Where Do You Begin?

We fell in love with this renovated circa 1790 barn. It has a lot of rustic charm but it also needs a bit of tender loving care. At first we took care of the critical needs: clogged pipes, leaks and safety hazards.
We moved in on Halloween a short four months ago.
An occasional emergency has transpired, but we are handling those one at a time.
When we were looking at the barn the home inspector recommended some things as general rules to follow when buying and selling a home. One tip was to caulk around tubs, sinks, windows and anywhere else caulk belongs. Another tip was to keep filters clean. The inspector pointed out some minor issues with the property and we asked the previous owner to remediate the problems that we felt we could not fix ourselves.
At the closing table we received an owners manual for our home. It included pictures of the renovations, instructions for unique mechanical devices and suggested contractors for service. We also have a drawer of manuals and warranties.  We are working to expand upon our starting manual and record the quirky fixes for some of our home renovations.
So the answer to "where do you belong?" is part safety, necessity and then let your wish list take over.

Humble Beginnings

I've been told for years that I am a wealth of useless information-and it's not worthy of Jeopardy! I'm kind of like the McGuyver of do it yourself. I'm a hard working teacher with two kids and a passion for decorating, home improvement, gardening and crafts.

I do all of my own cooking, cleaning, work full time and try to be the best parent I can be. When that's done for the day, the passion for home improvement and pursuing my other hobbies takes over.

You might wonder-how did I gather the tools and skills to tackle almost any project around the house? I come from a family of do it "yourselfers." My grandfather, Leo, would tackle any home improvement project from repairs to refurbishing. He gathered the tools and materials and had almost anything you might need in stock in his basement. He was a passionate clipper gathering ideas from a variety of home improvement magazines, catalogs, and trips to home stores. Gramps wasn't afraid to try anything new and always allowed me to help out. He had a gentle way of sharing his talents and enticing me to get involved.

My mother is incredibly handy, but prefers these days to limit her talents to the fiber arts. She is also passionate and talented and humble regarding her knitting and sewing expertise.

My kids are encouraged to sink their hands into all projects around the house. Depending upon the complexity of the project they are given age and ability level tasks to help out and keep the spirit of home improvement alive and thriving.

We rarely need to use contractors to work on our home-but know where to draw the line as well.

Hope you will join me as we make our new home a haven.