Welcome to the last week of April. Ellie’s room makeover is almost done. She is so excited to start sleeping in her new room, and I am excited to share the finished product here soon.
A highlight of April for me was Easter. Easter is my favourite holiday, usually because it’s a bit quieter than Christmas or Thanksgiving. I think having a child changes that, and this year was definitely not quiet, but we still had a great time. We hosted dinners, including one with Matt’s aunts who have not been to the farm in several years. We celebrated my nephew’s second birthday. We had two egg hunts. And of course, Ellie soaked up every second and every sweet.
April is also my Dad’s birthday and my parent’s wedding anniversary. We got together and acknowledged those occasions as well.
I’ve learned over the years that it’s important to me to take every opportunity to be together. It’s worth it to invite everyone, cook all the food, share all the candy, remember those who aren’t with us and sometimes even cry a few tears. Sharing time with those around us–whoever can be there–means a lot to me.
Here are some other occasions and reminders from this month.
Speaking of occasions, our forsythia is blooming. When we first moved to the farm, the forsythia bloomed on April 2. It hasn’t been that early since–and some years it hasn’t flowered at all. This year, the branches are covered in blossoms by mid-April.
My friends and I did a Half Baked Harvest dinner several weeks ago. I made this salad and it was a huge hit. (Everything everyone made was delicious.)
“Life can be cruel, as you know. But it can also be kind. Filled with wonders. You need to remember that. You have your own choice to make. What’re you going to focus on? What’s unfair, or all the wonderful things that happen? Both are true, both are real. Both need to be accepted. But which carries more weight with you? The terrible or the wonderful? The goodness or the cruelty? Your life will be decided by that choice.”
I’m finishing off the month by putting the finishing touches on Ellie’s room. Pictures on the walls, sheets on the bed, clothes in the closet. In amongst some work and hopefully some outside time too, of course.
How was April for you? Did you celebrate Easter? What’s blooming where you are? Any favourite recipes to share? What are you doing to wrap up the month?
The part we all wait for in DIY is “look at the beautiful room/garden/furniture/shelfie/whatever I made!” The middle while you’re waiting is less beautiful, less photogenic, less interesting.
I’m in the middle.
I feel like I have little to report. But I like the regularity of writing a blog post for every Monday, so here I am. Schedules and deadlines–even when self-imposed–work well for me. In both blogs and renovations.
Ellie’s room makeover is on track. We’ve had paint week. Last week was window week (curtains are tedious, so I’m not giving you a whole blog post about the HALF A DAY I spent ironing or the wait at Ikea to return a too short curtain rod).
This week is bed week. I’ve washed the dusty bedframe, added beadboard to the headboard, bought a new can of primer and am ready to begin painting the headboard. The mattress is being delivered on Thursday.
We’re on track. In fact, we’re on track for lots of projects. As with Ellie’s room, there’s not much to share yet, but I’m going to mention them anyway.
Coop
I’m halfway through clearing the manure off the old coop foundation. Getting to this point involved detaching the the snowblower from the tractor and recharging the tractor battery, so there was progress on several fronts.
Patio
We had some lovely weather last week, so Ellie and I enjoyed breakfast and lunch on our currently-imaginary-but-hopefully-soon-to-be patio and confirmed that, yes, we would like a proper place to eat and sit. Cigo sprawled in the sun. We set up a small table and chairs and confirmed that they should fit on the new patio. Construction should start sometime in May (fingers crossed).
Gardens
Garlic is up in the vegetable garden. Transplants to the new turnaround garden seem to have survived. I have bales of cardboard and piles of mulch (and a brand new pile of very old manure) ready to be spread around. May may be garden month.
We keep moving ahead. Progress may not always be as quick as I want (I still can’t believe it took me a whole morning to iron curtains), but I know I’m getting closer to that beautiful, photogenic, interesting moment.
What projects are you in the middle of? How do you schedule projects? What tips do you have for persevering through the middle?
