This article caught my eye, since my adorable husband has been pushing (and pushing, and pushing) for a deck out back. Don’t get me wrong – it’s that I wouldn’t enjoy a cute little deck. I just want a roof first. And some decent insulation. And all these things take time and money, two things […]

Now that we’ve got shiny floors, we’re doing our best to avoid scraping it. Which means moving things has become much more challenging and delicate. We used to just slide them across the floors, because they couldn’t get any worse! Furniture rearrangement causes fights in our house, since Teague forgets I’m not a mindreader with […]

Gary’s latest post over at This Old Crack House reminded me that Antique Show season is upon us. I have always loved garage sales, thrift stores, and flea markets, so antique shows leave me squealing with glee and wishing I had won the lottery or been born a Hilton. Ok, maybe not a Hilton – […]

We don’t have a “garage”, exactly – we have two small tool sheds instead. Teague keeps them pretty neat, but with all the goodies we’ve got in there it’s sometimes hard to find a spot for stuff. What we really need is a 2-car garage and a heated workshop. Until we win the lotto, we’ll […]

In case you’re wondering just how much it’d cost to rent a 40-foot boom lift, we just got some numbers: First, if you’re in business like Teague, you must have at least a million dollars in coverage. You must also add the company that you rent from to your policy. If you’re a homeowner, I […]

Wondering how much that drippy Victorian you drool over will sell for, or how much your neighbors’ house is assessed at? A house’s worth can be calculated many ways, and often times money has nothing to do with it. But still….. it’s nice to know about the money part. Zillow ( www.zillow.com), an online real […]

All us northerners are itching for spring. Technically, it started a few days ago – but should it really count as spring when it’s still snowing out? I think not. Every winter Teague and I ask ourselves why we continue to stay in this depressed area with such long, cold days. But then spring comes, […]

I’ve been calling around to track down salvaged red oak for our floors, and got a bit of news that you locals might be interested in – Significant Elements, a nonprofit architectural salvage shop in Ithaca, NY, is having a sale all next week! From what I gather, it’s a sale on everything in stock. […]

I’m a magazine junkie. I buy cheapo subscriptions (usually for about $5) because I KNOW I’ll be suckered into buying them for $4-5 a pop if I have nothing to look forward to when the mailman comes. Since buying the house, my magazine tastes have changed. I used to read fluffy girly ones like Lucky […]

The first words out of Teague’s mouth this morning were “I swear, I took them off at the front door”. He was marveling at the plaster-caked footprints from one end of the house to the other. But his work boots, parked guiltily in front of the back door (the end of the trail) say otherwise. […]