still going, and getting there!

i wanted to show you that we really are working and making progress in the mud room. in the last several days we've had an ice storm, pig fence problems, pig problems, a Christmas party and our church Christmas play. so i didn't really have much time to keep up on my blogging! Dave has the next 3 days off, and we plan on working out here in the mud room, and essentially finishing it before we start on the kitchen. you can keep up-to-date with what we're doing in the to-do list over in the right hand column. I've been keeping that pretty current.

except for some trim, the butler's pantry is pretty much done. (I'm still working on that last door. it needs fixed before i can paint it) for now, unfortunately, this is pretty much the way this will look. as in, all piled with junk and crap our precious and essential belongings. we are in the middle of a major renovation (if you haven't noticed) so i can only expect so much.

here is the "new" wall. we moved the kitchen wall out 24" to accomodate for a few extra cabinets. dave is working on this wall now. the door on the left goes out to the back porch, and immediately to the right of this picture is the adjoining kitchen door.

i wasted no time painting and caulking, following Dave right around as he went. we made alot of progress in this room today! all the walls are painted, the trim is painted and waiting for Dave, and hopefully tomorrow i can "finish up"!

the wall is mostly done now, with a few ceiling issues to finish, (think old, crooked house) as well as the beadboard up top. I've also painted both doors- the kitchen door and the door to the porch. this wall will get 4 hooks for our frequently worn coats, as well as Dave's little hunting cabinet will be hung up.

i worked most of yesterday, and late last night getting the painting, caulking and trim done. there is still some more to be done, but for now, that's the extent of the pictures to show.

this is where the butler's pantry used to be. Dave wanted this wall to run the baseboard heater. now the heater is under the coat rack, and keeps our coats and boots toasty warm! this room is right off the kitchen, so is perfect for the family to come in and dump all their junk and crap essential belongings. i figure this room will help keep the house much neater.

i can always hope, right?

more about the butler's pantry and mud room (which used to be called the utility room)

i had another post about the mud room and butler's pantry, but in a fit of bloggy housekeeping, i accidentally deleted it. so here is the current version, complete with pictures. more to follow later.

I've cleared off the work space of the butler's pantry, and am painting it with the high gloss latex enamel, after having primed it. i really like this color.

priming and painting the trim.

here is the joint compound that Dave was using to finish the ceiling. apparently we are too good for the normal stuff. nothing but the best- the professional stuff is all we'll use! and a shot of our really cool Drywall Compound Sander And Sucker Upper; a housewarming gift of the most practical kind.

the Drywall Sander And Sucker Upper in action.




getting ready to paint the ceiling.

painting the ceiling. here i am wearing my painting sweatshirt. i only wear it when i paint. and considering how much I've been painting lately, it's a good thing that it's my favorite sweatshirt!




the ceiling is done. and i really like the color. but the funny thing is, it was hard to paint with, because I'm so used to painting with semi-gloss or latex enamel, that it felt really strange to paint with a flat paint. i kept thinking that something was wrong.

and another funny thing- i asked Dave tonight what he thought of the ceiling. (and that was after he worked in the mud room all morning putting the light back up, and hanging some of the trim and stuff.) i said "what do you think of the ceiling?" and he just looked at me, and said, "it's a ceiling. it's white" and i was all like- "oh no, it's blue. a lovely shade of blue" "really?" he said. anyway... i had to show him the paint can to convince him. so it's a subtle shade of blue, obviously.

for now, this is turning out to be one of my favorite rooms in the house! i'll keep you updated on the progress that we are making.

our week in review

it's been a very busy week, made even more so by the huge list of tasks that i wrote for myself last Sunday night. but due to the added accountability of blogging about it all week, I've done almost all of it, with the help of everyone in the family. after I'm done typing, the boys and i will spend some time sorting the 10,683 Betty Lukens felt pieces, and hopefully make a large dent in that pile.

this is the field of pumpkins- AFTER we took out 3 trailer loads. it didn't even make a noticeable difference in the amount of rotting pumpkins lying about!



A came along for one of the trips, but she didn't have as much fun as she thought she would. too much like work, this gleaning of fields!

the first load down, only 2 more to go!


the first load we piled down by the pigs, and the other 2 loads are in the basement, so they don't freeze.

and here are pig and spot enjoying their first of many meals consisting mainly of pumpkin. i think that we will have pumpkin flavored pork chops!

this is our little local story hour at the library, and the kids all making their autumn trees with the leaves that i cut out. they all seemed to enjoy it, but mainly it was because of the glue they got to use all by themselves.

the steps are painted, and although you can't tell it here, they look much better. except for the bare studs, rough plank and bare wire showing, that is.

here I've cleaned and am now painting the base of the butler's pantry. i did the top part too, although i will need to touch that up after Dave is done with putting it back together.