Welcome to week 2 of Ellie’s room makeover. Last week was paint week, and Ellie was involved in every part.
I see blogs occasionally talk about how to DIY with kids or the challenges of home reno with children. So I thought I’d join the conversation and share how Ellie (5 years old) and I painted her room together. Fittingly, I have 5 tips.
Start small
Painting a whole room should not be a child’s first project, in my opinion. Ellie’s first real build was just before she turned one when we put together her play table and chairs. Simple tools. Quick project. Since then, she’s been part of all different kinds of DIY (and she no longer tries to eat the tools).
For painting (beyond her craft paints and paper), she’s practiced on a bird feeder and shelves. We’ve built up her knowledge and comfort level over the years, so that she is interested in and capable of being involved in painting a whole room.
When it came to painting that room, we broke it up into smaller tasks. The first day, we worked for about an hour doing the edging. The second day, I finished the edging and started the rolling while she was at school, but left a section for her to roll. The third day, I did the second coat solo.
Step by step
There are multiple steps to painting a room, and Ellie was part of all of them. This is a good way to get your child involved and excited (and have them participate without actually painting, if you prefer).
Planning what colour to paint. Going to look at paint chips. Buying the paint (we got to watch the colours being added to the can and then the can being mixed in the shaker). Clearing the room. Patching any holes in the walls (spying holes is a good task for a child). Sanding and priming the patches.
For the actual painting, there is both the cutting in and the rolling. Cutting is great for children as it’s done with a brush. Just make sure to pick a spot where precision isn’t required (more on this below). Rolling is a bit more challenging. Ellie tried the roller all by herself, but decided she preferred when we held the roller together, so we did.
Gear up
As with any DIY project, the right equipment is key to success.
Ellie prides herself on having “work clothes”–pants and a shirt that got paint on them when she was working on an earlier project. Having clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty is one less thing to worry about.
Choose a small paint brush and pour some paint into a smaller cup. These will be easier for your child to handle and minimize the mess.
Tape off trim or anything that you don’t want painted, lay out newspaper or dropcloths to protect the floor, and have some rags handy. (The dog and his bed are optional, though not in our house.)
Talk it through
Painting is like any other skill. You have to teach your child how to do it. Take a bit of time at the start to demonstrate the proper technique. Be detailed: how deep to dip the brush in the paint, how to wipe it off on the rim, how wide to make their strokes.
I had instructed Ellie to paint as wide as her hand. That was not a concrete measurement for her, and I noticed her edges were growing wider and wider. I ended up swiping a line on the wall with my brush so that she knew how wide to go.
Pick your spot
Ellie is careful and responsible. But she’s also 5, and this was her first time painting a room. I didn’t expect her technique to be perfect, so I thought about where she could do the least damage. We started with edging around the outlets. They’re low to the floor so they’re easy to reach. They’re small, so she can finish one off quickly and feel a sense of accomplishment. If she gets any paint on them, I can easily scrape it off once it’s dry. For the most part, they’ll be behind furniture so an imperfect finish won’t be an issue. I also assigned her each of the corners, starting behind the door.
Ellie strayed from her assigned spots once and started working her way across the wall. I explained that we were rolling that section and didn’t want to see brushstrokes there. She understood and went back to her corner.
No matter how careful you are, how well you prepare, or how skilled your child is, it’s also absolutely fine to smooth out your child’s brushstrokes while the paint is still wet. Touch-ups are also fine. We had a few spots on the trim that needed to be covered, which was no big deal.
The result of our teamwork is a fully painted room, and a great feeling of pride for us both. I love seeing her grow and learn. I know that I’m teaching her so many valuable lessons. Ellie, who was once reluctant about moving rooms, is now excited. Everyone who visited us this weekend for Easter got a tour of her new room.
