The Horses have a Pasture!

Tomorrow is the big move!!   OMG how did this day get here already when I haven't even finished half of the things my to do list had on it!

Today was a work day prepping the front pasture and the old run in shelter for the horses to move tomorrow.   After my Dad's labour yesterday removing all the wire fencing, I needed to go around to every post and remove the extra insulators and reinstall insulators at the correct heights for the 4 strands of new electric rope fencing.   Then between Chris and I we were able to install the 3 top strands and we left the bottom strand off because the weeds are so incredibly tall that they require a serious weed whacker of bush hog.   Not having the bottom strand on the fencing will make not only the task of bush hogging easier but also stringing that strand will be WAY easier once the weeds are gone.

Chris and I spent the rest of the late afternoon until dark making the old run in shelter safe enough for short term use.   The metal siding had been cut and was jagged all across the top and along the 2 side openings.   The previous owner had also cut out a major support beam for the wall so Chris made a new beam and installed that to ensure that it was safe.  

My Dad braved the weed whacking along the fence line that follows the driveway.   He was half way down the lane and I looked over form the far corner of the field and couldn't believe the transformation something as simple as weed whacking could make!   Looks great and again I am going tout the benefits of a little elbow grease!   Thanks Dad!   Now if only I could convince him to just use the bush hog along the road instead of doing the manual weed whacking.   He seriously loves manual labour; I guess that's why he stays in such good shape.

Mom was busy, busy, busy again in the house removing the tape from the painting projects she was working on and cleaning the entire house so that it's ready for the move in of our furniture tomorrow. We came in for lunch and wow there had been a transformation from the past 2 weeks.   The main floor looked and smelled so much better.   Thanks Mom!

Once again I can't thank my parents enough for all the help they have given DH and I since our purchase of HP Haven.   Love you both...thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Had a pop in visit from Kelly and Phil just before dark.  Thanks guys for all your congrats and support of our new project.   It was fun showing you around so that you can see were we started on our journey.   Can't wait to see your new home blossom next year!

Well...pics to come after move in...it's been a whirlwind and tomorrow is the big move.
Feeling a bit nostalgic tonight since this is our last night before we move to the farm.   So happy to be moving into our very own farm but this home was our first together and it has been a labour of love too.   Finishing our basement, building our little barn and adding to our garage.  There has been alot of changes to this home in 9 years, I can only imagine how amazing HP Haven will be 9 years from now.   :-)

Painting and Stall Scouring

It's been a very busy 2 days.  Mom has been painting like crazy and the living room, library area, office area and master bedroom have all been painted.    There is still a lot of house left to paint but we can work away on all the remaining rooms over time once we get moved in.

We had a hot but productive day yesterday with the help of BFF Heather.   We stripped the stalls in the barn and then took down the large pasture fencing at our little farm.   The fields look "naked" without the fencing!   Having an extra set of hands was a huge help and saved a lot of extra miles on my feet walking around taking all the fencing insulators out of the fencing.   Thank you Heather...it was a nice work day with you and the chocolate was perfect!  :-)

My Dad has also been very busy!   He has taken down 3 strands of wire off the front pasture at the farm.  The old owners had sheep and horses in the front pasture and all the fencing is falling down and coming unwound.    He put on several miles today as he walked the fence line 3 times to unstring and wind up the wire.   Wire is all gone and now tomorrow we can string the new fencing so that my girls will have a safe and secure pasture for arrival this week.   Dad even worked through the rain today outside to get the job done.   He also took down the cattle stocks at the back of the 40 acres of pasture.    We won't be needing cattle stocks and since they are not in good shape it will be nice to have the area cleaned up so it can be farmed.

Seriously, DH and I have no idea what we would have done this past 2 weeks without the help of my parents.   It's been so amazing having them working side by side both DH and I...really a great time in my life.

Chris and I scoured the stalls in the barn.   Chris ran the pressure washer and I was the labourer on the end of the scouring brush.   I don't need P90X this week!    What a total body work out.   I don't think the stalls have been washed once since the day they were installed.   DH actually thought they had painted the bottom 2 boards black; not realizing that they were just so coated in horse poo that they were no longer wood coloured!   They were very gross but now they are washed, scrubbed with disinfectant and rinsed.   Fans are running full blast overnight to help dry the place out.   It looks fantastic and it never ceases to amaze me how a little elbow grease can make such a difference.

We also had our first farmer drop by asking about renting our land.

Floors are Finished!

Lots to share since my last post!   

DH and I have been burning the midnight oil trying to get the floors on the second level refinished with enough time for them to cure before the furniture moves in next week.  Tonight was the earliest night this week were we left the house by 6 pm and off to the Home Depot to buy more paint by 7:15 pm.   As we walked in we found out that they close at 8 pm so had 15 minutes to rush around to buy the essentials before they closed.    I got the 2 gallons of paint I needed for tomorrow...so life is good!   Latest night we were home by 12:30…Hubby thought I was just crazy but I was NOT leaving until the stain was on the floor because there was just no way I could face coming back the next morning to have to wear the respirator and hot disgusting rubber gloves.  My hands were beyond prune like.   This made the days when I was a kid and stayed in the tub too long look like nothing…my palms were even wrinkly and I could dump the sweat out of the gloves…GROSS!

