Our House Journey

I love caulk

Posted on January 20, 2014 by admin

Oh, the joys of caulk. I don’t know why a day squeezing caulk into crevices brings me such joy.

Boy is it going to be hard to write this while limiting puns and dick jokes. Seriously, a post about caulk…..it really is difficult to behave with that kind of opportunity.

No promises.

I spent the afternoon caulking the dining room. This room had paint and texture over 2-4 layers of wallpaper that we removed. At some point, someone caulked around all the trim. My best guess is whomever put the textured plaster up….over wallpaper….is the same person who caulked. I say that because texturing walls in a 100+ year old house is a restoring no-no. Texturing walls OVER WALLPAPER is a sin in any house. I guess that this is the same person who caulked because the caulk job was cocked up. Uneven, not smooth, and obviously done after the painting. This resulted in a yellow, bumpy, dirty looking joint where the walls and the trim met.

Cocked up caulk

Yes, I am a caulk snob. I pride myself on my ability to handle my caulk. My hubby taught me all I know about caulk and I have to say I can put caulk up almost as well as he can.

Too far?

When I see a joint like this one:

Wall/baseboard joint

I say to myself….this crack needs some caulk! So, I fill it up, smooth it out, and it am happy. Satisfied, if you will.

Nothing like smooth caulk!

On an educational note….caulking joints during your projects is easy and creates a much more finished look. We always caulk trim joints to fill cracks prior to painting. First, be sure to get a good quality, paint-able caulk. Don’t overfill the area. You can always go back with more, but when you have too much, it’s a mess. Keep a damp rag handy for clean up. It’s easier to smooth out the joint with damp fingers, so the rag can help wet your finger as well. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by how much trim you have to caulk, set a goal to use up one tube, then take a break. If you’re like me (and most people aren’t), you’ll get going and not want to take a break. I get very zen-like when caulking. I think it’s because I know that soon after caulk is paint. After paint comes floor refinishing and we’re done!

You should always try to install caulk yourself. It really isn’t something you should ever pay for. Besides….there’s nothing like filling a crack with caulk. Nothing better than handling a big long caulk (gun) to end a long, hard day.

Ok, I’m done now….

Caulk a doodle doo!

Posted in Dining Room, How To/DIY, Meanderings | Leave a comment

Wallpaper woes…

Posted on January 9, 2014 by admin

We believe that most of the walls (and most of the ceilings) in this house were wallpapered originally. This original paper has been covered by numerous additional layers of paper, paint, and, in some cases, wall texture (plaster) and paint. The conundrum for us as we work through rooms how to finish these walls.

In the rooms we’ve finished so far, we’ve done a little bit of everything from covering the walls with bead board to stripping all the wallpaper off down to bare walls and painting. In the dining room, we decided we wanted to put up wallpaper. I know, we’re crazy. First, this room had anywhere from 2 to 4 layers of wallpaper to remove. The wallpaper had also been covered in a plaster texture and then painted. It took us hours to remove everything down to bare walls. Then, the walls all had to be patched and repaired due to the numerous cracks in the plaster. Why the hell would we go through all of that just to cover it all again with wallpaper? Most people who have removed wallpaper vow to NEVER put up wallpaper. Most people who want to stay married vow to NEVER put up wallpaper with their spouse.

We have removed lots of wallpaper. Not just in this house, but in previous houses as well. Layers and layers and layers of it. One of the rooms in our last house had 6 layers in one room. Fun times! We have also installed wallpaper. In our first house, we wallpapered an entire 25 X 15 foot ceiling! While I don’t envision us installing a ton of wallpaper, I had a vision for the dining room. As we know, when one of us has a vision, there’s no stopping us.

You see, I can’t really explain this without sounding like a lunatic, but every time we design a room, it’s as if the room “speaks” to us. It’s weird and hard to explain, but it’s almost as if the room tells us what color it wants to be. In our last house, there were times we would decide on the color, then after stripping wallpaper we would get to the original paint color and it was the color we had chosen. It got to be a little creepy.

