Out With the Sad Mailbox In With the New Mailbox
Goodbye, sad mailbox. Hello, new mailbox that is the best-looking one on the block. Not that it’s a competition. It’s not. But if it were… Our old mailbox was competing for the worst one on the block. Here it is after it made its acquaintance with a snowplow. There was no coming back from this. That door never opened or closed well after that unfortunate encounter. Who needs dry junk mail anyway? We’ve been working on reducing our curb appall and maximizing our curb appeal by restoring the low stone walls that run along the front of our property facing the road. It seemed natural to include a new mailbox…
Finally Fixed the Carriage House Rotten Window Trim
Ready your party horns because we finally fixed the rotten window trim on one of our most prominent Carriage House windows. One of the three windows we see every single day. It only took us seven years. What DO we do with our time? Here is the window in question. You can see the rotten trim on the bottom left-hand corner of the window. The window trim also doesn’t match the trim on this side of this building, and was likely installed when the storm window was added. So, this task should be pretty straightforward, right? Take off the old trim. Cut, nail, and paint the new trim. Bada-bing, bada-boom.…
Happy List: #444
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. It is a pleasure to see you here. This week on the blog, I shared the solar lights that are lighting up my nights. They bring me year-round joy. Most of them are also linked in one place on our Amazon Storefront. I also shared the most important post of the year, so far, Lemon Curd S’mores. Do not miss out on trying this delectable creation. Roast a marshmallow over your stove burner if you have to. You won’t regret it. The Happy List is meant to be a good time filled with things that inspired me this week. As always, if you’d…
Summer Must Try: Lemon Curd S’mores
Summer is for play, but I’m not goofing around when I say you must make lemon curd s’mores this summer. They taste just like lemon meringue pie, but aren’t nearly as hard to make. *and the crowd drools* Lemon Curd S’mores Ingredients: lemon curd Ritz Original crackers (or an equivalent buttery cracker) Marshmallows Kosher Salt How To Make Lemon Curd S’mores: Ready your Ritz Original crackers by smearing some lemon curd on one side of two crackers. (I say two crackers, but we all know you’re going to eat more than one s’more, so you might as well prep a bunch! Just trust me and set up your s’mores assembly…
My Favorite Solar Lights
If I must leave my house and return to it in the dark – shudders – then I want to come home to the cozy, welcoming glow of my favorite solar lights. Outdoor solar lights are inviting, practical, and don’t impact my electric bill. Do not get me started on the electric bill. Ugh. Here are my favorites: The Workhorse Solar Light | Amazon My go-to, all-around MVP for a solar light is this up-light disc. They come with a stake, but I also have them sitting directly on the ground without being secured by the stake in most places. Surprisingly, they have rarely blown away. Hope I didn’t just…
Happy List: #443
Hey there! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. It is so fun to see you here. I started this week on the blog on a light-hearted, humorous note. I shared how my family actually used the drink table in our kitchen. They aren’t even trying to be funny, but in the context of how I thought the table would be used, it is to me. I also wrote about the pros and cons of reusing the existing wall footings to reconstruct the fieldstone wall in front of our house. Long story short, Handy Husband thinks there are only positives. I think there is one downside. Speaking of downsides, I hope…
Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall: Part 4, Reusing Old Footings
Welcome back to our Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall series. This is part 4, and we will be discussing the pros and cons of reusing the existing wall footings to rebuild this old fieldstone wall. You’d think this would be the one topic that would be all pros, no cons. But have you met me? I’m not a Negative Nelly. I’m more of a Realistic Rhonda. On this topic, though, my husband would probably say I’m an Obsessive Ophelia. (My actual name is Annisa, in case you didn’t know.) To recap: We’re reconstructing our low fieldstone walls. I do a mini recap because some people come in mid-story, and if I…
Everything But a Drink Table
Last year, I bought a drink table (a tiny side table big enough for a drink) to sit next to the bench in our kitchen. There was no place to set a drink if my family wanted to hang out on that bench with a beverage while I cooked dinner. Slap a cape on me because I was sure I was the hero for solving that problem. However, much to my chagrin, my family uses that table for everything but a drink table. Here’s how I envisioned the drink table being used: A quiet, serene place to enjoy a warm or cold beverage. Peaceful, right? I’ve been married and a…
Happy List: #442
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m stoked to see you here, and I hope you’ve had a fantastic week. This week on the blog, I shared how the trash cabinet we built is holding up. For the amateur stone masons in the crowd, I also wrote a post about how to reuse old lime mortar. We’re down for trying almost anything once, and then sharing how it goes. The Happy List is curated by yours truly to be happy, curious, and light. It’s my antidote to the negative news that’s thrown my way each week. Connection is also an antidote to negativity. To that end, if you’d like…
How to Reuse Old Lime Mortar On Your Stone Foundation
If you have a historic stone foundation that needs repointing, you’ve probably already figured out that you’ve drawn the short straw and have to chip out the old lime mortar from the foundation to repoint with fresh lime mortar. If you’re wondering how to reuse that old lime mortar to make new lime mortar, or even if you can and should, you’ve come to the right place. I have some recent experience with that. Someone has to be the test subject. Might as well be me. Important consideration for reusing old lime mortar: Old lime mortar can only be reused as sand. Over time, lime mortar essentially turns into limestone,…
