Last updated on March 12th, 2021
Did you nix your 2020 vacation plans, and focus on home-improvement projects instead? You’re not alone. Fox and I spent our travel money on things that memories are not usually made of:
We cancelled our annual trip to the Equinox resort in Manchester, VT, and purchased a freezer instead. Heck, we even had enough dough left over for the bottle of good gin that now resides on the freezer’s top shelf.
Our 10-day stay in Italy? We exchanged it for a whole-house generator. True, the generator can’t hold a candle to the Tuscan countryside. But it will keep all of our electronics (including the aforementioned freezer) up and running during our too-frequent Hudson Valley power failures.
Meanwhile, our trip to California morphed into a restoration project: We removed and replaced the rotted molding that spans the front porch.
The fresh molding in question.
Another potential get-away became a scrape-and-paint job on the east side of the house. I love the smell of newly white-washed clapboard!
During the pandemic, are you spending more time at home, and therefore spending more money ON your home? Talk to me in the comments field below. xKevin
ingmarie e peck says
awesome, house looks beautiful ,and Italy will be there next year too.
Karole Sullivan says
The generator is a great investment as well as the freezer for the fresh fruits and veggies. The house as always looks terrific, we put screens on our gutters so that they will no longer clog (we hope). Travel next year hopefully; just stay safe.
ANGELA PORTNOY says
i redecorated almost every room i the house. it was a great distraction.
Susan says
Nice!!! My pandemic projects have been restoring ancient beautiful painted-over dirty door hardware; then, when weather improved, creating a Secret Garden. Then, when the local market became so hot, and neighbors too noisy, flipped the house & moving from Village to the middle of farmland. Pandemic or not, our getaways are now gone 😀 Ooh, but the land & many microclimates!!!
Honeybee says
We remodeled the kitchen! Call us crazy but we had everything already planned.
3 days before the Washington state shutdown our kitchen was gutted, we only had walls. The 3 week turnaround we had planned took 3 months.
It was worth it. I now have a fabulous new kitchen.
The current project is replacing the tub/shower in our rental property.
I tell you I am busier then if I were working my job. (temporarily laid off).
Deonna says
Mom has a Genny and it has saved her many times over it has paid for itself!! Great job Kev!
Cherylann says
We had our getaway plans scuttled too. So, when the washer started going, and we needed another freezer anyway – we went appliance shopping. Big box stores had nothing on the local shop. Went in and bought a new washer/dryer combo, upright freezer, refrigerator, and dishwasher! It made me very happy, and it means that we shouldn’t have to worry about appliances for about ten years or so! (I think we made the young salesperson’s day when I kept adding stuff to the list.)
Judy Mcinnis says
We renovated our 20 year old builders model half bath. We made it look cottage style by adding wainscoting, removed the wallpaper and added a vanity.
Jeanette says
We completely renovated our kitchen, bought new appliances and are having the whole interior of our house repainted. Fall housecleaning is almost done.
Sylvia says
I had two garden walls built, one to level out my front border on one side and the other is a ring around a baby Koto No Ito Japanese Maple tree (to raise it up for better drainage). I moved all my perennials that already existed when I moved in last summer to the other side border and planted all new perennials on the side near my driveway. Lastly, I cleared out tons of weeds and unwanted invasive shrubs from my side yard. Oh, I just remembered! I had my shutters and front door painted a very dark green.
Charlotte says
We replaced old radiators that are from the 50s, replaced some windows, and old window frames. Now in the process of painting the house. Glad you are safe hope your plans for next year come to fruition.
Georgeann Brown says
Just cleaning out all the closets, dressers, pantry and file cabinets were major accomplishments.
Sandra Payette says
I love your house, Kevin. I did go on holiday for a week in Manitoulin Island Ontario. I live in Ontario so it was a drive and a ferry to get there. Spent a week in nature. Beautiful. No virus on the island so far. xo
Lee says
More about a inky please ❤️
Lee says
I meant BINKY. Lol
Joyce says
Kevin, does your new Generec Generator require priming weekly?. We have an neighbour with the same brand and weekly this thing gets started up and runs for 25 minutes exactly. It’s as loud as a motor cycle.
Love your Sunday morning epistles here in Hamilton, Ontario. Yes wonderful Canada.
Dianne Holzman says
Landscaping, many plants, new floors in two rooms-had been planned/purchased but not installed, lots of cleaning out,-of course still more of that to do! I’d love to renovate the kitchen!
