Week in review..

Hello there!

I feel as though I have been a little MIA this past week.  It was a good week but it was a full week.  I think knowing that the summer is sadly coming to a close, we are all trying to get in those last few precious visits with friends and family and squeezing as much of the 'to do' list into the last few remaining summer days as we can.

I'm much better at regularly posting to twitter and instagram, so feel free to follow me there too.. nudge nudge.  :)

Where to begin...

We have replaced the oil burning furnace with a propane furnace that can be converted to natural gas should they ever run natural gas out this way.  There were so many factors in this decision and the timing - environmental responsibility, cost, insurance requirements...

With the furnace installed, Derek used the tractor to dig an 18inch deep trench a route to where the propane tank would be placed.  To all my friends looking to landscape their properties at all.. if you need BIG rocks, I'll hook you up.  We've got plenty.  What a job!!!  Furnace and propane installation complete....

... and it was cool and damp enough this week to feel like autumn!!  Two days this week were 'tea days'..  I'm not a big tea drinker but there are just some days that warrant a pot or two of tea - and these delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from my Girl Guide friend "Sunflower".  We had a lovely visit and more than a couple of pots of tea together.

Lastly... I need to do a blog post on what I have learned about the importance of meal planning and organized grocery shopping.  Erin had a friend out for a sleepover during the week.  I knew what we were going to have for meals, snacks - the girls had a pile of activities planned and all ran smoothly UNTIL half way through making breakfast crepes, I realized we didn't have a drop of maple syrup in the house!!  What to do?  

Out came the chocolate syrup and the vanilla ice cream.  The girls had a deliciously unhealthy breakfast - thankfully my friend is a good sport and a very understanding mom and laughed when I texted her that if her daughter comes home with stories of 'ice cream for breakfast', it is in fact true.  I did think my mother in law would be very proud of me - visits to grandma and grandpa's house always include ice cream and sweets... grandma has even unashamedly given little girls ice cream BEFORE dinner.  :)

Our week wrapped up with a lovely visit with some dear friends that we hadn't seen since we moved in June.  Us grown ups were able to sit and catch up over a glass of wine while the kids raced bikes down the hill (even after the sun set!! thankfully nobody was hurt).  Our kids loved seeing their friends -  our friends' poor daughter was such a trooper with being shadowed by Sam and Krista who pulled her in all sorts of directions to catch toads and barn cats and climb and jump from rocks!  

Oh and to witness the awkwardness of 12/13 year old boys and girls that don't quite know how to chat face to face.. poor Nicole.  Hopefully she passes over this blog post without reading it - our tough girl in braids and camouflage and sooo SHY and QUIET around her friend that she has known since preschool!?!  lol

We are expected to be headed into another summer heat wave... hopefully not too humid that we can't finish our coop... we are so close to  being able to move our flocks into their own 'forever home' and I can't wait to share our photos and story!!!

Until then,

Jeanette

Schnickisms and soffits

Happy Friday!

I realized the other day that I have alluded to our way of "SCHNICKing" things together but hadn't shared some of our recent SCHNICKisms!

A few weeks back when replacing soffit on the barn we found ourselves stuck.  We had worked our way around the barn roof overhang, replacing the rotten broken plywood soffit with lengths of new barn board using just our "muscles", 2x4 scaffold and a ladder to line up and level the boards.  I would hold the board and Derek would climb and anchor the board with the drill and then I would take a turn and climb the ladder to finish drilling screws while Derek cut the next length of board.

It was late afternoon, we had just two boards left to replace and of course.. these two boards did NOT want to go in straight AND both boards had a bit of a bow to them.  No amount of muscle or swearing would beat these boards into submission.  We stood back to think the situation over... it wasn't long before I spotted the lightbulb of a SCHNICK idea glowing bright over Derek's head.

I've learned this is my cue to stand back, watch with wide eyes and pray... oh and take a picture, just in case.

Derek pulled up with the tractor, positioned the bucket to apply pressure to the edge of the board that was out of position and lock it into place.  He then quickly attached said board to barn before swinging himself back into the seat of the tractor with a very satisfied grin on his face.

It worked.

