Category Archives: Renovating

Looking back at Home Goals 2024

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Last year was a “get back on track” year in terms of home projects, and I feel like I did pretty well. It wasn’t always easy. It wasn’t always fun. It wasn’t always the most “bloggable” content. But I feel like I made progress, which for me is very satisfying.

Also satisfying? This annual look back at how I did on home goals 2024.

Driveway

Paving the driveway was the final step in our garage/mudroom/patio makeover. It feels like a big accomplishment to have this project completely done. The south side of our house has had a huge transformation, and I love the result. Plus, clearing the snow this winter has been much easier.

Coop

The coop ended last year in pretty good shape (I have updates to share). It’s not done, but we’re closer and getting birds this spring seems possible. I’m very proud of how my plans are coming together and that I’ve done most of the work myself.

Vegetable garden

As you saw in my Home Goals 2024 mid-year report, I decided to let the vegetable garden go last year. It was the right choice for me at the time, and looking back I don’t regret crossing it off the list.

Clean-up inside

Last year I wrote that “anything will be progress.” So, on the goal of tweaking, organizing, purging our house, I can say that I made progress. Fully finishing Ellie’s room was a big step. There’s still a lot more to do, so I feel like I’m still in the middle of a game of dominoes. Fixing one space will fix another which will lead to the space after that (which will lead us to Home Goals 2025, so stay tuned).

Clean-up outside

Our chipper and rotary cutter were both in action last year, and I was able to maintain all of the areas I had cleaned up previously. I also cleaned up a few new areas around the coop, so we are mowing all the way around the barn for the first time since we moved to the farm. My other big clean up, both inside and out, was a large quantity of Matt’s stuff. This project fell into the not easy, not fun and not bloggable category. But now it also falls into the done category.

Personal goals

I also had some personal goals last year that were about some of the other things that are important in my life.

  • Walking: 469.5km (39km per month. The same as last year and a bit shy of this year’s goal of 42km per month–though I still don’t track on-farm field walks, which I do at least once a day with Cigo)
  • Monkey bars: I still do them every week.
  • Reading: 37 books (didn’t hit my goal of 50 books)
  • 1,000 Hours Outside: 939.5 (close, but this is a challenge that even if you lose you win)
  • Family albums: I completed 2020 and 2024, so that leaves 2021 and 2022 to catch up on.
  • Rest: Still my hardest challenge. I’m more conscious of my need to rest and I feel like I’m doing a better job of listening to my body. Though I still need to go to bed earlier.

Looking back at 2024, I’m proud of what I accomplished. Everything I did set us up for what I want to do this year, and I’m really excited for what’s ahead for 2025. Stay tuned for Home Goals 2025 coming up.

Did you have any home goals last year? How did you do on projects around your house? What was your big accomplishment for the year?

The coop has a door

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The coop has reached another milestone. It has a door.

For a reminder, this spot in the barn foundation used to be a window. Part of the wall under the window collapsed in 2018, so anticipating the coop I had our mason reconstruct the wall into a door. He tacked some plywood over the opening, and that’s how it stayed for the past 6 years. Bananas that it’s been that long.

Collapsed barn foundation

Now that the coop is finally on track, I needed a proper door. Especially now that new coop wall is up, I don’t have an easy way to get into this part of the barn.

I wanted to reuse the door of the old coop. The wood is amazing. This beautiful weathered grey. And huuuuuuge boards. Just two boards make the whole door. One is about 16 inches wide. The door was close to the size we needed and relatively sturdy. Plus you know I love the symbolism of using a piece of the old coop in the new one.

But after thinking it over (and lifting it in and out of the doorway multiple times), I decided it wasn’t close or sturdy enough. A lot of the nail holes have expanded over the years, so it has a wiggle that would have needed reinforcing. I also would have had to extend the height. All of that felt like it would take away from the character of the old door–which is what I loved.

The deciding factor was the hinges. From the wear patterns on the wood, the hinges have been on there for a long time. But they were crooked, and I didn’t feel like dealing with that on top of the other issues.

So I took some of the leftover siding and built a new door. (The old door will find a spot some day.)

I was a bit intimidated about framing the opening and building the door. Growing up with my Dad, a professional contractor, he had two types of projects that always required extra figuring: stairs and doors. So I had that in my mind as I was working.

