Garden and Property Progress

I've never had a green thumb nor have I ever enjoyed yard work. Yet, here I am on five acres, trying to do the whole "homestead-thing". I have to admit that having a pool really encourages my willingness to get out and work in the yard. We simply throw on our swimsuits and start on the latest outdoor project. When we get too hot to continue, a jump in the pool cools us down before we get back to work. It's a miracle, my aversion to yard work has been cured! (I just needed a little liquid therapy.)

Here you can see some of the progress we've made on the overgrowth. Pay no attention to the purple sky in the top photo, I had to get it from the video. 

When we bought the place, the property was overrun with jasmine, air potatoes, wisteria, and other invasive plants. You can definitely see that in my initial video tour of the pool and property.  Since we wanted to plant fruits and vegetables, we knew that getting rid of the overgrowth and vines was a priority.  After working to clear some areas, we finally started our raised bed garden in November. While the majority of the plants never really did much of anything, there was actually a little success with the salad mix. We're still waiting for the carrots, onions, and garlic to ripen.

Just about every weekend since it's gotten warm again, we've worked a little more on the property. The past several weekends have been particularly productive.

I knew there was some kind of vegetation in the compost pile, but didn't really pay much attention to it until it started blooming. At that point, we realized we had grape tomatoes growing. So, they were transplanted to the raised beds with the hope that they would make it. Five plants were moved, and they seem to be doing well after a few initial days of droop-age. In fact, one of them has several branches of tomatoes already popping out.

How about them tomatoes?

We also transplanted a few agave plants that were left here in plastic containers, dumped over. Fortunately, there were also several nice planters in the pool area.

AND, I discovered that the annoying grape vines growing all over the edges of the property will actually bear fruit! So, they can stay for the time being.

These are muscadine grapes and should ripen sometime in September.

After that, we decided to actually pick out and plant the food to we want to grow. So, off to the local feed-n-seed we went. It didn't take long to place what we chose in the dirt.

More tomatoes, yellow bell peppers, and jalapenos were put in the last raised bed.

Cucumbers, beans, and zucchini went in pots placed along the trellis.  

Two found (on property) concrete planters were used to plant an herb garden mix of plants and seeds. I believe I planted basil, cilantro, dill, mint, oregano, and parsley. They're in alphabetical order naturally. I should probably make some plant markers for them before I forget what they are. 

I also planted sunflower and zinnia seeds in a few locations. You know, to attract the bees.

Finally, Pat cleared away another ground-covered area of jasmine and wisteria.

Yes, that whole brown area was just vines. It was maddening. 

Now, we can walk from the backyard to the barn without having to unnecessarily go around several buildings. Yay!

We've been plenty productive since we started. I'm happy that we're finally getting it to a more workable point. And, Pat picked up some plastic barrels yesterday so we can start on a rain catchment system to water the garden and the chickens. There's always a project in the works around these parts, but I don't think we'd want it any other way.

I've linked this up at the Homestead Blog Hop and Simple Homestead Blog Hop.

Renovations - coming to an end

We're finally at a point in our renovations where we can take a bit of a breather and actually enjoy our living space.  In the last update, I revealed the majesty that is our new floors.

Since then, we've added a few finishing touches that included painting, installing, and caulking the baseboards.

I was able to paint the baseboards, but it took Pat's skill and expertise to install and caulk them.

Ahhhhh, isn't that better?

I know the hallway is pretty boring thing to show, but it's so much better than the dark dreariness it had been.

See!!

Once the baseboards were in place, we focused in on our lack of counter space. While building the island is more of an undertaking than we want to tackle at the moment, Pat drew my attention to this workbench that had been left in the garage by the previous owner.

It doesn't look like much here, but it's the right height.

We hauled it out into the yard where I cleaned it off with lots and lots of bleach water and scrubbing. From there, we added felt pads on the feet to keep it from scratching the new floors.

In the kitchen, it looks at home. And, it helps us get a feel for the space the island will eventually occupy. However, I still needed some additional storage.

A trip to Michael's solved that problem. They luckily had their baskets reduced to half price. Score!

I took no time filling those baskets, and Y'ALL! My house looks amazing now.

Though we still have a few projects to tackle, those can wait. My kitchen is a work-able space again! My house isn't a construction zone. It's lovely.

Here's a few looks at the before and current condition.

From the kitchen. Yes, those are the same spaces.

From the loving room.

It really is blissful to have this much room and space. If you want to look through the process from the beginning: Renovations Underway, Renovations Part 2, Renovations Part 3, and  Renovations Part 4 (Floors).

We've already moved onto another project...

fencing in the front yard for an extremely bored puppy. I'll spare you all the details of that project. But, it'll be a relief for all of us (the two us, the puppy, and the cat) to have that done too.

Thanks to everyone for all their kind words as we've gone through this trying process. I'm excited to get started with the actual decorating of the area. I've got hopes to make some curtains and actually get art on the walls. How about that!

So, what's going on in your home?

Renovations Part 4 - Floors

The renovations have absolutely consumed me as of late. But, all the work has paid off, and I have another update for you. The floors are FINISHED!!

If you'll recall, this is what we were dealing with a few weeks ago.