Ellie has been around DIY her whole life. She’s comfortable around tools and knows how to be safe. She knows projects take time and she has to be patient. DIYing together is not always perfect. I’m not always as productive as I want to be. But I know the skills she is learning are important. And the experiences of doing these projects together is priceless.
Up next, window week. Blinds and curtains here I come.
Do you DIY with kids? What are your tips for helping kids learn to be handy? Any painting disasters or triumphs to share?
Ellie’s room makeover was the first project of the year. We got started in January, clearing out the old guest room and coming up with a plan for the space. And then we stalled.
This is a relatively simple project that could be done in a week. A different kind of blog would even do it as a weekend makeover. We are now at the beginning of April, which means Ellie’s room has been going on for three months.
It’s time to get moving.
Fortunately, something happened a few weeks ago that brought my motivation back. I found a headboard.
Ellie’s directive was that she wanted the same bed that she had, just bigger. I had planned to construct a headboard with a built-in shelf. But while browsing a thrift store, I found a double headboard that had shelves and sliding door cubbies, just like her current bed. I’m going to give it a coat of paint, attach it to a metal bedframe that we already have, buy a new mattress and cross this task off my list.
Speaking of the list, here it is.
Empty room – We finally got (pretty much) everything out this weekend. The big furniture was dragged into the middle of the room.
Paint walls – We patched the holes, primed the patches and picked up the paint. Hopefully it goes on the walls this week.
Window treatments – I ordered new curtain rods which have already arrived. Blinds are on order. I need to sew a blackout lining for the existing dropcloth curtains. Then install my layered window treatments.
Bed – The doors to the headboard’s cubbies are going to get a little makeover, then I will paint everything white. I need to buy a new mattress and box spring. I dug the metal bedframe out of the driveshed. It needs a good cleaning and then I can attach it to the headboard.
Decorate – We’ll need some pictures on the walls, some accessories, a mirror.
Move in – We’ll make the bed, hang her clothes in the closet, bring in her books, and hopefully our girl will like her new room.
My plan is to tackle one thing a week (painting week, window week, bed week, etc.) until we’re done. Painting is up first.
The One Room Challenge, which kicks off this week, is providing a little extra motivation. While I’m not officially joining up, I love the ORC for how it helps me focus and gives me a deadline. So I’m making Ellie’s room my own personal One Room Challenge.
Stick with me. We’ll get this done… eventually.
Anyone else have a stalled home improvement in progress? How do you stay motivated during projects? Have you made any good thrifting scores recently?
It feels like spring has sprung here. We’ve seen our first robins, red wing blackbird and turkey vulture. There were a pair each of mallards and hooded merganser ducks paddling in the pond over the weekend. And this year’s sap run is coming to an end with a very decent quantity of syrup.
Perhaps a result of changing season, I’m feeling more motivated.
It’s a welcome change. I have been stalled for a while, which is not a comfortable place for me. I like being productive, but I have made no progress on Ellie’s room makeover or on bringing in some new contracts for work. These are important, but I’m not being disciplined in how I spend my time.
When March Break came along, I gave myself a little break from the blog to try to reset. I like writing, and I like posting every week (schedules and deadlines definitely work for me). But I had lost some mojo So I went back to my word of the year and chose to take a break.
I worked, read, prepared our income taxes, updated my consulting website, and took a small trip for a new client. Ellie and I started going swimming each week and had a fun March Break together. We marked Matt’s 44th birthday, which was hard. I thrifted a great furniture score for Ellie’s room and found some contacts for potential new work.
And my motivation and energy are returning. I’m looking forward to sharing more about Ellie’s new bedroom, starting to work outside and hopefully kicking off patio construction.
For now, here are some of the things I enjoyed this month:
This account has the best parenting–and human being–advice. They also have a new name.
Chef’s Table is my go-to for something easy, inspiring, fun, and uplifting to watch. Mashama Bailey, Lennox Hastie and Tootsie Tomanetz episodes are favourites.
“You should know when enough is enough.” So much inspiration from the first 100 episodes of People I (Mostly) Admire.
