And this is my life

Picking up from the kitchen drain issue we moved on to adding shelves to the back porch and moving some stuff in there. 

We tried our hand at sourdough English muffins. They came out ok.  

We uncovered the Hoosier that still needs some restoration. I also rehung the back door to swing in instead of out. 

And after umpteen years of propping the door shut I finally got a door knob installed. And then this. But I’m not fixing it until the wood cook stove gets in the house. 

And now we’re digging up the bathtub drain. Cuz it’s not draining. Sigh. 

Farmer Girl is dismantling some little chicken houses and I’m taking out weed trees cuz everything thing here is in the way. Some days I don’t even want to get out of bed. 

But there are fun days too. My friends came to visit me at work. 

I got to see some of my family on Christmas. 

I lucked into a great deal on a scroll saw. Now I have to learn to use it. 

Found a heart rock.

Hatched some chicks. 

#appreciation

Today I appreciate my life with its ups and downs and quirks. I appreciate that my life is not as hard as some. 

12/2/2020. This was NOT on the schedule!!

So for a week or maybe two I had noticed a little water on the floor in front of the kitchen sink. At first I thought it was splashed from a drippy faucet or maybe from washing dishes.  Well it got bigger and deeper and finally I looked into the dark and nasty space under the sink. But I didn’t see anything dripping. The sink pipes are on the outside of the wall and I didn’t see any dripping there either. I was afraid it was leaking underground so I dug around the base of the pipes but it was very dry. 

So I pulled up the rotten chip board. Finally realized it was a drain connection dripping. I *thought* I fixed it. Trial run, no leakage. 

Cleaned up the crud and cut some boards. Just trying to close up the space. Haven’t got enough time, money or energy to do more than that right now. 

As done as it’s getting for now. Of course at this point we are washing dishes and cleaning up the mess. And that’s when I noticed the drain is dripping again. I stuck a bucket under it and called it good. For now. I think I know what the issue is and will fix it. In the meantime the bucket works. And now I can get on with the things that I had planned for this week!

#appreciation

I do appreciate that it was just the drain and not a water line. I also appreciate that I didn’t have to dig any ditches. 

Farmer Friday 11/27/2020

It’s been a super busy week but I don’t have a lot of pictures to show for it. We did market on Saturday. 

Did errands and saw a sun dog on the way home. 

I trimmed out the window opening on the shed but didn’t get any further than that. 

I did add an extra shelf to the tool storage. 

Mr Ian left to go live with a herd of Golden Gurnseys up in Chino. 

Farmer Girl and I tackled the back porch. Finished ripping out the old shelves and cabinet. Patched up holes. 

Cleaned up the little metal cabinet. 

Used up some old paint

Got the refrigerator stuck in the doorway. 30” doorway. 30” refrigerator. It’ll work, right? I’m sure it would have been a breeze if the doorway was square and the floor was level! We did finally manage it. That project also entailed taking the back door off its hinges. Then we decided to turn it around and make it swing the other way. 

Then having confirmed market was happening tomorrow I picked turnips and kale. 

Then we moved the buffet and tried to clean up some of the mess we made.  Whew. I’m pooped!

#appreciation

I’m appreciating that we were able to wrestle the refrigerator into place!

Farmer Friday 11/20/2020

So as you can see this wall needs some help. No gutters on this side of the house due to bizarre roof angles and a lot of water dumps right there and splashes into the bottom of the wall. 

So Farmer Girl tackled the repair with only a small amount of guidance and help from me. 

We just used up some scrap that my daughter found on heavy trash day. 

And now for some paint. Good job Farmer Girl!

While Farmer Girl worked on the house wall I finished getting a garden bed ready. I’ll be planting it soon. 

Hopefully it will grow as well as this one has. 

This morning I picked the first Tatsoi along with the usual chard and kale and a few random radishes. 

I pulled a few small weeds and buggy leaves for the chickens. 

And spent the rest of the day making a parking garage for the cordless tools. On the sides of the uprights are magnet tool holders to hold all the little oddball bits and nut drivers. Now I just need to figure out a good way to store my pliers and my socket set that’s in a broken case. 

#appreciation

Today I appreciate all the people in my lifetime that have taught me about making, building and using power tools. From my first mentor, a master carpenter, 40 some years ago to some great YouTube videos I learn something new with every project. 

Busy Busy!

After the chicken show a couple weeks ago Farmer Girl and I have worked can’t see to can’t see every day I didn’t have to work away from home. The next few pics are Patchwork Shed progress. 

A trip over the mountain for supplies. Gypsum for the gardens. Peat moss for chicken bedding (an experiment this year) and some trim boards for the shed 

The door is ready to hang. 

Ready to paint this side

This side is half done. 

Getting organized 

Making progress 

Getting moved in

Still a window, crack filling and trim work but finally closed in. 

At the same time I worked away from home, picked flowers and veg for market and did chores everyday. 

We also took time out to strip the big hoophouse and cover it with plastic for the winter. 

Then we stripped down the little hoophouse, cleaned it out and put down fresh bedding. 

Painting the tools bright colors makes them easy to see and remember to put them away. 

About 5 deer came to visit 

We also worked on straightening out the hoophouse the goats destroyed. Even with 3 ratchet straps on it I don’t think it will ever be the same. 

On Friday I found some daikon and picked greens for market. 

The tatsoi is coming along but not quite big enough yet. 

Before. 

After. 

We also cleaned up the driveway so I could pull up and unload feed into the shed  instead of putting it in the house 

I changed the gasket on the wood stove door and was amazed at how much longer the wood burned over night. I just hadn’t realized how much the old gasket was leaking air. 

We went to market on Saturday. 

Saturday afternoon we cleaned out a coop. 

We did some other odds and ends. Picked up feed and groceries. Had a mostly homegrown dinner of leftover duck and veg stir fry. 

Sunday we gave this garden space some attention. 

I dug and pulled rocks from this space, put down some solid amendments and repaired and extended the old drip lines 

Farmer girl helped pound fence posts. 

You can’t really see it but there is scrap fencing on the posts. Need to do a little more soil work and set up irrigation on that side.  Peas will go on the fence.  Lettuce, spinach, arugula are planned for the bed with hoops. 

Whew. Been a long couple weeks. Time for dinner and a shower. 

#appreciation

Tonight I appreciate my Farmer Girl and her helping hands. Love you honey!