I framed the opening and the door at the same time, so I made everything to the exact dimensions I wanted. It took me a couple of tries to figure out how I wanted to build the jamb, but now it is sturdy and plumb. I made the door bigger than the opening and then carefully cut it down–after measuring many more times than twice.

I installed the hinges so they’re square and when it came time to hang the door, everything went together smoothly.

Ellie selected the best spot for the handle and latch and she screwed them into place. Then she modeled the new door in action for photos. I’m glad I’ve been able to include her in so many parts of this project.

I also did a little more clean up around the outside. I had one spot covered with a tarp for most of the summer. This is my preferred method to kill the weeds and grass so that I can then see what’s lying on the ground.

As you can see below, the tarp revealed mostly rocks and sticks. But there were also 5 1/2 fence posts (one wrapped in wire), a hunk of metal and a length of wire fence. None of this I want to mow, so in a mystery area, clearing the weeds, picking up the mess and leveling the ground is my preferred technique.

I have now slid the tarp over to cover a new spot.

While I had my rake, shovel and tractor, I laid some patio slabs in front of the door to make a little landing area. I spread some dirt around the stones to hold them in place and even sprinkled some grass seed. I might be a little late on the seed, but I’m hoping to keep this spot from getting too muddy as I continue to work on the coop.

Every step on this project feels like another milestone and gives me more motivation to keep building. I’m very proud of the door. Proud of the coop. Proud of myself.

Have you every hung a door? How about building a door? Are there any DIY projects that intimidate you? Anyone else doing clean up around your property?

Coop exterior progress

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I am back with another coop update. This is becoming a monthly thing. It feels so good to be making progress.

The progress this time has been happening outside the barn.

We have runs! I hired out the fencing, and I’m very glad I did. Our ground is quite stony and making sure all the posts were secure was not something I wanted to tackle myself. Plus pulling the actual fence taut did not feel like a one-woman job.

The contractor I hired was exactly the right man for the job. I had picked up some used fencing from my Mom’s neighbour, so I needed someone who was willing to deal with that. He was not only willing. He went through his own yard to see what other leftover materials he had, so he could make things as affordable as possible for us. He found most of the gates, top rails and a few other pieces, which was a huge help.

We have three runs, which will correspond with three pens inside the barn. Each run has a gate to the outside. There are also gates between each section, so I have the option of giving one group of birds double the outdoor space if the neighbouring area is vacant.

I plan to add mesh over the top and around the bottom edge, so the runs are as secure as possible.

I popped the plywood off the doorway, started to frame in the opening (it’s taken a couple of tries, and I’m not quite happy with it yet) and am working on building the door. These handprints are on the doorsill. Anyone remember when we made these? (The 2018 might give it away. I’ve obviously been planning this coop for a long time.) I love that Matt is part of it.

My cousin helped me move the leftover siding into the barn, and I added battens to the wood siding. This covers the gaps and eliminates the drafts.

The final progress is courtesy of Matt’s Dad who came out last week and trimmed a few trees for us. There were two small dead trees between the coop and the row of pines. Getting rid of them is another step on my quest to tidy the ground around the coop and mow through here.

I will be shifting the blue tarp over and picking up the rocks and rubble that are underneath it.

Progress is happening faster now, but this coop is a journey not just of this year, but of most of my life.

I look back to 2018 when Matt’s Dad cleared the brush from this side of the barn, and I’m so grateful that he’s still hauling his chainsaws around and helping us. I think about building that doorway, mashing our hands in cement, and how Matt, Ellie and I are together still.

I go back to (I think) 1988 when I went on my first real job with my Dad. We installed a chainlink fence just like this one. Working with my Dad gave me the knowledge, skills and confidence to do things like build a coop (even if I didn’t feel like doing the fencing this time). Or I think of 1985 when my Dad got our first flock of chickens and gave me such memorable experiences that I now want to share with Ellie.

I love looking for the meaning within moments. This project, this place, the people. They come together in such a special way.

Coop update

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At the beginning of September my Mom asked me what the highlight of my summer has been. I picked three: our cottage vacation, Ellie learning to ride her bike and the coop.

Yes, the coop. Progress has been made.

Here’s where we are at. For the first time in a year and a half we have a wall! For the first time in 13 years we can mow here!

The wall is the most noticeable change, but it’s only one.

Another big task I tackled was grading the area around the coop. Behind the barn was a lumpy, bumpy mess of weeds on top of I-didn’t-know-what. I had covered it all with a tarp last fall, weighing down the tarp with a random assortment of lumber I’d saved when we demolished the old coop.

