Sunday, November 28, 2010

A Relaxing Yet Productive Weekend

We are driving through Madison right now after our usual stop in Middleton at the Mobil. Now that it is dark  on the drive home, it’s harder to sew or knit like I do when it is light. I still need something to keep me occupied while Steve is driving the busy roads home, so I thought blogging might work. Mia (our cat) has decided to sit on the laptop and but is now settled in my lap. Everyone seems to be heading home from the holiday weekend tonight. I hope you all had a great weekend with family & friends or just relaxing at home.

We are still recovering from our colds but feel much better than last week. I really didn’t expect to get much done but we did accomplish a few things. Steve hung drywall on the low wall in the kitchen where the sink & cook top will be. I hope to post a drawing of those cabinets, etc. soon.

Kitchen wall. The 2 pex lines in floor is the location of the sink.
Cooktop will be in the area behind the bucket.

While he worked on that, I was in the attic & the basement looking for misc. items to take back home in preparation for Christmas. Things like cookie cutters, the kid’s stockings, and felted wool to make presents. I seriously have a wool obsession.  I shop at Goodwill and garage sales for wool sweaters. At first I was making dryer balls (which I still do) and water bottle covers, but now I’m adding other items. So far a trivet and reading glasses  holder.  I can’t tell you the other items yet or it will ruin the surprise for the kids.

When Steve was finished with the drywall, he put up a temporary door at the base of the attic stairs.  We will still keep the Styrofoam at the top of the stairs. That should keep the space even warmer. I worked on putting up the last bit of blue jean insulation on the workshop wall that backs up to the new living area.
The last of the insulating on the main floor.

It got down to fourteen degrees Friday night but today was in the forties. That was very comfortable for bringing in more firewood for our next visit which I worked on while Steve went on to the next project, putting another coat of mud on the bathroom drywall. One more coat & we should be painting.
Second coat of mud.

The Subaru looks right at home at the farm :-)
At the shop, we’ve been working on  a medicine chest & mirror frame made of the same hickory wood as the vanity. We will begin working on the cabinets & counter top for the low wall in the kitchen soon. Then we can have a working sink upstairs for washing dishes. Yippee!!! Washing dishes in the basement in the utility sink works but it is hard on the back. Just not the right height.
So this was the maiden voyage for the Subaru. So far so good. I put a few bumper stickers in the windows today. One is for the local radio station WDRT and the other says “Driftless. Slower is better” . Steve’s brother Joe called the Subaru our “hippiemobile”.  We just laughed. I guess it’s better than a “conservativemobile“.  I think a lot of people think of us as old hippies. We aren’t “mainstream” that’s for sure. But who wants to be like everyone else?
We are home now, so I am copying, pasting  & adding pictures to this post. Time for bed now & dreams of the new kitchen...

8 comments:

Lois Evensen said...

You've made a great deal of progress. It appears it'll be very comfy when finished. :)

Nancy said...

It's looking great, Barb. Your husband looks to be doing a fantastic job. Looking forward to seeing your kitchen cabinets. :)

angie said...

Hi Barb,

Coming right along... You're right - that Subaru does look at home at the farm. :)

Judy said...

I can't wait to see it all done.

Anonymous said...

Your kitchen is going to look great and I imagine you are salavating at the thought of running water in your kitchen. Can't wait for your cabinets! It will look wonderful!! You two are really talented to do most of that yourselves! ...debbie

Anonymous said...

I have more and more come to understand how great wool is :-) So I try to find what ever I can made of wool.

I learned how to knit in school once, but I have to admit that I hate it :-) :-) :-) But I have been thinking of getting one of those knitting machines, preferably one of those that takes care of it self more or less. I do need lots of sweaters, mittens and socks now in winter.

The snowstorm is over for now and the sun shined today, that means lower temps. I´m not happy :-) :-)

Have a great day now!
Christer.

Jen (emsun.org) said...

Looking good! And you're right - who wants to be mainstream? :)

Farmchick said...

Just out blog hopping and found my way here. I enjoyed my stay here. Hope you can stop by my farm and say hi! :)