The Wondrously Stupendous, Very Prestigious Cuisinart Bread Machine

February 2nd, 2011
breadmachine

During my year off from blogging one of the Big Projects for the homestead was a total kitchen make-over. We could afford it because my dearly loved Mother-in-Law died last April, after just a month in assisted living, at the ripe old age of 87. Turned out she had so much money in her checking account that even after expenses and splitting what was left with hubby’s brother, I could finally get a nice new kitchen to go with the dining furniture she also left to us.

For eighteen long years the kitchen has been separated from the main living space with a bar, even though the front door enters the kitchen rather than the living room. That bar has been variously attached to the right and left sides of the kitchen (thus changing the traffic pattern), and for the past six years it simply floated in the middle, topped with a piece of plywood painted for paper-flip football, mini-table tennis and various other games. Never managed to have four actually stable, matching bar stools at any given time, but our annual visitors were encouraged to buy or build their own, which would be exclusive to them whenever they were in-house. Some of them are pretty amazing, but of course none of them ever matched. And that front door, just so you know, was a hollow closet door that never actually closed or locked, we used to brace it against wind and possible night intruders with a bucket full of dirt.

Continue reading »

Filed under Building, Doors, Glazing, Holidays, Homestead, Renovating, Repair, Windows | Comment (0)

Basic Homestead Repair & Maintenance

September 12th, 2007
Repair

Homestead upkeep and the ability to build-it-yourself for all sorts of projects; energy conservation and independence; food production, preservation and storage; wise husbandry for livestock; ways to turn your homesteading abilities into cash income for your family… There are so many subjects to cover for anyone who wants to connect more firmly with the earth, to spend their life in time more thoroughly engaged, and to take more responsibility for their own environment and sustenance.

But we must begin at the beginning so that all else will follow along its natural path. Now that we’ve got our Homestead Tool Kit [Part I and Part II] collected and put together, it’s time to start on some of the most common repair and maintenance jobs a homeowner will face. The more you can do for yourself, the less you’ll have to pay others to do it for you!

Continue reading »

Filed under Doors, Homestead, Maintenance, Repair, Windows | Comment (0)