First step in cleaning up the mess was pulling all of the nails, staples, screws, mesh and chicken wire off the boards. That took a day and a bit. Once I moved all of the cleaned lumber into the barn, I could finally lift the tarp.

The tarp had killed the weeds so I could see what I was dealing with. The lumps and bumps turned out to be a pile of concrete rubble that someone had dumped behind the barn. They only missed the rock pile by about 10 metres. So Wiley the tractor and I got busy and picked up the rubble. Then I raked the ground to level it and seeded it.

This allowed me to work my way around the side of the barn to the gaping hole where the coop was going to be. First step over here was to tar the new foundation wall we’d had built in the spring. Then I laid weeping tile along the wall and backfilled. Thanks to the barn’s newly level backyard, I could drive the tractor to the dirt pile and back without looping around the whole barn.

Finally I could focus on building the wall. The wall took a bit of figuring. It was a big opening and I was building it on my own. After I managed to get the top plate in place, it was smooth sailing from there. Studs went up, then backing for the siding, then house wrap, and then the siding itself.

Fortunately, past owners left us a huge stack of barn board siding, so I was able to use that. In fact, we still have a very large quantity left. I also took the opportunity to move the siding from its original storage spot on the upper level of the barn. I am trying to store all lumber in the basement of the barn, so Wiley and I went to work again and hauled all the siding around to the side of the barn, where it will be easy to carry into the basement.

With the wall (mostly) complete the barn is finally protected from the weather. I am also protected, as pretty much the rest of the coop will be inside work.

Inside work will be starting soon. First, I want to add battens to cover the gaps in the siding. Then I need a door and then I can finally start to build some pens that might someday hold some actual birds.

I also have some professional help coming to tackle some other coop/barn related projects. So more updates to come.

But today, join me in celebrating the coop, won’t you? I am super proud because not only are we making progress, but so far I’ve done it all on my own. (Although you can see Ellie’s been involved as well.) It makes me feel capable and strong to know I can do this and see this long-held dream starting to come together.

What’s been the highlight of your summer? Anyone else working on a multi-step or large project? Do you take the opportunity to tackle other jobs (like moving siding, cleaning up rubble) while you’re working on a related project?

Our paved driveway

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Hello. Happy September. I hope you’ve had a great summer. Our summer has been wonderful and full. I have updates to share. First up is the final part of our garage/mudroom/patio makeover: the driveway. The last step of this project is finally complete. The driveway is paved.

When I started the garage renovation in 2021, I didn’t fully consider how one project leads to another. We had a great garage and mudroom inside the house, but what about the outside? The patio finished off one section and gave us steps to the living room’s sliding glass door and the mudroom entrance. But I really wanted to pave the driveway too.

A long driveway was on my initial wishlist for the farm and I love our gravel laneway with the grassy middle, so there was no way I was touching that. But a bit of asphalt closer to the house accomplished a couple of things for us.

It made plowing and shoveling easier in the winter. Gravel is not fun to shovel, and it’s even less fun to rake out of the grass once all the snow melts.

It gave Ellie a smooth place to play. Scootering, bike riding and chalk drawing all work much better on asphalt than gravel.

It lessens, somewhat, the dirt and detritus that is tracked into the house.

It stabilized the edge of the patio.

So this spring I hired some pavers (Alliance Paving for any locals). They cleaned up the gravel (so many weeds had invaded), mapped out a square driveway (the original had been dug on the fly by a skid steer with very little measurement), graded everything (more gravel on top of the 250 tonnes we added during the garage reno) and laid fresh asphalt.

I decided to pave from the spice garden to the edge of the garage. The corner where the driveway section meets the lane was a logical stopping point.

This gave us plenty of room to pull in and out of the garage. It also gives a long runway for Ellie to ride, run, roll or rain dance.

One lesson learned, we paved when the weather was very hot. We did not drive on the driveway for a full week (longer than our contractors recommended), but the asphalt still wasn’t fully set and we have some scuffs and divots in the surface already. Some are from turning the car wheels as I back out of the garage. A couple are from Ellie’s bikes. They’re minor and I’m not upset about them, but when we pave again, I’m going to wait until fall when the weather is cooler.

The surface of the driveway ended up several inches above the lawn, so our pavers recommended building up the dirt around the edge. Our farmer arranged for a truckload of topsoil (another dump truck, yay), and I spent a few days on the tractor spreading it around. Ellie followed behind with grass seed.

