Bits And Pieces

June has rolled around again, and with it has come the summer heat. We're getting the ball rolling on some summer projects, both indoor and outdoor.

This weekend we played a game of "Where is the septic tank?" with a backhoe. We had no clue where it was, and the pipes coming out of the house were not much help in indicating a direction. It was eventually found, but not before turning a good 30 feet behind the house from grass to dirt. All of the rock picking over the past month was for naught. My heart broke a little.

We were also able to discover the reason for the large wet spot in the lawn, right where the chicken coop was buried. Turns out the grey water pipe for the septic ran UNDER the coop, and when it was buried, the pipe broke and leaked a lot of water on the surface. Many thanks to our friends in the backhoe who found the pipe and dug a new leech field for us! No more stanky water in the yard!

And since they were there for the day, we were able to get our drain spout pipes buried in the lawn. Now when it rains, the water will run off into the yard and gravel beds, instead of into the basement.

The last thing we did (again, with the help of heavy machinery), was dig a 100 foot long trench from our well to the barn. Dave wanted to run electric and water to the barn so that someday we can rent out boarding and pasture space for horses.

Now we'll just need to plant grass seed everywhere, and pray that it can get established before autumn comes!

Speaking of planting...

Garden, hurray! I've got beans, broccoli, 

beets, cucumbers, zucchini, and peas.

Daniel and I were able to finish the tile in our downstairs bathroom in one weekend. Such a difference from working on the kitchen floor!

It really is a tiny room - not more than 30 square feet.

We both liked the marble white/grey tile with purple accent

rugs. It turned out pretty well!

All the bathroom needs now is a coat of paint and some baseboard, and it will be officially complete. Hopefully we'll get it done before the baby comes in November! We still have one more major tiling project; the master bathroom. Admittedly, I am putting it off for a little while because I am thoroughly sick of laying tile, but we're gonna have to do it in the next few months.

I've been working on a door for one of the upstairs rooms. Since I am pregnant, I'm not allowed to use paint stripper on the doors, so we've been taking them to a local company that strips the old paint of and passes them back to us. I could not believe what a nice job they did!

From doors with 3-5 layers of lead paint...

To beautiful hardwood with polyurethane. 

I am in love with my old doors!

I've been working on this one for a few weeks, on and off. I sanded it, front and back twice and then put three coats of poly on it. I can't wait to get the rest of the doors back so I can make them look just as awesome! I'm also on the hunt for some restoration rim locks to use as latches. Maybe next time I post, I'll be able to show you a completed door, hanging in one of the bedrooms.

Dan and I will be in the Adirondacks for a brief vacation in the next few weeks. While we are gone, we've got our old contractor coming in to do a few projects, and I'll be sure to post some before/after photos of his work.