Favourite posts and projects of 2016

Posted on January 6, 2017 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I’m still easing in to 2017 here. Coming up, I’ll be reviewing how I did on Home Goals 2016 and setting new ones for 2017.

Before that happens, I’m taking a look back at some of the other memorable moments and posts from 2016.

Making Monarchs and memories	The day our ditch caught on fire	Close encounters of the turkey kind	A Mother’s Day wish	Gate crasher
A very dry growing season	Sweet times on the farm	Kicking off gardening season with a Dueling DIY challenge	Robin at the birdbath	The reveal of our basement bathroom

The beauty of having a blog is that it helps me track what happens over the course of a year.

2016 was a year of very little rain, hence the poor harvest and the ditch fire. It was a year of new, with our first homemade maple syrup, Monarch butterflies and the birdbath. Some are small events, some are bigger accomplishments. Altogether, they make up the moments that I don’t want to forget from our life on the farm.

Who else is doing some reflecting on the year just past? Did you have a memorable 2016?

New Year plans from Illinois

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Sarah in Illinois is back for another year. She’s kicking off 2017 by sharing some of her plans and projects, and how she’s going to make it all happen.

It’s a new year! That means new goals, new projects and a big blank slate.

Last year I said that I was going to choose one word as my goal for the year, and that word was “focus.” That was helpful for a while. I used “focus” to stay on task and get things done.

However, like most resolutions, once the newness wore off I got back to my old habits.

That is what is so great about a new year. It’s a chance to start over.

So I went to oneword.com again to find a word for 2017. It only took a few seconds for a word to catch my eye. My word for this year is “less.”

It can apply to so many areas of my life. I plan to eat less, spend less, worry less and own less clutter.

Hopefully this year I use my one word to make some great changes and improvements.

As for projects around the house, I decided to set a goal of one project a month.

Some months the project may be large and some months may be much smaller, but the idea that at the end of the year I will have 12 completed projects sounds pretty darn great.

So here are my first 3 projects:

1. Steve and I built a dog house for Blitz to have when he is outside. However, it needs painted and needs some type of roofing material, most likely shingles.

2. Months and months ago my mom brought me my grandma’s St. Francis of Assisi statue from her yard. My plan was to patch the cracks and repaint it. So far, I have not done a thing to it, and my grandma doesn’t even know that I have it. I would really like to get it fixed up for her before she looks out in the yard and thinks that someone stole her statue.

3. I really want to finish priming and painting our hallway. I am embarrassed to say how long it has been unfinished, but believe me it is a long long time.

I hope in the next three months I can get these projects done. It will take “focus” and “less” distraction that is for sure.

What are your plans for the new year? Do you make resolutions? What do you do to make sure you stay on task and get things done?

Thanks for sharing your plans, Sarah. I really like your strategy of having a word to guide you throughout the year and a project a month. Good luck with your first three projects. I’m looking forward to seeing the results.

Five years ago

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Hello everyone. Happy New Year. I hope that you had a great Christmas.

Today marks five years since we saw the farm for the very first time.

By the start of 2012, we had been looking for our farm for nearly a year and a half. When Matt hopped online on Jan. 1, he saw a new listing. We made an appointment to see it with our realtor the next day. Jan. 2 was a freezing cold day. The farm was abandoned except for Ralph. The house was a mess.

Despite all that, the farm felt like ours, and soon it became ours for real.

It’s hard to believe it’s already been five years. At the same time, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

Living here has touched me in ways that are hard to describe. When people ask what made us want to buy a farm, I usually say something about peace and quiet, the idealistic idea of what country living is all about. All of that’s true, but it’s something deeper.

I find a lot of people have the dream of moving to the country. I feel very strongly that it’s a wonderful dream, and I’m so grateful that Matt and I have been able to make ours come true. However, I also feel that there’s no way to know if the dream is right for you until you live it. Country living is very hard to describe, and it’s not right for everyone.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned about country living.

1. A large property is a lot of work

This might sound like a negative, and I don’t mean it to. Even though we’re not farmers and don’t make our living off our land, choosing to live on a 129-acre property is a big deal.

Take a suburban home with trees, flowers, gardens, lawn, driveway, shed and multiply it by 129. That’s a lot of time, sweat, muscle and energy. For Matt and me, we’re usually okay with spending our time in this way. In fact, working outside is something I enjoy.

2. Choose your farm wisely

Matt and I (mostly I) were very picky when we were looking for our farm. Despite spending less than an hour here before deciding to buy it, we made a good choice.

The property has pretty much everything that was on our original wishlist. Things like the pond, long driveway, woods, big barn and proximity to our families mean more to me than I realized they would. Things that weren’t on our original list, like having a second small barn with the driveshed, the layout of the property with the fields, meadow, marshes, different clumps of forest have all been huge bonuses.

In real estate you often hear that you can’t change the property but you can change the house. I firmly believe this and was always looking for a fixer-upper that I could make what I wanted. We ran into a lot of issues with this house and have a lot more that we want to do. But fundamentally it’s a good house and the floorplan gives us lots of options.