The grass has now sprouted. I added a doorbell (it used to be at the front door, but it kept falling off the stone). And this project–the whole garage/mudroom/patio/driveway renovation that we started 3 years ago–is complete.

(It’s also been the site of a major milestone when Ellie learned to ride her two-wheeler this summer.)

Have you had any big projects or milestones this summer? What kind of driveway do you have? Do you have any projects that continue longer than you expect?

Home Goals 2024 mid-year report

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We are halfway through the year, and it’s time to check in on how I’m doing with this year’s home goals. At the start of the year, I said that I needed a reset, and I planned my projects with that in mind. As I review the list, I feel like I’m doing pretty good. I’ve made progress in most areas. It’s nice to feel like I’m more organized and getting through things.

I also feel like this update might be a bit premature as I have two reveal posts coming soon.

Read on to see how I’ve done so far.

Driveway

Woman on a small orange tractor dumping dirt alongside an asphalt driveway

Guess what? I can finally say that the garage and mudroom renovation (begun in 2021) is done. Yup. We have a paved driveway. All the details and photos coming soon.

Coop

A new wall being framed for the exterior of a barn

Slowly but surely the coop is moving forward. We’ve had a new foundation wall built and I’ve started framing the exterior wall. I’ve also been working on clearing some of the “yard” around the coop. This long-awaited project is happening.

Vegetable garden

The vegetable garden has been crossed off the list for 2024. I’m a bit disappointed, but I know it was the right decision. We are working off and on in the other gardens, and I’m seeing progress there which feels really good. And despite our neglect, we have had some good harvests. One and a half pounds of asparagus–our best ever–and raspberries, which are starting now.

Clean-up inside

Woman statue lamp and silver box sitting on a dresser in front of a framed photo and mirror

I made a few tweaks to my bedroom, added a craft shelf to Ellie’s soon-to-be playroom, cleaned out a few other spaces and finished off the final details for Ellie’s bedroom (another reveal that is coming soon). I still have a lot to work through, but we’ve made some progress and I can see the future.

Clean-up outside

Uhaul truck in front of a barn

I’ve chipped, I’ve mowed, I’ve pruned, trimmed, picked up rocks, tarped. Our new chipper has been a great addition. I’ve already started rebuilding brush piles, but they’re more contained, and I know I can clean them up again before they become gargantuan. I’ve run the rotary cutter over the septic bed and along the edge of the front field, and I’m confident I can continue to maintain these areas. I’ve “groomed” a few new sections of the property, and getting each of them cleaned up feels like a good accomplishment. I also had a milestone last week when the first big load of Matt’s stuff left the barn.

Personal goals

Earlier this year I also shared some personal goals. Here’s how I’m doing on them:

  • Walking: 290km (48km per month–ahead of my goal of 42km per month)
  • Monkey bars: I still do them every week and whenever Ellie and I visit a playground. I haven’t mastered a chin-up yet, but I’m working on it. I definitely feel that my grip strength has improved.
  • Reading: 19 books (not quite on track for my goal of 50 books this year)
  • 1,000 Hours Outside: 644 (in pretty good shape to hit our goal, I hope)
  • Family albums: I’ve completed 2020 and am hoping to finish 2021 as well. That would leave me with just 2022 to catch up on (and ’24, of course).
  • Rest: Still my hardest challenge. I’m more conscious of my need to rest and I feel like I’m doing a better job of listening to my body. Though I still need to go to bed earlier.

These personal goals are less about making big changes (aside from rest) and more about maintaining a balance for myself. They’re a good reminder of some of the other things that are important to me.

Overall, I feel like I’m making good progress, and that feels good. This mid-year review makes me proud of what we’ve accomplished so far and gives me motivation to keep going.

How have you been doing on your projects so far this year? Is anyone else doing a reset? What are your big goals for 2024 (home or otherwise)?

Coop progress

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It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to share any progress on the coop.

For me, a big part of a project is often figuring it out. I sometimes need time to think about how I want to do things or how best to do things. The coop has been that for me.

We took down the old coop. We cleared the old foundation. But then what?

Half-demolished chicken coop
Excavator and track loader removing stones and dirt from an old barn foundation

I had a big hole in the side of the barn and a vision for how I wanted the finished coop to look and function. But how was I going to get from the hole to the vision?

