Summer/fall harvest?

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

I’ve been walking around my yard looking at all the work to do. Divide perennials, rake up scattered fall leaves that wintered over in crooks and crannies, add fresh mulch and plant annuals. No matter how clean I leave my yard in the fall.. it always looks like it’s partied hard all winter!

I look at my home the same way each spring. What can I do to perk up the exterior? What inexpensive things can I do to up the curb appeal? Bring it up to current market trends? Why do I care? I just do.

It’s planning time. For my yard and for my home. More bushes/perennials.. less annuals, but strategically placed. Just like planning for a new addition, porch or exterior update.

Don’t let today’s April snow flurries and cold fool you. It is spring and soon will be summer. Soon here in Minnesota your summer seedlings can be nestled in warm soil, and with tender care and time you will have gorgeous summer blooms! And the same goes for your home project. We plant your “seedling,” cultivate it and in time you will harvest the beautiful addition, kitchen or home interior update of your dreams!

Plan now for summer/fall harvest!

~the Artist

Stay? Move?

Illustration by Tori Bidwell on Unsplash

Recently the Carpenter and I met with a couple to talk about possible updates to improve their small home for their current life situation. They live in a terrific neighborhood where their kids have many friends, and they are surrounded by wonderful neighbors. We discussed a few ways to make their home more conducive to a busy family life. From staying within the footprint of the home to an addition off the back to open up the kitchen/dining areas.

Towards the end of the discussion we came to understand that they were also considering selling. But were feeling torn with the idea of giving up relationships and starting over. A bigger house but maybe not the most welcoming neighborhood.

A few weeks ago we met with a woman who wants to sell the home she grew up in within the next 5 years, and move into a townhome. She wanted our advice on what she needed to do to make her home sellable. She has lived in her home over 40 years and it is full of many loved antiques and collectables. Her elderly mother lives with her and that is a big part of her decision making process.

This past week we met again and asked a real-estate couple we know to join us. We toured the home and the realtors were extremely helpful to the homeowner. Answering all her questions. The idea of selling felt so overwhelming to her. I think the two meetings gave her enough information and peace of mind to be able to make some good steps forward in her future plans.

I did not realize that the real estate market is super hot right now. There is more demand for homes than inventory. And the interest rates are super low.

I’m just writing to make this suggestion. If you are considering a remodel and staying in your loved neighborhood we’d love to meet with you! We have a consult service. https://www.applewoodremodelers.com/services-2 to help you explore your remodel options without committing to us.

I felt like we were able to help in both situations- bring enough information to help both parties make the decisions they were wrestling with.

If you are considering selling we know the sweetest young couple who could help you through the sale process all the way to stepping through the front door of your new home. Just contact us through the website.

In the meantime… stay cozy in your home on this bitter cold weekend ahead!

2020

While the Carpenter has been working very very hard… I’ve been feeding baby goats! Heaven on Earth Farm Baldwin, Wisconsin

I haven’t felt like writing a post. Has felt trivial in a lot of ways. Covid, riots, politics.

To be transparent we had to lay off our crew March 2020 as the pandemic hit and our spring projects all canceled. Thankfully work contacts picked up like crazy shortly after the panic of the pandemic subsided. We couldn’t believe it.

But our crew was too afraid of Covid to return to work in private homes. The Carpenter hired subs, let go subs, hired one employee and let go one employee. Had to keep wearing his “bags on” hat, meet with prospective homeowners, oversee projects, and purchase/pick up most project supplies. We stayed open. And thankfully are still open today.

I made a list of the projects we have worked on January 2020 till today January 2021 just to gather my thoughts …

-Home 1 White Bear Township large basement finish with kitchenette and media area
-Home 2 Maplewood rambler basement update including: guest bedroom, media family room, lower bath, new build recording studio space and first floor bath remodel
-Home 3 White Bear Lake rambler great room addition with shiplap cathedral ceiling, new kitchen countertops, new kitchen windows and cabinet remodel to fit new windows
-Home 4 Vadnais Heights multi level owner’s suite bath update
-Home 5- Maplewood multi level new wood laminate flooring installed on second floor office/hallway and lower level family room
-Home 6 Old downtown White Bear Lake bungalow new craftsman exterior entry door with sidelights installed, and new millwork for interior airlock foyer and entry
-Home 7 White Bear Township 2000 sq ft concrete driveway replacement
-Home 8 Lino Lakes two story dining room renovation into home office
-Home 9 Scandia rambler exterior update/LP Smart Siding, new exterior doors, windows, and custom matched stain to existing interior stain for window millwork
-Home 10 Lino Lakes two story all new interior millwork, laminate wood floors and carpeted staircase– rebuilt to be all wood (stain custom matched to laminate floor) and metal rail spindles
-Home 11 Falcon Heights Cape Cod basement finish including new bath and laundry area

