old farmhouse

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

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I was not expecting snow so early this year here in Virginia, USA, but we got a few inches. The temperatures have been cold, hitting in the 20s at night and even in the teens once or twice. Last year, we only had a dusting. The old 1910 farmhouse (Black Crow Cottage) is cold in the winter, a given of homes built early. These homes were framed different and without insulation on the walls; by the way, to insulate is not recommended due to the risk of trapping moisture in the horizontal boards and thus causing mold issues. A frame around the walls would have to be built in order to insulate the home, thus leaving space for the air flow. This is something to keep in mind if you ever decide to buy and fix this type of home. You can see pictures of this type of framing in my older posts under the categories of Fixing an old farmhouse or Restoring a farmhouse.

Snow always makes the news around here, even a few inches, and many businesses close operation for the day. People seem to love it when it snows. Moving here from Jersey, it is a contrast. I remember driving to work on a nor’easter on a few occasions, or we would have a delayed opening. Crossing a bridge under heavy snow is an experience, but under heavy fog, it is just out of this world; the feeling is one of flying in the sky inside a car. Not that I recommend this, but when you had to be there, you had to get there. Everything is more relaxed now as far as the job environment goes, for what I can see. Here are a few pictures to welcome the season.

This is why I love crows so much. There are no birds around, the snow is falling heavy wet, and there is Rebel poking the snow and playing, pulling out leaves. I named this crow Rebel because I observed him being a bit different from the siblings when Mama Crow was training them on how to eat. He would be the last one to learn to peck on his own, and Mama Crow would come to the rescue from time to time, I guess when she could not take the yelling for food anymore. Even the siblings, two of them, would feed him at times. When two families of crows would mingle, he would be the one going his own way, minding his own business. One sibling seemed to bully him at times, once he had learned how to peck the ground for food. When I took this picture, he was alone, none of the crows where around. Later on, he flew back to where they usually live, in the woods behind my house.

This Old Farmhouse

/ inkspeare

One thing that we have learned by living here is that we are never completely done as far as projects and unexpected things. This year, we have put some projects aside and have decided to “listen to the house” and see what it wants, and evaluate if after years of living in it, our vision is still aligned with it or if we should adjust or deviate from some projects. One of the things we realized is that because we have agreed to age in this house until a certain point, a bedroom on the first floor would be necessary, eventually, thus posing the dilemma of assigning different uses to rooms. It is also time to refresh the paint, and rethink previous choices.

Turning 60 did something to me, an overnight change that I was not expecting. My husband thinks that one of the “pods” exploded overnight and replaced me. I am not sure why, but suddenly life takes another meaning. It presents new possibilities but also grounds you as far as “real time.” What was so important might not be as important anymore, and priorities shift. Time is seen and valued in a different perspective, but also, not taken for granted. Other things don’t seem to matter or bother me anymore. What was, becomes questionable and what is, seems to take another meaning; somehow, what will be does not occupy center place anymore. Complacency or peaceful arrival? It doesn’t even matter. Likes and dislikes changed overnight or at least feels like they did. A new person emerges out of a years’ slumber. Everything is questionable and all is well. Battles are chosen or not at all. That is the best way I can describe it. This of course, affects how I see and interact with my new discovered environment.

We have halted some projects, reviewed others, and scrapped a few. This year, we have not proceeded with any new projects, only clean up, some minor painting, and future considerations. We did not plant anything. This old farmhouse is on standby for now. We have tons of grapes in the grapevine ready to be harvested soon, and picked tons of blueberries, but only a few strawberries this year.

Summer Yummy

We transplanted one of the little cedars that I was growing in a pot. The other two went to my sister’s home. So far, it is doing fine in its new spot in the ground.

The king of the trees

Spring was lovely around here. It has rained a lot during Spring and Summer. Today, we have cooler temperatures, but overall, it was not a hot summer, with the exception of a couple of weeks. The garden did very well.

The weather was on and off; we even had a small rainbow in the backyard while it was pouring rain, and the sun was out, all at the same time.

Lucky charm. One of the most beautiful sights of a very close and low rainbow. I regret not stepping outside and try to “touch it,” but it was raining hard while the sun was fully out.

