Sheetrock Taping and Fir Flooring Laid

We have been tackling some projects in our upstairs, which has been patiently waiting to be finished for nearly three years. We decided to hire someone to tape the sheetrock. It’s hard to do a nice job on smooth walls, we weren’t keen on doing the ceiling above the staircase, and we figured it would be nice to have this piece get done fast. But of course booking a contractor created other due dates for us.

 

Recycling Vintage Flooring

I’ve been pretty neglectful at working on interior  house restoration projects in the last year, favoring doing farm work outside. But, I was glad to get a nagging project crossed off the list in the last month!

I think it was winter-before-last when I first tackled the huge pile of reclaimed vintage fir flooring sitting in our upstairs. It had been salvaged from another to-be-demolished house in downtown Snohomish. I had even installed some of it, starting in our upstairs bathroom. But a large and unruly pile of the wood remained. It was not neatly stackable, because it still had all the nails in it. So, the first thing was to get the rest of it cleaned up and stacked.

 

Never Despise Meager Beginnings

A favorite quote from the Janette Oke book-series-turned-screenplay “Love Comes Softly.” A slightly corny Christian-values story about a homesteading family, not unlike Little House on the Prairie. But, as Kirk can attest, I love those stories, mostly because they are about homesteading. But they also contain a lot of universal themes that resonate with almost everybody- hardship, perseverance, resourcefulness, kindness even in the face of hostility, and hope and faith.

Given this time of year is one where we often think of the future and reflect on the past, I’ve been thinking of our meager beginnings and where they are headed.

 

Fencing Done

I don’t like to count a task finished until I’m really done- tools put away and everything. But I can pretty much say I’m done fencing the center field. At least, I was able to move the sheep into it at the end of September. I had a few lingering details left to finish, like filling in some nasty ankle-twister holes in the field and adjusting a gate that didn’t ride smoothly. I’ve done those now.

 

Insulating the Innards of Antique Weighted Windows

The front of our house used to have three side-by-side wood-framed windows, as can be seen by this 1937 tax photo I found in the county Assessor records. In the eighties, a prior owner had them replaced with a bay window.