Snow's Not the Only Thing that's Coming Down

The last two days we've awakened to snow-covered trees. . .

I just keep reminding myself that all this moisture makes for beautiful wildflowers.


This morning, in the lumber store, one of the clerks asked, "How's the project coming along?" (She was referring to our work on the homestead.) I answered, "Well. . .it's almost like building a new home." 


We've accomplished a lot this past week. I patched the paneling in the bedroom and living room, and put a coat of primer on the bedroom walls. Already the room looks brighter. . .

Dennis pulled all the lathe off the kitchen walls and added some supports for the over-the-range microwave. . .

The electricians put new outlets in the kitchen and living/dining room. Tomorrow we should have an inspection and then Dennis will install the drywall. 


Today we worked on the bathroom demo. All this debris . . .

came from this. . .

That photo was taken from the mudroom, which will become a sunroom. We'll have access to the bathroom from the bedroom and the sunroom. Behind the ladder is the wall to the bedroom closet, which will become the shower.

Yesterday we celebrated the Lord's resurrection. During the service we sang a song called "Creation Calls". It's such a beautiful tribute to the Lord and amazing message, that I wanted to share it here. . .

Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed.

And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.

(Mark 16:5-6 NIV)

Nancy

We're Floored!

All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them. -- Erma Bombeck

One thing's for sure, there will be no white carpet in our new home. In fact, there will be no carpet at all; just area rugs here and there. Our floor guy finished the refinishing on Wednesday. After he started working on the wood, he discovered it's not fir after all. It's all southern yellow pine, also known as heart pine, which according to him is a rare find here in Estes Park. I'm pretty happy with the way the floors turned out . . .

His team finished up on Wednesday, and on Thursday we placed Ram Board over the floors to protect them during the rest of the remodeling. . .

Ram Board is a heavy duty non-corrugated breathable fiber that allows the flooring to cure while protected. It took us about four hours to roll it out and tape it down over the three rooms: kitchen, living room/dining room and bedroom. It's worth the effort, though, when we consider the expense of refinishing the floors. And it's reusable.


Notice the ugly paneling? I'll start painting it this week. I'm looking forward to covering up those very unattractive walls.

A big snowstorm came through Wednesday night, with snow continuing through most of Thursday morning. I took this photo from the north window of our living room. . .

I love the way the snow covered the pines and the corral. It was beautiful. And the best thing about living here when it snows like this, is that within a day or two it's mostly gone. I snapped this photo yesterday (Saturday) of an elk in our yard. . .

We're waiting for the electrician to place the outlets in the kitchen, then Dennis will cover the walls and ceiling with drywall. That should happen sometime next week. 


In the meantime, he's begun the demo work on the porch. . .

Eventually this will accommodate a larger bathroom. 


I really appreciate my husband's hard work. The first meal I cook in our new kitchen is going to be whatever he wants.


But remember the root command: Love one another. (John 15:17 The Message)

Nancy

Joyful Accomplishment at the Homestead

"There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something."-- Henry Ford

There's definitely joy in the Reinke house tonight. We're pretty happy with what we accomplished over the weekend at our new house. Dennis stripped the walls and ceiling down to the lathe in the kitchen. . .

I stripped off the baseboard and pulled up all the random nails in the floor along the walls. . .

Our friends Steve and Deb sacrificed their Saturday morning to load up their truck with the trash from our demolition and make two trips to the dump. That is true friendship. 

Tomorrow Garth the flooring guy will begin refinishing all our hardwood floors. Even the kitchen. He says they're "classic fir floors" and they're going to look great when he's done. This was music to my ears.

During my work breaks, I did manage to get some photographs of flora and fauna around our homestead. We have two lilac bushes in the front yard that are budding. . .

This deer politely posed for me. . .

There were several bluebirds building nests around our house. They were very hard to photograph, but I did get a picture of this one (look close, he's at the top of the photo near the fence) . . .

This elk was grazing across the street, in our neighbor's yard. . .

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23)

Nancy

Work on the New Homestead is Underway!

This is going to be short and sweet, because I'm old and tired. We spent most of the day working on our new homestead and let me tell you, I just ain't as young as I used to be. But you probably already figured that out.


Roger, our kitchen cabinet guy, pulled out the old cabinets and sink on Tuesday. After stacking the best of the cabinetry, this is what's left . . .

Behind the cabinets we found lathe and plaster. The plaster crumbled at the touch, so we'll be tearing out and replacing walls. This is not a surprise and taking the walls down to the studs will make it easier for the electrician to do his work. Dennis pulled up four layers of linoleum in the kitchen. Those are hardwood floors under the black adhesive. We're told our floor guy may be able to salvage the floor. We'll see. . .

While Dennis worked on the kitchen, I pulled up the carpet and pad in the living/dining room. Under this. . .

is this. . .

The wood is in pretty good shape. There are a couple of places that need repair, such as the spot you see in the foreground. The rest just needs refinishing. We meet with our floor guy Saturday morning. Can't wait!

Roger found a Kellogg's coupon behind the cabinets he removed. And Dennis found a marble behind a baseboard. . .

The expiration date on the coupon is December 31, 1955. Could this have been the period they installed the cabinets we just removed? Kind of makes me wonder what the kitchen looked like in 1926, when the house was built. 

Oh, by the way, I've decided since we can't decide if the house is a cabin or a cottage, I'm calling it a cab-age. (Ok, well, maybe I'm the only one who finds that funny.)

See you in a few days with more news on the homestead project.

Nancy

Our New Homestead

I have just dropped into the very place I have been seeking, but in everything it exceeds all my dreams -- Isabella Bird 

In my last post I mentioned that Dennis and I had purchased a home, and I promised photos and more information. Most of the images I'm posting were taken today, including the above photo of a primitive cupboard we found in the barn. You can bet this will show up in the house somewhere, after we get the piece cleaned up.

Allow me to introduce you to our new homestead. . .

(Don't be fooled by this photo, taken in January. There is no snow on the ground today. We're enjoying 60 degree weather under sunny skies.)


Dennis and I have debated whether this little house is a cottage or a cabin.  Webster defines cottage as "a usually small frame one-family house", and cabin as "a small one-story dwelling usually of simple construction". Hmmm, is it just me, or are these two definitions  remarkably similar? 


At any rate, the house, built in 1926, sits on 1/2 acre with nice mountain views. . .

and a 150 year-old log barn. . .

The barn came with all the trappings you see in the photo, adding to its charm.


The first thing we're going to tackle in the cottage/cabin is the kitchen. . .

Believe me, these before photos make the kitchen look a lot better than it actually is. In a few weeks I hope to be able to post after photos, with new cabinets, sink, faucet, countertops, paint, light fixtures. . .the works.


We'll be pulling up the carpet and vinyl, and refinishing the hardwood floors throughout the house. . .

Dining/Living Room. . .

Well, I've run out of patience with the slowww upload of photos tonight, so that's all I'm posting for now. 


Counting it all joy in our continuing mountain adventure. . .

Nancy