Status Quo Days

December, January, and February pretty much make up the winter season on our northern hemisphere agrarian calendar. In our part of the world, that means more indoor time with quite a few lovely afternoons to work outside. Having switched my creative pursuits from writing to weaving, I feel productive in a different sort of way, and it's nice not to spend so much time at the computer.

So while there's not much new news, I do have tidbits to share, such as, I got our Christmas tree up!

I get a live potted tree every year and then plant it afterward. Except that for the past several years I've gotten rosemary bushes that never seem to make it. So I decided to try something else. This is an arborvitae. 

With gift giving days coming up, I've been busy weaving Christmas presents.

 

twill table runner

crackle table runner

woven red plaid scarf

woven gray plaid scarf

The links go to technical details.

Dan spends his morning and evening indoor time woodburning.

The panel is from the bottom of one of the doors he bought off craigslist for the greenhouse. The top was glass panels, which he cut off to use for the upper center of the greenhouse roof. 

In the department of needful things, Dan built something we've been talking about for years; a headgate for the task of trimming the buck's hooves. 

Our bucks are all pretty friendly, but no goat likes having their hooves trimmed and tends to be uncooperative. This time of year they are still in rut, which means they are rambunctious and harder to handle. The bait, of course, is feed, but we have to have only one at a time in the pen. When we're working on one buck, the others want to take advantage of his restrained situation by butting him (and us, if we're not careful.) It's all goofy play, but they are rough and their play is not something the humans want to be caught in.

With feeder. They're always more cooperative if there's something to eat!

The headgate works very well. I just wish I'd remembered my camera the last time we tackled the job.

The chickens are moulting and so not laying at the moment. But the ducks are obliging us with eggs.

These are lovely for Christmas baking.

As you can see, not much exciting going on. We're just enjoying our season of rest. Hopefully, you'll enjoy these parting shots of Riley. 

He loves to play in the water dish, which gets water everywhere.

I hope you all are staying warm and dry.

Status Quo Days © December 2023

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

Christmas Pyrography Sale

Tis the season, but for what? Does anyone else feel like consumerism has totally destroyed the holidays? I sincerely hope you all able to focus on the real reasons for your family traditions and enjoy them for what they were meant to be. That said, I'm going to add to the upcoming shopping frenzy with a coupon for Dan's Pyrography Etsy site. There hasn't been much time for woodburning these days, so I think he's decided to clear out his Etsy shop and take it down after Christmas.

DanielTateFireArt

Coupon code is PYROSTAR and it's for 25% off.

It expires at the end of December.

Enjoy!

An Etsy Shop for Dan, Contemplating Self-Sufficiency, and Masanobu Fukuoka

I have several posts in my drafts folder, although none of them is quite ready for you yet. That's because I've been helping Dan set up an Etsy shop for his pyrography, [now closed] and I wanted to share that with you. We're still getting pieces added, but at least it's presentable enough for visitors.

It probably seems pretty off topic from homesteading, but on the other hand, he would love to be able to work from home rather than off the homestead. Most homesteaders can relate, because that seems to be part of the self-sufficiency formula. I'm guessing it's one of the biggest frustrations for a lot of folks, i.e. having to have a job to support oneself and buy the things it takes to become self-sufficient. Ironic, isn't it, that self-sufficiency can only be obtained with a lot of money?

Dan and I talk about that a lot, actually. I've concluded that the biggest problem is that we (speaking of homesteaders in a generic sense here), are trying to support the lifestyle from which we came. It seems to me that most folks assume that the way things are, is the way things are supposed to be. I've talked about this in other posts:

• Technology as Taskmaster
• Living Without Air Conditioning
• Defining Sustainability
• Agrarianism: Forward or Backward Thinking?
• Reflections on the Slow Life
• Taking Stock
• Contemplations on Value & Money
• Mindset: Key to Successful Homesteading?

Obviously it is something we are still trying to figure out!

