Weekly Update: 7.26.25
It was a week of unrelenting July heat. Each day, we woke early and rushed to our tasks, trying to get as much done as we could before the sun became unbearable. Several of us were still sick or recovering, so we had many groggy, short-handed mornings full of coughing fits and too much coffee.
We tried a new routine in the garden this week. Instead of spraying for pests or fungus at night, we did it first thing in the morning. We are hoping this change will help us spray more consistently. Despite our use of raised beds and trellises, our zucchini and melons have still really struggled with fungus.
Along with fungus issues, we have been working hard to stay ahead of pests. Bonnie-Jean has made checking the tomatoes for hornworms a priority. Our niece Chloe has taken ownership of our various squash varieties this summer, spending countless hours picking off squash bugs and removing eggs from leaves with masking tape. Most recently, a new pest has gotten to our corn — causing the stocks to be cut off just a couple feet off of the ground.
Aside from our struggles, the garden is beautiful. It’s the largest we’ve ever had, and while it’s not perfect, we are learning so much that we will take into next year. I can’t get over how well most squash varieties are doing in our soil.
Our pumpkin patch looks like it is straight out of Cinderella. Based on a suggestion from some YouTube gardening channels, we decided to use cardboard as weed suppression around our pumpkins. So far, the method seems to be working well.
Once the garden was taken care of every day, we hurried on to our construction projects. We mainly worked on interior doors this week, which has turned into quite the task.
A couple weeks ago, we decided to contact Home Depot about the slab doors we had used for all of our pocket door systems. These slabs had starting bowing so badly that the pocket door frames were scraping the door in multiple areas. I was pleasantly surprised when Home Depot offered to let us return the doors, despite them being painted already. Unfortunately, replacing the doors meant taking down some of our trim in order to take out the doors. Levi took on most of the project, carefully taking down the doors and removing all of the hardware before they were picked up by Home Depot at no charge. The return pickup was another pleasant surprise. I have to say, Home Depot knows what they are doing with their customer service.
For our replacement doors, we opted for some barn doors that would fit our pocket frames. Most barn doors are taller than standard doors, so I was thrilled to find some standard sized options that were in our budget on Amazon. These doors came as a kit — each tongue-and-groove board cut and ready to fit together. We gave the boards a light sanding before staining them. Once they were dry, we assembled the doors and then coated them with spar urethane.
I thought it would be simplest to apply the spar urethane with our sprayer. We had saved a lot of time by spraying a few items in our bathroom — the mirror frames and vanity shelves. When I sprayed the first door, though, I was disappointed. The sprayer kept clogging and spitting dried bits all over the door. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Finally, I gave up and finished sealing the door with a brush.
I decided do a little research about spraying poly coats over wood. I found a YouTube video detailing how to use our exact sprayer for the task. Per the video, I ordered some paint filters (something I’ve never heard of) so that I could filter the spar urethane before spraying it.
Once my filters arrived, I dutifully used one to fill my sprayer. I was amazed how many lumps it got out (I thought the spar urethane looked pretty good). I also followed the video advice to water down my product significantly. Next, I practiced a bit on some old plywood, adjusting my sprayer until it felt right. Then I took on the door — and bingo. It worked. There was definitely a knack, especially given the heat we’ve been dealing with. By the time I finished the second door, I felt pretty confident.
It was disappointing to have to switch out our doors. We had gotten a good deal on the first doors, and the new ones were a lot more expensive. It was also a set-back in our schedule. All that aside, though, I have to say — those barn doors elevate the bunkhouse. I didn’t know the style of our doors would make such a big difference, but it really does.
Each afternoon this week, we stayed busy keeping up all the cooking, cleaning, and laundry. With several family members sick, there was a lot more to do. On top of the lingering illness, all three of our female dogs decided to go into heat this week. Since we don’t want more puppies anytime soon, it’s been a lot of fun trying to keep all of our dogs separated. The crazy dogs on top of everything else has made life downright chaotic.
It was a long, exhausting week, but we are thankful we got as much done as we did. We are persevering, albeit a bit slowly. Still, each day things are better. The heat is hard to deal with, but I am still so thankful for the daily luxury of afternoons in the air conditioning. While our AC doesn’t work that great, it a far cry better than last year when our only reprieve was sitting in the shade of the woods. As difficult as these seasons of sickness can be, it helps to remember how far God has brought us already.