3. We are capable of more than we realize

Going back to point #1 and our DIY lifestyle, there are lots of times where I think that I can’t or don’t know how to do something. Most of the time, I can hunker down, figure it out and muscle through.

I think that this is a good lesson for all of my life, whether it applies to the farm or not.

For me, I’m so thankful to be sharing my life with Matt. Most of the time, it’s easier when the two of us are hunkering down, figuring it out and muscling through. This farm is a dream that we share, and I’m not sure that I’d want to do it alone.

4. Being connected with nature

I admit that my environmentalist side has influenced me with this farm. I am preserving 129 acres. We are generating electricity, using a low impact geothermal system, drawing water from our own well. I like that we are trying to minimize our impact on the environment.

Living so close to nature, I’m very aware of the cycles of the season and how we influence and change those patterns. Watching the crops grow in our fields, following the trails animals make through the forest, monitoring birds and bugs, keeping track of the weather–I feel like I’m more aware of the world around me since moving to the farm.

5. This is where I’m meant to be

Country living is not for everyone, but it’s definitely for Matt and me.

The best words I can think of to describe this feeling are comfort, pride and gratitude.

I’m so grateful for the experience of the past five years. When I think about the 50 years–or hopefully longer–that are yet to come, gratitude is what I feel. I’m grateful to look ahead through my life and know that whatever comes, I will have the experience of being here at this farm.

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Our fourth Christmas at the farm. It feels like we’ve always been here, but I never take this life for granted. The farm is the greatest gift.

This is my absolute favourite place to be, and this is a special time of year to be here. It’s an extra bonus that we’re going to have a white Christmas this year.

Matt and I have an extended time off this year, so I’m looking forward to two weeks of relaxing, good food, family and friends, and of course some projects.

Thank you all for following along with life here on our 129 acres. It means a lot to know that all of you are out there, interested in what we’re up to and cheering us on.

Merry Christmas to you. I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season with your family.

I’ll be back with more stories to share in 2017.

Happy holidays from Illinois

Posted on December 21, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Sarah in Illinois is here today with her final post for 2016. Thanks for being part of the blog for the past year, Sarah. I’ve enjoyed the peak you’ve shared into your life in Illinois.

The year is winding down and since this is my last post until the new year, I thought I would take a minute to thank Julia for letting me guest post and share a little of my rural living. I have really enjoyed being a part of her blog and I am excited to continue on in 2017.

This past year has felt like there were many detours and setbacks. In fact, most of the year I felt like I was changing plans, adjusting to a new normal or just trying to keep some sense of order to what was going on around here.

“You can’t plan life. Because no matter how perfect your plan is, life has a way to rearrange it.” — Mina Deanna

There were definitely some things that went according to (my) plan, like getting chickens and adding Blitz to our family. But it felt, more often than not, we were paddling against a raging river.

So instead of sitting around being grouchy about failed plans, I am going to focus on good things in my life.

I am thankful that our family is healthy and we have a warm house to live in and food for our bellies.

I am thankful for family gatherings like the one we had today where I got to spend time with my 91 year old grandmother.

I am thankful that my family has an annual tradition of collecting and donating baby clothes to families that need them.

I am thankful for my close group of girlfriends who are there for me, always.

I am thankful for the treats that a neighbor left on our doorstep today that remind me that I live in a wonderful neighborhood.

I am thankful that Steve and I have jobs that allow us to buy the things we need. And even some things that we don’t need.

No, this year did not go as planned, but I am thankful that each day is a new day to try again.

Thank you to everyone that read my posts this year and followed along with me. I’ll be back in January to start a new year with new plans!

Thanks for the reminder to focus on the good, Sarah. Merry Christmas to you, Steve, Blitz, the chickens and all the rest of your family.

That’s a wrap

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

If you’re looking for Christmas presents, fancy paper and pretty ribbons, you’ve come to the wrong place.

I did do some wrapping this weekend, but it was in the garden (yes, I’m still working in the garden).

I have wrapped our grape vines in burlap. I have no idea if this is the right thing to do or not, but, as I’ve said before, gardening is an experiment.

The grapes are brand new and they’re a wee bit exposed on the outer edge of the garden where it meets the field. I felt like a bit of additional protection wouldn’t hurt, and I had some burlap lying around, so a couple of weekends ago, I stapled a length of fabric to the fence.

Of course, I ran out and by the time I picked up more burlap, we’d had snow. A lot of snow–at least for us and for this time of year.

Since I could no longer open the garden gate–unless I wanted to shovel and I had been shoveling for a couple of hours by the time I had the brainwave to finish the garden–I tossed the burlap, the stapler and the scissors over the fence, and then climbed the fence myself. In case you’re wondering, climbing a fence in bulky snow pants and boots is not the easiest. But the snow makes a soft landing.