And looking at this list I am amazed at the amount of projects we tackled in crazy 2020. Hopefully 2021 is as busy as 2020 but not as crazy. We are currently looking to bring on sub framers, and trim carpenters. The Carpenter looks forward to project management and meeting with homeowners only in this new year.

Thank you to all our homeowners that signed on with us during the pandemic. We appreciate your patience and confidence in us and the future as we continue to work during this unprecedented time.

PS Photos coming. I’ve been absent from project sites due to Covid. Waiting for some build project photos from the Carpenter’s phone. ;) I also am starting to get some final photos taken and various projects uploaded to facebook.

Dump Date

It doesn’t get much better then this! Seriously though when the Carpenter asked me recently if I wanted to accompany him to dump a trailer of construction debris for a project we just completed… I thought hmmmm. Sure.

I’ve only been to one dump in my life and it was up in New Hampshire years ago. The only dumps I’ve seen since are on the Discovery Channel show’s Alaska Bush People and Alaska the Last Frontier. I thought this could be fun.. who knows what I’ll find?

Well we pulled up to Twin City Refuse & Recycling and I exclaimed.. “where is the dump?” This is not a landfill dump! No huge mountains of trash. No rusted cars or refrigerators scattered around. It is a small privately owned business located on the edge of downtown St Paul, and is at the base of a stone cliff. While waiting in a short line (that was lucky) I saw the scariest thing (this is why the Carpenter asked me). The cliff had a cave opening (at truck level) in it, and there were items in the door of the cave. Scary items- a wicked stuffed bobcat, a stuffed fox, and someone’s large plush black bear toy laying in the leaves- looking very dead.

Back to the waiting in line…. after the dump owner looked over our debris, and decided he didn’t want any of it (he looked at everything people hauled in and kept what he personally wanted… ) he then directed us to a big concrete wall against the cliff. The Carpenter backed up and we got out and started tossing the construction debris against the wall. A big scooper continually scooped up to the wall and then dumped the trash into a waiting tracker trailer to go to a real landfill.

It would have made a good Halloween date! All anyone would have needed to do is yell “boo” at me or run through the cliff trees in a clown outfit… or better yet.. peer out of the cave opening at me. I shudder just thinking about it. I never did like Halloween.

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Hello...

the Artist

The Carpenter on a current project. Family room addition built onto the back of a rambler in White Bear Lake.

I’ve been experiencing a creative dry spell. I commented to the Carpenter the other day, that I didn’t know what to write about. I think I have 2020 fatigue.

How has your summer gone? It’s been kind of crazy in many ways hasn’t it? What we hoped was a couple months blip in our lives.. has turned into one long ragged line. The virus, riots, the coming election drama and now hurricanes. We’ve all been touched one way or another.

Early during the pandemic most of our spring scheduled projects canceled. We had to lay off our crew. Then our crew chose not to return.

And then project contacts started rolling in… and in. What?! Home office renovations, basement remodels, bathrooms, decks, siding and window replacements. We came to realize that homeowners “under quarantine” seem to be focusing on what repairs and renovations their homes needed.

So the Carpenter has kept pulling his rig out onto the road every day to keep things moving along. He has jumped back in… “bags on”. Along with good help from subs, we are making it happen. We continue to look for carpenters, lead carpenters and subcontractors to join our team.

We are confident this time will pass. The virus will pass, the storms will blow themselves out and the election.. well we’ll see.

And we can keep on “helping you love where you live”!

PS The term “bags on” refers to the tool bag carpenter’s use while on the job.

Resilient.

the Artist

I guess a new post was due! How did that happen? How are you in these crazy times? We are hanging in there. Lost some projects and crew (no they didn’t get sick) during this pandemic. But we are recovering nicely. We have work lined up into this winter and we have signed on some great subcontractors.

