In Which Something Old Becomes Something New

We're still learning how to give new purposes to things that are old, worn and may have outlived their first life. Yesterday the girls and I made rag bunnies from, well, old raggy t-shirts. I want the kids to think creatively about their needs and find solutions that don't require buying something new and shiny. I want them to be able to take something useless and re-purpose it. And I want them to learn that taking the time to make something of your own is more satisfying than buying something ready made.

We got the pattern from the Alabama Stitch Book.

In Which Makenna and I Major in Culinary Arts

Makenna and I are perfecting our butter making technique. We're getting better at making sticks of butter to use for baking. We form each stick into 4 ounce portions, wrap them in cellophane and store them in the freezer. This video is of Makenna pressing the butter to remove all of the liquid (I worked so hard to get this video rotated, but now that I'm at the library and it's still not right, you'll just have rotate your screen, or just your noggin, either way). I'm certain there is a better way to do all this pressing, but I haven't figured that out yet. It's a lot of work, and I mentioned to Makenna, Wouldn't it be easier to just buy butter at the store? She didn't think so.
I wasn't happy with how long I was able to rinse the butter. I think my water was too cold and the butter firmed too fast. The taste would have been improved if I could get a few more rinses in. I was a little ambivalent as to whether or not it was going to work, but overall we were pleased with the shaping. Wouldn't it be cool to have an old wooden butter mold or stamp and press the butter into pretty designs?This lump is my bread machine attempt at whole grain bread. Not so pretty and just as hard as it looks. I have a better recipe and I'm going to stick with the hand kneading for now.Last week we made 6 batches of cookie dough to freeze. We formed the cookies into balls, let them set up in the freezer, and store them in zip locks. Makenna was so tickled by the fresh eggs making the dough so yellow, she had to take a picture.

I've started the process of making my own sour cream with our own homemade clabber which you add to the cream to make it "sour" cream. I can also add it to the milk that comes off the butter to make cultured buttermilk for baking. And here all this time I thought if you let milk set out too long it should be thrown away.

In Which Analisa Claims Her Territory

Last week I got the idea that I wanted to stencil something somewhere. I haven't really marked this home yet and I've been itching to get some text up somewhere. I love words, fonts, text on old signs or painted on the wall, and chalk boards filled with scripture. I especially am anxious to mark this home as God's territory and I've had it in mind to put "faith, hope, love" somewhere and maybe some other scripture. Wall space is limited so I'm tying to be selective and purposeful in my choices.
These three old frames hung in my bedroom at the last house and I remember someone asking me "What's up with the empty frames?" Well, nothing. I just like them. I found them in my grandpa's old suitcase and I like the patina and the old strings used for hanging so I hung them on my wall. Makes since to me, but probably looks odd to others, I admit. Here at the farm house it's nearly impossible to drive a nail into the lath and plaster walls (that are covered in cheep paneling too), so I hung them on three nails that were left by the previous occupants, or maybe their previous occupants, who knows. They've been empty here too, and then I got this idea. I've used this method in the past. While I'm sure there are easier ways, this works and it's cheep. I choose a font I like and print it on regular copy paper. Then, using graphite paper I trace the words on the wall. I paint over the tracing. Sometimes I use Sharpies, sometimes paint and brushes--just depends on the look I'm after and how steady my hand feels with a paintbrush that day and the texture of the wall I'm working with. This time I used gold paint and an outline brush to do the script.
This might be my favorite! I did this one a little different. I printed out the letters, cut them with supper sharp, fine little scissors, then I "colored" them in with a big fat sharpie paint marker. I thin out regular craft glue with a bit of water, gently cover the back of the letter with glue using my index finger, and place it on the glass (well, this is cheap Plexiglas, but the technique still applies). This technique is not suitable for areas that get wet, but it can be removed with a warm damp wash cloth if you get tired of it. I've used this method to make large signs on old wood but I seal it with a clear varnish when I'm finished.

Read more about marking your home here.
Get lots of ideas here.