I was grateful we have a wood fence, because it was easy to just staple the burlap right to the wood. Where the bottom of the fence was buried in snow, I packed the snow against the fabric to hold it in place.

Then I ever so gracefully climbed out of the garden again.

This officially wraps up work on the garden for this year. (And no, I’m not sorry for the pun. That was completely on purpose.)

Christmas writing elsewhere

Posted on December 16, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

One week to go before Christmas. I. Can. Not. Wait.

We’ve hosted our annual Christmas party and done a bit of decorating. Baking and finishing off Christmas presents are on the list for this weekend.

I’ve also written a few Christmas posts for some of the other sites I contribute to.

On That Mutt I shared my tips on how to make sure your dog is comfortable during a party. I think it’s pretty clear that I’m biased when it comes to Baxter, but seeing his facial expressions during the party are worth the click in my opinion.

Here’s a sample for you: the most hopeful puppy in the whole world staring at his favourite person (Matt’s Dad) and his favourite foods (turkey and squash). He’s very hard done by, in case you were wondering. I have some actual helpful tips in the article too, not just cute dog pictures.

Since moving to the farm, I’m embracing more and more a rustic, natural style. On homify, I wrote about Christmas decor without the kitsch.

Country Living room by Vanessa Rhodes Interiors

And since it’s been years since we’ve had a Christmas tree at our house, I also shared some ways to branch out beyond the traditional Christmas tree (although I can’t see a Christmas tree wall decal ever being our style).

Are you ready for Christmas at your house? What festive things are you up to this weekend?

Ready to reno… something… anything…

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I’m getting antsy for a project.

I have to admit, I loved the little lull we had after garden season ended and we started spending more time indoors. Summer was busy and I always felt like I was eight steps behind all of the work that I should have been doing outside.

But now, I’m ready to get moving again.

I like to have something to work on, I love how our house looks after I finish, and plus it gives me some good content to share here with all of you. (Confession, I’ve felt like things have been a little dry this fall).

When I was cleaning the bathroom the other week in preparation for our annual Christmas party, I thought to myself, “Can I just rip out this linen closet? Even just the top part?”

Uh. Yeah. That sounds like a good plan when you’re having 15 people over for a full Christmas dinner.

I was able to restrain myself and returned to my scrubbing. (Anything to avoid cleaning the bathroom, right?) I’m usually not the type to just dive right into a reno without thinking it through and planning it out. That might mean projects happen more slowly around here, but it works for us.

I think I will likely end up leaving the bathroom alone. I want to tackle the whole thing at once, not just the linen closet.

Instead, I have my eye on my office, or our third bedroom. It’s the last bedroom that needs to be painted, and I think it would make a great project for the Christmas holidays. Then there’s the storage hutch makeover and finally unpacking the last of our boxes… only five years after moving in.

It’s become a tradition over the last two years that we scrape the stipple off the ceiling of one room over the Christmas break. We can’t break with tradition, right?

… Although I just saw Aniko’s (Place of my Taste) bathroom makeover with her chunky DIY shelves and the linen closet is calling my name again.

What would you do, office or bathroom? Do you ever antsy for a project? Are you a planner or a “let’s-get-this-party-started” kind of person?

Home security in the country

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I’m very conscious that we’re a little bit removed from things here at the farm. Removed from neighbours. Removed from the road (which I’m standing at in the photo below).

Someone can be at our house–for example a burglar carrying away our TV–and no one would know.

When we first moved to the farm, we heard from a few people that most houses in the area had been broken into at one time or another.

We were also very surprised by how many people drove up the driveway, just inviting themselves onto our property.

The biggest step we took to make sure the farm is secure is adding a gate at the bottom of the driveway.

It’s a low tech solution, and someone can easily walk around the gate and up the driveway, but they’re going to have to work pretty hard to carry our TV away.

I’m also conscious of other simple security techniques, like leaving a car in the driveway if we’re out (article found via Chris Loves Julia).

Worse comes to worse, this doormat (found via Decor and the Dog) might be an option.

How do you handle security at your house?

Advice wanted: Mortgage renewal

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Anyone have any tips for renewing a mortgage?

Most of the time, I feel like Matt and I have always lived here at the farm. However, we’re actually just coming up on five years–a fact that has been brought home to us ’cause our mortgage is almost at the end of its term, and it’s time to renew.

We’ve never gone through a mortgage renewal before (you may recall we were able to pay our first house off in 4 and a half years), so we’re a little uncertain about the process.

You also might remember that getting the mortgage the first time around was complicated because a farm is outside of the norm when it comes to financing.

I’m looking for any and all tips you have for getting the best deal during a mortgage renewal.

Interest rate is our most important consideration. We are working hard to pay off the farm quickly, so we want to pay as little interest as possible.

We’ve met with the credit union that currently holds our mortgage and with a bank. I have one more meeting lined up next week with a different bank. All of the rates we’ve been offered so far are lower than we’re currently paying, which is great, but I don’t feel like I’ve found the best deal yet.

Any advice to help us through our mortgage renewal?