Wrapping the Wrap-Around Porch

When we first saw Oak Creek Ranch six and a half years ago, it was in really sad shape but ... it had a wrap-around porch.  Despite knowing the house and property were going to be the mother of all fixer-uppers, we went ahead and bought it.  We joke that with all the plumbing and windows and siding and bathrooms and kitchen that we’ve replaced, we’ve pretty much rebuilt the house.  There are still projects on the list but we are making our way down to the ones on the “wouldn’t it be nice” side of the page, instead of the “holy crap, the xxxx is broken” side.

Back to that wrap around porch.  The front porch was, and is, beautiful with a wide deck, pretty railing, comfortable chairs and brick steps.

The sides are kind of meh.  We’ve added railing to driveway side and the other side is primarily used for stacking firewood but we did add some French doors.  The back... it’s always been pretty stupid.  The porch did not wrap around to the back door when we bought the house.  Instead, there were some rickety steps leading to a wobbly landing so small that you couldn’t set your groceries down to unlock the door.

Brett cleaned things up and a few years ago he wrapped the porch around to the back door.  The old steps came out with one swing of his sledge hammer.  It was a definite improvement.  However, in the winter, the deck (which wasn’t covered) got very icy and was a definite hazard.  Brett would scatter sand on the deck in the frosty mornings so I didn’t slip when leaving for work.

This past summer he widened the deck and, with the help of a friend, added a roof.

Now we have a very comfortable place to sit and put on our shoes, or have a glass of wine, or give the dogs belly rubs.

Brett keeps saying he doesn’t know what to get me for Christmas.  I think he’s already given me a great Christmas gift with an extension of the best feature of this house.

Random Friday

1.  New siding is up on the back side of the house.  It just needs to be painted.  No big deal, you say, Brett likes to paint and he's very meticulous.  ... except... Brett is afraid of heights and this is a two story house.  He could paint the lower part, no problem, but the top half is going to require help.

2.  We now have a handrail for the steps at the front porch going to the driveway.  They are strange stairs; narrow, steep with a funny half fall at the bottom.  Brett and I have both fallen and friends have tripped as well.  Now, we have a hand rail so we don't have to hold our breath whenever someone goes down those stairs.

3.  The porch extension is finished as well (Brett just needs to paint it).  Brett watched the guys take out the old back door porch -- he thought it would involve smashing and prying.  They lifted one corner with their hands and the whole thing came off.  It felt flimsy -- and it was.  Now, we can go in and out easily, and reach the wrap-around porch with out plonking down to the ground and then scrambling back up to the porch.

4.  We did have an unanticipated repair.  When the workers looked at the electrical breaker box to install siding around it, they noticed that there was a pipe leaving the box, with wire (heading to the barn).  The bottom of the box had been cut so the wire could go through, into the pipe.  But the metal, where it had been cut, was jagged and it had frayed the electric wire.  The wall around the wire was black from sparks.  When they jiggled the pipe, there were more sparks -- and then the wire severed and power was lost to the barn.  Thank goodness they found the frayed wire -- how long had it been sparking in there?  Our bedroom is right above the breaker box.  If it had caught the house on fire, we would have been in a world of hurt.  An electrician came out, shook his head in disbelief, and fixed it.  This repair falls under the category -- "fix one thing, find ten more."

5.  We had a little bit of rain (half an inch) a week ago.  I thought Jackson would be okay without his trail boots so I didn't mess with putting them on in the dark after work.  Sure enough, he started limping as soon as the rain stopped.  I put the boots on at that point and in a couple of days he was walking fine.  I took them off the day before yesterday -- we've been dry for a week now -- and he is marching around, doing Lucy's bidding.

Kerseyf, on the front porch, guarding the kayaks

Before and After: The Mud Room

The laundry room was undoubtedly the sorriest room in this house.  The room is very narrow, with just enough room to squeeze in the back door, past the washer and dryer and then through the door into the kitchen.  There are some cabinets above the washer and dryer, tired, worn and dirty.  There was a plastic laundry sink standing on skinny legs.  Between the sink and the wall at the end of the room was a built in sewing desk, beat up and useless as counter space since it was multi-level and knee high from the ground.  The floor was dirty, yellow-brown linoleum.

When Brett's friend, Richard, was up visiting a few months ago they dismantled and removed the sewing table.  Next they took out the laundry basin and put it in my garden.  Some day it will be part of a potting bench.  We had the linoleum removed and tile installed.  I took those awful blinds off of the window.

We wanted a bench to sit on while taking off and putting on shoes.  We talked about Brett building something but thought an antique bench would work better with the farmhouse feel of the house.  We found the perfect bench, in pine needle green, at an antique fair.

I found a sink I liked on Houzz (great website for remodeling ideas) and Brett found it at Home Depot.  The sink cabinetry is grey so we talked about how to incorporate the color into the room. I wanted a counter top for folding laundry and I wanted shelves to store light bulbs, canning jars, and dog treats.

Brett built the shelves, with a beautiful folding counter, and a space at the bottom for storing the dog beds during the day.  At night we haul them out and they span the entire floor area.