So, for the dining room, I saw red and gold. And I saw wallpaper. I wanted the room to feel truly Victorian. I wanted it to feel formal. I wanted it to feel like it may have felt 100 years ago. So, the search for wallpaper began. In November. It’s now January and we still search.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to locate wallpaper? Nearly impossible. Almost no one has wallpaper books anymore, so you have to look on the internet. Do you know how difficult it is to discern colors in the internet? I mean, we are talking about 400 square feet of RED…it better be the right red. Not too orange, not too pink, not too purple, not too dark, not too light…. Red is truly the Goldilocks of color.

In November, we started our search. We found a couple we liked, ordered samples, and decided on a wallpaper. Not just any wallpaper, but the Perfect Wallpaper. It was the perfect color red, the pattern was a good size, the gold wasn’t too gold, it even looked old….perfect.

The perfect wallpaper

We ordered the wallpaper, chose a paint color for the trim and ceiling that would go with the paper, and all was well.

Until…..

We got a call that the wallpaper was discontinued.

Crap.

So, I found another supplier. Ordered the wallpaper. Waited. A few days later, a refund for the amount of the wallpaper appeared in our account. No email from the supplier, no phone call….just a refund. The same thing happened with the third supplier I ordered from. Turns out that even though there were numerous web sites that said they had the paper, none of them actually did.

So, we searched again. We called interior design places…..none of them had wallpaper. We went to Lowes and looked at their limited supply of wallpaper books. We went to a Sherwin Williams store in another town and searched through their books. Finally, we found a few more papers we liked…..all were discontinued.

I actually considered stenciling our own wallpaper. **Chuckle** Yeah, that would be a nightmare. So, we are back to the drawing board. I have found a couple possibilities, but we are waiting to see a sample before we decide. I have learned to make sure the paper is available before ordering a sample.

Needless to say, I don’t think we’ll be doing wallpaper in any other rooms. Hopefully there isn’t another room that “tells” us it needs wallpaper.

Posted in Dining Room, Meanderings | 4 Comments

Farm Girl Problems

Posted on January 4, 2014 by admin

I’ve mentioned before that this country livin’ thang is new to me. That being said, I love it, but…..I have discovered that country life has its own set of issues. I think I came to this realization fully on Friday.

I was in the house, washing dishes and I heard the *pop*pop* of a shotgun outside. There are tons of goose hunters around us, so I wasn’t surprised by the sound of a shotgun, but this one sounded so….close. Could it be that hubby was goose hunting in our back yard? He did try to put out goose decoys a week ago, he did sit outside with his goose call for the morning….by the driveway….in a camping chair… But, he didn’t have any luck. I mean, we only have 5 acres and a lot of that has buildings, cars, cats….what are the chances of him actually shooting a goose out there?

So, back to Friday afternoon. Hubby had been out shooting bb guns and paint ball guns with the kids. It had gotten cold, so the kids came in and hubby stayed out to clean everything up. Apparently, a flock of geese flew by low enough, he grabbed his shotgun out of the garage, aimed, and took two of them down! Exciting for him, funny to me, but it presented us with a problem none of my city dwelling friends will ever have. I now had two geese to clean and the eldest had basketball practice in 45 minutes. Basketball practice is 20 minutes away, so I had 25 minutes to clean 2 geese…… This got me thinking that, since moving out here, I have a whole slew of new things to deal with.