I just finished reading Masanobu Fukuoka's book, The One-Straw Revolution. It is interesting to me that someone from the another culture on the other side of the world can make the same observations we have and come up with similar conclusions. Namely, that science and industry are destroying agriculture and, thereby, destroying the environment (and the earth). The consequence is that we humans are no longer content with simply growing food as a lifestyle, because now life is only about making money. This is the very dilemma we find ourselves in as homesteaders. If that sounds harsh, well, I suggest you read the book for yourself.

An Etsy Shop for Dan, Contemplating Self-Sufficiency,
and Masanobu Fukuoka © July 2015
by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Pyrography Clearance Sale

Dan cleaned out his studio the other day and ended up with over two dozen woodburnings that he wants to sell. I thought he priced it a little low for most of it, but he just wants it to go. Since we no longer have our Etsy site, I'm just going to pass it on to you in case anyone is interested. The link for what he has for sale is here. If you're interested, you can contact him with his contact form.

Bedroom Remodel: No Progress But Something To Show

We've been so busy with kidding, the chicken coop, and the garden, that we haven't done a thing on the bedroom since we bought the carpet. It's still sitting as a huge roll in the dining room, but every time we have to step over it to get to the dining table (which is pushed over against the far wall), we say we really must do something about it. Even so, I have something I've been meaning to show you - the closet doors!

Whoopty-do, what's so special about closet doors? What's special is what Dan did to them! This was his winter creative project, a woodburning on each door.

For enlarged images, you can visit Dan's pyrography blog and click on the individual photos.

He needs to finish staining and finishing, and then they can be hung permanently. At the rate we're going that may take awhile. :)

Bedroom Remodel: No Progress But Something To Show 

© May 2014 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Bedroom Closets Phase 2

Last time, I showed you phase 1, which was the making of a storage compartment in our new bedroom closets. This time, I'll show you the rest.

We did a lot of discussing, measuring, and calculating in designing our closets.

We wanted lots of shelving. Before we decided to build them, we researched and priced every kind of system out there. Even the "cheap" pressboard types were outrageously expensive. Dan ended up buying plywood for these, plus used odds and ends he had.

My side is on the left. A clothing rod and another shelf over the top of that will complete it. 

Dan didn't need a lot of hanging space and will put upper and lower rods on his side.

There's a story behind that paint. Usually, I'm extremely fussy about color matching, but since this was going to be hidden behind closet doors, I remembered that I had some white trim paint somewhere. I thought I might use that so I didn't have to buy another gallon of paint.

I found not only the white, but also an almost full gallon that I didn't remember buying. It was a gallon of ColorPlace interior semi-gloss. ColorPlace is the old Walmart brand. I couldn't even remember the last time I bought paint at Walmart, at least three residences ago. Had we really toted this all over the country? It had been a custom color, but I wasn't even sure what color it was. The color spot on the top of the can had long since gotten dusty and dirty.

Of course I was curious so I opened the can. I was surprised that it hadn't dried out and that there was no film on the top. The colors had long since separated, but the paint still looked good. I started to stir. It appeared to be a pea green color that I know I never would have gotten. I kept stirring and eventually it became a very nice off-white. It was then I remembered when I'd purchased it; about 8 years ago for a bathroom when we lived in Florida. I couldn't believe we'd carried it around all these years. It covered very well!

Lastly, here's a sneak peek at one of the closet doors.

Dan is woodburning a scene which will span all four bypass doors. I love it.

Our countdown check list has been slowly whittled down to three more steps:

1. ceiling
2. floor
3. draperies

Is it possible we might be moved in by Christmas?????

