Out With the Old...In With the New

Usually Friday is Big Project Day. This week it came on Thursday.

When I bought the 90 year old farmhouse 12 years ago, I decided to keep all the old wooden windows. Everything around them was updated. Do you see me in the window?

As the years passed, it became apparent they were not holding up. I guess the neglect from the house being vacant for 15 years, caused the windows to come apart.

I  have been replacing them, one by one, as monies become available. Each one must be ordered in a special size.

Thursday was a huge project because it involved three windows in my upstairs bedroom. The work had to be timed so it wasn't a rainy day. Also the high winds we experience, was another factor.

After tacking cardboard behind the old windows, all the trim had to be removed and the the windows taken out.

Because of the size of the middle window, the father/son team decided to remove the large glass with suction cups. Safety was our number one concern.

The day before the project, I took it upon myself to primer and paint the new trim work. This saved me labor cost by doing it myself.


It is an old house and nothing is completely level. It took some careful maneuvering to get all three windows level on the outside.

How is this for a view when you wake up in the morning?

Meggie Mac

Tomato Plants Are Growing



Ranunculas in the Greenhouse

With all the rain we had last week, the weeds are doing great!

So are the flowers and grass....

The variegated cannas, waking up from their winter nap, have spectacular foliage all summer. Later, when the nights warm  up, they will have orange blooms.

The bees love the blooms that the pittosporum has in the early spring.

They also can't resist the flowers of the honeysuckle vine.

I like my flowers to spill over and creep outside the edge of the garden beds. Here the honeysuckle is sending out runners in the pittosporum. Don't you think they look nice together?

Do you recognize these buds?

They belong to the trumpet vine. It is ready to burst into bloom. Do you see all the buds?

About a week ago I showed the wild dewberry plant. They are now in full bloom. Next will come the dewberries. Then comes the dewberry muffins! And jam, too.

Can you believe the potatoes are this tall in March?

Back in the greenhouse, the tomatoes are getting stronger.

All 72 of them......and six varieties.

And 72 pepper seedlings are beginning to see the light. In a few days, another tray will be ready to come out and take their place in the greenhouse.

They are depending on me for their care....

Meggie Mac

Gardening 24/7

                                                        Dreaming
                                                        Planning
                                                        Digging
                                                        Pruning
                                                        Weeding
                                                        Seeding
                                                        Sprouting
                                                        Planting
                                                        Mulching
                                                        Growing

The words on the sign are never truer than in the Springtime.....

"Sweet flowers are slow and weeds make haste" William Shakespeare

Meggie Mac

Eye on the Prisoner

Are you thinking I've sent this image to my computer photo shop program?

What I actually did was get very close to this hole, and look through it with my camera lens.

The hole is slightly larger than a bullet hole....and smaller than a door knob. I found this interesting piece of history on the second floor of the historic jail, in a town very close to the farm.

The peephole was used to keep a watchful eye on the prisoners on the first floor.

The jail was built in 1883 with monies from 22 bonds of $1,000 each, issued by the county.

It was constructed of  Blue Sandstone that was hauled in by ox wagon from the nearby community of Muldoon.

As shown in a previous post, the same stone has been used on the courthouse.

The Victorian Gothic structure is reminiscent of a European cathedral.

The iron fence was ordered from Philadelphia for $2,074.

Two prisoners from the Bonnie and Clyde Gang were housed in one of the cells like this.

I was able to photograph a framed photo of the original 16 cells. The story is suggested that the jail is haunted by the Widow Dach, who starved herself to death while imprisoned here.

Looking at this painting, you may have guessed it...the famous Chicken Ranch was in this county.

And, this is the famous sheriff portrayed in the movie, starring Bert Reynolds as the sheriff.

After completing my tour of this famous jail, I decided to walk over to the Square to have a latte. Before entering the coffee shop, I looked over my shoulder....and smiled. There was the top of the jailhouse in the background.








History, even in small towns, is there to enjoy. You just have to be willing to look for it...

Meggie Mac

Rain, Rain, and more Rain!

This is not a natural stream or creek, but water rushing down the hillside, just at the edge of the farm.

It has been raining  4 days, with a few breaks between each front.

The walkways, in my flower garden, are covered with water and debris that has floated down the hill behind the farmhouse.

The lettuce, in the kitchen garden, appears to be floating. And, Mr. Scarecrow, saturated with water, is clinging to the fence.



Stock Pond 2011

The good news is, the stock pond will probably reach capacity before this week is over.



Bluebonnets 2011








And when the sun comes out, the wild flowers will burst into bloom.

Meggie Mac

Inside My Back Door

As I have said so many times before, the farmhouse has evolved over the last 12 years. When a need becomes apparent, changes are made.

Originally. the back porch was completely rotted off the house. To look inside the farmhouse before I purchased it, I had to step up on a concrete block to reach the door.

A new screened-in back porch was added.



As time went by and other projects continued, it became apparent that the newly constructed porch would serve me better as an entrance to the house and also a much needed mud room. (sometimes called a utility room/laundry room).

I divided the space in half and made a small nook on one side for two chairs and a small (no big-screen in this house) TV.

Checkered floors have always been part of my home decorating whenever possible. So when I found these squares for a $1.00 each, I knew it would be perfect for this space.

To make it seem more like a entry way (or foyer), I made a skirt to cover the washer and dryer when not in use. I glued on Velcro hook and loop strips just at the top edge of the two machines. Then I sewed the other side of the strip to the back of the skirt.

To give me a smooth work space, I purchased a formica kitchen counter top at Home Depot, the local home improvement store. I simply sat it on top of both machines.

The color scheme was decided with this vintage "paint by number" painting I found at a thrift store.

And old wooden ironing board, that I covered with fabric, makes a place for message reminders. The rabbit is pinned on for this month. It is easily changed out for each season or holiday I want to remember.

This is the under-side of the vintage ironing board.

I used the brown and white dot ironing board material as a trim for the washer skirt.

A folk art wooden box, I painted some years ago, sits on top of a cabinet that holds my washing supplies. The cabinet came in a box. After assembling the cabinet, I sat it on the washer, climbed on a ladder, and screwed it to the back wall.

Since it is a mud room/wash room, keeping the country theme, I'm using a metal wash tub as a place to store my mucking boots and dirty gardening gloves.

Miniature houses, I painted a few years ago, look nice on the a shelf above the washer/dryer.





It's good to be flexible when working with a 90 year old house.
Do you like the choice I made in giving up the porch for this back entry?

Meggie Mac