Making Hay

It's been a making hay while sun shines kind of week. Lots of fresh produce from the garden needed worked.  I started with the cabbage. 

 We had boiled cabbage, creamy cole slaw, shared some, and made Aunt Wanda's freezer slaw.  

Aunt Wanda was the sister of my mother-in-law.  She's been gone 12 years and it brought back such great memories reading her handwriting and thinking about her. She was a wonderful lady and I loved her dearly. 

The canner has been getting a work out. Megan made Salsa Verde using produce from the garden.  

I am officially done with green beans for the year. 

Mom and I have canned 82 quarts this season! Tomorrow morning I will pull up my remaining beans. 

Next week school starts, which means I will be watching my great-nephew once again. I made a large shop and worked on stocking my freezer.

I purchased two large packages of ground beef (they both were on special with $5 off each package), one package of chicken breast, one package of chicken tenders, and a large bag of shredded mozzarella cheese. 

 Out of that I was able to package up 10 packages of hamburger, 2  packages of 3 pattied hamburgers, 3 packages of chicken tenders (about 8 in each package), 8 chicken breast (packaged individually), 4 mini meatloaf (cook and flash frozen for Chuck's lunchbox), 14 meatballs (cooked and flashed frozen) to be used as a quick addition to sauce, and 9, 2 cup portions of mozzarella cheese. I've very happy with the addition to my freezer!

I've also been working on my latest furnitue flip.  I removed the paper this afternoon and will be able to stain it this weekend. 

The never ending fence project continues. One coat of paint is on the back of the gate. This is a tendious project with the rails. 

More pickets have been added! Chuck will have all of the pickets we have available back in place this weekend. 

I keep reminding myself that some projects take time and I need be patient and appreciate any progress. I've very happy with how it's turning out. 

It's been a productive week and I'm happy with the things that have been accomplished. 

Wendi 

Let's Catch Up

Well, Hello Friends! It's been just a little bit since I've visited my little space on the web. Let's catch up!

I've been spending most of my time painting. 

So far I've painted approximately 140 feet of post and 2x4's along with 115 pickets. We won't even discuss how much more I have to go. 

Megan turned twenty!!

We've had plenty of rain and it turned HOT! Which means the garden has been going crazy. 

Between my garden and my moms' we ended up with a little over three, five gallon buckets of SNAPPED green beans. That resulted 60 quarts canned. 

I don't know if I mentioned that my great-nephew, Ben, is going to be a big brother. His little brother will be here in about two months. We hosted a small sprinkle for my niece on the 4th. 

My oldest niece made the banner. We're encouraging her to start a side hustle. 

And if I don't have enough going on I'm working on some furniture flips. Let me tell you that removing black paint is the pits! It took a bit, but I got it done. 

Our annual 4th of July picture. 

Excuse my awful hair. I'm growing out a cut that I dislike.  Ugh. 

I hope everyone is doing well! 

Wendi 

Back At It

As I'm typing this post the house is quiet. Megan is still asleep and Chuck has returned to work after three weeks off. He was asked to apply for a different position before we left for vacation. He will now be part of the management team. He had declined taking a higher position for years. I guess they caught him on a good day as he agreed to apply. *smile* Honestly, the applying was only a formality for HR. He starts his new position today. 

When we returned home it has hot and nasty. A storm rolled through the other night and has cooled things down. There were confirmed tormados not far from us, thankfully we only had high winds and rain. Our only issue was a downed tree branch. It did hit the fence, but caused no damage. 

Chuck made a couple of steel runs. He did well, and we were able to reach another financial goal. Yeah!

I think that I mentioned that our beloved neighbors are planning to move. Well, we came back to the news that they have an offer and the home inspection will be this week. That spurred us to do and unplanned project. 

The fence between our property is partially picket with some panels of privacy fencing. We knew we wanted to add a few more panels of privacy to block our back porch and pool. 