Bedroom Closets Phase 2 © November 2013 

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

Waiting On The Kitchen Floor

The next step in our kitchen remodel is the floor. This is a big purchase, one we had to save up for. We discussed all the flooring possibilities, and ended up choosing 9 inch wide pine plank flooring. Dan thinks this is the best option, considering how uneven and dippy our kitchen floor is. He definitely did not want ceramic tiles, and if we chose a vinyl floor, we would have to rebuild the floor to correct the problem, like we did for the wood cookstove only more extensively. (He said leaving it as is was not an option.) With the planks, we hope to shim where it's dipped, and come out with a fairly even and level floor in the end. This will also give us a thicker, snugger, more sturdy floor. Our house was built without subflooring. I don't know if this was typical of 1920s construction, but the only floor is one layer of 3/4 inch oak. The boards are no longer air tight, so I'll be glad to put down a vapor barrier and another 3/4 inch on top of that. As a bonus, a plank floor will go with our country kitchen motif.

The floor isn't scheduled to come in until the end of January, so while we wait, we're doing a lot of little kitchen projects. The first was a jack for a kitchen wall phone (currently I have to run to another part of the house to answer the phone, on the rare occasions that it rings.)

Also completed the wiring (switch above) for the dining nook light....

This is one of the mini pendants I purchased awhile back.

Dan's also working on what will become some of our wall cabinets. These, we purchased awhile back as well. Since they were built to be floor cabinets, he needed the legs cut off,

and to stain and poly....

We got the pot rack installed....

Because my kitchen is small, I will have limited cupboard space. Consequently I have been looking at every alternative for storage that I can. This had been sitting around in a box for awhile, just waiting for the right moment to hang.

I've have painted the back door...

Dan also woodburned a new door inset for our key rack! The key rack was here when we bought the house.

Original key rack

It was attached to the wall, full of old keys, and turned out to be a handy place to keep them. I liked the old inset, but I really like the one Dan woodburned for me better....

New door inset for key rack

Most recently, we installed the ceiling fan I bought last summer.

What a difference this makes in pushing the warm, wood cookstove heated air out of the kitchen and into the back bathroom and dining room. I have to say that with the two woodstoves, our house is finally warm this winter. It's not that we have a lot of square footage to heat (about 1400 sq. ft), it's the placement of the stoves. The soapstone stove should be adequate to heat all that, but being in the front of the house with a maze of doors for the heat to pass through, and the back of the house was always cold. The wood cookstove takes care of that and the ceiling fans on low reverse do wonders to circulate the heat. On top of that, the kitchen retains heat for quite awhile, thanks to the new insulation.

As you can see, we haven't been idle. Buying smaller items along the way was a good idea. Not only because it spreads out the cost, but because Dan is a project person and when the weather doesn't cooperate for outdoor projects, he has something to do in the house.

Hopefully once we get the floor down we'll have mild weather for the staining and finishing. After that will come the cabinetry. We have some of it, but some of it will need to be purchased (another save-up-for item). Then comes plumbing (I have the fixture but not the sink), countertops (we bought these about a month ago), and the seemingly endless (right, Mama Pea?) list of finishing up jobs, mostly moulding and trimwork. With a little good providence, my new kitchen should be ready for business this spring!

Waiting On The Kitchen Floor © January 2012 by Leigh at http://my5acredream.blogspot.com/

Homestead Art: Ode To Lord B

I just had to share this with you. My husband is a very talented guy. Besides the amazing things he's done with our various house projects (among other things), he's an pyrographic artist. This is his latest ....

click to enlarge

It's a poem, "Ode To Lord B," inspired by our Barred Holland rooster. It's woodburned on a 10 by 15 inch birch panel.

You can visit Dan's blog by clicking here.

Homestead Art: Ode To Lord B © September 2011 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

"Ode To Lord B" poem & artwork © September 2011 by Daniel Tate

Kitchen Project: Attention To Detail

Firstly, I want to thank everyone who took time to answer my kitchen questions (I'm Curious About Your Kitchens - and it's not too late to tell me about yours!) All of your comments were very helpful. I learned that kitchen preferences are as varied as personalities. It was fun to learn what you like and why. Lifestyle is key here, and it was encouraging how happy most of you were with the design choices you made. I even got a peek into some of your kitchens and picked up some good ideas along the way. If you haven't already seen it, photos of what my kitchen originally looked like are here, and what we did to make it more livable, here.