Hubby not quite so enthusiastic! Be well!
Gigi says
All 5 of us survived Covid in April, moved our son to Washington DC in June, renovated 2 bathrooms, renovated a large corner mulch/rock/perennial bed in July, and last week ripped out of front concrete walkway to our front door and presently replacing it with a paver path. Planted new spruce trees in side yard, another stone pathway in opposite side yard, and canceled 2 trips…one road trip through the Carolinas and a trip to Maui that we were supposed to go on At the end of September. The thought of flying all that way and then being forced to quarantine all 7 days in our hotel room wasn’t doing it for us!!
Geri Bailey says
We installed a Generac and love it. It recharges every two weeks for 10 minutes. Time and duration are adjustable. We installed new gutters; a bluestone patio; built a bocce/horseshoe pit; grew many vegetables; trimmed trees; planted shrubs; and tried lots of new recipes!
J Bb says
We added 4 new flower and veggie beds, started a shade garden, and planted (13) trees. Now turning my attention inside to paint interior walls, put in shelving and hopefully a kitchen backsplash. Still a long Autumn and Winter shead wish me luck ☘️
Belinda says
Oh, how our Generac has saved us! Good call. I stayed outside as much as I could. The local gravel bank owner let me pick out a pile of small boulders for delivery and I created a bed in front of my neighbor’s large boulder foundation. With the neighbor’s permission, I cleaned out his weeds and extended the bed to include some of his property. (We’ll probably have to put something in writing about that.) Currently, the whole area is weed free and covered in a cardboard layer topped with ground wood from a pile the tree cutter left us. It looks great as it is, but I’ll transplant perennials to the part on my property next year. Painting Adirondack chairs, staining outdoor handrails, and general clean-up made that untamed part of the yard beautiful.
Lynn says
We bought new beds but that’s all. However, we now have a very healthy bank balance ready for when we can travel again. We were in lockdown for 5 weeks and I spent the time cooking and knitting. We’ve never eaten so well!
PATRICIA MENCEL says
We replaced our cooktop for an induction cooktop. Oh my, it is wonderful and has contributed to some COVID lbs!
Cheryll says
This pandemic sure has given the home building stores a boom in sales. We have a retro 50’s home so the bathroom got a mid century make over. The bad part is once you start, you keep finding more to fix! haha. The generator is an excellent purchase. We installed one a few years ago and believe me it is a godsend. We live in north east Indiana and power outages are the norm. We lost power a couple of months ago for 3 days and it was nice to not miss a beat with our beast keeping the house running. Love your Sunday newsletters!
Jan vanderburg says
Refinishing our Southwestern brick floors and expanding our garden took a lot of time and energy which was nothing but goods. My dryer died so we splurged on the purchase of a new dryer and washer and now because of our gardening need to replace the chest freezer and go with an upright. Could you please republish or send me the info you gathered about upright freezers?
Pearl Geiger says
I took all the railings off my fence and painted them in the basement, tended my garden (managed to keep the weeds at bay. ) and picked more berries than I ever did before. Lots of work baking and freezing on rainy days. Love your emails Kevin.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
I’m reading all of the comments. Glad y’all are staying busy!
Hi Joyce – I know that some generators are as loud as a helicopter. Our Generac is located just 20 feet outside my writing room window. Mercifully it is very quiet — just a low hum.
Hi Jan vanderburg – Click here for the reader-recommended freezers. I purchased a 21.3 cubic feet frost-free GE upright freezer. Very happy with it.
Holly says
Lots of yard work over the spring & summer months including purchasing & enjoying some new patio furniture. But job uncertainties have played a part so I have mostly focused on bill paying & my credit card is almost payed off. Christmas gift spending will also be cut in half this year. I’m hoping for the best but planning for the worst, as more & more businesses will continue to struggle over the next 6 months & there will be more job losses coming.
Lissa says
Yes, we took this opportunity to replace our refrigerator, vertical blinds, and kitchen floor; replaced the laundry room counter, sink & floor; replaced the Dog Room counter and floor. Biggest project of all, we stripped a bathroom down to the studs and completely remodeled it with toilet, tub, granite counter and porcelain tile floor. We need a break from this pandemic!
Lissa Scott says
Yes, we took this opportunity to replace our refrigerator, vertical blinds, and kitchen floor; replaced the laundry room counter, sink & floor; replaced the Dog Room counter and floor. Biggest project of all, we stripped a bathroom down to the studs and completely remodeled it with toilet, tub, granite counter and porcelain tile floor. We need a break from this pandemic!
