Big Changes in Store!

Coming off of this crazy summer, life doesn’t seem to slow even a little. Silje gets on the school bus a week from Wednesday, which will be a huge change for all of us. Knut and I were talking last night about how it seems to be ushering in a new era of our marriage. We had the “no kids” era, and then the “babies/toddler” era, and now we are entering the “school” era. It’s the era that will bring extra-curricular activities (eventually), parent/teacher conferences, PTO meetings, packing lunches and doing homework.

Also, we have our new fireplace for our living room. It is hanging out in our barn until it is installed. The scent of lumber is in our garage, along with some not so scented insulation and nails. Marble and stone swatches are in the living room, and pencil marks are all over the wall. This time David didn’t make them. Knut is so busy working on this new fireplace project, and I have to admit, the fireplace fever REALLY hit me when he brought it home.

The big problem is Knut and I have no particular picture in our heads. We’re flying by the seat of our pants. We knew what kind of fireplace we wanted as far as efficiency and fuel, and we knew the “feeling” we want when we see it, but that’s about it. Will it have a wood surround, brick or stone? We don’t know. So there’s this mad dash to make decisions, and I hope it turns out alright. We know we want to duct some heat into the den, be we’re not sure how that duct work will be covered.

Knut will also be putting in a place to store wood (our fuel) that can be accessed from the living room, but loaded from the outside, so he won’t have to drag chunks of wood through the house. This fireplace is our first “big” house project we have ever done (besides Knut helping his dad build a house last year) and let me tell you, it’s a lot tougher to make decisions when it’s your house, and your money.

We’re hoping to get a window in the kitchen replaced before winter too. I’m debating taking down the wallpaper in the upstairs bathroom, so that Knut can paint it for me this winter. I still haven’t decided what color to do, so I might hold off. I did have a color for the boys’ room picked out, and the wallpaper comes off so easily in that room that I often tear off a whole sheet after changing a diaper. But, David doesn’t like the color that I picked out. It is his room, so I think he should have a little say. But I’m the mom, so I get say too. I wanted to paint it a red, and make some bed coverings out of Knut’s old jeans. I told him red was the color of Lightning McQueen, but he’s not buying it.

David wants it painted blue, but the blue on the walls plus the blue bed covers, plus the fact that we have painted 3 rooms blue since we’ve moved in make me hesitate. But, I haven’t made any bed coverings yet, and maybe we just need to pick the right blue. We’ll see. I was hoping for a nautical theme, but David wants baseballs. I think that baseballs might be do-able. I just want something that’s not too “themey” and will grow with the boys. We’re not doing their room every few years! I don’t even know if we’ll get to that room this winter. Knut’s brain will explode if I even mention it right now. But the fireplace and window will, God willing, get done before winter. Prepare yourself for a ridiculous amount of pictures in the coming weeks on these projects.

AND we’ve been eating sweetcorn, which means that harvest is just around the corner. So much to do! I would post pictures of the gorgeous pumpkins, squash, and tomatoes growing in my garden right now, but I couldn’t photoshop all of the weeds out. Yes, I’m terribly behind on weeding. I’m afraid I’m getting a reputation for burning out on my gardens. I’ll just claim that I’m prioritizing. I only have 2 hands and 24 hours a day. The apples are soon ready too! So pretty soon I’ll be baking up and freezing my squash, canning pumpkin butter and spaghetti sauce, and I think I might try to can applesauce this year. Maybe I’ll just freeze it.

If anyone wonders where we are when everything freezes around her, Knut and I will be hibernating this winter. There is too much to get done when the ground is thaw!