September 16 -- Faranuf In Pictures

I didn't do much yesterday -- I felt like I was on the verge of coming down with a cold, so I took a Benadryl about every 6 hours, and even though I feel like the cold got knocked out, I of course was a sleepyhead the entire day -- but didn't sleep. So, as I didn't go out on any adventures, I thought this would be a good time to highlight Faranuf. These photos were taken last December, shortly before buying the house. But of course before we get into that, here's yesterday's sunrise --

OK, on to Faranuf. It's 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths, and 1566 square feet. It comes with a detached garage, which has been well-insulated by the previous owner -- who also had the manufactured, Palm Harbor house placed here on a concrete foundation. There are tiedown also underneath the house, in case it gets windy and decides to do a "Wizard of Oz" spinning around in a tornado. The roof is composition shingle, and though it's weathered the weather here for nearly 8 years, I think I'd feel better (and safer) with a metal roof. One shingle on the pitch of the roof has flown off and is missing, but that's a pretty good record for an 8 year old composition roof surviving in this high-desert Arizona climate. Here's a front view of Faranuf --

Yes, it's a pretty barren front yard, but eventually I hope to plant shade trees. That front porch was put in by the original owner; there are 2 other porches, one on the left side that leads to the detached garage, and the other is the long back porch. The porches are on top of concrete posts, so if there's a flood (and the house isn't on the flood plain, so it's unlikely to happen) Faranuf will weather it. Here's the garage --

It's well insulated, has two "fans" on the roof for ventilation, and plenty of shelves to put things. It's a 2-car garage, so Tundra Dos has plenty of room. The concrete incline into the garage is a nice touch, but that's what distinguishes this house from many of the rest -- it's full of nice touches that you wouldn't ordinarily think about. There are motion sensor lights all around the garage and on Faranuf's porches, but I had them pointed down to the ground so it wouldn't affect the clear skies for the astronomers at Sky Village, about a mile or so to the north. Moving to the back of the house and the back yard, this is looking north -- 

The previous owners had Direct satellite TV, and left the satellite dish and controls with me. But I haven't hooked them up yet -- as I really don't have time watch TV yet. The back porch runs along half of the back of the house, and again is on concrete posts to keep it above the ground. The 2 tall posts are where you can hang bird feeders, but they're coming down as they detract from the view of Cave Creek Canyon -- and I really don't use them as I have to get up on a ladder to hang the feeders. The building in the back is the well house, which houses a water softening system that I can't  make heads or tails of, but the folks who installed it come service it once a year (driving 300 miles round-trip from Tucson). The actual well is behind the well house. I have 4 acres, but Faranuf and the back and front yards take up only about an acre or so of that; the rest is mesquite and other desert trees that grow wild. I might sally out during winter to do some trimming and cutting, but that will be when there is less of a chance of a snake encounter. On the north side of the house is the York heat pump -- 

It provides all the heating and air conditioning to Faranuf, where the temperature is controlled by a thermostat. The house is all electric, so the electricity bill can be somewhat high if you're not careful. Since it's just me living there, I close off the 2 bedrooms and close the vents in them so the air goes only into those areas of the house that I use. Most of the homes here have wood-burning fireplaces to keep things warm; Faranuf is one of the few that has a heating system. Now on to the inside -- 

Here's the kitchen. As you can see, it's quite spacious. The refrigerator (two door, with the freezer section making up the entire left side) and electric stove (VERY efficient, and I'm not a big fan of electric stoves) are on the right. The dishwasher -- the quietest one I've ever had -- is on the left. As you can see, there's plenty of cabinet space. and space below the drawers has pull-out drawers on a small wheel system, maximizing the storage space. The microwave is in the back, and the doorway leads to the laundry room (washer and dryer, again the quietest I've ever had), full-size freezer, and pantry, which are here -- 

Here's the kitchen area looking towards the living room --

And here is where I'm sitting right now -- the computer desk -- 

The master bathroom, which I use, has 2 sinks, a walk-in shower to the left, a large walk-in closet, and a huge soaking tub that you can see, which is great after, say, a hike or bike ride --

That, as "they" say, is Faranuf in a nutshell. It's a great house, immaculate and well kept, with top-notch appliances and features. Creature comforts in a rural area...