And it begins . . .

We spent the last year buying and fixing up our new house.  It was exhausting but exciting, but the reason we did it was so that we could have more land to have a bigger garden and to raise animals.  Well, stage 1 of that plan has begun.  We have our first baby chicks, and they are adorable.  We set up a place in the storage room for them this morning, and then took the boys to the store to pick them out and gather the equipment we would need.  We learned about how to feed them, keep them warm and much more.

At home we set up their new home in a box:

Jacob had to make sure the chicks were still there when we got them home.  

The boys helped put the water feeder, food and bedding into the box.  Hopefully the heat lamp is in the right place!

Then, it was time to put the chicks into their new home.  Joshua was hesitant at first but warmed up quickly.

Michael had no problem holding and moving the chicks.  But we all knew he would be a natural.

Jacob turned out to be a natural as well and jumped right in when Joshua hesitated.  

Joshua was very pleased with himself once he figured out how to hold them and became much more comfortable with our new friends.

Jacob has taken a real liking to these chicks and has spent quite a bit of time just watching them.  It is really sweet!

So, it has begun.  We have the chicks and we ordered the materials to make our fence for the garden and animals.  Now to plow the field and start building!  This will be a great adventure, and I can tell that the boys are going to love every day of it!

First Spring Break Project

It's not done yet, but the hard part is out of the way. Backstory:

I bought a table saw on clearance last fall. It really needs two people to assemble it, and my dear love has been a little heavy-lifting-incapacitated, and I don't get along with many humans, so there it sat. And sat. And sat.

About a month ago, I secured some weathered barn board 1x12s from a local guy. I paid $1 per linear foot, which, if you have priced authentic barn board, you know is a steal. I was so excited, and I proudly brought them home through the aftermath of a pretty heavy snowfall, blazing a trail along a county road in my all wheel drive. 

Side note: We would not have survived this winter without our all-wheel and four-wheel drive. We rescued at least one neighbor and her sedan from our driveway. Yeah.

Back to business. So, I had barn board and a table saw that I couldn't use. I was just going to throw those 1x12s up the way they were, but I thought the look really was wrong, so I waited. And waited. And waited.

For my birthday, Liz asked a friend to come over and help me assemble the saw. I was grumpy about it, like I am about everything, but it was a lifesaver, and kickstarted this project. Yesterday I christened that beast of a saw and Jacob helped me rip those old oak boards in half. I was on my way.

So tonight, after dinner, I hauled the chop saw upstairs, armed myself with my favorite tool (Ryobi Air-Strike Nailer. Seriously, everyone needs one of these. GET ONE) and in 90 minutes I had ripped off the trim, installed barnboard, recut the trim, slapped it back up and cleaned up the room.

Jacob was my helper, always making sure the boards were level before we nailed them, and even doing some of the nailing himself. It's one of the funnest home projects I've ever done, and I hope I can finish it soon after we get back from Virginia. I just need to put a rail across the top, then hang something magnificent on the wall, like a giant mirror. 

Some photos. Just imagine it with a few more inches of moulding and a magnificent mirror or something. And, yes, that is the correct height. :)