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The Kitchen Counter
Most years, I spend the week before Christmas in a flurry of baking, gift making, and gift wrapping. This year, I spent a few days replacing the kitchen counter around the sink. You may recall that a few years ago, I put in a whole new cabinet, sink, and countertop in the kitchen. The cabinet setup that had been there was very badly damaged and rotting, and we ended up replacing everything. We decided to put in a tiled countertop the first time around, but not without some apprehension. The biggest concern was that we were not sure how well it would hold up over time. But tile countertops are…
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Painting the House
It took 5 years, but we were finally able to make get the house painted! We did not undertake the massive job of painting the house ourselves, but instead, hired our neighbor. There are a lot of pictures in this post (slideshow format for most). It may take awhile to load. This project would not have happened at all if it were not for a hail storm that came through several years ago. The house was in need of a paint job prior to the storm, but after the storm and a couple more years of wear, it needed it more. Insurance covered the cost of painting. It took until…
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A Mudroom for the Homestead
“Here me out… What if we turned my office into a mudroom? We could even put the washer and dryer in there so you have a first-floor laundry.” -Scott And that’s how we ended up with a mudroom for the homestead. The house just finished getting painted, and Scott was talking about putting a porch on the back of the house. We were debating what to do about with the current entryway of the house. It’s tiny, and not nearly big enough for a family of 8. Plus, the back stairs (concrete) are damaged and will end up needing to be replaced or repaired at some point in the next…
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October 2020
Praise the Lord! This election cycle is almost done! What a ridiculously stressful year when it comes to all things politics. I don’t think it matters where you stand, this political season has been awful. But I digress… October has turned out to be a surprisingly productive month for us. The house is being painted, the yard is almost completely cleaned up, the small garden beds have been put to sleep, the plowing is almost done, the outbuildings are getting cleaner, and the house is being purged and organized and almost done. We’ve tackled a few big projects in the house that really helped facilitate the cleaning process, and we’re…
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Busy Season
Well, I dropped off the face of the earth again, so that must mean it’s our busy season! Starting a new school year, harvesting from the garden, preserving the bounty, and doing my best to maintain a clean house… it all adds up, and it’s quite a challenge! The month of July was spent preparing for parties, or so it seemed. Independence Day, Rocket Club, Christmas in July (not at our house), and Miss Lady’s Tea Party all happened that month, and in between those events, there was lots of yardwork and party prep! But everything went off without a hitch, and we had perfect weather for it all. August…
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Frugal Homeschooling
With the climate of things right now, a lot of people have either decided to homeschool this coming school year or are at least seriously considering it. One of the concerns that I was a little surprised to hear from people was the cost of homeschooling. Honestly, there are so many ways to homeschool your kids, and it is entirely possible to do frugal homeschooling and still give your kids a great education. Before I get into how you can save money and all of that, I just want to point out that sending your kids to a public school is not “free.” You still need to purchase school supplies…
