Bungalowjungalow

Bungalow’s Remodel: Day 30

bungalowjungalow — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:05:16 +0000

Well, yesterday we found dry rot…not what we were hoping for in the laundry room, but glad we found it sooner rather than later. Our guys felt so mournful as they told us the problem…despite how you guys feel, it’s not your fault that there’s been a leak for who knows how long! Looks like our washing machine plumbing has been slowly leaking. (And, judging from what looks like semi-complete repair jobs under the surface, this has been a problem for a long time.) The dry rot extends underneath our utility sink/cabinet/counter and up into the wall, so the utility sink is coming out today as well…here we go with washing dishes in the bath tub for a while!

Here’s what we’re looking like this morning! We now have the addition of the washing machine and dryer in the kitchen/family room as well…

Yikes! Rot!

The travertine tile that will eventually cover the laundry room floor:

Our guys just got here (after another trip for repair supplies), and just started working on our laundry room floor and plumbing - you guys are the best! Yep, that’s the sound of a saw that I hear! Here goes Day 30!

Bungalow’s Kitchen Remodel: Day 29

bungalowjungalow — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 09:30:02 +0000

So, it’s 9:00 am on day 29 of our kitchen makeover….our wonderful crew of two are at Home Depot right now picking up supplies and should be here any minute. These pictures were taken this morning – as you can see there was little visual progress made yesterday, but much under-the-surface progress as I will explain. I’m sipping some coffee right now (helps me think to write)…after not being able to even stand the smell of coffee for the last few months, I’ve finally developed my taste for it again! (It’s the 4th, trust me I need coffee this time around!) The older two boys are riding their bikes and scooters around the house, and the littlest boy is probably making mischief somewhere. Well, here we go….another day~

This is the sub-floor in our family room and kitchen…they re-secured each board down yesterday because it was pretty squeaky and wabbly. Eventually it will be covered with beautiful (I *hope* we chose right!) Acacia hardwood.

The last day you or I will ever see this lovely, ugly linoleum in the laundry room….today it goes bye-bye!

We will re-place the linoleum with natural looking travertine tile. (Joe and I picked through a heavy stack this morning to find the ones we like.) This 8 foot floor warmer will go underneath the tile (An extra $170.00 since we’re completely re-doing the floor, otherwise it would have been much more expensive). I’m going to use the floor warmer as an rewards-system for myself when I do laundry! – When I do laundry, I get toasty feet as a reward! (We’re also putting it in front of the kitchen sink too…maybe my dishes won’t pile up as much that way.)

Lots of finishing electrical work was done yesterday as well, including putting up our two new kitchen light fixtures…had to turn the lights off in them so you could see the picture without a glare:

Our pretty lights…this is what’s called “Schoolhouse Lighting”. This style was very popular during the 1920′s and 1930′s – it was actually used in all the schoolhouses in the US back in those days, thus it’s name.

Bungalow’s Kitchen Remodel

bungalowjungalow — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:40:42 +0000

Well, my summer break from blogging turned out to be a bit longer than originally anticipated. Summer turned into fall, fall into winter, and here I am on the second day of February finally writing once again. Much has happened over recent months, but I think what would be most amusing to you is what’s going on right now at the Bungalow. She’s undergoing much work and change…exciting, and (what some might think) crazy things are happening over here: Because of this sunnier, sometimes warmer weather, a couple of our chickens have started laying eggs again (!), Baby #4 is happily on its way (a little over 3 months along), and we are also right smack dab in the middle of a major kitchen remodel (with a few extra add-ons in the rest of the house). We took everything right down to the studs in the kitchen…or the two great guys who are working for us did rather! We’re going for a cute, old-fashioned look with yellows, blues, reds and whites (kind of French Provincial colors)…will be interesting to see how it all comes together. I’m going to *try* each day to post at least a picture of the progress…it will be a good way to keep track ourselves as all of this can be a bit dizzying. So, if you’re bored and/or interested, feel free to tune in for our remodeling/craziness updates. ~

Here’s our kitchen as of a few minutes ago: She was taken down to her studs, re-wired, re-plumbed, had insulation added in her walls, and other things that are too numerous to mention. Since then, her walls are back up – sheet rocked, mudded and painted…even the ceiling was done too!

