porch measurments

porch bottom:   89 in X 20 foot long

fixin it stuffs!

Ya Ya bad grammar I know, but oh well! Here are some pics of the next repairs to be done! They look worse than they are(or I am delusional take your pick) I'll post pics as it gets fixed and moved.

I have to cover the door and re shingle and recover with new wood

replace all boards underneath

re shingle that small area on roof (to high for me)

finish moving pile of wood from previous owner

under the wood are flowers trying to come up!

clean up and repair and paint

 I can do most of it myself(I hope) The shingles on the roof are what makes me the most worried. And that's only cause I hate heights! If I get up there I may not come back down- with out falling! The rest is simple and I can do most. I have someone who has said he will help me- one of Nanna's friends. This is where its good that I helped L with so many remodels and paint jobs. I have a slight idea of how to pretend my way through it! I can pretend good enough to convince myself I know what I am doing! I am going to temporarily cover the top door. When I have the $$ to redo it real nice up there with a rail I will uncover it. For not it will be covered and fixed with out a rail.  Today I went and bought a new screw gun to make more repairs on the house. The one I had died, the battery stayed charged long enough to put in 1 screw, if it was short! So I bought a new one, its a small black n Decker, plugs in instead of charging. I also picked up some cement patch stuff to fill in some cracks. I hope this week to get out there and measure the top of the porch awning and the bottom so I know exactly how much wood to buy to fix it. I 'll take pics when I do! We also will get the pile from the side of the house moved. We got all the dead rose bush branches cleaned up! I'll be doing a few other things. We also hope to get a start on digging the garden spot soon. No repairs happened recently. Just getting ready to do the work I need to do.

Cleaning the cellar!

The cellar is all cleaned! Now we are organizing, bringing in shelfs, putting canned foods down there and making it useable! The shelfs we took in will be remodeled. I am going to put a small piece of wood at the bottom of each shelf- after removing the doors. Then we can lay the cans down and stack them that way. I will be able to organize by food type and keep it more organized I hope! We have all(well most) of the jars for canning stacked on the top edge, some are in a couple shelfs and in a drawer. There is a cool chair, it has hinges and will move so its a step ladder. I was going to throw it away, its in bad shape. Nanna said "mom you can fix it, clean it up and redo it, make it look new" And well I love to do that kind of stuff so I kept it. Like I really need another project!

It doesw look lots better down there now. And if we do have to go down due to a storm the kids wont be as scared to be down there now. We have some blankets in the deep freezer that does not work down there. They will stay clean there and if we have to use it as shelter we can pull them out to use and not have to worry about taking them down there.

I'll be starting the work on the outside of the house soon. I need the weather to co operate for it. I think I have figured out how I will do most of it. Not all but most. I have figured out how to do the porch awning, it will be easier than I thought! The hardest part is going to be the roof, the spot I need to reshingle. I can do it myself, but I cant get to it easily, and well I hate heights!!! But unless I can find someone to volunteer it looks like I get to do it myself. WAAAAAAAA

SO here are some new pics of the cellar. I'll keep updating as we go. Right now the cans are just stuffed in the shelfs and they are not done how I want. I have to get time to change the way they are set up. Hopefully soon.

                             

clean up the cellar!

So Nanna is home for a few days, partly to help me with a few things around the house- one being the cellar! So you have see the before pics- if not just scroll through the blog, There are pics. ITS HORRIBLE! So last night we gloved up, put on masks and went in!

We are not even close to done but so far we have removed- 2 big garbage cans full of old jars of food, old kitchen appliances- radio that was scary! I believe it was 4 lawn and leaf bags, 2 garbage cans! This is the junk, garbage, broken stuffs. I am keeping all the jars! There are so many its unreal. I found a blender that's in perfect condition- its just the blender- not the electrical part. It looks like its never been used. There are 3 bird cages- in good shape. Not sure what to do with them, I do not do birds in my house. I may see if I can find a buyer. There is also an old potty chair. and spiders!! Nanna yells mom a spider- freaking out, I spot it, its on the table! I had no clue I was so flexible- the Tai chi and walking is paying off! I lifted my leg high enough to smash that spider! Its amazing what old card board boxes do when left to sit for years, they get gross, crumble and are gross!

