Elliot and I went back home and started on chores. We have this down now, so it goes a lot faster. Okay, it goes a lot faster now that I actually have some idea what I am doing. Get eggs, check goat and chicken feed, make repairs, feed dogs, etc. Sometimes we divide and conquer, and the goats and chickens don’t have to be fed every day. There was a dead chicken in one of the coops this morning. Its comb was black, and it looked blue around its mouth. It looked like it may have been that little grey hen that got out the first time I was here. Elliot said it was just the cold. It looked so pitiful as he carried it by the legs over to the trash can. A few of the birds have dark spots on their combs, and I am worried about them. I put more pine shavings inside their coops and nest boxes and straw in areas they congregate.
February 2, 2013
After I stayed over the first night, I just decided to go ahead and stay the rest of the week. I spent last night cleaning the living room, bathroom, and kitchen again, but I knew Liv would just barge in wherever she pleases, opening drawers, closets and cabinets, to see what I have gotten myself in for. She is like that, having to see everything for herself.
They got here around 10:30 and brought donuts and coffee. I heard them pull up and stepped out onto the porch to meet them.
“Oh, my gosh, are those Crocs?” she asked, looking at my footwear. I ignored her and yelled at the dogs who were going off behind the house. They knew these people did not belong here.
“The dogs are cool,” I said. “They just want to know who’s here.”
Liv handed me the box of donuts and walked past me into the house. Nate got out of the car with a drink holder full of coffees and said, “Nice place. I’ve always liked goats.”
We walked in behind Liv and stopped just inside the door for them to take off their shoes. I looked at my cool hikers sitting in a boot tray, now trashed and covered in mud and, well let’s just stick with mud, and the new fleece-lined work boots I bought from the supply store in Emmett, also caked with mud. My Merrells were on standby whenever I wanted to go anywhere that didn’t involve mud.
“This is the grand tour of the house,” I said, pointing. “Kitchen here, living room there, bathroom here, bedroom there. That’s about it.”
Liv went over to the bathroom, stared, walked inside, opened and closed the drawers of the built-in cabinet, and surveyed the room. Can I predict Liv or what? “This is really cool. Needs some paint, but I like it. The faucet needs some cleaning, but it has that old farmhouse look, and people like that now.”
She floated into the bedroom and turned carefully around, touching her fingers on a couple of books. “Is this the only bedroom?” I told her that they had gutted the house to make a common area, then added the bedroom on. She glanced over my head. “Oh, there’s a loft, that’s pretty cool.”
“Oh, up there.” Nate turned around. He hustled up the wooden ladder and sat on the edge of the loft. “It is neat up here. There’s a mattress and a couple of boxes. Have you been up here?” I had climbed up to look once. I nodded.
“It’s going to be a tough sell with just one bedroom.”
“You could section off this area,” Nate climbed back down and walked over to the area close to the bathroom. He held his arms out. “Just put up a couple of partition walls, and you’ll have your second bedroom. There’s even a window, so you’ll meet code.”
Code? I hadn’t even thought about code. Of course, there will have to be an inspection.
We all sat down at the table. “I think it’s adorable,” Liv insisted. They went on for about five minutes discussing pluses and minuses of the house and came up with several ideas about what I could do to fix it up. Nate admitted he was not good at carpentry, but he could change lights and make small repairs. Liv said she would love to paint and could even throw a painting party when the time came.
We took our donuts and coffee over to the couch and talked for a while, Nate sprawling on the floor so we all could look at each other. Liv gave an awkward stamp of approval. “It’s much better than I thought it was going to be. It’s livable. I feel better about leaving you here, anyway.”
There was a lull and Nate said, “Is now a good time?” Liv nodded.
I had a sinking feeling, not knowing what needed an announcement.
“So, I have some work available for you at the station. Nothing too big, just part-time, updating our links and buttons. Also, maybe adding some copy. It wouldn’t pay too much, but it’s something. Would you want that?”
That was a relief. I scrutinized Liv to see if this was one of her schemes. “Did Liv talk you into this?”
“No,” he said. “I mean, I told her we needed somebody. But it was my idea to ask you. If you don’t want to, that’s okay.”
“Well, heck yeah, I want to do it.” This would help out in a huge way financially.
“Okay. Great. Most of it you can do from home, but you’d need to come in to the station