On the wall next to the bench, there are hooks for hanging our jackets.

 It's a small room but very functional with a hint of country style.

Before and After: The Great Room

This is what the great room looked like when we first saw the house.  

This is what it looks like now.

As we complete the renovation, I'll continue this series.  Don't you love that blue wall?

Renovation Report: Floors

The past week has been challenging.  Monday they started stripping and sanding the floors.  Then they added a light oil to bring out the character of the wood.  Last they added three coats of sealant.  The entire process lasted all week.  We were not allowed into the house until after 8:00 at night.  All the furniture from the kitchen, dining room and great room was outside.  We were able to hop skip into the office for the hour or so before we hop skipped to the stairs and went up to bed.

The house stunk of stain and sealant.  All the windows were open to help dry the floor and air things out.  It got down to the high 30s at night.  I sat on the couch with a hoodie sweatshirt on under my denim jacket and a fleecy blanket (from Sheila) pulled across my lap.  It was REALLY cold in the house.  Yes, my nose turned red.

But the floor is stunning.  The red oak is just gorgeous and far exceeds our expectations.  Who knew that there was so much beauty lurking underneath the old, dark wood!

Friday, installation started on the carpet upstairs and tile in the laundry room.  Hopefully, the furniture will all be back inside the house soon.

It's an adventure, right?

Brett put up a sign he found at a local winery.  I think its a self portrait...

First Rain

I heard the rain start in the wee hours of the morning.  Thundering hooves woke me again into the dark pre-dawn.  I had planned to ride this morning, before the rain started.  Clearly the rain had arrived well ahead of schedule and plans would need to be altered.

I threw on a sweatshirt and my floppy gardening hat before starting the morning chores.  Even Brett wore a sweatshirt and it has to be very cold before he feels it.  Our jackets are still packed somewhere.  I did find a  box with my muck boots so my sneakers were spared the mud.

The rain has been steady all morning; not pounding and not softly drifting; it comes straight down in soft sheets.  The donkeys were in their run-in shed, warm and dry.  The goats called to us from the interior of their shelter.  The horses were standing under the grove of trees with the densest canopy.

Winston and Mufasa run laps every half hour or so.  Flash moved into the run-in shed where he is standing watching the others play and rest under the trees.  He has obviously taken control of the run-in shed and is not sharing.  The others don't seem to mind.

Brett's friend Richard arrived last evening.  He is staying for the weekend to help Brett with projects.  Richard was Brett's roommate in college and remains his closest friend.  They started in Camille's room where the ceiling fan was dangling, a casualty of the moving guy bringing in Camille's mattress.  After that, they fixed the fan in our bedroom.  They took an inventory of all the light bulbs that are missing and will make a trip to the hardware store to replace them.  The last project before lunch was taking out the built -in desk in the laundry room.  The laundry room is narrow with hardly enough room for the door to open.  We need the desk space for shoe storage and a bench.  They had the desk out in nothing flat despite it being very securely installed.

Meanwhile, I worked on packing up the kitchen and squirreling away paintings, ceramics and the items around the fireplace.

Remember the wood floors we had installed in the great room and kitchen?

We had the same rustic red oak installed as the existing wood floor in the entry and dining room. The new floor is unfinished.

The existing floor will be stripped and sanded.  Then the entire wood floor will be stained the same color.  We want the floor to match and we want it a bit lighter than the existing floor stain.  I love the variation in color and grain of this wood.

Before the guys arrive Monday morning to start stripping the floor, we have to remove everything.  Brett and Richard will move the dining table, sideboard and hutch to the garage tomorrow.  I'll keep packing up boxes.  It seems wrong to be packing and moving furniture out of the house.

And, lastly, felicitations! to my friend Sylvie who is marrying her companion of many years, Christian, today.  I wanted to be there in the worst way; sipping champagne on a small island of the coast of Brittany; toasting her happiness.  But, a new job, new house and surgery conspired to keep me here.  My thoughts are with her today.

Of Quail and Gates

Sometimes I think we should have named this place

Quail Creek Ranch.

There are quail everywhere.

Little families scurrying through the pastures,

rustling in the berry bushes,

and congregating under the oak trees.

They are very shy, though.

I sneak up on them with my point and shoot camera,

but they always hear me coming and scoot-fly away.

I love these birds.

I wish you could see them up close.

I need TexWis Girl to come take pictures of them for me.

Here's my best shot of the

State bird of California.

When we put in our front gate,

we were asked about putting horses or deer or an oak tree on the gate.

No contest; no discussion; easy decision:

Quail.

We even have a quail on the pedestrian gate.

We couldn't be happier with the main gate, 

built by John Hall, 

and the pedestrian gate 

built by Tom at Iron Willow.

They are both local here in El Dorado County.

They both do awesome work.

White Trash

That's us, all right.

A toilet is on the porch.  The refrigerator is in the living room.

The living room furniture is on the front porch.

The old disgusting floor is gone.

The new floor is stacked in the entry.

The house is full of flies and dust.

And we're going out to dinner.