Another Project Done!!

I am one step closer to becoming Americas Top.... oops, let me switch to the reality part of my brain.....
I am one step closer to having the dining room complete.  Big deal my friends, BIG. DEAL.

The latest completion- walkthrough painted and I made a growth chart ruler!

I set myself to completing something since I needed a bit of a mood lift.  This was Monday-

We got about another 10".  Don't get me wrong, I like snow.  I like to play in the snow.  It just limits outdoor activities somewhat, we try to be creative though.

So completing something on my to do list always lifts my spirits.  The kids like the ruler too-

Notice in the, background baby girl unloading the colored pencils, the illusion of my clean home is ruined (not that I mind, otherwise I would not have pointed it out)-

Kids love marking and seeing their growth.  Also, another good thing about the ruler is we can take it with us if we ever move.

Here was the before; old woodwork is stained pine.

We learned that you have to paint a 'seal' over the knots otherwise this will happen (this is our living room cabinets)-

The Kilz we had on hand didn't do the job, we used B-I-N Shallac Base Primer and it seems to have worked.
You see here, the stain that wasn't fully sanded away is seeping through our primer coat (before we used B-I-N)-

Ugh, so much prep just to get something painted correctly.  Remember how much I hate painting, my last whine about it HERE.
Also note, that I slightly cringe at painting wood white.  I like the clean look of white but DO prefer the natural look of wood more, just not pine.  We are trying to keep as much natural wood as makes sense.

The natural wood ruler does add some nice texture here-.

Also, it was easy to make.

• Bought thin boards (I think red oak) for a low profile and easy to tack flush to the wall
• Applied a few layers of Satin Finish
• Marked lines with a black sharpie
• Pause for a motorcycle race

• Used Century font as a template to trace the number (or could stencil them), again used a sharpie

To end, here is a detail in the Dining Room I could use input.  We had to rip out all our old trim, if you remember.  Jonathan replaced it and now we are left with a gap and exposed raw edge at the top-

Cutting a piece of trim at an angle (to form a wedge to finish the end) will not work because of the angle of the trim.  The wedge piece would angle downward instead of perpendicular into the wall.  Too big for a filler like caulk..... 

Any ideas please!!!!

Basement electrical and lights should be installed (by hubby and a friend) next weekend so we can get back to work on the new playroom.  I am SUPER pumped about that.  We also budgeted out our other updates for the year.  I am very excited to share them with you as we get to them. :)

Snow Clothes, Snow Pics

Snow can be great, it really can.  Getting young kids ready to go out in the snow can be great------ly difficult.  Some people joke it takes more time getting everyone ready than you end up staying out-

<Start Timer>
Before my kids put on their snowsuits they demanded to see which suit was bigger, they did not believe me.  Here they are comparing them to see which is longer.
Total time spent: 8 minutes

 Next little lady demanded that I NOT help her put her suit on.
Total time I spent watching her fuss with the suit: 5 minutes

I heard baby girl crawling into the dishwasher and stopped her before she discovered the lone knife that wanted to be washed again.
Total time spent: 3 minutes

Checking back in on little lady, she was putting the suit on backwards.
Total time spent shaking my head with my hands on my hips: 1 minute

Baby girl slipped and bumped her head.
Total time spent giving hugs and calming her down: 2 minutes

Little lady has succeeded at getting that suit on...

...now to get the 100 other necessary articles on. (We were in luck today and able to located all hats, socks and mittens quickly.  Sometimes this is where the not-so-committed-to-the-snow children give up).
Total time spent getting the endless articles on both kids: 8 minutes

Little man told little lady she looked like Aunt Sponge from James And The Giant Peach story.  She was not happy and I had to mediate.
Total time spent: 2 minutes

Running baby girl upstairs to her bed to nap while we are out in the yard.
Total time spent: 1 minute

And we are out the door ladies and gentlemen.  Total time spent to get there: 30 minutes

It is in the 20s today with little wind and sunshine, so not bad at all.  Some snowballs were thrown, lots of snow eaten...
Side note and opinions welcome-  I still have not made snow cream for my kids, I am a little hesitant to even let them eat snow from our area given the really, really bad air quality of the Providence area.  I'm no expert on the matter and wonder how much air quality affects snow contamination or if it is enough to matter???