Functionally, my kitchen will be relatively simple. It is my food workshop, and needs to be set it up as such. My challenge is to make my tools and workspace logically organized and accessible.

click for bigger

Because of doors, windows, and the L-shape of the room, the area I have to accomplish a working area is relatively small, one corner less than 9 x 8 feet (pink area). As you can see, that doesn't include the fridge and wood cookstove's required safety clearances (that, in blue). Neither am I including traffic areas in front of doors, nor the breakfast nook (green) which I'm figuring can double as a work area if needed and seating for the rare visitor. On the plus side, I have a huge pantry, not only for food storage, but also things like my canning equipment, grain mill, empty jars, etc.

Aesthetically, well, we're artists. We're going to spend a lot of time in this room, so we want to create a beautiful room as well as a functional one. Beauty is subjective though, and Dan and I have very different tastes when it comes to interior design. He leans more toward the formal and ornate, I toward the simple and rustic. It's been fun though, working out ways to blend our different ideas in a cohesive manner. (And I have to say that after giving his honest opinion about any detail, he always adds, "but it's your kitchen," giving me the last say-so.)

My color scheme was chosen about a year and a half ago, when we purchased these two small Amish built cabinets (click either for a closer look). They aren't true kitchen cabinets, but we bought them with the kitchen in mind. The pictures in the insets are earthy greens and browns. I have always had a blue kitchen, because of my Blue Willow, so this is quite a change for me. I fell in love with the cabinets though, so it must be time for that change. (My Blue Willow happily resides in my dining room, which has picked up the blue in it's color scheme.)

I love green too though. Which is one of the reasons I fell in love with this 2nd hand bargain...

... which I hope to work into my peninsula. I wasn't trying to match colors, but it did anyway. Perfectly...

Now I'm working on collecting paint swatches to carry around for when I need them.

On one of his trips to Pennsylvania, Dan bought another, larger Amish built cabinet. It had three plain doors, which he woodburned for me...

This will be built in to my "wall of shelves."

I'm also thinking about flooring material under the wood cookstove.

The faux brick floor protector came with the stove. We debated on whether or not to use it. I like the brick look, but don't like the rough texture, knowing it would be hard to keep clean. Also it is made to sit on top of an existing floor, which raises the walk-by area in front of the stove to an easy to trip over height. Since we're replacing the entire kitchen floor anyway, we're thinking ceramic floor tile under the stove. This would be installed over cement board, to comply with code. I've been buying single tiles as samples and of course these have to color coordinate with the small Amish cabinet doors. The other place I'm considering using tile is my backsplash.

Just the other day I found spot lighting for the sink, peninsula, and breakfast table...

These are mini-pendants, mini I guess because the glass shade is small (6.25 inches). A series of them would be needed for a longer peninsula or island, but singles will work well for my compact areas. I was happy that they were among the least expensive offerings, plus that the motif echos the hanging light in our dining room. Still under consideration are under-cabinet lights for the work area next to the sink, lighting for cooking (found a pot rack with lights), and ceiling fixture (fan with or without a light?).

This was our splurge...

A tin ceiling. Not for the entire kitchen, but for the entrance / dining nook, which is separated from the rest of the kitchen by a visible load-bearing beam (the one supported by The Post, photo here.) I admit I'm not too crazy about tin ceilings, but Dan loves them. My inner lightbulb went off when we considered giving the dining nook a different but coordinating look. It's a small ceiling (about 40 square feet), so it didn't bust our budget.

There are still a lot of things to figure out. We've decided that the electrical upgrades need to be done first, and then we'll get back to the kitchen and pick up where we left off! My challenge in the mean time, is to pull it all together. It's no small task, but I don't deny that I love this part of the process.

Kitchen Project: Attention To Detail © April 2011 by Leigh at http://my5acredream.blogspot.com/