Farm Girl Problems:

Hubby shot two geese out back….only have 25 minutes to clean them before having to go to basketball practice.
Have 2 working toilets, yet the boys in the house seem to think that outside is their new urinal.
Need to go out and close up the chicken coop….don’t want to because it’s too cold, dark, and scary out there!
Had to jump on the tractor for a minute to help out with something…..smell like diesel the rest of the day.
Forgot to change shoes before going into the chicken coop to get eggs….now I have chicken poop all over my “good” shoes.
Just mopped the house…surprise rain/storm storm means the dogs will track in mud for the next three days.
Just dusted….wind picked up outside and now everything is covered in dust again.
Flies…..oh my god all the flies…..it’s December and we still have flies.
Went in to town not realizing there was dirt/poop/blood on my clothes.
There are at least 16 pairs of shoes by the back door. One pair of work boots for each of us, one pair of sneakers for each of us, one pair of slippers for each of us, and one pair of snow boots for each of us. Seriously….it’s a bit much.
Traffic jams consist of tractors and oil rig trucks.
All the books by my bed are about farming/raising livestock.
When the wind blows, we worry about the barn blowing over.

Wait until we have pigs and cows and I’m sure I’ll have a whole slew of new “problems”.

But….I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love it out here!

Posted in Meanderings | 3 Comments

Proper care and feeding of butcher block counter tops

Posted on December 5, 2013 by admin

When we designed our kitchen, I researched counter tops heavily. One of our goals in this house is to make it feel like it may have when it was built. Common counter tops of the time were usually wood or soapstone. I like the warmth of wood and have always wanted butcher block counter tops, so that’s what we went with.

One issue with butcher block is sealing the wood. There are too many options and opinions to go through each here, but I can tell you the three main sealing processes I focused on.

The first option was using polyurethane. This is the same thing we use on our floors (and what we had on our non-butcher block, but wood counters at our last house). It is durable, waterproof after drying, and beautiful. The problem? It’s not clear if it is food safe. The option of using the butcher block for cutting of any sort is out.

The second option I looked in to was using tung oil. Tung oil comes from the nut of the tung tree. It is advertised as “environmentally friendly” and food safe. I was set on using tung oil until I put together that it comes from tree nuts and I am allergic to tree nuts. So, if any oil absorbed in to food I was preparing, there was a chance that I would have an allergic reaction.

The third option, and the one I settled on, was using spoon oil. Spoon oil gets its name because many people use it on their wooden spoons. It helps keep the wood from drying and provides a water resistant seal. It’s cheap, you can make it yourself, and it is completely food safe.

To make spoon oil, you need about 1/4 cup of beeswax and 16 oz. of mineral oil. I ordered mine from www.bulkapothecary.com. I ordered white beeswax because I didn’t want the yellow color to change the color of the wood. I also ordered pellets instead of blocks because I thought it would be easier to melt.

White beeswax pellets

I ordered my mineral oil from the same place. They have food grade mineral oil, but you can apparently get that at the pharmacy as well (I guess it is a laxative).

Mineral Oil

First, I set up a large sauce pan about half full of water on medium/high heat. I then put the beeswax in to a medium sized mason jar. This jar will be used later for the complete mixture. This goes into the sauce pan and is allowed to heat until the beeswax melts. Once the melting has begun, I put the mineral oil in a larger mason jar and place it in the hot water bath to warm up. This larger jar will be used for mixing the two components together.

The beeswax is melting on the left and the mineral oil is heating on the right.

Once the beeswax has completely melted and the mineral oil has warmed, pour the beeswax into the mineral oil and stir. Keep this over heat as it helps the mixture blend.

Once the mixture is blended, pour into smaller jars. I guess you don’t have to do this, but using smaller jars will help with application later. I use my hands to apply the stuff once it has cooled and it’s harder to get your hand in the larger jars. Careful when pouring…it’s hot!!

Completed spoon oil

After the spoon oil cools, it will look like this:

Cooled spoon oil

Now, if you don’t have butcher block counter tops, you can still use this for your wooden spoons and butcher block cutting boards! If you do have butcher block counter tops….here’s how it is applied. Warning: you have to get your hands dirty!

First, make sure the counter tops are clean of any dirt, debris, and dust. Then, spread the spoon oil on the counters liberally. I use my hands for this. Just dig in to the jar and smear it around. I find using my hands allows me to “feel” where the dry areas are. It gives me more control and I get a nice, even, thick coat all over. An added bonus is the beeswax/mineral oil mixture is a nice moisturizer for your hands!

