You probably won't be surprised when I tell you a lot has changed at the Heap since I last blogged. Nearly 20 months has gone by since I revealed the kitchen remodel. Since then, we've made some decisions about homesteading and our lives in general which include a refocus on the Heap and the lifestyle we were so excited to embrace in the beginning. But, I'll share all that later because let's be honest- you just want to see the BATHROOM!
In July, the Hubs lost his job. After a little bit of shock and, maybe some dismay, we quickly decided to embrace this change as a gift. If he was not working, he'd have plenty of time to focus on a remodel. The bathroom was the last room in the main part of the house that needed done and we had avoided it because we really couldn't be without a bathroom for months and months. A month or two, we could totally manage, though, and if you're going to have to use a port-a-potty for awhile, the warm summer months are the perfect time to do so.
The first thing to go was the window. The original window had, at some point since we moved to the Heap, been hit with a rock, breaking a hole into the outer pane. Bugs flew into the hole and couldn't find their way back out, which created this horrifying shadow box of dead bugs. It was disgusting. Now, there's a brand new, clean, window. It is not disgusting.
I would have loved to have been able to put in a separate shower and tub, but try as we might, we just couldn't make that work in the space, without losing a lot of storage. In such a small house, storage is just too precious. So, we kept a tub/shower combo. I really wanted a deeper bathtub, which was surprisingly difficult to find. I also wanted a tile surround, but the Hubs was adamantly against it. In the end, we compromised with a special tub, that is several inches deeper and has a curved edge and a fiberglass surround. It's pretty and clean. I'm happy.
One of the most delightful parts of this remodel has been watching the Hubs and our son work together. Noah has become more man than boy in the past year and he is able to keep pace with his dad. He has learned so much and will be well equipped to care for his own house and family one day. The two of them did almost all the work on the bathroom with very little help from Jenna or I. I had time to work in the kitchen, taking care of canning and meal prep. This remodel was much less stressful on me as a result. I sure do love my guys.
I decided to take one of my accent colors from the rest of the house and make it the star in the bathroom. I think it makes the room look bright and cheery, but also crisp and clean. I stuck with my usual minimalist farmhouse tendencies for decorations and ended up with a beautiful, simple bathroom. Noah told me it looks like a hotel bathroom. I'm choosing to believe that he means it is stunningly beautiful and he feels so lucky to get to shower in there.
So, what now? Well, like a lot of people, we've had plenty of time to reflect on our lives and spend more time than usual at home. We like it. We had really lost focus in the past few years and homesteading had steadily fallen to the back burner. Some things needed to go, but there's a lot we still want to do and providing as much as we can for ourselves is still important to us. Right now the Hubs is working at home. He has time to focus on projects around here that will push our homesteading forward. We don't know how long he will do this, but it's an awesome opportunity right now and I'm excited to see how our homestead comes together. I am working outside the home, at a job I adore, but I have let go of the extras. I no longer teach or lead for AHG. I have more days at home than I have at work. This allows me time to get back to homesteading. I had an amazing garden this year, with plans for an even bigger one next year. Along with gardening comes canning and food preservation that I need time to be able to do. I've also been on an intense health journey and time outside, doing things I love, is a big part of my healing. I hope to get back to blogging with more purpose, but you'll be seeing the blog change a bit. We still have some remodeling to do, but now we're more about settling into a permanent homesteading lifestyle. We've experimented a lot, found out a lot about what we can and can't do. It was all a fun adventure. Now, we have to embrace the things we want and need while letting go of things that are too difficult, too expensive, or just not good for us. I'll be posting more about my health journey, gardening, and homestead life. I hope you'll stick around for this new phase.