Back in January, I had the contractor who worked on our garage come out and take a look at the coop. The barn had been open for more than a year, and I was making no progress on rebuilding the wall. I was considering hiring out the project just to get it done.

In the end, talking through the project with the contractor was enough. He went over some of the options, and I came out of the meeting feeling like I knew what I wanted to do… and, even better, that I could do it myself.

My major stumbling block was the ground outside the coop was too high. Removing the old foundation last spring included scraping down the grade, but our landscapers didn’t go quite far enough. Going down further would create its own issues with how the ground is sloping around that corner of the barn, so regrading that area was not something I wanted to do.

Tractor outside of a large opening in the barn wall
Shovel in front of dirt

So I decided to raise the coop. Step one was building a small block wall. This would be a foundation that could be up against the exterior dirt. It would also support the new wood wall that would finally close the hole in the barn.

I called our mason, and he agreed that a wall was an easy solution. I cleaned up the opening and a few weeks ago he spent the afternoon laying two rows of block. While he was here, I was able to ask lots of questions and he talked me through a lot of other details of the project.

Barn wall covered in white tarp
Opening in the side of the barn with ladders
Mason building a wall with concrete blocks

Then Matt’s Dad dropped his trailer off at the farm and said, “Figure out what you need for the coop and go get your lumber.” So I did.

Trailer loaded with lumber parked outside the barn

Now I have a foundation. I have lumber. I have a plan.

I don’t have a schedule yet of when I’ll actually put the lumber to use and construct the wall (or the floor or the stalls), but I feel like I’m making progress.

Who else needs thinking time when you’re working on a project? Anyone else feel like you’re making progress on a project at your house? Anyone else feel stuck?

Cooling down the bathroom

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A couple of weeks ago, I broke down and arranged for a plumbing repair… before our bathroom had a break down.

As I’ve written several times before, our main bathroom is in rough shape. For the last year, the tub’s cold water tap has been barely functional.

I’ve cooled Ellie’s bath with jugs of cold water carried from the kitchen. I’ve showered downstairs when I couldn’t adjust the temperature beyond scalding. Usually I resorted to turning the tap on and off with a screwdriver.

I hate the idea of fixing the bathroom when I’m going to renovate it (hopefully, relatively) soon. But the renovation is probably still a year away, and I was concerned the cold water tap wasn’t going to make it.

So I called the plumber.

Fortunately, he’s a plumber who worked with my Dad, and he (a) understood I was looking for a band aid solution not a fix, and (b) he’s a big believer in the friend and family discount.

He arrived with an assortment of parts to see what would work, gave us a new cartridge and a makeshift handle, and ended by saying, “How about you give me $40.” (I gave him $80 happily.)

It’s not pretty, but showers and baths are much more comfortable now, and our bathroom will limp along a little longer.

Anyone else have a makeshift solution at your house? What’s your fix versus renovate philosophy?

Home Goals 2024

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Looking ahead to projects for 2024, I feel like I need a bit of a reset. So this year’s home goals list is pretty modest. There are some familiars (vegetable garden), some get back on track (coop), some finish it off (driveway) and some regroup (clean up).

Read on for more details about what I’m hoping to accomplish this year.

Driveway

In 2020 we built the garage and mudroom. In 2023 we built the patio. The last thing to finish off the south side of the house is to pave the driveway. I’m not paving the whole lane, but I would like to have one section with a solid surface. It makes for easier plowing and maintenance. It will also give our girl a smooth spot for biking and scootering, rather than riding circles inside the garage (or testing the limits of training wheels in the snow).

Coop

The coop returns for another year. First up, framing a new wall to close up the side of the barn. This has been on my to-do list for more than a year, and I haven’t done it. I met with one of the contractors who built our garage last week to see how much it will cost to have him build the wall. I expect it will be out of my budget, but talking through the plan with him has made me feel like maybe it is DIYable. And then I can save my budget for other things like eavestrough, electrical and fences.

Vegetable garden

As you saw in my Home Goals 2023 wrap up, the vegetable garden was a bit of a disappointment last year. I’m hoping we can get back on track and make some more progress this year.

Clean-up inside

This goal is probably my biggest reset. I’m currently feeling like every single space in our house needs tweaking, organizing, purging. I’m honestly not sure where to start as I also feel like I’m in the middle of a stack of dominoes. I need to move the old king-size headboard out of my room, but I need a space to put it, which means reorganizing the cold cellar (or stashing it in the barn). Reorganizing the cold cellar means building better lumber storage in the garage. (And I can play this game for pretty much every room in our house.) This goal is a good example of why it’s helpful to “just start,” because anything will be progress.

