Does this give you an idea of why I haven’t been posting? We are still in the midst of the remodel, we lived with this mess for 5 days. We discovered in the kitchen, dining and 1/2 bath, that the linoleum and luan area had been stapled and glued to the subfloor. It took several days to make the floor smooth and flat enough to lay the new floor.
The mess of new flooring installation
Since moving in late July of 2019 the main level of the house has been under a remodel. It takes more mental bandwidth and physical adjustment than I thought to live through something like this. There is still a bit more to go too. We no sooner get one thing finished and the furniture back in place, that we once again move it again. The good news is that we did discover the best arrangement for the furniture in the living room, it seems that nothing has stayed in place for more than 2 weeks. Of course, one change means several more changes one right after the other. Oh and the DUST!
And then these 2
Goldie and Patton
As if the remodel isn’t enough there are the distractions of these two. The puppy has been a wonderful addition. He is bright, loving and growing like a weed. He is currently in teething mode, and so far doing well. Next week we make a trip to town for his 16-week vaccinations. Then we start some obedience training.
Goldie playing with Patton
Goldie has been a kind and patient sister to the young one. Not sure who enjoys playtime more!K-9 playtime is only in the house. Patton is not heavy enough to take playing in the yard at a full gallop yet. Goldie outweighs him by more than 30 pounds. Soon though he will be big enough to take on the rough and tumble play.
Birdies aren’t bothered
2 days of eggs
Then there are the chickens and they don’t seem to be affected by the renovations or the cold. They have all reached maturity and are producing a dozen eggs every 2 days. The love to range about the yard and scratch up the leaves, and there are a lot!!! The area has many many oak trees and acorns!!! So far we have managed to keep up with the eggs, but only by sharing the wealth every couple of weeks or so.
On the creative front, I have fit in a little, very little creative time. More on that later! I hope you enjoy this little catchup. More Later- Beth
Has it really been since November that I posted? Where has the time gone? Actually I know where all the time has gone and I am quite sure that you do not want to hear the details, but there has been some fun and work.
The House- no fun, lots of work
Is slowly coming together. The major work is completed, but the followup is slow going. We completed most of the interior painting, but about a quarter of the main floor still needs to be painted, we have requested the contractor to redo some of the wall repairs before we finish the painting. Next is also installing the main level flooring. It took us forever to find a floor that we thought we could live with, and we finally decided on one that is not going to be too dark. The fun was putting the furniture back into the living room area.
The new fireplace surround and living room arranged for sitting.
The Outside
The weather has made it difficult to tell if it is winter or not… we have a few days of freezing cold that has led to either ice on the pond or snow, and then a few warmer days with lots of rain. The pond is full and it has been fun to see how the pond changes with the temperature changes. Those pesky ladybug-like creatures are constantly trying to get into the house.
Snowfall on the pond
Some travel
I went to Houston for Quilt Market and the Threads of Success Conference. It was both fun and work. I met a lot of very fascinating people and even caught up with a few friends. Many that were attending “TOS” were (or wanting to be) pattern designers, professional longarmers or book writers and of course, several were retailers. One couple that I met, have created some really great innovative products. I sure hope to get them into the store!!!
Some new and innovative notions
TOS notions
Holidays
Thanksgiving had us traveling. A family event that everyone tries to make. The son and family made it in from Texas this year!!! We all participate in feeding the clan. My job, (most years), are the desserts for 20 and getting them there in one piece (5 hours by car), both fun and work. I also started the holiday baking, I make biscotti for gifting to friends and family. This year a new flavor was added, “Cinnamon Swirl” and it was a big hit. Christmas was lowkey because we stay home and have a traditional-ish turkey dinner.
Obligatory Holiday photo
Ready to gift.
The Holiday Pictures
A Critter Report
Chickens
The 6 Chickens are laying… about a dozen every 2 days. They must be happy girls. They have become quite the intrepid free-rangers, going further and further from the coop every day, even in the rain. If they keep laying, we may have to resort to giving a dozen or two away on a regular basis! Keeping up with them is more fun than work.
All 6 chickens with coop behind
Cats
Not sure where I left off on the cats, but since the last post 6 have had the reproductive cycle interrupted. Only one more to go and all will be unable to reproduce. Not quite sure how I am going to get Tutone separated from the others long enough to trap. He is not totally afraid nor is he friendly… On another note, they are earning their keep!
