Kitchen: Phase 2. . . or 6, or 9, depending how you look at it?!

West Wall

East Wall

'Kitchen' in the Living Room

I finally got everything moved out of the kitchen and all the cabinets are empty.  The food is in the laundry room and mud room, cleaning supplies on the dryer, and there's boxes everywhere.  Most of the stuff is out in the garage on a few new shelves we bought.  It's exciting to think of how clean and new everything will be when we're finished, but you really have to use your imagination when everythings covered with dust from the sanding.  The cabinet people started today so things are beginning to really look like somethings happening.  They took all the doors off and are sanding the boxes now.  And, also installing the new pieces at the south ends of each counter top.  I called the granite people today and they are scheduled to come make a template as soon as these people are done.  Yea! 

Family, Friends & Fun

Saturday night we celebrated my friend Bonnie's 60th birthday.  Wow! 60th.  It's not that I think about 60 as being old, after all, most of my friends have are either nearly there or can 'remember when' with ease.  And, I'm only a couple of short years away myself.    It's just that I remember so clearly when this same group of girls sat around planning one of our 30th or 40th birthday parties and laugh as we looked at each other knowing we'd be someday be planning our 50th or 60th birthday parties. . . and now we're celebrating with our grown children. . .wondering how we'll top this party when we plan our 70th, 80th's and on. . and on. . God Willing.  
Life is good. 

Easter was a beautiful day with the Trin, Kris and the boys home and a nice slow rain almost all day.  Made for a sort of soggy easter egg hunt and a few 'melty' jelly beans inside plastic eggs, but still a nice day with family.

The kitchen is still in the tear out stage and it is getting to be more and more of a mess around here everyday.  The cabinet builders are suppose to be here tomorrow, so I hope things begin to look a little better soon.  I'm having some trouble posting pictures today but will post some new pictures soon. 

My Week in Court

This has been a very busy and stressful week, but is going to end with great happiness and fun. 

Since the first of April I have been on call for jury duty.  I was called to appear Monday and selected to set on the jury of a medical malpractice/negligence case that involved the death of a 19 month old little boy.  Urg!  It was brutal. I'll spare you all the details, but as you can imagine, the attorney for the plaintiff kept putting up (on a larger than life screen) the picture of the cute, cute, cute, beautiful little boy AND his picture just hours before he passed away swollen beyond recognition and covered with purple spots and blotches that covered his entire body.  We began on Monday, met everyday to hear testimony and heard closing arguments this morning.  It was alot of medical mumbo, jumbo with big words and technical explanations, but the attorneys went over every detail so many times, I think I could even diagnose mengingococcous infection now.  

The end of the story is that I was selected as the foreman for the jury and after about three hours we found in favor of the doctor.  The plaintiff and the defendant were both in tears.  It was very difficult and we were all very sad for the young mother, but her sons death had nothing to do with the actions of the doctor she was suing.  

Anyway, I'm really glad it's over and am ready to get my head around planning the decorations for Bonnie's 60th birthday celebration.  As crappy as this week has been, it will all be made better by ending with my dearest sister/friends playing, singing and dancing Saturday night, just as we did when Bonnie was 30 years old.  At her 30th birthday this same group of girls celebrated (some a little too much) and there's a picture of me sitting on a mechanical bull, at some random 'cowboy' bar, nine months pregnant.  Aaron was born eight days later.     P.S. No, I wasn't drinking. . . Aaron. 

  Happy Birthday Bonnie!!!

Happy 32nd Anniversary

 In the summer of 1978 I met, and fell in love, with my best friend.  April 14th, 1979 we got married and, as they say in the story books, we've lived happily ever after. 

Our first Family Photo

And, while we've had many of the same trials

all married couples have, we've always been in love and always been able to work through what life has sent our way, and have always been happy.  And, now, these 32 years later, we've finally reached that time in our lives we've always dreamed of.  Retirement (someday soon, I hope), farming, ranching, horseback riding, traveling, enjoying our friends and families. . . and spoiling our grandsons!!!  And, as we always have in the past, living life to the fullest!  We are in love today as we were in that summer of '78!   Life is good. 

 



Growing old together, 2010



Garden Days. . . Phase One!

I've been spending a lot of time in the garden the last couple of weeks.  Steve and I ran the rototiller over all that hadn't been done already and smoothed out the soil.  I laid black cloth 'mulch' under what will be the summer squash, melons and cukes.  Then mapped out the rows and trellis' and ran my string guidelines.   Today I planted more seeds.

