Progress

 I've sorely neglected to post any updates about the house in several years and in reading back through previous posts I was struck by several things. First, how absolutely optimistic I was about the amount of work we could get done in any given amount of time. I thought I'd have a real kitchen in 2013, but here we are in 2021 and I still don't. Second, the absolute plethora of self-styled experts that dispense some very dubious, if not downright destructive, advice to old homeowners. 

I was feeling kind of low after looking back at old posts, like we really hadn't accomplished very much at all in the last few years. So I decided to catalog progress room by room and I felt much better afterward. 

Kitchen 

*replaced rotted floor joists

*laid new flooring

*sanded walls

*removed tongue and groove original ceiling

*tore up hearth and poured concrete for new hearth (we'll reuse the original brick)

*opened up both doorways to the dining room

*poured footers for new piers in the basement

Dining Room

*removed tongue and groove ceiling

*sanded those ceiling boards and installed them in the stairwell and upstairs hallway

*removed drywall and wallpaper from walls

*opened up the fireplace

*removed linoleum

*installed an actual sink instead of using the utility sink in the bathroom to wash dishes

Living Room

*removed mantel

*painted

Upstairs Hallway

*installed tongue and groove boards

*exposed the logs on the east wall of the stairwell

*replaced missing windows with salvaged six over six sashes

Upstairs Bedrooms

*removed linoleum

*removed closet

*began removing paint to expose the original tongue and groove horizontal boards

*uncovered fireplace and have continued to ponder how they ever used it without a hearth

*stripped countless layers of paint from one of the doors

Parlor

*drywall and paint

*new ceiling light

*installed one new sash and worked on the other 3 windows

Bathroom

*total gut and rebuild of the bathroom, it's still not the way I envision, but it's safe and sturdy now. We had no clue how bad it actually was until we started removing the walls and floor

Exterior

*removed cement shingles from west and south sides

*put in all new field line for the septic

*had 2 dangerous, diseased trees taken down

*worked on my herb garden and planted many new herbs

*got chickens and 2 Shetland wethers

So really that's quite a lot considering that we are living in the house while working on it and we're homeschooling as well. We had about a year and a half between when we got the house paid off and when COVID hit, which has slowed things down a bit. We do have big plans for this spring and I'm still hopeful about that kitchen!