Prudence with a snack
K-9
The dog “pupulation” has increased by one!!! That is not a typo. We acquired a puppy in the first part of December. We brought him home at 9 weeks, gave him the name “Patton”, and he is now 3 1/2 months old. Goldie loves having a playmate.
Patton’s ears are UP!!!
Creative Department
I took a few moments and set up the longarm. It was breaking my mental status to see all those parts just laying on the concrete floor of the basement. Of course, that meant a little testing. So I quilted a yard of fabrics and created some coin purses. The rest of the creative space contents are still boxed up…
The Creative Department
Technology
Yes, the real culprit for not blogging was technology. It seems that the blog software had an update that had some major conflicts. That company only has a web presence so all the help is done by email or chat, neither is particularly fun or fast. Using email, you get assigned the next available “inbox”, and aside from them not reading ALL the previous messages they tend to get a bit lazy and start suggesting that the problem is probably with the site host… So some 8 weeks later it is resolved. I could write a post, but once it was saved I could not edit or add the pictures, etc. Making it very difficult to be interrupted… and if you were raised in corporate America, you learned to save periodically, so all your hard work did not go poof- Even if it was going to anyway!!!
So, if you have made it this far… thanks for keeping up… even if I don’t! More Later-Beth
A report on all the critters we have found here at the new place. All the animals other than Goldie, the kittens (almost cats) and the 6 hens are all visitors.
The 1st Visitor
The tortoise in the garden
During the last few hot hot hot days of summer, I found this fellow under a severely neglected rose bush. It wasn’t there the next day. We have seen quite a few tortoises, and possibly one aquatic turtle that is living in the pond.
Other Wild Critters
Most of the late summer mornings we had these fellows. A bachelor flock of male turkeys visits the field across the road early in the mornings, although they have been rather scarce the last week or so. There is a flock of hens at the top of the road, but I haven’t seen it in several weeks either. It numbers in the range of about 40 birds. I wonder if the month of November has anything to do with the scarcity?
Our local Wild Tom Turkeys
Some new Baby Critters
The cows are brought back about every 3 weeks to live across the road. Most of the neighbors on the road have a cow or two. In the field at the top of the road are 2 new calves. One afternoon on my way home the little black one was jumping and cavorting about having some fun all on his own. It was so cute it made me smile.
2 new calves
A Fishy Critter
One afternoon down at the pond I spotted fish! The sun was at just the right angle to see fish in the water. This was before the drought broke and the water was still low. This is a catfish, and I think they were spawning in the reeds. We are having a quick triple cold snap, so I doubt if there any hatchlings.
A catfish in the pond
Another Wild thing
On the downside of the pond dam, we cleared the field of goldenrod and weeds. And as the temperatures started to cool toward fall, we started to see this little lady. She spends quite a bit of time back there, and she is just visible from the kitchen window in the evenings. Now with the end of daylight savings time, I may not see her anymore. She is right in the center of the picture.
A doe visits
Backyard Critters
The chickens are a fun bunch of ‘girls’. They now recognize me and if the pen is open will run out to greet me in the yard and follow me around. They are not worried about Goldie or any of the cats. Earlier this week a few ventured outside the backyard but ducking under the gate. And one, guessing it is Ethel due to the comb, came all the way down to the pond and got a drink. We have had some cold nights so now the girls have a heat lamp to help keep the coop warm and a feed bucket, for the days when it is too icky outside for them… They are happy and are producing nearly a dozen eggs a week for us.
Ethel the Chicken drinking at the pond
The blue egg is from the chickens, the white is store-bought.
And the Feline Critters
And finally, we get to to the cats. All of them have names, although they may change… as they earn a new one. As of right now, 3 have been fixed. 2 were females and 3 males. Prudence has turned into my special friend. She follows me everywhere, except where Goldie is, as does The Prince. Patience went right back to being a loner, the minute she was sprung. #1 and Tommy are currently recuperating in the garage from their visit to the vet on Thursday. We managed to capture all 7 at breakfast. I added the names for you!
All 7 at breakfast
So that catches you up on the critters around here. I wish I had more time to tell you more… but suffice it to say… there isn’t enough time. That old adage about how time goes by faster the older you get is TRUE! More Later-Beth