As you can tell from the picture most of the pickets have seen better days. So, the decision was made to go ahead and repair the fence on this side before we have new neighbors. You just never know what new neighbors will be like. It's better to, hopefully, get this taken care of before they move in. 

I removed all of the pickets on the front portion of the fence and then pressure washed the post and 2x4's, along with the privacy fence.

There is nothng as satifying as watching the dirt get stripped away! Pickets have been picked up for the first section. 

We could not find the correct width which means Chuck will have to cut down all of the pickets. Yuck! 

 This time the fence is going to be white. I really wanted a white fence to begin with. Someone talked us out of it saying it would be hard to maintain. We went with a suggested "cedar" stain that ended up looking more orange and I have hated it for the past 15 years! Now if only we could get a dry stretch I will be able to start painting. 

Since I've been spending so much time outside, today will be a day of housework. I'm planning to do a little reset and clean out a few areas. It feels good to be back at it!

Wendi 

100 Miles An Hour

Things have been busy around here. 100 miles an hour feels like an understatement most days. Let's start off with today... Chuck and I celebrated our 25th anniversary! Nothing fancy happened. We had thought about a get away, but with an upcoming beach vacation we opted to stay home.  Chuck took the day off, we did some projects, ran a few errands, and ended the night at our favorite pizza restaurant. 

Lots of outside work has been happening. 

The garden has been tilled and broccoli and cabbage plants have been planted. 

There is kale in the gutter garden. I have also planted lettuce and spinach. Those are making a slower appearance. 

Potatoes are growing well, and so is the lettuce that I started indoors. The lettuce had been under a frost cover until today. 

I've looked at the long range forecast and I should be able to plant my garden in the next two weeks. That means it's time to harden off my seedlings. 

They are more than ready to go in the ground. 

The pressure washer has been pulled out and the porch received it's yearly cleaning. 

While everything was off of the porch I wiped things down and any maintenance was preformed. The first thing completed was a fresh coat of paint on the planters. 

I've wanted to paint the stand for this swing for years. This was the year! Chuck washed, sanded, and painted the frame. I had him use the same color as the planters. 

Once that was complete I knew the swing was getting a coat of paint also. 

I have loved a white swing since I was a little girl. I remember going to visit a relative we called Cousin Edna. She had a white swing with a green cushion on her front porch. I found it so charming!

While I was in the painting mode I touched up some furniture. 

Fresh mulch was placed in all of the flower beds. 

Megan gave me a watering can and twinkle lights for Mother's Day last year. I had a plan for it, but I needed a shepherds hook. I finally found one tall enough. 

It turned out so cute!!

The swing set was pressure washed. This swing set was built by my father-in-law in 1990 for his first grandchild. She was grown by the time we purchased this house and they gave the swing set to us. 

Over the years we've had to replace the tarp and swings. The wood is still in great shape and it looks brand new after being cleaned. 

Beside our already scheduled trip to the beach we have no plans for travel this summer. With the state of things we will be staying home. I am completely fine with that, as I am a homebody.  The plan is to maintain the things we have. 

We are still working on the kitchen remodel with our neighbors. The countertop was slightly delayed. Once that is installed we need to help with the back splash and then we are done. Yeah! The plan was to help them with this remodel and then they would do a few more upgrades and put their house on the market in a couple of years.

Well, that has changed and it is going on the market as soon as the kitchen is complete. We are sad, yet we understand. That has lead us to a project that we had hoped to put off... our fence.  It needs some maintenance. Some of the pickets need replaced and it needs painted. Since our beloved neighbors are moving we have decided to add a few more privacey panels. 

You never know what kind of neighbor you will get. So, we thought it best to go ahead and do the maintenance on that side of the fence and to extend some privacy for our back porch and pool. I guess you could say we are planning for the worse and praying for the best when it comes to new neighbors!

Here is my girl going on her first interview for what I am calling a big girl job. 