The Carpenter has had to put in many long six day work weeks during the pandemic.. to keep the projects in process going during this pandemic. I’m hoping between those projects currently wrapping up and the new crew he can return to a five day work week. A girl can hope.

I’ve been supporting where I can. Customer planning meetings. Trips to granite and tile shops with customers, accounting, advertising, making lunches, and taking care of our home and the “labbie” girls.

And along with all that… worrying about the Carpenter being “out there” during this pandemic. Buying materials and supplies, meeting with homeowners and potential customers.

“God guards you from every evil, he guards your very life. He guards you when you leave and when you return, he guards you now, he guards you always.
Psalm 121:8 - The Message ”

Other then bid work there is “no working at home” for him.

He has stayed strong. HIs resilience continues to amaze me. Me I am not so resilient. At times I’m a “worry wreck.” But every morning when the Carpenter pulls his rig out of the driveway and heads down the road I cover him in prayer. For him. For his old truck and trailer. And thankfully they both keep on going!

My motto these days.. “one day at a time.” It has served me well. And well.. a snuggle with a sweet lab doesn’t hurt!

Take out?

the Artist

A lot has happened since my last post. That’s an understatement. We’ve been riding the rough seas of the current small business climate. Along the ride we’ve experienced the best and worst of human nature. It has been eye opening. It really does take (in this case) a pandemic to find out who are friends and who are aren’t.

I’ve thought about writing off and on over the past few months. I strive for transparency… what it’s like to own a small business, who we are, that’s the reason behind this blog. Sharing the happy and successful is easy. We want to always project prosperity and positivity. But I can not share the hard very well. And of course there has been hard, for Applewood and for everyone right now. So I have been torn.

The good is we are fortunate to be considered essential. We have been able to keep working… not at full capacity but working none the less.

Small businesses resonate with me. I have felt really bad for my hair salon, the little gift shop that opened in our town right on the cusp of the virus, my dental hygienist, our local restaurants. I miss eating out the little bit we did. I miss meeting the Carpenter for coffee or stealing away for a good breakfast. I drive around our town and see the empty streets, the dark store fronts and it makes me sad.

I do think it’s wonderful our local restaurants have been able to reinvent themselves with “Take Out”. I’ve been racking my brain about how we can adapt and improvise too. Could there be such a thing as “Take Out” Carpentry? Curbside pick-up. Specials on “Additions in a Box” or “Decks to Go?” Kidding. But seriously.

Looks like this pandemic isn’t going away any time soon. So we continue to be open for business. We have had some chilly homeowner meetings on outside patios, and heated garages.. keeping our social distance. We’ve made it work.

We are scheduling projects for late spring, summer into fall. If you give us a call… we can meet wherever you are comfortable. At least it is warming up for outside meetings! We are hanging in there and hope you are too.

Be well and we look forward to speaking with you.

Photo by Hello Lightbulb on Unsplash

Look for signs...

the Artist

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Of hope. Of light. Of spring.

I’ve been outside every day with the Applewood furry crew. Of late I’ve noticed some things that made me feel kind of happy. Gave me hope that life will go on post this virus.

The earth is renewing itself. Winter has let go even as far north as Minnesota. I discovered a pussy willow tree growing in my abandoned garden! I couldn’t believe it. Just seeing it amidst the winter debris and shambles of this garden made me smile. New life!

I sit on a back rock wall some days watching the dogs. I never paid much attention to a calcified bag of concrete the Carpenter left against the wall years ago. The face of it is now full of lush green moss! Life born out of concrete. Somehow where it sits in the shade, the concrete is somehow still absorbent enough to nourish the moss. Even though the concrete bag has long ago turned rock like.

My father lives in a small memory care home in PA. Every week he conducts a bible study for his fellow residents. He gives some sort of devotional thought and then he leads them in singing songs. Old songs he is remembering from his childhood and Sunday School years. He is being a light where he is. He suffers from memory loss and has physical limitations.. yet he is still able to spread light to those around him.

A dear friend decided this would be a good time to rescue a dog. Today she brought home 7 year old Dudley– a Skye Terrier. This little guy is getting a good home, she will have a new pup for her grandchildren to take on walks around the yard, and she will have snuggly company while self-isolating at home. More light and a rescue during this hard time.

