A Neighbor’s Compliment That Stuck With Me
We were doing yard work near the road recently and a neighbor walked by and said, “Hey, Man! Your flowers are so pretty.” “Thank you!” we both responded in unison as if we had everything to do with those flowers blooming. I’m fairly certain he was referencing the rhododendrons since they were in full bloom then. Truthfully, I had nothing to do with the rhododendrons blooming. I didn’t even plant them. We have three of them and I think they are older than me. Not that my kids would believe that since I was born in the *GASP* 1900s. Anyone born in the 1900s must be ancient according to them.…
Stone Carriage House Gym: Part 5, Adding A Window to a Stone Wall
Welcome back to the series on our Stone Carriage House Gym expansion. Today, I’m going to show you how we added a window to a stone wall. My speciality is very niche topics that less than 1% of you will ever need to know. Below is the stone wall in question. As you can see, aside from the window headers, the entire window opening is fieldstone and brick. The bricks will be removed partly for aesthetic reasons and partly because we need to remove that window grate. We don’t know why there is an iron grate instead of a glass-paned window in this wall, but it made the building drafty.…
Memorial Day 2025 + What I Learned About Robert Todd Lincoln
Like some Americans, we have the day off to commemorate Memorial Day. If the weather cooperates, we usually ride our bikes to a nearby town to watch a Memorial Day parade. I kind of miss the days when my kids were little and got so excited to see a firetruck in a parade. Now, it’s just me getting excited. Ha! The other thing I get excited about is history. It’s so much more interesting to me now that I’m older a more seasoned human being. It’s also humbling how much I do not know. For instance, I have not given much thought to Abraham Lincoln’s children until this week. The…
Happy List: #391
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I am delighted to see you here. This week on the blog I shared the changes we recently made to our front porch. That space has slowly evolved in the last six years and I could not be more happy about it. I just need the weather to start cooperating. I’m wearing a sweater and it’s the end of May! I also shared how we ruined a section of our lime mortar. It was accidental and we were trying to avoid a broken hip, but it cost us! Most everything is fixable though. I hope this Happy List leaves you feeling inspired, encouraged,…
One Thing That Will Wreck Lime Mortar
One thing that will wreck lime mortar on a fieldstone wall are ice melt products, specifically salt. Learn from our mistake this winter. We have a concrete porch wrapped on two sides in fieldstone. The fieldstone is adhered with lime mortar. Not a classic application of fieldstone and lime mortar, I know. Everything was fine until that concrete porch got icy during a winter storm. It was so treacherous. We didn’t even think about it and scattered some deicing salt on the concrete. I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me that stuff is not great for the environment. I’ve vowed to do better, especially after this debacle. …
Front Porch – More Seating and a Light Update
It is front porch season in New Jersey. Finally! New Jersey likes to trick you a little on this topic. You’ll think it is front porch season and then one morning you’ll wake up to find everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, covered in a coating of yellow dust. Pesky pollen. I made the mistake of sleeping with the window open during this time and woke up to my nightstand, and I’m sure, all my bedding, covered in pollen. Is this why they call it spring cleaning? Because I had to do a BUNCH of it that day. Regrets. I have a few. Anyway, I cleared the front porch of…
Happy List: #390
Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. It is so good to have you here. Grab a cup of coffee and get ready to relax and be inspired! This week on the blog, I shared how I repurposed a half of a mortar and pestle set to make a planter. I love how unique it looks! I also published another update on the Carriage House and discussed all the challenges the pipes in this building have created during the restoration. If this is your first time here or your 390th time here, I hope the next few minutes leave you feeling inspired, encouraged, and maybe you will even learn a…
Stone Carriage House Gym: Part 4, Pipes In Stone Walls
Our stone Carriage House was built in the late 1700s before indoor electricity and plumbing existed. Just think about that for a minute. If you had to do your business outside, that building is old. If you want to do your business inside this old building, some retrofitting is going to have to happen. Today, we are going to talk about the pipes in our Carriage House and how they clogged up the flow of our restoration progress as we’ve been repointing this building’s stone foundation. To plumb an all stone building, you’re going to have to bust through the 18-inch thick stone foundation or walls in order to insert…
Repurposed Wood Mortar as a Planter
The mortar portion of a wood mortar and pestle set came home with me from the thrift store recently. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s how it was originally intended to be used. It was either that or an oddly shaped bowl. It was made from several pieces of wood (presumably mahogany) laminated together and then hollowed out on a lathe to have sloping sides. I knew I wouldn’t use it for food preparation because, despite all my best intentions, I’ve never consistently used any of the mortar and pestle sets we’ve owned. I’m more of a food processor type of home cook. I’m also the type of person who…
Happy List: #389
Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I am over-the-moon to see you here. Happy early Mother’s Day to those of you celebrating this weekend. I am immensely grateful for the women in my life who have, in ways big and small, positively impacted my life. The photo at the top of the blog post is of me and my mom. This week on the blog I shared the fairy light mason jars I made for our deck. While I made mine just for fun, I realized they would make a fun, unique gift for someone in your life…a mother figure, perhaps. I also shared the next installment in the…
