Is Mother Nature Bipolar or What?

Of course, I'm just being sarcastic, but REALLY?  In the 50's and rainy last weekend, to baking us at nearly 90 and sunny by Wednesday...

...And, back to chilly (low 60's) and rainy this morning.  Yikes!  Between the weather and Don's work schedule, he's been feeling a tad frustrated that he's not made more progress on the demo process.  As I write this, he's on his way back from returning our friend's 3-horse trailer.




He and our son, Nate planned to make some major progress on it today.

Earlier this week, the girls and I went on a little treasure hunt of sorts.  Of course, Mr. M, the man from whom we purchased the property, gathered up any valuable family heirlooms, and sent the many items of no sentimental value to auction long before we arrived on the scene, however, we did scavenge a few interesting things we plan to re-purpose...

...Like this table and chair set that just need some Rustoleum spray paint, new cushions, and a pretty umbrella!




A few other "treasures"...

Don's work involved taming the unruly vegetation around the house and the lower paddock in front of the barn...

...And taking measurements...

We've not come to any final decisions regarding the floor plan, yet.  Our first thought, to transform it into a cape cod with two beds and bath upstairs, seems unnecessary now.










Based on Don's measurements, we can use the existing footprint of the house for a comfortably-sized 3-bedroom, 2 bath, ranch-style house and still have enough space for a 9x10 office - everything on one floor, with a basement and/or attic for storage!  




Of course, any house over 900 sq. ft. will feel HUGE after living in a camper for a few months, but our living space will be approximately 1550 sq. ft. - a modest home with an artfully-efficient floor plan - that's the goal!

This is the inside of the house before demo began:

Enclosed front porch

  Living room

Kitchen

Bathroom

Many people, even me some moments, think we're a special kind of crazy for taking on this project!  As you can see, we have our work cut out for us.  So much has to happen before we even get to the actual re-build, but I am oddly at peace with it... much of the time.

My dear husband thanked me last night for trusting him on this one.  He acknowledged what a challenge this is for me and our daughters, and he validated my periodic sense of anxiety about the whole thing.  I truly appreciate this!

Our very tight living quarters act as inspiration for forward momentum!  Actually, camper living inspires the girls and I to get up close and personal with nature.

...The beautiful birds and butterflies are welcome...

...The insects and spiders are NOT!

Remember, a few posts ago when I shared about my interesting visit from Mr. M?  Well, he graciously shared with us a number of photos of the property spanning from 1945 thru 1983! Generously,  gave me permission to share some of them in my blog posts, so keep an eye out for them.  Here is one of the outdoor fireplace completed by his grandfather on Victory Day:

Looking forward to doing some more exploring next week, as well as visiting some friends in good ole Lancaster County!  Check in Wednesday or Thursday for the first of our demolition pics and hopefully, some pics from a hike at a nearby park.