours a week, so I suppose that's a silver lining to all this! How's the pandemic treating you? Are you also feeling a sick sense of existential dread at all times? Are you essential personnel and still working in a facility? Shifted to working to home like me? Are you able to see your horse(s)?

10 comments:

  1. Dave built everything on our property and IS a GC, but even he says NEVER AGAIN to building a house from the ground up lol. Building this thing broke him.

    Your garage is SO MUCH BIGGER than pictures made it seem! Seeing it in tandem with the house really brings the scale of the thing to life. Hot diggity damn! Y'all have to to be so happy with your little slice of paradise. <3

    I'm doing pretty damn well despite the chaos. Anxiety meds are amazing and I'm so fucking happy I started them last year. About the only negative thing I'm dealing with that I can't control is some weird AF dreams about all of this. I'm not sleeping super well as a result, but it hasn't compounded too bad lately. I've never been so fucking happy to be in the middle of nowhere with my own piece of land. For many months (okay, years) now, all I've secretly desired was to stay home with nothing to do. While I wish this could have happened without the whole "pandemic" thing, I'm doing my best to make the most of it and find and enjoy and be 220% grateful for all I can do and all I have right now.

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    1. Haha yeah the garage has sidewalls taller than the house (DH wants a car lift, sigh), so it probably looks a little goofy from the road but it meets our needs so 🤷‍♀️). And yes, so pleased with all of it. And at least it's finally dried out so I can do things with the horses again.

      I'm glad you're weathering this so well! Minus the weird dreams of course. I think given a little more time I won't mind being a forced homebody, haha 🙃

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  2. LEAH BLOGGED LEAH BLOGGED LEAH BLOGGED I'M SO HAPPY!

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  3. Yay garage! Nicely done y'all! WFH has meant work all the time for me, which is pretty frustrating, but I'm trying to take things day by day and not think too far into the future. I've been able to get out to see my horse a few times. She's doing great and not missing me at all lol - it makes me happy and I'm ready to get this leg fixed and go riding again

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    1. Yeah day by day is the only way I'm surviving this, glad I'm not alone! I hope your leg continues to heal so you can be back in the saddle before you know it! 🙂

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  4. Your place is a real homestead now! Barn, house, garage... I bet in that regard life is more settled. So along came The Covid to disrupt that. Sheesh.
    Glad you're able to work from home, though I agree the adjustment has been strange. My customers seem to have also lost track of work hours as they contact me at all hours. I've forced myself to stop answering emails after 8 pm, and some nights I shut off right at five if I feel I need to for my sanity.
    I'm officially separated from my horses which is awful. But they're in good hands. I can't wait for things to get back to normal, and for my hay to arrive so some of them can come home!

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    1. Well, we're still frantically trying to wrap up all the final payments to contractors so we can get the loan finalized so everything is still a bit manic right now haha.

      Yeah I am getting a LOT of late night emails so trying to figure out a better work/life separation since it's all happening in the same place 😑 I am grateful for the distraction of the barn though, and am trying to get the horses back into a routine. Fingers crossed your hay arrives soon!! I know it's gotta be hard to be separated from them 😭

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  5. Jelly of your garage. As someone who has worked remote successfully for four years I've been helping a lot of my friends acclimate to their new normal. Be easy with yourself, its a process.

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    1. I've never in my life had a garage to park my car in so I'm pretty stoked. Of course, now my car IS parked in there but I can't...go anywhere 😂😂

      I'm trying to be nicer to myself about adjusting to WFH. I came across something this morning that helped - you are not working from home; you are at your home during a crisis trying to work. That's a distinction that helped me immensely.

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