tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-166489332009-05-31T12:55:34.551-05:00"Here lies Walter Fielding. He bought a house and it killed him."Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-66188544738003037322009-01-11T18:50:00.002-05:002009-01-11T19:02:15.620-05:00

I'm going to say something here that's just not nice:I hate pellet stoves. I mean, I hate them. It's a stupid idea that tends to be poorly constructed, providing the illusion of effortless stove heat while actually trapping the homeowner in a neverending cycle of malfunction. I'm biting the hand a bit because for the last six months, I've been working in a stove shop, and sales this year were

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-18217860338053870092009-01-04T16:55:00.004-05:002009-01-04T21:14:01.778-05:00

I've been working on a much more homesteading-themed post, but in the mean time, chew on these articles from Sunday's New York Times:The End of the Financial World as We Know It (Part I)How to Repair a Broken Financial World (Part II)Holy crap--I may not agree with every proposed remedy, but I'd like to kiss the authors for nailing the blazing stupidity of the bailout efforts and the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-73981196088415643832008-12-29T14:03:00.003-05:002008-12-29T16:21:47.065-05:00

I confess, I've been feeling a little cooped up lately. Between the snow, our budget, and work schedules that have us coming and going at completely separate times, I've found myself moping around the house for the past few days, even (really embarassingly) begrudging Jason the fun of a post-work happy hour. This hasn't, needless to say, been my finest hour.But, lo and behold, it appears that

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-42984512552555349482008-12-29T11:50:00.003-05:002008-12-29T16:22:16.396-05:00

It's a slow day at the hardware store, which means I've been reading the New York Times. (As an interesting side note, I don't know if it's me, or if the paper really has cut down on its new content; headlines seem to hang around for much longer than I remember...) The gem in today's paper speaks both to the smart motivation for sustainable living, and the opportunistic ADD with which so many

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-41169724449542564172008-12-28T08:38:00.005-05:002008-12-29T16:26:38.579-05:00

Like many would-be homesteading types, I'm sure, I frequently get stuck between my competing desires for self-sufficiency and what seems like modern practicality. Do I use the dovetail saw or the sawzall? The square cut nails or the nail gun? Do I use $10 worth of lemons for a cool drink in the summer, or just reach for the cannister of powdered lemon-like flavoring?When it comes to real food

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-16432279743544106812008-12-27T13:40:00.008-05:002008-12-29T16:23:41.878-05:00

So, one of my most delightful Christmas presents this year (and this really was a banner season for thoughtfulness) was Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life. I know that may seem a little regressive for someone who already owns a 180-year old farmhouse, had 26 (ill-considered) chickens last year, and regularly bakes bread, pie, and assorted other old-timey goodies.

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-38008185447058333412008-12-21T19:33:00.003-05:002008-12-29T16:24:13.775-05:00

I know it's unlikely to draw huge responses (given my recent return here), but I'm going to post a poll, and will gratefully receive comments in response to this question:What do you think of coal heat?Here's the thing. I have a pellet stove in the cellar, and I don't like it. It's an Englander that had a completely appalling malfunction a few years ago (yes, this one), and with every storm

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-53866356180168628132008-12-21T19:24:00.004-05:002008-12-29T16:24:54.097-05:00

I'm not sure what to say about 20 inches of snow. Mainly, I'm sorry that the camera is temporarily out of commission because this is amazing--it's like opening your front door to a Santa display at the mall. This snow actually sparkles, and it's falling in huge chunks, the way snow does in the movies, but never *ever* does in real life.We took the kids out to play in Round I on Friday; Amelia

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-13969310764779712562008-12-18T11:50:00.009-05:002008-12-29T16:25:22.486-05:00

I'm not sure sometimes whether poverty and productivity have a direct or an inverse correlation. Would my money pit project be more successful if I had all the cash in the world?On the one hand, I'd be an idiot to think not. I have an immediate need for something over 20 sheets of drywall. Could hang it tomorrow. But because it has't been airlifted into my yard by the drywall fairies, along

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-80537851240292974112008-12-17T12:44:00.002-05:002008-12-17T12:58:18.359-05:00

Am I back? Is the world as I know it still out there?The answer, of course, is "yes and no." I've Rip Van Winkled away a lot of time on this blog, letting the time between posts slip from one winter to another. But, here we are again, with snow piling up on the ground outside, a roaring fire going in the stove, and a whole mess of unfinished drywall. The more things change, the more they stay

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-43176414712358476182007-03-26T08:36:00.000-05:002007-03-26T08:45:17.044-05:00

It's funny how my first spring thoughts are about preparing for the next cold December. I see the insulation piled in front of the front door and think, "I can move that soon--and then I'd better get that door draft fixed so it won't be so cold there." Or I look at the blocked-off dining room doors and wonder whether I'll have time this year to insulate that room enough to keep it open for

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-17454867378620920222007-03-09T08:36:00.000-05:002007-03-09T09:29:45.783-05:00

Nothing like -12 F to make you long for spring... Luckily, the schizophrenic weather of the American northeast is on my side, and after three days of blistering cold, it's going to be 44 tomorrow and, get this, rainy. I'm sure it'll result in a yard-wide sheet of ice by the next morning, but I still feel like balling up my sweaters in the back of the closet and running around the yard in a

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-31631133544480140402007-03-06T15:34:00.000-05:002007-03-06T16:11:38.164-05:00

