In Pictures - 2020 Volume III

The past two weeks have been life changing for the entire country.  With the COVID-19 pandemic confining us all to our homes, our lives have come to a screeching halt.

But I am not complaining.  I am a home body, so someone forcing me to stay home is not at all a problem.  

I am still working full time remotely.  I have mixed feelings about it because while I haven't done my hair in over a week, I am working more hours than I ever was at the office.  I am still working on a balance and trying to force myself to get out of my chair on a more regular basis.  

The below picture is the desk where I now live.  This is our office/laundry room, so between work and laundry, I rarely leave this room.  

As a whole, we are enjoying our time together and the rare opportunity to stay at home.   We are far from bored and have accomplished more in the last two weeks that we probably have in five years.  

Last weekend, Walker was consumed with the Ohio Beef Expo auction that had to be moved to an online only format due to cancellations.  

We couldn't keep him away from the computer.  He had his eye on his heifer that was for sale.  We couldn't even pull him away from the computer long enough to eat his dinner.  

This past week was technically spring break, so Isaac didn't have any remote school work.  Walker on the other hand was busy every day with online school work. 

Isaac used the extra time to work for a neighboring farmer taking care of the herd and building fence.  He is used to sitting in a school desk all day, not working eight hours.  One afternoon I left my desk long enough to find him passed out on the floor.  Still not sure why he chose the dog bed, but it must have been comfortable because he was out for an hour and a half.  

One by one we are checking items off the long list of home improvement projects that have needed to be completed for years. 

This is not one of them.  Daniel was down trying to clean the basement and noticed a stream of water coming from the ceiling.  The washing machine was leaking and had been for some time.  The washing machine was about 15 years old and needed some other repairs, so we decided to bite the bullet and buy a new one.  

We visited a local appliance store and bought a new washer.  The only problem was it wasn't going to be available to pick up until Tuesday.  Daniel was really nervous that we were going to get the stay at home order, so he asked if we could buy the floor model.  Thankfully, they agreed.  We brought the washer home on Saturday and we received the stay at home order on Sunday afternoon.  

Then they had to wrangle the old washer out and the new one in.  That is no easy task when it has to go through four doors and be lifted over the bathroom sink as it is being pivoted.  Thank goodness for teenagers.  

Once he was able to get back to cleaning the basement, he installed a new coat rack. 

If you remember, this was what I wanted for Mother's Day.  Better late than never. 

This is for all the hunting/winter/water gear that has been taking up precious closet space.  None of us had any  idea how much stuff we had!

My closets are very thankful and I wish we had done this years ago.  

The next big project is tearing up the carpet at the top of the stairs to refinish the original plank boards underneath.  

Our house is 115 years old, but almost all the original character has been replaced.  Several years ago we tore up the carpet in our bedroom to reveal a beautiful floor underneath.  We have been dreading the mess for years, so have just put it on the back burner. 

But I can't stand that nasty pink carpet any more.

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Under the carpet was a layer of old linoleum and then a layer of newspaper. 

Look at the date...seventy-three years and  one day to the date of that paper.   When we refinished our bedroom floor, we found newspapers from exactly 70 years to the day of when we tore up the floor.  

The wood floor had been painted with a brown paint.  

These were rough cut board that have a lot of character...including some knot holes.  You can see they used an old tin can lid to cover up one of the holes.  

Then the sanding began. 

It wasn't nearly as bad as the last time...because this time we rented the vacuum that attaches to the sander.  I didn't have to clean every floor, wall and ceiling in the house.  

The floor is all sanded and a few repairs made.  

I have started the polyurethane process, but have to time it so that the floor is dry when we need to go to bed.  

Next up is painting, trim in the entire second floor and finishing the floor in the master bath that was supposed to be done seven years ago.  

I never said we were fast.  

The boys have been enjoying the warmer weather and spent some time having fun.

None of us know how long we will be at home, but we are certainly enjoying our time together and the opportunity to get some things checked off the list.  Pretty soon it will be time to get out in the garden and fields, so we are trying to get the inside stuff done while we still can.  

The 2020 pandemic will go down in the history books and we are trying to create some memories as a family to remember the good times together.  

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In Pictures - 2020 Volume I

In Pictures - 2019 Volume III

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