Almost every day since the last entry, I have worked for several hours in the old coop. I cannot believe how much there was to do actually. Every time I thought I was finished, I would either notice something that else needed repaired or I had a new idea that needed to be implemented.
And because I am not that experienced with construction, I made a few mistakes that I had to fix. It takes me a lot longer to do things 'cause I'm a girl and I hammer like a girl. I don't have an unlimited amount of money, so I have to make do with what's on hand most of the time. It's been very hot most days and all my life I have been prone to overheating, so if I get three good hours of work in the morning, I call that a win.
But what I do have is stubborn sticktoitiveness. A very fine quality which is serving me well. For I have to tell you, there have been a couple of times while sawing a particularly gnarly board or pounding on a particularly recalcitrant nail, my heat intolerant body dripping in sweat, while questioning my sanity.... that I had to draw heavily on that stubborn streak.
That, and I have a vision. Even if it is an evolving one.
Alas, my tiny domain of the female variety [how's that for avoiding the offending popular nomenclature?] will never be of the pink and green or blue and white frilly variety. Not that I would turn down such a creation. I mean what self respecting girl would turn her nose up at this?
It's just not in the cards for my building. It will forever be a mix of rustic, country, and quirky. Eclectic is my middle name after all.
Anyway, here are the photos to document my progress as of this morning:
The east side of the building took the brunt of the damage so there was a lot to do here.
The north side has the little chicken door. I rebuilt it today. I thought about removing it altogether, but decided it should be kept as a historical reminder of its original function. All that straw that has filtered through the cracks in the floorboards will be raked out in the next few days and I will replace the tin skirting that keeps the squirrels out. I'm going to use it as mulch for another project in the chicken run.
Here's the west side:
And here are some pictures of the inside:
The chair, whenever the universe delivers it, will go in this corner.
The heater will go in this spot on the left facing the door.
If I told you how long it took me to cobble this shelf together you wouldn't believe me. BUT I managed to salvage that curved piece of wood that came from shaping the rounded door. I really wanted to use that piece but also wanted to use the whole available corner for the shelf so I did a lot of trimming and fussing to get it into this configuration. This will be my little 'kitchen' eventually.
Once I got that finished I realized I had a leftover piece of wood to add a shelf above. That was a bonus! I bought the little cupboard with the hearts for 20 dollars at the local antique store. I just love that thing!
My brother cut those shelves for me on his table saw and I put them in with much fiddling and fussing. Speaking of my brother, he will be installing my carpeting in the next few days. He used to do that for a living and knows his way around such things thank goodness.
The caulking around the window needed repair. And while I was doing that I noticed just a little wear and tear on the paint on the shutters. So I rummaged in my cupboard and found that I still had the leftover paint, so I repainted them.
It's nice to know the window is weather tight.... AND pretty. :-)
[I'm still sad about not being able to have that little wood stove. I won't lie.]
Anyway, here is the situation after all my work this morning...
It's an overcast day, with the added layer of smoke from the forest fires west of us. :-(.
I may not do an update on this project now until it is really complete. Chair and heater and all.
My watercolors and eco dying have taken to the back of the bus lately and I'm missing them. So please be patient for the final reveal. But rest assured, I'll be on the job!
