Slow Progress on the Front Bedroom

The last time I talked about this room was in April, when I got my floor loom set up in it. Even though the interior still needs to be finished, that won't happen until our priority projects are finished. In the meantime, I'm working to make it more comfortable and homey. One of the things I did, was to hang two old printed quilt pattern bedspreads as window draperies.

Front window before

Front window with full size bedspread.

Side windows with thermal curtains.

Queen size bedspread for the side windows.

Even though the walls and window trims still need to be finished, the bedspreads help cover up the mess! 

The front window is shaded by the front porch, but the side windows in the photo above get the full brutal force of our afternoon southern sun. That means the room heats up, even with energy star windows. So in addition to the bedspread, I also used the four thermal curtains; one pair on tension rods in the window framing, and the other two hung on the inner rod of the double drapery rod. That gives me a double layer of thermal curtains plus the quilt. That seems to be helping quite a bit.

What's on the loom? It's a throw rug for the entryway of this room.

I chose the yarns to compliment the bedspreads. You can see those photos here. It's finished now, and below you see it here it is in its new home . . . 

Technical details for the rug are at my fiber blog.

The book shelf cubes are new too, and create a nice visual partition. My large desk is behind them, so they help hide the clutter!

I've also been able clear this wall in preparation for future work.

The brick wall you see is the back of our woodstove alcove. Originally, this bedroom and the living room had back to back fireplaces, both of which have been torn down. Dan is still planning on having a masonry stove built, and this brick wall will be incorporated into the thermal mass. After that, we can finish the wall and do something about the closet. 

Old photo from when we first bought the house.

The closet is 6-feet wide and 17.5 inches deep. The door is only 72-inches tall. That gives the shelf above the closet rod a 7-inch opening for storing items on the shelf.

With our 9-foot ceilings, there's almost 32 cubic feet of storage space above the shelf, but that narrow opening means it's near impossible to utilize! This currently unusable space could easily accommodate the few boxes I have left after my sort and purge. Obviously, the entire closet needs re-vamping, which we'll work on once the stove project is done.

So progress has been made, even though it will be awhile before we get the room finished. But it looks and feels nicer, and that makes me happy. 

Slow Progress on the Front Bedroom © July 2024

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Post-Holiday Winter Project List

January and February are our hunker down months. Except for the daffodils, almost everything is dormant, and while we do get some mild days, it's often too cold to enjoy outside activities. That makes January and February a good time to turn to needful indoor projects. Here's what my list looks like:

Mending. I have a huge basket piled high with mending! Admittedly, our lifestyle is rough on clothes, and mending usually gets put off in favor of the garden and food preservation. This month I plan to start tackling that pile.

Kitchen. I can't believe it's been seven years since we finished our kitchen remodel. The initial organization and set-up was done with thought and care, but as the years go by disorder sets in, and I find myself analyzing how to organize better. Plus I have a lot of shelves . . .

Photo from November 2012.

. . . which in a 100-year-old house heated with wood means a lot of dust. Everything gets dusted periodically, but the kitchen needs a deep clean and I need to sort through the shelf and cabinet contents and reorganize. 

Front bedroom (currently our storage room). I actually made a lot of progress on our storage areas last summer, when we finished one more room of the house for my studio/sewing room. I did an initial unpacking and purge, and managed to reduce storage space from two rooms to one. I feel that it's time to tackle that remaining room. 

One disadvantage we have, is that we don't have a basement, garage, nor a readily accessible attic or crawl space. These are typical storage areas that we've had to do without. That means that during our slow repair, remodel, and room shuffle, we've designated rooms to use for storage until we get the house done. After 15 years, we're down to one room! And that's the room I want to declutter and organize this winter.

I confess I have an ulterior motive. 

My Glimakra floor loom

This loom was disassembled when we started renovating, and has been left that way for storage. At the moment, I don't know if I can manage to carve out space for it now, but I'd really like to. I have a hankering to weave some rugs and blankets, and this is the loom to do it. The room won't be finished this winter, but Dan said as long as he has room to work around the loom, it would be okay. 

So there's my list. How about you? Do you have winter project plans, or maybe you just plan to take it easy. Care to share?

Post-Holiday Winter Project List © Jan 2024

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

A Return To Homemaking

I feel a need to preface this post by defining my terms. That is, after all, what Mortimer J. Adler says a good author does (How To Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading). To that end, I have several terms that I'd like to clarify as to how I personally use them, to establish context for my post title.

House: a structure built for people to live in, i.e., a human dwelling.

Home: one's personal house; where one lives, keeps their possessions, and maintains their lifestyle.

Household: the collection of items belonging to a house and the persons dwelling there.

Housework: the work of maintaining a home. Includes a collection of chores such as dusting, vacuuming, washing dishes, making beds, doing laundry, etc.

