Refinishing and Repurposing Oak Kitchen Cabinets
It’s easy to imagine that building a new house means having all new furnishings. The reality has been a mix of new and used items […]
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Projects
Launching Our 1980 Carver Santa Cruz: Year 1 Recap
The cover of my journal at the beginning of 2023 was imprinted with the words, “Good things come to those who wait, but the best
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Drywall: The Sprint Becomes a Marathon
Moving into our semi-built house in late November 2021 was a major milestone. After months of camper living, mobile home demolishing, planning, and building, we
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9 Ways We Prepare and Make the Most of Winter
The signs of winter tend to start subtly and grow increasingly louder. Each morning’s sunrise inches further south. Vivid fall leaves become more subdued. Tree
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My Journey Raising Chickens: Joys, Perils, and Future Plans
It’s been over two years since we lost our small flock of chickens. Occasionally people ask what happened or why we haven’t started over. In
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Rising Walls and Falling Leaves: Building a Livable House in 3 Months
“Autumn is a fleeting season, melancholy by nature. Its ghostly beauty cultivates a fertile atmosphere for memories that wrote their history on a tablet of
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A Blank Slate: Foundation Cleanup, Building Plans, and Cement Pour
Begin with that most terrifying of all things, a clean slate. Then look, every day, at the choices you are making, and when you ask
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DIY Mobile Home Demolition: One Piece at a Time
A long journey takes one step at a time. Eating an elephant takes one bite at a time. Removing a mobile home without professional help
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Seeing the Potential: How We Bought Our New Property
One moment we were touring cramped, musty apartments in the middle of town. Next, we were closing on a 12.79-acre wooded property featuring a dilapidated
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Creating Simple DIY Log Garden Beds
Starting a garden from scratch can be overwhelming. The internet and social media have endless inspiration, but picture-perfect gardens can create unrealistic expectations or unnecessary
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Boat Float Test: Successes and a Near Crash
It was our six-year wedding anniversary and, despite a windy forecast, we chose to mark the occasion by test driving our 1981 Carver Santa Cruz
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The Engine Runs! Now What?
Two and a half years ago we bought a yacht without knowing if the motor worked. One might call that risky, but Brett was confident
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