The Story Of Our House Part 1

Hello dear friends, while we are waiting for the renovation work to start again I thought I would share a little bit about the story about how this became our house!

We purchased the farm in 1991 after having spent some time looking for a country property.  Our previous home was a semi detached house in town and while we liked it we wanted to have a bigger property.  There were also some health issues that were playing on our minds and we thought a move to the country where we would be able to raise some of our own food should be our new direction.  To this end we had a wish list that included an old stone house with character, lots of acreage, and it had to be within a reasonable commuting distance of work.  We looked at so many properties that were too big, too small, too run down or too expensive before finally settling on this one.

Fast forward to perhaps 5 years or so ago.  A lady that we don't know stopped to chat to my husband while he was working outside.  She said that she used to live in this house in the 1970s and that she had an old oil painting her mother had done of what was called "the doll house".  If she could find it she would give it to us, and here it is!  Isn't it charming?

The painting is dated 1978.  We bought the property only 13 years later but by then it had suffered from quite a lack of love.  There had been a change in owners and a change in financial situation and the house was showing many signs of neglect.  We were much younger then and youth combined with enthusiasm can be a wicked combination.  We fell in love with the property and were determined to fix it up.

When we thought of "fixing up" this old property we had no idea what we were getting into.  Some other time I will share more gory details!  But for the purposes of this story I will just say the house was small.  It did not have any insulation in the walls or attic.  The original windows were the old wavy bubbled glass which were lovely but allowed wind to come howling in.  Our pipes froze.  It was an overwhelming and expensive undertaking, and looking back I have no idea why we thought taking on this project was a good idea.

Over the years we have made several changes to the house and property.  We replaced all of the old windows with new custom made windows.  We replaced the front door and built a veranda on the front of the house and a covered porch on the back.

Eleven years ago we decided to have an addition built which more than doubled the size of the house.  By this time the front veranda was about 15 years old so we had it rebuilt and had it wrap around the side of the house.  We had a new roof and had the attic insulated.  The addition (on the right of the photo above) included a large dining room, a main floor bathroom with a shower and a large kitchen.  The second floor of the addition included a master bedroom with ensuite, a balcony, and a guest bedroom.  The addition addressed many of the issues that had become sticky points for us in the old house.

Some significant regrading was required while the addition was being built so we added a large stone wall.  We call this area our portico entry.  We were amazed at how much effort the stonemasons took in placing the stones on this part of the house.

We added a large deck that is accessed from our kitchen with two areas...a covered area with a dining set and an open area with a seating arrangement.

Many years ago I had read a blog about a house that had a balcony off of the master bedroom and the idea stuck in my mind.  We decided to add a 10 x 12 foot balcony to the second floor which  is accessed through French doors from the master bedroom and provides a view over a large part of our property.

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Two years ago we added a garage with a loft that provides a space for me to work on quilting projects.  For the first time in its' life my car was able to be parked inside.  :)

This is Rose Cottage which my husband built about 6 years ago.  We primarily use it to storage garden furniture over the winter although I do have some plans on how to use this building over the summer months.

Six years ago we decided to invest in having Lake Ophelia rehabilitated.  This was originally dug as a farm pond perhaps 25 years ago but over time bullrushes took over, the water level dropped, and the area became a hunting ground for the coyotes that would sometimes attack our sheep.  Lake Ophelia is named after a yellow lab that loved to sneak off for a swim.  It measures approximately 200 feet by 125 feet and is about 14 feet deep.  We added a ramp with a floating platform which is a great area for reflection and bird watching.

We also built a little lake house with a deck.  It is a very peaceful area and we love to have barbecues there.  If you would like to read more about our lake house here is a link to a previous post : 

https://carogilfarm1994.blogspot.com/2024/08/building-our-lakehouse.html

And that my friends is a bit of the story of how we came to live here and some of the changes that we have made over the last 30 years.  We expect the workers to return to the renovation project this week and I will soon have more the share.

Wishing everyone a great week and thank you for visiting my blog.  

 

Preparing for a major renovation

Hello dear friends, it is time for an update on some very exciting (and a little scary) renovations!