In Which I Make Something Out of Nothing (well, close to nothing)

This is our cute bathroom window that desperately needed some privacy. I made a simple panel out of some leftover eyelet that my dear mother in law gave me. I didn't have a curtain rod so I ran some string though the top and tied it to the old rod brackets that were still attached to the frame.
Then, not one that can just push the curtain to the side to open it, I attached some loops of string to the bottom corners and center of the curtain to flip open and loop over the brackets and an old nail. Very farmhouse frugal, don't you think?

Now that I've had some time to admire our old house, I have found that its style and design sits somewhere between miserly and excess. It long along lost all traces of level and plumb, but remains accessible and honest in every worn and layered detail. Its crackled and dappled finish, faded through service and utility, offers an open door and true friendship to all. It embodies hospitality laced with generosity. It has been befriended by generations. It is old, but strong. Worn, yet hard working. True and honest in every detail and by living in it I learn a new way of thinking. I no longer fixate on perfection and how I can secure this or that or the other thing. Worldly concerns dim and eternity comes into focus. Somehow the variegated hues of the warn wood, faded by each hand that embraced the hand rail or closed the front door, keeps me mindful that this house—nay, this universe—didn’t begin with me, and it won’t end with me either. I find myself wondering what I will have to say to the Creator of the Universe when I stand at His feet and give an account of how I spent the gift of time He gave me.

In Which the Krumm Kids Get Farm Cats

This post is several weeks old. But I just had to show you our farm cats. Makenna is holding the mama, Ester. Maddie and Maya are holding her babies, Leonidas and Xerxes. We have not seen Ester in some weeks (she wasn't too happy with the dogs). But the boys stay close by. I'm a little concerned about who will teach them to hunt, since I heard that they need a mama to do that. But I'm not convinced that she has totally left us because her kittens are very fat and happy and we are feeding them only a little.

Next up (Lord willing): Rabbits. We are planning to pick them up on Saturday and you know I'll take pics.

In Which the Krumms Remodel the Bathroom.

This is my under $200 bathroom remodel. Can you believe what a hammer, crowbar and few gallons of paint will do?

Our goal was to spend as little money as possible while creating a clean space and keeping it as authentically farm house as possible. We choose to keep the mirror over the sink. Who knew it would turn out so cute! Let me add, I just love having one bathroom! Yes, with six of us it can be inconvenient at times, but it's a joy to maintain rather than a chore to keep up with!

I am so thankful for this one bathroom. His blessings never cease!

52 New Babies Arrive

The Krumm's Build a Chicken Coop

We spent the week building a coop and got 50 chicks on Thursday. Pictures coming soon but if you can't wait until then, come and see us and our 50 new babies! (If you need our address: call me, email me, send me a letter, or leave a message on this post or on face book and I'll get it to you. Keep in mind that I'm only checking electronic media about once a week right now.)

Another Layer Applied

An old house is a series of layers. Layers of renovation. Layers of dirt. Layers of lifetimes. In an old house you remember that it's not all about you. Someone has come before you and someone will come after you. Each make their own mark and eternity stretches out ahead of us all.
Before: The old fireplace no longer works; but I admire such things of humble invention and think it gorgeous. This room is going to be our dining room which I like to call the keeping room.After: Painted paneling does wonders! You can see the steps to nowhere to the right of the fireplace. I was so disappointed to find they closed off the steps to put in the new duct work, but I think I prefer air conditioning over the novelty of some really cool old steps. This is the font door that leads to the porch.

The Icky Range Hood Gets Replaced

Thank you, baby!

The Krumm's get a school room

At the Chiprock house we played musical school rooms for the last three years. We'd get settled in one spot and I never felt quite like it was working right, so we'd move to another. It's not that we didn't have the space, but maybe not the right space, or maybe I had too many choices. In the farm house we'll have a designated school room. It's bright and sunny (especially now that the paneling is painted) with nice big widows and views of nature. Plus lots of space. What a blessing! So much more than I imagined!









