Wow! That year went fast. So let me refresh your memory. We closed on September 14, 2020, and this land officially became ours. We were all here until about October something and Chris returned to Washington to continue work. The boys and I stayed here and we had lots of visitors and achieved more than we imagined. The day after Thanksgiving we all returned to Washington. In April we returned to HKA and after a week of achieving even more, the boys and I returned to WA while Chris stayed here and began his internship with Vulcraft. Finally, on June 18th, we left Washington and returned to Haulin Kuester Acres for good.
A visual recount of all our accomplishments
Here’s a little reminder of all the changes we have made in the first year. Man, no wonder I’m tired.
You can see some of my previous posts about what it looked like in the beginning and projects we have taken on in the past year.
A big thank you to all our family and friends for the labor you have provided, your ideas, your visits, your laughter, and your joy. Thank you for those who have prayed us through this process and will continue to encourage us. We’re excited to see what’s next…
What is next?
We have met with a draftsman for a house plan
Plans for a new garage
Refurbishing the front gates so they can be used
Finish the pump house and add a water filtration system
We have a saying here at Haulin Kuester Acres; It’s better than it was yesterday. With every change, even the smallest changes we feel like we are heading in the right direction. The father of soil conservation and a renowned soil scientist, Hugh Hammond Bennett is credited with saying, “Take care of the land and the land will take care of you.” We believe this place landed in our laps because it needed us to rescue it. It was neglected, abused, and harmed. We are just trying to make our corner of the world a little better and hopefully, that means this land will in a way take care of us. The Bible tells us that everything belongs to the Lord, even the land. We approach this place as a gift from God and the best way to honor what he has given us is to rehabilitate this place.
The cat shed
A couple of weeks ago, we started the process of tearing down what we have labeled the cat shed. We’ve dissected it to try and determine how, when, and why it was built. The back of the structure had small rooms with cages. The previous owner told us that the owner before her rescued wayward cats and housed them in the building. At one time, she claims there were up to 50 cats in the shed. The main part of the building is solid. The rafters are what look like logs. There is only a gravel floor. In some parts of the building, the floor is elevated with wood pallets. It’s an unsightly mess. See my previous blog post about the wacky outbuildings https://missykuester.com/renovation-update-outbuildings/. It will take a couple more weekends and another dumpster to completely dismantle it. So check back!
A marathon, not a sprint renovation
As I walk around I walk with my head down, looking for bits of junk. I kid you not, you can come across tools that somehow work their way out of the soil. And just to annoy me, are the bits of crunched-up plastic in the driveway and yard. I have no idea what it is or where it comes from but it irritates me. The previous owners shared how they loved living here. Some days it’s hard to see where the love was.
I will admit I watch videos and read blogs about people who have done similar clean-ups. This renovation is one of the worst but it inspires me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Q5nCK3kZk
We will never run out of projects. But I keep reminding myself, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Watch any home show on HGTV and you will see decorators using today’s hottest trends to remodel, update or create new homes. The only problem is that there isn’t one on the quirkiness of a home and how to embrace it or turn it into the hottest new trend. Where is that show? What Joanna Gaines did for shiplap, I could do for quirkiness. That’s the show I need. I may just have to embrace the quirkiness of our old house. Truthfully, we may have to gut the entire thing and start over. What quirks, you ask? Let’s look at some of the quirkiness things we discovered. But promise me you’ll abide by our farm rule. You are not allowed to ask why things are the way they are. We just don’t have the answers.
Quirkiness or Character
Oxford Languages defines quirk as “characterized by peculiar or unexpected traits.” That would definitely describe our house. However, Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines quirky as “unusual in especially an interesting or appealing way.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quirky Our house is interesting but not necessarily appealing.
Stairs to Quirkiness
Let’s start at the stairs because it’s fascinating to me. At some point, the owner diverted the stairs. According to the last owner, the house was two living units at one time with the stairs running up along the exterior wall of the house. Later, they turned the stairs to come out to its existing spot but left the old stairs. It is currently a closet in what used to be a foyer but then became a bedroom and is now a room in question. Are you following? This spring we are going to open the wall up and see if we like the original route of the stairs.
With everything, I am sure that at the time it was the best option. Now, it just perplexes me. Somehow I didn’t get a great picture of our living room. Our hot-water heater sits in a closet in our living room. Everyone notices it because it’s that quirky. The goal is to relocate it because we want to tear down the adjacent wall. But in order to move the heater, we have to move it to the other side of the wall in what will be the laundry room. To do step C, we have to do steps A and B.
It won’t always be like this, right?
This entire room is full of quirkiness. We will remove the carpet to see what is underneath. The whole back wall needs to be redone. The “bay” window is three different size windows. Behind the curtain is the world’s ugliest sliding glass door. As we understand it, the original kitchen was here which would explain some things.