TS says
Morning! Reading everyone’s great works is inspiring… would welcome the chance to brag as a first time home owner 🙂
Working remotely since March, so my spring project turned into many. Replaced an old rotting wood fence around my acre property, took a look back at the house and my gutters/soffits were crying for help, so we got someone on the ladders. Next up, watched some YouTube tutorials and replaced a middle deck (new lumber/leveling) and spruced up the stain. On Friday night my laundry room reno , (my final fall project) was completed and topped off with a coat of paint!
Thanks for the posts and pics Kevin. Be well everyone!
Joanne in Zone 6b says
My Generac is loud, and it gets irritating during a power outage, but not as irritating as having no power. Since every third house in my neighborhood has one, I’d be hearing generators even if I didn’t have one. I’ll be looking into noise-reducing window inserts after Covid. I had a tree planted and have been slowly completing landscaping projects myself (and using a great deal of Kevin advice in the process), but my best Covid home project was the replacement of a very noisy garage door with a practically silent Liftmaster door and a garage de-cluttering that I’ve almost finished. How is Binky??
Suzanne K says
I have done lots of smaller fix-it stuff in the past 6 months. Several bigger projects included do-it-myself scraping, power washing, patching then painting a 115 foot long (3 foot high) retaining wall above my driveway, cleaning and restaining my redwood deck, picking and putting up 35 pints of mandarin oranges and 20 pints of mandarin marmalade (yum!), picking and drying 60 pounds of grapes into raisins, keeping my 20+ pepper trees trimmed and doing 3 rounds of weed abatement on 1.1 acres myself instead of hiring it out… I’m here and doing it myself offset a bit of all the baking and cooking (and eating) I’ve been doing. I’ve also had several minor (but increasingly bad) water leaks fixed in my yard. And, I’ve replaced all the inner workings of a toilet that quit functioning (I hate that project but can do it). Next up is having the garage door opener repaired and installing a whole house Ring security system. I’ll do the Ring system myself – since I’m here alone all the time and the world has gotten scarier, it’s time and I’ll feel safer knowing I’ll be alerted if someone intrudes.
Stay safe all and Kevin, please let us know how Binky is doing!
Kathy says
Hi Kevin. We recently jumped on the covid home project bandwagon. Our bathroom will be completed this week. I hired a painter to paint the exterior of my house but instead of coming next month, he told me he now can’t get here until next year so I scraped, sanded and power washed. Will start painting next week. Have also been parting with all those things we recently discovered and forgot we owned. Getting a generac is on our list as well. Stay safe in these crazy times.
Elan says
I don’t know if this is true, but fyi: Placing cereal boxes and other stuff on top of your refrigerator/freezer could block heat from escaping, and cause the compressor to work harder than it’s supposed to–that’s not good for your electric bill or the lifespan of your fridge.
Keep us updated on Blinky and her buddy.
Nancy says
Your house as always is beautiful. All homes need maintenance and updating but old homes are especially challenging. My project has been to expand a half story bedroom into a full story and with the expanded space, add a handicap equipped master bath (for future needs), move the laundry from the basement to the adjacent bathroom, add a walk-in closet and a small balcony off the sitting area of the bedroom. Whew!
Judy says
You will love the generator. We lose our electric often so much easier then the portable gas generator. Our splurge was a heater for the pool.
Joanne says
Good morning, Kevin,
Spent my holiday money redoing the interlocking brick on my driveway and patio. Both had sunk considerably.
Also repainted my living room and did a lot of yard cleanup from last winters major damage.
What has been hardest for me as an American stuck living in Canada has been the rather ridiculous rules preventing me from travelling home periodically unless I fly. I can drive to the border in 3 hours, come in contact with 1 person—-at customs—-and stay very isolated in our family home in Montana. By flying it would take me a minimum of 6 hours from my home and come in contact with hundreds of people at 2 airports and on the plane. And rent a car to boot. And I carry a U.S. passport and have Permanent Residence status in Canada. There, I spilled it out.
Thanks, Kevin, for your weekly updates. Something “normal” in my very lonely life to start the week.
Mohar Chattopadhyay says
Hi Kevin,
I am an ardent follower of your blog and found ways to create my garden on the cheap. This year I grew a number of boxwoods from cuttings inspired by your blog. I also started a blog of my own (thanks to the pandemic!) where I am writing about snippets of my childhood (in India), our travels and gardening. I will be delighted if you and of some your readers visit me at: https://manamanena.blogspot.com/
Please keep writing.