For now, we are concentrating our efforts on doing some painting indoors and working out the idea of converting the living room into a bedroom and rethinking the downstairs arrangement. No new outdoor projects are taking place for the remainder of this year. Overall, it has been a very pleasant Spring and Summer, and I have enjoyed this year’s mild weather. I am looking forward to the next two seasons.

Looking Forward

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Spring is almost here, and the old farmhouse becomes alive again. That entails many chores, most of them delightful, at least in my eyes. To prepare this home for spring, I like to give the porch a refresh, change or move around things a bit, after a good cleaning. The side entrance gets new life as well. Both entrances are adorned with new wreaths (recycled). This year, it was time to change the tattered flag and replace it with something different. I love the farm animals’ motif on this flag. I have decided to eliminate the side entrance flag in order to simplify the outdoors a bit. It will stay up until the holidays, and then, I will remove the pole as well. Most of these items have migrated from indoors to outdoor use as I continue to declutter and simplify things inside. I love pine trees, so the pine tree sign stays all year and so does my two potted cedars. I found the little cedars growing outside when these were about two or three inches tall, and they have grown lovely. They look great during the Christmas season as well. In living simply, one of the things I have decided to eliminate is having artificial flowers all over the house, indoors that is. These flowers were repurposed for use on the side door arrangement. The rest of the flowers and many other items were donated to our local SPCA thrift shop. All the proceeds go to help pets in the shelter and families who need pet food and cannot afford it at a particular time. It is a great place. Once the holidays arrive again, I will eliminate most of my Christmas decor, and leave only a few items and our Christmas tree. I have already told members of my family that I don’t want any gifts, unless they disappear with use, such as a candle or holiday food items, if they insist on gifting. As I age, I find the need and want for things, whether decor or other has really diminished. I can appreciate the beautiful and lovely things without wanting these items. I have only left some meaningful items that represent gifts from people I love, and a few dear to me. I like the feeling of lightness and simplicity, and as I am enjoying this feeling, I think more items will have to find new homes and people who will appreciate these in their surroundings. It is a win-win.

The month of March is reserved for setting up the garden areas and for general cleanup. Areas that have not performed well will be eliminated, and other areas will be improved or simplified. The idea is to make the garden more enjoyable and less of a chore. Some potted plants will be condensed and in general, the areas will become less cluttered and easier to manage. March is also the time to clean and set up the veggie garden and also a time to plan what veggies we will plant this year. We also plan the outdoor projects for this year. We will try to tackle one project a month, if possible. One very important, and the first project we will tackle is fixing the way the grape vine is hanging. We let it grow over the veggie garden fence. Last year was the first year that we would have collected grapes, and the vine was full of grapes. However, when the grapes were almost ready to pick, they disappeared overnight, hundreds of grapes gone. I was puzzled. We think that deer had a feast, so we have to come up with a solution. We trimmed the vine, and we will start it again this year, higher up this time.

Outdoor projects will continue until September or October, depending on the weather, so there is not much time to do everything we would like to do. However, planning helps us take care of the most important issues and prioritize them. I will share some of these projects here.

Happy Spring!

A Beloved House, a Beloved Woman

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If you have followed, or stop from time to time to read this blog, first, I thank you, and I hope that you have received something from it, whether inspiration, and idea … When I set out on the journey of writing this blog, many years ago, I decided that I wanted to share some of my passions, as well as my journey as an independent author, but also to include another journey, that is, moving from the beloved Jersey shore to the Idyllic Virginia countryside, and the quest of fixing up a dilapidated farmhouse, which would become our home.

Throughout the years, I have met many people who have visited this home and shared stories of the previous owner, Ms. Lula Jane, and how fond they were of her and this house when she lived here. Some of these people have been part of the neighborhood since they were kids and visited her often. One of them described the place as the hub, the place to be, and were everybody ended up. She has been described as a very kind person who loved her home, a very tall woman who enjoyed walking through her beautiful garden. On many occasions I asked if anyone had any pictures of her or the home because my intention was to recreate what this home used to look like in the past. Unfortunately, throughout the years, renters, squatters, and abandonment had taken a toll, and the old farmhouse had seriously deteriorated to the point of becoming not suitable for living. You can see pictures of the previous condition and restoration under the topic “fixing an old farmhouse.” But mostly, I wanted to know more about Ms. Lula Jane, the woman who truly loved her house.