I am very happy to report now tho that the floors are FINISHED!!!   They turned out darker than I had expected form the 2"x2" sample they have at Home Depot but I still really like them.  I picked Chocolate as the stain colour, I thought that suited me.  :-)   It turns out chocolate should read "Dark" Chocolate rather than what my brain registered as "Milk" Chocolate.  

In the series of pictures below you can see the stages that took a full week to complete…from carpet remove which I posted in a previous blog post to tonights post with the final sanding and finish coat complete.   DH and I stopped on our way back form Home Depot tonight to have one last look to see how they turned out now that they are dry enough for light foot traffic.   In the dark with the lights the wood grain highlights are fantastic and I am so pleased that we decided to put in the sweat equity because I know they have already increased the value of the house over that nasty carpeting from a week ago.

This is me sanding…this was the easy sanding part using the drum sander.   I think I put on about 10K of walking tho with the number of passes and the square footage that was sanded.   

I missed getting pictures of the brutal sanding of the edging.   You can see form the picture above that the last 6 inches against the walls still needed the paint removed.   I seriously thought my back was going to be permanently damaged from holding on to that little devil of a hand sander.   It was a power house and worked great but I totally understand why the guy at Home Depot said, "Make sure you have a good hold on this unit when you flick the switch on with your thumb."  This is the floors with the edging completed.

And Tad-Daaa!!   Here are the finished floors.   I think they look fantastic.   The pictures really don't do them justice as they look black and they are not really this dark in person.

In other news at the house we had a lovely visit from Karen and Ben.   Thank you for the delicious house warming home baking!  Always love fresh baking and they fuelled the late nights.  Cheers!

Once again I need to give credit to my parents for coming out this week and helping with all the things my brain had planned to do but like normal for me I never estimate enough time to get things done!   (I think I have this same issue when I go to retreat…10 projects on the list but just a fraction of them completed!)   

My Dad and Mom spent a day ripping out a tree that had grown very large right beside the house.   I am talking within 6" of the foundation wall.  There was also a grape ivy that had grown all along the wall of the garage that was so heavy that it was ripping the eaves trough off the roof!   It's now all gone and the light that is now able to get into the living room and the spare room (AKA Heather's room) is terrific.   We had thought the living room was rather dark but not anymore.

My Mom has been busy cleaning and painting.   Dishwasher is now clean…not sure how it actually cleaned dishes when she had to scrape guck out of it using a knife.

Mom painted the living room...she's going to kill me for putting this pic of her up on my blog but DH and I have appreciated the help so much.   We could never have been ready to move in in 2 weeks without the help of her and my Dad.

I painted the kitchen between coats on the floor upstairs.   It's a spring yellow.   I wanted cheerful and I think it was achieved here.   

With the living room and kitchen painted they both look really fresh and clean.   (*Clean - it's a miracle*)   Still need to add the accent colour to the living room fire place and office off the living room.

I think I will indulge myself in the luxury of a ride on Baby Izzy tomorrow before breakfast…my first this week!   I've missed the saddle but the work at the farm has been very rewarding.

But lastly, I need to sign off tonight with a photo of the project supervisor.   It was hot today so supervision stayed in the coolest spot in the house and basically made for road blocks and detours throughout the day.

Refinishing Continues

The floors upstairs are coming along nicely.   I think my body has had a serious kicking done to it but it's that kinda hurt that you are happy about!  :-)   Not much cardio but the flexibility and strength training are in full gear.   I spent about 13-14 hours drum sanding the entire second floor.   They look pretty good for being 100+ years old.   Chris only had to make 2 patches.   It appears that the stove pipes used to come up through 2 of the rooms upstairs.   Maybe there were only 2 rooms upstairs???

Tomorrow I start the edging and do the doorways and around the wardrobes.   I am hoping that they go as well as the middle of the floors.   Time is ticking on the move in clock and I still have to stain and clear coat...AND that's just to finish the flooring!  Still have wall paint and outside work to get done before the horses move in.   I know it will all get done...I am just working through the order of go and trying not to get too stressed out by the length of the list.

Here is a sanded picture of the master bedroom to compare with my previous post.















My parents have been so amazing.   They cleaned the entire loft of the bank barn!   It looks fantastic and there are only a couple of soft spots and holes that will need to be repaired.   I don't know how many loads of garbage and dead hay they took out but it had to be a ton.   I will take a picture of the loft now that it's clean...what a transformation.   I seriously don't know what we would have done this week without their help.   My mom has been...well super mom!  :-)   She has brought delicious and healthy meals everyday.   It's been a real treat having them enjoy this adventure with us.

Lastly, on a very sad note a dear friend Sharon suddenly lost her beloved horse Fraiser this week.   He was a Emma's turnout buddy for many years.   Fras was a lovely hack horse and real ham for the camera.   I know that horses are not forever but to lose one still hurts.   My love to Sharon in her time of loss...it will never get easier losing a friend that we spend many, many hours of our lives with.

