Letter Hidden in the Ceiling

Our house was originally a log cabin built in the 1900th century. Since then, additions have been made to the original structure. The original logs have since been covered by more modern materials.

To aid with the remodel, Skip has enjoyed making random holes in the walls and ceiling around the house to see the structure that lies underneath.

Here is a picture from the livingroom:

We figured that there was a metal beam in the ceiling here as any compass go crazy when placed underneath it!

This is what it looks like without the panelling: 

As Skip was removing the panelling, a letter fell from the metal beam. The previous, previous owners had written a letter and placed it there during the remodel in the 1980's. 

The letter simply states who lived in the house, when they moved here and when the remodel was done. What a great idea! We'll see what we will add to mark our remodel!

Earth Cellar Part 1

Skip knew how to make me happy and bought me a pickaxe. I don't know what is stranger? That Skip got me one or that I was happy about it.

Why would I need a pickaxe you might ask yourself?

Well, every decent Swedish farm house has an earth cellar. Where else would you store your potatoes (which every decent Swede grows on their property), jams and other canned goods? Unfortunately our earth cellar was like a sieve and rodents ate all of our potatoes last year. The cellar was also a bit of an eyesore with its metal roof.

Since this picture was taken the kids playhouse has been removed and set on fire during a great party!

Because of rodents, the earth celler was included in the renovation plans and I attacked it this summer before the new crop of potatoes would need storage. With my new pickaxe I lowered the floor first, then filled in all the holes between the rocks on the side and recycled a lot of step stones (pavers) from around the property for the floor.

I plan to paint the grout between the rocks white for contrast!

Skip was busy working on digging up the front of the house at the same time and placed all the extra soil on top of the cellar to better insulate now that we removed the roof. It doesn't look so good right now but come next spring we will plant lavender and sweet pea on it! It will look great.

Our First Purchase: The Bathroom Sink

After looking high and low we have at found the sink for the main bathroom.

With limited funds yet a desire for a unique house we are definitely searching within as well as outside of Sweden and here is a picture of our prized sink from ebay, Italy.

Unfortunately, the sink showed up in 2 pieces.

Aldo Biggi whom we bought the sink from in Italy sent us a new sink immediately. It thankfully arrived in 1 piece.

I have asked Skip to make a bathroom cabinet out of reclaimed wood that looks similar to the cabinet below and I know it will go great together with our stone sink!

Best part-the cost for the sink, with insurance, shipping and handling from Italy, is the same as a white low end sink from Ikea! This time we are very happy we got the insurance.

Rockliden

We might have to rename Björkliden to Rockliden. We previously had an idea that there were a lot of rocks on our property but could not have imagined that a little landscaping would uncover so many.

Skip has started to dig for the new entryway, drainage and a new walkway to the house and the number of rocks found are out of control!

This is just a small sample of what we have unearthed.

As you try to mow the lawn you also dull the blades of the lawnmower on "small rocks" that stick up but they are just the tip of the iceberg. See for yourself!

This is what came up after a little digging.

Only to leave you with this. Looks like a giant mole came through!

By next summer the lawn should be back in shape and we will have magnificent rock walls everythere. 

Yeah, We Got A Loan!

  We are happy to announce that we received a loan for the renovation. Let the real work begin! What it means in all reality is that everything just became a little harder as we now have to pick out all the items we want for the kitchen and bathrooms. This is not an easy task with so much to chose from. While we think about this you get to enjoy some pictures from the continued clearing of the garden area.

 We found several red and black currant bushes buried in nettle and tall grasses.

Garden rows ready for summer (evidence of growth coming soon)

These pretty flowers have already turned in to delicious strawberries. 

Playhouse Down

    The typical Swedish country property has many buildings, large and small. Often the kids are blessed with their own playhouse but, after years of neglect, our playhouse had fallen to disrepair and was more of an eyesore than a useful play area. The only one enjoying the place was our cat Flea who used it as a hide out.

   It was with joy that I took a sledgehammer to it after removing the windows and the door. It proved to be a good workout for the upper body and the quads. Who needs crossfit when you have a farm to fix up!

   The wood was unfortunately rotten so instead of reusing it we had an awesome bonfire during a birthday party. There is nothing like a bunch of people enjoying a cozy little fire in the middle of the night (thanks for the picture Fredrik N).  Yes, I did say the middle of the night. It is never quite dark in Sweden during the summer.

   Skip will remove a few of the stones before we fill in the area with grass to expand our lawn into the area. It is going to look great!!

Flagpole Felling or Quick and Easy (not really...)

 
 
   Tarnished, rusty, dirty, mossy, dented, bent- these words all apply to the Bjorkliden flagpole. Now, thanks to a surprising amount of work, it is once again the regal banner holding staff that anyone would be proud to call their own.