Town House Homestead Tuesday

We are still going strong here at our new home. We still unpack a box here and there, but until we finish deconstructing the basement, and making it a little more finished, a lot of unpacking will be done a couple months down the road. Being an old 1950's home it needs a lot of work yet to bring it up to where it should be. The basement is keeping us busy. It had a drop ceiling with Styrofoam glued to the walls and Styrofoam used as the ceiling panels. We have torn it all out and this week we are having some one come and pick up the mound of scrap metal and we have almost hauled all of the old floor out for collection. As you can see we are close to a clean room to start washing it down and painting. 

This is only one quarter of the basement that will house my daughter's sewing and craft studio. This week we have been fighting yellow jackets that are coming in and dying, but one stung her on the back of her neck while she was working. We'll pull all the old smelly insulation out and seal holes to prevent this in the future.

We are starting to get back to thrift store shopping and checking out flea markets to find some tools and items we need for the house. I found this vintage tablecloth. I love this pattern. A few years ago my daughter gave me one that was so badly stained that I could only use it as a cutter. I was excited to find this one and although it has a few stains that stubbornly won't come out it is in very usable condition. From the cutter I made place mats, pan handle pot holders, napkins, and hot pads, and still have pieces left that I was saving to make a table cloth that I can use for pot holders and oven mitts. It's been a fun sewing project.

Some other thrift finds were books. I can't wait to have time to read Solar Power Your Home for Dummies. 

We found a few more holiday items. Easter egg plates, made in Japan Christmas choir singers, a glass Valentines day jar, an aqua planter and a set of vintage Ball salt and pepper shakers.

We found some vintage linens. Some are sold already, some will be sold, and some will be used for sewing. All are in great shape and I can't wait to sew more.

The best find ever was this 5 quart Wagner cast iron dutch oven. They have become very expensive at thrift stores and flea markets and are usually in much worse condition. We got this one for $19.99 and I am already starting to clean it and season it. It is looking much better, but has a way to go before I'm comfortable cooking in it. I have wanted one for so long, so I can be patient. The container garden is slowing down. A few more tomatoes to go and maybe a few peppers and beans, but now it will be all farm market vegetables. Thank goodness that option is available and it's always nice to shop local. That's what's be happening this past week at the Town House Homestead. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week. 

Town House Homestead Tuesday

The distance we have traveled.

To say that it's been the longest four months ever is an understatement. To say also that our new home has consumed us is also an understatement, but when I look at the picture diary it's hard to believe it's been so little time. The work is far from done, but well underway to becoming a working suburban homestead. We have cut down trees, mowed overgrown grass, raked years old leaves, repaired structures, tilled and planted, grown vegetables and herbs, and enjoyed friends and family for barbecues and relaxation. 

Front gardens covered with moving boxes, timbers and rocks to kill tall grass and weeds after years of neglect.

Finally uncovered and the result was enough killed off to make it easier to till. The day of tilling was also the day the gazebo got it's new roof. The cedar shingles proved to be a great place for ants.

At the end of the day the roof was done and the gardens were raked. We were so tired, but it will all be beautiful next Spring.

The plants have been in for a while and they are establishing themselves as they should. We will move a few around next year as they grow and spread, but it's a pleasure to see the hard work paying off.

My container gardening continues to produce vegetables and herbs. This week I have green bell peppers, tomatoes, and that wonderful mint. I have most of the vegetables in the breezeway growing, and set them out in the morning and bring them in at night because...

as you can see we have a very hungry Doe wandering the neighborhood. I finally caught her in a few pictures. This was to prove to my neighbors that I wasn't crazy and was actually seeing her. She was sharing bird seed with the ducks until I opened the door and she went on her way. 

I got back to some canning making it really feel like home. Here are 18 quarts of vegetable broth for winter soup. 

I got around to playing with my sewing machine again. I reclaimed a very well loved  vintage quilt, too far gone to repair, and cut out a dozen primitive cats. I couldn't see it not getting a new life and I am making quilt blocks from an up cycled bed skirt that is 100% cotton. 

We got out to do a little thrift shopping. We found this vintage glass cookie jar filled with vintage made in Japan Santa's along with some other Christmas ornaments and had fun taking them out one at a time. We have cleaned and sorted what we wanted and have packed it away for the holidays. There's more thrift finds to be shared, but I have next week. Our goal now is to get ready for winter and make sure as much of the yard is taken care of as possible and the deconstruction of the basement continues so we can move stuff from the garage. I am starting my seed research and garden plan for next year and just looking at how far we have traveled in this new journey/new home/homestead dream. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a safe and wonderful week.

Town House Homestead Tuesday

Today I am a lot tired and going to take it easy. Temperatures are headed up into the nineties and it will be a slow putter day. First an update on the furniture rescues and their status. 

The rescued chair is all repainted white and is now home with my desk. The decision to paint it white was the correct one. It makes my desk look sharp and refreshing.

The rescued rolling file holder is complete. I think it came out quite well. I now have a large pot of endive growing in it along with a large pot of flat leaf parsley. So wonderful to have the time to restore items and put them to use.

We did some thrift store shopping and found some vintage Pyrex, a Vera scarf, a vintage towel, a new mouse for a computer, candles and of course books.. We shopped at a library book store for some too

From my container garden I harvested a few ripening tomatoes and can't wait until they're ready to use for a meal.

I have two good size sweet pepper plants growing and as you can see they're producing well. Not ready to harvest yet. These are carnival peppers and they should turn color before they are ready. 

This jalapeno pepper plant was a gift from the universe. We intended to purchase it and several days later, after looking at the receipt, we discovered we hadn't been charged for it. It is producing what it can in it's tiny container.

We purchased a habenaro pepper plant and after I thinned them to other pots had seven individual plants, for the price of one, that as you can see are starting to produce peppers. I am looking forward to making some habenero pineapple jelly. 

I have two large and long pots of beans growing. The beans are coming, but so far not enough to make a meal, but it won't be long. I also have a pot of spinach growing. These plants are moved outside during the day and brought in to the breezeway in the evening. We haven't been here long enough to build an outside "protected" garden  yet, but it will come. In the mean time the breezeway serves as a lovely green house for my container garden. No critters have touched the tomatoes, so they spend the night outside. It's been fun and later this week I am going to plant some cucumber seeds in a pot with a tomatoe cage. It never hurts to try and learn. That's what's happening here at the new Town House Homestead. Thank you for stopping by and have a great week.