Raising Seedlings in the Cold

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 remodelin...

 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...

                                        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...

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...

Sometimes the stuff we try from Pinterest can be a huge fail. Like a recipe I tried for Forgotten Chicken (yuck!) Other times its awesome, and inspiring, just as the website title suggests:-) This time is one of the later. I took a tutorial from Amy at Positively Splendid for making a baby smock (just a heavy duty baby bib) from a hand towel and bias tape and made it my own. While taking a hand towel and making it a bib for your child is a great way to re-purpose materials you find around the home or at yard sales, I wanted something even more durable and actually waterproof. If you use a hand towel there is still a chance that the baby mess can leak through onto their clothes. So I took Amy's pattern and made the same smock from PUL material. It Polyurethane Laminated Fabric and it is usually used by moms to make baby diaper covers. You can buy it at any fabric store or here on Amazon in a pack of three fabrics. You would need two of the three fabrics from the pack to make...

     A few weeks ago, Just as my wife was getting into house organizing in a serious way I decided to throw a serious wrench in the works.  I had been spying on several apple trees in out neighborhood for several weeks.  Ever since we finished canning peaches actually.  It turns out you really don't need to go to all the trouble to grow fruit trees in order to generally end up with all the fruit you could wish for.  Simply keep your eyes open as you go about your daily activities, and you are sure to notice fruit trees burdened with fruit which the owner of said tree curses as the bane of their yard.  That's right, fruit is generally free for the asking, all you need do is be forthright and courteous...oh, and a promise of a little finished product never hurts either.      So, the tree in question is an apple tree located on the property of a local circle K gas station.  Somehow I don't think the sign posted by the ...

About three weeks ago, something in me snapped. (If you ask those at Bettendorf Chiropractic that do my prenatal adjustments and massages they would say it was my back and hips, 3 pregnancies in 2 1/2 years has done a number on my body.) But no, it was nothing physical it was the domestic diva section of my frontal lobe! I looked around my house and I was disgusted! I have living this house 3 years and there was so much I never did or cared to do, and it showed. I wanted to make a change, so I did, and boy does my house look better in those three short weeks:-) I owe all the praise for my home's transformation to my mother (Love you!) and Pinterest (love you too!) I will also give myself a little credit for also doing a lot of time consuming organizing, and pitching of accumulated crap.   The biggest transformation was my kitchen! My mother and I (mostly my mother) redecorated my breakfast nook to provide seating and storage for under $200. It looks fabulous and I now have redu...