In my continuing (and possibly fruitless) quest to come up with even mildly amusing titles for my posts, I just spent a few minutes trying to hunt down a word for the delusions brought on by hypothermia.... Couldn't find one, but suggestions will be gratefully accepted.Point being that it is co-old here in Wentworth. After a week or two of pleasantly balmy March days (upper 30s, even breaking

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1171564810985487842007-02-15T13:20:00.000-05:002007-02-15T13:40:11.000-05:00

We got about 16 inches of snow yesterday, and remembered just why it is that we want to live in north-central New Hampshire.Tuesday night it was all preparation; Adam and I (mostly Adam) brought in an absurd amount of wood:Adam (and I think Jason) brought in pellets; I annoyed everyone with my dire, parental warnings about the likelihood of a power outage; Carolyn cleaned like a fiend; and Amelia

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1170948043031182482007-02-08T10:07:00.000-05:002007-02-08T10:20:43.050-05:00

Okay, so after writing the last post, I got a little obsessed with figuring out the area above the mantel. The more I thought about it, the less I liked the compromise of an easier-to-do recessed panel plan; raised paneling just looks right and is more traditional. But how the %#$&! could I do it?I think I've figured it out. For the truly bored, I'll describe it in excruciating detail:- The

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1170688282283702632007-02-05T09:56:00.000-05:002007-02-06T09:26:33.330-05:00

Fired up the new woodstove yesterday and, in grand Kate tradition, left the house to Adam. When I came back, he calmly told me that yes, there was plenty of smoke upstairs, but he thought it was subsiding. And he was right. Apparently, it was just stuff burning off of the outside of the liner; the smell from the stove polish and the stainless steel was quite strong, but even that faded into

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1170266820196742992007-01-31T12:43:00.000-05:002007-01-31T13:08:33.063-05:00

So that stove that's "almost ready to go..."The stove itself is okay--need to replace the gasket on the double doors in front, but otherwise it's great. There is, however, a problem.This chimney runs up into our bedroom. It's old brick, brand new liner with a flexible pipe, capped at the top, insulated down from the cap through the attic. I sealed all the joints, screwed them together, put in

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1169733274372902462007-01-25T08:43:00.000-05:002007-01-25T08:54:34.386-05:00

So yesterday I looked at the weather forecast for the next few days, and saw that the estimated windchill (or RealFeel, or whatever the hell they're calling it now) for tonight ranges from -17 to -39F. Nothing like the motivation of impending frostbite. I wrote up this "to do" list; the italicized ones got done last night.Get:- new stove fully installed and functional; that means sealing the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1166458395013398122006-12-18T11:07:00.000-05:002006-12-18T11:15:32.640-05:00

I was about to call this "Agnostics Do Christmas" and apologize for the lack of porn-style alliteration, but all the sudden inspiration struck. If you want to call it that.In any event, I love Christmas because I love the tree, the lights, and the food; and this year's tree is just kick-ass. We got it up in Bethlehem, NH (I know), where it was seriously under-priced and too big to fit in the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1165853757042713262006-12-11T11:03:00.000-05:002006-12-11T11:15:57.066-05:00

Again, long time no post. I've gone back to work, so progress on the house has slowed considerably. (I also have the excuse of winter, for as far as that one goes.) Windows have been cased, the cellar's been cleaned out, stoves maintained and burning... Bringing in lots of wood; hefting lots of pellets. But, more importantly, we've been having a really good time. Carolyn and I picked out an

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1162035995903740502006-10-01T00:41:00.000-05:002006-10-28T07:14:01.163-05:00

I have excuses, but they bore me. Lol. So, here are a couple of pictures to prove that progress has actually occurred over the last few months.Very professional, huh? What I can't bring myself to post is the one of me actually kicking the tile into place because I never bothered to buy the rubber mallet you're supposed to use. Amazingly, the shower turned out well, and I can't tell you how

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1158951909092887842006-09-22T13:26:00.000-05:002006-09-22T15:18:22.196-05:00

I know I promised pictures, but before I get to them, I'm going to indulge in a quick rant about the appalling idiocy of hardware store employees.The guys at Home Depot clearly had it out for my shower project. Every time I ignored their advice, I was vindicated, and every time I listened to it, I kicked myself. Here's a sampling of important things to know without asking those morons:- Use

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1158668955455472022006-09-19T07:08:00.000-05:002006-09-19T07:29:15.590-05:00

Holy crap, it's been a while since I posted here... I suppose some explanation is in order.Almost a year ago, two of our best friends came here for an extended visit, and during that visit, had their daughter. The short version of the last year is that they left about 9 months ago and came back about a week after my last update of this site. So this poor old house went from construction zone

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1151445399250442812006-06-27T16:44:00.000-05:002006-06-27T16:56:39.266-05:00

Now that I've got Gene Autry's voice in my head, it's time to get back to business.I was out of commission for a while, first freaking out about and then attending a certain festival in the north country. Now I'm back with my dirty, incomplete, leaking, beloved project. Nothing like love to blind you to the truth. Lol.Let's see--I actually finished the pantry before heading north, and it's

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16648933.post-1149692176261287312006-06-07T09:41:00.000-05:002006-06-12T18:10:16.116-05:00

Current projects underway:- Stone walkway from the pull-in to the kitchen doorditch dug, 6 tons of stone dust laid and compacted, 2 inches of sand on top, fun with rocks commenced. Will, sadly, need another whole pallet to finish.- LibraryWalls furred out and insulated, wiring done (except at box), desk built. Need paint-grade ply and a bunch of wood (will likely use much of what I pulled off

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02383009741638703612noreply@blogger.com0