Final 2018 Projects?

Well, 2018 wasn't quite as productive a year as we might have hoped, but we had another good push on projects here in the 11th hour. Now that we have heat, December was actually a little project marathon.

First, we wanted to keep all that lovely heat inside. Most of the windows have storms, but a few didn't, so Chris built new storms for those. We also moved the storm door that was previously on the (modern) door between the kitchen and the lean-to out to be on the (original) door into the parlor; Chris also added plexiglass to the dining room screen door for some additional insulation.

              

Probably the biggest end-of-year project was painting the parlor. It was covered in wood paneling, which over the years had taken on a decidedly greenish tinge. Plus, we'd patched in a fairly large section where the front window no longer existed, and that paneling was darker and less green, so the whole thing was looking a bit shabby.

This took forever (ok, it took basically one full day) because of all the trim and because we had to brush every single groove in the paneling where the roller wouldn't reach. In the end, though, the room looks so much brighter and fresher!

Also, we put up some Christmas decor. Because Christmas.

The TV is sitting on an impromptu project -- it used to be on a rickety folding tray that was barely big enough to support it, and we'd picked up this old radio cabinet at an auction way back when we bought the farm. It's been sitting in the lean-to ever since, but Chris got a quick coat of polyurethane on it, and now it's all shiny and doing its job holding up the television (and providing a little much-needed storage). 

The next day, we had dueling dining room projects: I was patching the plaster, and Chris was turning the wood burner so it didn't stick out into the room so much. As you might expect, both of those seemed like they were going to be quicker projects than they really turned out to be. But we did get an unexpected bonus -- behind the wood burner, covered by the protective mat, we discovered another heat register!

As you'll see in the pictures, we did even a bit more -- on Boxing Day, my family came up to spend a day just hanging out at the farm, so Chris and I went up early and set up the dining room table. This had been the table and chairs from our house, which we replaced... a year or so ago?... and have had sitting around waiting for the dining room at the farm to be ready for them.

Wood stove in progress and completed...

         

Patching in progress and (mostly) completed...

       

We may still make it up there one more time before it's technically 2019. There's hope that the dining room might get primed yet this year. But basically, it's looking like the end of projects for 2018.

Here's hoping that 2019 brings

• A completed chimney removal, roof repair, and wall (re-)instillation in the space between the dining room and kitchen
• An end to the upstairs bedroom project that was literally one of the very first things we started
• More project wrap ups
• Less bats