Spinning Christmas records by the lighted star. Now that’s what I call a country holiday!
We’re taking a break from house projects every now and then. And when we do we get really, really festive.
— J. Blandings
city boys, cleaning
The Mystery of the Smokey Stove is Solved!
12/17/2013
The Mystery of the Smokey Stove is Solved!
How a Blocked Chimney Almost Killed Us
12/17/2013
If the NSA had been documenting the goings on at the Dream House over Thanksgiving weekend, they would have witnessed Mr. and Mr. Blandings wildly flailing their arms and gasping for air as the house filled with smoke. Our first attempts at using the wood burning stove in the basement quickly devolved into a comedy of errors. We’d light the fire, the basement would start to fill with smoke and then we’d panic. We’d run upstairs and find that the first floor was also filling with smoke. So we would throw open the windows and let the arctic winter air fill the house and force out the smoke. We repeated this scene three times over the weekend before we finally decided that we’d better call in the professionals.
Mr. Blandings called me from the apartment back in the city on Sunday and said that he was cleaning up for the week. He took out the garbage and scooped the cat’s litter box and generally got things in order. You know, typical Sunday afternoon stuff. “But then when I went to vacuum,” he said, “I discovered we don’t have one here anymore!”
There’s a thick layer of snow on the ground and the temperature is hovering around zero. This seems like a perfect time to take a look at the garden at the Dream House.
One of the many unexpected “wows” of first visiting the Dream House was discovering its beautiful landscaping. The house sits atop a hill, so the backyard has been terraced down to provide the makings for two large outdoor “rooms”. The upper level surrounds the old ivy-covered “carriage house”, while the lower level includes a large vegetable garden, an apple tree, grape vines, and a fire pit.
There is also a large undeveloped area on the north side of the garage which may make for a great cutting garden. We’re admitted novices when it comes to gardening on this scale, so we’re excited to have Brother Blandings and his green thumbs come out in the spring and help set us up!
— M. Blandings
Images: Mr. and Mr. Blandings
Replacing a shower head is one of the easiest bathroom DIY’s you can do. I’m talking five minute project start to finish. Yes, it’s really that easy. I’ve replaced the shower heads in almost every apartment we’ve lived in. (What can I say? I like a nice shower experience!) So, of course, when we got our hands on the Dream House, it was one of my first DIY projects. Here’s a quick and easy tutorial for replacing your own shower head…
