Starting a farm…from scratch
I love Advent and Christmas. I love the buildup of Advent. I love the Christmas season. And I love how are living room seems perfectly suited for this time of year. I was taking this picture of the farmhouse living room and it struck me how far we've come. The renovation sort of ended a... Continue Reading →
Our very old farmhouse was built in pieces, and the kitchen (and therefore wood stove) got moved as the house got added on to. That means we had not one but two chimney holes in ceilings to deal with. We've yet to deal with the one in our daughter's bedroom, but the kitchen ceiling we... Continue Reading →
Just a quick post to show the progress in our room from the before that we were sleeping in when we moved into the unfinished house in April: See the missing floorboards? And that dark wall, that is the outside siding. Yes, we could hear the frogs and river as if the window was wide... Continue Reading →
This farmhouse renovation has been and continues to be so all consuming that I sometimes lose sight of how much has been accomplished. Emma chastised me Sunday after church when we pulled up outside the house and I just sighed and my shoulders slumped as I thought of all the work left to do. She... Continue Reading →
Ever since we got the key to the farmhouse back on December 30, 2011, I have been bad about before photos because we wouldn't realize just how "before" things would have to be, and all the layers we'd have to pull off and repairs we'd have to do. This week we are paying someone to... Continue Reading →
Renovating a 133-year-old falling down farmhouse has certainly had its trials and tribulations...but also its treasures. One of those treasures is this grocery receipt from April 21, 1929. I think it says Bennetts as the "sold to" name, and we have a very big, very old school in our town named R.E. Bennett. Wouldn't that... Continue Reading →
Some big news in the kitchen...the ceiling is done and the window is in, YES! Here's what the ceiling did look like: And here's what it looks like now: Big difference, eh? And here's what I looked like after sanding off the soot from the fire damage of years gone by: Not only is the... Continue Reading →
Bob is working on the farmhouse this morning while I am in town working on making money. I'd rather be doing what he's doing, but he is sweet enough to keep me up to date on his progress. Here's a photo that's a very big deal! We don't have the bathtub plumbed yet, but he... Continue Reading →
You know how you get so behind on something, you dread starting on it again? Like laundry, or bill paying, or scrapbooking, or exercising…it’s harder to get going again than it is to just keep up with whatever it is in the first place. That’s what has happened here with our blog, tracking our progress... Continue Reading →
When we first took a hammer and pry bar to the farmhouse on December 31st of last year, we never, ever thought that 10 months later we would still be struggling to get the house livable. We never stopped to think we’d be paying two mortgages all this time, or that we’d log on those... Continue Reading →