here we've put the top back on. i really like the way that it is turning out, and i love the colors. there still is a fair amount of work to be done on it, but I'm very pleased.

spackling the ceiling was not as bad as i thought it would be. there were only 3 short butt joints, and 2 factory joints, so it went fairly quickly. just 2 more coats on the seams, and then i can paint it. i have a very beautiful color in mind, but will save that for another post...


now, it remains to be seen if I'll write another giant list for myself this week...

crazy wild- par for the course

it feels as if it's alot busier than normal around here, and that's why i haven't been posting as much as I'd like. sorry! but i think about you guys alot, all you faithful readers of mine! i thought that I'd give you the list that I'm working from this week, and update it as i get things done.

clean and paint butler's pantry DONE

pumpkin seeds and puree DONE

move pigs DONE

leaves for library story time DONE

stack lath DONE

MOPS DONE

spackle ceiling in utility room DONE (well, nearly. only need to do coat 2&3 on the seams.)

clean boys bedroom DONE

paint step trim DONE

3 trailer loads pumpkins DONE

sort and file Betty Lukens felt set DONE

grocery shopping DONE

library trip DONE

dust house DONE

clean/organize sitting room DONE

I've been accomplishing the tasks from this list, as you can see. and happy about that too! but this doesn't include all my regular chores like laundry, cooking, school, feeding the stove, stuff like that. but it's good to have a list- it gives me motivation, direction and now accountability!

i would have liked to post some pictures of some of our recent projects, both mine and the ones that Dave is working on, but for some reason my computer has stopped reading my camera's memory card. according to my stupid all-knowing computer, removable disk (H:) no longer exists! hopefully i can get that figured out soon, and you can see all the things that we have been doing!

the butler's pantry, revisited

I've mentioned before about the butler's pantry, and the happy compromise between Dave and i. since i know that you are all drooling on the edge of your seat, and can't wait to see the latest progress, here are a slew of pictures- blow by blow. more than you ever all that you wanted to know. around here there is no such thing as a simple project that is completed quickly, or anywhere near budget. it's only taken us about 9 months to figure that out. we're quick on the uptake that way. so even though this post is about the butler's pantry, there were about 9 1/2 things that had to be done before we could even think about moving it over to the other side of the room. here the boys (all three of them, since N has no more doctor's excuse for lounging about) are taking the plaster and lath off of the ceiling. notice how careful they are being, and putting it directly into a big tub, to be immediately hauled outside. this is to avoid having plaster dust all over the house. again. even after 10 months of ripping out plaster and lath, i am still under the delusion that there is some possible way to avoid plaster dust all over the house. again. I'm quick on the uptake that way. see above.

here we have emptied out all the junk important stuff and moved it somewhere else to be in the way. Dave is cutting through the 2X2 that the base is fastened to. http://caplingerfamily.blogspot.com/2008/10/there-has-to-be-up-side.html

i included this picture of me so that you could see that i was actually involved in this project, and did not just boss my sons around, and force them to do all the dirty work. i am taking out the plaster from behind the shelves, and carefully placing it in the laundry basket, in order to prevent plaster dust from going all over the house. again. see above.

N is helping me get out all the plaster. see his happy smile? he loves this job!

this is totally random- not sure how it slipped in. but isn't little B cute? she loves to read this book- just like A did! and they both even have the same favorite page!

here you can see that all the plaster and lath is removed from the ceiling, and the ceiling has also been insulated. Dave has totally detached the top cabinets from the bottom cupboard, and the boys are helping him to lift it off. now that we have that done, Dave can install the light that he got for this room. but first we had to do all those other things. see above.

this is the other side of the room, and before they can move the butler's pantry over here, Dave needed to build a new wall. acutally, before they could build this wall, G and N had to fix the gigantic holes in the floor with new 3/4" subfloor. so here they're about done with the wall, and N is helping him. the laundry room is to N's left, and there will be a door between the laundry room and utility room. very handy for taking out the baskets of wet clothes.

and while we're at it, might as well put in those 2 new windows. N took out the old ones, as Dave took the measurements, and fiddled around to make the windows fit.


now that the wall is built, N and G helped me hang the bead board. since the butler's pantry has no back, i needed to do something and we thought that bead board would look nice. that was not too hard to do, as there were no outlets to cut around. just slap it up there, and nail it on.

now that it's up, it needs to be painted. first with a primer coat, and then with a coat of white super gloss interior/exterior latex enamel. the primer coat is the hardest, as the bead board really soaks up the paint, and it can be tedious to get the paint in all the cracks. but i really enjoy painting, and didn't mind. it's all progress! it seems as if it's been so long since there has been a project that i can do- most of the stuff lately has been something that only Dave can do. so i went at it like a "house a'fire!"