No flooring in the dining room, kitchen, or hallway.

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you've likely seen glimpses of the progress.

I have to admit that Pat laid all of the tile himself. He said it was a one-person job and just wouldn't let me help. He opened three boxes of tiles at a time and "shuffled" them to try to keep from having a pattern of the tiles on the floor. We wanted it as random as possible to achieve a wood floor look, despite the tiles being porcelain. He mixed and spread the multi-set, set the tiles, and used 1/8 inch spacers between them. He did buy and start with some leveling spacers, but found them cumbersome and time-consuming. So, after the first day, he stopped using them.

The tiles were laid by thirds to keep them offset and not lined up. Again, this was done to achieve more of the wood-floor look. For the most part, he laid the whole tiles first then worked on the edges and cut areas. It took longer than expected and was fairly back-breaking work as he was on his hands and knees for the most part.

Once all the tiles were laid, multi-set dried, and spacers removed; I did the grout work. Pat helped by mixing the grout and fetching me buckets of fresh water. The grout was spread along the tile lines and pressed into the holes well. I worked in about 3 foot by 3 foot sections. Once the grout was spread, I used a large sponge to wipe away the excess. It took me three days to do the whole area. I finished almost a week ago and there's still grout under my nails and my hands are still sore. But, it was SO WORTH IT!

Once the grout was done, I used an old t-shirt to buff the area. The floor can't be mopped for something like ten days while it cures. But, I've swept it several times!

We went with a dark brown grout in hopes that it would blend with the tiles. So far, I think it looks fabulous.

Also note that we (Pat) removed the base boards to install the tile. This helps hide the seams of the tiles.

Here's a few final looks at the progress.

And for a final glimpse of just how awesome this whole renovation is going. . .

Amazing, right!?

There's still a bit to do: paint & install baseboards, put in transition plates (including on the step in the living room), build an island and corner cabinets in the kitchen, and replace the countertops and backsplash, build a bookcase in the dining room. You know. . .not much more. But, we're so close we're absolutely basking in it. Once the transition plates go down, we can actually take a breather.

I should have another update VERY soon because the baseboards went in yesterday. I just have to take some pictures.

Oh, and if you're interested in seeing the whole progression up to this point, here's Renovations Part 1, Renovations Part 2, and Renovations Part 3.

Renovations Part 3

Click to see Renovations Part 1 and Renovations Part 2.

It seems as though the renovations will never end at our house. While living in chaos is indeed driving me a little crazy, each project has me more and more excited about how far we've come in this process.

Before I begin to share all the photos (and there are plenty), I ask that you refrain from judging the mess too harshly. As I said, we're living in chaos with furniture and supplies pushed out everywhere. It's killing me. Moving on. . .

Our latest project was painting. And, we painted EVERYTHING! Since we'll be getting new floors, it seemed logical to paint before we put down the flooring. We started at the top - ceilings. This had to be done because the kitchen ceiling (I asked you to make note of it in the last renovation post) was a shade I can only describe as peachy brown. Eek!

Because there were patches in the dining room and the hallway's ceiling was painted in the same beige shade as the walls, Pat painted all three.

It definitely helped!

Next up was the trim - ceiling molding, accents, and doorways.

I quickly learned that gravity is no friend of painting upside down. While this was a tedious task, I'm glad to have it done in those areas at least.

From there, it was time to focus on the walls. While the white in the dining room was fine, we really wanted it to blend with the living room a little more to make a more cohesive space.

The beige in the hallway was just a little too dark.

And, of course. . .there was the kitchen.

So much brown!!

The dining room received the same light gray that we did in the living room.

The hallway was painted a refreshing white.

The same white was used in the kitchen.

Already starting to look better!

From there, we had to tackle those dark brown cabinets. I started by removing all the doors.

As the doors were removed, I used painter's tape and a marker to label each door so we would know which one belonged where. I also separated the upper and lower doors into different piles.

The hinges, knobs, and catches were removed from each door. I placed those pieces in separate baggies that were labeled with corresponding numbers to the labels on the doors. From there, I cleaned each door.

Then, the painting began.

It took FOUR COATS of paint with primer to cover that brown.

And, I had to do each side!

The hardware for the doors was a combination of copper knobs and brass hinges. I knew the mis-match would drive me crazy. 

While these were removed, I took the opportunity to spray paint them a consistent color. I went with a matte black. (They're shiny in the picture because I had just sprayed them.)

We'll eventually get or make something we like even more. This was an inexpensive fix for now. 

We painted the bottom cabinets a separate color that seemed to take forever to dry. Stupid humidity! I failed to get a picture of these as we were anxious to get them done.

Once all the painting was done, we replaced the hinges and catches on the doors, rehung the doors, and screwed on the knobs. 

It's like a breath of fresh air!

And for one final comparison. . .

HUGE difference!

Obviously, the next step is flooring. We've also removed the floor molding in order to install the floors. Those will be painted before we re-install them. That makes it a ton easier in the long run. I can't wait to get through this next step. There will still be a ton more to do, but once the floors get down, I can at least organize some and feel less like we're living in shambles. 

What do you think? Better right?

I'm linking this post up at Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life.