Housekeeping: the skill of overseeing and managing a household.

Homemaking: the art of creating and maintaining an ambiance, i.e. environment and atmosphere within the home that is conducive to the comfort and mental/emotional well being of the people who live there.

All of these are relevant to our life here as homesteaders, but I confess that there hasn't been much actual homemaking going on for quite awhile. Why is that? Well, we bought this place in 2009 as a fixer-upper. We made that choice for two reasons. The first was to have a lower mortgage payment. The second was make it suitable for our chosen lifestyle. And because we chose to do all the repairs, updates, and remodeling ourselves, our house has seemed more like a construction zone than a home these past years, with various rooms taking turns being storage units for whatever other room we are working on.

On the one hand, we've had the benefit of doing things exactly the way we want them. But it's taken a long time because we had so many outdoor projects as well: fence making, outbuilding construction, tree planting, garden establishing, critter keeping, etc. The problem with this is that one gets used to living conditions as they are, as though stacks of packed-up boxes in the dining room are actually a thing. 

This began to change, however, when I wanted to carve out a little space for my sewing machine and creative projects. I was willing to just shove boxes aside to do it, but Dan said "let's finish the room." (That adventure started here.) It was one of the last two rooms to do, and he wanted to take another step forward to finishing the house. So the smaller one finally became my studio/sewing room. 

The other day I finally got the last of the storage boxes out of the dining room. As I cleared off the hutch, table, chairs, and corners and began to dust and clean, I thought about the table runner on my loom and recalled another one that I made years ago, when I first started weaving. What's the point of pursuing creative arts, I thought, if it isn't reflected in my home? Maybe it's finally time to switch my brain from storage mode to homemaking mode.

When we bought the place, this was the only dining area in the house. It only became a "formal" dining room when we remodeled the kitchen and carved out a little space for a dining nook. Truth be told, I use the dining table a lot; previously for projects before I got my sewing and crafting table, now, for a place to cure produce or to dry and sort garden seeds for saving. So it rarely looks like that photo.

The table runner will forever be memorial in my mind because it was one of the very first projects I produced on my loom. I think someone gave me the yarn, a fuzzy singles (one-ply) hemp yarn that was  nearly impossible to work with because it stuck together and tangled so. Somehow I managed to win and for a beginning weaver's project, I think it turned out really well. And it's perfect for autumn decorating. 

It's amazing how this impacts the atmosphere of the entire house. And it's nice to think that when someone comes to the front door, it offers a backdrop of tidiness and care. At least I'd like to think so. Keeping it tidy is another story! It's amazing how much dust accumulates in a 100-year-old house with wood heat. But it's fun to think of myself as a homemaker again. It's been worth the wait.

A Return To Homemaking © Nov. 2023

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Around The Homestead

We still don't have a lot of color yet, but the dogwood are beginning to turn.

Not much new to tell. Mostly, we're working on seasonal chores, such as spot planting the pastures with a cool weather seed mix. Dan got the winter wheat planted and a little of that is starting to come up. Few of our fall plantings are doing much sprouting, however, because of our long dry spell. 

Dan has also begun thinning the flocks and continues to work on the greenhouse. I'll have a separate post about that soon.

Outdoors, I've been cleaning up the summer garden beds for their winter rest. We're still getting cherry tomatoes and green beans, so between those and our fall turnips, daikons, and kale, we've got some good eating from the garden. The chickens are moulting, but we still get an occasional egg.

Indoors, canning is about done, except for what I have waiting in the freezer. I think my old Excalibur dehydrator has reached end-of-life, so I'm contemplating replacing it. 

I'm getting the last of my cheese making done.

paneer

I start with mozzarella, then work on feta, halloumi, and paneer in whatever order we need them. These are our staple cheeses, all of which I can store in the freezer or in olive oil. I make ricotta from the whey, and with what we don't eat immediately, I make gnocchi (which also freezes well).

I've started working on organizing our office. When we created my studio/ sewing room, we used one end of the sun room for that, and left the other end for the office. I hadn't done anything with it because there is still work to be done on that side of the room, starting with installing a door to the greenhouse. 

Future project: the unfinished side of my studio/sewing room. The greenhouse
door will replace the left window. My computer desk is in the other corner.

What motivated me to make a start, was that the set-up for my table loom wasn't at a comfortable height for weaving. My worktable was too high, so I started looking for alternatives. My old computer desk was a possibility.

Actually a student desk, so lower than a standard table.

But it meant I needed a new desk for my computer. Happily, I had already bought one, but was waiting until that end of the room was finished before assembling it.

My new computer desk.

My old computer desk works very well for the table loom. 

New home for the table loom, which works well with the stool.

After that, one thing led to another and I've been working on finding and organizing our office stuff: paper, envelopes, pens, pencils, etc., plus bills, bank, and budget stuff. This is actually a relief, because I was tired of not being able to find what I needed (funny how you think you'll remember which box something is in, but quickly forget).

