Friday, December 31, 2010

Farewell 2010!

It's been a long, long year, but when I look back to where we were one year ago, with the old farmhouse still sitting by the road, I can't believe how much progress we've made!  

Since the house is still such a mess inside, we decided to put our Christmas tree up outside and decorate it for the birds.  The grandkids came up from Columbia to help.  Sophie made the final cut with help from Laura and Tom.


We all strung popcorn and cranberries and rolled magnolia pods in Crisco and bird seed.


The birds loved the Christmas tree!


Soon after the grandkids left, the snow started falling.  We ended up with about 4". 
 It was beautiful while it lasted



The guineas refused to step on that cold white stuff.


The chickens took one look and turned around to spend the day in their house.


Even the cardinals seemed to shiver in the cold.


Back in the farmhouse, we installed a 9' pot rack that we bought on Craig's List 
from an old butcher shop in Monck's Corner, South Carolina.


My plywood countertops were removed and replaced with granite.


Donnie and Steve had to remove my old/new sink so the granite could be installed.


It's a really heavy cast iron sink!


Donnie made windowsills for my kitchen windows.


We are using leftover tin from the ceiling as backsplashes.


It's starting to look like a working kitchen!


And the bathroom sinks were installed!  I can brush my teeth in the house now.


It might be a little warmer around here, too.


Maybe Reese won't have to lie quite so close to the heater!


Happy New Year from Finca de las Piedras, York, SC!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Cabinets and Ceilings

A lot of what we have been doing lately doesn't show - rewiring all of the old part of the house and closing up holes so someday we can turn on the heat! It's been 10 degrees several nights this week and we're huddled by the fireplace most of the time. We did manage to get some work done in the kitchen. Tom and Donnie spent four days on ladders installing the tin ceiling.


Gary and his helpers brought the kitchen cabinets that he has been building in his workshop.


We moved the poor refrigerator for what I hope is the last time!




Steve installed can lights around the ceiling.


The cabinets will have beaded board fronts eventually and there will be an island in the middle of the kitchen with an old pot rack above it (all after the floors are finished).


We drove to Raleigh and bought an old sink that we found on Craig's List.  It will be installed as soon as we get countertops.  The next step will be to refinish the floors but we have to move everything out of the house to do that.  In the meantime, since the house is such a mess, we plan to put our Christmas tree outside and decorate it for the birds.  Grandkids will be here this week-end to help.

Merry Christmas from the farm!