Acadia NP - Hiking (Climbing) Beehive Utterly Terrifying! LOL We've done plenty of hiking in our days. I use the word 'hiking' VERY loosely. This 'hike' would barely classify as such. There was definitely some climbing on this one. Some very disturbing climbing. But as with many things...we are glad we did it! Probably won't do it again...but glad we DID (past tense) it!

Acadia National Park - Ocean Path & Cadillac Mountain We started off our visit at Acadia National Park by driving around the park loop road. We explored the Ocean Path. We timed the tide coming into Thunder Hole perfectly. The same tide almost got us at Sand Beach. We had a date (and time) to get up Cadillac Mountain, so we headed up from sea level and took in the panoramic views. Then we headed back down to the Ocean Path and explored Otter Point. We wrapped up at the very pretty Jordan Pond to preview some of the trip's later activities. From seashore to mountaintops, all in one day.

Visiting Maine's Lighthouses We hit 5 lighthouses while wandering around Maine. My favorite visit was a sunset lighthouse visit at Bass Harbor Head (near Acadia NP). Ironically, this was also my least favorite parking lot of all the lighthouses! Many had the same idea we had. My favorite lighthouse in the whole state was Portland Head. All were worth the visit, however.

Traveling Maine's Highway 1 (Bar Harbor, Portland, Kennebunkport, Ogunquit) We hit Maine to visit Acadia NP, but visited several towns along the coast (along Highway 1) while we were there. We saw lots of cool towns, hiked many beautiful coastlines, and visited tons of lighthouses. We saw Portland on the way in and out, stayed in Bar Harbor for a few days, and hit Ogunquit while staying one night in Kennebunkport.

Restoring Historic Trim - This Old Dean House Someone ripped out the original trim in several rooms of our old house. They installed off-the-shelf stuff and made no attempt to match the original home. We put it back, but it was 'a process'. We had to get it custom-made because nobody had trim from 130 years ago in stock. Imagine the audacity! LOL It turned out great!

First Time Mowing The Yard In 7 Years - This Old Dean House I snapped and sold the family home back in 2018. That decision came after I'd pressure-washed the patio/deck all weekend (after working and chasing kids all week). I was DONE with homeownership. We moved into a condo and I did no yard work for many years. But now, mowing my yard (er...weeds) is my newest hobby!

Refinishing Oak Hardwood Floors - This Old Dean House After wrapping up the original 130-year-old floors, we moved to the next job. The downstairs oak floors were a big job, but much easier. Joseph (the floor refinisher) Emily, and I did a dance of "move every piece of furniture in your house around while I chase you" for about a week. By the end of a two and a half weeks of refinishing the floors in the entire house we were living like savages, barely surviving! Do not recommend! LOL It was worth it, however. Everything turned out great.

Restoring 130 Year Old Hardwood Floors - This Old Dean House When we ripped up the carpet, it revealed the original 130-year-old wood floors throughout most of the upstairs (and in our bedroom). The floors were in various stages of disrepair. Some were painted, some were kinda painted, some had holes, some were fine. We decided to try to keep them and get them restored. We found a gentleman who wanted to tackle the project. It was a big one! Lots of furniture moving, dust, noise, and smells. But when we finished, we had the original floors restored in our old house.

Cutting Down The Old Dead Tree (DeanoFarms: Week 129) I called in reinforcements for the big, old, dead tree in our pasture. #deanofarms

It's Raining In Our Bathroom - This Old Dean House I knew we had a leak when we bought the house. We didn't have a leak. We had a waterfall! One night, when it was raining really hard, I decided to do a little demo to figure out where the leak was. The answer: The entire roof! [much water in my face later] We got it buttoned back up before the next storm rolled in!

Tours, Tours, Tours in Savannah GA We toured A LOT while in Savannah, GA. Riverwalk tour, ghost tour, historic house tour, historic parks tour, historic street tour, trolley tour, cancelled haunted house tour, walking in the rain tour, famous cemetery tour, and eating tour(s). Eating is not really a tour, but you gotta keep the energy up [lame fat person excuse to eat a ton].

