Apr 20, 2010 Posted by Tiffany

Medium-sized aquaponics how to — The grow bed

Be sure to check out the first part of this aquaponics how to in case you missed it. So you’ve got your tools and materials together and you’re ready to start building. Here’s where I’d recommend getting out the sawhorses if you have any. Working on the ground sucks. Or maybe we’re just getting old. First you’re going to build a support frame for the grow bed which is... read more

Apr 6, 2010 Posted by Tiffany

Mudroom shelves make all the difference

Last week I mentioned that we finally filled in the wall cracks where our electrical cables are laid. That little project only took us about 2 hours to complete…but we needed about a year to get around to actually doing it. Please forgive my poor photography below. Since it was a nice 4-day weekend here in Germany, we were looking for a project to do. There was a high likelihood that it would rain... read more

Mar 29, 2010 Posted by Tiffany

Finally giving the mudroom some more love

This past weekend the weather here was pretty iffy; quite chilly and raining off and on…so we decided to tackle a project inside that has been looming over us for years. In fact, it’s been almost two years since we last did any major work in our mudroom…which is a shame because we walk through that room every day and I’m probably in there 10-20 times a day, even when I’m only... read more

Jul 23, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

Building a pump house for our Gardena system

When we bought our farm house almost 3 years ago (I really can’t believe it’s been that long already) one of the great things about it was a fully functioning water system run off our own underground well. This area is full of underground springs and one of Germany’s largest water bottling plants is just 20 minutes drive from us so you know the water must be good. To get the system... read more

Jul 22, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

Bringing in the reinforcments to paint outside

You might remember my post from March when we tore down the vines on our storage buildings. After all the vines were gone, the wall was in pretty bad shape. It’s been shedding salt and just starting to crumble off due to improper care and the wrong materials being used on it in the first place. So our neighbor the general contractor came over and put a netting on the wall, added new plaster and got... read more

Jul 18, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

A bench for all seasons – Building a harvest kitchen part 3

In case you missed the first two installments about our new harvest kitchen, check out part 1 and part 2. On Tuesday, Stefan took the day off because I had to go to the dentist. The last time I went with Mack in tow, it did not turn out so well. She screamed pretty much the entire time I was in the chair and since I was having a filling done, we could only assume the drill noise only amplified things. One... read more

Jul 12, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

Sweet Lady Propane: Building a harvest kitchen – part 2

Last weekend we started building our harvest kitchen. We were able to level the floor, lay tile and grout last week so this weekend it was time to install the kitchen cabinets. We’re eager to get this project wrapped up before the Lantern Festival (the first weekend in August) which gives us two more weekends to finish. That way we can enjoy sitting outside with our small group of friends which are... read more

Jul 8, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

Building a harvest kitchen – Part 1

We have a little covered patio area outside out kitchen door which we’ve been throwing around ideas about for a while. We finally came to the conclusion that the best thing to have in there would be a harvest and canning kitchen where we can prepare everything for canning without having to be in the house where things heat up quickly. Plus, we only have a ceran cook-top in the house which you really... read more

May 8, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

Erasing the dog residue in the entry way

I wanted to post this almost two weeks ago but things have been a bit hectic around here (what’s new right?) so I’m only getting to this now. Before my dad and his wife Barbara arrived here in Germany on April 28th, we were trying to get a few things done to spruce up the place a bit. One such area that needed serious attention was our entry way. If you have a Newfoundland who usually sleeps... read more

Mar 8, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

Still growing strong – 2009 Seedling Journal Vol. 3

This update is LONG overdue, but what can I say. The plants are doing really well. I separated and replanted some of the bigger plants today into bigger pots; White Runner beans, Rouge pumpkins and spaghetti squash. Next time we start those seeds will make sure to only put one seed per starter pot because they grow incredibly quickly. Hopefully we’ll find a way to build out raised bed tunnels soon... read more