Adventures with Georgia!

Dan went and picked some strawberries on Monday, then came home and promptly made mead! LOL! I do have some extra to make jam. So That's what I'm doing today.

Had A1 Concrete & Leveling come out on Tuesday to level our driveway. 3 year warranty should they start sinking again. Haven't been able to drive on it yet but it looks right smooth.

While they were out there working in the hot sun I was busting my butt getting ready for market. Sadly I stressed too hard and had a mini breakdown today. Got most of it together, enough to make it to market but I opted to take my puppy dog for a walk. The sun and exercise helped my mood a bit. Once my blood is replenished (got blood drawn this morning for sugar tests) I should feel better right?!

Took Georgia up to visit grandma today. Just got home & now we're installing the new scances!

Ignore those unsightly metal boxes

Got the bed filled last night after Dan got home. It's getting a good soak right now. Since it's been relocated from where I planned I need to redesign the layout. Plan plan plan!!! Have I mentioned that the wee sycamore needs to be moved?! No! It's so sad. I hope it survives.

But first, I need to start feeling better. This headache is killer and I'm so TIRED! Being pregnant is rough.

We got our delivery from Price Organics. I think they missed the tarp....

I woke up with the sun so I did some yoga on the back deck while Georgia was doing her business. Breakfast of bacon and omelet. Then mowing the lawn! Damn thing grows like weeds, it was so tall that I had to rake. Sigh. Afterwards more yoga to loosen my ache muscles then off to work. Once home 5 hrs later we syphoned our Toasted marshmallow and blackberry meads adding fresh honey from a neighbor!

Order forms ready to go

Toasted Marshmallow ready for another month of clearin up

Ah! Grandmas! cherry filling!

Good puppy!

Dinner! Grilled burger with pepper bacon and beer cheese on a toasted broche.

Basement organization phase 1:

The shelving has all been moved to where we think we would like them. I still need at least one more book shelf if I'm being honest!!! They are still in need of organization but for the moment most of the stuff is off the floors. Sweeping can now happen regularly!

We need to know when there will be a garage sale in the neighborhood...if there will be one. We got a lot of stuff we've acquired that we no longer want. See something that catches our fancy let me know! I've got a huge box of stuffed animals that need to go down and some smaller boxes of Barbie stuff and other nick knacks for sale. So Looks like I'll be filling it back up! >.>

Got all the large household items into the garage last night and Habitat For Humanity picked them all up this morning. 25cu ft fridge, the old bathroom sink and vanity plus all it's accoutrements, the old bathroom medicine cabinet with mirror, the 2 light fixtures we took down and the old fans. They wouldn't take the blinds. How sad. Seems no one wants those things.

Winter clothes to be washed and stored

A lot of garage sale items!

Crawlspace scrap wood, baby toys and my target! Laminate floor needs rewrapped till we redo the other bathroom.

Side note:  I got shrooms growing in my yard....and the puppy will not stop eating them!!! They look like fairy rings or Agrocybe pediades. Also found a fun website in my research!

White concave cap, soft yet firm that dries out to a brown.

Underside gray on white stalk.

Clearly all my energy is focusing inward this year. It's evident in the suffering of my garden!

The citrus trees are happy and putting off new sprouts that I have to keep snipped. The peach tree is now outside, should be in the ground within the month. Of my vegetables the acorn squash is the happiest one of the whole lot. The butternut aren't growing, nor are my egg plants, the corn is rebounding from the over heating I gave them but the tomatoes are barely hanging on. Lavender's not growing but my basil is! Sigh. Though I've never had luck with lavender!

In the mead making department I've got a new supplier of honey. A chap that lives down the road. We're getting 5 gallons on Saturday. Well Dan is as I'll be at work. So once strawberries are in that's the next mead to be made. Perhaps a small batch of lavender and to finish up the blackberry and the toasted marshmallow!

So a list of homesteading things to do within the year:

• Make birch beer
• Stake & net the Raspberries
• Finish the raised bed (secure the boards together so dirt doesn't push it apart & add dirt)
• Next Jan-March tap the black walnut & make syrup
• Begin overhaul on the front yard!

Done!

My mate is so motivated! & such a great handyman! SOOOO glad for this!We [him and a buddy really] moved in a hutch from my mother in laws and the other furniture is back where it goes...sort of. I'll take more pictures tonight.

Details: wee medallions we spied and loved before we even picked out the wall colors.

Our archway with the puppy gates back on!

Besides organizing the next project is ... well organizing the basement! & finishing my garden bed. Which reminds me. I need to call the farm and get some dirt!

The never ending tasks of owning a home or reasons to build your own.

Never caulk your baseboards unless you plan to keep them clean and nice looking. Otherwise the next owner (or when you realize they now look like shit and wish to replace them) will have to carefully peal them from the wall, hoping they don't pull out chunks of drywall in the process. Then scrape the caulking off, lightly sand the remaining caulk off and repaint. A whole lot of work just to paint baseboards!

Removing the caulking from the baseboards.