Good Things List No.99: New Porch, Preserving Sale, and Favorite Book

Good things to do, buy, and read: new side porch sitting, preserving all the things, and my favorite book of the month.

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Well, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that I am sitting holed up in our cool house while the temperatures soar and the smoke obscures the hills outside our windows. Such seems to be August in the pacific northwest – smoke season. We have actually had wonderfully clear skies up until the last few days when I know many others haven’t, so I’m not complaining, it just seems to be a new normal, doesn’t it?

Thankfully besides writing I have other things on my to-do list that I can do inside, like cover and paint a chair and paint more of the upstairs landing. Also – who am I kidding – read a couple of good books!

Psst: if you like the Good Things List, then you’ll love Notes From The Farmhouse – it focuses on creative projects, simple living, DIY, books, and the everyday beauty of a handmade life – all the things there’s not room to talk about anymore on An Oregon Cottage! Check it out here.

I’m happy (so.very.happy) to share our almost finished side porch where our “door to nowhere” actually goes somewhere now, as well as a sale I’m running for the preserving season and the book from last month that may make it to my year end best books list.

Good Things List

Sitting on the Side Porch

My long-dreamed-of porch off the kitchen is usable! No, not finished, but we can walk out the door of the kitchen and sit at a table to eat or lounge in (newly refinished) outdoor furniture.

Still on the list to do:

• Bring more fill dirt to create a level area for the steps.
• Build two long steps all across the front as well as one on the left side.
• Add tongue-and-groove boards to the ceiling.
• Add finish trim to the posts.
• Paint ceiling and posts.
• Landscape the area, including building up a terraced gravel area on the left.
• Seal the cedar (have to wait 6 months).

Above is how this side of the farmhouse has looked for about five years. You can see how the door got it’s name – we had it bolted from the inside so no one would open it! To me it was always crying out for a porch.

Not only to fill the space, but to take advantage of these views:

Since Brian finished the stairs at the beginning of July we’ve been eating most lunches and dinners out there and I’ve enjoyed reading and chatting with people on the furniture.

1. A big DIY project for me in July was to repaint our brown metal outdoor couch and chair set AND recover all the cushions that were shredding from exposure. Since they would be under cover, I used painter’s drop cloth that I already had and sewed simple covers without piping or zippers. Quick was the mantra – I figure I can pressure wash them each spring. We’ll see how long they last!
2. And that salad we’re eating was one of the recipes I tested in July – a super delicious veggie loaded tuna salad I adapted from a loose recipe a reader sent me. I can’t wait to share it – look for it soon!

Preserving sale in my shop!

In honor of all the harvests going on now and continuing into September, I’m putting everything in my shop on sale for 15% off! Order anything, digital ebooks or physical books, and the discount will be taken off automatically in your shopping cart (it won’t show on the product page, but once it’s in your cart it will show the discount). The sale ends on September 15th, so head over and check it out!

Favorite Book from July

My favorite book this month was The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley (in a month that saw me not finish three books…). It’s a historical fiction set in the 1600’s with a focus on a messenger of King James who is tasked with finding a man to bring him back to the king to face trial for the possible poisoning in the death of the king’s son, Henry. It’s the messenger’s story, and that of his neighbor and the neighbor’s daughter who is a love interest. So there’s royal intrigue, a dangerous road trip, insights into the queen (we get her perspective in a couple of chapters), and a love story all wrapped in lots of details about living in the mid 1600’s. It was very interesting and entertaining. I really appreciated the lengthy author’s note at the end sharing what was real history (surprisingly a lot) and what she added and why. My kind of book, for sure.

And if you ever wonder what’s happening in between blog posts, I’ve been sharing that in Notes From the Farmhouse, more of the real-life, in-progress parts of home and garden, what I’m doing and more on what I’m reading and watching.

That’s it for another addition of the Good Things List!

If you’d like to see more, you can check out all the Good Things Lists here. I’d love to know what you think and what you’d recommend so be sure to leave a comment below with your thoughts!

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