Made this pie for Matt’s birthday. Ellie’s verdict: “Daddy would really like this.” Yes, he would.
Ellie is really into non-fiction (or as she calls them, “information books”). This story was a hit and led to a movie, more inspiring animal stories and daily dolphin role playing.
I’m aiming to finish off March with being disciplined. I am putting the finishing touches on some pitches for work, prepping Ellie’s room for painting (more to come), and depending on the weather and my productivity, maybe doing some coop clean-up.
How was March for you? Do you have any tips for being disciplined? Who else works best with a deadline? Has spring arrived where you are?
“Tell me a story of when you and Daddy moved to the farm,” Ellie says frequently.
Last week, I told her, “11 years ago today…”
March 2 marked 11 years since the farm became ours, and we’ve been looking back each day, talking about what Daddy and I were doing and how this journey started.
Often though, in my mind, I’m looking ahead these days. Long ahead.
Thinking about this land and Ellie and how I can make this farm healthy and helpful for the Earth and for Matt’s and my descendants.
I recall a quote I read once from an Indigenous elder (I’ve not been able to find the source). He was speaking of settlers, and he asked, “When are you going to act like you’re going to stay?”
When I see how people treat our land, water and natural resources, I feel like the settler mentality is often one of, “We’ll stay until we use it all up. Then we’ll move on to somewhere else.”
But the farm is different. Thinking of our child, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and beyond being here, hopefully, makes me think of the Earth, and specifically this part of the Earth differently. I’m thinking about sequestering carbon, regenerative agriculture, health of the soil and trees, productivity of the fields, diversity of plants and animals, quality of the air and water, and sustaining life for all beings on this farm.
The farm is near the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee peoples. The Haudenosaunee are the source of Seventh Generation Principle. Rooted in an ancient Haudenosaunee philosophy, the principle states that “the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future.” (Source)
That is our great-great-great-great-great grandchildren. Two hundred years from now. Eleven years is a baby step in that journey. But we’ve started. Now I’m trying to look ahead to where we’re going.
February has been a month of celebrations. Cigo’s gotcha day, Valentine’s Day, Pancake Tuesday, Super Bowl, birthdays, sap running, the pond finally freezing and more. We’ve had lots of opportunities to be with people we love and have fun together. Nothing has been extravagant. Everything has been special.
Of course, the biggest occasion was Ellie’s birthday. Our girl turned 5! We had a lot of fun celebrating together.
Celebrations don’t have to be complicated. Some fun food, a day off, being together become so meaningful. It’s worth making the effort to acknowledge special moments.
Here are some things that caught my eye this month.
Books were of course a big part of Ellie’s birthday presents. This one is my favourite and this one is hers.
“At any moment each and every one of us is a bridge between different, disparate, and unknown realities. I exist between my known past and the unknown future of my people… My role is to know from where I have come, to help envision and anticipate what the future may be, and to act as a bridge between them.”
I’m wrapping up this month by wrapping up a few work projects. I’m also meeting up with a few friends I haven’t seen in a while–more reasons to celebrate.
How was February for you? Did you do any celebrating this month?
Last week I shared how we demolished our old coop. This week I’m sharing the plans for our new coop.
I’ve had 11 years to think about this project. We could have had birds long before now. But I’ve waited because I want to have a safe, permanent home for them. (And I avoid going to the feed mill in the spring when birds are in-stock.) I really want to do this coop right. So I’ve thought (and thought) about what the birds will need and also what we need.
First step is to move the coop into the barn. We have this huge beautiful barn that’s not being used. So I am going to devote part of it to birds.
The part that I’m going to use is what I call the lean-to, where the old coop joined the barn. (The part covered in paper house wrap below.)
The lean-to is a more recent addition to the barn. It has 5 horse stalls, our tractor garage and large open area at one end. It extends about 18 feet off the back and runs the whole length of the barn and then continues out behind the silo.
