Construction Destruction...

February 22, 2017

During our last couple of days at the farm, we officially began the demolition phase of the kitchen renovation.  Yay!  Charming’s first step was to take down the drywall so that he will be able to install a new electrical panel box, move and/or add some electrical outlets, and then put up new drywall.  I’m sure the process will go much slower than expected as Charming is painstakingly meticulous when he works on anything, but he knows his stuff and that’s why I’m always thrilled with the work he does.  He wants to do the job once and do it right.  I’m perfectly happy with that.

While Charming took down the drywall…which was a real pain in the butt because quite a bit of it was glued (yes, glued!) in place…I alternated between carrying out the old drywall, sweeping up the debris, and pulling staples out of the studs.  It took us the better part of two days, but we got most of the drywall demolition done.

When we weren’t working on the kitchen, we spent time working on separate tasks.  I started work on clearing out a thicket of overgrown bushes on the north side of what I like to call “The Frog Pond”.   Although our neighbor once casually referred to it as “The Mud Hole,” I pride myself on being somewhat creative and will find a way to make it a pleasant farm feature.  I also started knitting a new pair of wool socks for myself.  Since the farm is almost always about five degrees cooler than where we currently live, I believe the more wool socks I have the better my toes will feel.  Charming spent his “down time” tidying up the tool shed.  He took all the tools out of the shed and then covered the dirt floor with four horse stall mats that had previously served as flooring in Jax’s kennel.  (Since Jax rarely spends time in his kennel, it will probably be re-purposed into some form of chicken run at a later date.)

Since spring appears to be arriving early this year, we felt we needed to turn the garden early as well.  After Charming completed some work on the used Ford plow that we purchased last year, he was able to make quick work of plowing the garden.  All of these baby steps are going to pay off in the long run and we are really having a great time while turning the farm into what will be a wonderful place to grow old(er) together.

Our lovely kitchen (with fabric-covered windows) prior to demo.

My Charming...a master at demolition!

It took 2 days to remove the original stapled & glued on drywall.

Here are a few (of many) staples that held the drywall onto the studs.

My job was to remove the 10-bazillion staples.

Front view of "The Frog Pond" before I started whacking limbs.

Front view of the Frog Pond after pruning...it does look a bit better.

 

Side view of the Frog Pond prior to pruning.

Side view of the Frog Pond after pruning...still got a ways to go.

Charming tidied the tool shed & covered the dirt floor with rubber mats.

And I started knitting a new pair of socks...browns & greens...my favorite colors.

 

A bit of work on the plow before the garden could be turned.

The tractor makes quick work of turning the garden. 

It is my opinion that nothing smells better than freshly turned earth on a warm spring day!