SHIFTING ROOTS

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The Homestretch

September 30, 2017

Phase two of our massive renovation is almost over.  Some days it felt like it would never end.  What was supposed to be two weeks out of our house somehow turned into over two months, and all three of us were so over it.

As much as we love camping and staying with friends and family, we just want to be back in our own beds.  Which by the way, won’t be here for another week. . . sigh.

Side note: We’ve made a nest of blankets and pillows on our living room floor and it will do.  Dominic is just thrilled that he gets to sleep with us.

The Good News

Our bathroom is complete except for 2 knobs that have to be installed in the doors.  I still can’t use the bathroom without wondering who’s house I’m in.  It’s just. that. beautiful.

The Bad News

If you follow my Facebook or Instagram, you’ll have noticed this week that there was a particular uptick in renovation stress.  I didn’t want to say anything at the time because I was so angry I knew I would regret whatever I said.  Now that I’ve calmed down, here’s the deal:

After our beautiful floors were finished I told our contractor to send the bill to Got Mold, our asbestos company.  I texted them to let them know that the job had been done.  I got a phone call five minutes later saying that they never agreed to anything and that they didn’t owe us anything.

Yet again, another massive communication failure.

Whether or not they “owe us anything” can be debated, but the fact remains that they did not tell me, the customer, in clear terms that insurance was not going to cover this.

Therefore, if you need to have asbestos removed, I can not recommend Got Mold.

The actual work they do is great, but I’ve had communication problems with them in both the work done and amending the damage done that I can not recommend them.  I will admit that it takes two to communicate, so I do have some fault in this.  However, I have not had anywhere near the communication problems with any of my other contractors in this phase of the renovation.

The Frustrating

If you follow my Facebook page, you’ll also have noticed some extra confusion and delay this week.

Our bed frame arrived on Thursday, but the headboard and footboard weren’t the same size.  Thankfully they were able to come back and fix the situation within the day.

I also ordered a decent fridge, but didn’t take into account that our kitchen door frames are smaller than our outside and living room entrance door frames.

Three entrances into the kitchen, and not one of them was big enough.

So I went back to the appliance store and paid more money for a smaller fridge.  Bah.

The new thing these days is to have fridges that are counter depth.  You pay more for this privilege, of course.

The Hermit also started on our solution to the lack of counter space in our kitchen and discovered that I ordered the wrong countertop from IKEA.  GAH!!  The nearest Ikea is over 4 hours away, so it’s not like we can run over there and do an exchange.  We’re just going to make it work.

The Homestretch

The new fridge is coming today, our mattresses are coming next week, and all I have to do is touch up paint all the baseboards.  I was feeling very overwhelmed this week, but now that I’ve spent a night in my house, I’m feeling better.

I can’t wait to reveal our home to you.  The transformation is jaw dropping.  It’s hard to believe it’s the same house.

But it’s exactly what we knew it could be.

 

P.S. In case you’re wondering, our renovation has four phases:

1. Initial painting and get the space liveable. DONE

2. Remove asbestos, gut the bathroom, redo the floors.  (We’re here!)

3. Rebuild fence, get rid of nuisance trees, and landscape the yard. Coming Summer 2018

4. Re-pour the basement floor, add a bathroom and refinish. Coming when our bank account and sanity has recovered.

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

17 Comments
Filed Under: 1929 house, Renovation Tagged: asbestos, bathroom, bed, flooring, Fridge, painting, Renovation

Decluttering the Black Hole in my Kitchen

January 22, 2017

Decluttering can be a lonely job, so lets walk through it together.  I’ll share my pictures and thought process as I’m working my way through my home.  If you are someone who is a very logical and ordered thinker, this post may not be for you.  My brain just doesn’t work that way.  Let’s call this… decluttering for the naturally disorganized.

Our house was relatively clutter free until we found renters for the other house.  We needed to move everything that way still lying around the old house and shove it in to the new one.  Did I mention it was September?  Forget having time to actually go through anything in September.  Then add in me being sick in October and November, the write off that is December, and here we are.

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

2 Comments
Filed Under: 1929 house, Decluttering, Kitchen, Makeover, Projects, Small Space Living Tagged: Baskets, Decluttering, Fridge, Kitchen, organizing, Shelves

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

Recent Posts

  • Protected: 5 Easy Ways to Increase Pollination in Your Vegetable Garden
  • Bloom Times: What Cut Flowers Grow When in Zone 3
  • The Best Vegetables & Flowers to Start with Winter Sowing
  • 21 Cut Flowers to Grow in Part Shade
  • The Best Grow Lights for Seedlings (from Budget to Bougie)

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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I love seeing the world through this loving boy’ I love seeing the world through this loving boy’s eyes.  Honestly, I’ve been so sick that I wasn’t really in the mood to “do Valentines Day” but there was this sweet little voice going on about how excited he was for today and how much he loves his family and I just couldn’t resist.  So whether you’re on your own, part of a couple, or in the thick of life-with-littles craziness, Happy Valentines Day!