She has applied at several banks. So far she's had three interviews and no offers.  As I was texting with her after an interview today... I told her I am praying for God's will when it comes to a job offer. So, if they aren't coming it's not God's will. She replied you're right. Trusing God for his plan and timing isn't always easy. *smile*

Besides everything I've shared our calendar is full for the month.  There are many nights I'm not sitting down until after 8. I know this pace is end in three weeks. I might be counting down the day!

Wendi 

First Week of Spring

The first week of spring has been full and wonderful. The weather has been spectacular for early spring. That helped to get many things  marked off of. the to do list.

Here and there I have been up potting my seedlings. I still have three trays to work through.

I was also able to do some early season planting. 

 

Peas are officially in the ground!

Every one has been anxious to be outside, even the chickies. 

The yard was cleaned and the first cut of the season took place. 

The big project of the week has been the neighbors kitchen. All of the old kitchen cabinets and counter top were all condensed into this stack. I may have had a great time busting most of these to smitherines!

This is as far as we got by the end of the weekend. Honestly, must further then we thought. 

Since this picture was taken the sink has been temporarily installed.  A must with twin 8 month old babies. The plan is to have the cabinets completed next weekend so the counter top installation can be scheduled. Oh, and they will be able to load the cabinets. I know they are looking forward to getting that chaos put away.

Not everything was work. The weather was perfect and there was a lot of time spent outside. The boys from next door were in our back yard as much as they were their own. 

I really don't mind as it warms my heart to hear them counting while playing hide and seek and the giggles make me smile. 

While the kids played I read. I've officially completed all 14 books I received for Christmas and my birthday. I'll have to find a new series to read soon.

Spring is my favorite season and I plan to enjoy every moment.

Wendi 

Making Hay

 Hello friends, it's been a few. While I've been away I've been busy making hay while the sun shines. 

If you follow Annabel from The Blue Birds are Nesting on the Farm I imagine you've heard her use that phrase often. I'm sure we could all feel a shift in the world recently. 

When things feel heavy I do two things... turn to God and turn my thoughts toward my home and family. I looked it up and the Bible mentions multiple times that we are not to live in fear. I can't remember exactly, but it was something like 365 times!

What can I do to change things when the world is on fire? Really, nothing. I can pray and I can prepare. Here are a few things I've been doing to make hay while the sun shines.

I planted the last of my vegetable seeds.  

A week after sowing the seeds, most of them have sprouted. 

We (meaning mainly Chuck and me as his cheerleader and helper) have taken on a project. We are removing and installing new kitchen cabinets for our next door neighbors. They are also helping with labor. 

They were quoted $24,000 to complete this project. We were approached and asked if Chuck would help them (which means basically to do this project). They are paying him for his help, even with paying him they are going to save a bunch of money. Over the weekend this is the section we were able to complete. 

There is still lots of work to complete, but in the end it will be a win, win for all of us. They will save money and we will earn some. 

For even when we were with you, this we command you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:10

With things feeling a little uncertain I decided I needed to do some stocking up. I may not work outside of my home, but what I do in my home is just as important. 

 The first stop was to get bedding and extra feed for the girls. 

Next I added to the pantry. Now, as I've mentioned before I keep a well stocked pantry, so I did a little topping off. 

The first stop was to stock up on my tea. Only one store carries the kind I like. I did splurge and purchase a frozen pizza that was on sale. That will save us from take out on a crazy or lazy night. 

I stocked up of flour and sugar. There is so much that can be done with these two items. I also needed to top off my chicken supply. 

Now that most things have been topped off I will need to be prudent to watch sales and ensure my stock doesn't dwindle. 

While making waffles for breakfast I whipped up a double batch and added some to the freezer. 

Chuck finished the window boxes to the point that I was able to give them their first coat of paint. 

The plan is to finished them this week and then Chuck will be able to add the trim to the top. 

It's spring break which means I won't have to care for Ben for the next two weeks. I have a lot of hay to make while the sun shines!

Keep those home fires burning and continue to pray, that's really all we can do!

Wendi