~ from my home to yours, living the Working Pantry lifestyle ~ surviving today's economy ~ a can-do spirit and attitude ~

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Our Journey to a Mortgage Free Home ... #17

(You can read previous entries in this series HERE.)

In our last post I told you it took us 5 years to get our hearth completed because there were other more pressing things that had to get done asap, one of them was our porch!



 We had a lot of help getting our porch built before the permit expired and the subsequent inspection.  One family came to help every day for 3 weeks.  We are so grateful to them!




The floor is going down ...


The porch goes along the entire length of the front of the house and wraps around the corner on one end.


Another view of where it is starting the wrap around the corner of the house.


The front steps ...



Here's what it looked like a year ago.  Since then we've installed a porch swing along with doing a few other things.  It is still not completed, we need to put a ceiling in it and stain it before we can call it completed.

And of course, we are still paying as we go and sometimes that slows us down considerably!

So what else did we have to do before we could get back to our hearth?  Next week we'll talk about that!

I might mention that during this time between the hearth beginning and the hearth being completed we were installing sheet rock on the walls, sanding and painting.  Talk about living in a construction zone!  Let me say that it is not for the faint of heart!!!!

Until next time,
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 43 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

Items I use in keeping my pantry well-stocked:

Dehydrator

Dehydrator Teflon Sheets

Dehydrator Cookbook

Food Saver Vacuum Sealer

Herb/Coffee Bean Grinder

Manual Food Chopper

Pressure Canner

Canning Supplies

Food Scale

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Our Journey to a Mortgage Free Home ... #16

(You can read previous entries in this series HERE.)

In our last entry I told you we would start on the hearth and that's literally what we did ... start on the hearth ...


Here is how it started, we had to install cement board on the walls and under the foundation for fire protection codes.  Then my husband started laying bricks after he cut the arch ... yes, it's a corner hearth! 



Here we are at the half way point with the flue and attic pipe installed.  Then .... it stayed like this for about 5 years ... yes, I said 5 years!  We did install a small used wood stove to help heat our house in the winter months but other than that this was what it looked like for quite some time.  (We had other projects that were screaming for our attention.  We had deadlines to meet so we didn't have to renew our permits ... which would have cost us more money!)


This is what it looks like today!  I absolutely love it.  My dear husband did all the work himself and he had never laid a brick until this project!  I am so very proud of him!  (Yes, that is an old wash tub holding our wood.)

So, what did we have to do that pulled us away from completing our hearth in a timely manner?  I'll share that with you in the next entry …

Until next time,
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 43 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

Items I use in keeping my pantry well-stocked:

Dehydrator

Dehydrator Teflon Sheets

Dehydrator Cookbook

Food Saver Vacuum Sealer

Herb/Coffee Bean Grinder

Manual Food Chopper

Pressure Canner

Canning Supplies

Food Scale

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Our Journey to a Mortgage Free Home ... #15

(You can read previous entries in this series HERE.)

In the last entry I shared our 'official pantry' room.  Many of you were surprised that I don't have a huge pantry room ... I don't and it is entirely possible to have a well-stocked pantry without one!  In this entry I'm going to show you a small closet ... turned pantry!





Do you see the little inset the man in the plaid shirt is working in?  That's a small closet ... approximately 2.5 feet x 2.5 feet.


Here's the latest picture I have of it now!

Next week, we start on the hearth!

Until next time,
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 43 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

Items I use in keeping my pantry well-stocked:

Dehydrator

Dehydrator Teflon Sheets

Dehydrator Cookbook

Food Saver Vacuum Sealer

Herb/Coffee Bean Grinder

Manual Food Chopper

Pressure Canner

Canning Supplies

Food Scale

You can view my privacy policy HERE.

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay, and it helps me keep my pantry well-stocked! 

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Weekend Assignment: Pantry Spot Check

It's cold, flu and virus season here in the United States.  If you or someone in your family were to suddenly come down with one of these that included running a high fever over a long period of time, what would you do to stay ahead of the dehydration that would naturally come as a result?  

Would you have anything on hand in your pantry to help fight it or would you have to make a run to the store … what if you couldn’t make a run to the store? 

Dehydration is a serious condition that does not need to be taken lightly, so let’s make sure our pantries are prepared.

Do you have anything in your pantry that can be used to fight dehydration?

Patsi
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27




Have you read this series, This is Why! and this free e-book, Yes, You Can Have a Well-Stocked Pantry?  And don’t forget to check out the ‘Free Downloads’ page.  You’ll find some helpful pantry building stuff available for free!

If you are blessed by what you read here and would like to help financially support my writing, you can do that by making a small contribution by clicking on the donate button.  I would be very grateful!  

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Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders.  I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means.