Autumn Happenings at Vintage Home and Farm

Autumn has crept upon us much too soon, and we're finding there aren't enough hours in the day for all the activities that need to be accomplished.  Part of the struggle is that it's gotten really busy for me at work, and so I've had to increase my hours to about 60 per week - which doesn't leave a lot of time to work around the farm.  Fortunately my husband is a stay-at-home-dad who can help out with farm chores and be there for our daughter who is home schooled.

We did take a break from the chores and had some fun decorating the house for Halloween one weekend morning.  It was a challenge deciding where to place decorations around the house -- everything used to have it's spot in our former home, but here in our "new" Vintage home, we have to decide anew where to place each special Halloween memory.  The trick-or-treat bucket that both my husband and daughter have carried found a good spot in the living room on an antique piano stool that my grandmother gave to me.

A spooky giant spider also found a clever perch in the corner between the dining room and living room.

Another favorite decoration is the folk art hanging pumpkin that I picked up a few years back.  

The harvest is mostly done...although I feel guilty about the tomatoes.  I planted way too many, and am contemplating leaving the rest of them out there on the vine to rot.  The task of canning and freezing such a large harvest is overwhelming, especially since it has to wait for just the weekends.  Neighbors and friends have received large buckets of tomatoes as a result.  We did can quite a few jars and also canned salsa.  There are also containers of tomatoes in the freezer ready to be made into sauce.  And, I've made fresh spaghetti sauce numerous times. One last giant bowl of tomatoes is in the fridge ready to be made into tomato soup tomorrow.

Before deciding to let the garden go into hibernation, we did have fun picking the produce.  We've had our share of unusually-shaped fruits and vegetables.

Other weekend activities have included ice skating lessons for my daughter. It's a 2 hour trip to the skating rink.  While out that way one weekend, we stopped in the town of Port Gamble to do some exploring.  What a quaint town that is.  I enjoyed exploring the wide variety of fibers and project ideas in the yarn store, "The Artful Ewe." 

We hung out there a little while to learn more about crocheting and knitting, and to pet their three whippets that were napping on a sofa and chairs.

My daughter loved an art supply store that was in the next historic home.  Speaking of art, I also took her to an Art Trading Cards program at the public library. She created four art trading cards that were then donated to their art exhibit.  

Meanwhile, we've continued to work on updates around the house. My husband tore down the old gutters and scraped and painted primer on the fascia boards.  I helped one weekend with the backside of the house, where we needed to use the 24 foot ladder to reach second floor roof.  It was frightening to be up that high, especially since the sander I was using had quite a bit of kick to it.  Every time I pressed the sander against the fascia board, it kicked back enough that I felt like I would fall. It was a relief to finish it, and I was glad that there wasn't a longer stretch to do.  About 10 feet long is all.

The other day, we were cleaning out the firewood cupboard next to the woodstove and found more hidden treasures.  There was a large green plastic tub stashed in there by the former owners.  We thought it had firewood in it based on it's placement there in the alcove.  But no, there was no wood inside.  

Instead we found a variety of treasures - glass and ceramic bowls, vintage magnets, jars and knick knacks. 

I think the "Route 66" plate is my favorite.

There is a bit of sad news...one of our chickens passed away this morning.  Freckles, our Plymouth Rock chicken, suddenly became ill a couple days ago.  We brought her in and gave her medicine and electrolytes, but whatever was making her ill took her too quickly for the meds to help.  I cleaned out the coop and put in fresh straw this morning, hoping the rest of the flock doesn't take ill as well. So far the rest of the flock seems okay.

RIP Freckles, you were a good hen. 

This House with Knotty Pine

See many more photos of our house with its knotty pine walls in our e-book, This House with Knotty Pine. Click to download your copy from the Amazon bookshelf (for reading on iOS, Android, Mac, and PC using the free Kindle app). 

In the book, which you can download and view now, you'll discover how we stumbled upon our unique home. The house was once part of a dairy farm, but it had fallen into disrepair over the years.  Despite the sad state of the house, the solid planks of knotty pine throughout were still in great shape. Included are photos of the renovation plus many more photos of each of the eight rooms decorated. Click to see the book on Amazon.

We invite you to download your copy of the book, which follows our journey as we share what we learned while renovating and decorating a house with its vintage knotty pine walls. See photos of our rooms from start to finish and throughout the seasons.