Smear it all around

Then, let it sit for a while. I usually apply the oil either first thing in the morning and let it sit all day, or do it just before bed and let it sit all night. Next, take a clean cotton cloth and “buff” the counter top. This removes all the excess oil. The counter will be a little greasy for a day or so after, but the oil absorbs in quickly. It’s amazing to see water bead up on wood counter tops!

When we first installed the counter tops, I put spoon oil on a couple times before using them. Now, I do it when they look “dry” or when water no longer beads up. This is every couple months. One batch of spoon oil (2 mason jars full) lasts me about a year.

I still use the flexible plastic cutting boards to do most of my chopping and all of my meat preparation. But, if I make a sandwich on the counter top, I’m not stressed about food safety. I do occasionally cut a loaf of bread on the counter and I always knead dough on the counter. It’s nice to know there are no little chips of polyurethane in our food!

One of the greatest things about having spoon oiled counter tops is when there is a stain or when one of the children “accidentally” writes on the counter with a pen….ahem….you can sand out the stain and reapply the spoon oil in that area. Voila! Fixed!

Posted in How To/DIY, Kitchen | 2 Comments

Busy summer doing nothing

Posted on November 27, 2013 by admin

One of my only pet peeves about working from home are the number of times I work all day, but it doesn’t appear I’ve DONE anything. I may be working on the computer or I may be doing laundry, but when you walk in the house, it looks like I was eating bon bons all day. Well, that pet peeve happened all summer when it came to the house.

We spent hundreds of hours on the house this summer, but when you come by it doesn’t look like we did anything. You may be able to tell we did something, but it doesn’t appear to be enough. So, what did we do, exactly?? Well..

We removed the vinyl siding. This was a huge amount of work. The siding had been added (we think in the 90’s) over the original wood siding. It covered original wood work, covered moisture problems we knew existed, and just didn’t fit the house. Result of hours of work removing siding – original wood siding with peeling, chipped paint. The house actually looked WORSE after removing the siding.

Removing the siding

On the plus side, we discovered that there was originally crown molding above the windows that had been removed when the vinyl was added, so we were able to duplicate and replace that detail.

You can see where the crown molding above the window was cut down to allow for the vinyl siding.

We removed the closed “pop-out” that was added on. We’re not sure when this was added, but think it must have been around the same time as the vinyl siding as there wasn’t any wood siding underneath. This was also time consuming, extremely difficult work. The result? The house looks like it should look.

The house before….way way before

Pop out added for closet space – Before

This is from a different angle, but you can see the pop-out is there without the siding like a sore thumb

: And, here it is without the ugly pop out

Now, you may look at that last photo and think “Wow! What an amazing transformation!” Well, that picture only tells part of the story. Here is the un-cropped photo:

Arg

So, now you can see why I feel like it doesn’t look like we did much all summer.

That torn up porch you see? We thought it was in pretty good shape, but it turns out that the entire porch was just barely hanging on. We ended up having to jack up the porch and install all new support members. See the new wood posts underneath? No? You didn’t notice? Oh, that’s because it’s yet another job that you don’t SEE, but needed to be done.

This porch is all jacked up! We lifted this corner nearly 2 inches.

Oooooh! Posts!!!

We also replaced the porch roof and the roof on the back of the house. Thousands of dollars of work that needed to be done, but you can’t tell we did anything. You also can’t tell that hubby made ME crawl in the “attic” of the porch to run electric. I had to balance on two support beams all the way around to run the electric so I didn’t fall through the ceiling. I was like Spiderman, I tell ya!

I had to CRAWL in there!

I can’t even begin to express how much yard clean up we have done. And it still looks like crap.