 This is a list of what I have in the garden as of today:  Asparagus (which we've been picking every night or so, Yum!), three kinds of potatoes (Yukon Gold, Red Pontiac, Cobbler), three kinds of onions (red, white, yellow), broccoli, swiss chard, two kinds of green cabbages, one kind of red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, sugar snap peas, shell peas, radishes, kentucky wonder pole beans, bush beans, soy beans, beets, spinach, carrots, zucchini squash, yellow crookneck squash and three types of corn (Peaches & Cream, Bodacious, Late Golden Cross Bantam).  Plus, my fruits trees and berries from last year and several kinds of flowers.   Next week and the week after I can get the rest of the plants and seeds in.  Tomatoes, peppers, okra. . .etc.  April Showers have gotten lost somewhere and missed my little corner of the earth.  Ugh!  My garden needs RAIN!!!    

'The Boys' waiting to see if I'm going to feed them!



Working in the Blueberries

Time is short this morning.  I'm off to Stacey's to watch the babies for a few hours while she rest and gets out of the house for a while.  But, I wanted to share these pictures of working in the blueberry patch yesterday.  I cleaned out all last years grass and weeds then fertilized and mulched.  The mulch I used was cattle feed sacks without printing on them and wood shavings that I talked the tree trimmer guys to dump when they came to clean the trees from the power lines. I love using free stuff!!  Now, Steve and I have just need to cut the trees from the cattle lot, just to the east, so the bushes can get more sun. 


I also planted broccoli and cabbage plants to replace the ones the chickens ate after I put the first ones in a couple of weeks ago.  And, planted swiss chard and cosmos. 





Lilacs are blooming!



A Warm & Windy Sunday

Today was one of those Spring days that throws a little Summer your way.  The temperatures were in the 90's but the wind was brutal.  It has blown all day long and just now I can see smoke off to the southeast.  Must be a wildfire somewhere.  Hope the wind dies down for the evening. 

 I spent time out in the garden today cleaning out around the blackberries and blueberries.  I also put down another 'black paper' ground cover sheet next to the blackberry plants from last year.  It'll keep the weeds from growing between the plants and the new fence.  I might even go get a couple more plants, I love a trip to the nursery.  And, you can never have too many blackberries! 

The asparagus has begun to grow and it's fun to go pick a mess each evening.  It's so pretty and taste fabulous!!! 

Fresh is always best!

Asparagus & 'the girls' eating dinner.




Peas are coming up too!



Today's harvest.  Yum!



To My Friends & Family

Planting Cabbages

If you're reading this blog you can know that you're a true friend and that I value your opinion.  This has been a work-in-progress for a couple of months and I'm still not that happy with the way it looks.  So, be kind, but please send me your comments on how I can make it better.  I don't have 'lofty' aspirations about having tons of people view what I have to say, but I would like to share our life 'out here on the farm' with whoever is interested.  Originally, it was started for my Grandboys who, even though  have a great life in the big city, love coming to the farm.  And, they miss out on so many things while they're way.
 

So, let me know what you think.  At least it's a start.   

Peter Rabbit

The weather has once again turned to Spring after several days with chilly temperatures and cloudy skies.  Last weekend Steve helped me put up a new fence around the garden.  We used  a steel 'garden wire' that has narrow wire gaps for the first six  to eight inches then a larger pattern toward the top.  Last week we strung the fencing and secured it along the way to keep it in place. 

Today was the day I worked my way all the way around the garden, either on my hands and knees or sitting on my little green cart, to attach wire ties to strengthen the fencing.  This is one of those gardening tasks you forget about when you decide to plant a big garden in, what was until just a few years ago, a forest.    As I worked my way around the bottom I couldn't help but feel like Ole Mr. McGregor and the story of his attempts to keep Peter Rabbit and his friends out of the garden.  I paid extra attention to areas that seemed to gap enough for a rabbit to make their way through.  Hopefully, I'll be successful in keeping the little forest creatures from getting in and eating all my tender young plants that are just breaking through the soil.  Actually, my chicken 'girls' are the real reason I needed a new fence. They love to get in and fluff around in the dirt, which I'm okay with.  But, they also snack on whatever turns green, something I'm not okay with.    I know I've had rabbits, raccoons and other scavengers, too that need to be stopped.   And,.  after all. . . . my grandmother's maiden name was Gregor.  I know Mr. McGregor and I have just got to be related.

 

 

  Steve's heifers had to come close to see what I was up to on the other side of the fence.  They are beautiful, healthy girls and it will soon be time to get them 'out to pasture' for the summer. Four of them stood there and watched me for the longest time.