DIY doldrums

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I’m in an uncomfortable stage right now. I have unfinished projects staring at me from all over, and I’m not liking what I see.

Usually, I try to be a one project kind of woman.

However, I currently have a mudroom that’s half-way through a makeover, a new feature in the kitchen that’s spawned other updates (mysterious, I know. I’ll have lots of posts soon), some outstanding finishing touches around the basement and the beginnings of a spring to-do list.

In the mudroom, the sticking point is the trim. We’ve stripped the wallpaper, patched holes, painted the walls, installed new baseboard, made an umbrella stand, built a bench, hung some hooks and fit out the closet with new shelving.

The baseboard is fully painted, but the window trim has just one coat and the trim around both doors and the closet is still the lovely flesh tone.

Trim painting is slow and tedious, and not my favourite way to spend my time. Some of the more appealing jobs that are also on the mudroom to-do list are refinishing the closet doors and staining the bench.

The basement bathroom is some trim (seems to be a theme), a drawer and a single hinge away from being finished. I bought the trim and the drawer guides–both for the built-in storage unit–at least a month ago. I hung the cabinet door on the built-in also about a month ago, but couldn’t get the hinges aligned properly, so it hasn’t swung smoothly in all this time.

Building a drawer, painting and installing the trim and trying a new hinge would probably take less than one day. For a little amount of time, the satisfaction of finally crossing one room completely off the to-do list would be large.

In the rest of the basement, I’d really like to branch out beyond the TV area and begin to furnish and decorate the other rooms. These bigger to-dos are accompanied by smaller ones like fixing a shelf in the front hall closet and repairing the window screens (remember this one from the fall to-do list?) so they’re ready to install as soon as warm weather arrives. Oh, and then there are the mysterious kitchen fixes.

Fortunately this weekend, I have not just one day, not just two, but four thanks to the Easter holiday. I have grand ambitions for the next four days.

What are your plans for your weekend? Is it all about chocolates and family dinners, or do you have a project list too? Happy Easter, everyone, whatever you get up to.

Spring?

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

A week into spring, we’ve finally had a few days in a row with above zero temperatures. Until now, however, spring has been slow in coming.

Most mornings last week–including the first day of spring–fresh snow dusted the ground. Although the sun now melts the driveway every afternoon, by evening it’s frozen again. Water flows in the creek, but the ice on the pond was still thick enough that fresh animal tracks crossed the surface as recently as this past weekend.

However, on the softening shore of the pond, a small sign of spring pushes up through the mud.

Despite walking back and forth along the water’s edge a few times, this was the only flower I found. I’m choosing to think of it as a harbinger of warmer days, rather than a lone over-eager sprout.

Have you seen any signs of spring where you are? Matt’s Dad has spotted some robins already, but I haven’t yet. What spring flowers are you looking for?

Danger from above

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Some fairly impressive icicles have formed along the edge of the barn roof.

However, they are fairly dangerous as well, as they don’t stay on the edge of the roof.

This particular one landed straight up right outside the cats’ door (the gap cut out in the barn boards). If you imagine a cat fitting through that hole, that might give you an idea of the size of these icicles.

The roof edge above the human door was clear thankfully, but Matt rightfully thought that all creatures should be safe, so he went to work removing the daggers. As the edge of the barn roof is about 20 feet in the air, this was a bit challenging. Heaving things at the icicles seemed to be the most effective.

He was successful in the removal, but we now have a hunk of wood on the roof of the barn. Not quite sure how we’ll get that one down.

A cat way to spend the day

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Home from work one day a few weeks ago with a bad cold (my third time being sick this winter–I am not impressed), I discovered how Ralph spends her day when she thinks no one is watching.

While I set up my laptop on the dining room table and went to work, Ralph blithely ignored her day job of keeping the rodents and other small animals in line.

She had a friend over to visit.

We’ve seen Cow Cat a few times, but he’s pretty shy. As soon as he saw me snap his picture through the mudroom window he took off.

Lonely, Ralph came to the dining room looking for company.

She napped. She sunbathed. She talked to me through the glass.

And occasionally I responded.

No screens for the winter mean we have a walk up scratching window.

What Ralph did not do at any point during her day was hunt. In fact, by late afternoon, she turned her back on me and focused her attention down the driveway, waiting for Matt to come home and feed her.

Ralphy, I think you’re going on a diet now that it’s spring. Agri-Cat kibble will be rationed, and you will have to put a little more effort into fending for yourself.

My displeasure at Ralph’s behaviour aside, I hope that you have a relaxing weekend.

Searching for my dream ‘man

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Never fear, Matt, you are still the man for me. What the title of this post refers to is my search for the perfect ottoman.

In case it hasn’t been clear, I’m loving our big, beautiful, brand new basement. However, things are a little barren down there. Between the two very large main rooms, we’ve only furnished one corner of one room–the TV area home to the most comfortable sectional ever and my homemade custom TV cabinet.

