living vicariously through others until my time comes...

I've become slightly addicted to HGTVs new show "Fixer Upper" http://magnoliahomes.net/fixer-upper/ It's always been my dream to find a diamond in the rough and make it my own. The two houses we've bought previously have been at the top end of our budget, so we've never been able to make the changes we wanted a reality or let's face it, even fix things when they break! For years I've loved to watch the moving shows, but they all become much the same - people looking for the granite kitchen, the finished garden, the perfect house. I'd hate to move in somewhere that was finished to a high standard - but not my standard, not my tastes. I feel like I'd just live with cherry cabinets and beige granite because I'd feel bad about ripping that stuff out. Which is why I have NO intention of looking for any of that when it comes time for us to move.  I love browsing the http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/ site for ideas. The forums are so valuable for real life experiences of what to do and of course what to run a mile from. Now there are hundreds of shows on home improvement there's always something to watch to get excited about. Here are some great examples of a fixer-upper turned dream home - and surprisingly all of these were done with a budget of under $50k!

The house I fell in love with months ago is still on the market, so there's always a chance it will become my dream forever home! (I have the agent letting me know if any offers come in). It's priced very low, and with the profit from the sale of this house we would be able to make it beautiful with cash to spare. There's so much potential. It's on 15 acres, we could sell 10 of those for over $100k in that area and still have a huge piece of land. There's a walkable attic ready to be finished. A double garage could be added with a master suite above. There's a big red barn with 6 horse stalls, fenced paddock, pasture, a stream.. need I go on! Here's a picture of it.. 

...imagine it freshly painted, with shutters, rambling roses, a horse in the background, a few chickens dotted around and children playing and you there you have it. So until I have it, in the bag, I keep that image in my head on days like today when I'm faced with the end of school rush, piles of laundry, noisy landscapers and a messy corner office that I can get no work done in! Happy Wednesday people - the weekend is just down the hill.

Planting season

So yesterday I spent the morning planting up two of my four raised beds in my garden by the pond. I'd love to think by summer they'll look like this - but that's pretty adventurous! I've started with green beans, broccoli, carrots, kale and lettuce. When the threat of frost has gone I'll move to the third bed for the tomatoes, peppers, melons and cucumbers. The fourth bed is my biggest and I'm keeping that for flowers. I've been at a loss as to what to surround the beds with, as right now it's a brown dirt mess, mulch for that large of a spot is expensive, wood chips attract termites, and gravel - again too pricey. I think I'll plant grass there instead, it's the most economical option and will definitely make that area look more complete. Right now it's pretty barren, bar a few hyacinths. It's very frustrating gardening here in Rockland, for the obvious reason - rocks. We also have a lot of what they call "Squaw Root" which is very hard to work around, and with the endless tree roots from the semi woodland setting - it's not exactly prosperous. But I have Bramble Farm in my heart and know it will happen sooner than later - so I will plod on with what I have right now and make the best of it as much as I can. One thing I need to do everywhere I plant - is to deer fence. They eat everything around here, even the plants labeled "deer resistant". So long as I can get the front and back garden areas tidy and pretty - it'll do, especially when it comes time to sell. I have so much organizing of clutter and collected garbage to do on the inside of the house it feels sometimes like selling is many MANY years away. I have to keep believing that what I really want, and how I want to raise my children is within reach, even on grey days like today, when nothing seems possible except crawling under a blanket and sleeping! Onwards and upwards.

Cottontails and Ducklings

When I was small my Mother, Aunt and Grandmother read to me the wonderful tail of Peter Rabbit and all the great Beatrix Potter stories.  And now I read them to my children.  What enchanted me as much as the little clothing clad animals were the gorgeous gardens which are based on Potter's own garden in Cumbria, the English county bordering my Scottish homeland. My own Mothers garden had within a large vegetable garden featuring an abundance of produce including rows of potatoes, clumps of rhubarb, and high staked sweet peas. The hen house in one corner, the potting shed near the gate, and further in the glass greenhouse, full of tomatoes and grapevines, and a resident toad - Warty Bliggins, we called him.  The far end was the duck pond and to the left the barn. The stables were off to the side of the house, but the horses were in the field behind the veg garden.  It was a lovely place to be.  My garden planning here has started with the central spot I call my vegetable garden.  Like my Mothers, it won't be only veg in there.  I plan to have a lovely bench with an arbor, rambling roses overhead, lavender and rows of sweet peas, a butterfly bush and a few old fashioned roses near the chicken house, which I'm hoping to be a barn style with a small enclosure.  My 5 hens will be in there, ever-changing breeds in my mind, but this week I'm going with 2 Araucanas and 2 Silkies and 1 Buff Orpington.  The Araucanas for their Easter Eggs, the Silkies because they look like Eagle fledglings, and give you the teeniest little eggs so sweet for the children to collect. The Buff Orpington because when I think hen that is what I picture, a big golden bird. Today is to be pushing 50f so I'm going out to clear some more debris and dig over some of the garden beds.  They are still predicting 4" of snow tomorrow, but it's to be 55f by the wkend and in the 50s all next week. Please let this be the start of wonderful Spring!

gardening times

So all my seedlings are up.. around 300 of them! I just planted another 2 trays so hopefully my garden will be positively overflowing with flowers and veg in the not too distant future. I'm having a contractor come out to give me a quote for the work I need doing in the kitchen - new backsplash, tiled floors, butcherblock counters and taking out a bit of wall to open it all up a bit. I'm hoping everything will be ready by Spring so we can get some chickens, still deciding on breeds but Easter Eggers and Silkies seem to be at the front of my list! Also planning on getting a greenhouse hopefully next weekend so would like to plan out and prep its space this week including the base. Its to be 55f today so I plan on getting out in the garden with the children to dig some more, clear some more, invent some more.. promises be a good day, going to make the most of it before the snow comes back, albeit, I hope, briefly!