You can see the edge of the hot water heater closet to the left of the couch
While we are in this room, look up. Let’s see if we can get one light for this small room instead of four. It will require moving the fake beams and the ceiling that seems to be lower than the rest of the room. Quirky!
These beams are probably decorative. But what is more troublesome is the many light fixtures. This will be rectified once we figure this room out.
Goodbye awkward Sauna
While a sauna sounds like a good idea, we found the one attached to the back of our house to be dangerous. It was close to setting the whole place on fire. The wiring was questionable. And as you can see the only creatures using it were the birds. It was ugly as well and was not appeasing. It had to go.
Goodbye awkward, quirky sauna! It looks so much better.
I appreciate that someone removed the knee walls of the attic to make the bedrooms larger. My quandary is what to do with that space. Thank God for Pinterest and all the amazing ideas I have pinned. https://www.pinterest.com/
Here is our current situation upstairs in two of the bedrooms. I have included ideas of what to do with the space. Also, can you spot the hidden hatch in the floor? That secret storage may very well be the reason the ceiling is so low downstairs. We shall see!
Upstairs bedroom eaves. There is a secret hatch under the rug. The linoleum area of the floor is where the attic used to be.
We need all new windows but that will be one of the last projects along with exterior work. But this one window is always the subject of dinner conversations. It’s two storm windows used to make one window. You promised not to ask why!
There is a long list of things that aren’t quite right but this blog only has so much room. I will include and explain the wall we took down in another post.
This can all be fixed. When we change things it gives us a sense of accomplishment. One day this blog will show us how far we’ve come. Thanks for following along and not asking why.
Happy New Year! We are excited about 2021. I wanted to update all of you on our farm. Ideally, I consider it a hobby farm as we don’t plan on using it for large farming or animals. As a family, we decided to name it Haulin Kuester Acres. It was the name all 5 of us could agree on. You offered many amazing suggestions. We felt this best reflected our homestead and would maybe help people remember the correct pronunciation of our last name. Thank you for sharing in our enthusiasm and watching along. Due to weather and other commitments we are not currently undertaking any projects until the weather improves. Also, we currently maintain two households so fiscally we are trying to be responsible.
Additionally, my talented sister, Larissa designed our logo. We wanted a logo that could stand on its own but also be identifiable and unique. She accomplished that. Next up will be to get some swag with our new logo.
Recently, I went to my Facebook audience to crowdsource names for our new farm in Utah. I was blown away by the suggestions. Quite frankly, you are all very creative. I wanted to document the name decision so here is the process, chronicled for years to come. It’s not easy to pick the perfect farm name.
Round One
This is the initial list we got from Facebook:
Kuester Acres
haulinkuester Acres
The Best is Yet to Come
Next Chapter Farm
Prayer Walk/ Road
Stars and Stripes
Rocking M Farm
Condiment Farm
M and M Farm
New Journey
Kamp Kuester
Kuester Corral
A Wing and a Prayer
Kozy Kuester Kabin
Princess Missy Farm
M Squared Ranch
Scrabble Ranch
Muddy Paws Ranch
Kuester Kingdom
After AF Farm
Kuester Retreat
Beautiful Acres
Chez nous
Greener Pastures
Places des Grand Hommes
Magnum Way
Black Dog Fields
Magnum Acres
Where the Pavement Ends Farm
Where the Road Ends Farm
The Haven
Kuester Krossing
Wabatucky West
Mis Mag + 3 Farm
The Destination
Kind Kuester Korner
Omega Alpha Acres
Kilo 5 Ranch
Wallis-Frome-Kuester Farm
End of the Line Farm
The Open Commissary
Hallelujah Hollow
Delilah Downs
Magnum Manor
Missy’s Family Farm
New Beginnings
Kuester Homestead
Haulin Farms
End of the Road Farm
Delilah’s Boys’ Farm
Delilah’s Farm
Road’s End Farm
Flying K
Lazy K
Crazy K
Magnum Farm
Answered Prayers
Rest Your Kuester Farm
Where my Kuester Farm
Wonderland
Topshelf Farm
Kuester Downs
Kuester Hole
Green Acres
Pretty Acres
Peaceful Valley
My 3 Sons
Joyful Acres
Kickin’ Kuester Farm
Hidden Treasures
Kick in the Kuester
Kuester Ranch
Fly Over Farm
Golden Acres Retirement Home
M+M Family Farm
Permission to Land Farm
The Forever Homestead
The Sanctuary
New Chievres
It Ain’t Wabash
Delilah’s Playground
Delilah’s Ranch
Red Devil Pastures
Destination Acres
Wild Blue Yonder
Final Flight Plan
Flight Plan
Kuester Korner
Mountain Ridge
Done haulin Farm
Kuester Lane
New Life Farms
Circle K Farms
Aim High Farm
Nua Farms
That Last Stop Farm
Sit on your Kuester Farm
ChrisMis Farm
Lazy M Ranch
Kuester Horizon Estate
DD-214 Acres
Retired Homestead
Rustic Kuester Ranch
Missy’s Meadows
Place for Kuesters
Delilah’s Family Farm
The Lord’s Bounty Farm
Test and Peaceful Farm
Thanksgiving Farm
The Forever Home and Farm
Kuester’s Resting
Dirty Kuester Ranch
Heaven Homestead
Water Well Acres
Lost in time Farm
Three Magnums Farm
Hoosierville
Almost Wabash
Kuester Kurve Farm
Secondhand Farm
LaVraie Montagne
The World’s End
Where the Pavement Ends Farm
Red Devil Acres
Round Two:
This is what is left after the first cut of names:
Kuester Acres
Wild Blue Yonder
haulinkuester Acres
haulin farm
End of the Road Farm
New Beginnings Farm
Kuester Homestead
Next Chapter Farm
Circle K Farm
Aim High Farm
The Last Stop Farm
Where the Road Ends Farm
Where the Pavement Ends Farm
Kuester Korner
Round Three:
We lost some good ones…
Kamp Kuester
Kuester Corral
Flying K
ChrisMis Farm
Kuester Ranch
Fly Over Farm
Permission to Land Farm (bar name)
M squared Ranch (Math!)
