it will be okay until then.”
Russ nodded his head in agreement. “Yes, if you keep the freezer door shut it will be fine until tomorrow, probably longer. Okay, next up, porta-potty.” He grabbed the five-gallon bucket and handed it to Brian. “You’re going to need another bucket, or a can, to save your ashes in from the rocket stove. Do you have something?”
Brian went to the garage, and brought back a metal ash bucket, used for hauling ashes from a fireplace. Russ nodded his approval. “Perfect. Whenever you aren’t using the stove, dump the ashes in that bucket. The big plastic bucket will be your ‘toilet’. You can actually remove one of your toilet seats and place it on the bucket for a more comfortable feeling. When you use the potty, dump some of the ashes on the top. It will help cut down the smell. That’s about the best you can do, short term. Of course, you should use your toilet as long as it flushes. This is for after that service stops.”
Russ looked at the items on the dining table again. “You did really well, Brian. I misjudged you. I’m sorry. We need to talk again, maybe tomorrow. Does that work for you?”
Brian smiled. “Sure Russ. Come by any time. It’s not like I have to get to work or anything.” They both laughed at the joke.
Russ got serious again. “What I said before, about not coming back to the house – come over if you need anything. We’ll talk again soon.” Russ called Rusty over, they both shook Brian’s hand, and headed back home. Brian had a pretty good setup for now. Russ had no doubt he’d be back to talk to him in the next day or so. Without even trying, Brian had transformed himself from an annoyance to a possible ally.
By the time they got back, it was getting dark. There were emergency lanterns burning in the house. After a dinner of warmed over chicken soup and some homemade cornbread, everyone was pretty wiped out. We made sure everyone had a place to pass out, and then promptly did. Tomorrow, there was more work to be done. A lot more.
Chapter 5
The next morning, we awoke to differing levels of restfulness. The boys were fine. They could sleep through anything, no matter the circumstances. The guys were a bit less fully rested, but had still slept well. They didn’t know why they hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep, but they were no worse for the wear.
Janet and I were the most affected. I can only guess it was the “mom” hearing. Janet agreed. “I woke up all night long, because there wasn’t any noise. That sounds stupid, I know, but I think I’m used to fans, and electric motors running in the background of life. I know I’ll get used to it, but right now, I miss the hum of electricity in the world.” She had nailed it. It was the lack of background noise that had woken me more than once in the night. I knew I’d get used to it as well as Janet, I just wondered how long it would take. No fan while I was sleeping? That really sucked.
We made coffee on the camp stove in the sun room, then fresh eggs from the chickens, and bacon thawing from the freezer. Might as well cook it if we had it, because we wouldn’t have it for long. Janet topped off the awesome breakfast with biscuits cooked in an oven that worked off the heat of a camp stove, the same method she had used for the cornbread the night before. Between the two of us, we had four stoves, with probably three dozen bottles of propane, so we had plenty of options to cook on.
As we were eating a family breakfast, with everyone there, Russ said we needed to talk about Brian. Bob laughed. “Dude, we have a lot more interesting, and much more important, things to talk about than that douche. I figured after you went over there yesterday, you finalized our dealings with him. What now?”
Russ smiled, and proceeded to tell us about everything Brian had done after coming over yesterday morning. To say we were as impressed as Russ was putting it mildly. We all thought he was a
Russ nodded his head in agreement. “Yes, if you keep the freezer door shut it will be fine until tomorrow, probably longer. Okay, next up, porta-potty.” He grabbed the five-gallon bucket and handed it to Brian. “You’re going to need another bucket, or a can, to save your ashes in from the rocket stove. Do you have something?”
Brian went to the garage, and brought back a metal ash bucket, used for hauling ashes from a fireplace. Russ nodded his approval. “Perfect. Whenever you aren’t using the stove, dump the ashes in that bucket. The big plastic bucket will be your ‘toilet’. You can actually remove one of your toilet seats and place it on the bucket for a more comfortable feeling. When you use the potty, dump some of the ashes on the top. It will help cut down the smell. That’s about the best you can do, short term. Of course, you should use your toilet as long as it flushes. This is for after that service stops.”
Russ looked at the items on the dining table again. “You did really well, Brian. I misjudged you. I’m sorry. We need to talk again, maybe tomorrow. Does that work for you?”
Brian smiled. “Sure Russ. Come by any time. It’s not like I have to get to work or anything.” They both laughed at the joke.
Russ got serious again. “What I said before, about not coming back to the house – come over if you need anything. We’ll talk again soon.” Russ called Rusty over, they both shook Brian’s hand, and headed back home. Brian had a pretty good setup for now. Russ had no doubt he’d be back to talk to him in the next day or so. Without even trying, Brian had transformed himself from an annoyance to a possible ally.
By the time they got back, it was getting dark. There were emergency lanterns burning in the house. After a dinner of warmed over chicken soup and some homemade cornbread, everyone was pretty wiped out. We made sure everyone had a place to pass out, and then promptly did. Tomorrow, there was more work to be done. A lot more.
Chapter 5
The next morning, we awoke to differing levels of restfulness. The boys were fine. They could sleep through anything, no matter the circumstances. The guys were a bit less fully rested, but had still slept well. They didn’t know why they hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep, but they were no worse for the wear.
Janet and I were the most affected. I can only guess it was the “mom” hearing. Janet agreed. “I woke up all night long, because there wasn’t any noise. That sounds stupid, I know, but I think I’m used to fans, and electric motors running in the background of life. I know I’ll get used to it, but right now, I miss the hum of electricity in the world.” She had nailed it. It was the lack of background noise that had woken me more than once in the night. I knew I’d get used to it as well as Janet, I just wondered how long it would take. No fan while I was sleeping? That really sucked.
We made coffee on the camp stove in the sun room, then fresh eggs from the chickens, and bacon thawing from the freezer. Might as well cook it if we had it, because we wouldn’t have it for long. Janet topped off the awesome breakfast with biscuits cooked in an oven that worked off the heat of a camp stove, the same method she had used for the cornbread the night before. Between the two of us, we had four stoves, with probably three dozen bottles of propane, so we had plenty of options to cook on.
As we were eating a family breakfast, with everyone there, Russ said we needed to talk about Brian. Bob laughed. “Dude, we have a lot more interesting, and much more important, things to talk about than that douche. I figured after you went over there yesterday, you finalized our dealings with him. What now?”
Russ smiled, and proceeded to tell us about everything Brian had done after coming over yesterday morning. To say we were as impressed as Russ was putting it mildly. We all thought he was a
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