Our two lone pieces of furniture were both working out great. What wasn’t working so well was the big empty space in the middle of the sectional. We had nowhere to set a glass, a snack or a remote control.

I knew I wanted an ottoman–somewhere soft and cushy for people to put their feet up, something that could serve as extra seating if needed and something that had storage inside.

I was still in the looking around and seeing what’s available stage when we stopped into the store where we’d bought the couch. They offered a large storage ottoman with a hinged top made by the same company that made our sectional, Decor-Rest. I was planning to take it under consideration, but then Matt said the magic words, “Just buy it, woman.”

The guy really wanted a spot to set his drink.

We put in our order, and a few weeks later it arrived.

But now that it’s here, I’m not sure that I love it.

Faced with placing the order more quickly than I expected, I chose the same fabric that we used on the couch. My original vision had been for a contrasting fabric with a bit more pattern, rather than matchy-matchy.

I didn’t want the same fabric, but I did want the same feet. The feet on the ottoman are in the same finish as the feet on the couch, but they’re narrower and taller than the feet on the couch. I realize this probably isn’t noticeable to most people, but the fact that the ottoman is an inch or so taller than the couch bugs me.

While the ottoman is too tall outside, inside it’s too short–or at least shorter than I expected. The top cushion is very thick, which limits the depth of the storage part. There’s still enough space to put the video game accessories, DVDs, throws or whatever else I decide to hide away, though, and the shallower storage will save me from losing things in the depths of the box, I guess.

Allow Guitar Hero to demonstrate the interior capacity of the storage ottoman.

The biggest thing I’m not sure about is the shape. Back when I was imagining the basement, I had envisioned a square ottoman. This one is rectangle. It is a very large rectangle–36 inches by 28 inches by 20 inches tall–and fits comfortably in the centre of our sectional. And I guess the rectangle gives more breathing space between the ottoman and the TV, which isn’t a bad thing.

I’m not planning on returning the ottoman or reupholstering it any time soon, so it’s not as though our relationship is doomed. It does what I want in terms of storage, seating and providing a soft space to put up your feet. The overall style matches the style of our couch. I may trim the feet a little bit–we’ll see.

Even if the ottoman isn’t my dream ‘man, it accomplishes one other important objective: it gives my two-legged dream man a place to put his drink.

Isn’t there some saying about this situation? Happy husband, happy life? Somehow that doesn’t sound quite right to me. What about you? How do you approach furniture shopping? Have you ever had buyer’s remorse after a big purchase? Are you an ottoman or a coffee table person?

Coming to terms with my crafty side

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I don’t consider myself to be a very crafty person. If I’m going to work on something, it’s likely going to involve large power tools, lots of dust, potential of injury and probably take over a whole room. However, as we’ve moved from the construction phase into the decorating phase in the basement, I’ve found myself working on crafts.

I made a large wooden die, as in singular dice.

This was my first crafty project, and I felt really weird doing it. Like it wasn’t worth my time. I did use my skill saw and power sander and kicked up a bit of dust, which made me feel better. But then there was the miniature paint brush and the stencil. What the heck am I doing with a stencil?

The finished die is living on top of our TV cabinet in the basement, serving as a bookend to some classic tomes.

If you’re feeling crafty and want to make an oversize wooden dice yourself, here’s a link to my printable stencil. It’s sized for a 6×6 block (so each face is 5 1/2 inches). And if you’re a bit of a fiend about getting the details right, my stencil includes a pattern for the accurate configuration of the faces based on my Yahtzee game.

I also painted a tray.

In keeping with the fun and games theme we have happening in the basement, I was planning to make a backgammon inspired tray for the top of the ottoman. When I found one at Value Village, I snapped it up–leaving the glass chess board that sat on top behind at the store.

The blond wood base and black and grey backgammon markings worked well for our decor. The red wood frame did not. A sample pot of Benjamin Moore yellow green perked it up in a hurry.

You already saw the umbrella stand that I made for the Pinterest Challenge. I’ve also done some wood cuts–for gifts, so I can’t show them yet. I have plans for some more gifts and more fun and games inspired art for the basement.

It seems like now that I’ve started crafting I can’t stop. I’ll admit there’s something rewarding about working on a project that takes only one evening to complete, but I am starting to feel the need to demolish and rebuild something.

Sunrise special for breakfast

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

With the switch to daylight saving time last weekend, the view from my breakfast table has changed a little bit.

Yesterday, a week of cloudy days gave way to a beautiful pink morning.

As I watched the sun come up, I thought of my Auntie Anne, a great cheerleader, a loyal blog reader, a sometimes commenter and a sunrise watcher. When we first moved to the farm, she asked if we got sunrises and sunsets. Yes, Auntie Anne, we do.