Earlier this year we spoke to a contractor about getting some help with unfinished projects around our old stone house. Over the years we have taken on some improvements but we still have many items on the to-do list that have dragged on for far too long.  And of course our stone house is 170 years old which means it has endured generations of daily wear and tear along with some cracked plaster walls and ceilings, sloping floors, doors that don't close properly and all of the other characteristics that lend charm but get annoying over time.  We interviewed 3 contractors and decided that we would engage the contractor that promised to cost us the most money by going with a complete gut and rebuild of the interior of the stone house.  :)  

In order to do this work we had to move everything out of the old house which was a huge undertaking as after 31 years we have accumulated a lot of "stuff".  Sorting, tossing, packing, donating was finally accomplished and we are trying to live in the addition we had built 11 years ago.  The situation is not ideal but at least we have our kitchen, and main floor bath with shower, and our dining room which we have converted into an emergency bed sitting room.  Now on to what our house looks like when it is empty!

Here is a view of our upstairs hall.  When we first viewed the house it was this hall that spoke to me.  A cathedral window and having rooms on both sides of the stairs made me so happy.  At the time we could see Lake Belwood from the cathedral window and we were pretty excited about the big original pine floor boards.  :)

The reality however was not quite so romantic.  The pine floorboards had been sanded down many times over the years leaving them a little thin in spots.  The boards were no longer thick enough to withstand more sanding so we covered them with runners and an area rug.  We replaced all of the original windows (including the cathedral window) in the house almost 30 years ago but the rebuilding of the window sill and casement was a challenge so this area was always cold in the winter.  The railing and spindles are not original to the house, we installed these to replace a makeshift railing the previous owners had installed that was outright dangerous.

The bathroom was probably a bedroom at one time.  We believe that power and plumbing was added in the 1950s and while it is still safe we are looking forward to an upgrade.  All new plumbing and wiring will be installed and although what we had was perfectly safe the new work will of course meet all of the current building codes which also means outlets on every wall.  We will be able to pack up our large collection of in use extension cords.

We have not shown Chantalaria's room any love or affection for many years.  (Yes, we do name the bedrooms!)  Originally we had a single bed in this room but over the years it turned into a bit of a storage room/office and eventually we stopped using it all together.  The floorboards in this room are weak and we had a leak in the roof so this poor room will benefit the most from the upgrades.

This is the aqua room and before we built our addition we used this as our master bedroom.  We are pretty sure that each of these rooms still have the original ceilings and definitely still have the original lathe and plaster walls.  We think someone tried to repair the ceiling in this room and covered it with stipple plaster.  We don't have any explanation for the beam in the ceiling.

Kodiak's room also has an original and wonky ceiling and original walls.  We had installed new flooring in both the aqua room and Kodiak's room to match the flooring that was installed in our addition.  My husband removed that flooring and we were able to donate it to the Restore.

I have had some questions about salvaging the materials from the stone house.  The contractor is removing the windows and we will be able to use them in other projects around the farm.  The floor boards and the wood trim are unfortunately all too damaged to be salvaged.  The original old doors with the old hardware were all donated to the Restore.  Sadly it is a challenge trying to find ways to repurpose some of these items.  Our old wooden blinds can't be donated as they have pull strings.  Other items like the spindles and railings will be left at the free centre at the dump.  Some items will be posted for free on facebook marketplace.  The materials that are ending up in the dumpster will be properly sorted and hopefully resold or used for something else. 

The library took forever to pack up.  We didn't realize how many books we managed to fit in this room.  The original floorboards in this room were lost long before we came here.  When we removed the carpet that was here we found OSB subflooring so we added wood laminate boards.  The contractor will have these boards removed for us to use in other buildings on our property.  The wood trim is original but quite damaged and cant be salvaged.  Originally this room would have been the parlour so it has the most elaborate trim in the house.

Our living room had the same OSB flooring with carpet when we moved in.  We installed the same wood laminate flooring on the entire main floor.  This room had very plain painted woodwork and when we tried to refinish it we found it had been badly damaged and filled in with cement!  Over the years we removed the baseboards, added chair rail and painted all of the wood to match.  We think that the hideous red brick fireplace was added in the 1970s and for years I have threatened to paint it.  This room will receive a new stone fireplace, a walnut mantle and stone hearth.  We love having a fireplace and in the cooler seasons use it almost every night so this investment will be well worth the expense.

