Adventures at The Bunny Manse

Reading through the blog, mainly to look at the ruin that was our house and the wee little babes that were our babies, now walking, running, yelling girls and found this from January 2016 What's left - the girls bathroom, master suite, sunroom, tile patching in 2 bathrooms, butler pantry. Summer kitchen. Landscaping. We've completed the girls bathroom, butler pantry, and landscaping. The sunroom is ALMOST finished. After living in the house with three girls we've changed plans a little bit for the remaining work. We're opting to turn what would have been mine and Harris's bedroom, closet, and bathroom into a bonus room of sorts. We'll also leave the wall there and add the washer/dryer upstairs and some desk space so the girls have a place to work. We also will build a general storage closet up there so clothing doesnt have to go up and down to the attic each season. We've also decided we need a shower upstairs, so the clawfoot that is in bad shape up...

We can't make it easy, so while Harris was working on the kitchen I was working on the kitchen garden. I've been making landscape maps, watching the sun, and dreaming about gardens since we bought the house. It never made sense because we were still in the 'disturbing outside paint' phase of projects. yeah, I think we're done there. So!!! We tore off the stairs to the second floor that were about to fall off (that door is bolted shut now) and I started raking and digging and moving earth. We looked and priced all kinds of materials for that patio. Then I remembered that the area gets full sun for at least 8 hours a day in summer. The concrete is not hot to the touch, but bluestone or sandstone would radiate heat. We didn't have money/time/patience for a concrete truck to come pour new cement, tear up half of everything else while they were here and the colors to not match what's been there... so....we used urbanite. Urbanite is recycled sidewalk you ...

We planned for months to work on the kitchen in March. Welp. We went ahead and did it. Nights, weekends, after I finished my paid work, while the girls were napping, while they watched their 4pm tv, while they played in the yard, stolen hours to create a whole.   For the past 6-7 years of living in the house, this is what our kitchen wall looked like. Not bad, not amazing.  And wait until you open the door to the other side.  March I say WE but Harris did all of this. He took what was a messy and dangerous and dark/cluttered cramped section of the house that used to be a porch and utility room and turned it into our breakfast nook/solarium/kitchen annex/glorybeautiful light filled space. We don't even have to turn the lights on most days. The first part of the project focused on deconstructing the pieces/rooms and salvaging almost all of the wood to be used in portions of the project or in other on-going projects. If I had let him demo it he woul...

  Get you a man who, when he gets home from rehab and sees the ice cream parlour chairs you bought off an artist downsizing her studio while he was in rehab and says, huh, I guess chairs make you happy.  They DO make me happy. Madeline and I washed and scrubbed and primed and painted them while Harris was away in '16. They...lasted a season before the painted started peeling off in sheets. Harris insisted for all of 2017 that he would have nothing to do with those chairs thankyouverymuch.  Around 2017-2018 I bought vinyl and cushioning when Hancoks was liquidated by vultures. It sat in the closet and the chairs sat outside, still peeling paint for another year. We have a big house and lots of stuff going on.  Until, one day driving back from the thrift store, I saw them. The most beautiful chairs you've ever seen just sitting covered in 40 years of rust and plant life on the side of the road. I told Harris over dinner about them. He counted to ...

We have food for a couple of weeks and girls who are getting used to the idea that they are going to be home and brave and bold.  I'm working remotely, Harris isn't working for pay right now. Margot planted her garden yesterday, carrots, garlic, beets, and other seeds we had left over from last year. I ordered more seeds so we can plant flowers around the house since I won't be able to go to. We're doing home school fun times and planning to do this for several weeks, potentially several months. This morning Madeline did big multiplication and Margot worked her workbook coloring and counting. It's going to be a time... Now for outside time so I can join a conference call. We're all anxious and on edge and second guessing everything. I'm sure at least some of those emotions will pass.