Nice big closet for storage (and a window that will probably be pretty chilly this winter). I'll have everything stored in one place (instead of the art stuff here, the sewing stuff over there, and the books in that room). This is the only room with an actual closet. It was used as a master bedroom in its past life. The after picture is a slightly different view of the window with a bit of the closet on the far right.









The other window. I may put the tables on this wall with a view out the window. However, there is no electrical outlet on this wall so we may have to get creative. The old heating pipes are in the way but maybe my dear husband will help me with that.









I'm thinking I'll put the piano here under the quilt.

In the next couple of weeks we will no longer have internet access at home. I'm not sure exactly when, just depends on when the computer and desk get moved to the farm house. I'll be doing updates and posts from the library as I can, but no doubt there will be longer delays between posts.

Suddenly, I have so much to say.

The "Renovations" Continue

All the painting is done. For now, that is. We've painted the kitchen, living room (which Steve calls the parlor), the dining room (which I call the keeping room), the school room, one bedroom and the front door with some leftover paint from Chiprock. Eventually I'll paint the back door and maybe the mailbox and we plan a small renovation on the bathroom and to paint the porch too. Oh, and don't forget the peach laundry room. But for now, we've painted enough for moving in.Here's another pic of the kitchen. You can see the dining room is now painted (to the left of the built in). And I hung my star and berries (such a cute idea I got from a Chiprock neighbor). I'm unsure about where most of my things will go, but this spot needed the star, no question. Should I hang sheers in the laundry room door way, or leave it as is? At some point the boxes and peach paint will be gone so the view should be better. I can't decide.

More before and after pictures coming soon.

"Master" Bedroom

I'm amazed at the purposefulness of God. He is the God of details. And He has blessed us beyond measure. While this is a hard transition for me for several reasons (neighbors, city water, and soaking tub-- need I say more), it is also filled with joy and awe over the provisions of God. I don't know why He is moving us. I don't know how long we'll be in this house or where we'll go from here. I have fun making my guesses, but mostly I just stand back and watch and pray, Holy Spirit of God, do whatever you want in my life. I can't wait to see what He has planned while we are here! It's something better than I can guess.









Before: This room is going to be our "master" bedroom. It is surprisingly large and I'll be able to keep my king size bed (small wonders!). All I can think of is green acres when I see these before pictures and think of my cherry sleigh bed in this room. Add a crystal chandelier and the image is complete! Now this is the only bedroom with the original wall paper and showing the water damage to the room before the new roof. Too bad, it's hard to see here, but the paper would have been really cool if undamaged.
Steve painted the room and I hung some sheers in the window today. We still need to paint the trim, but for now I vacuumed and measured and we're ready for furniture. I think my favorite old chippy-paint turquoise cabinet will fit too. We are going to take yet another step in removing the TV farther from our everyday lives and put the TV in our room. We'll have it available for when someone is sick but we would largely like to pretend it's not even in the house. I have to leave my curtains and window treatments at the old house which makes me so sad, my bedroom curtains would have been perfect here. For now I'll stick with the sheers until I find just the right thing. The upstairs rooms still have the old radiators. Thankfully there is new heating and central air and I don't have to find out how well these babies work, I can just admire them.

Kitchen: Before & After

I have so many pictures to show you, but for now we'll start with the kitchen.

We're in the process of cleaning, doing minor repairs and improvements, and painting in an effort to make this very old house like home before we move all the big stuff in. We're trying to be careful to balance what we do and how much money we spend because this really isn't our house. Although the owner is not picky about what we do to the house, it's hard to be a renter after all this time--we're used to just doing what we want knowing we would be the ones to benefit from any improvements we made in the long run. Even still, we are painting nearly everything that will stand still except the woodwork. I'm struggling with solutions to the windows. I'd really like to leave them untreated. There is really not much of a privacy issue because there is no one around. However, how will it feel at night to us city kids that are used to being locked up tight at night with all the drapes and shades pulled? Also, these are some BIG windows. Even the 96" curtains won't make it from floor to the top of the window for these babies, and most "cost effective" retail outlets (Walmart, etc.) don't even sell 96" lengths and blinds and rollers shades don't come ready made in such long lengths. So for now they stay as is until I figure something out. If I had an unlimited budget I would know exactly what I wanted to do. But we're thinking as inexpensive as possible. Any ideas?

