Raising Seedlings in the Cold

January is often marked by the number of opinion pieces floating around about the topic of pro-life, pro-choice, etc. While mine is one among many, I feel there needs to be a response to those who accuse the pro-life movement of being pro-birth, and not pro-life. Womb to tomb. Support the life of the person from beginning of conception to natural death. Support the dignity of the person always. Support the fight for life, support them in achieving their best quality of life, support them in their fight for dignity, at all stages. This is what pro-life MEANS! All people at all ages, stages, disabilities, races, genders, and sexual orientation deserve to be treated as equals with dignity because we all have worth simply because we are children of God. I will be the first to admit that this is not everyone in the pro-life movement's definition, but I know I can safely say it is the majority, and we know this by looking at the organizations  the pro-life movement and many other org

Just a quick note here to apologize for not doing any updates for the last little while.....ok, ok I admit it has actually been over a year.  To be fair I have been pretty busy trying to build the place, and blogging was actually supposed to be my wifes project but someone has to do it.  I owe several posts which will be coming over the next few months starting with the post on building spiral stairs which I promised in the last post and never got around to.  I also will be posting several other projects including: Tiling a floor Installing cabinets Principles of insulation Drywall and plaster repair Trim installation Furnace sizing and installation Cellulose insulation installation in open wall cavities Wood floor refinishing. Move-in and the big reveal. Look for about 1-2 entries per week as I have given up Television for lent and will be trying to write a post occasionally on nights off. Note that most of these projects are complete already, and I will be writing in ar

Basement Stairs and Other Such Items. Among the many issues with the Victorian property when we purchased it was the basement stairs.  I'm not sure that the term dysfunctional even begins to describe the state of the stairs which led to the basement.  There were a couple obvious issues, probably most notably the "cross slope" at the bottom flight which lead me to believe that the stringer was less than structurally solid.  Also an interior post that should have been holding the stairs up was dry rotted out at the base and clearly not supporting anything.  Luckily for me, and anyone who has used those stairs in the more recent past the stairs were also attached to a sidewall, and essentially hung from the main floor which provided enough support that I did not fall through.  Needless to say replacing these stairs was one of the earlier issues needing to be tackled.   The Existing Stairs       Of course when remodeling nothing is as simple as it would

 Some photos of the more recent work at the NE corner of the house.  This shows the new rear door, and the new electrical gear installed on the reconstructed rear porch area.  A closer view once I have turned on the lights (plugged in the drop cord to the neighbors back deck.  The neighbors have been great while I have dealt with the somewhat forgetful electrical inspector who has forgotten to call in the turn on order to the utility twice now. Demolition.  This is much cleaner looking than the actual demolition, which involves lots of dust.  I generally hate dust masks, but the use of them is absolutely essential to this work. Some mopre demolition in the background with new construction in the foreground.  White pine is new construction, either around the new rear door, or as a crib wall to support the previously failed exterior wall which had suffered extensive termite damage.  Also note a couple old radiators that have been removed to the rear door for resale or scrapping.

                                        So where to start this odyssey of home remodelling; I suppose I'll start this story where every story begins, the beginning.      By now anyone who has happened upon this blog has seen several interesting cooking and home-maker posts by my wife, and the occasional dryly written technical account of something I have recently built or grown.  As we have been quite busy the last year our posts have been few and far between, with the last one in April after we had begun the process of buying our next house.  Now, when I say process, I mean PROCESS of buying a HUD repo house.  Actually this was fairly straightforward from our end as the buyers, but it did take quite a while.  As a point of fact it took about two months from writing an offer to the closing, even though our offer was accepted by day two, and our financing was cash (home equity line from our current house) which would mean any other seller would close in a matter of days

Josh and I are so excited! We have just purchased a 3000 square-foot home for $27,000! It is for sure a fixer-upper, But I have never seen a home with more potential. It is just what we need right now as our family seems to be outgrowing our current home. In addition, This home will be a great investment opportunity. If we renovate carefully we should double our total investment. While all of this is exciting, Leaving our current home in 6-8 months will be heart wrenching. Josh and I spent our first dates here, We were engaged here, It is where he carried me across the threshold after we were married, And it is where we brought each of our baby boys home after they were born. In such a short time these walls have become dripping with memory. Letting this house go, even if just for a rental, will be difficult. As a child we moved fairly often, and I was always taught that our house is an investment and home is family. I still believe this but I am never felt such an emotional attachm