Well, as for the front room…do you know of anyone else living with a dishwasher, refrigerator, stand-alone freezer, a new gas range/oven, a large gas range hood, a 72 inch by 40 inch piece of butcher block, a large white farm-style sink, grand piano, and everything else from the kitchen, family room, parts of the garage, etc. in their living room?

Summer Break

bungalowjungalow — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 06:20:11 +0000

Just a “hi” to those out there who may come upon Bungalowjungalow. In case you’ve been wondering, I decided to take a summer break from blogging – I’m having a hard time sitting in front of my computer long enough to write and post pictures while it’s so warm and beautiful and there’s so much to do outside. However, as soon as the weather starts to turn and we’re indoors more, I’ll look forward to sharing our adventures with you once again!

May all of you continue to enjoy summer’s beauty, bounty, and warmth! See you all in the Fall…

Strawberry Jam Makin’ Time!

bungalowjungalow — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:37:25 +0000

Late morning through early afternoon, wonderful strawberry smells arose from the kitchen. We bubbled and brewed 2 batches of the most delicious stove-top jam! My expert canner/jammer friend came to help guide me through the stove-top jam making process. We washed, dried, de-topped, smashed, cooked, jarred, and hot-water bathed while our 5 little boys played (her 2, and my 3). The boys did great – absolutely no catastrophes took place, and they were still playing happily at the end!

First, the directions that came in the pectin package were carefully studied. I found out that every pectin brand has slightly different directions that must be followed to the “t” for jam to turn out well and set right. By the way, isn’t that a cute apron?

Hot water bathing our jarred jam – just look at her cute, pregnant tummy…

Lovely, sparkling jars of strawberry jam. My bread machine made a loaf of honey whole wheat bread so we could properly taste test the strawberry goodness - it was lip-smackin’ good! Oh, how I wanted to just sit with spoon and jar…mmm…

Strawberry Pickin’ Time!

bungalowjungalow — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:44:41 +0000

It is strawberry picking time! Last Thursday we went picking with friends. The fields were ripe and scrumptious, and we kept finding ourselves eating just one… more… berry. ” A fresh strawberry IS a fresh strawberry”, I’ve heard it said. So absolutely right, nothing compares! May all of you have stained mouths, hands, and clothes sometime soon too~

My friend pictured below is an experienced canner/jam maker - she’s going to teach me how to make stove-top strawberry jam this week…mine never seems to set right. She says there’s hope for me yet…we shall see on Thursday when we get another batch of berries and go to work in the kitchen. They have two little boys, and a little girl on the way!

Wouldn’t you like to bite into this luscious berry right now?

“Working” the fields – what a great way to teach kids where food comes from, and the joy that can come from good old-fashioned hard work. I foresee lots of field work in the future for these two as they grow up – and for their little brother as well.

A Phone Call From Grandmother

bungalowjungalow — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 03:37:58 +0000

My grandmother called me yesterday afternoon while the boys and I were making some chocolate oatmeal cookies (we omitted 1/2 cup of flour and added cocoa instead!). We were just scooping the last spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheet when the phone rang…I love it when she calls, we chat about this and that, and I usually end up asking her tidbits of advice about homekeeping and child-rearing. She gives the best advice – so, so full of perspective! (~Grandma is Portuguese, was raised in Hawaii, and is a woman of great faith.) While we were on the phone, she shared with me some thoughts/sayings out of a book that she’s been reading…here are two of them:

“It is better to build strong children then try to repair adults.” What a great piece of wisdom, coming from someone who truly raised 4 stong children (my mother being one of them).

The other is “Worry is a futile thing, it is somewhat like a rocking chair. Although it keeps you occupied, it doesn’t get you anywhere.” Isn’t that the truth! Back, and forth, and back and forth, we mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, rock our chairs and rock our chairs don’t we!

