This I Grow

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This I Grow

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About Me

Born in Kenya to missionary parents • An introvert that feels extroverted responsibilities • Small business owner • Amateur flower gardener and bee keeper • Animal lover with a bias for bulldogs • Old home renovator • Married to my best decision • Mother to my two greatest accomplishments.

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I feel like there are people who romanticize old homes and then there are the people who own them, ha! And I say this as someone who has only ever loved these deathtrap bank robbers. 🙃

We’ve started stripping and sanding all the trim this week, but we’ve actually got some help this time around.

Our house is very tall and I was worried one of us would fall to our death trying to get all of it at the top. Lots more to do, but feeling grateful to even be at this point in the process. #oldhouse

#shinglestyle #shingkestylehome #shinglestylearchitecture #oldhome #oldhouses #oldhousepeople

My husband and I have been fixing up old homes for over a decade now, and times are really changing.

Years ago, when we couldn’t do a job ourselves and needed help repairing something, we were able to find someone no matter the size of the job…but I’ve noticed a swift decline in tradespeople. A majority only do the bigger jobs (typically too busy working on the mass produced homes), or they’re simply aging out of the field.

It took us countless phone calls to finally find someone that could help us with some stucco repair. It wasn’t a big job, but it had been causing water damage for years and hadn’t ever been properly fixed, so we really wanted a professionals help and luckily we finally found someone. He did a terrific job too!

But I can’t help feeling that we need to start going into schools and encouraging young people to get into the trades. One of the people I called told me he was in his 70s now and could no longer climb a ladder, and that he’d talk to his apprentice, but he was in his 60s and he doubted he could help us either…that conversation has really stuck with me…such a great loss.

#oldhouses #preservation #oldhomes #shinglestylearchitecture #shinglestyle #restoration #stucco #shingleladyne #thisoldhouse

Though we’re still in the process of stripping carpet glue from our stairs 🫠 it’s time for us to get to the outdoor projects we have for this year, which includes using @linseedpaint to paint our new fence. Here my husband is trying a sample we ordered and it’s also a sneak peek at the color to come. We love the results and can’t wait to get started. #linseedoilpaint #oldhouse #fences #gardendesign #linseedoil

My girls have witnessed and helped me in the garden since birth and because of that, they absolutely love visiting other gardens. Today we spent the morning at #harknessmemorialstatepark and it was lovely. 🌱🌱

Swipe to see what this looked like a year ago 🤪 It’s still early days but I’m so proud of how far we’ve already come. There are never-ending issues and projects to get to, one of which is building the iron up in our very depleted soil. But we’ll get there…🌱 #shingleladyne

#oldhouselove #shinglestyle #shinglestylearchitecture #oldhomes #oldhomelove #oldhome #landscape #flowergarden #flowergardening #howfarwevecome #newenglandliving #newenglandhomes

In case you don’t hear from us, we’ll be here until Christmas. ✌️😉 #oldhouseproblems

#oldstairs #thisoldhouse #oldhouse #oldhomes #oldhouserestoration #restoration #saynotocarpet

@ ourshinglelady

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I feel like there are people who romanticize old homes and then there are the people who own them, ha! And I say this as someone who has only ever loved these deathtrap bank robbers. 🙃

We’ve started stripping and sanding all the trim this week, but we’ve actually got some help this time around.

Our house is very tall and I was worried one of us would fall to our death trying to get all of it at the top. Lots more to do, but feeling grateful to even be at this point in the process. #oldhouse

#shinglestyle #shingkestylehome #shinglestylearchitecture #oldhome #oldhouses #oldhousepeople

My husband and I have been fixing up old homes for over a decade now, and times are really changing.

Years ago, when we couldn’t do a job ourselves and needed help repairing something, we were able to find someone no matter the size of the job…but I’ve noticed a swift decline in tradespeople. A majority only do the bigger jobs (typically too busy working on the mass produced homes), or they’re simply aging out of the field.

It took us countless phone calls to finally find someone that could help us with some stucco repair. It wasn’t a big job, but it had been causing water damage for years and hadn’t ever been properly fixed, so we really wanted a professionals help and luckily we finally found someone. He did a terrific job too!

But I can’t help feeling that we need to start going into schools and encouraging young people to get into the trades. One of the people I called told me he was in his 70s now and could no longer climb a ladder, and that he’d talk to his apprentice, but he was in his 60s and he doubted he could help us either…that conversation has really stuck with me…such a great loss.

#oldhouses #preservation #oldhomes #shinglestylearchitecture #shinglestyle #restoration #stucco #shingleladyne #thisoldhouse

Though we’re still in the process of stripping carpet glue from our stairs 🫠 it’s time for us to get to the outdoor projects we have for this year, which includes using @linseedpaint to paint our new fence. Here my husband is trying a sample we ordered and it’s also a sneak peek at the color to come. We love the results and can’t wait to get started. #linseedoilpaint #oldhouse #fences #gardendesign #linseedoil

My girls have witnessed and helped me in the garden since birth and because of that, they absolutely love visiting other gardens. Today we spent the morning at #harknessmemorialstatepark and it was lovely. 🌱🌱

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