Weather wise, we're finally getting some much needed rain, but the temps haven't been cool enough to have our first fire yet. Even so, the house cools off enough at night so that we've appreciated our season's first soup. 

The base for this soup is a jar of frozen summer leftovers and
a pint of bone broth. Plus whatever leftovers are in the fridge.

Any that we don't eat becomes the start of the next batch.

This is our favorite cool weather lunch. I never know what's going to be in the jar, so it's different every day and always delicious. 

We're still in the midst of spider season, and I have a new type to report.

I haven't identified these yet, 

These are particularly fascinating because of their webs. They build a large, intricate maze (like you see at the top of the photo) and then build a more traditional looking web it the middle of that. Then they park themselves in the middle and wait. We have three or four of them around, so I suspect we'll see them next year too. 

I think that catches everything up. Next month will start breeding season for the goats (which they're ll ready for.) Other than that, it's just one day at a time.

Around The Homestead © October 2023

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Sewing Room?

Last winter's sort, purge, and organize project turned out to be more successful than I expected. I focused on the two rooms we use for storage as we slowly continue working on the house. Not surprisingly, these have become chaotic catch-alls because, well, out of sight - out of mind. Dan moved all of the construction related stuff to the workshop, and I was able to significantly pare down the number of boxes we had. The remaining boxes are mostly weaving yarns, spinning fibers, sewing fabrics, and all of my knitting and sewing supplies. I was able to organize these in the front bedroom, leaving the other room clear and free. That room is the sun room (formerly my studio). 

The room has been like this since Dan replaced the old windows with a new one.
You can see the original windows plus other original photos of this room here.

The current state of the room is the result of upgrading the exterior of the house, i.e. new windows and siding. We left the interior for a future project.

There was originally a door here going out to the front porch.
We eliminated it when we put new siding on the porch walls.

You can't see it, but the greenhouse adjoins that left-hand wall on the outside.

I don't know why I never thought of it before, but as I looked at the newly reclaimed space I wondered if it could become a little sewing room. Actually, I do know why I never thought of it before. It's because I always imagined my studio to include not only sewing, spinning, and needlework, but also my loom and weaving supplies. It never occurred to me to simply set up a space dedicated to sewing and handwork—until now.

Renovating this room has been on the project list, but it's nowhere near the top. We have the greenhouse to finish (if it ever stops raining) and a masonry stove to build this summer. Plus, when Dan talks about finishing this room, he talks about gutting it and replacing ceiling, walls, and floor. But that would be a lengthy, major project, so I was perfectly happy with the idea of using the room as is, for now. I just want to use the space. When Dan took a look, he said at the very least, we ought to cover the exposed insulation. That, plus fresh paint on the ceiling and walls, and an area rug for the floor will give it a facelift. The major renovation can wait until some distant year in the future.

So that became our rainy day project. Next time, I'll show our progress so far. (Click here!)

Parting shot:

"May" from my cross-stitch calendar Christmas present.

Once I get my sewing room set up, I'll have my sewing, needlework, and knitting supplies organized and easily accessible. I'm looking forward to that!

Next: Rainy Day Project: Sewing Room Walls

Sewing Room? © May 2023 by Leigh

at http://www.5acresandadream.com

House Project: Finishing the Exterior

We had a lot of rain in March, and it was often too wet for digging swales or spring planting. So Dan chose another project from the to-do list - finishing the exterior of the house. It wasn't a huge project because this is all we have left -

The last exterior wall to do, with the original c.1920 windows and shiplap wood siding.

So, while waiting for the ground to dry out, that's what Dan has been doing. 

We started upgrading the siding back in 2011, when we replaced the kitchen windows. We've gradually worked our way around the house, replacing the original single-glazed windows with energy efficient ones and tweaking the wall insulation if possible. Then new siding and trim go up, and we paint. 

Considering how many years this task has taken, we wondered if we could still get our original barnboard siding. And if we could, what would it cost! The sheets we bought in 2011 were $20 each. When Dan went to Lowes to see what was available, the original pattern was no more. But he was able to find a pretty close match, except the cost now is $45 per sheet and the sheets are thinner. We're glad we saved the wall with the least square footage until last.

Dan also wanted to replace the gable vents, but didn't like the price or quality of the ones for sale. So he made his own.

Lastly, the trim got a fresh coat of paint.

The exterior of the house is finally done! It feels like a milestone. There are still two more rooms to finish on the interior, but that probably won't be for awhile. The next house project we want to tackle, is putting up the two extra solar panels we didn't use for the fridge and freezer. But even that must wait when the ground is workable. "Food first," so planting must be the priority.

House Project: Finishing the Exterior © April 2022

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Last Exterior House Project

Dan finally finished the front bedroom windows last month, when we had a string of warm days suitable for painting.