Barn corral before

Barn corral after

Dog kennel before

Dog kennel after

I have to admit that looking at these pictures actually helps me see how much work we DID do. Proof that if you are ever getting into a big before and after type project, taking pictures along the way can do good things for your soul. However, the pictures also show lots of work that is not quite done. Sure, things look better, but we aren’t there yet.

To cheer me up…here’s a cute picture of kitties:

Kitties!

Posted in Before and After, Meanderings, Outside | 2 Comments

Manly Men

Posted on November 25, 2013 by admin

Our house is always in a state of construction. It is difficult to live in a house that always has something torn up. One thing we are missing is a proper “family room”. We don’t really have a good place to watch TV as a family. This house just wasn’t set up for TV. Not one room has the right configuration. That, and a huge television looks so out of place in a house built in 1901.

Our family room ideas have changed many times since we bought the house. Once, we thought we’d transform a small room off the kitchen into a theater room. That idea was nixed when we realized the room really wasn’t big enough and it would make a really great office/craft room. Then, we thought we’d turn one of the out buildings into a tavern and have our TV there. That idea didn’t last long as we doubted we’d want to traipse outside to watch TV as a family. Next, we decided the front room would have to work as the family room. But, with so many doors and windows, it was tough to make that work. Finally, we decided the den would be the family room.

Now, when I say den, you need to understand that hubby had a vision for the den. He envisioned a manly room. A room where he could have his hunting gear, his dead animal heads, his gun safe… Like Ron Burgandy, there would be “many leather bound books and smell of rich mahogany.” There would be aged scotch in decanters….not to drink, just for appearances. Men’s voices would drop an octave when they entered the room. Women would revert back to 1950 “Stepford Wife” behavior when entering. So, the thought of it becoming a “family room” where kids and women were welcome was a bit disappointing form him. But, alas, we saw no other choice.

Even though the den-now-family room hasn’t been restored, we moved in the couch and TV. For a few weeks now, we’ve been using that room as a family room. Watching TV, spending time, eating popcorn…. On occasion, I get a wild hair and pick up some yarn and a crochet hook. With Christmas approaching, I’ve been working on some things that may or may not be done in time. It keeps me occupied while hubby watches sports or hunting shows. The other night, hubby looked at me and said “When I envisioned what I wanted for this den, I did not think there would ever be yarn in here”.

We are now rethinking where we want the family room. Manly man needs his space.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

All around the mulberry….tree?

Posted on November 6, 2013 by admin

We have a mulberry tree here at the house. Apparently the monkey and the weasel were mistaken….mulberries come from trees not bushes. Last year, I didn’t know what it was and was a bit scared to try the berries. This year, after it was identified, I started collecting them like little gold nuggets.

You see, I had a dream. A dream to make mulberry jam. I wasn’t able to have a garden this year and likely won’t next year. We just have too much to do on the house for me to spend time gardening. So, I wanted to use what was provided to me. Early in the spring, I made dandelion jam, so why not mulberry jam?

I pictured bushels of berries. More than I would know what to do with. Berries coming out of my eyeballs.

Not so much.

First, the birds love the mulberries. They eat tons of them, then poop purple all over. Second, I can only reach so many branches. I wasn’t getting a ladder out every day to collect berries. Third, the mulberries on our tree didn’t ripen all at the same time. We would go out and collect what we could reach. On a good day, we would get maybe two hand-fulls.

Typical daily harvest

So, the kids and I would go pick mulberries every day, clean them, and freeze them until we had enough for jam.

Looks about right.

I was pretty excited about making the jam. I have only made jam once before and it was made with dandelions, so the thought of making something people would actually WANT to try excited me.

I tried to crush them in a food masher to remove the stems, but it didn’t work so well.

No workie

So, I resorted to the food processor. I figured a little extra stem wouldn’t hurt anyone!

Much easier!

After cooking and putting into jars, we have mulberry jam!

The lids even all popped down!

And, it tastes delicious! Was it worth the effort? Probably not. Will I do it next year? Oh, probably.

Yum!