#valentinesday2020 #mylittlevalentine #boymomlife #lifewithlittles
How do you pass a cold -28 day? By planning your How do you pass a cold -28 day?  By planning your garden, of course!  Today in my stories I’ll be going through the steps I take to start planning everything out.  I’m curious, do you start planning now or wait until the last minute?

P.S.  want your own copy of this planner?  This is the newly updated paid version and it’s on sale by itself from now until Sunday for only $5.  If you’re from Canada, use the code CANADA to make $5 USD be closer to $5 CAD.  Head over to the link in my bio to get yours.

#gardenplanning #gardenplanner #gardenersofinstagram #gardenersofig #organizedlife #organizedliving #wintergardening
Curious about growing lettuce indoors? My experim Curious about growing lettuce indoors?  My experiment is a success so far, although it’s still going to be awhile before I’m eating another salad off of them.

Okay, so maybe a little rant today.  I think sometimes in the gardening space we’re guilty of making things seem easier than they are.  Myself included.  This lettuce project is a case in point.

Was it easy?  Yes.  But will it provide me with endless salads all winter long? Nope.  Or at least not at this scale.  I’m going to estimate that I’d need at least 15 plants this size, especially since it’s winter and everything just grows slower.  And I’m the only person in my family who really eats salad.

In conclusion, this is a fun project to pass the winter, and not a truly sustainable source of lettuce.

Thoughts?

#growinglettuce #eatwhatyougrow #growwhatyoueat #wintergardening #indoorgardening #plantproject #sustainablefood #gardenersofinstagram #gardenerslife #northerngardening
Part of the mystery of seed starting is knowing ex Part of the mystery of seed starting is knowing exactly what to start when.  Every two weeks, I'll be posting these handy guides so you have enough time to order your seeds and be ready to plant when it's time for your area.  To find out when these veggies, herbs, and flowers need to be started where you live. . . ⁠
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1. Search out your area's last frost date.  There are plenty of calculators on the Internet.⁠
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2. Count backwards 8 weeks from that date.⁠
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3. Start these seeds when that date hits.⁠
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If you follow me because we're in similar zones--don't panic, it's not time yet!! I won't be starting my 10 week seeds for another two weeks, and even that is slightly on the early side. (I'm starting everything a bit early so I can hopefully plant it out before baby gets here--I won't be physically able to do it after.) I like posting the info early for followers in warmer zones and so you can save it and still have time to order/buy seeds & supplies.⁠
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Which one of these are you most excited to start?⁠
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#seedstarting #seedlings #homegardener #northerngardener #homesteading #urbandhomesteading #homesteadingskills #gardenlife #gardenlifestyle #startingseeds
Eeeek!!! My luffa seedlings are up!! I’m growing Eeeek!!! My luffa seedlings are up!! I’m growing the whole seed packet in hopes that a few of these little luffa babies will provide me with zero waste sponges that I can use for home cleaning, and as an exfoliant in home made beauty products.

The catch?

These plants are notoriously hard to grow, especially when you live somewhere cold with a really cold growing season—and if they get a hint of frost on them they turn to mush and all my hard work is ruined.

Gulp.

But gardeners are born optimists, so I’m giving it a shot—because you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

P.S. if you’re trying luffa in zone 3 like me, just basically ignore all the directions on the seed packet.  Start them immediately (two weeks ago would have been ideal) and follow along because I’ll show you exactly what to do and when.  I’ll be popping these under a grow light once the sun goes down.

#luffagourd #luffa #loofah #seedlings #seedstarting #northerngardening #northerngardener #gardenersofinstagram #gardenersofig #mygardenthismonth #gardenlife #canadiangardening
This weekend I took a big leap of faith. I came t This weekend I took a big leap of faith.  I came to New York to meet with other content creators/business owners to dig deep into what we do and create a strategy around our messaging.  I don’t even know how to properly describe what all went down, but is was incredibly life changing and I really feel connected to this tribe of women who are committed to playing to win and being the people our businesses need us to be.  I’m so excited to share what I’ve planned for my business with you in the coming months.

#playtowin #gardenblogger #businessowner #wahmlife
Is there such a thing as a no-fail houseplant? I Is there such a thing as a no-fail houseplant?  I think the Sansevera or Snake Plant or Mother-in-law’s tongue comes close.  Sure, it might be the vanilla of the plant-loving world, but it is so good for so many situations!⁠
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It can handle you forgetting to water it, low light, or bright light.  It is somewhat forgiving if you are an over-waterer. ⁠
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I’ve had this one for 2 or 3 years now and I keep getting rewarded with more spikes.⁠
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Plant lovers, is there another houseplant you think would be perfect for beginners?⁠
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#crazyplantlady #houseplantsofig #houseplantsofinstagram #snakeplant #houseplantlove
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