Progress, Plans, and Ponderings

A bit more than a week ago, a surgeon redesigned the layout of my internal organs.  He removed some original equipment, so there is a fear my resale value has fallen.

But I hired him for the remodel, and agreed with the plan.  I do not plan to sell myself anytime soon anyway.

But sitting at home, giving my body time to heal, gives me time to look at some of the progress we have made recently, look at the plans for the rest of the year, and just let my mind wander about this farm house, the land, and our responsibilities as current owners.  This most likely will stretch out over a few posts (not sure how many yet), so stay tuned!

                                                                    My Biggest Issue

When we first toured the house before purchase, as we looked at all the water damage, the destroyed walls and ceilings, and the old plumbing and heating system, there was one item that really bothered me.  The whole house was original wood work, except for a doorway added to the top of the stairs.

 

I hated that door.  And after thinking about it for a bit, I also realized that the plywood above the stairs was out of place. I needed to take it out.  So as we are fixing up the upper hallway, I was finally able to get rid of that evil door.

Yes, that is the original post where the banister used to end.  It is now missing about 6 inches, and is also missing the top.  But we can deal with this.  The whole stairway has a less cramped feeling now that we have opened it up.  This should increase a bit as we take out the old plaster, which as you can all see, has a few problems, and replace it with thinner drywall. 

Fourth of July Weekend - 2019

Holidays & Birthdays

It has been beautiful summer weather here on the farm.  The biggest news is Liz has arrived, and will be spending the summer, and maybe more at the farm.  As a result, we have added a phone, and yes, even a mailbox.

Mailbox time!

The lettering was done by Laurie.

The Pledl Farm en Plein Air is officially back on the map!

We also spent the first part of the weekend working on the upstairs hallway.  There is a lot of water damage to the plaster, so it was decided to cover it all with drywall.  We stripped off all the moldings and pulled out all the nails to prepare it for new walls.

Prepping the upstairs hallway.

Waiting for the new drywall.  But it will have to wait.... guests have arrived.

To help celebrate Bill's (Greg's Father) 87th birthday, the family arrived on the farm with a tour of the farm and a trip to Monroe for lunch at Bumgardners. We had 12 family members present and the weather was gorgeous. It took away from getting things done, but was worth it. After everyone left, Greg, Liz, and I took a nap. Then, we got down to business.

 As I (Laurie) began putting another layer of joint compound down on the drywall in my studio,

 Greg started yelling my name and asking for some help. Liz stumbled across our visitor, the bat. While Greg tried to stir up the bat Liz knew was in a corner by all of our electrical supplies, Liz and I held up two quilts to block the entrance to the upstairs. No bat emerged. Liz kept hearing it in that same corner and Greg slowly put each item from that corner into bags and boxes to take outside. Eventually, Greg and Liz found the bat hiding in an empty light bulb box and set it out over by the silo. 

After that everyone was very productive and we got about half of the upstairs hallway covered in drywall.

Measuring time!

All done, for today anyway.

It's Spring!

Spring is Finally Here!

Well, we survived the winter. We have been going back to the farm mostly to cut the grass, which takes about 2 hours on a riding mower.  However, I have also been planting and digging up weeds. 

It's great to be back at work on the farm!

I remember when this was nothing but long weeds.

Wildflowers starting in front of the brick wall. Sunflowers growing in the planter.

 This weekend we actually got some work done inside as well. We took out a wall and a window to build a hallway that will lead to a downstairs bathroom. We also built the new frame for the new wall and boarded up the window that we took out. This was a big project, and was the first real "remodel".  The past tasks were just fixing up rooms that needed repair.

You will enter the bathroom through a small hallway (on the left).

This will become our downstairs bathroom.

 With the continued work inside, and the increased gardening outside, this farm is slowly becoming our home.  It is hard to believe that we have only owned it a year, and the amazing progress we have made in that time.

 Memories

This is the upstairs bath we remodeled last year.