 No sledding since our sled was froze to the ground the day before the storm and now buried. :(  Oops.
We filled the bird feeder, checked in on the barn cat, threw more snowballs, little lady said her face was cold and went inside (total time she spent outside, maybe 20 minutes).  Little man hung out with me some longer, but snow was too deep for him to walk in, then he went in.  He made it at least 30 minutes.

I then went around and snapped some pictures.
Good thing we got enough firewood in for a week-

Not so welcoming-

This fence is 4' high, snow is at least halfway up it all around the parameter.  This depth held up even after high winds all day.  The snow is very light because its so cold, so nothing is stuck to the trees.

This is where I fell climbing over the fence, true story-

 Empty chicken coop-

Whipped snow in the shed with mouse tracks-

 Some drifts went over the fence (if you can see to the right of the feeder)-

To deep for me to walk through-

 

Questioning what I am doing in thigh deep snow-

Cat tails from the frozen pond, I'm looking forward to hearing the peeping spring frogs-

Last picture of a partially snow covered fence.

Thankful the storm did not damage our area but praying for those on the islands and Cape Cod that are without power in these frigid temps (single digits most nights).

Some Beginning Notes for 2015

Please excuse the continued blog layout construction.  I think it is worth noting the primitive conditions in which I endure to blog.... for instance, my internet connection is through smoke signal and my computer is actually a typewritur.... oh lemons, where's the white out.....
_
_
All that aside, we are off to a busy and exciting start here.

The basement is under construction: stud walls are up, next will be installing all the electrical.  This area is going to be the new playroom and storage.

 A meeting is set for THIS WEEKEND to see, for the first time, and review the design plans from our landscape architect.  We are super stoked and somewhat scared.  We look forward to having a nice outdoor eating area but fear the price tag that's going to come with it.  She is actually re-laying out all areas around the house but we plan to complete it piece by piece over a span of time (we try to pay for everything with cash).

Here she is doing some land surveying, and yes I took this picture of her secretly through a window (which is completely ok, if you are the one taking the picture)-

Other projects in the works or soon in the works:

• Completing the finishing details in the dining room (yawn, old news)
• Putting on window trim in the kids and living room
• Taking my Christmas decorations down (its on the list, but probably not blog worthy)
• Transforming the back entrance closet to a more function space
• Operation kid's rooms (more details later)
• Fence building/spring homesteading planning (we had this area cleared behind our property, see what happens when you are nice to the power company, it also helps them out)

 On the family front, the youngest turned 1 recently.  Since I like comparisons, here is the line up of each kid on their 1st birthday stuffing cake in their face.

Little man-

Little lady-

Baby girl-

All the above photos were taken with a 35mm camera and film developed at the one hour photo at Walmart (play along that it still exists).  How they got on the blog is magical, that is all you need to know.
:)

Re-launching of House to Home blog!

Well folks,

I have NOT given up on blogging.  Though some recent problems with my laptop makes the task somewhat more difficult.....  I DO plan to keep it up.  The current joke is that our MacBook is older than most of the employees in the Apple Store.

Anyway, there are so MANY project underway right now.  We've got two contractors currently hired for two different jobs-  one to finish a room in the basement and one to design an outdoor space in place of our rotting deck.  I just got back in the house from talking with a third contractor.... but more on that later.

So just wanted to send a quick note so you know exciting things are in the works.  I am currently working on giving the blog a new fresh look for 2015 as well!!

So consider this the beginning of the re-launch and much exciting stuff to come.

See you soon!

Trees, Leaves And Kids

Posts have been more sparse than normal, I know....

Fall is in full swing, but the leaves have been dropping quickly after the recent rain and winds.

The rain was beneficial though to a new member of our landscape....  a new Japanese Dogwood tree we planted!
This variety is supposed to be more fungal/disease resistant which is a good thing for the marshy area we live in.

We cleared out the last overgrown patch in the side yard and planted it there.  Progress post on the side yard HERE.

This area had ALOT of thorny overgrowth.  It supposedly was the dirt and rock dump site when the previous owners had their septic system updated.  This pic was taken before the rail fence installation.

Excavating began; LOTS of roots, thorns and rocks.

Then the digging....  Many hands make little work.  Many little hands make more work.

Getting in the hole was a must.

"Plant a tree, for your tomorrow".... the song goes something like that.

So all that rain has been good for this planting, helping the roots get established.

Ending with some fun in the leaves.

At this point I put the camera down and tried to join in.....