And then this happened

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

You realize it’s inevitable. But still you want to believe it won’t happen to you. After avoiding it for 10 years, I thought I might escape. But then one day, driving along minding my own business, it happened.

This followed soon after:

My little 10-year-old car has turned 100,000 kilometres.

I realize she’s a little late to reach this milestone, but walking to work for five years meant very low mileage.

Since moving to the farm, the kilometres have been rolling over very quickly. Along with higher mileage comes more trips to the gas station, more oil changes, more tune-ups and more money.

Small price to pay when my drive home ends at the farm.

This is last March’s picture looking up the driveway. The scene this year is still snowy heading into extremely muddy and very, very grey. Yoo-hoo, Spring? Are you coming?

Odds and ends

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Thanks everyone for all of the comments, likes and hits on last week’s posts about our one year farmiversary and blogiversary. I have lots of updates and projects on tap for year two. Today, some smaller updates all at once.

To start, some very exciting news:

Yes, the woodstove is finally sold. In the end, kijiji came through for us. My roadside sandwich board probably generated the most inquiries, but no one followed through. The saga is not over though. The guy who bought it didn’t want the chimney or the heat shields, so we still have those to get rid of. Will we ever be done with this woodstove and its associated parts?

A year into farm ownership, and we’ve finally had our first overnight guests. I won’t say the guestroom is fitted out particularly well, but we do have a bed. That it was set up mere hours before our first guests arrive is just SOP for us. Oh, and I did patch the hole in the wall from where we fished the internet wire. I didn’t paint it, but it’s patched.

Poor Wiley had to do a balancing act for a few days while we had his tire repaired.

You may recall he came up lame while plowing the driveway after our snow day. The tire was extremely flat–and folded and frozen. Matt’s Dad took care of the repair for us, and fortunately was able to just get a tube to go inside the tire. We reused the original tire and rim, which saved some money.

And in news unrelated to farm living or home renovating, I’ve started sewing another fancy dress. My youngest sister is getting married in two months, so that means I need another bridesmaid dress. If this one goes anything like last year’s, I may have another most-read post coming up.

In the course of writing this post, I’m realizing that what I originally thought are little accomplishments actually highlight tasks I still have to complete. For the year two to-do list, I need to add

Sell the rest of the woodstove parts
Fix up the guest room to be a little more hospitable
Finish sewing my bridesmaid dress

Well, at least Wiley’s good to go… although I’m not sure how proficient he is with a needle.

Who’s driving this blog?

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

When I first boarded the blogging bandwagon last March, I told myself I’d give it a year and see where I ended up. Well, it’s been a year. Earlier this week I posted some of the highlights from the journey.

Now the question is where to next?

Some of the goals on my year two road map are fairly simple:

Add some new sections to my homepage to set the tone for the blog and feature some favourite posts.
Make sure my About page gives a clear picture of who I am and what the blog is all about.
Add some additional pages, such as a house tour, a before and after gallery or a project catalogue.
Make more connections with other bloggers and readers.

Some of my other ideas are more hypothetical possibilities at this point rather than defined destinations. I may detour from these over the year:

Add some extra functionality to my template–maybe even find a new template or hire someone to make a custom design.
Set up the blog at my own url.
Buy a better camera and improve my photography skills.
Consider participating in a conference or blogging event, such as BlogPodium or Alt, to learn some new skills and also make some connections.
Attract more readers–I think 100 views per day over the next year is an achievable goal.

Excuse me, do you have any friends?

The biggest thing I’d like to do over the next year is decide where I want to go with this blog over the longer haul. I blog for myself and for all of you reading out there. However, I am also trying to approach this professionally, with a regular posting schedule and thoughtful posts that will be helpful and interesting to readers. So I feel like I need to figure out what’s my destination with the blog?

Do I want to sell advertising and make money? Extra income sounds good to me, and right now I think I’d be open to it. However, I’m cautious about how this might change my tone and my overall approach to blogging.
Do I want to take on some side work as a freelance writer? Exploring possible new career paths and considering some independent work is intriguing to me.
Do I want to want to work with sponsors? Seeing bloggers whose renovations are sponsored is obviously appealing. If there’s a company out there that is interested in building an attached garage, converting an indoor pool into a useable room, adding on a front porch, doing some major landscaping, or helping with any of the other projects on my wish list, I’m up for partnering… I think.

Who knows where this blog will end up? Right now, all I can say is I’m open to the bends in the road ahead, and I hope over the next year I can define some directions for myself.

I’d also really like to hear from you. I’m not going to do a reader survey… yet… but I’d love to hear your thoughts. What’s working and what’s not working for you on the blog? What would you like to see in terms of the design and functionality? What are your favourite topics to read about? Are there any topics you wish I wouldn’t write about anymore? From other bloggers out there, how have you attracted more readers? What are some of your goals? Please leave a comment or feel free to email me with your feedback at homeon129acres@hotmail.com.

Thanks everyone for coming along for the ride so far.