Posted in Meanderings, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

I think I’m becoming a country girl

Posted on September 30, 2013 by admin

I grew up in the city in Florida. We lived in a house with a regular yard. No farm animals, no vegetable garden (though we did have orange trees). I listened to New Kids on the Block and other bubblegum pop music. I was far from a country girl.

Somehow, in the past year, I have started to slowly morph into a person I don’t recognize. I am becoming a country girl. Let me share the symptoms of this metamorphosis:

1. I have a mud room because I actually need one. Everyone in the house has their indoor and outdoor shoes. If you accidentally wear your outdoor shoes indoors…you will either track mud through the house or goat heads. Did you know that when you step on a goat head with bare feet, you can see pain?

2. I’ve started saying ya’ll. Seriously…..I don’t know why this has started. We are not in the South, we don’t say ya’ll in Colorado. But, whenever I call the kids in for dinner…somehow it comes out “Ya’ll come in for dinner!”

3. I wear boots because they are functional footwear….not because they are a fashion statement. Boots keep the mud (see #1), animal poo, and goat heads at bay. They protect your feet when you are working outside, slip off and on easily, and clean up quickly. I do have a couple fancy pairs for nights on the town.

4. I read the Fencepost. The Fencepost is a regional agricultural magazine with interesting articles on things like beef production, crop quality, and tractors! Again….not sure why I find this fascinating, but I do.

5. I love the smell of the barn. The smell of the ancient cow poo, old hay, and old wood is divine. I wonder if Febreeze has considered making “barn fresh” as a scent?

6. Hubby has been listening to country forever, so I would occasionally be forced to listen to it when he was in the car. I’ve always hated country music…..but lately….I’ve found myself switching the radio to country music when he’s not in the car! I even know some of the words! What’s happening to me???

7. Workouts consist of chasing roosters and climbing scaffold, not treadmills and elliptical machines. Not that I really worked before, but I would assume most people in town aren’t chasing chickens.

8. I own Wrangler jeans. Not only do I own Wrangler jeans….I own 3 pairs of Wrangler jeans. Why? Because, like boots, they are functional. They don’t slide off my hips and show my butt crack when I’m working, they fit around my boots, they last. I do, however, refuse to own Rockies jeans. I need pockets on my butt.

9. I’ve mastered the two finger wave. This is the way country folk wave when passing each other in the car. Two fingers up off the steering wheel. “Hey ya’ll!”

10. I love our tractor. It brings me so much happiness. Nothing is better than being told I need to drive the tractor all day to help move trash.

11. The rooster crow that wakes me up in the morning is not a fancy alarm tone on my phone…..it’s the real deal.

12. I made home made jam…..out of dandelions. Um….yeah…

It’s weird, it’s not how I grew up, but it feels right.

Posted in Meanderings | 4 Comments

Yet another new project

Posted on September 4, 2013 by admin

I’ve mentioned my hubby’s vision of having John Deere equipment before. I, too, have a vision. Part of this vision is having an old farm truck to run into town in. I’ve wanted one for a while now, but what really got me looking was seeing one for sale at a local Ford dealership. I started to dream about driving to the hardware store, running to get gas for the tractor, hauling hay around….all in my little old farm truck.

Then, the visions started to get a little two dreamy…..I dreamed about taking my little farm truck down to the farmer’s market and selling my home grown veggies out of the back. Never-mind that I have nothing resembling a vegetable garden right now. Told you I got a little dreamy….

I didn’t think the farm truck vision would come true any time soon. I looked at classic trucks online and the prices were insane! Holy crap! These cars in terrible condition cost more than they did new! So, I continued to check Craigslist, ebay, and other web sites. I started telling people I knew were into classic cars to keep their eye out. Hubby kind of watched me out of the corner of his eye, but I think he also thought this truck thing was a ways off.

