Prepapring to Open a Gallery/Workshop space

I live in the country, and my in-laws lived on the other side of the pond. They had their house, which I now rent out, and next to it had built a little one room guest house for their out-of-state daughter to use when she visited. I’m in the process of getting that ready to be a space where I can give classes and workshops, and have a tiny gallery space.

The house hasn’t been used in at least 4 years, since my father-in-law died, and has gotten a bit run down. So in budgeting for start up costs I included having the plumber come out to turn the water back on – just in case there were any leaks that had sprung up since the water was last on. I could tell when the plumbers came out – finally! – that they thought this was pretty silly – all I had to do, after all, was turn the handle on the pipe to let the water flow.

And then they turned the handle – and boy did the water flow! It poured out all under the house, like a huge rainstorm! They got it turned right back off, and didn’t think I was so silly anymore! Turned out that the water had not been drained after the last time my father-in-law had used it years ago, and every single pipe under the house, and some leading up into the house, had burst. Since I don’t need a shower for a class space I was just going to cap that off, instead of paying to have them tear out a wall to fix it. When they cut off the pipe under the house to cap it, the whole pipe from inside the house fell out on top of them. One of those things that is funny and awful at the same time…sigh…..

So they got the plumbing all fixed Friday, and today I went over to do some cleaning. I filled the kitchen sink with water to wash the dishes that had been sitting there all these years, and made some headway. Then I needed to let some water out, since the sink was getting too full. And the sink stopper split in two, with the stopper part still in the sink – and no way to get it out! After messing with it using a fork and a knife, with no success (bent the fork prong nicely!), I started using a pitcher to get the water out. At about that time I realized the “drip, drip, drip” I had been hearing was a leak under the sink. Sigh. That is going to mean I get to have the plumbers out again this week!

So I got most of the water out, and went out to dig around in my car and see what tools I might have. Added tool kit to my list of things to get for the house… Found an adjustable wrench (doesn’t everyone keep one in their car????) and after a bit of struggle finally was able to get it to grab onto the piece of plug that was sticking up, and pulled the #@% thing out. Whew!

So I filled up a bucket with water and pine sol, got a rag, and started scrubbing doors, window frames, etc. – which had years of grime on them. I started at the front of the house, and worked my way around to the back side, which faces our pond. The house is quite close to the pond, maybe 20 feet or so, and the back yard is wooded. The front of the house faces what used to be cow pasture. My husband and I have planted hardwoods selected to provide food and shelter for wildlife in the pasture, and it is now a certified tree farm. The house is near the dam, and below the dam is a forested swampy area.

So I’m cleaning the back windows, and see a feline slowly walking through the yard. I think what a pretty cat it is – and then realize that yes, it is a cat – but not a house cat! It is a young bobcat! Headed very leisurely for the ducks my renters keep! I watch until it disappears into the wooded area between the two houses, and I can see the ducks settled on the lawn by the pond through the trees. I can tell when the bobcat gets near them as they quickly got up and waddled to the pond and paddled away from the shore. They are about twice the size of the bobcat, so I didn’t think its hunt was going to be successful! Shortly after that I saw the bobcat making its way back along the pond edge towards the forest and swamp. I assume the den is there.

This is going to be such a fun place to hold classes! How many people get to watch bobcats and great blue herons while they learn?

I’m hoping to hold my first classes in the next two weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for me – I don’t need any more unexpected expenses!