Finishing

So it's officially been two years since we moved into our home here, and during that time we've done a lot of renovation and remodeling.  We put in wood flooring, renovated the kitchen, and painted about half rooms in the house.  Gone are the cat-pee stained carpets (belonging to the last owner), the over-painted kitchen cabinets, and ugly grey walls.

But there have been a few projects we put off, mainly because they were not important to the functioning of our homestead (not that paint is, but it's a chore best tackled before you have all your furniture moved in) or they also represented more money out-of-pocket spent at a time when we were doing other things. 

Some were luxuries, like artwork on the walls, and some were functional, like expensive but effective Vulcan Vents to replace the soffit vents we currently have in our eaves, which are no longer considered fire preventative by the State of California.

I'm happy -- and relieved -- to announce we tackled most of those projects in the last week, in one final push before true summer heat sets in.  Now we have more beauty, and more safety. 

Colorful barnyard

Art, for art's sake!

We bought and hung some pieces of artwork and moved some other pieces around.  I even bought several postcards of some paintings I liked at five dollars a pop, snatched up a "4 for $20" set of frames with mattes to house them in, and arranged them to form a single, bight splotch of country color on our entry wall.

And the last thing we bought was a floating shelf, to fill a spot over the television where nothing else seemed to work.  It looks great, and finishes off the living room, which has looked half-done for far too long.

Yesterday Big Ag and I put in the 64 Vulcan Vents that will help keep fire out of our attic in the event of a wildfire.  Vulcan Vents have special screens which makes it almost impossible for embers to get in, as well as a honeycomb material inside that closes off with exposure to high heat.  I hate to think of wildfires devastating this area, but I'd be in denial if I said it couldn't happen.  (Thank you climate change.)

Stay away, wildfires!

It's a huge weight off my mind to have all these projects done, and all of them finished before summer.  With the Vulcan Vents installed, I'll be less afraid of wildfires, should they crop up in our area, and the new artwork will help give us a beautiful space to live in when the garden and pastures become too hot to enjoy.