Sunday, March 25, 2012

Weekend

salvaged hanging pots + black spray paint = a project for the barn underway

turkey season opened Saturday morn - a bird in hand on Sunday - fried turkey dinner this week

a west wind today & Joe decided to burn the rest of the planted pines here on the place

gotta love it:  lightin' off a couple acres with baby in carrier, drip torch in hand 

Swiss Chard!


fresh arugula eaten daily

Cherry Garcia

My all-time favorite ice cream?  Cherry Garcia by Ben & Jerry's.  Vanilla ice cream with chunks of dark chocolate & black cherries.  Had to give it a whirl in that new churn we found...



the salty ice was a big hit


the cherries & chocolate go in right at the end

New Kitchen Art

"Aquarium" by Levi

"Culture" and "Seal" by Nikki McClure

"Rainbow" on wood, by Levi 
{a birthday gift to his mother}

Barn Loot

Okay, so officially, the barn is done.  Done in that we hauled off 13 pick-up loads of stuff that had built up over several decades.  Sifted thru it all & whats left has some function.  There's still a bit of organizing to be done - who am I kidding really - weeks of organizing to be done, but at least we're getting somewhere.  

In addition to the barn on the place here, we got the opportunity to go thru another old family barn as well.  

Some of our treasures: 


an array of old wooden handmade baskets (I'm loving them all & immediately put them to use around the house) - wooden ammo boxes

who couldn't use a sturdy pitchfork?, silver tray, paint brush, fire screen, wooden pic frame

a handmade birdbath dated 10/10 1931

a stray duck decoy to add to our extensive collection...

post-hole diggers, wire fencing, fence post {already in the ground = tomato stakes}

with a little spray paint... I have just the place for this

books galore

a brand-new in-the-box electric ice cream makers

a cute baby picture throw in for good measure & you may have noticed she's out of a helmet temporarily - she outgrew the first one & has been helmet-free for 3 weeks - the new one gets here next Tuesday

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

spring equinox

Levi's grasp on the world is expanding & so are his questions!  This week:

"What's at the edge of outer space - I mean what's behind it?"
{I'd just heard a science program on the answer to this the week before}


"How did you make me?"
{oh goodness, already?  However, I was ready with an age appropriate answer}


"What's the last number?"
{and then a whole discussion on infinity began - he's really thinking about this one though - I've been asked this question every day this week - he says there must be one last one - and I say whatever number it is, there's a number one bigger...}

Sunday, March 18, 2012

paper scissors cloth

In the last month, I've constructed four pairs of pants and one shirt for the kiddos.  So today I thought it was about time to make something for myself.  

Indigo & I have retreated indoors this hot mid-day, and I've begun tweaking the pattern.  It's been awhile since piecing anything for myself & I quickly remember now the headache of pattern alterations when one's waist is 3 sizes larger than one's hips .  

I'm upcycling an old sheet set to make a practice skirt before cutting into the good stuff. 




Saturday, March 17, 2012

St. Patrick's Day

Indigo & I are home alone on this St. Patrick's Day weekend; Joe & Levi are off to Jennings, Florida.  Joe's opening up the Florida turkey season & Levi, I've heard, is wearing himself out playing with his cousins.  

I made a hearty meal of corned beef, cabbage, & mashed potatoes, and had Papa Bill over for dinner.  Now, in lieu of the day's traditional Guinness, I'm easing into some IPA homebrew.  Delicious stuff.  A fine substitute.




Monday, March 12, 2012

turnip raid


my garden helper & I raiding the turnip patch before Joe plows the whole thing under to get this garden ready for spring planting

the mustard flowering taller than me, turnips still right for eating though

I couldn't stand to let them all go




at least 50 pounds of turnip roots harvested - of course we had to have some for supper

hittin' the fire breaks before starting on the garden

Saturday, March 10, 2012

the day after

what does one do on the day after celebrating a birthday?




it was a perfect bluebird day here 

the grass was mowed by an early-rising man

the sun shone

100 azaleas burst open in bloom

a 5-year-old birthday party was attended

the man finished an incredibly steadfast chicken coop

the woman used a drip torch for the first time 

a man-child practiced his 'stop, drop, & roll' technique

the baby wore a precious sun hat



Wednesday, March 7, 2012

In the middle

It's been one of those weeks for me where, though a little is being done each day, I can't seem to shake the feeling of being permanently stuck in the middle in a multitude of projects.  It's a mind set, and I can't shake it.  Ever been there?

The most overwhelming 'work in-progress' is the barn. 

Having hauled away 10 truck loads of junk, I suspect there are 4 more to go.  Not to mention the organization of the remaining contents.  I'm ready to scream enough already.   

I think for my own sanity I just need to step back and take a breather.  The middle is okay.  It's the journey.

Keep calm & carry on.

My birthday is Friday.  My mother-in-law is coming over to watch the kiddos.  Joe is taking me out for sushi.


Saturday, March 3, 2012

Rainy day


Gonna get you, Daddy!!

Rainy day, dreamaway

Dogwoods starting to bloom

On the porch swing

Out the bedroom window

Friday, March 2, 2012

Golden Brothers & a little number crunching

In this new 'farm building' phase of our lives, a local store we love to stop by is Golden Brothers Feed & Seed in Thomasville, Ga.  It's a Mom & Pop place (literally the same couple is always behind the counter) with great customer service & everything we could possibly need and more.  This week it's:  more seed potatoes, chicken starter feed, bone meal, wheat straw, carrot seeds, and cottonsead meal.


The one thing that makes it really stand out to me is the bulk bins.  I love the concept that no matter how much you buy, you still get the same price per unit.


So this is the number crunching I love... today I paid 50 cents for a 1/4 ounce of carrot seeds at Golden Brothers (in bulk).  The delight in this is:  in all my seed catalogs, for the same amount, I would have paid $15.


Potatoes.  We've paid a total of $6.25 for seed potatoes.  If the resulting 80 plants make even a pound each, we'll be paying about 8 cents a pound for organic potatoes!