Farm Work

This Spring has been a busy time at work.  So many of our projects and activities take place on the weekend, and a week of camp when school is out keeps all of us busy.

To add to that busyness is "Farm Work."

Since my daughter and her family moved to their 10.5 acres, it seems my weekends vanish!

Since mid-April until last weekend, we have been caught up in one of "her" big projects.

The first big thing Ashley wanted to have completed was a chicken coop.  She wanted to be able to buy her chickens and have a home for them before Spring was over.  She didn't have a set of plans...noooo...the whole idea of the coop was "in her head". (Just like her father!)

Of course, she called her dad and checked some of her measurements for her idea, then she headed to the lumber yard to make her initial purchase of lumber.

She even hitched up the trailer to bring her lumber, tin roof, and additional materials for the coop.

She started out digging her own holes even.

And she made some pretty good progress, but before long they borrowed the neighbors hole digger!

Once the holes were dug and the posts were up the real work begins.

After the walls went up, the roof was put on.

Next, the siding.

It's always good to have extra help!

Ashley envisioned each step in the building process.

She wanted three windows so the chickens could have fresh air.

She and her dad worked hard.  They made a good team as they talked through each step, making sure he understood just what her vision was!

The windows I picked up at various yard sales.  I usually paint on them, but she took the ones she thought worked best for the coop.

Add hardware....

More skilled help.

 

Ashley's dad, Peter, made the handles for her.

 

Before we could get out the next weekend, Ashley had the whole coop painted!

Work began inside with chicken wire on the windows.  The windows are hinged so they can be opened from the outside without entering the coop.

Peter and Ashely worked out the nesting boxes.  (They read on the Internet that the roofs should be sloped so the chickens can't get on top of them and poop...let's just say they are more sure footed and like to get up to see out the window.

They also made the roosting bars where they will sleep at night.

Next BIG step is to drive all the T-posts in preparation of putting up the fence.

The ground was pretty hard and some spots had to be watered to soften the ground.

The gate had to be built and installed.

Task...complete!

Now...the fence!

the last of the fencing is up and the chicks can be set free at last!

They were a little timid at first, but they eventually all made it out of the coop.

Ashley dotes on her chicks like they are children.

Austin thinks they're playmates.

This was a two month project (from start to finish) with the bulk of the work happening on Saturday's.  Ashley and Peter put in a lot of hard hours, with the rest of us jumping in and helping whenever there was a need.

I must say...I'm impressed.  Ashley had a vision and saw it through to completion.

I'm proud of her and her tenacity.

(Now she wants to knock a wall out inside the house!)

We have been clearing a lot of cedars from "our" side in prep for building a house...but that's for another day!

Till tomorrow...

debi

Big Finale, Open House Part Two

So...here is the front of the Project House. Guess I never realized I had not posted the full view of what we have been working on. It has such a welcoming porch - you can't help but want to stay awhile. We will head upstairs today and finish the open house...

As you head up stairs there is a landing and a small attic room behind the door.

Inside, there is a comfortable trundle bed for the guest that likes a really dark room for sleeping.

There is a small skylight in the roof, but it does not let a lot of light in, which makes this great for sleeping late!

It's very cozy! Behind the quilt against the back wall is a "huge hole" where Miss Janice stores all her Christmas decorations.

BUT, the biggest secret to this room is that it also doubles as a 'server' room. For you all geeks out there...this is heaven. At one time there were 7 servers humming happily in this room. Now, there are only two.

When Miss Janice sold her office building and brought her business home - along came all the servers, papers, desks, work related items. We have been busy purging a lot of these items, but there is more to do. Our goal is by the end of the year all of this will be gone and this will truly be a small guest room...without the droning hum of servers!

When you leave the attic room there is another short flight of stairs to the second floor. At the top of the stairs is the upstairs bathroom.

This room turned out to be a huge disappointment to us. We did not finish this one area. There is still pink floral wallpaper to stripe off. Very soon, though. The second disappointment was the floor. When we originally pulled back the carpet and peeked underneath, we saw wood floors. YEAH! We would just sand and stain them. However, once we pulled up the full piece of carpet, there was a piece of plywood in front of the shower. This meant we would either have to re-carpet the area, or paint the floor. Miss Janice had been hoping for a "painted" floor...so this was it!!

I decided to draw out a design to play up the plywood so it would actually look like a small mat. I created the design then transferred it to the floor to paint. It takes longer than stenciling, but the results were what I had hoped. The bathroom will eventually be black and white, and have pink accents.

Next door to this bathroom is the larger guest room.

This is a wonderful space for a guest to make themselves at home. Not only is the room large, but it is homey. This was originally painted green and we have left that color, but highlighted it with pink. This white dresser at the entrance of the room will eventually move into the craft room - but until some more purging happens in there, it will have to make it's home here. The mantel Miss Janice was using for her headboard in her bedroom has been painted white and affixed to the wall upstairs to create a cozy little sitting area. I had a wonderful pink and green piece of fabric we stabled to the back of the mantle to create a little interest.
Miss Janice had a lot of quilts and vintage linens put away, some of which were her mother's. I pulled out everything pink and used it in the room. The hanging quilts are hung from a ballet bar that was in her room as a girl.
Outside the guest room is a nice reading nook on the top landing of the stairs.

It's a comfortable place to curl up with a book or just sit and visit with a friend. As you leave this space you enter the last bedroom, which is now Miss Janice's office/craft room.

When Miss Janice first moved her office home she needed enough space for her and her assistant to have space to work. This was the perfect room! There are two large work areas and lots of storage.

Miss Janice has since closed her business, so half the room has now become a craft area. She has space to spread out and create to her heart's delight. There are still many files and "office" type things that need to be purged and shredded, but it will come!

It a fun place to work together on projects...each can have their own desk, yet sit right across from each other and talk. The best of both world's!

Thanks again for stopping by! Hope you enjoyed your visit and all the hard work that went into the makeover. Miss Janice is already talking about knocking out a back wall in the kitchen to create an eat in area....hopefully that will be next year!

I guess the completion of this project frees me up to sew some more...so I better get busy.

Till next time,

debi