The finishing touch will be to build a pergola for each set of bedroom windows. I'll use them to grow muscadines but also to help shade the windows from the setting summer sun. Then there's finishing the interior of that front bedroom, but that's another day, another story.

For the outside of the house, that leaves only one more wall to be done.

This is the last side of the house to be updated, the sun room. The shot
was taken in Feb. 2017, after we finished the front windows and porch.

Above is how it looks in winter. In summer, it's been well hidden by beauty bushes and shaded by a crepe myrtle.

Photo taken summer of 2019. Crepe myrtle tree is on the right.

What we've been thinking, is that perhaps this might be the place to attach a greenhouse.

Detail from our Master Plan.

The current idea under discussion is to use all the original house windows we saved as we replaced them. We'd roof it with transparent panels, have an interior door to the sun room, and an exterior door out the back. The question is whether it will get enough sun. To check that out, one of Dan's winter projects was to  cut down the bushes and the crepe myrtle.

Photo taken last week.

(Did you catch that?)

We haven't had a lot of full-sun days lately, but it appears to get at least 6 good hours on sunny days, parts of it get more. There is still a lot of planning to do, but it looks like it just might do.

A special thanks to Goatldi (New Life on the Farm New Beginnings) for the idea of Meowy's cape and "M." She suggested it in the comments of my "Spring Has Sprung" post, and the idea was too fun to pass up. 😆

Last Exterior House Project © April 2020 by Leigh

at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Around The Homestead

A (mostly) photo update of projects and happenings on the homestead.

Weather

Cold and rainy! Water buckets have been frozen so every morning we heat water before going out to do chores. Then we break the ice off the surface and top of with hot water. Everybody likes warm water on a cold day and it keeps the buckets from refreezing too quickly.

In spite of the cold our daffodils have started to bloom.

This new bout of rain is supposed to warm things up, however. No complaints about that!

Freezer

Yesterday we moved the freezer from the pantry to the back porch! All that's left to get it on solar is to hook up the inverter and plug it in. That will probably be my next blog post. Dan put it on 2x4s to distribute the weight on the porch floor, but I'm also glad for the air circulation underneath. I gave it a good cleaning when we moved it and the bottom was mildewy. Better air circulation will help with that. I'm also going to repaint the top.

It's gotten pretty rusty over the years.

Front Bedroom Exterior Siding

Is up!

But it's been too cold to paint, which is the next step. Then the trim. Hopefully, our promised warm spell will be warm enough to paint. Even so, the new windows and new layer of siding have made a noticeable difference in the front bedroom. Quieter and not as cold.

Eggs

The hens are starting to lay again. Cat nose included for size! LOL

Goats

Kidding is right around the corner.

The Girls

Daisy has a due date of February 14 and will be first.

Then Ellie, then Miracle, both in March.

I still have too many bucks.

The Boys

If anybody's interested in a registered Kinder buck, let me know!

Parting Shot

Riley

UPDATE: Our lone Muscovy duck is dead. Dan found her this morning while doing chores. Evidence suggests she was killed by a 'possum large dog. We found fresh dog tracks around the area where Dan found her. She was a favorite of his, so he's taking it pretty hard.

Around The Homestead © January 2020

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

And the Next Project Is.....

We're almost ready to hook up the solar! First, we were waiting on a temperature sensor for the charge controller and a vent fan for the battery box, then came days of almost nonstop rain. However, Dan can't sit still, so he had to find something to do. After finally finishing the back corner of the house, he was in the mood to keep working on the house, so he set his sights on the front bedroom windows.

He replaced the other bedroom windows (on the left) in 2013!

Good grief, has it really been that long??? It's not like we haven't worked on the house between then and now. After we remodeled that bedroom we installed the new siding, rebuilt the front porch, replaced the living room windows, then the dining room windows, re-sided the front gable ends, replaced the front windows in the sun room, replaced the front window to the room we're working on now, re-sided the back gable end, and reroofed the pantry.

He started by pulling off the trim inside to see what he could see.

Here's an interior shot before he removed windows.

Our house was built in the 1920s, and these are the original windows. The iron window weights  counterbalanced the weight of the window to keep it from slamming shut.

Iron window weights.

The problem is that the spaces for the weights couldn't be insulated, making the entire window unit an energy sieve.

He had a nice day to remove the vinyl siding and take out the old windows. Rain was in the forecast, so he covered the opening with a sheet of plastic and worked mostly from the inside.

Windows out and plastic up.

Those aren't very good photos, but we didn't empty the room for this project, and I couldn't step back far enough to get a good pic. It's being used for storage, so everything just got moved enough for room to work on the windows. Here's a better shot from outside.

Now we need a string of nice days to put up and paint the new siding.

And the Next Project Is..... © January 2020

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com