Done and done – Fall to-do list final report

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

The date on the calendar says Dec. 21–also known as the first day of winter.

And the photo below says that Matt and I have crossed off the last item on my fall to-do list–replacing the filters in our water system.

Reverse osmosis system filters

Our first year at the farm, we had our water contractor do the annual service for us. We’ve since learned that this is a job we can easily tackle ourselves.

As we were changing the filters, we talked about adding a task to the get-it-done-before-winter to-do list: putting the snowblower on the tractor.

Temperatures are still super mild here, so we could avoid freezing our fingers as we connect the blower. But temperatures are still super mild. Will we even need the snowblower? (Ha-ha. I think that’s a bit optimistic for winter in southern Ontario).

Final determination? We’re going to risk it and stay blower-less for now.

Matt has plans to clear some of the deadfall in the back forest before the end of the year, so being able to put the trailer on the back of the tractor would be very helpful.

It may be winter, the fall to-do list may be done, but work at the farm continues.

How did you do getting ready for winter? Do you have a job that you learned isn’t as difficult as you thought at first? What’s still on your to-do list between now and the end of the year?

Waiting for ice to arrive

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

We’re two weeks away from New Year’s Day. Every year that we’ve been at the farm, I’ve been able to go skating on the pond on New Year’s.

Unless we get a serious cold snap for Christmas, I don’t think skating’s going to be on the activity list.

The surface of the pond is more about reflections these days than it is about ice.

Pond on a foggy fall afternoon

The water is trickling in the creek.

Creek running over mossy stones

The deer paths around the shore are very, very squishy–not even close to frozen–mud.

Muddy deer trail

The reeds are still green.

Green reeds in the pond

A thirsty puppy even has a place to get a drink.

Baxter drinking from the creek

2016 is coming no matter what. Skating? I’m not so sure.

What’s the weather like where you are? How are you planning to celebrate New Year’s? Do you have any traditions you’re looking forward to?

The season of making

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I love making presents for people. (And I love getting handmade presents too).

Some of my making so far this year has been peanut butter balls for Matt, blanket shawls for several people (need to make one for myself–I love those shawls), chocolate zucchini breads for my team at work (using homegrown zucchini of course) and a wood sign for a special colleague.

Life lessons wood plaque

I’m not good at making friends at work, but Tania and I really connected. In the new year, she’ll be starting a new job in Toronto. I will miss working with her.

When I was thinking about a going-away gift, I thought back to the conversations we’ve had during our late evenings in the office. Usually, we end up talking about life and what’s really important. I thought about this growth chart that Becky from sketchy styles made. It is full of good lessons for any age.

I scaled it down a wee bit, added checkboxes rather than height markings, changed a couple of items (“drink good wine” seemed appropriate for my friend) and renamed it a to-do list rather than a hero chart (Tania is the queen of to-do lists).

Life lessons wood plaque

I gave the sign to Tania yesterday, and she loved it. She also totally got it. That’s the best part of gift giving: finding the perfect gift that matches up with the people you’re giving to.

Are you making any gifts this year? What’s the best gift you’ve ever given? Have you ever received a special handmade gift?

Linking to: Happy Housie Get Your DIY On: Wall Decor

2/3 of a china cabinet

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Somehow, I’ve ended up married to a person who cannot–cannot–pass by a Value Village without stopping in. Now I enjoy thrifting as well. However, more often than not, I end up walking around the VV parking lot with Baxter, as I prefer not to leave him in the car.

So a few weeks ago, Bax and I did our shopping in the parking lot.

I’ve been on the hunt for a china cabinet to use for storage in my office. There just happened to be a pair of bookcases sitting outside the VV that I thought might work. A quick conversation with the clerk confirmed that they weren’t sold, and he was more than happy to be spared carrying them into the store.

When we got them home, it turned out they were a bit too big for my office. However, I thought they might work for the dining room.

I’ve been on the hunt for a new china cabinet for the dining room for a little while. In fact, it was one of the items on my Home Goals 2015 list.

I had visions of using a big 1990s style entertainment unit for the dining room. I was blown away when I first saw Thalita’s entertainment unit makeover in her kitchen, and it sparked all kinds of ideas.

An entertainment unit–one that used to hold those huge boxy TVs–would give me a tonne of storage. And even though these are more bookcases than TV cabinets, they totally do.

90s bookcases as china cabinet

The cupboards below hold our wedding china, wine glasses and other serving pieces and keep them sheltered from dust–even with a lovely cutout in the back of the cabinet.

Wedgewood Oberon china

Wine glasses and plates

The shallow drawers are perfect for candles and cutlery.

Candle storage

The shelves above hold the prized Bleu de Roi china that I inherited from my grandmother and some bar supplies along with Matt’s collection of steins and shot glasses.