here is the butler's pantry with its new coat of historically accurate paint. very close to the original color- milk green. i will say, though, that i was not impressed with Lowe's computer matched paint. it turned out a very yucky minty green. like a baby nursery. so i picked something else instead that was very close, and I'm happy with my choice. a dear friend came over to help me paint, and N did take some pictures of us working together. but i thought that the pictures weren't very flattering i looked awful, so i didn't include the work in progress. sorry, heather!

so now, the butler's pantry is ready to be installed in its final resting place. but first, we have to hang some more bead board, as it's only covering 8 feet of the wall, and the pantry is 10 feet long. but before we can do that, we have to put in the door from the laundry room, which we are getting from a friend who has an old house, and an extra door that we can have. and then we have to hang the drywall on the ceiling. then hang the bead board on the other walls. but we can't do that until Dave wires the room.

and just between you and me- i think that the butler's pantry is growing on Dave. he still thinks that it's a big piece of junk, but i did hear him comment on the fact that it's pretty neat that the counter top of the base is one solid piece of wood- 24" wide! they just don't make trees like that anymore! even though Dave has tons of things to do, he's willing, without too much grumbling, to take the time to move and save this old piece of history. just for me. just because i like it so much. and just because he's a great husband like that.

so around and around we go, slowly making progress. very slowly. and actually, this whole thing started because Dave wanted to use that outside wall to install the hot water baseboard heat. so before he could do that, we had to do all these other things. see above!

happenings at our house this week

it's been a very busy week here, with lots going on. I'll just give you a list, in no particular order, and you can see for yourselves what we've been up to.

*we celebrated my birthday

*i started putting perennials in my kitchen garden

*we butchered and froze 20+ chickens (somewhere along the way we lost count!)

*we canned 19 quarts of grape juice

*we celebrated the twins' birthday

*B is on the brink of walking

*we canned 28 quarts of applesauce, and made 3 apple crisps

*Dave hooked up heating zone 2, completing the heat for all downstairs living areas

*A enjoyed her first story time at our local library

*Dave and i reached a happy compromise about the butler's pantry

*M is doing just fine down in SC, but is very busy, and doesn't get much sleep

*N's stitches were removed, and he will have an impressive scar on his elbow

*Dave put in a new door in the utility room (with a window!)

*we got $10 pump jacks on e-bay, and can start insulating the rest of the house

*we closed up the garden, tilling it all under, and planted it with winter rye

*we played the genus edition of trival pursuit, and Dave and i creamed the boys

*it's my job to feed the wood stove, and I'm liking that chore

*D started his job at Family Dollar

*A is learning about the color orange, with crafts, coloring and snacks

*all 3 boys are working well at their chemistry

*Dave accidentally trapped the master bath shower in the utility room

so that's it- life at our house: full of adventures, escapades and mundane happenings, just to keep things interesting!

we could use a little imput here!

we seem to have a little problem here at our house, and I'm hoping that you can help us! in case you're a new visitor to my blog, we recently moved into our 1807 colonial farmhouse, and are in the process of totally renovating it. as in top to bottom, inside and out. the only thing that is staying is the kitchen ceiling and the attic insulation. really. everything else will be removed and/or redone. really.

anyway, when we first came to look at this house last July, one of my very favorite parts about it was this butler's pantry. (the other was the doorway elipse going into the ballroom upstairs.) we don't know for sure how old the butler's pantry is, but the addition on the house, where it is located, was built prior to 1890. so according to my math, it could very well be over 120 years old. really.

now, here's where the problem comes in. i really love this butler's pantry. i like old things, and old houses, and this definitely can qualify as both. plus, it's really cool. and i can store lots of things in it, too. since it's located in the utility/mudroom, it will help keep our stuff neat and tidy. conversely, dave hates the butler's pantry. he thinks it's junky, poorly built, an eyesore, ugly and dirty. (did i cover it all, dear?) plus, the back wall of the butler's pantry is still covered in plaster and lath, which will need to come out- in addition to the scrubbing, scraping and painting needed to make it presentable. also, the top 3 cupboard doors will need to be replaced, although my FIL has already volunteered to do that for me.

I'll let you look at the following 3 pictures before i go on any further.

so- here's where we (i) would appreciate your input. should we take down the cupboards? or do you agree with me that they are worth salvaging? i know that they will take alot of work, and since Dave is so busy with thousands of other things that i am unable to do, i realize that all the work will fall on my shoulders. however, I'm willing (and rather excited) to do it- i can really see the potential these old butler's cupboards have. and I'm more than willing to invest some time and elbow grease to get the job done.

I've installed a poll on my side bar for you to vote- yes? or no? take the time now to register your opinion- a little piece of history hangs in the balance! and just to put things in perspective- the country doctor's wife doesn't realize how good she has it! she should read this post! but of course, if the butler had come with the pantry, i'd be so happy to have houshold help, that i'd let dave rip out any old thing his heart desired!