This past weekend we built the greenhouse. Ryan had built the platform mostly prior to the weekend but was missing a last few pieces of wood so Saturday he picked up supplies and finished the platform and sill to install the greenhouse on then started putting it together.
While he did that Alex and I watered, weeded and started weeding the garden near the house where eventually we’ll put some new plants.
With the fruit garden this week we have been battling the deer. The reason we built that garden was to protect our mulberry trees better as the deer have destroyed them every year now. We hoped they wouldn’t jump in the garden but they must have been because they have eaten both trees quite badly as usual.
They have yet to touch the blueberry bushes and grapes at least.
So this weekend we put a second layer of screening up to hopefully deter the deer from jumping. 2 rolls was evidently not enough so we used both pieces we had around the trees last year and still couldn’t make it around to the doorway side. Hopefully deer are not very bright 🙁
Who knows maybe this garden will get an upgrade next year if it survives.
In the vegetable garden the seeds that we planted last week are poking through!
Near the garden we are teaming with wild life. We had a turtle come to visit – he moved into the bush behind the garden once we startled him but the girls all got to see him.
I’ll try to continue to document the garden for my own sake (and planning next year). Crossing fingers we keep the unwanted critters out!
This weekend was a very productive weekend working on the gardens. Saturday morning Ryan got up early and got right to work on the vegetable garden (we also worked on the garden one night last week so we had a head start on the last 3 fence sections.
On Sunday we switched gears over to the fruit garden which is our plan to keep the deer away from the mulberry trees we’ve had for 2 years now. Ryan built 2 smaller raised beds for the blueberry bushes and grape vines I want to grow and he started a new area around the trees.
It was a very productive weekend and next weekend maybe the green house will go up and we’ll finish up the last touches to the gardens. Then i’ts just up maintaining and keeping all these plants alive!
I should update with pictures of the diningroom ceiling but I haven’t remembered to take those pictures. Ryan did finish up everything except the crown detail on the ceiling so I’ll get pictures in future.
The next weekend after the diningroom progress Ryan spent at the Canaan property – he took 2 days off so he had 4 days and an excavator he rented and he spent that time digging out stumps from the trees that were taken down.
If I haven’t mentioned Canaan before – we bought ~30 acres of land full of trees with the plan to build a pole barn to store wood and the sawmill. The land supplies the trees for Ryan to cut and saw. Currently there is no electricity but we plan to get that added and also make a garage with an apartment in the future to store our boat and the tractor there.
I don’t have pictures from the ‘finished’ work as this was Saturday when I brought the kids up to visit. Mark is constantly working at the property so it changes daily.
This past weekend Ryan switched gears and started working on a vegetable garden for me! I’m so excited to finally have a garden and he’s really going all out for me. The garden spot gets about 11 hour of sunshine and it’s outside the basement door so easy access from the basement.
Ryan built 6 garden beds. 4 will go in the vegetable garden (2 3×6 ft beds and 2 3x8ft beds), then he also built 2 smaller 2×6 ft beds that will go over by our mulberry bushes which we will fence in and that will be where we put our blueberry bushes. It gets a bit less sun over there (but 6 hours or so).
Lots to do still as we are digging a trench along the fence to put the fence down into the ground about 8 inches to keep out the gophers.
I can’t wait to get out and work in the garden a little each day. Probably after the kids go to bed mostly during the last hour of daylight 🙂
This weekend we had some lovely weather Saturday. Unfortunately we also had a lot of cleaning to do so the girls and I were inside all morning cleaning and organizing. In the afternoon though we got outside for some exploring and time on the swings.
Alex learned how to jump off her swing the big kid! Bella faced her fear of bugs and went exploring with us around the yard.
Inside Ryan was working on trim all weekend. He started the ceiling of the diningroom making progress until he was out of wood the right size. He also put up a bit more crown in the kitchen (we are now out of crown until a new order is delivered).
A productive weekend for sure. Sunday was rainy but we sent the girls out to jump in puddles anyway. They had fun but it was a bit cold to last long.
This past week was our annual week of birthdays but due to the quarantine and kids being home Ryan did not take the week off entirely. I took the week off and homeschooled/played with the kids instead of trying to do that while also working so it was a break for me but not relaxing or productive.
A couple of highlights from the week…
She wanted a space themed birthday and got a telescope as her big gift. We had a virtual party with family which included pajamas (slumber party) and ice cream sundaes.
The next day this little child turned 2!!
Next up was Easter and Ryan’s birthday combined.
Next up on the highlights reel … back to the house progress.
And finally – for my birthday the girls helped me make pasta for the first time – bowtie pasta. They had a blast and everyone liked it so it was a success!
And that’s our little vacation update. Now it’s back to work and homeschooling combined. Our new normal until at least May 15th.
With the coronavirus quarantine going on Ryan has been taking full advantage of having every weekend home to continue to make great progress on the kitchen. He had planned a 4 day weekend in March to tile the floor while I was away – my trip got cancelled but he still got a start on the ‘finishing of the kitchen’ project that weekend and hasn’t quit yet.
Here are some pictures to catch up to the current progress. Note the backsplash was done back in Nov so I put dates by each picture.
The pantry will have french cleats throughout with shelving. That is why he used plywood on the walls (easier to hang the french cleats).
Still more trim work to finish up (caps on doors and wainscotting) then painting (lots of painting). Ryan plans to build a cabinet above the fridge, we have crown molding both on the ceiling and above the cabinets to install as well. So the kitchen project will continue but it’s getting to finishing stages so it’s wonderful to see the progress!
Since we are putting off building a garage for short while we decided to renovate the basement a bit and make room for a small woodshop as well as improve the storage space.
To start this project Ryan built a wall down the middle of the basement. There will be a large unfinished area for tool/wood storage, the hot water and heating units as well as some holiday storage.
Then there will be 2 finished rooms, 1 by the exterior door which will be the wood shop and another at the bottom of the stairs like a recreational room with storage for pantry overflow and craft overflow.
This is all future but we did start the project (and by we I mean Ryan). Here are some progress pictures.
Oh yea the largest part of this was removing all the piles of dirt out of the basement that had been there since we dug holes to put in support beams.
Our goal was to have the downstairs bathroom completed by Christmas and we made it! Here are the pictures of the renovation with dates in the captions.
The bathroom needs a couple of final touches but very minor. We have to paint then install the shoe molding (it’s pre-cut and ready) and paint the door. Otherwise it is completed!
I went back and fixed some missing pictures in old posts and while doing so realized I never posted a finished picture of the wood shed so I have a few outdoor project updates.
Another project a few weeks ago was replacing the wood on the boat trailer – one side was completely rotten and broken so Ryan replaced it with new wood and new carpet. The other side still has to be replaced but it wasn’t in as bad a shape.
Back in December we got a Tesla Model 3 and that meant we had a little project to do – running a new wire across the entire length of the house and garage to install this guy …
And that brings us back up to this past weekend. Ryan replaced the window in the downstairs bathroom – we are finally starting the renovation of our most visible bathroom in the house!
Then Ryan installed the trim around the basement door.
Last week he used our new door to get rid of 1/2 of the dirt/concrete we have in the basement freeing up a ton of space. 2 more small piles to go on that cleanup project and then we can finally use our basement like normal people (instead of piling tubs around piles of dirt)