She also shared with me a paraphrase of Philippians 4:11-13. Grandma’s paraphrase went like this: “I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe to being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty, whatever I have, wherever I am I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”

~Thanks for the phone call yesterday Grandma, I’ll talk to you again soon.~

Urban Farming Attempt…

bungalowjungalow — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:32:40 +0000

Time for a quick update and news from our Bungalow. Mama’s too tired to write much tonight, though…my three little boys continue to be wiggly, warm-hearts that provide me lots of wonderful work, and so at the end of the day sometimes I’m just plain weak. Thought I would show a few pictures, though, of our continued urban farming attempt. What is it they say? Oh, yes, a picture is worth a thousand words – so here are some pictures…

Vegetable garden growing!

My rose hedge is blooming! “Lavender Simplicity” from Jackson & Perkins:

Our latest, greatest, cute but practical yard idea: Why not use an empty wine barrel for a hose home? Makes putting away the hose super easy!

Chickens getting bigger! Every evening, and first thing in the morning, they can all be seen perching in a row just like this. The chickens continue to have hours upon hours of play time with the boys…and -wow- can those kids catch a chicken like nobody’s business! Still no eggs, but soon though…

Still (always) lots of un-completed projects…firewood to be split, dirt and bark mulch to be spread:

Swinging with Daddy! Plus, a trench-in- progress…Joe is very excited to be planting a screen of bamboo along one of our fences for added privacy:

Logging Day

bungalowjungalow — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 16:56:35 +0000

Saturday was a barn-raising day of sorts for some good friends of ours (they are also our cousins through marriage) who bought a beautiful 4-acre plot of land and darling home last December. They are expecting their first baby (a little boy!) in September, so there was/is much work to do before then to help them get settled. Our gang of five, Uncle Michael & Aunt Jenny, plus our pal Dave, all headed up to Washington to help them clear their land for a fun-filled day of logging, playing in the mud, bonfires, and hotdog and marshmallow roasting. At the end of the day, we headed home with a trailer full of firewood, too (our woodstove’s gonna love it) – thanks guys!!

The boys roamed free catching frogs, snakes, bugs, seeing deer, and spotting a wild rabbit!

Who’s that hot mama with the chainsaw?

Uncle Michael kept the bonfire burning all afternoon…

Lumberjacks!

The next-door neighbor’s cat recently had kittens…they were so cute all curled up in the straw…

Aunt Jenny with a darling kitty:

Roasting time!! (The ladies were busy preparing yummy salads while the guys started on the hot dogs.) Hot dogs and s’mores never tasted so good!

How To Plant A Fruit Tree

bungalowjungalow — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 05:40:50 +0000

Some friends of ours chose a nice sunny spot in their yard, cleared the “land”, and decided to make it (and call it) an orchard. What a novel idea…the size of one’s yard doesn’t matter, anyone can have an orchard! One can even train fruit trees, grapes, and/or berries along a fence for a surprisingly large harvest (kiwi comes to mind, too) and still have an “orchard”…the term is subjective if you ask me. The key is to be creative and just work with what you have. So, inspiration set in for us, and we made ourselves an orchard this weekend. We chose 4 different dwarf fruit trees – one apple, one pear, and one plum …all multi-grafted trees so they will self-pollinate, plus a sour cherry tree (sour cherry trees self-pollinate). We didn’t know how to plant a fruit tree before this weekend, so just in case any of you are wondering, too, here’s our simple version of how to do it:

Dig a hole twice the width of the pot the tree came in, and about as deep as the pot. Take the tree out of the pot. Take a shovel and loosen the roots. Place it in the hole:

Fill the hole in with dirt. Next, take a hose and turn it on so it trickles. Place the trickle near the tree base, and leave it there until the ground is soaked:

Next, take one bag of steer manure and spread it all around the tree base.

You are done!

A neat organization we’ve just learned about is the Home Orchard Society – you can visit them at www.homeorchardsociety.org