This room used to be our old galley kitchen.  Once upon a time we think it may have been a little bed sitting room as it is accessed through what would have been the parlour.  It was used as a kitchen when we moved here.  Although the big window lets in lot of light at 7 X 12 feet the room was quite small for a kitchen.  We had less than 4 feet of counter space and it was not possible to open the oven door and fridge door at the same time.  This room will be come a laundry room/butler's pantry.  We were able to salvage almost all of the pine cupboards that were built by my father in 1997.  The old countertop is trash but the sink and and faucet are all still in good condition and will be donated.  

We have had questions about our dogs and how they are handling the activity.  The short answer is that Abby is fine but Vera has been feeling unsettled.  Hopefully they will adapt to the chaos in a few days.

Thank you for visiting my blog!  More updates to come!

 

Saying Goodbye to Henry

Hello dear friends, yesterday was a very sad day at the farm.  As he was walking to the barn my husband saw Henry sleeping in the shade under the cedar hedge.  On closer inspection however he discovered that Henry had in fact passed away.

Henry joined our family 5 years ago as a very tiny kitten.  He was found my friends that lived a couple of lines away from us in a pile of wood chips.  Thankfully our friends are also animal lovers and immediately brought him inside.  After unsuccessful efforts to find his owners he ended up here.

Although he started out small Henry grew into quite a large cat, weighing about 10 pounds.  He had very long silky fur and enjoyed being brushed.

Henry and his brother Horatio never developed much of a relationship with each other.  Horatio ruled the main floor of the house and Henry was the ruler of the second floor.  Random cat scuffles were usually instigated by scrappy little Horatio.

Even though he was very affectionate Henry was also a very accomplished hunter.  He had recently taken to bringing offerings into the house during the night with ensuing chaos if the victim managed to escape.  In the end Henry was always the victor.

Henry was our eighth cat which netted him the "Henry the Eighth" nickname.  Our previous cats were Tigger, Zachary, Liza, Sylvester, Chantalaria, Charlotina, Horatio and of course Henry.

Henry had lovely big eyes and would admire himself in the mirror while I was putting on my makeup.

Henry also liked to sleep with me at night and was a very accommodating afternoon napping companion as well.

Henry was a healthy cat and we had no indication that he would be taken so suddenly.  It is always hard to lose a pet but especially when it is unexpected.  We have so many questions that wont be answered.  

Every pet we have ever had has been buried here on our farm so they are always with us in sprit.  Henry was buried yesterday in our new little coniferous forest with his resting place marked with a new shrub.  Rest in peace sweet Henry.

 

Winter Scenes

Hello dear friends and Happy New Year!  We have had a few busy weeks here at the farm so there is much catching up to do.  

Last year's winter was a non-event but this year we are having a good old fashioned Canadian winter!  Although I will tire of the snow and cold eventually for now I am really enjoying it, especially as being a Retired Person means I dont need to drive in it!

 

A few weeks ago we purchased a great "herd" of grapevine deer. I absolutely love them however as they are currently buried under snow it is hard to see them.

The little gazebo is nestled in snow.  I usually put a Christmas tree in the gazebo but this year for whatever reason it didn't happen.

Our kitchen deck is also snowed under as is this Christmas tree.  I had originally put the tree up in the corner of our front veranda but the wind was blowing out the ornaments and garlands.  It is much happier in this location.

Our evergreens didnt produce many pine cones this year.  I had wanted to use pine cones to make little feeders for the birds, especially as we have had some very cold temperatures.  As luck would have it though we found this large (slightly worn) pinecone wreath at a thrift shop for $5!  We immediately brought it home and added suet and bird seed and it has been a great success.

The pine cone wreath was originally hanging on our wooden gate but at within a few days it vanished.  We found it back, added more feed and hung it horizontally from a tree.  The chickadees and woodpeckers are quite happy to eat from it while hanging upside down.

A cozy little shot of the wrought metal bench on our portico deck dressed up for Christmas

A view from our pergola dining terrace.

A view of our koi pond and lower deck.

Our snow covered fire pit.

My husband added this picket fence along our driveway this past fall.  The arbour was originally located at our vegetable garden but became collateral damage when we had our garage constructed.  It has been repaired and will now give access from the driveway to our front gardens.

Looking towards our front veranda.

Kodiak Gate guards the laneway to our barn.

A different view of our pergola dining terrace.

The vegetable garden and holding beds are buried in snow.

We added lots of big ball ornaments to our trees.

The driveway is buried in snow.

 Our old house is snuggled in the snow.

 

I hope you enjoyed this little winter update!  Thank you for visiting my blog!