Caretaker - We have neighbors and friends three houses down the road - Bonnie Franz and Mona Donnelly. We pay Bonnie a monthly retainer to look after the house for us. Their phone number is 989-354-4417.
Childproof locks
A number of drawers and doors are protected by magnetic childproof locks.
Since these are impossible to see, if one is inadvertently engaged, the drawer/door will feel stuck without reason. If that happens, go here for instructions.
Kitchen
Please use any of the food you find, including anything in the freezer and any of Bruce's canned goods.
The oven turns on by the touch panel at the front. You need to touch one of the active buttons, which is not always easy, try touching to the right of the clock to hit a timer button.
After choosing an oven (upper or lower), you set the temperature and then need to press start to get the oven to heat.
The burner on the front right does not ignite easily. If you let it click long enough it will start, but you can also use a match or an grill lighter.
The timer built in to the stove works by choosing the timer, setting the time and pressing timer button again. Timing is in whole minutes
You could accidentally lock the oven. If you do the only control lit up will be the lock button. Press and hold it for 3-5 seconds and the stove will unlock.
You will likely find a baking stone and cast iron pan in the oven. I use these for making bread (the pan is used to create steam). They can simply be left in the oven and put your stuff on top, or take them out and set them aside if you need more space. Also removing them will speed up preheating the oven.
The switch for the garbage disposal is underneath the sink.
Trash is in the drawer to right of the dishwasher, garbage in front, recycling in back.
There is a second trash can at the end of the counter. The purpose is simply to let someone through trash away without jostling the people coming in the kitchen. This trash can is no-touch. Wave your hand over it and it opens, it closes on its own. The trash can is battery powered and could be turned off when you arrive. If you take the top off, you will find both the switch and battery compartment.
For finding most things, the best thing to do is look through the cupboards.
There are some additional pots, pans and platters on the back side of the counter.
There are additional supplies and food in the laundry room.
There are a few additional things in the cupboard in the pool room.
Liquor is in the bottom of the dining room cupboard.
Don't turn the ice in the refrigerator door from cube to crush. Crushing works for a while and then plugs up the dispenser. If it does get plugged up, just leave it. It is tricky to open up again and likely to break. Instead just take ice out of the top in the door. I will eventually fix it.
If there is no ice in the container on the door, it means we have emptied the ice and turned off the ice maker. The switch to turn it on is on the right side of the freezer, labeled Ice Maker Control.
The grill on the deck no longer lights with the button. There should be a lighter stick in the drawer with the knives (second down to the left of the stove. If I have been good, the gas is turned off below the grill. If you are good, you will turn the gas off when you leave, but no need to do so between cookings. Additional propane tanks are in the garage, there will be a seal on any that are full.
The wood fired pizza oven and smoker on the back side of the house need some instructions. If you would like to use them talk to Bruce or Anthony for details.
A number of light switches in the house, including three in the kitchen, are dimmer switches. There is a slider along side the switch which is used to dim the light. It can be easy to miss and not realize the lights are not on full power. There are also dimmer switches in the downstairs bathroom and the upstairs hall.
The coffee maker can make either single cups or a carafe. It's not completely intuitive, so read the Coffee Instructions.
Beds
There are a variety of pillows in the house, feather and non-feather. If you don't like the ones on your bed, check out the other beds.
We keep dust covers (old sheets) over the beds when folks won't be here for a while, so take them off when you come and put them back when you leave.
King sheets for the master bedroom are in a labeled drawer in that room.
Other linens are in the closet at the end of the upstairs hall, across from the bathroom.
Laundry
The washing machine must be first turned on with the power button; then select the cycle and finally press the start button. You should use only a small amount of detergent.
The septic field is new and glorious, so feel free to wash to your heart's content.
IMPORTANT - the dryer is gas, so it's doubly important to remove lint. Gas dryers are prone to fire. The lint trap is obvious in the front of the drier. After you pull it out, it opens to remove the lint.
Where some things can be found
Firewood is piled behind the brick oven.
Keys for the garage are hanging to the left of the door.
Laundry soap is in the drawer under the washing machine.
Cushions for the deck chairs are in the large storage box on the deck, or in the screen porch.
Games of many kinds are in the cupboards behind the pool table.
Cleaning supplies, vacuum cleaner, circuit breakers are in the closet just to the right as you enter the house.
Sheets and towels are in the closet across from the upstairs bathroom.
Some tools are in the cupboards behind the pool table, others are in the garage.
Beach
The sailboat is functional, but more than a little bit of an effort to get set up. If you know what you're doing, have at it.
There are kayaks and maybe a canoe in the garage.
Heat
There are five zones each controlled by it's own thermostat.
The downstairs bedroom suite is controlled by the thermostat outside the door. Because the kitchen can heat this thermostat up, the bedroom can be cold. Leave the door open if you want to equalize the temperature.
We turn all thermostats to their lowest temperature when leaving. But don't worry too much about this as Bonnie will go through the house and put it right.
Communications
The phone number is 989-354-4742.
During the winter, I sometimes forward the phone to our house at Park Lake, in which case, no one will be able to reach you in Alpena. You should unforward the phone - get a dial tone and then dial *73. More Instructions here.
The phone is voice over IP through charter communications. In the event of a power outage, a backup battery should keep the phone running for 8 hours.
The phone answering machine is in one corner of the living room, next to the couch. When there is a message, a light flashes. Press the lighted button to play the message.
There is high speed wireless internet. You want to connect to FAR POINT NEW, other SSIDs work, but FAR POINT NEW gets coverage throughout the house and down to the beach. The password is abe&omar.
There are also ethernet connections in several plugs. You can cable into these as an alternative to the WiFi
The cable modem, phone connection, power backup and wireless router are all in the closet at the right of the main door. In the event of any problems, one likely solution is to cut power to everything and then turn it back on to reboot.
Garbage
Garbage pickup is Thursday, usually late morning.
Goes in the big roller can in the garage.
Must be put in the large red GFL bags first. These bags are how we pay for garbage service. The bags can be pretty full, and we don't worry about closing them up as long as they are in the tote. The rule is everything needs to be in a bag and the bag can't weigh more than 35 pounds.
More GFL bags can be purchased at Perch's IGA. They come in a pack of 10 for $50.
There are recycling bins behind the Alpena Township Hall which is on US 23 a mile or two north of town. Its behind the fire station. It has bins for cardboard; paper; plastic/cans
There is nowhere local to recycle glass. Either take it with you or put it in the trash.
If you don't have enough room to take recycling with you, you can leave it in the garage.