This Old American Foursquare

A few bright spots to note: - My chigger bites are finally healing and I don't look like I have the bubonic plague. - Our pollinator garden is finally showing leaves!  And the biggest story to tell is that of our cherry tree. She was not in the best condition, likely around 80 years old, and a bad storm away from falling towards the house. So we made the decision to have her cut down and her legacy continues because we will mill the wood for future furniture and window trim!  Side note on renovations: nothing started and waiting for the kitchen designer to update dimensions so we can finally get a price estimate for that, a full estimate for the rest of the house work, and put (clap) those (clap) orders (clap) in! Back to Cherry...we left the expert work to the tree guys who swiftly and safely cut her down. It was bittersweet to see her go but we know that she will live on in a different way. The next forest project is in a few weeks. A forest consultant will walk the property advi

Wow, I've really slacked on updates. Here goes: - work still hasn't started inside the house  That's it! Just kidding...the weather has been gorgeous lately so we've been soaking it up with outdoor work: moving logs, removing dead trees, planting native plants, mowing the lawn, power washing the deck, and getting chigger bites in the process.  We also built and put up a bat house to attract those cuties to our property and help us keep the mosquitos under control. Did you know it can take up to two years for bats to find your bat house? And that timeline is short if you meet all of the other factors: nearness to a body of water, high placement not on trees. 

Back in September 2023, Matt and I noticed we had about 9 apple trees on the property. They even bore fruit in October, were a great prop for our dog's autumnal photo shoot, and tasty too! Our house is located in Catskills Park and we learned about a local nonprofit called Catskill Forest Association, which specializes in forestry education and services. More specifically, they offer apple true pruning. So, we joined the CFA and had two of their arborists come evaluate our trees. The bad news is that our trees are on their last leg...or branch. They're likely over 100 years old and some appear to be volunteer apple trees, which means they were grown from seeds spontaneously without direct human control aka maybe seeds in deer poop led to their growth. The good news is that the presence of volunteer apple trees means our soil is nutrient-rich. To Matt's disappointment, these senior trees didn't prove to be an heirloom variety surprise but on the bright side we had two ar

If that blog post was click bait, let me reel you in. It's not a human baby, it's a tractor baby. Before I dive into our newest family member, here's the update on renovations. Drywall demo is on pause because we want an electrician to evaluate all the electrical in the walls to see if any outdated wiring needs to be replaced. We also need a new electrical panel installed; that requires a permit to be approved by the town which our electrician has filed and so we wait for that bureaucratic process to do its thing. Matt and I removed all the cabinets in the kitchen, found an old flue in the kitchen that takes an obnoxious amount of space. We decided she needed to go but in order to do that, we needed to figure out an alternative way to vent. And we can't order our kitchen cabinets if the original design accounted for the flue in the kitchen (which was hiding behind drywall). So, at this point things are on hold until our electric water heater and new vent are installed.

One weekend last month, my in-laws stayed back to back weekends to help us with more demo: part of the hallway and the kitchen. Matt wanted to see what the kitchen would look like without all of the cabinets. In the midst of said-demo, I decided to take a bio break in the half bath on the first floor. The wood door to this bathroom was already tricky. It had expanded over the years, didn't shut properly, and the lock was finicky. Of course, when everyone is on the second floor ripping nails from the room framing, using a saw-zall, and playing the radio, I decide to test the said lock while on the toilet. I proceeded to lock myself in the bathroom. I started to laugh quietly by myself, called.oir to my dog to send a distress signal (that didn't work ) but seeing his little paw shadows under the door made me smile. I sprayed the bathroom with Febreze,.removed a wall shelf I didn't like in my denial of being stuck and then realized I wasn't getting out. So I pressed my ear

Our renovation project is not on hold, but we're certainly not in any rush (according to my husband). I'd like to stop cooking on a hot plate at some point, but I'll stay patient and enjoy my Velveeta mac and cheese because it truly is liquid gold.  The cabin was chock full of stuff. There were about 50+ James Patterson books that I organized with other crime and war fiction books to donate. I saved ones that were of most interest to me and others that were damaged and likely not wanted by the local library. While Matt and I could dump everything in the dumpster, I want us to be mindful of items that could be reused, repurposed, or donated. Through a local Facebook group, I answered a post from a woman looking for book donations for a nonprofit. All of the appliances (2 stoves, one washer, one dryer) were picked up by our neighbor...who also took a dumpster dive or two for other treasure.  There was also a lot of plates, glasses, and other kitchenware. A few are Currier &am