Little by Little... Things are getting done!

Master bedroom with refinished floors.

Getting Somewhere

We are in our second year now of fixing up our farm house.  I must say, we actually have accomplished a lot. Although, there is much more to do, we are making good progress.

We are now only going to the farm to work on it every other weekend as the weather is getting colder. My goal was to finish the upstairs floors but that might need to be the first thing we do in spring.  They are ready to be finished but the weather might be too cold to varnish. 

Next weekend, I hope to put up ceilings in the new downstairs bathroom and another bedroom upstairs. I have to finish mudding the bathroom and Greg has to finish putting down some cement in the shower. Then we will be able to tile. I also want to put up some wallpaper in the upstairs bedroom. So stay tuned for these pics next post.

Time has gotten away from me and this was a draft post that never got published last fall.

Here are some before and after photos of work done so far. The after pics are current and from this spring/summer.

Studio - Before

Studio after the wood floors were refinished (two views).

Bedroom - Before

Bedroom - After

Another view of the Master bedroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bedroom - Before

Upstairs Bathroom - Before

Bathroom - After

Upstairs hallway - Before & After - minus the floors.

                                                                                                

We finally got to the floors this summer. Most of the the hallway is completely finished now except for the area in front of the stairs. We will do that when the stairs get refinished (putting in a whole new staircase). One more bedroom will be finished when we go up next week. We opted to do carpeting in that room because we ran out of time with renting the sanders.

Our new downstairs bathroom created from a room. We love having this shower. It is our sanity after a hard days work.

We are using part of the room as a bathroom and the other part as a hallway to the bathroom.

The duct work is in place here and so we put up the drywall for the hallway. I hope to finish mudding it next week, then sand it and paint it. We will be putting a door on the back wall to lead to the outside for our hot tub.

Painting the barn door for the bathroom. I am currently standing in what will be our living room at some point. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is our third year that we have owned this farm and I am still amazed at the beauty of the land as I mow it. I thought I would share some of that beauty with you too.

Our corn field.

Our corn crib, silo and roof top of the house.

Some of our mowed paths.

The rolling hills that surround the property, and Teddy!

Teddy waits for me to catch up.

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.

 

Our last weekend

Goodbye Farm, See you in the Spring

Well, last weekend we closed up the farm for winter. Greg built his box around the pipes downstairs to keep them from freezing. A light will go on when the area reaches a certain temperature. 

I put up the other panels of drapes and we put in a white bookshelf Greg got from his mom's house. I have now bought a new bedspread for our bedroom and so the gray one on our bed will be moved to the yellow room. I am still thinking of putting up some white wains coting but I have all winter to decide.

I also did get to priming some of the walls in the room that will be my studio.  Staying away all winter will be hard. I miss it already.  However, spring will be grand.  I can't wait to see the bulbs, peonies, and day lilies I transplanted.

A little white wains coting will really match this bookshelf.  

 

This will be my art studio.

Still Thinking but Done for Now

Letting it Rest Awhile

Well, we went to the farm this weekend and installed the carpet and put up the drapes. Of course the drapes I bought were only one set with two panels. I thought it would be two sets of two panels because the package said it was a 2 pack. So, for now, there is only one panel on each window. 

We also put up a day bed that we got from Greg's parents. I am now on the lookout for a matching comforter.  What is on there now is just temporary until I find what I am looking for. 

I am trying to decide if there is too much yellow in the room and if I should possibly put up some white wains coting or paint a wall white or gray. I wanted a bright room but some say it looks dark even though it is a very bright yellow. It could be the lighting and the drapes blocking any sunlight from the cloudy day. 

For now, she rests while I think.

We have only one more weekend at the farm before we close her up for winter. This will be hard!

Laurie