About a week or so ago, I had that opportunity. I received a surprise visit from one of her granddaughters, Ms. Saunders. She happened to be visiting the area on her way to Maryland, and asked if she could see the home where she grew up. It was a real pleasure to meet her. She seemed to have fond memories of her grandmother and of the home. I gave her a tour of the place, explaining what we had done with it. One of her remarks got my attention. She said, “Oh, it looks almost the same.” I was puzzled because we had changed everything and gutted the house, which was in very bad condition when we bought it. Later on, when we sat to converse, I asked her about it and she said that the home still felt familiar and almost as she remembered, even that the furnishings and overall decor were different. Indeed, we had not changed any of its layout. Her visit was not as extended as I wished it would have been; I wanted to know much more. She was kind enough to share some memories of childhood, and of her grandmother, whom she seemed to have adored. I found a connection with Ms. Lula Jane through her stories.

Ms. Lula Jane had traveled from England to the USA with the family she worked for; they took her with them when they moved to the United States. Her granddaughter said that she was free, and not under slavery in England. In England, slavery was abolished much earlier than in the USA. Later on, her grandfather, Mr. John Henry Robertson, built the home. This piece of information seemed to be in conflict with the information I had been given by someone else, but it wasn’t. It was all reconciled when I asked, and she explained that there had been an interracial marriage at some point. Now I had a more complete picture of the history of ownership of this old farmhouse, and I felt closer to the previous owner, both of us having some likes in common.

Ms. Saunders promised to share pictures of her grandmother and of the house if she came across any. We exchanged numbers, and I texted her a link to this blog so she could follow the restoration so far. She was able to clarify and answer some of my questions, according to what she knew, and I am grateful for that. In her excitement, she mentioned that she remembered how good the well water tasted, to what I offered to fill up a bottle for her to take home, which I did. The next day, I received a text from her. Attached, I found a picture of her grandparents. Finally, I was able to see the image of a beautiful tall lady, referred to and appreciated by many people, a cornerstone of this neighborhood. Thank you, Ms. Saunders.

The End of the Road is Just a Bend in the Journey

/ inkspeare

Thirteen years or so ago I decided to follow a long-lost dream, publishing my first book. Around the same time, I started blogging about my journey as an independent writer, as well as capturing and renewing the dilapidated soul of an old farmhouse while moving to another state. While the transition took some time, my intention remained the same. My intention was at that time, to not only share the journey but to inspire other fellow writers and readers, and to share what I had learn over the years.

Time does go by quickly, and in retrospect, I think that I accomplished what I set out to do and more; however, the journey continues, and with it the desire to inspire others through a few written lines on this blog, and my novels. This journey brought into perspective sweet challenges, tons of education and effort, as well as understanding myself as a writer, and on that last one, I am still doing so. On the home front, the soul of an old farmhouse has been restored, and now it must be refined. The writer feels the same way. For the DIY lover, this blog is a friendly place as well. I have made my best effort to maintain it simple and honest, not fussy or too “crafted.”

During this journey, I published five novels, and I am currently writing the 6th. The pace has been dictated by the story, and I have tried to be the best steward of words I could be. It hasn’t been easy, but I hope that throughout the years, if you have visited this blog, that you have found at least a bit of what you were hoping to find in it. Many of you have been around for as long or longer than I have, and it has truly been a pleasure to not only share this tiny dot of cyberspace but to read many of your blogs and comments as well. It has been my delight, and I hope that I have reciprocated in some way.

So now what? I am at peace with the pen, my pen that is. I don’t know what the future might hold, but I hope that I can continue to share this journey, and if along the way I am able to inspire a soul, then, I have been of service. For now, part of my work is done, but it is not the end of the road.

Home Sweet Home?

/ inkspeare

When we started to fix this old farmhouse, we decided to frame part of an original wall as a picture, a reminder of where we had been. I placed a flower box under it, and I was very happy with it until a few weeks ago. Every time I passed by it, I felt a bit annoyed and definitely not at ease but had no idea why. Suddenly, I disliked the flower box. It puzzled me. It wasn’t until I looked at it and asked myself what about it bothered me that I made the connection. The flowers that I added to the box reminded me of an image I had seen over and over everywhere I looked during the past two years – the coronavirus spiked ball shape. I knew I had to replace them right away, so I discarded the ill-looking flowers and placed a different greenery with a happier vibe.

Before
Now.

