And now to the out of doors...

It has obviously been too long since I updated, but we have not been lethargic. Now that the inside is pretty much completed (I mean is anything ever actually finished?), we've turned to the out door work for which we chose to stay put this summer.

1. We’ve managed to finish up the patio, the initial funding of which came in the form of a Christmas present from Carol’s folks back in Dec 2024. This required the digging up of soil which perhaps has never been turned, was filled with stone, and was cement dry and hard. The framing is a simple treated 16’x22’- 2”x6” box held in place with 18” re-bar anchors with landscape cloth and about 5-6” of crushed limestone gravel. We edged it with boxwood and then the Mrs. went to work on decorating it with shutters from a friends yard sale and other decorative goodies. It serves as a wonderfully cool end of day point of relaxation after supper.

2. The next project, now completed, was the roofing (26 ga green metal 5v roofing material) and the board and batten siding of the garden/wood shed. We used T1-11 and treated 1x3 to match the house and stained it, again with the Ready Seal Walnut Stain I used on the house and have become such a fan of, in coverage, durability, and general ease of application (I used a brush and a roller). You’ll have to excuse the clutter on the back of the garden shed, but IT IS THE BACK AND WE DO NEED A PLACE TO HIDE THINGS!

3. We replaced the screen doors (which were a temporary fix early on) but found that even with the more expensive versions, additional modifications were necessary. It just doesn’t seem that they “make them like the used to.” But with some hardware to regulate the opening and closing, in addition to spring loaded hinges, and the application of a turnbuckle system and some cross members, I think we’ll be good to go.

So that brings us to two other projects yet to be completed, the first of which I certainly hope to get done before the snow flies and the other which will wait until next summer.

The first of these is the partitioning of the garden/wood shed (see #2 above) for a firewood storage unit. We have burned up to 9 full cords of wood a year but re increasingly relying on the use of our natural gas forced air furnace. With the insulating job done our gas bills (averaged on an annual basis are only $77/month which we feel very good about.

The second of these will be residing and staining of the former horse run in which is now a storage area for the mower and yard tools/implements as well as some other odds and ends, so, in short a barn. The paneling used to cover the sides has weathered well over the years but isn’t sufficient for a long term solution. The plan is to, again, use a T1-11 siding with a 1”x3” batten and stain it so that all the out buildings match. (It’s just a thing of mine that out buildings match!).

So there you have it. We’re staying busy attending to making this retirement residence and someday vacation residence for our children and grands, into something all can enjoy. Stay tuned, more to come.