Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes

There hasn't been a whole lot going on around here house-wise, as we've been coordinating between various contractors and (as I mentioned earlier) hooking up the water, sewer, and electricity. Happily, we have completed those tasks and they have passed inspection. 

water and electricity headed to the house

This week, it's been the wonders and unexpected delights of having a fire sprinkler system installed. A thorn in our side since the permitting process,


***Begin angry digression: Surprise! You have to install a sprinkler system, since your house is in that weird no man's land of within city boundaries, but not within 60 ft. of a fire hydrant. Of course, you'll have to pay for it out of pocket, since you didn't know this before you submitted all of your expenses for your loan, AND it'll slow your permitting process considerably, since you'll have to wait for a bid from a sprinkler company and coordinate with various city departments. Delightful. End angry digression***


we've just been waiting for the fun and games of installation and, let me tell you, thus far, it has not disappointed. Getting them out to install the basic system was relatively manageable and they finished in just a few days.

control center

sprinkler heads

Today we learned, however, that we are responsible both for hooking the system up to our water and for wiring in a warning bell, not to mention having ANOTHER inspection before it is considered complete. Now, these tasks may not sound like a big deal, but they will mean getting contractors back out here and paying additional fees (since none of this was mentioned to us earlier). The best part, I've only obtained all of this information by calling and asking them questions, since they left today without giving us any further instructions. So, that's the sprinkler saga. Sorry for excessively ranting.

In better news, spring is up and running around here. The hens are laying like crazy (we're averaging 5 eggs a day from the 6 ladies) and their eggs are lovely and full-sized, occasionally giant. I love the variations in color.

the cat is also a fan

We've also been enjoying our first salads from the garden. Starting with micro greens (as someone chic-er than I might term them) we'd pulled while thinning, we've graduated to what might be considered baby greens and they've been super delicious. The arugula, mustard, and lettuce have really started going gangbusters and we've also enjoyed our first radishes of the season. Pretty soon, it'll be full-on salad time!

arugula

lettuce

See, even focusing for just a bit on those things within my control helps me to put those other pesky issues into perspective.