We have eight plants in our house. Please don't let them die! Each plant should get be watered one to two times a week using tap water and the plant food on the back window sill. Please spray the plants if they look droopy. Use your best judgment..
If the cats are here while we're not, you're lucky. But there are some things that you've got to know:
Our vet is Michelle Gerhardt-Jasny. Her phone number is 508-693-0370.
If you are staying in the house, then you have been given an alarm code. This is a four-digit number, ABCD.
If you have a question about the operation of the alarm, please call Eric Bates at 508-693-2413.
We get our firewood from Bill Bennett's estate. It's
way out in Chilmark. Eric Bates has a lot of firewood in his front
yard that he's trying to get rid of. Give him a call and pick
some up.
If the fireplace backs up, then it needs to be swept.
We use Know Soot. They should sweep it once a year. They should
also empty the ash shoot that goes into the basement.
When you make a fire, be sure the flue is open. The flue is controlled by the wire that goes up the chimney. Pull it down and lock it on the side to close it. Release the wire from the lock to open the flue. Always test the flue by burning a piece of newspaper in the fireplace before you start your fire. Otherwise, you may find the house filled with smoke.
This is what the flue looks like when it is open:
The master shut-off for the water is located in the
corner of the basement that is near the furnace and the electrical
panel. If there is a major leak in the house, you can always run
down to the basement and turn the valve.
Our plumber is Daniele & Rogers. They are at 693-4232.
Here is how to get to the master valve. First go into the basement, turn right. Walk into the middle basement. Turn left and walk into the back basement.
Look to the left and you will see our heater:
Walk past the heater into the corner. You'll see the shutoff valve:
Turn it off:
If it keeps blowing, call our electrician Bill Bennett. His phone number is 508-693-3608.
Wednesday is trash day. The trash is picked up between 7am and 9am, usually on the early side. We recommend putting trash out the day before. To throw out trash, you will need to have a red trash sticker. Place the sticker on top of the trash bag, not the can. The trash people will not pick up cans that do not have stickers on them.
Recycling goes out with the trash, but in a separate container. Use any cardboard box or milk crate that happens to be around. There is a list of what the town takes on the refrigerator, but they basically take everything except tin foil.
The house has an oil-fired heater. We get our oil from Daniele & Rogers at 693-4232. The oil tank is in the basement. There is an indicator on top of it that shows how much oil is left in the tank. You should not run out of oil, because we are on scheduled fill-up. However, if there is a problem, just check it. If there is an oil leak, please shut off the tank with the shut-off valve.
The shut-off valve is located on the top of the oil tank:
Please feel free to use the washer and dryer. The washer has an easy-to-use shut-off for the water. Please turn off the water to the washer when you are done. The dryer is gas-fired. When you use it, you might want to look out the basement door to make sure that the exhaust is running. If it is not, you could die.
Here is our washer and dryer:
After you use the washer, please be sure to turn off the
water. Otherwise, if there is a busted hose, our basement will
flood. This is what the water looks like when it is shut off:
Please be sure that the basement door to the outside is locked at all times. You can check it by looking at it. It should look like this:
If you want the newspaper, you can buy the Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications at 90 Main Street. Just walk down to Main Street, turn left, and walk two blocks. You can also get breakfast there. It's pretty good.
Please feel free to any have food that's in the kitchen.
If you want to replenish any non-perishables, that would be greatly
appreciated.
Please feel free to drink your own alcohol, but please do not drink any of ours! Most of it was given to use and it all has strong sentimental attachment.. Likewise, please do not drink any of the Coca-cola bottles that are in the living room. They're part of Simson's collection.
We recommend the following restaurants:
If we're not here, please feel free to sleep in our
bed. Please wash the sheets before you leave, and make the bed
for the next person.
Towels are in the dresser at the foot of the stairs.