Mohar
Cleanne says
Our condo does not need any changes made.
I don’t have a good place for garden or flowers.
So I have been sewing. I have made mask for our local hospital.
Plus many seasonal ones, sports team ones, and special ones for our family.
They all are thankful – but would rather have this over with so they don’t have to wear them.
Like your weekly post.
Sandra L Barton says
Hi Kevin! Many thanks for your cheerful weekly blogs! We planted a much bigger garden than usual and have been grateful for all the veggies we have enjoyed all summer. My husband redid and organized his tool room with paint, peg board to hang tools and shelving & totes for organizing. I have cleaned! Closets, drawers, rugs and pretty much anything that stands still! LOL! Would love updates on Binky! I also made your egg wraps and they were a hit with my guys so made 2 more batches and filled them with egg, bacon, onion, sweet peppers & cheese. Half went into the freezer and half went with my hubby & son as they went to stay on our property (for the deer hunt) where we have a trailer (with microwave). They have enjoyed a good breakfast of the wraps before they went hunting! (They were successful, thank goodness, it’s our winter meat) Many thanks again for the gardening tips, the great recipes, house tours and occasional music! All very appreciated!
Louise says
I am repainting the porch floor, and have dug in new shrubs and a great small tree to hide a neighbor’s chain link fence. I am also weeding an overgrown garden to add black raspberries and rhubarb. It’s jobs I have wanted to do for a while. Getting them done, priceless.
Linda in NJ says
Hi Kevin, I have plenty to occupy me through the end of this year and next! My main switch burnt on my circuit breaker box, so the entire box & circuits got replaced along with getting grounded. The inspection sticker on the outside said “1971”, so it was time! Got pricing for a generac, so hope to do it within the next two years. New gutters happening at the end of the week, and I’ve recently been cleaning out my basement. My flower gardens have never looked so good, and I still have 2 Miss Figgy figs and several skip cherry laurel to plant. It’s nice to stop and look back at what’s been accomplished, otherwise it’s a never ending task list with an older home. I so enjoy your blog, thank you for taking the time to keep up.
Mojave Moon says
I used the time to landscape the backyard. Of course, since nurseries were closed in my state, I propagated all the new plants myself. Learned a lot from books and online sources. Had fun. It was the ultimate distraction and got me through the toughest times. Also provided me with adequate sunshine vitamin D to keep me healthy. Concluded that designing gardens is my favorite hobby. Would do it again! But do NOT hope for another pandemic to generate the opportunity.
Robi Pietrowski says
We painted our house and wanted to have new Facia and Soffits and Gutters put on. But we had to put on a new Roof first. ( wasn’t thinking about that just yet) So we had the Roof done and then we could get Facia , Soffits and Gutters done. But I am so happy it is done. That was our vacation money . But well spent ~ We still have memories ~ 90’s and humid~ LOL Sweating like pigs. 🙂
Kathy Bence says
We painted all the trim on our 1925 Crafstman (white). House is yellow and it made it look new and fresh and clean. Love it! But not as much as our usual month of housesitting for friends in Seattle. Sigh…
EP says
I’ve been meaning to thank you for months, Kevin, both for a recipe that was a godsend early in lockdown when my garden was bare apart from a thriving lovage plant, and for your blog more generally. I stumbled across it when looking for something to make with lovage in quantity, instead of its more usual supporting role as a seasoning. Your lovage pesto was a hit! A wonderful fix of fresh green in spring, before other veg came in. Made it twice. It will be an annual ritual, I’m sure, so thank you.
Like you, we also live in a historic old house that needed restoring (and now needs lots of repair…), I love gardening, dogs, cooking, music – so yes, your blog is full of pleasure.
As for the topic here, yes this has been a year of exceptional pushing ahead in the garden: planting trees, restoring veg beds, sowing more veg than ever before because of lockdown uncertainties, making a corn and squash bed (deer ate half the corn but who can blame them, and they taught me to fence higher next year). I’ve done more preserving than in years.
It’s probably a little crazy to be trying to push ahead with projects indoors, too, but that’s soon the plan. In uncertain times, feathering and securing the nest seems a bulwark and a comfort.
Mae says
Love the shutters on the house. What is the color?
Denise says
As an interior designer and acting GC on construction projects, I’m so busy as are my trade people and workrooms that we wouldn’t sleep, if it were not necessary!
