Projects Update #1
Gardens, trail-building, and making a bathroom less horrifying.
![Projects Update #1](/content/images/size/w1200/2023/04/P4140058-2.jpg)
Like our game updates, if you don’t hear from us for a while, it means things are busy! We’ve traveled a bit since our last post, and weather has occasionally slowed things down, but there’s a lot to catch you up on.
The Grounds
David and I have been building a raised-bed garden (the vegetable kind, for our non-American friends here), which finally pushed us to use the table saw I inherited from my grandmother. (Yes, grandmother. She was cool.)
I’d say some thoughtful things about conquering our table saw fears, but…well, there were a few flying objects and other close calls. Anyway, we got them built.
![](https://blog.brainandbrain.co/content/images/2023/04/P4140063-2.jpg)
We’re also currently having a backyard fence built, where Ollie can soon return to his squirrel and sunbathing duties.
![](https://blog.brainandbrain.co/content/images/2023/04/P4130043.jpg)
We had to remove a lot more Chinese privet along the fence, but we’ve got a hoard of trees and other plants waiting to take its place: most notably, blackberries!
And, finally, we were excited to break ground on our trail over the weekend! The trailhead had a couple of trees downed by winter storms, so we had a lot of cleanup to do.
![](https://blog.brainandbrain.co/content/images/2023/04/P4080034-2.jpg)
We recently had a geospatial ecologist (fancy, eh?) come by as part of a grant application, and we’re using some of what we learned about erosion and topography to design our trail. More on the grant soon, if we get it!
Guest Bathroom & Laundry Room
This bathroom has been in-progress for a while but frequently interrupted by other projects. We’re currently fixing some issues before we can finish installing the trim, but it's no longer a scary place.
![](https://blog.brainandbrain.co/content/images/2023/04/bathroom-before.jpg)
![](https://blog.brainandbrain.co/content/images/2023/04/bathroom-wip.jpg)
We did as much as we could ourselves, but had help from contractors for the plumbing, drywall, and tile. In fact, we'd planned to install the tile ourselves, too, but I accidentally chose the most difficult shape to install.
One bonus is that since we continued the tile out into the laundry room, that room got a small upgrade as well!
![](https://blog.brainandbrain.co/content/images/2023/04/laundry-before-2.jpg)
![](https://blog.brainandbrain.co/content/images/2023/04/P4140051.jpg)
![](https://blog.brainandbrain.co/content/images/2023/04/PC040011-2-1.jpg)
![](https://blog.brainandbrain.co/content/images/2023/04/PC030001-2-1.jpg)
I have a couple of other in-progress rooms to share, but this is already a long one, so I'll save them for the next update.
A few nights ago, we’d just come in from a full day of hard outdoor work, were watching a family of deer pass by in the twilight, and a fox started to call. It made me realize we’d finally shaped the kind of lifestyle we’d been working toward all these years. Minus the farm animals—for now.