This was a good example of how media can influence one’s perception and emotional response to people, concepts, things; even the same things one liked before. As writers, we are in the quest of using words and imagery to create a story that translate into emotions and perception for the reader. The words we select, not only tell the story, but live beyond it.

Happy Beginnings

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Happy Beginnings to all of you. I am grateful and excited to start one more year. I have chosen a few pictures from 2021 and this new year to share on this post, kind of a rite of passage into the new.

2021

Last year displayed some beautiful colors. This photo has not been altered.
And lovely fiery red evenings.

A new friend has been showing up since the end of last year.

I never get tired of watching them. Black Crow Cottage is still a good fit, as I named the place.

One of my favorite delights thanks to my sister who has made it a tradition for me. Heavenly. Totally understand why the Narnia kid went along with the winter witch at the mention of Turkish Delight.

Made a recycled wreath to receive the season.

Our historic little town was ready for an old-fashioned Christmas and so was I (and my kitty cats).

2022

The year started with some snow, rose gold mornings, and many critters (and man) prancing through the snow.

And through all of it, I saw the hand of God and His love.

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Heck of a Mess!

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Taking advantage of a few good “warm” days, my husband and I have been slowly working on the mess that the last ice storm made around the property. We have been cutting trees and piling up broken branches and debris in the back so we can dispose of it later on. Once piled up, we realized that it is too big of a job and it will take a long time for us to manage all of it, so we have decided to either rent a brush/garden dumpster or hire someone who does this type of work. An estimation of the cost will be our next step. In the meantime, we were able to clear out most of it, that is, into a huge pile.

Most debris has been cleared out. The old cedar looks thinned out.
Large mounds of debris are spread all over the backyard.
And the side of the property as well.

Some of the down trees were large enough that we were able to use the main trunk for delineating some areas in the garden, and slowly continuing with my husband’s pet project – the enchanting trails. So far, it looks like this.

Part of the garden. The logs also prevent a large amount of leaves to roll over. We like a more natural garden look; rigid manicured gardens are not our style.
Part of the slow-developing trails.
We stopped around here. Ran out of logs, and we have to find a pathway as well.

As I mentioned before, my husband wants the trail to end where the lighted tree is located, and to have four entrances that will connect to one another along the way. I mentioned the possibility to spray paint the logs with fluorescent paint so it would look magical at night. I am not sure if he will go for it.

There has been plenty of chores around here, such as a broken well pipe and pump, which we fixed last weekend. Took an entire day, and several trips to three different stores in order to find the only pipe available in the area – we were blessed and lucky. Found it out of town at the Home Depot, but it was the only one left.

We worked together and fixed the issue. Setting up the 40/60 psi took a while, but we got it. You learn something everyday around here.

There have been beautiful sights as well. New birds that I have not seen before arrived the other day. At first glance, I thought they were woodpeckers but they only stayed around the ground and pecked the ground constantly. These had a long beak and gorgeous colors and feather patterns – yellow, pink, aqua blue, a darker blue, gray, black, red, beige, and a rosy beige gray in some areas. One of them had yellow bordering the wings, the others did not.

Gorgeous bird.
These birds moved constantly and pecked the ground, so they were very difficult to photograph.
Here you can see a bit of the blue on the sides, near the neck area. Was unable to take a picture of the one with the yellow bordering the wings.
There have been sublime red skies in the mornings.
Lazy morning moon as well.
Unexpected doorways to heaven.

I have been craving for Spring, and just about had enough of winter, so I decided to welcome it myself and decorate the porch for it.

Welcome Spring!
The first signs of Spring.

There are tons of farmhouse chores awaiting, and hopefully, I will be able to share a few here. I hope you enjoyed this post.

A Garden at Rest

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The garden is ready to go to sleep, and it seems that the planting/harvest season went so fast this year. I am very happy with what the garden offered, and this year was better than last year. There were a few green tomatoes left in the vine, and the rest is done. I picked what was left on Saturday. It has been a bit cold, a bit early. Last year we lost tons of green tomatoes due to an early frost. Until next year.