Bleu du roi china

Steins and shot glasses

I haven’t done much styling for these shelves. I’ve more just unloaded various cupboards.

And this set up is definitely not final.

My original vision was for three bookcases. I still have plans to build a middle section to tie the shelves all together. Plus remove the arch at the top of the cases, update the trim and the hardware, add glass doors to the upper section (I don’t believe in dusting, so open shelves and I do not get along) and then paint everything.

90s bookcases as china cabinet

Plus someday I’d like to paint the walls in the dining room, relocate the antlers, etc. etc. etc.

For now though, I figure I’m at least 2/3 of the way there.

Frosty morning

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

One sunny Saturday morning a few weeks ago, Matt and I woke up to a frosty wonderland.

frost36

frost34

frost30

frost3

frost22

frost17

frost10

Big news from Illinois!

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Before I get into today’s guest post from Sarah in Illinois, I wanted to mention that I guest posted on That Mutt yesterday. Visit Lindsay’s blog to read all about Baxter’s favourite toy–and enter to win one for your own furry friend.

And now on to Sarah’s latest post. (I won’t say any more because I don’t want to scoop her big announcement!)

There has been a lot going on over here in the past two weeks! The big news is that the day before Thanksgiving Steve and I went to the courthouse and got married! We have been dating for almost 6 years and engaged for close to a year and anytime anyone asked, we told them that we were not going to have a big wedding, but no one knew when. It was a Thanksgiving surprise for everyone!

Sarah and her new husband Steve

We got together with Steve’s family for Thanksgiving and had a great time and ate too much and visited and watched football. I also had Steve’s niece take our picture for our family Christmas card. Back at home, I have started my Christmas shopping, our tree is up, lights are on the house, Christmas is in full swing!

We bought new LED lights for our tree and we were so excited to see the patterns that it splashed on our walls and ceiling!

Since there is so much that goes on leading up to Christmas, I wanted to make sure we focused on our favorite things and didn’t get overwhelmed with trying to get everything done. I asked the kids what was something they wanted to make sure we didn’t forget to do and they both agreed that we can’t miss making gingerbread houses! So we still have that to do, plus finish shopping, plus all our family dinners. And I still have a gift to make for our handmade gift exchange that my girlfriends and I are going to do.

As for home improvement projects, I have to admit Steve and I kind of burnt ourselves out over the summer. We have done absolutely nothing around the house and I think we have both decided that it is time to get back to work! I came home one night this past week, and Steve had grout mixed up and we got to work grouting our hallway.

Grouted tile

We laid the tile early in the summer and have been walking on ungrouted tile all this time. I am so thankful that we both have our drive back to work on the house! We have a sort of game plan for this winter, and I am getting excited about tearing the house apart and fixing it back up! I am hoping that my future posts will be filled with projects that we have finished!

Congratulations, Sarah and Steve! It’s great to get your DIY-mojo back. Oh, and getting married too. That’s big. 🙂 All the best to you both.

Sarah will be back in the New Year with more updates about (married) life, home renos and country living.

Hard-working farm dog

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

You’ve read my perspective on mucking out the barn. Now Baxter shares his point of view.

Being a farm dog is a lot of work. The last few weeks, we’ve been cleaning out the barn.

Usually, Matt and Julia don’t let me in the barn.

They say it’s Ralph’s home, and she’s allowed to have her own space no dogs allowed. I don’t know what the big deal is. I don’t chase her too much. And I’m her brother. Aren’t I supposed to bug her?

The first time I came into the barn, it was very interesting. There were so many sniffs. Ralph was there too. And I didn’t bug her at all.

By the third weekend in the barn, I was exhausted.

Ralph was guarding her food dish, so I climbed into her bed. It’s a big pile of straw, but all of the nests are cat-sized. I turned and turned and turned, but I did not fit. I dug around and was able to make a dog-sized nest.

I gotta say. I’m a farm dog. But I’m not a barn dog. That straw was prickly. This is my not impressed face.

Baxter curled up in the straw

Ralph seems to like it for some reason though. She left her food dish and came over to give me dirty looks from the stairs.

Stand off over the pile of straw

Apparently I was still bugging her. My work as a farm dog and as a brother is never done.

Oh, Baxter. You have such a hard life.

Want more Baxter? Check out That Mutt tomorrow where I’m writing about his favourite toy. There’s even a give-away for your own furry friends.

Mucking out and working out

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

You’ve been hearing about me spreading manure on the garden pretty much all fall. However, this post has been an even longer time coming. In fact, it’s been sitting in my drafts folder since June 2012. Way back then, Matt and I mucked out our first stall.

I was responsible for raking up the old straw.

And Matt was responsible for getting the straw out of the stall and into the field behind the barn.