I am planning to use the large open area at the west end and divide it into three stalls or pens. I’m thinking the stalls will likely end up around 50 square feet. This would give us plenty of space for as many birds as we can handle right now. (Chickens each need about 4 square feet of coop space.)
Where the old coop was will become attached, covered runs.
The plywood patched and overhung area to the left of the paper-covered hole (seen in the top photo) will be a new door. A window used to be behind the plywood, but the foundation under the window collapsed years ago. We had our mason change it into a doorway, anticipating that I’d want easy access to birds from this side of the barn. (I’ve been planning this for a long time.)
My plan is for the stalls to be fully enclosed–walls and ceiling. Animals can get into the barn. I want to do everything I can to protect our birds. The bottom half of the walls will be wood (I have some handy tongue and groove boards I saved from the old coop). Solid wood means the birds in adjacent pens can’t peck at each other through a fence, and it also gives me a spot to mount nesting boxes, roosts, feeders or water buckets.
The upper half of the walls and the ceilings will be mesh. I want the pens to be high enough that I can walk in without stooping.
I’m considering making part of the lower walls between each pen a gate, so that I can expand the pens if I want to. For example in the winter, when chickens are in the freezer, and ducks could use more space.
The three pens give us space for laying hens, ducks and geese, and meat chickens. Or perhaps a few turkeys. We likely will not start with all of these at once, but it gives us the option to expand (or shrink) if we want.
For the runs, there will be three separate outdoor areas side by side. These will have mesh roofs and buried mesh around the perimeter to try to ensure that, again, the birds are as protected as possible.
The first step is to clear the layers of manure off the old coop foundation. Matt’s Dad rightly pointed out that it shouldn’t go to waste. So I will be working on that as soon as things thaw.
Then, we will be able to get rid of the old foundation and regrade this side of the barn. The ground is higher than we need it to be.
After that, we’ll be rebuilding: the wall, the door, the stalls, the runs. Electrical, plumbing, fencing.
This is a big project for us, and I’ll likely be working on it for the whole year. My goal is to be ready for birds in spring 2024.
What would be your coop must-have? Any feedback on my plans? Any questions? (It’s really hard to explain what’s in my brain clearly in a blog post.) Do you have a project that you’ve delayed because you want to do it right?
The idea to demolish the chicken coop was laid (see what I did there?) when I was writing my 2022 Home Goals mid-year report last summer. Usually, I have a list in my mind of what renovations or projects are next. So the coop kind of surprised me when it snuck in. But once it was there, I couldn’t forget it.
So as our last project of 2022, we took down the old coop.
The timing is right for a few reasons. The patio is on the list for 2023. That means there will be equipment here that is capable of removing the foundation for the old coop and levelling the ground.
Also, we’ve been here for 11 years. It’s time to have birds already!
If you need a bit of background, this post gives you an introduction to the old coop. While the coop was a good size, it was run down. Rehabbing it (and mucking it out) was more than I wanted to take on. Plus it wasn’t what I was looking for when I thought about how I would handle our birds. I decided to start fresh.
First step was cutting the trees that had grown up around the coop. Matt’s Dad and nephew came out and gave us a day of work to clear them out of the way. In the process, we learned that the coop was sturdier than it looked. One of the trees that was particularly close and leaning in an inconvenient direction ended up on the roof. Despite the weight of the large tree, the coop didn’t budge.
A few weeks later, my cousin and his daughter’s boyfriend came out for the official demo day and my Mom came to take care of Ellie.
Aside: I am so fortunate to have help with so many things around the farm. I want to be able to continue to live here, and I want to make it the way Matt and I always envisioned. But it’s a huge job. Taking care of this property and doing the work that’s needed (and wanted) is a lot. In cases like the coop, it’s more than I can handle. Asking for help is essential. Having people who willingly and happily say yes is incredibly meaningful. It’s more than a coop. It’s a vision and a life, and they help me make it happen.
