What is it about summer that makes for busy times? Seems like every time I turn around the lawn needs mowing, or there are weeds to contend with in the melon patch and corn field. Speaking of corn, my humble two acres has sprouted and is now about six inches high. It might even be “Knee high by the 4th of July” if all goes well and we get lots more sun and less rain. Last week we were getting everything ready for Kathy’s dad’s eightieth birthday party. The “dock” got a makeover, the lawn was mowed one final time and a full fledged cleaning frenzy took place inside the house in preparation for the festivities. It was a fun time with about forty relatives and friends attending. Afterward the cleanup commenced and lasted at least a couple hours. Whew.
This past weekend we have been scrambling to get ready for the heating guys to come on Tuesday to install a new furnace and heat pump. The heat pump looks like a central air conditioner unit with one big difference: It will actually pull heat out of the air down to fifteen degrees F so the furnace runs less. Pretty cool. The rest of the time it acts like an air conditioner. So the contractor was originally going to come the last week in June but called and moved the date up a week. My plan was to have a cement slab poured this week with plenty of time to spare for it to cure before they showed up next week with the unit. Once the schedule got changed it was crunch time! I made a run to Menards on Thursday morning for lumber to build the cement forms and got them put up before going to work. I called the cement guys and they assured me they could make it Friday morning sometime. Great. Pour the slab on Friday and then it can cure all weekend and be ready by Tuesday. Good plan. Too bad it has to rain every four or five hours or so. Anyway, Friday morning came and of course it had rained. The cement guy called and wanted to know if I still wanted the concrete delivered. I told him it was “do or die” time and so he sent the truck. Once the driver got here he had to manuver around to the back side of the barn and made some nice sized ruts in the soft, soggy lawn in the process. Whatever, let’s just pour cement! We commenced pouring, shoveling, raking and smoothing out wet cement and were nearly done when he announced “Looks like we’re out of mud!” Indeed, with about a ten by ten foot area not filled in the cement truck was empty. Time to call for another load! The second load arrived along with my neighbor, Jerry. He was curious as to what we were doing and so I put him to work helping me screed the last of the cement. That’s what he gets for showing up out of the blue! Put ’em to work, I say!
So just today the furnace guys and the electrician showed up and proceeded to rip out our old furnace and install a new one and also that heat pump outside. That sure is a big unit! Hope it works out like they said. We are looking forward to A) Having central air for the first time, ever. and B) Saving huge coin on our electric and LP bills. I will keep you posted on that.