Me and my bright Ideas....

First, I got a not so bright idea......  

Our vinyl flooring that is suppose to be "life proof" is anything but.  Eric installed the kitchen dining area last month.  There are scratch marks everywhere. 

I called Home Depot, explained my disappointment with the flooring and asked what my options are with the "lifetime residential warranty."  It turns out to be quite the process with an estimated 4 to 6 weeks time frame.  Flooring has come to a stand still until we know what our options are.  

If the warrant holds up, we will need to uninstall and reinstall something else.  If the warranty is not honored, we will have to live with the relatively expensive, very scraped up floor.  I do not see a pleasant option.  

FYI: We bought Lifeproof rigid core luxury vinyl flooring with a lifetime residential warranty. It looks, feels, and installs much like laminate, but it's vinyl.  We shall see what happens......

 Eric didn't make it to the end on the day he started putting it in.  Installing a deck is a LOT of work, especially when you have to shave off an inch or two from each board. Eric strategically placed loose boards over the remaining holes so we could walk on it.  

With all the To Do's and jumping from project top project, Eric was finally able to get back to the porch this week.   

I helped him.  It was hot and uncomfortable.  And the wood was heavy.  We were out there for hours.

The wood weathers quickly.  

Eric has the end pieces to finish. Then I will power wash and seal the wood.

When I moved to a farm house, I embraced the idea of completing it in a farmhouse style despite the current trend farm house decorating.  No farm house is complete without a little ship lap somewhere!

I decided that it would be a good idea to salvage some of the decking that was under the covered portion of the original porch.  

                                          1. Pull up decking without destroying it.

                                          2. Pile up the boards and cover the piles to protect the wood from the rain.

                                          3. Take the nails out.

                                        

                                          4. Stack the boards on the new deck.

                                          5. Pressure wash each board (ALL sides).

                                          6. Line up boards vertically to dry.

                                          7. Lay out boards.

                                          8. Whitewash each board.

                                          9. Line up boards vertically to dry.

                                          My home made ship lap!

And, as if I had not moved each board enough times already.... 

The most recent step was to move the boards back onto the deck, this time vertically, all along the house to protect them from rain, dirt, and damage.

My bright idea is to have Eric put the boards on the ceiling in the living room.  Immediately was not in Eric's schedule, along with his laundry list of "To Do's" - hence the most recent step.  

I am going to be mentoring a scholar class in the same homeschool group we met with last year:  GEORGICS.  Yay!

I went to Utah for the training.  (Amelia came too.  She will student mentor in the Shakespeare class.)  I am really excited and motivated.  Part of the class is doing personal projects growing living things.  I get to do one too.

Yep....  My next bright idea.  I want GOATS!

I figured out where I want the animals.  But we have to put up fencing.  But before fencing, we need access to the desired fence line.  I thought it would be good to be able to get the 4 wheeler in there too.

The south side-

Before:

Working:

After:

The west side-

(Some of which was an old access road on the property many years ago.)

Before:

After:

I'm hoping to have the fence in sometime this fall.

                                        

Eric had a bright idea too....  We went to Home Depot on a date night again......  

Side note:  going to Home Depot for date night while completing or renovating your house can be a dangerous move.  I think this has been my most expensive date to date.

Eric decided we should buy all new kitchen appliances!  I picked out exactly what I wanted.  They arrived just fine, but Eric had to install them.  

Propane is NOT the same as gas.  Just sayin'  

Eric converted the stove from gas to propane.

All the appliances are in and everything functions properly!

Scott and Naomi have been true homesteaders, helping as much as they can, offering their help even when i don't ask for it.  Elanor and Amelia has helped out too.  Seth is usually working, but he helps as much as possible when he is at home.