Corvus Brachyrhynchos Roost

While I'm reflecting on the past week of activity around our new old farm house, it seems only right that I take a moment to reflect on the past two years... or should I go further to 2014 when I told my childhood friend's Facebook friend to bring me coffee in Richmond...  that day brought me to April 23, 2016, which brought me to today... watching my now husband working feverishly on our future home together... It's Spring and the Crow's are roosting... and I'd like to say simply... Thank you Bill... for all that you do for us.  Happy Anniversary baby... here's to many more projects in the future to keep you alive... and me happy... :)

This week has been a trying week for three old bodies...  Cherie, Bill and I worked daily from 9 am to 7 pm... by the time we finished dinner we could all feel EVERY one of our 50+ years.  We're... TIRED!!!  We're looking forward to doing NOTHING tomorrow.  I'm really not sure where to start to describe everything we did and our progress.  We pretty much touched every corner of our property and every inch of our farmhouse.   Ok... I've got it!  I'm going to start with what should be common sense but apparently isn't... Weekend warriors that don't know what the heck you are doing... Yes, you know who you are... Put down the damn hammer and walk away.  Do NOT start/complete a project unless you know how to do it RIGHT.  Covering shit with shit does not fix shit.  Consider yourselves the keeper of your house... the conservator... assume that one day your kids will inherit and will have to fix the shit you didn't fix... Don't have kids?  Think of the next person that is going to have to uncover your layers of junk.  They will be partly joking about what a half assed job you did and partly cursing your name.  The shit we've uncovered in the past couple of days made me shake my head so much I'm pretty positive my neck needs an adjustment by the chiropractor.  Plywood over paint, over paneling, over 3 layers of wallpaper... Plywood over live outlets... Pine flooring over plywood... over vinyl tiles... over oak floors... over... are you getting my drift?  For the love of all things holy... DON'T DO IT.

Ok, rant over... let me talk about one of my favorite things... gardening.  The first two days we had at the farm last week we only had 5 hours a day, so I grabbed Cherie's chipper shredder and started hacking away at what we had left of the cedar tree that had fallen last year.  That and the dead pine next to it NEED TO GO.  I want to get our garden guy out there to mow and do a first overhaul of the property.  It's been 2 years since it was done right and I'm doing what all women do before a 'cleaner' comes... I'm cleaning.  You can kind of see the progress in the picture to the left.  The top two are before and the bottom two current.  We still have a stack of cedar to shred, what we've shredded already is in Cherie and our flower gardens "free" cedar chips.  The pine tree needs to be cut down, but that we'll do in a few weeks... that said it has dropped a gazillion limbs that scattered in a 20' diameter around it's base... those were all picked up and burned this weekend... while Bill screamed obscenities in the house, we dragged the pieces to the burn barrel and surprisingly quickly, got 90% burned... We have one good burn left and one good day of shredding to do and the gardener can come... (Insert me doing the cupid shuffle happy dance here)... We also removed the bushes from around the house and planted some free plants in both of our gardens... I was on reserve this weekend... and have a new tan to show for it... Gotta love it when the company gives you extra days off... :)

Bill was in the house for the most part but was lured out to do some gardening when he was presented with a shiny new Stihl Farm Boss chainsaw... as Cherie said... it was the happiest she'd seen him in a while.  He was chopping everything he could get his hands on and even started chopping a 60' tree that had dropped this past week.  Well we thought he was happy... and then he met the neighbor that owns the farm behind us... Bill took a break from working that 60' tree to say hi... and the guy made a comment that he could hear him swearing OVER the chainsaw...  bwahahaha it's only right Bill sets the tone right from the start... what's even funnier was we mentioned this story to Tiny today when Cherie and I went over to buy bacon and eggs from him... and Tiny made a funny grimace, laughed, shook his head and said "Yup"... I GUFFAWED and said "That's my hub, he sounds like a bear but he's a big softy"...

Bill and Cherie did the most work in the kitchen and dining room as I tended the garden... we each know where we are better put to work lol.  The walls are down and it's amazing how much light is in the kitchen now.  I can't wait til we get the bay window in the dining room.  This whole space is opening up.  I'm loving the flow.  The ugly pine floors are up, the insulation is out and dead animals removed.  It's time for me to look for the window for the kitchen - it's going to be MUCH larger.  I want 6 over 1 windows.  Craftsman looking... I know that era started about 10 years later but the house can handle it.

We think we've settled on an AGA Elise (48") in Scarlet for our oven/stove, a double farmhouse sink in white and stainless steel appliances.  I squint just a wee bit and I can SEE it.  We need to decide on cabinet style... but that's a bit down the road.  First we have to get plumbing and electricity brought up to THIS century...

