BOGO

Getting the house ready for a new roof soon has led to the amazing discovery of alternate reality. Yes, Castle Rock farm is an enigma wrapped in...another house?

The rumors of an early edition (late 1870s?) of our present 1919 house become more likely true as we peel back the layers during our renovation. The siding needed to come off for the small addition we are adding between the main house and the side apartment. When I started removing the clapboard there was no sub-wall underneath, only nailer strips on top of an earlier layer of clapboard. So for some reason when the builders turned our one story into a two story home they built a shell over the existing wall (at least on the northeast side).

This explains why all the window sills are so wide on that wall.

So the question is: What did they hide in the cavity between the walls?

Where the new entrance is planned

Abstract Expressionism?

Stay tuned...

The All Tucker Network

Home and Away

While we took a short weekend away in Chicago, this little cutie was born. Right out of the gate she was as big as her one week old cousins. So the final spring kid count is at a manageable 4.

The hunt is on

Easter egg hunting was successful this year. The parents didn't intervene with the search unlike here.

Baby Goats!

Fiona with the first born while Doli and Polly look on.

Stay in your pen with your mother!

Checking out the milking parlor.

A formal affair!

Fiona, Peter, and Linnea with the triplets.

Today at 2pm the baby goats finally made their appearances. Three very sweet doelings with very distinct markings, just like their mother, Melba. Following the first oatmeal colored doe the next two tumbled out almost together. Britta needed to do a little 'vitnery' on the last one to get it breathing - reading all those James Harriot books finally came in handy.

This Winter just Cracks Me up

almost time for sum catfishin'

Last weekend the farmer and her husband sneaked out for a dinner date in the big town. We thought we could justify an extra deep fried cheese curd appetizer if we walked the 2 miles instead of a drive.

On our way we crossed the infamous cracked bridge and looked over the edge to see this fabulous crack in the ice flow as it was moving downriver to the south.

What looks to be a few feet away is probably around 80 feet down. Big cracks, indeed.

And Now for Something Completely Different...

As if half a dozen kids taking up the bathroom wasn't enough...

Princess is like the rest of us around here. Taking it a bit easy and finding excuses for a nap anywhere we can find one.

Our next big project starts later this spring when the roofers come to fix the hailstorm damage of a year ago April. We plan to take the opportunity to move the entrance to the house to a better, more central location, so that means foundation work, concrete, and more framing in soon.

But for now, we are kicking back...

Life's Little Pleasures

Who would have thought that sleeping in your own bedroom could be such a luxury?

Since mid-July we have been sleeping in the dining room, the girls in the library, and the boys in the den. Every morning the kids had to stack the mattresses, every dinner party was crammed into our makeshift dining area in the kitchen.

Here are some photos as we neared the end. The rush at Christmas was to finish enough of the rooms for the carpet layers to come in. Some were ready, some were finished after the carpet was installed. Such is life.

Girl's room as we sorted out the trim

Girl's room getting painted after the carpet was installed. Oh well.

Girl's room ready to move in - if not quite done yet...

Master bedroom getting the ceiling treatment

Take off your shoes in the master bedroom 

Nearing the End

After what seemed like an eternity, this renovation finally is coming to a completion. 
Well, sort of a completion. There is never an end to all the trim, touch-ups, etc. 
But is sure feels better to be on this end of the project than the beginning.
The attic bedroom is complete now with beds, books, and the obligatory Legos strewn all over the floor.

Welcome home.

Room With a View

We are getting close to turning the page on our home improvement manual. Sheetrock will soon cover the walls that have been treated with new wiring, plumbing, and closed cell insulation.

The attic space, once a source of dread, is fast becoming the coolest room in the house. With the new window and lofted ceiling (thanks to the spray insulation) it is a room that past residents would barely recognize.

If you follow our blog, you may remember when we dismantled the chimney in the attic and 'planted' our brick garden by launching them out this window.

All we want for Christmas are our bedrooms back...