Back to demo.
We started with popping off the old siding. I wanted to work from the outside as much as possible, as the coop was full of old manure, critter mess and who knows what else. Nothing we should be breathing.
As we progressed to the roof, it became obvious that the coop was, in fact, very sturdy. Even with major support posts cut, the structure wasn’t going anywhere. So my cousin climbed up, peeled back the metal sheathing and sliced the roof with his chainsaw. Then we hooked up a rope, connected it to the winch on his ATV (he brought all the tools, which turned out to be so helpful) and pulled the roof down. We did that three more times and ended up with four huge sections of roof spread around on the ground.
This was also the point when it became clear that the coop was its own freestanding structure and wasn’t actually attached to the barn. I had planned to leave the one wall intact where it joined the barn, so that we didn’t have a huge gaping hole in the side of the barn all winter. But the wall was part of the coop and down it came.
By the end of the day, the coop was gone–aside from huge piles of wood and a foundation covered in half a metre of manure.
We saved a lot of pieces of wood that are long enough or solid enough to be reused. Matt’s Dad again came to the rescue and took care of burning the rest of the old lumber. He also helped me cover the huge gaping hole in the side of the barn.
He and my sister came out again to help take apart the roofs. These were beasts. The rafters and beams were round sections of trees. Then there was a layer of sheathing boards. On top of that was a layer of wooden shakes. Then another layer of boards that were strapping for the metal panels that were the final layer. Prying them all apart, saving what was useable and then burning the rest took a full day.
From what we uncovered during demo, I am guessing that the coop was built in 1919. The walls were a double layer of barnboard, and between the planks were old newspapers. They were very well preserved and dates were very clear. The coop has obviously been renovated over the years. Metal was added to the roof over the original shakes. A layer of concrete was poured over the original floor. But the core structure seems to be more than 100 years old.
Part of me felt a bit bad for taking it down. But as I said at the beginning of the post, it would have taken a lot of work to fix it up and it still wouldn’t have been what I was looking for in a coop. I’ve come to realize that living at the farm comes with history and also means adapting the property to us and now.
So that’s where I’m looking now. I’m planning for our new coop and looking forward to starting to rebuild. I’ll share my plans soon.
Have you ever had a home project sneak up on you (not because something broke)? Have you found any relics when renovating? How do you deal with history at your home?
When we adopted Baxter, I began a tradition of writing a letter to him on the anniversary of his gotcha day (inspired by Tracey at love lives on). Cigo’s gotcha day was yesterday, so I decided to resume the tradition.
Dear Cigo,
Thank you for joining our family a year ago. When we met you, the adoptions coordinator explained that deciding which family would adopt you was your choice as well as ours. I’m very glad that you chose us.
Ellie and I remember our first visit. I think about seeing you on the computer for the first time, sending in our application and all of the feelings I had–excitement, uncertainty, hope. When we brought you home, I think you felt some of those yourself. We all adjusted. You joined our circle of love and joy.
You have brought a lot to my life. Your company, our hikes. Most of all watching you with Ellie and her with you. Your love of people, your patience with children, your happy, sensitive nature are very special. Whatever we are doing, you’re up for it. In fact, you’d prefer not to be left out.
This year has been full of adventures–cottages, road trips, picnics, playgrounds, boats, a ferry, canoes, sleds and tents. We’ve also made our own routine with hikes, swims, bonfires, car rides and the farm.
Along the way, we’re remaking our own family. We don’t know each other’s history. You don’t know Matt or Baxter. I don’t know your other family. We’ve found our way together, and we keep moving forward, enjoying each day.
Tracey, who originally inspired me to begin writing letters like this wrote, “joy is not ignoring reality, it’s about making the best of it.” I feel this so strongly. You help us make the best of it, every day.
The wonderful thing about love and joy is that they grow. Our lives are better because you’re here. Thank you.
Home on 129 Acres 