I missed sharing the official one year anniversary of our huge move to the country. But, today marks one year, one month and one day…. That’s pretty unique, too!
Shortly after we moved from suburbia to the-middle-of-nowhere, we devised quite a long list of things we hoped to accomplish in our first year on our future homestead. Or farm. (I think we have settled, sorta, on farm.)
In no particular order, our list was….
- Garden: Establish location, plant and grow
Spring - Kitchen/Living Room: Remove walls, add island, new flooring & lighting
Spring - Offices: One in the house (for me) and one in the shop (for Nathan)
Spring - Chickens: Buy and raise, fix up coop
Spring - Photo Area: Upper field, add evergreens and wild flowers, create photo shoot regions/paths, market for clients
Fall - Blog/Vlog: All about homestead life/ transition from city to country
NOW - Shop: Build room, organize, create tool storage, add vehicles/ equiptment
Summer
Sure this was a hefty list, and we possibly forgot about all the small tasks that would “pop” up like weekly yard maintenance for the 2ish acre yard around the house or homeschooling the children. Throw in several unplanned projects like a dog house and fencing for various regions (yard perimeter, garden, and chicken coop yard.) Finally, add a month of company and a three-month deployment. And, it becomes very clear that not everything on the list was tackled.
What we did accomplish was… garden, kitchen, chickens, blog. The shop project will be added to this year’s list and the photo area will be postponed for a bit longer.
For 2021, we have decided to plan for only four projects. We know that Nathan will be traveling a few times this year and don’t want to overload our schedule. However, these projects must get done!
The “Farm Projects” for 2021, in priority order….
- Water, water, water!!! We have hard water and original plumbing throughout our 1970’s ranch-style home. It is top priority to replumb the entire house and install a water softening system. We’ve already had several leaks and damaged appliances in the year we’ve lived here. And, because the main water line comes through the master bath and the house is on a slab, we will need to gut the master bath. Of course, this also means I get to design the bathroom of my dreams!! We will start on this project this weekend, and plan to have it finished in about 2 months.
- Pool Decking: At the end of last summer, our above ground pool finally arrived. We had just enough time to install the pool before our families arrived and Nathan left for the rest of the year. A large deck around the pool will give us a space to relax, hang out as a family or with friends, provide privacy from the road, and give the kids a perfect jumping-off place! Ideally this will need to be completed before we open the pool for this summer.
- Shop: This project is yet another multi-phase plan. Not only do we need to completely organize all the tools and equipment so they are easily accessible, we plan to add an enclosed room in the shop. This will serve multiple purposes; entertainment room, workout room, guest room.
- Kitchen Overhaul: The 1970’s wall oven is entirely too small for many of my feasts and gatherings. We originally planned to just remove this and put in a full size stove/oven where the current stovetop is. Then, we found a large hole in the sink (that is currently duck taped!) and the kitchen faucet burst (see #1.) Now, we have turned this project into a complete kitchen renovation with new cabinets, stove/oven, sink and backsplash. (We put in a new refrigerator when we moved in and had to replace the dishwasher because of #1.) It will really help this dated part of our home match the rest of the space!
As always, you will be invited to join us as we rip up various parts of our home and restore them to a beautiful and lovely space.
You can also check out the video version of our list….