Speaking of plumbing... the spare bathroom was completely gutted too.  The floors are a hot mess because whoever worked on the water heater last didn't connect the overflow valve to the tube that vents it outside... In other words, hot water has been spewing in this area for god knows how long and the floor is rotten.  One of the reasons I want my tank less water heater.  This room we're removing the window and moving the tub/shower to the back wall, the closet at the hall is removed instead you'll open the door, walk by our linen chifferobe and an antique chest will be re-purposed for a vanity.  I've decided I don't want a pedestal sink like I originally thought I wanted.  I want our guests to have room to put their toiletries.

One of my favorite changes of the week though... is the widening of the hallway entrance.  It used to be the size of a doorway.  It now matches the size of the french doors at the beginning of the hall.  Less warren-like... did I mention I love that it's only one floor?  I told Bill it was only going to take him 14 steps to get me coffee in the morning... I may be underestimating that number but he won't be climbing up the stairs anymore... and at our age, that's a blessing.

Oh lord... and here's something else that is troublesome at our age...  Women my age... you're going to understand this, shake your head in agreement and then make sure no one saw you... because we just don't TALK about this sort of thing... especially in the south... but Lord save me...  I'm going through a half dozen panty shields a day doing this work... You know what I'm talking about... every time I pick up something heavy or throw myself into demo... I pee a smidgen.  This shizzle is a pain in the ass.  I've looked up how to stop this...

   *  Do daily pelvic floor exercises...  (Exercise???  Yeah I gave that up for Lent)
   *  Quit smoking... (Ok this one I got... I don't smoke.  DONE)
   *  Do the right exercises...  (are there WRONG ones?  I must be doing them!)
   *  Avoid lifting... (yeah um... no can do... I'm renovating a damn house)
   *  Treat constipation promptly...  (who said I was constipated??? I'm regular thank you)
   *  Cut down on caffeine...  (and people will die... can't do this)
   *  Cut down on alcohol...  (WHAT????)
   *  Drink plenty of water...  (Doesn't this MAKE you pee???)
   *  Eat the right food...  (Is there a 'makes women not leak' meal??? I'm in.  Does it have chocolate and pasta???)

I've decided to give up and buy stock in Energizer, who apparently bought the feminine hygiene division of Johnson and Johnson... am I the only one that is laughing so hard that I'm peeing... yet again... at Energizer owning feminine hygiene products???   Me thinks they should buy Pfizer as they own Viagra... but that's wayyyy off topic now.

Let me go back to topic to say one final thing about this renovation... for anyone looking at us pulling off what looks like vintage details and shrieking in horror... I felt guilty for a half a minute until I spied the UPC codes on the back of the trim.  Now this shizzle started during my lifetime... so NONE of this work we're tearing out was done prior to 1974.  It's our goal to redo a lot of this trim with better products, to ensure it lasts for many a generation after us... and makes these following generations truly think they're looking at wainscoting from 1910.

For now that's it folks... I'm heading back down mid week to work on the cedar one last time... and Bill is off to work mid week for a week.  The next few days is down time... I don't expect to lift a finger with the exception of perhaps calling a waiter tomorrow for dinner...  In old lady terms... it should only be a one panty shield day tomorrow and the next day... Thank the Lord for small blessings.

From our house to yours... have a fabulous week!

When Roger Supervises... aka When Bill Leaves His Wives Alone With Tools...

The past two weekends my husband has been gone - he's working in Panama - yeah he sucks... we're freezing in Georgia and he's in a toasty place with water views... sigh...  Alas, I've been on reserve both weekends.  Miracle of miracles, I haven't really been called.  Unless you can say two round trips in 13 days is working... but I digress...

Last Saturday, I took Bill down to The Farm so that we'd both be closer to the airport.  Me if called, and him for his 5am flight on Sunday.  We went junkin with the red head when we got there Saturday, killing a few of my hours of waiting.  When we came back I needed to feel like I wasn't wasting time.  Reserve can do that to your mind...  So I quietly walked away, grabbed Cherie's pruners and sneaked onto our property to start chopping down a massive cedar that had fallen months ago.

You'd think Bill would look for me when I disappear... Like a kid or a puppy, it always means I'm getting into something.  After I got a nice pile started I sent a text to Cherie and told her to send Bill over with her chipper shredder... I could hear him grumbling about the 300 pounds of metal he was pushing all the way to where I was working... but he did it... and after a rough start... he actually kind of... wait for it... ENJOYED it...   We worked for two hours probably and got a good amount chipped up for Cherie's dog kennel... waste not want not in the country...  All that work was oddly satisfying.

