I totally deserve it! I have not posted at all this year.
My father passed away in January, and shortly after also my uncle. It was a shock, and it has made me feel so lonely! My dad was the person who I felt would always be there to help me any way he could, without counting the favors. Having now lost both my parents and my marriage, it has been a struggle at times.
I am happy though about having moved to where my sister and her family live.
I am happy about having this little house to live in with my sweet daughter and our two fluffball cats.
The garden has been a source of joy, I was so excited about my little grapevine making tiny little sweet grapes, about the tomatillos that I at first thought were Thai eggplants, about the newly planted apple trees and a cherry tree making fruit the first summer, the many many gorgeous flowers blooming all the way from early spring to late autumn!
I have occasionally been very frustrated and tired of the renovation, mostly because it is very hard to get anyone to come and help out. Last summer I was sure I would have plenty of time to get everything finished before Indiana's birthday, but now I will be happy if this will be wrapped up before Christmas. It has been going on for over two years, so I am really looking forward to being done with the renovations! Obviously there well be things to do still, but those will not affect our living space and will be so much easier. Some painting outside, and adding insulation and ventilation underneath the roof come to mind... I am dreaming of a greenhouse as well, I have collected lots of old bricks and some old windows, and now I just need to find someone to help me build it. It would have been so nice to have it ready for the next growing season, but I have decided to be content with finishing the interiors, then I will rest, and think about a new project in the spring, Lord willing!
I have trouble with my joints, it has gotten worse and now I finally went to the doctor. There is some inflammatory condition as my fingers swell up when I do something heavy, like carry bricks or dig in the garden. I am waiting for the test results, and depending on what is the cause, there may be some relief. But this is another thing I need to consider - my hands are not holding up so well and if I overwork them, I will ruin them faster. Even just holding a book or a phone is painful at times...
Right now I am finishing up the winter preparations in the garden, I have put up protections around the fruit trees and berry bushes so that the bunnies will not eat them, like they did last winter, and I still need to rake some leaves and put some frost protections to the most vulnerable plants. And clean the front of the house of some garbage that needs to be taken to the garbage recycling center. I have done some trips there already, so thankfully it is not that much that is left!
Inside the house we are just missing some moldings and baseboards and one door that was supposed to be delivered already but there are machinery problems at the factory. The door will be put in between the cold foyer and the warm entrance hall, to keep the heat from escaping. The current door is super flimsy, and with these electricity prices, the new door is worth the investment.
Oh, and there are lots of electricals to be installed still.
I did the wallpapering, some baseboards and trims, clay plaster walls, painting ceilings and trims and some floors, ripping out some of the old materials and three silly narrow inconvenient built-in closets.. oh and helped with installing the lovely antique woodstove.
I am hoping for a mild winter this year, for sure! My electricity contract expired and I am lucky that I got a business contract, so my electricity "only" doubled as of month ago. I am also glad that our house is small, and that we have a fireplace and now a woodstove in the kitchen as well. I mean, if there is going to be rolling black-outs, I will still be having my morning coffee!
Our total electricity use has been about 10 000 kWh per year, but I know it can be lower with using more wood for heat, as heating the electric radiators is taking most electricity by far. The difference in electricity use between a summer month and a cold winter month can be five-fold. I have an endless source of free firewood at our woodsy lot, but really not the strength and means to cut down the trees and haul them home. Perhaps I could manage some young, thin trunks, if there was no other way. So far I have bought my firewood and also I took some from my dad's house that we sold this summer, and I need to cut some leftover lumber to firewood size whenever we get a dry, sunny day... So anyway, I'm good for this winter.
I will share some pictures of the finished interiors when everything is done and I have managed to organize our belongings as well. Right now there are still so many tools and supplies laying about, and things waiting to be designated a place. I promise though that it won't be a year before I post again!