Kitchen, before: Check out that big bird yellow! I'm dying to paint the cabinets, but that is a project for another time (maybe another house?). After: Ahhh, so much better. Can't wait to move in our stuff.










Before: There are two built in pantries in the kitchen. Very cool! Nearly everything is covered in paneling. Now I just can't stand looking at all of it so my dear husband is painting as much as possible before moving day, but there is much to do so it's possible not all of it will get done before then.

After: I think they just look gorgeous with the cream colored paint. Now that the paneling is neutralized you can actually see them! You can see in the picture on the right even more paneling on the other side of the kitchen doorway.

We signed the lease yesterday!

Lots of cleaning and painting to do but everything looks great. No help offered is denied.

More pictures to follow!

What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?

We're still baby stepping our way to moving day. We don't have an official closing date but all sides have agreed to the sale, inspections are being scheduled, and closing will most likely be the end of the month.

Wow, that was fast. I don't even know what to say about it except, To God be the glory for all that He has done! If I tried to count all of His blessings and answered prayers, I would certainly tire before I finished!

If you know me, you may know that I tend to get scattered in my thinking when overwhelmed. I've done a fair bit of pacing the house looking at boxes and feeling more than a little unsure of things. I'm learning to be grounded in the scriptures, to pray without ceasing, and to praise Him in all things. And praise Him that He is remaking me everyday. Hebrews 11:6 has been one of the verses that has helped me focus through all of this. Along with various sections of Matthew chapters 6-9, particularly Matthew 6:33 and of course many of the Psalms and Martha and Mary--with Martha worried about "stuff" and Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Only one thing is necessary.

Believe that He is
and that He is a rewarder
of those who seek Him!

So in the packing and planning and figuring and cleaning it is my prayer that through it all we are drawn closer to Him. That we seek more of His wisdom, more of His faith, more of His joy, more of His voice in our ears, more of His glory!

I cannot overstress the blessing that praying with my Bible open has been to me. On one particular night when we got the offer on the house (one week after we put it on the market) the cry of my heart was on where we will go if we indeed sold the house so quickly. God spoke to me through His Word these incredible words of comfort from Matthew 8:

Discipleship Tested

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. Then a scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Another of the disciples said to Him, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead."

When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, "What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

What are you worried about? What is stressing you out? Set your faith in Him. Seek Him continually. I'm not saying that all your problems will disappear or that things will suddenly become easy. But search the scriptures and claim His promises. He is faithful.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

This is me on the phone calling about the rental house after I found the ad in the paper, giving Steve a stern look for taking my picture while I was on the phone. It really isn't significant other than I just think it's funny that I happen to have a picture of it when I probably have less than 5 pictures of me in as many years (I'm always the one taking the pictures, you know?).

Our New Old House!

We have an appointment next week to sign a lease on this house. If all the work is completed and the porch is made livable, we'll officially be moving the end of the month. So there will be a couple of weeks to clean, do a little painting, prepare the yard for the dogs, put up a true-blue laundry line for line drying linens, and procure a few farm kittens!

This is our ultimate"choosing purposeful simplicity" experiment. We'll have well water, propane heating, no internet access, and no city lights to brighten up the night sky. There will be no basement for storage of all that stuff that I've been hanging on to but really does nothing but weigh us down. Closet space is limited so I'm being choosy about what to keep and what to give away, what to sell and what to toss. I'm looking forward to keeping the useful and beautiful and letting the rest go--living with less and using what we have.

This is the view from the kitchen window.

Makenna at the back of the yard.