Assortment

A New Front Porch

 

And there it is, a new porch for the little house. It's been a long time coming, this one, morphing through many versions and iterations in my mind before finally presenting itself as spare, simple, and perfect. Really, I shouldn't have been surprised. Grander dreams of a full-length covered porch were certainly fun to entertain, but often times the grand idea isn't the right idea. 

 

It's built of cedar, with three steps leading up to a landing that measures 4 feet by 7 feet. The steps are a deep 12 inches, and the rise is an easy 5 1/2, making for gentle passage up and down. The sides were enclosed in vertical tongue and groove cedar, the deck screws were counter-sunk, and the holes filled with wooden pegs. Because all hardware and framing are hidden, the structure has a sense of weight and permanence. The aging of the cedar gives it a sense of history.  

 

The wood was new, of course, but I wanted it to look silvered, aged, and a bit worn, without having to wait for nature to do it for me. A scouring of the internet turned up the perfect thing: Eco-Safe Wood Treatment by Tall Earth. It's a powder that, when mixed with water, produces a solution that preserves and protects wood while giving it an aged appearance. I loved that it is natural, non-toxic, and VOC free. It went on easily with a paintbrush, dried quickly, and could be walked on right away. As time has gone by, the wood has become even more aged and beautiful, with the inevitable scratches and dings of life adding to the warmth and patina. 

 

The flowerbeds were deepened on either side of the porch and will be filled in with more perennials, an effective way of lacing house, porch, and landscape to the earth. Can you imagine mounds of white Annabelle on either side, spilling onto the porch? Oh, the goodness of it! And next spring, there just may be a bit of flagstone leading to the bottom step. Small victories. 

 

 

 

Have you been looking for a tastefully designed, small house plan that lives large? You may just find what you've been seeking in the Shelter Collection - four small floor plans, based on our little house, designed for gracious living in 1100-1400 square feet. Find the study plans & building plans here.

 

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Perennial Gifts

 

When a friend gives you flowering plants, you can't help but go right over, shovel in hand, empty crates & boxes spilling out, ready to fill. When she calls later and says you didn't take nearly enough, and that you need to come back and take more, take them like you mean it, you really do.

Last fall, I dug, carted, and planted these perennials, these gift flowers that went all the way around the little house. All winter they rested in their new beds, tucked down in soil and snow, something of a surprise hidden away. Come spring, the ground slowly warmed, the roots awoke, and I waited, anxious as any woman who's expecting, just to see their faces when they bloomed. In shades of white, pink, and lavender, they came, slender and dainty as any newborn. Blooms, there, one after the other, enough to make a celebration of what sunshine and soil are all about.

Just yesterday, I saw that friend, told her I'd recently turned more sod to beds, making them wider still, plus the idea for a new one over by the old weathered shed.

She smiled broad and said, "Come get some flowers."

 

P.S. A gift from my guys is coming to the flowerbed soon, too! Annabelle, for either side of the new front porch. Can you imagine?

 

 

 

Have you been looking for a tastefully designed, small house plan that lives large? You may just find what you've been seeking in the Shelter Collection - four small floor plans, based on our little house, designed for gracious living in 1100-1400 square feet. Find the study plans & building plans here.

 

 

 

With What You Have | 53

Words about contentment inspired this series that celebrates ingenuity, creativity, and resourcefulness. Join me in the comments and share what you've done with what you have.

 

 

 

"We need to can peaches!" This, from our twelve-year-old boy, who, like me, lamented the day mid-winter when the last jar of home canned peaches was gone. With this weekend and a boxful of fresh peaches, we'll heed his command - stock up a fair stash for this winter, when we're wanting a fruit fix from our very own cupboard. I've also been eyeing a tree full of ruby red apples in a pasture down the road. Chewy, tangy-tart dried apples? A mouth-watering yes. 

This is the provision of summer. From the first radishes and peas in the garden, to the rhubarb patch at the neighbor's place, to the profusion of thimbleberries growing wild right outside the cabin door at the lake (it truly was magical in the morning fog), there is bounty for us to pull, pick, preserve, our ancestral foraging tendencies gone wild. 

Yet, interestingly, though we may have the desire, we might find ourselves stumbling over the notion that all this gathering and preserving will take an enormous amount of our time, which we may not have a spare portion of. Good thing sweating over a hot canning kettle all day doesn't have to be the case.

Have a basketful of broccoli or cauliflower? Wash it, blanch it in boiling water for 3 minutes, cool in ice water, drain, and freeze. Want a jar or two of jam? All you need is a quart of berries, a gaggle of jars, and a skillet. Pickles don't have to be only of the cucumber variety. Carrots, green beans, beets (or, indeed, cucumbers), with vinegar, herbs, and spices, sit quite nicely in briney goodness, one jar at a time. The oregano, basil, sage, dill, and parsley growing in pots on your front step? Snip them by the handful, wash and strip the leaves, blot them with a towel, seal them in freezer bags, and lay them in the freezer. Your life will change forever when you're cooking with "fresh" herbs, come winter. 

There we go.

If there's even one jar preserved, one bag frozen, it's a simple, successful harvest.

Do what you can with what you have.

 

 

 

Have you been looking for a tastefully designed, small house plan that lives large? You may just find what you've been seeking in the Shelter Collection - four small floor plans, based on our little house, designed for gracious living in 1100-1400 square feet. Find the study plans & building plans here.