Because they bought the farm!

In my post earlier today, you learned of my brother's recent nuptials. A wedding is every reason to make a family happy, but these two did something that has sparked nearly unheard of excitement in our midst... they bought the farm.

Not "a" farm, not just any old farm. They bought the farm that belonged to our great-grandfather! Really! So, they bought a very special old farm!

We're all doing the happy dance for them!

Even Mother Nature is happy... on Saturday, she showed her pleasure over the barn:

Yes, that's a rainbow!

A bit about the barn: the wing on the right is the "old barn" with a stone and concrete foundation. "New barn" on the left has a poured concrete foundation, and, speaking of concrete, our grandfather built the silo on the left of the photo.

So, the newlyweds are working. We're all pitching in. The old farm house was very overgrown. Here's a before and after shot of the front of the house:

On Day 1, my sister was cleaning kitchen cupboards while Deb washed walls that were probably wallpapered in the 1960s. Darren and Dad started tearing down lattice and vines. Creepy old carpets were ripped up and tossed.

On Day 2, Lisa tackled some of the gardens, and she and Deb washed the living room walls down to prep for paint.while Darren did two 'dump runs' and he and Dad looked after some brush removal, gutted the bathroom, and Dad spackled the living room. Lisa and Dad painted the living room ceiling, too! I felt SO helpless! I had to work these two days, and the best I could do was stop by with a journal for them to chronicle this new chapter in the family's homestead. I put a section in the back to log contacts for repair people -- they're gonna need it!

I got to pitch in on Day 3. Dad and I sanded and painted the living room. Darling cleaned and swept the upper floor of the chicken coop (I've never seen a two-storey chicken coop, but that's what Dad says it used to be...), and, when more friends showed up, Darling and Kirk headed out to clean the lower floor of the old wing of the barn. Meanwhile, Deb, and Yvonne went back over the kitchen with cleaners again. (The kitchen was scary, and it will be a couple months before the contractor can get at 'er.)

I'm writing this more for Deb's benefit than mine, but it is great to be sharing the excitement!

Yesterday, I had a day off to nurse sore muscles from painting -- I was cutting in the walls at the ceiling level, so I was up and down that ladder countless times.

Today, I'm pleased to report that I've been in the office, and got memberships caught up. While I've been doing that, I've been burning CDs of the wedding photos on the other laptop. And now, I'm going to put the membership cards in the envelopes, write a couple of notes to new members, and close the office for the day.

September is starting out to be very productive. Carla, Kate and I will be at Knitter's Fair next weekend with recent and upcoming projects from A Needle Pulling Thread. Stop by the booth and say hi!