We spent a couple hours down there. We have lots more to go. I plan on cleaning it up good enough, organizing all the jars so they are not all over and using it for y food storage. I shop Aldis and have food all over upstairs. Don't right I can get it all down there, nice and neat. Only the can goods, nothing in bags. Well there is the gigantic deep freezer- it does not work but holds things well. I have my food storage in bags inside it. I am thinking its a good spot for the wheat also.

I took pics to keep track of progress so I am putting them here for y'all to see. Dulie called while we were down there. I found 2 pretty light covers, she likes the pretty pink one. So I'll send it to her. Otherwise it was headed for the garbage can! Save by the Dulie! So here's the pics

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many are able to be 'full-time moms,' at least during the most formative years of their children's lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work part- or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
M. Russell Ballard

So I went downstairs and took some pics of all the mess! there are so many jars its unreal. I have some masks I bought and I am going to clean it up, organize it and hopefully make it look better. I cant wait to be able to use the jars! They have already been coming in handy. I have cleaned out several gallon jars to hold our rice,beans and pastas, brown sugar, flax, granola,and other stuff like that. There are still more to use plus all the smaller jars. There are also the old milk jugs! Those just look cool, but then I like jars for some reason. So I thought I would share with you the messy view of my cellar. After its clean I will share more pics!

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many are able to be 'full-time moms,' at least during the most formative years of their children's lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work part- or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
M. Russell Ballard

craziness and chaos

Done fixin for a minute?

Well the water runs! We have a shower! Actually 2 showers! The one in my room is fixed and the main one also!! New stove is in place! And we are focusing on the unpacking now. Finding a place for everything. We have most done. 

I was out walking around the yard the otherday with Loo. She was showing me where she thinks the garden should be. We checked out the chicken coop, the kids have it cleaned out. They are ready for chicks. I have to take care of a few other things first. But they have it cleaned nicely. We found an old milk jug, the metal kind! I am still not sure where to put the garden. But we will figure that out soon. I have to come up with a tiller, or else the boys will be out there with shovels. I know we all vote for a tiller. But thats only going to happen if I find one to borrow. I dont have the money to buy one right now. 

I need to come up with a chain saw also. There is a tree branch on a power line going to the garage, and several other trees that need dead removed badly. I am not sure how I am going to arrange that one bt something will work out. 

I think tomorrow the kids will be doing some stuff around the yard. Its a mess right now. As we have unpacked things have been set out on the porch and the wond has blown stuff all over. Plus the dog chews everything she can.  I need to finish unpacking. For right now we are done with repairs, I think. I know there are more to be done, and there is more to do all through the house. But we will get to it a little at a time. I think our next move is to go room by room and make our plans for whats to be done. As we do that I will put it here to share.

OH I did go to the cellar. I needed a jar for my sourdough start that was growing and taking over. I found lots of gallon jars! I am psyched! now I have plenty of jars to store my rice and pastas in. No bug or mice eating them now! There are so many jars of various sizes its awesome. I'll be able to do some canning this year if I grow enough. I took lots of pics. I'll post them tomorrow. Its very dirty and messy down there. One of these days I need to brave it to clean it. I think I need a dust mask first. Its pretty bad. And some gloves!

Well My Baby E is crying. I need to gert her to sleep. To see some pics of our organizing the bathroom and stuff check out my other blog. Theres new updates there also. http://huffinfamily.blogspot.com/

www.homeschoolblogger.com/huffins

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many are able to be 'full-time moms,' at least during the most formative years of their children's lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work part- or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
M. Russell Ballard