What we have accomplished so far...

Since we've been here for almost 2 years, I feel that it is time for a reflection post.

Yesterday afternoon, 2 older women arrived in our driveway, and stood on the porch for a while. Pete went out to greet the women, and inquire why they were at our house. These 2 ladies identified that this was the house that they grew up in... and were busy reminiscing about their childhood. So, Pete invited them in to look at the house... identifying that "This home will never really be ours. We just get to take care of it for a little while.". I think this story sums up our experience so far, this home has history and in 181 years... we've only owned it for a blip.

During this almost 2 year blip, here is what we have accomplished:
-Installed deadbolts and door locks on the 2 main doors leading into the house
-Painted the living room, family room, hallway, main level bath, our bedroom, kitchen, laundry area, and a number of closets
-Made many a Saturday trip to the dump to remove the past family's contents from the barn, garage, and basement
-Put in a cement floor and garage door openers installed in the garage
-Had the chicken coop torn down
-Cleaned out the barn, and subsequently decided to have it torn down
-Made the back horse pasture area into mowable yard
-Removed a number of gardens with a combination of a mower, "Weed-B-Gone Max" and grass-seed
-Took out a bathroom on the main level (consisted of shower and toilet)
-Put in a bathroom on the main level (contains a toilet and a sink)
-Hooked up a wood stove to the fireplace chimney
-Created durable shelving units for the pantry, garage, and our bedroom
-Put in a new wood floor on the main level
-Cut up a few (of many) fallen trees for firewood
-Re-finished the wood floors in the kitchen and 1 of the upstairs bedrooms
-Painted the hallway floor
-Installed a water softener
-Trained a dog and 4 kittens (of which, only the dog remains)

I am sure there are a number of smaller, less consequential projects that have been accomplished over the last 2 years. We certainly feel fortunate to have found this place to call home, and take care of... if only for a little while.