A minute to catch our breath…

Welcome back to the farm! We’re so glad you arrived safely, as the weather outside leaves much to be desired. Have a seat by the fire, and we’ll catch up!

With winter now firmly established in this part of New England, any further outside projects are all on hold until spring. We checked off what we wanted to check off, however, so we feel good about our progress. The siding of the house is complete- gaps filled, weather barrier and new clapboards installed, windows and doors are weatherstripped, and non-winter items are all put away. Now we can hopefully begin attacking this pile of books we’ve accumulated.

Speaking of weatherstripping windows, it seems hard to imagine that they were still loose sashes after almost 240 years. Actually, we’re pretty sure the current windows aren’t original, but they are very old, and most panes are the old wavy, dimpled glass. In looking at the windows, the first floor sashes match the attic sashes, and we know that the attic dormers were added around 1916 during an earlier renovation. We also know that the window frames were changed at some point, as there were signs of older, larger/taller window frames when we removed the old clapboards. Most likely, the windows were replaced with new old sashes and the frames altered during the early 20th century renovation. We did however, experience lots of cold air pouring around the sashes last winter, so we definitely wanted to tighten them up. So once the siding was complete, we began weatherstripping.

We began by removing the stop trim that holds the lower sash in place, taking out the lower sash to clean up the sides of any excess paint. We cut and installed spring brass strips along the sides of the frame, where the lower sash slides up and down. Then we added strips of felt along the meeting rail between the upper and lower sash, and a strip of D-shaped silicone along the bottom of the lower sash, to seal along the sill. Then re-install the lower sash and stop rails. We had already caulked and sealed the upper sash when we re-trimmed the exterior, as the upper sash is fixed. Once complete, the windows are tight as a drum!

With our daughter and her boyfriend coming home for Thanksgiving, we decided to try to tackle removing the wallpaper from the borning room, which is a small bedroom just off the hearth room, that we use as a guest bedroom. The two outside walls have older wallpaper over plaster, while the two interior walls still have their original shiplap paneling. We just cleaned the shiplap, then brushed on a mixture of boiled linseed oil/turpentine, and the wood just popped beautifully! It was so thirsty, it drank it up as quickly as we brushed it on! We will never get tired of brushing BLO on thirsty wood- it’s truly one of the most satisfying things ever. Once the many layers of wallpaper were removed from the plaster wall, we primed and painted. At some point, we’ll strip the wall that has the window, and we’ll likely re-plaster, as most of the plaster in the house is cracked and failing. For now, this room can be useful once again as a guest bedroom/office.

Something else we’ve been having fun with is our new flag collection. A while back we stopped at a moving sale, and one of the things we picked up was an umbrella vase full of flags appropriate for an 18th century home.

We’ve since been changing them out every once in a while, and we’re not the only ones enjoying them- our neighbors and local townsfolk are noticing as well. The collection includes: the Flag of New England, the Whiskey Rebellion Flag, the New Hampshire State Flag, the Betsy Ross Flag, as well as a current US Flag. We will soon add the Gadsden Flag (Don’t Tread on Me), the Liberty Tree Flag (An Appeal to Heaven), the Bennington flag, the Green Mountain Boys flag, and some others.

Remember the antique loom we picked up for Jenny? We’ve since found out it was likely a factory loom for making linens, and dates to within 10-15 years from the turn of the 20th century. Jenny got it all cleaned up, adjusted, and has made her first dish towel! Having just two treddles (foot pedals connected to the shafts), it’s limited to weaving solids, stripes, or plaids, which is fine for us. It’s just so cool that this old loom is still loved and used by someone. While Jenny was weaving, she was thinking about the people that used to use it- what they were thinking about while weaving, what hymns they were humming… it’s one of the things we love about this lifestyle!

Since you were last, we’ve also finished up the grading under the back barn. Our timber framer came to make some final adjustments and take out the cribbing that held up the back shed during the foundation work. Then Mike’s team stopped by and graded it out and cleaned up. We’re thinking this area between the rock walls, when covered over with chicken wire, will make a great run for chickens, and we can build a coop for them under the back barn. Regardless, it’s tremendous peace-of-mind having the barn back on its own feet before the ground freezes. No more worrying about frost heaving or water issues!

With winter now here for good- we just received about two feet of snow over the past few days- we’re going to take a break with the big projects. There are always things to do here, however, but we’re warm and dry, and we have quite a pile of books to read. We’ll leave you with some photos of this most recent snowstorm, as well as how we’ve decorated the house for Christmas-