We just used rakes, rather than bothering to find the pitchforks, and then we piled the old straw behind the barn. This stall became Wiley’s garage.

The previous owners of our property had boarded horses. When they left, they didn’t bother to clean out the stalls.

And this fall, three years later, we still had 14 stalls full of straw and manure.

We also had a brand new vegetable garden that had been super productive. If I wanted to keep it productive, I needed to replenish the soil.

That meant it was finally time to tackle the barn.

It took me about 9 hours spread over three weekends. There were more than a dozen trailer loads of manure, and I don’t even know how many wheelbarrow loads. There were two assistants, Ms. Scratches and Mr. Sunbather, neither of whom gave very much assistance.

Ralph and Baxter in the barn

There was no way to get the tractor or the trailer into the barn, so I wheeled all of the straw through the barn, up a plank and into the trailer. When the trailer was full, I towed it out to the garden.

I got very proficient at backing up the trailer through this project. It just fit through the gate on the garden.

I usually laugh when people ask me what my workout routine is. I own a farm. That means I work. No need for a gym membership. Here’s my version of a workout video. Repeat that about a 100 more times.

So it only took me three years (or really three weekends once I got started), but finally the stalls are clean.

Now to find a new workout…

Have you ever had to muck out stalls? Any tips to make it easier? (Not that I’m planning on doing it again). What’s a project that you’ve had hanging around for awhile?

Three weeks left to get my act together

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Ladies and gentlemen, I have to inform you that this is the first post of December. We have just three weeks until winter.

And that means I have just three weeks left to finish up my fall to-do list.

I’m actually not doing too bad.

The vegetable garden – Done for the season

As you saw last week, I’m declaring the vegetable garden done for the year. Never mind that I didn’t finish everything I wanted to. I have high hopes for productivity come spring.

Frost covered raspberry cane

The bird feeder – Done for awhile.

Our birdies are loving the feeder. So is Ralph. She camps out under Matt’s car and watches the feeder intently. So far, I don’t think she’s caught any birds. A trio of neighbourhood crows showed up on Sunday morning. If Ralph wants to deal with them, that would be fine with me.

Firewood – Done thanks to Matt and his Dad.

Here is my view as I type this post. I love our evenings in front of the fire.

Stone fireplace decorated for Christmas

Get Wiley ready for winter – Done thanks to my cousin.

Our little tractor will need his snowblower soon, but the rest of him is ready for winter.

The house – Almost done.

Matt cleaned out the gutters again a week ago, and I took off the screens last Saturday–Baxter thought we should go on a third walk instead.

Baxter waiting while I take off the screens

The outdoor water is off, and all that remains is the annual service and filter replacement on our indoor water system. That’s scheduled for next weekend.

So only one thing left to do before winter. That’s probably a good thing because I have a long list of things to do before Christmas. At least life is never boring.

How are you doing on getting ready for winter? What progress have you made in getting ready for Christmas?

How to add a harp to a lamp

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

My thrift store lamp that you met on Friday had a lot of things going for it, especially after its spray paint makeover. However, there was one thing missing that I didn’t notice until the very end: the harp.

The harp is the little bracket that goes around the light bulb and holds the lampshade.

I admit, I was a little intimidated by the prospect of installing a harp. I hear about a lot of people rewiring lamps, but I’ve never attempted that myself. It turns out it’s not hard. In fact, I just started trying to take the lamp apart and was able to figure it out pretty much on my own.

Step one was to remove the socket from the lamp base. It just unscrewed, and the cord was loose enough that I was able to pull it out a little bit.

Removing the socket from a lamp

The wire was still buried deep in the socket, so I started trying to figure out how to access it. A close examination revealed a seam in the middle of the socket. You can see it partially opened here.

Removing the socket from a lamp

The socket easily unscrewed, and I could see where the wires attached to two screws. I could also see a really intimidating knot. Gulp.

Taking apart a lamp socket

A couple of turns loosened the screws enough to unhook the wires. Quick tip: I marked which wire went to which screw (one’s gold and one’s silver) by straightening the gold one and leaving the silver one hooked.

Taking apart a lamp socket

I was really, really hoping to not untie that knot, but in order to remove the bottom part of the socket–never mind putting on the harp–I had to. With the knot untied, the socket easily slid off and the harp bracket easily slid on.

How to add a harp to a lamp

After that, it was a (relatively) easy process of reassembling the socket. I slid the bottom part of the socket back into place. I retied the knot. (Okay, this was a bit complicated.) It turns out the knot is called an underwriters knot. I watched this animation a few times as I was tying my own knot. I hooked the wires back over their screws, and then screwed everything back together. I had a reassembled lamp that now included the bottom part of the harp.

How to add a harp to a lamp