Now, if you know me very well, you know that we live in a house that was Amish built in the 1880's. It was a great deal when we bought it (complete with the 9+ acres) because the house was in such horrible shape. Overall, good structural shape, lousy interior shape. Picture filth, bugs, furniture and tons of stuff. And an entire second story in great need of renovation. Some day I will have the nerve to post the before pictures, but they were truly horrible. We had most of the upstairs redone by professionals in order to get it done as quickly as possible so the kids could move into their rooms without being terrorized by how awful it looked. Seriously.
Well, the downside of the whole thing is that you get tired. Tired of the constant renovations and of things just not being done. This year has been the year of fences and containments for our animals, and fall and winter of a new laundry room door, new plumbing in the bathroom, new tile in the bathroom, and a new paint job (in progress) in the bathroom. Add to that the normals of life: working part time, homeschooling five kids, parenting, being a family and all of that. Needless to say the progress is slow and in fits and starts as time and money allows.
Well, my kitchen counters have not been clear or done since we moved in here - as long as their was room to get stuff done (and things that just didn't seem to have places to go) life went on. Well, today, we made headway!!! Take a look at my gorgeous cupboards, antique scale (thanks to my grandparents), and composting pail. Yay! I feel like our tiny kitchen grew by miles.
And another view:
And the other thing we are trying: a recipe for bread, you make the ingredients for eight loaves of bread, let it rise for about two hours, then put it in the fridge. When you want to make a loaf, you cut out 1/8th, about the size of a grapefruit, and set it out to rise. Then you pop it in the over and "ta-da" fresh bread!!! Our plan is that I pull it when I get up in the AM, set it out to rise when I toss in a load of laundry and while I shower and get ready for work. Then pop it in the oven while I start rousing the kids - they get up to fresh bread and jam or cinnamon sugar, and we have breakfast together before I leave for work!!!
Got to love it. I got the recipe from the most recent edition of Mother Earth News, so check it out!
Well, I hope to send photos of the new bathroom project as we get it just a bit farther - the end is in sight!
8 comments:
Hi Christy, I found your blog thru a mutual group we're in on Yahoo. Your house sounds wonderful, despite all the work it needs. I look forward to seeing it when you post pictures. The bread recipe sounds interesting. Can it be found thru a website for Mother Earth?
Take Care and Bless you and your family,
Debbie
Oh Christy I just love the cupboards! So your grandparents gave them to you?????
Hugs,
Carrie In Iowa
Hi Christy, a mutual friend whom I know as Westbrook, sent me over and I'm glad she did. I am the mom of seven adopted children. She said we have a lot in common. I'd love to get to know you better.
It took me a while to be able to sign up and leave a comment, I even created a blog of my own. You've already influenced me for the good! Thanks!
http://homesteadheaven.blogspot.com/
Thanks Stephanie - I would love to hear more of your family's story! We are moving forward in our own journey, for so many reasons. Would love to connect with you! I will check out your blog.
Goat Creek Grandma - I think you should be able to find the recipe on Mother Earth, but it was from the December/January edition. If you cannot locate it, post again and I will try to get it to you.
Thanks Carrie - no the cupboards were original in the house. We just have gotten lots of other things from Grandma's house - including the antique scale that is under the cupboard. Slowly getting things settled in the house, keeping what we can use, and planning to bless others with what we can't.
thanks all for just reading my ramblings!
Christy, I tried to email you, let me know if it came through okay.
Stephanie
I wandered over from a link in another blog. I have you saved in my favorite "Homesteaders" folder. I am a mom of many, too. I have eight Lambies aged 12-3. I love to cook from scratch and am beginning a garden this year. I am looking forward to reading through your achieves and gleaning!
Glad you found us! Most of my stories tend to be sort of built on the "disaster mode" or what we learned the hard way, or what is just funny! Like at the moment we have a bunch of chicks in a brooder in the living room! They will move to the basement as they get older and not quite so cute, but for now, we like to check on them a lot, so they reside in the living room. Better than last year when they were in the dining room! LOL! You only really understand if you have done it! We had a goat mama in the laundry room in an old portable crib during a really nasty spell when we thought she just might drop that baby any time. It was early in our goat experience, and we have since learned a lot more about knowing exactly how to tell when they are going to kid (for sure during the worst possible weather!), and got a heated birthing stall set up! LOL!
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