Grape tomatoes were a plenty this year.
Yellow tomatoes did very well too this year.
I grew these potatoes in pots; it worked.
This year I learned that potato pants are gorgeous when they flower and more beautiful when they produce this green fruit (poisonous) that looks like a green grape tomato. The seeds inside can be planted ahead of time to grow the plant, but it takes much longer for a potato plant to produce from seed than if planted from the tuber/eye. Who knew?
The last two pumpkins.
The first two pumpkins.
The largest pumpkin we picked sits in the back. I think is the nicest one. We only got two cantaloupe, which we picked a few days early but turn out delicious. First timers.
The birds were lucky this year. They enjoyed the sunflowers, and I collected tons of seeds for them. I saved a bag for planting next year.
A round patch of a different type of grass seems prominent this year. I like it.
These colorful beauties are still in bloom and the butterflies are loving them. These get many winged visitors.
Finally, a better picture of a cardinal. These were hard to photograph. They don’t stay put for long.
A happy visitor who sometimes makes his rounds around the garden. I think he belongs to a neighbor, as I always see him coming from the direction to her house.
A little bird makes friends with a scarecrow. I was lucky to take this photo.

As the garden gets ready to rest, I will be ready for cleanup and ready up for next year plantings. We have enjoyed many blessings from it, and I could not ask for more. Happy Harvest!

Fixing an Old Farmhouse – The Living Room

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Continuing with the series of blog posts on Fixing an Old Farmhouse, this post will be about the living room. Originally, the previous owner had set up this room as her bedroom, and built a bathroom adjacent to it when she became ill. The farmhouse was listed as a three bedroom house, including this room as a bedroom downstairs. I have no idea as to what the first owner of the house used this room for, or if it was considered a bedroom back then. We set the room up as the living room. This room was in fairly good shape compared to the rest of the house, and by that I mean there was no damage to the wood floor, but some of the walls were in bad shape as well as the ceiling. The closet walls were in good shape and we were able to save this part. We patched some areas, painted it, installed flooring, and set it up as a storage area and coat closet. Everything else we had to change.

For this room we used various materials – new, old, recycled, and contractor surplus, which is brand new material at a great discount purchased from a contractor/builder. Because this house has a center chimney, this room also had the other side of the chimney, and it was clogged up as well, so we had to cleaned it up, and seal it. Ideally, I would have liked to leave the brick exposed but it had a fair amount of damage. We ended up covering it, and we did this upstairs as well. I think this was the biggest challenge in this room. This room is square, measuring 15 x 15 feet (as most rooms in this house) which made things easier. Here are a few before and after pictures of the process.

Before/during.

Here you can see the damage to walls and ceiling. The closet walls were not that bad but we had to fix its ceiling. An old and dirty carpet plus layers of linoleum covered the floor. We removed it all and installed laminate flooring.
This is the other side of the room – dirty couch, boarded up window, and damage all around.
This is the opposite side.
The floor boards were in pretty good shape, however the spacing between each plank varied and would have been an invitation for critters to come inside, so we decided to install laminate flooring. Ideally, I would have preferred the original wood floors but I would not have been at peace with the possibility of bugs coming inside.
What was behind the sheetrock walls. Notice the old construction, horizontal boards. Most of the house is done in cedar wood, which is great, and the wood/beams are thicker than what is used in today’s construction. The wood is very hard and tough, and it was very difficult to screw in nails or hammer them. Cutting it was a challenge as well, and the aroma of cedar was still strong after more than 100 years. I regret not saving a piece of that wood that was so aromatic.
Ceilings. Once the sheetrock and everything else was removed, we had to vacuum and sweep the entire place before starting to work – floors, walls, ceilings.
We eliminated the door.
Wallpaper had been placed over painted sheetrock, and paint over the many layers of wallpaper, more recently by the last renter. I was told that when the house was not being rented anymore and fell in disrepair, squatters might have stayed in it very shortly . Neighbors would call the police, as well as the out of state heir, and the house ended up being boarded up – all windows and doors, after these were broken into. There was window glass everywhere.

After.

The rooms after they have been finished and furnished. We like a mix of old and new (when old is not possible), and our taste is more traditional/early American, and a bit eclectic. I understand that this might not appeal to everybody, but it is our taste, so bear with me.

The room almost finished.
The coat closet side.
Room as it is now.
The coat closet part.
Where the old door was removed. It connects with the dining room, and the main entrance.
Opposite side of the room.

This concludes the first floor of the farmhouse and what we have done so far. Upcoming blog posts will be about the second floor. I hope that you have enjoyed this renovation so far, and that it inspires you to see potential in areas where it might be difficult to visualize at first.