We have another big storm coming our way & I was just getting used to having it in the low 30's. Everyday I am so thankful to have the wood stove, not so much for me, but for the animals who love to lay in front of it. This house was built in the 1920's, Even though it has cement outside walls we get drafts that just mysteriously appear from no where. So since the kitchen/dining room has very cold floors, I try to make sure the animals have a warm place to hang out.
As some know, I am getting ready to send my husband off to Afghanistan the beginning of March. I have been through this before when he was gone 15 months to Iraq back in 2004-2005. This time though he is off doing all these military things before he leaves which gives me pretty much no time with him or to get things that need to be done with him. It is quite frustrating to say the least but thank goodness I am no spring chicken & can hold done the fort while he is away.
I am hoping this will be his last time, but with all the problems with other countries, I can see him being shipped off again in the near future. I love my military man, but boy sometimes I wonder what our government is doing & why. I will always support the military even when I disagree with what they have to do or where they have to go. I have had lots of family members, plus a 1st husband who was also military so I try to understand & be understanding. Not always easy.....
One thing with him gone is I can get things I want to do done without him underfoot. I have decided to finally tackle the kitchen & get it painted. sounds easy right???? Wrong! The old owner decided to put up little wooden shingles on all the walls plus on one side of the sink cabinet. Took me over an hour yesterday to pry them & those awful little U shaped staples out of the sink cabinet. To make it easier..did I say easier??? I plan to do small sections at a time since it will seem overwhelming otherwise. Plus it seems to make the nerves in my back go nuts if I do it too long. Now, I could just paint the shingles, but thy are not sealed & the dust is really bad with them. plus its hard to put up pictures ect when everything is at an uneven level. I bought paint when we moved here for it......A gypsy green that I will tone down with some white & a sunflower yellow. I plan to make the walls the yellow with the cabinets the green & do the cabinet doors in the sunflower yellow toned down also with some white.
The old owner used very cheap wood so I don't feel bad about painting them, Right now they are just wood colored but none of them really matches & its very dark & I like a bright kitchen. He did do a beautiful butcher block on both counters by the stove that I need to strip & oil the old varnish is coming up & I think since they are butch block they need to be unsealed & given a good oiling.
I am also hoping to get the dishwasher that has been in its original box for 3 years put in as well while he is gone. It is a energy saver type & I feel that I waste too much water hand washing everyday when I can load it up & do them all at once & save water & energy. Plus I have a huge double sink antique farmers sink, also in the shop waiting to be put in as well. These will wait until later after I get the walls done of coarse.
I was raised in foster homes & one of my foster dad's was a carpenter who taught me how to use power tools at age 12. So I now have a nice set up in my shop of everything I might need to build a new sink cabinet when the time comes.
Also since it is cold right now I have been sorting through stuff & trying to find new homes for it. I have boxes of books that need to go plus other odds & ends that just take up space. I don't know if its age or what but I am tired of all the STUFF. In my younger days, I always hung on to stuff cause I thought I might use it someday. Now I understand somedays don't really come that often & it needs to find a new home.
I love doing it but it seems to make more of a mess than it first did just sitting there. Now its divided up into other boxes instead of just the one & so that now means more stuff to walk around til I can get it out of the house. I live in a small town so they don't have organizations that will come get your stuff to donate like my other bigger town did.
I guess my nesting years are over except for when it comes to the chickens. The shingles I am removing from the kitchen walls I plan to save since I am building a overhang (roof) in the big chicken run this summer. This year with all the snow I couldn't get into the run to clear it out or even uncover the coop door....not that the chickens would come out...they didn't when there was less than a foot of snow on the ground. Well I would like them to have a area with no snow next year to hang out in...if they want....So having these shingles will be great cause now I don't have to go out & buy some sort of roofing for it. Since these are pine shingles I will have to put a tarp or roofing fabric over the plywood before I nail them into place as I can see them only lasting a few years untreated. I hope this will be a good thing for the hens as I sure do hate them being cooped up all winter even if it is their choice.
Well I guess I had best close for now & go put another log on the fire for the kids....until next time, have a great chicken day1
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