Clean-up outside

There is always an area to clean up outside. This year I’m focusing on two big brush piles, continuing to maintain the septic bed, and working my way further along the “junk pile.” With 129 acres, narrowing my focus is essential, but I feel like I made good progress on the clean up category last year, and hopefully this year I can build on that.

I’m looking forward to getting back on track, making progress, and crossing some things off my list this year. Stay tuned.

Do you have any home goals for this year? Anyone else feel like they need a reset?

Looking back at Home Goals 2023

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Last year was a different kind of year. I started a new job as a college instructor. We took a big trip to Ireland and had other getaways and day trips. This meant that there wasn’t as much time for working on the farm.

As we start 2024, I feel like I left a lot undone last year. But as I look back at the goals I set for 2023, I feel like maybe I didn’t do too bad.

Here’s a review of some of what we did and last year’s home goals.

Coop

My plan was to have the coop completely finished by the end of the year so that we’re ready to bring home some chicks this spring. That did not happen. Our landscapers cleared the old foundation, Matt’s Dad helped tear apart the roof sections and burned a lot of the old wood. I piled more lumber that I hope to reuse and cleaned up the area inside the barn where I want to build. But we still have a big hole in the side of the barn and no pens inside. I’m not giving up, though. The coop will return this year along with other barn upgrades, like eavestrough, exterior lighting and probably some more electrical.

Patio

The driveway patio was the biggest success of last year. Our contractors were great and the result is fabulous. With a comfortable dedicated dining spot, we ate breakfast outside every day and many other meals as well. The herb garden surprised me with how well it did and we were still clipping herbs into December. The new border of rocks around the garden adds so much to the front of the house. The patio is a small area, but it’s added so much to the house and how we live. I am thrilled with how this project worked out.

Swing set

The swing set was another success–and something I accomplished (mostly) on my own. The swing set is big enough for our girl and strong enough for underdoggies. I think it will also grow with her as she learns to swing more on her own and uses the hanging bar and rings more. I also made a few other playground upgrades at the same time, spreading mulch, attaching a ladder to Ellie’s climbing tree, and adding a flag to her treehouse. It’s become a great play zone for her that will last for years.

Vegetable garden

The vegetable garden ties with the coop for my biggest failure. I started 2023 feeling optimistic and even ambitious, so I think that makes it harder that by fall the garden just… fizzled. The timing of my new job and our trip coincided with clean-up season, and eventually I closed the gate and walked away. The raspberries have not been pruned and dead plants have not been pulled. Never mind new mulch, compost, pathways, or growing beds. The garden is another project that will return though.

Turnaround garden

The turnaround garden saw some progress last year, though it’s still pretty haphazard. We added more transplants from a friend, some garden decor with my Dad’s bike and a memorial for Matt’s Mom with a strawberry hydrangea tree. Every garden is a work in progress and an ongoing project. The turnaround feels all that even more. We will keep working at it.

Ellie’s bedroom

A year ago, I wasn’t sure I could convince Ellie to switch rooms. But once we started the makeover, she was all in and eventually set a deadline for me to finish the project because she was so excited to move in. “Finish” is slightly conditional as there are a few details that I still want to do, but she is fully settled and has added lots of details to make it her own. And we’re both sleeping better with a little more space between us.

Like every year, 2023 was a mix. There is no shortage of work on a farm and a fixer-upper house. Just mowing the grass regularly felt like an accomplishment (and thank goodness my cousin came every other week to help me with that). But we did more than that too.

I used the rotary cutter more than I ever have before and did it on my own. Our septic bed and the upper edge of our front field are now in “maintenance mode,” which is big progress. We also did lots of clean-up: picking up litter, clearing overgrown areas, and cutting trees (Matt’s Dad gets credit for this).

Despite feeling a bit discouraged on the project front, I am proud of the balance we found last year. We did so many things, both on and off the farm, and the year was full of fun, love and joy. For us, that’s what life is about. It’s not what the house looks like or whether the property is perfectly groomed. What matters is the people who are here and the things we do together. Projects are part of that, but there’s a lot more too, and that guided our time in 2023.

Did you do any projects–big or small–at your house last year? Did anything disrupt your plans?