Then, this weekend, we were visiting with my Aunt and Uncle who were in town and I told them I wanted an old farm truck. My Uncle said he had a 1972 Ford if we wanted it. They are moving and don’t want to move the truck. Oh, and it was my Grandfather’s before him and he bought it NEW! Um, lemme think….a truck that has been in my family for longer than I’ve been alive….uh….YA I want it! There is a catch, though….we have to evict a family of wasps…..and it is apparently sitting where it has been sitting for a couple years….ever since the brakes went out. But, I’m still super excited.

Yesterday, hubby was driving to a job site and spotted another truck. An ooooollllllddddd truck. You see, hubby got bitten by the old truck bug after visiting a classic car show over the weekend. He contacted the owner and learned she was selling the truck for an extremely reasonable price. EXTREMELY reasonable. I guess getting divorced makes you sell stuff cheap…..we got the tractor from a guy getting divorced, too.

After a 1 1/2 hour drive, nearly 2 hours of pulling and winching….refilling the tires every few minutes, and another 1 1/2 hours back….we are the proud owners of this beauty…

Truck

Near as we can tell, it’s a 1941 Ford 3/4 ton F-1. It’s a mess, we don’t have time to deal with it, it will sit for a few years in the barn before we can even think about doing anything to it…but it’s all ours!

In a couple weeks, we’ll go get the other truck and hopefully have it running without too much trouble. I’m thrilled about both trucks, and really excited to get the ’72 home. The thought of my Grandpa picking that truck out off the lot when it was new just makes my heart soar. I hope he would like the thought of it being out here on the farm, being driven to the hardware store, getting gas for the tractor, and hauling hay. I don’t think I’ll be selling vegetables out of it at the farmer’s market any time soon, though…..

Posted in Before and After, Meanderings, Trucks | 4 Comments

Scraping Away

Posted on August 26, 2013 by admin

This summer, we’ve been working on the exterior of the house. At some point between 1960 and 1994, vinyl siding was installed over the original wood siding. We think this was probably done because it was thought it would improve the insulation in the house and because it would reduce maintenance. It was probably a good thing as it protected the original siding from the elements in the years this house was neglected. Originally, we intended to only replace the sections of the roof that needed it this summer. That turned in to needing to replace flashings and improve water proofing. We didn’t want to water proof to the vinyl siding, so we decided to tear off all the vinyl siding. Then, we didn’t want to prep and paint the old siding over brand new roofing, so the project turned in to scraping, sanding, and painting all the existing siding.

Oh, how one thing just rolls into another in an old house. Removing the siding on the front porch (or veranda as we like to call it – we’re very upscale, you know) uncovered the fact that the entire porch was resting on extremely shaky, rotted out columns. One of the corners of the porch was being held up by a 1 inch piece of wood. We ended up jacking up the porch, pouring new footings, and placing all new supports. If we didn’t there was a real possibility the entire porch would slide off the house.

Then, it was back to preparing the original siding for paint. This means scraping and sanding and scraping and sanding and scraping and sanding and scraping and sanding……and more scraping and sanding. Ugh…

I’ve had to face my apprehension of heights this summer as I’ve spent many hours up on scaffold. Way, way up at the top of the house. I’ve also had to face my claustrophobic tendencies because I’ve had to wear a dust mask while sanding to keep the lead paint dust out of my lungs. Who needs a psychologist? I just need to work on the house!

I’ve also decided I don’t need to joint Crossfit anytime soon. My work out routine has consisted of running up and down miles stairs, ladders, and scaffolding. I’ve dead lifted thousands of pounds of rocks, scaffolding, and equipment. My arm work out is scraping and painting. Don’t make me use my Karate Kid paint the house move! I haven’t even mentioned my cardio workout…..chasing the rooster when he gets out of the coop. A friend suggested I call my work out routine Farmfit and charge people to come out and work on the farm.

Let me know if you want to register for Farmfit….it’s highly unorganized, inconsistent, and ever changing. I guarantee you’ll sweat….you may even cry….but you won’t touch a barbell!

Posted in Meanderings, Outside, Uncategorized | 3 Comments