Easter Sunday I drove Bill off to work and fully expected to be called to work also... and wasn't.  After a wonderfully yummy brunch with neighbors we came back to the house.  I looked at Cherie... and grabbed the pruners again.  We worked on that cedar for three more hours until there was nothing we could prune without a chainsaw.  There are HUGE piles of branches waiting for Bill's return to throw into the chipper shredder... neither the red head nor I are certified for THAT kind of power tool.  For the record, our neighbor across the street offered his chain saw but I'm smart enough to know we aren't qualified for THAT kind of power tool either... I like us having all our limbs and fingers...

Yesterday, after working an overnight to Mississippi, I went back to the red heads to show my other bestie our new property.  Then spent the night because it made more sense to stay close to the airport again, as I knew I would be called today (I was wrong- mark today in the history books folks).  By 11 am we were both bored sitting in her living room.  I looked at her and asked if she felt like taking down some wall paper.  Can I tell you how much I love this woman?  She is happy to jump into any project that needs to be tackled.  We are Thelma and Louise... without killing men or driving off canyon cliffs...

We spent 4 hours removing wall paper... when we were done with wall paper we went to trim... when we were done with trim we went to shelving... and when we were done with shelving we went to the spare bathroom and attacked it with a feverish gusto.  We both agreed that we understood why Chip Gaines loves Demo Day... it's oddly satisfying to destroy and demolish.  I kept sending texts to Bill to tease him with each part of the house we started to attack.  I know he sat there in Panama second guessing his brilliance in leaving tools where Cherie and I could find and use them.  I'm pretty sure we saved him lots of time in our fervor today, and I'm also confident that we didn't destroy anything that we shouldn't have.  Really.

By the end of the day we had the wall paper removed from the dining room, kitchen and master bedroom.  I can officially tell you which rooms have plaster and which have sheet rocked walls.  The kitchen no longer has baseboards or crown molding, neither of which are a loss.  They were put on horridly.  I guess at this point I should mention that I think Bill and I have finally come to a design plan for the kitchen.  It's been a struggle to figure out how to lay it out and get everything we want in it.  After Alex left yesterday, I took her input to heart and started re-configuring the design on paper.  I'm pretty excited with the current plan.  First step... get the pull off dumpster and toss everything that is piled in the middle of the kitchen floor lol...

The spare bath we gutted as much as we could without Bill's help.  The cheap wood wall paneling was smacked off piece by piece.  I love Bill's mallet and crow bar... but I think my right wrist and arm are going to hate me tomorrow.  That shizzle is HEAVY.  We're still working on the configuration of that room.  I think I have a "new" plan for that.  Bill is trying to keep up with changes I make daily.  He needs to blame the company for not calling me.  The more time I spend laying around looking through This Old House magazines the more ideas I get for our house... As Bill put it today, when we are done we will have a nice NEW old house.  What I DO know is the things that were done half assed will be fixed to stand the test of time.  I'm all about do it right the first time, which is half of our conversations...  "We can do x..."  "How much would it just cost to replace?" "A couple hundred and be easier to do"... "Well duh, lets do it right"...  I guess in this respect, I AM my mothers daughter.

While we were attacking each room, Roger, Cherie's "feral' barn cat followed and watched us.  The noises didn't scare that cat.  We've decided he's the project mascot and overseer.  He's going to be very sad when a very large Tank moves in.  Roger has already claimed our property as his too.  You can see how helpful Roger was today.  Criticizing over our shoulders.  He's quite a hands on manager.

Roger agreed with us that the wall paper we uncovered today was not something that we needed to recreate to bring the house back to what it was originally.  Some things just need to be left in the past.  Green checked paper was found in the spare bathroom.  Looks like there was tile on the bottom half of the wall before they decided to take a Folk Victorian and try to make the interior look like a cabin in the northern Georgia mountains.  We also found a yellow paisley? paper in the dining room.  Apparently that room has been a green floral and yellow paisley.  With the orange and green patterned paper we found in the living room I can see the 50's-70's and I'm having flash backs that no one should have to experience.

It's time to end this blog and this week.  I'll leave you all with some pictures from our demo of the master bedroom and spare bedroom... and because people noticed my little gold shoes when I posted pictures on Facebook last week of our pruning job... I thought I'd post a picture of the flip flops I wore today.  Yes, I agree... neither were appropriate for the jobs I was doing... but I really thought I'd be called to work.  I've made a mental note to leave a pair of old jeans, t shirt and tennis shoes at Cherie's so I don't have to worry about my feet or clothes lol...

Happy April y'all... may Spring really come to your house... and may the weather stay ABOVE 60 from here on out...