My 130-Year-Old Sill Is Rotten - This Old Dean House When we moved the electrical panel inside the house (from the exterior wall) we found water damage. Water had been dripping into the corner of the wall ever since they installed the electrical panel 50+ years ago (maybe longer). The corner of the house was rotted down into the 130-year-old sill. To fix it, I joined Gaspar's foundation repair crew for a few days to help him get it repaired. I'm pretty sure he wants to hire me now. Might mess around and join a foundation repair crew. Bye Felicia!

Water In The Basement and Wall Is Caving In - This Old Dean House Our new old house had some foundation issues. The main house has a crawl space (with no real issues). The den addition was built over a basement. The basement was flooding, and a wall was caving in. To make sure we have the old house on a firm foundation for the next century, we added some structural piers, encapsulated the crawl space, and added a dehumidifier to the crawl space. In the basement, we shored up the collapsing wall with structural beams, jackhammered up the floor to install a drainage system, and installed a sump pump. So now our house 'pees' when it rains a lot! LOL

Getting Organized - DeanFarms (Week 125) After 50+ years on this earth I finally graduated up to a proper tool box! LOL I'd allowed the barn to get pretty sloppy over the past couple of years. I decided it was time to get organized. My OCD is now calmed down!

Moving Electrical Panel Indoors - This Old Dean House The house was built 130+ years ago...no electricity. Our bedroom still has the original gas lantern on the ceiling (converted to electricity at some point). Electricity was added to the house over time. Initially knob and tube was installed (I've found remnants). Then, when everything was upgraded (probably 60+ years ago) they slapped the electrical panel on the outside of the house. How the house never burned down through all that is amazing. We're moving it inside and making sure it is ready for another century.

Splitting Firewood (DeanoFarms - Week 124) Previously, I'd learned how much 'exercise' you get by breaking down large oak rounds by hand. Lesson learned. I went with a new plan. I brought in the heavy equipment to split the large oak rounds. Still hard work but much quicker...and fun with machinery! [manly grunts] #deanofarms

Replumbing Our Entire 130 Year Old House - This Old Dean House Our first major project at This Old Dean House was to repipe the entire house. No more cast iron sewer lines and no more galvanized water lines from the street all the way to the fixtures inside. The galvanized water lines are a ticking time bomb. So we are opening up a ton of walls (and ceilings) and getting them all...gone! The cast iron vent pipe that would come crashing down on me one day...gone! The old water heater (that lasted 5 whole minutes at shower time) had to go as well...gone! Every water line was replaced with PEX and every sewer line was dug up and replaced with PVC. I did the demo and the plumbers did the skilled stuff. After two weeks, I feel like the plumbers and I have fought some battle together! And Won!

Late Summer Mowing - DeanoFarms Week 122 I let the pasture grow all spring and summer this year and mowed everything down in late summer (mid-September). My plan was to get some seeds (from the plants that had gone to seed) to germinate in the rain that came in right as I finished mowing. I could get used to mowing only twice a year. Letting nature do my work for me this past year. #deanofarms

Replacing 30-Year-Old HVAC In Spooky Attic The upstairs HVAC seemed to be working but I didn't want to face a dreadful TN summer with a 30+ year old relic that looked like it might go at any moment. So I got proactive and our first capex project was to replace the system. I figured I'd hang out in the attic for a while beforehand. Who knows what is up there after 130+ years!

I'm Gonna Go Under The House (This Old Dean House) In the spirit of "I'd never ask anyone to do for me what I'm unwilling to do myself" I decided I'm going to go under the house. I got all suited up for entry into the tiny (very tiny) crawl space door and go under our 130 year old house. I'm doing this BEFORE the army of workers go under there and stay for the next several weeks. Did I succeed? Or did I chump out?