Little Homestead's Year End Review

Little Homestead's Year End Review-

After reading Leigh's post 2014 Year-in-Review it reminded me to look back and see what we accomplished here this year. Here's a list, not necessarily in order....

* In the winter we had some really cold weather, down to 0. Brr.  Kept the chickens and other outdoor critters alive. Lots of bird food, treats, and the sun room for the hens.

Heated bird bath helped this guy :) Got it thrifted!

*In the spring we finally remodeled our main bathroom ourselves (except the exotic plumbing), and we love it! We had major water rot in part of the floor, but not too bad. We got mostly Ikea items and I love the gray flooring!

*I rehabbed my 2 living room chairs with foam, batting and new covers. Love the grain sack style :) And the covers were 1/2 price!

*We insulated and sheet rocked (leftover from the bathroom) the ceiling of the coop. It has been much warmer so far!!! It's supposed to be 4 degrees tomorrow night, brrrr....  Dave also added an additional vent for better airflow.

*In early summer we expanded the back veggie garden quite a bit. Probably about 200-300 more sq. feet. We planted Raspberries and Marion berries, and got a tiny harvest. I added some perennial flowers and veggies there, and had a pretty good harvest. Less mowing and more food production!

Before, hose marks the new bed

After, my girl checking it out

After, with squash, cukes and herbs

*Got a great harvest of nectarines! Zero apples and 5 pears from our new baby tree in front, big fruit!

Canned a LOT! Freezer is jammed too, time for more cobblers!

*Had both our front fruit trees professionally pruned, much better shape. Too big for us to tackle.

*We had new gutters installed (working great) and I bought a new rain barrel- 

 *Got 4 new chicks! We had 2 retired, then 1 passed away. The 1 that was left had gotten really aggressive, so she was re-homed with our little roo we accidentally got. All 3 hens are laying daily, loving the fresh eggs!!!

*Dave built a new compost pile out of free pallets- 

 

 *Kept working on the pantry closet-

*Found tons of great thrifting finds, like this hand-painted, solid pine Swedish folk art clock, $3.00!

*Did some interior painting, got rid of the dark brown wood hall closet doors. What a difference some white paint makes!

Before

After, and did 1 more coat

*Started fermenting, love it!

*Started making water kefir, great for my tummy, Anya's too-

*Re-did 2 free chairs that I had covered with chicken fabric in a hurry. I painted and re-covered with some blue linen to go more with our dining set-

Before

After

*Went on a mini-vacation for 3 days to Sun Valley, rode to the top of the mountain, had lunch, shopped a bit, had fun!

My little something from Sun Valley, made in Canada!

*Went to the Idaho State Fair, had a blast as always-

I love old stuff :)

Come home with me little piggie, he he he...

*Ditched Dish and saved a ton! Dave did the install and we got Netflix, very happy...

*Medical: had 2 cataract surgeries, avoided another foot surgery with acupuncture, pretty good otherwise.

*Dave got a new, better paying, make-him-happier job. We're both happy!!! Much better work environment. He's much more appreciated, and huge benefits!

*I've reached almost 500 posts! Wow. I have about 90 followers, that I know of. It's been another fun year of sharing ideas, photos, and reading all the encouraging comments. Thanks to all!

For next year? We're going to re-do the front yard for more food production and beauty. Come spring we'll be at it. Right now... it's snowing~~~