Muddy Paws Ranch
Greener Pastures
Kuester Retreat
Kuester Krossing
Omega Alpha Acres
Done haulin Acres
Wild Blue Yonder Acres
haulin Farm
End of the Road Farm
Circle K Farm
Aim High Farm
Where the Road Ends Farm
Final Approach Farm
haulinkuester Acres
Flying K Farm
ChrisMis Farm
Fly Over Farm
Permission to Land Farm (Bar name?)
Final Flight Plan Farm
Stay tuned as we dwindle down more names on our way to finding the perfect name for our farm. And thank you for helping!
This is our next renovation update: outbuildings edition.
One of the things we looked for was a farm that was already established. We are behind many of our peers when it comes to buying a home. Chris has always wanted an orchard, a greenhouse, and a barn. We didn’t want to start at ground zero since we are in our late forties. The best solution for this dilemma was buying an already established homestead. However, it is hard to find such a place.
We liked this particular property because of all the buildings…okay, maybe not all of them, but most of them. The two red barns we really wanted and all the others were a bonus. After inspecting them we realized that many of the buildings were haphazardly built. We decided to start dismantling them right away. It was gratifying to tear down what we considered derelict buildings. All of the outbuildings had electricity which meant we had to carefully disconnect them as well.
A Quonset hut, the cat building, and the new woodshed
Left to right: new woodshed (what we call the garage), the cat building, and the Quonset hut.
Most people only see three outbuildings in the picture above but it’s more like 5. The metal, fake Quonset hut no longer exists. The structure was built using gray, electrical tubing with sheet metal drilled in. Therefore, it was not geometrically correct and bothered those with OCD.
The brown sided cedar building is what we refer to as the cat building. The two doors on the front go to two separate rooms. The door to the left (the glass one), went into a storage area where every wall had floor to ceiling shelves. Door number 2 goes into an area that has a gravel floor. Through that area is a maze to a couple of other pen-like rooms that we were told once held approximately 50 cats. The old owner believed he was saving the cats from being harmed by wild animals.
Finally, the white building to the left is what we refer to as the garage. It has a nice cement floor and is dry. For now, we will keep it and use it as a garden/woodshed. Consequently, we tore down the old woodshed because it was dilapidated and blocking my view of the mountains. One day when we expand off the back of the house, the garage will come down.
The back portion of the property is fenced in. We have this horse stable/paddock and we will keep it in case a visitor wants to stop in or a local farmer wants to rent the pasture. It’s not in bad shape, just needs to be cleaned out and around it.
Don’t mind these buildings
These two buildings will be torn down in the future
These two buildings next to the big red barn are set to be burned/ torn down. Right now, we just haven’t had time. The white building is housing any junk we find on the property. We have already had one dumpster of junk hauled away.
This building was once a dog shed and we will move it to the back of the property to use as a well/pumphouse
This little building will remain because we will move it to the back of the property and use it as a well house for the pasture water well. Right now the pump to our agricultural well is disconnected because of shoddy craftsmanship that Chris will correct next summer. We can repurpose this shed to shelter that wellhead and pump.
The red barn caught Magnum’s eye and was a deciding factor in our purchase. Ultimately, he has always wanted a shop to work in. It is insulated so is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The cement floor, a propane heater, and electricity are all bonuses. In the future, we will have RV hookups next to this barn.
Interior of the red barn. Heavily insulated.
The faded red barn in the pasture is the Sheep barn. At one time they raised sheep and there is evidence of that in this barn. The barn isn’t very tall and has a rather large metal beam down the middle. The sellers claim is floods but as far as we can see it sits at the highest point on the property. In the meantime, it will be the Jeep barn. Sheep to Jeep barn sounds about right. Right now it houses material we have salvaged from the other buildings.