I don't ever doubt my husband, but after 14 years of marriage I can still be surprised by the successful outcomes of some SCHNICK ideas.  :) 

Enjoy your weekend,

Jeanette

A 12 year old's perspective... {WORDless Wednesday}

Howdy!

A couple of weeks back I had let Nicole use my Canon 50D for the afternoon (Mom's BIG camera as its called).  I can't recall the exact reason she gave as to why her iPod camera wasn't up to the task she was setting out for herself, but when it came time to view and download her creative masterpieces, I have to say, I was quite impressed:

Little sis - yup we see that look a lot.

I love this picture of Erin - she usually fights having her picture taken.

And then some photos of their 18" dolls that they were playing with that afternoon:

Huh?  You'd never be able to tell this girl had some serious pony love going on.  :)

Happy Wednesday!

Jeanette

Family time...

Hello!

I can't believe its been about a week since my last blog post!  August has been a busy month so far for us; especially this last week - our last hospital visits for the elbow, last soccer games, new furnace installed, a day trip and lots of visitors.  :)

We needed a day together.  We needed a day at home.

Talking as a family on Saturday evening, everyone agreed that it would be great to work on our chicken coop (its at a great stage where you can really see progress!) and the girls just wanted to run around and explore.  Sammy of course just loves the idea that she can play in the water... FINALLY!

We had breakfast together in the house, I put dinner into the slow cooker and we all made our way out to the barn and coop.  The girls played with the kittens, climbed in the hay loft and caught frogs from around the rocks (Sammy has become an expert at catching leopard frogs.. even tiny ones!)  

Erin loves to build and create.  She has been using a handsaw, hammer and nails to build minecraft items!  (with our supervision... its not ALL wild west out here.  ;)  )

Minecraft Oven and coal

Derek and I set to work on the coop.  I LOVE working alongside my hubby.  I'm sure that there are parts of the construction that I make progress a bit slower but I am so happy to be a part of the process.  Derek and I have always worked well together.  I remember wallpapering a bathroom together just before we were married and a friend joking that if we survived that, our marriage would be just fine.  Unless Derek is reading this and thinking otherwise, I think we make a pretty good team.

Framing the coop utility room/entrance way.

It was just TOO nice of a day to be indoors at all.  Even as the humidity set in and the mosquitos began to show up, we stayed outside.  Nicole helped to put together a picnic lunch which we all enjoyed out under the walnut tree - including Rosie who usually prefers the comfort of the house. :)

It was a  very good day.  It surprised me - I often feel over-busy and overwhelmed during the school year, and hardly at all during the summer months, but yesterday was very much needed.  Sometimes when life is going full speed, you need to just rein in the commitments, pull your family in closer and SLOW down.  I have seen SO much growth from my girls this summer it both amazes me and saddens me - they really don't spend as much time in my pocket as they did when they were younger and full time school starts for all four ladybugs in just a few weeks.

I'm holding fast to these long days of summer...

Jeanette

Pins and needles

Good morning!

Our summer has had a feeling of being on 'pins and needles'... not only waiting to move houses but...

Our dear Sammy had a fall from the monkey bars at the end of May that ended with a bone break and surgical pin placement in her left elbow.  She's been an absolute trooper through it all - the hospital stay, surgery, after care of pins that protruded from her skin (on purpose for quick removal) and finally through the pin removal surgery yesterday.

All fixed up and ready to go!!

She smiled through the whole waiting process... I tended to fidget.  So I knit or I crocheted instead.

For those who see me "in real life" know that I practically live in my socks and Birkenstocks.  (I know! I know!  Nicole tells me I have seriously scarred her with my fashion choice. lol)   I rock my hand knit (or crocheted socks) at the grocery store, at church, during winter and summer and the seasons in between and had even considered calling this blog "the socks and sandals farmer" as I tend to garden and work in the barn in my socks and my sandals.

Through the course of Sammy's broken elbow adventure  -  in hospital waiting rooms and such I have had a pair of socks on my knitting needles as well as a sock in progress on the crochet hook - both projects just about finished.  And when asked why my go-to project is SOCKS even in summer, I reply that "Winter is Coming" (for all of my fellow Game of Thrones fans).  :)  Seriously though, they are small enough to pack along in my purse and aren't heavy and warm on the lap while working away on them.