When a horse enters our life they give us a little piece of their heart; so that when they leave us they can take a little piece of our heart with them.   Much Love Sharon...

Day 1 of Renos

Today the filth was tackled as well as the removal of the carpet on the second floor.
I have to give a HUGE shout out to my mom who dawned an elbow length set of rubber gloves and spent 4 hours cleaning the fridge, stove and one small bank of cupboards.   It was sparkling clean when she finished and I can't tell you how much I appreciated the help.
We now have beer and coolers in the fridge; thanks to Heather for stopping in and giving us a great reason to have a break!  Thanks Girl...you're a keeper!  :-)

I spent my day ripping up old carpet from the second floor.   It had to be at least 25 years old and had seen more than one puppy being trained by the look of the stained and nearly disintegrated under pad.

DH spent most of the day with my Dad unloading the supplies for the new run in shelters for the pastures (Thanks Dad!) and walking the fence lines through the pastures in search of the survey stakes.   I think both my Dad and Chris will sleep well tonight after all the miles they put on!

A big thanks goes out to MIL Marlene as well for stopping in with her endless enthusiasm for our new adventure.   We need the hype and the encouragement during all this reno work...as it will be exhausting by the end of the first 2 weeks...then we actually move in and continue.
Kelly and James stopped in to congratulate us on the new project...always love the hugs from Kelly...so genuine and sincere.
We have a great support network...thanks everyone for being with us and helping us either by labour, love or kindred spirit.

Now a couple pics to show you what I accomplished today.

Staircase before and after carpet removal.

Master bedroom before carpet removed.

Master bedroom with carpet removed.

We got so lucky that the entire second floor is all original plank flooring.   Not quite so lucky on the stairs but I couldn't be happier that the floors are in as good a shape as they are for being 140+ years old!

This is the hallway upstairs...more fantastic plank flooring!

Living The Dream!

We got the farm tonight!

As we expected the place was in quite a mess.   I am not really sure how people have a conscience leaving a place in the condition that we got our house tonight.   I won't elaborate too much about the mess that we encountered but we have roughly 3 days worth of elbow grease to clean up alone!   To give you an idea of what we found tonight...the oven looks like it was never cleaned other than the self clean setting on the odd occasion.   There is ash and petrified food coating the bottom and the fridge wasn't even wiped out!   The rotten leaves from the lettuce that fall off are still in the drawers and there are multiple crusty milk carton rings.
Thank goodness we are ripping up all the carpeting because I don't think in the 7 years they lived there they ever vacuumed under the bed!  I think you get the picture I am painting here.   I won't post any of the pictures from today of the inside of the house...maybe tomorrow after a bit of cleaning!

I am not surprised however that we have got the house in this condition.   After the events of this week, I am actually surprised it wasn't worse.   It is however a disappointment in a way to find the place like this.   I have a lot of pride in my home and I want to the new owners that take over our home in 2 weeks to be just in love with this place as I am.   I want them to know that just because we are leaving this place, it has been a home to us...it's been more to us than just a house.

Onward and Upward...
DH and I took a ride on our bikes to the bush line of the property.   It's farther back than we thought!   The exploration of the woodlot will be more fun from horseback.   I have heard from a couple of different riders now that we have a spectacular trial out back that goes for miles.  Eek!  I can't wait to get lost for hours with my GPS!
I am really looking forward to getting the bush hog hooked up and cutting the trails and making all the improvements that I have been dreaming of.    O time...time will be my enemy now.   So many plans in my head.  I will have to keep my expectations realistic and remember to recharge my batteries with creative fun in my studio.
Looking forward to Day 1 Work Day tomorrow!   Stay Tuned.

 The view of the bush line from the last hill in the hay field.

 DH on the trail.   Overgrown but not for long!!

Me on the trial.   Was glad that we brought our bikes

 or it would be a 30 minute walk to get to the bush line.

I know this one is dark but I was shooting into the sun...better pics to come later.   This is the view of the barn zoomed in from the bush line.

Lawyer's Done

We have signed all the paperwork...just waiting for the call tomorrow to come and get the keys!!!

After yesterday's incident today went much smoother than I anticipated.   It's been a funny sort of feeling lately; we always expect something to be a problem now.  I really need to get out of this mindset!

There has been a great debate in the Dunbar house the past few days on what will be our first order of business for the first "work day" at the new farm.   I am voting on rip out ALL the carpet on the second floor.  It's very old and looks like it could be in the neighbourhood of a dozen dogs and 3 cats ago or maybe 25 years old!   From a peek at a corner near a register it looks like it's tongue and grove plank flooring that would be original to the house.   DH believes that we should just start cleaning the basement and garage out so that he has a place to move his tool into and the electrician won't be covered in cobwebs trying to update our panel.   I think it may be a coin toss or a divide and conquer approach!

To take this in a new direction from the moving plans, I had a fabulous ride on Izzy tonight.   She was all business tonight and I was playing with all the buttons to see how light and soft I could ask for all the tricks that she knows.  

Once again, I am lucky beyond belief!  Yeah Me!