I've just returned from Las Vegas after a 2 week install and am so relieved to be back in Wisconsin. On my first day home I walked all over the property with Gigi and just took in long, deep breaths of fresh air. It smells so good here. It feels so good, and I am again so happy that we live here and can't believe that this is OUR place! As soon as I got settled in, we set to work on finally cleaning out the basement. We have been putting this off since December and until we get started on remodeling the outbuildings, this is probably the grossest job we will have to do for a while - thus explaining the procrastination. Here's a little tour of the basement. It's not sexy, but it's all part of the package. I have to admit I was extremely uncomfortable coming down here when we first moved in. I've gotten used to it and now that we are cleaning and painting everything I think it will be easier to visit. Maybe.
These are the stairs that go from the kitchen down to the basement, also known as the stairs where I will fall to my death. This is one of the reasons why we are moving our laundry room from the basement up to the pantry off of the kitchen. Then my clumsy self can rest a little bit easier.
The rock walls are so cool, it's my favorite part of the basement. Some of them are painted, some were left natural. We are just leaving them alone, aside from wiping and vacuuming them.
A view of the stairs from down below.
This is a small toilet room at the base of the stairs. This was what the farmer used when he didn't want to go (or wasn't allowed) to the restroom in the main house.
This is the overview of the whole space. Below is the door that leads to a cellar door and exterior entrance.
These doors lead to two small rooms, one of which we are thinking of making into a wine cellar. The wash tub is what the current washer drains into. I've never seen anything like it.
The cellar door
This is our (hopefully) future wine cellar. We will just need to cover up the window. It's perfect, right?
There's a great window that lets in a ton of light. And it's also full of a million ladybug carcasses.
On the other side of this wall is a storage area that we were thinking of using for canning storage. Then we caught about 7 mice in traps there and are now rethinking what we are going to store there. It most certainly won't be food.
We are about 75% done with this project. Just have to finish up with the painting and a little more vacuuming and voila, one more project crossed off the list!