Marlyn says
We had the remaining windows on our house replaced. Only six this time. Two fellows came and they were done in about 8 hours. A week later 3 people came to stain and finish them.
I’ve also been doing a lot of sewing. I make quilts, so I’ve been piecing the tops. Two are all sewn, one is currently in three chunks and another needs all the triangles to be sewn together as well as add the background.
A few outside projects are under way with the help of my sons. Refinishing an outside door and adding cedar railings to the front steps. Replenishing the wood mulch around all the shrubs surrounding the house and under a spruce we cut the bottom limbs off of last summer. The tree had grown so much and was hanging over the driveway, making plowing or shoveling snow difficult.
Christine in MD says
Looks great! Great idea on the generator. I have neighbors who love theirs though our electric service has become more reliable. We had a backyard fence put up, so our dog can run about, and he is loving it. I’m loving no longer seeing the neighbor’s tarp covered lean to or the other neighbor’s decrepit fence. We also had our hallway painted, and I got a new runner for it, which made me happy. I did a little bit of my own landscaping and planting of some perennials, but my next thing is a “great, when did this start happening” fixer. I noticed lots of erosion from the back and gutter/drainage issues in the front. Exactly the kind of not fun project I don’t want! I’m going to see what minor fixes I can make before bringing in the pros, because I know it is not going to be cheap. We had a few other repairs, and also need to redo our main bathroom after finding some leaks in the shower which cannot be patched up effectively. It just makes sense that if we have to rip out the whole shower, and redo the tile floor, we might as well do the rest! While the concept of a new bathroom is fun, the unexpected cost isn’t!
Blaschke Shirley says
My main summer project in our Oklahoma City suburban home is to remove and replace 50’ of scraggly bamboo with native shrubs and flowers. The bamboo must be chopped down to the ground, then the roots hand dug out to prevent sprouting. We have done it bit by bit and planted more than 55 native trees and shrubs. And we grew cherry tomatoes ! Love your Old House we had one too.
Lars says
The house looks better.
Peggy Allan says
We spent our yearly travel money for trips around the world on a new fifth wheel and truck to haul it. We decided to check out the USA. For a while. It’s Devine!! We’ve done one trip so far. I love all of your updates!!
SolePublic says
More pandemic amusement. I learned of Frank Cabot’s gardens today and though of your garden. I read a review of a movie (The Gardener 2016 on Amazon Prime Video) about his personal garden in Quebec Les Quatre Vents. I think you might like his Blue Moon bridge https://www.finegardening.com/article/how-to-create-an-inspiring-garden.
Cynthia says
Hello, I just discovered your site… well a week ago. 🙂
So delightfull – I love everything, especially your way to write, explain, describe things with wit and love! Much spirit and deliciousness. Thank you!
Linda says
Yes Kevin, that seemed the thing to do while sequestered in our home. We spent the first half of 2020 settling an estate. Fortunately the property was adjacent to our own so we were able to work thru the stay at home orders. That project involved clearing out an old farmhouse with a full attic, separate garage & loft, workshop, huge three bay barn with 2 horse stalls & a few other out buildings. All were filled to the gills with belongings that dated back to 1962 when the 11 days shy of 100-year-old gentleman who passed away & his family moved onto the property. There was major outdoor cleanup on the 2-1/2 acre parcel, removal of unsafe outdoor structures, tree removal, fruit tree, rose & grape pruning, major clearing of overgrown landscape, water line repairs, installation of a new propane tank & line to the house to power the new heating system we installed, indoor electrical & plumbing. Really there was too much to mention here but my husband & I devoted our lives to this project until it was in the best shape possible for a sale.
Then we began to tackle some projects at our home. We widened & extended our driveway to accommodate our new travel trailer, installed new maintenance free gutter guards to our home & three out buildings, cleaned out & organized our house attic, built a trellis & watering system for a new raspberry patch, lifted our propane tank & added a concrete base under it, and like you, we installed a new generac all house generator to service our home & well house.
It’s been a very busy 15-1/2 months!
Lisa says
Most definitely spending money on my home. For that matter I moved to a larger condo in my building and now upgrading my powder room with crown molding , a gorgeous antique light fixture and Brunschwig and Fils Bird and Thistle red wallpaper . Adding a small Persian rug.
The challenging part is getting the materials and labor. Would love to gut my en-suite bathroom but holding off until the materials and labor are more available.