Turning the heel!

I will admit that knit socks take me longer to make than the crocheted ones and that I am partial to the thickness of the crocheted ones - perfect fit for my sandals; but I enjoy the two at a time, toe up knitting process of the knit socks better.  No fancy patterns just straight up knit, purl and single crochet.  :)  Simple and lovely.

What types of projects/activities keep you SANE while waiting through tense times?

Jeanette

Poultry in the barn

Happy Saturday!

I thought I would give a little update on our chickens and ducks... because I just love them.  :)

Last weekend we moved our 41 chicks and our 10 ducklings out to a modified horse stall in the barn. With all hands on deck it took about three trips of four boxes to get everyone safely moved into their temporary barn home.

Krista loves helping drive the tractor full of feed and shavings.

The move went very smoothly and everyone was happily exploring their new surroundings in no time.  I also have to add that you would be quite proud of me.  Their first evening outside of the house had our area seeing torrential downpours and  amazing lightning shows!  I only had Derek make one trip with me to check in on our flock at the barn.  :)

Derek's ducklings are getting bigger everyday!

Later in the week, with my craft room once again a craft room (and only mildly smelling like pine shavings) I sat down to sew.  I made a quick box bottom shopping bag from one of the empty plastic  feed sacks.  (For instructions see this PIN on my Pinterest board).

Cute little chicken tag on the handle

I am already scheming a cute messenger bag when we have HORSE feed sacks on hand.

Have a lovely weekend!
Jeanette

Quiet reconnect...

Life is great... summer is a wonderful time to explore, grow and adventure.  However, the unscheduled days of summer can also bring on moments (read: HOURS) of this:

Thankfully my girls have learned to find "their down time space".  Nicole can squirrel away to her room, Erin can sit in front of the barn and paint and Sammy will sit quietly watching dragonflies and chipmunks around her pond.

The above photo was taken from my "down time space".  The kitchen window, hot tea in hand and my book (I'm burning through Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl right now - enjoying it very much!).

Sometimes we just need to hide away for a few moments,  disconnect and reconnect when all batteries are charged.

:)
Jeanette

Happy Barn-cat Birthday

Howdy!

It has been a busy week - a good week around a long weekend full of family and friends - but a busy week.  So much to update.. but I'll start today with Krista's FOURTH birthday.

What do you get the little girl that LOVES mermaids and kittens and play-doh?  

Seeing as it was near impossible to find a real life mermaid nearby, we opted for the other two wishes on her list.

A princess playdoh set to add to her collection was a quick find as was a kitten or two..

A neighbour down the road had us over one evening to meet his wife, his horses, take a peek at his chicken coop set up and to see his litter of barn cats that were looking for new barns to call home.  These little kittens were very shy and almost feral!  I was a little unsure about adopting kittens that NEEDED socializing.

However, my heart melted when the next morning, our neighbour arrived with two little kittens he had brought with him.  A little black cat with a tiny streak of white on her chest who became known as Trayorus (Krista chose this name) and a little tortishell tabby that Nicole named Smores.

It has taken some work to get these little two used to our smaller, quieter barn as well as the regular visits and cuddles that our girls love to dish out.  The first couple of days, we needed to extract them from their hiding places wearing gloves just in case they became so scared they bit or scratched.  Gradually they have become less and less fearful of us and this morning actually sat and ate their breakfast while we tended to other tasks in the barn.  YAY!

So we have cats now to keep away any rodents from our barn and livestock - what about the coyotes that have been seen (and heard) in the area? 

Derek had been reading about livestock protection options.  From donkeys to dogs - there are a few animals that do a fantastic job on a farm at keeping away threats.  I think Derek took the information he read; looked at the size of the animals and went right down the middle.  Not quite as large as a donkey but much bigger than an average dog, we welcomed a Great Pyrenees puppy into our family.

We named her Ghost (as in Jon Snow's dire wolf from Game of Thrones) and she has fit in very nicely - though our housecat Micro hasn't made up his mind about her yet.  

Ah yes.  Back to midnight potty trips, puppy chew toys and obedience training (before she is large enough to require wearing a horse halter.  :)  )

Happy Wednesday,

Jeanette