Of course there are so many “lights” and signs of hope out in our world right now. I think for those that are able to be home… it’s a good time to stop and look at the small things. The things you rush by on a normal day. And that is a good thing to come out of this dark time.

Be a light today. Wherever you are. Do something small. Give grace. Pray. Look to God. Rescue.

I've been noticing...

the Artist

It all started this week. I was standing at my kitchen sink doing yet another load of dirty dishes. We live on a busy road that is a bypass between two main roads. I always see a variety of traffic. In the summer lots of boats, snow mobiles in the winter. School buses and work trucks.

There are no school buses on our road. There is no school. There are no boats- the ice is still covering the lakes. There are no snowmobiles- our snow is almost gone this year. There are less commuters.

Today I saw an ambulance and said a prayer for the responder and the patient.

I have surprisingly been seeing bicyclists- seniors out together, today a family with the little ones pulled behind in their covered wagons. The weather has been in the 30’s and 40’s! People walking their dogs, tossing balls around in the yard. It makes me smile that in spite of these dark scary days.. we are very adaptable as humans and able to enjoy the little things. The things we normally don’t take the time to do… at least not during the week.

But here is what I noticed. I am seeing a steady flow of work trucks. Plumbers, electricians, contractors, security services to name a few. Flat beds with equipment going by.

I am thankful for all the trades people that are working still. Taking care of our homes so we can be safe and secure inside. But I’m also thankful for the first responders, the medical community, the guy who collects my trash, the mailman, and the people that check me out at Aldi.

The Carpenter is out every day keeping his projects going. He has to work. As a small business.. we don’t have the resources to stop until we have to stop working. We are keeping our crew going which has been their choice and our homeowners too.

This post is from our perspective. We feel for everyone out there that can’t work, wants to work, their business has been shut down. This is a devastating time. Tomorrow could and will probably be very different. Until then we carry on.

Taking care of your homes along with all the other subs and tradesmen.

Wood and graphite.

by the Artist

The Carpenter went to a builders show recently and came home with his annual stock of carpenter pencils. I was impressed with the color selection and quantity! They are usually found laying around our home and I’ve never much paid attention to them, other then getting annoyed when I find one in the washing machine! His recent catch got me to thinking.. there must be a story behind these unique pencils.

carpenter’s pencil from the early 1600’s

https://www.makefromwood.com/why-carpenters-pencils-are-flat-and-other-cool-facts/

Some time before 1565 (some sources say as early as 1500), an enormous deposit of graphite was discovered on the approach to Grey Knotts from the hamlet of Seathwaite in Borrowdale parish, Cumbria, England, (which the locals found useful for marking sheep.) The first “pencils” were graphite sticks wrapped in string in the mid-16th century. Around 1560, an Italian couple named Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti made what are likely the first blueprints for the modern, wood-encased carpentry pencil. Their version was a flat, oval, more compact type of pencil. Their concept involved the hollowing out of a stick of juniper wood.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pentlandpirate/11368506595

“The first pencil factory was in Germany in 1662, but things really took off during the Industrial Revolution in Europe. The earliest form of manufactured pencil was two small slats of wood encasing a slab of graphite, thus, flat and rectangular in shape. So you could say the earliest pencils were all what we would call “carpenter’s pencils” today.”

https://www.quora.com/Who-invented-the-carpenters-pencil

A carpenter pencil is a pencil that has a body with a rectangular or elliptical cross-section to prevent from rolling off a table or a roof! Carpenter pencils are easier to grip than standard pencils. When sharpened properly.. thick or thin lines can be drawn. The end of the rectangular point can be notched to draw two parallel lines! (Have you tried this Mr Carpenter?) They hold up when used on rough surfaces like concrete. The pencil itself is robust enough to survive in the bottom of a bag with heavy tools. Carpenter pencils are typically manually sharpened with a knife. In fact carpenter’s have been sharpening their pencils this way for 400 years! (there is a sharpener but it creates a finer pencil type point which doesn’t have strength)

Here’s a good little video that shows you how to sharpen… the guy does a little sales pitch at the very end you could skip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUwQZv_HKzA

I learned something today. Even Carpenter pencils have a beginning. Everything has a beginning. And a beginning is all you need to start! Give us a call. We have plenty of carpenter pencils to get your project done!