After almost a decade of letting the boxes of bamboo flooring languish in storage, I bravely ripped out the hall carpet and undertook the flooring project. I thought installation would take three days. Silly me. Of course, I've never installed wood flooring before, so I plead ignorance.
The project now nears completion after six days of work spread out over two weeks. I've learned quite a bit. Here are some observations and tips that you may want to consider if you are thinking of installing your own flooring.
1. If the muscles you use for sitting/kneeling/hunkering down and then standing up aren't in shape, they will be by the time you're done.
2. Sore will take on new dimension. Sore muscles. Sore hip joints. Sore knee joints. Sore knee bones.
3. Your fingers will swell so much that you can't get your rings on.
4. The incredibly gooey glue that is used to attach wood flooring to a concrete slab will NOT come off your hands. Ever. Your skin will wear away first.
5. Do not get flooring glue in your hair unless you really don't need all the hair on your head.
6. You will waken in the night knowing you need to take some aspirin. You will lie there in pain trying to decide if moving is worth more pain.
7. Wear clothing that you are willing to throw away when the project is complete.
8. It is VERY difficult to remove a misplaced piece of flooring even when the glue is fresh.
9. When you think you have the flooring pieces in place and walk away, they shift JUST A LITTLE when you turn your back.
10. The glue oozes out JUST A LITTLE into the space under the tongue of the tongue and groove joint overnight and sets up so that you must spend the first thirty minutes of the next work day scraping it out so the next board will slide into place.
11. Even fresh out of the box, not all the boards are perfect. Even if you let the boxes of boards acclimatize as per instructed, they may still be slightly bowed and/or warped. Your mind will acclimatize to that new reality.
Is installing your own flooring worth the effort? At this point, with the hall almost finished, I'll say yes. Ask me again when it's time to do the bedrooms. Next fall.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Freaking Busy Day
Today was a BUSY BUSY BUSY day.
I got up early and took the cheese out of the press and put it in the air drying screened box.
Washed/dried laundry.
Sorted the mail.
Milked the goats, filtered and chilled the milk, took the does on a browse walk. Fed Noodle his bottle and cut browse for the bucks. (They are in a small pen for now.)
Dropped off outgoing mail at the post office in Alton.
Went to the bank.
Drove to Mammoth Spring for gasoline (15 cents a gallon cheaper than in Missouri), shopped at Hirsch Feed, Wal Mart, and Cover Lumber.
Drove back to Many Springs.
Ate lunch (thank you, Cyndy).
Cyndy and I worked on painting my bedroom. It has two coats of primer so far, and we are about half way through the first color coat.
Rick and Vance mowed here and at the cabin and filled in the skunk den access hole under the deck. They also put the new filter on the farm gas tank.
Made several phone calls about sinks and countertops. Called about transition pieces for the intersection between the vinyl plank and the sheet vinyl at the bathroom doorways.
Went back to Alton, bought goat feed, shopped at Dollar General and the grocery store.
Came back to Many Springs, unloaded feed, mixed the feed, put feed in the container in the milk house.
Spread flower seeds around the edges of the hay meadow, grass seed in a small area of the hay meadow for a test, and spread some fertilizer.
Fed goats, milked goats, filtered and chilled milk, gave Noodle his bottle.
Picked ticks. (Deep Woods Off is just *not* working effectively.) Took a shower. Ate some fruit salad.
I'm tired, but it's a good tired.
I got up early and took the cheese out of the press and put it in the air drying screened box.
Washed/dried laundry.
Sorted the mail.
Milked the goats, filtered and chilled the milk, took the does on a browse walk. Fed Noodle his bottle and cut browse for the bucks. (They are in a small pen for now.)
Dropped off outgoing mail at the post office in Alton.
Went to the bank.
Drove to Mammoth Spring for gasoline (15 cents a gallon cheaper than in Missouri), shopped at Hirsch Feed, Wal Mart, and Cover Lumber.
Drove back to Many Springs.
Ate lunch (thank you, Cyndy).
Cyndy and I worked on painting my bedroom. It has two coats of primer so far, and we are about half way through the first color coat.
Rick and Vance mowed here and at the cabin and filled in the skunk den access hole under the deck. They also put the new filter on the farm gas tank.
Made several phone calls about sinks and countertops. Called about transition pieces for the intersection between the vinyl plank and the sheet vinyl at the bathroom doorways.
Went back to Alton, bought goat feed, shopped at Dollar General and the grocery store.
Came back to Many Springs, unloaded feed, mixed the feed, put feed in the container in the milk house.
Spread flower seeds around the edges of the hay meadow, grass seed in a small area of the hay meadow for a test, and spread some fertilizer.
Fed goats, milked goats, filtered and chilled milk, gave Noodle his bottle.
Picked ticks. (Deep Woods Off is just *not* working effectively.) Took a shower. Ate some fruit salad.
I'm tired, but it's a good tired.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Flora and fauna
The Ozarks are a beautiful place. Lovely critters and growing things appear on a daily basis.
This black snake fell from the Mimosa tree outside the living room window. He had been climbing to have supper of baby birds from a wren's nest.
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Tiny fungi grow beneath a stick on the forest trail where I take the goats for a browse walk. The cups of the fungi are so small that a pencil eraser would fill them.
.JPG)
This black snake fell from the Mimosa tree outside the living room window. He had been climbing to have supper of baby birds from a wren's nest.
.JPG)
Tiny fungi grow beneath a stick on the forest trail where I take the goats for a browse walk. The cups of the fungi are so small that a pencil eraser would fill them.
.JPG)
Monday, May 27, 2013
Memorial Day
It has been a quiet day. The morning was blessed by a visit to Yarrow and Jessica's house. I hadn't seen Jess's son, Zade, in a year. He's quite the blue eyed toddler charmer. Yarrow and I talked about our plans for Permaculture and food forest plantings.
Lunch was a salad with egg and goat cheese and homemade goat yogurt ranch dressing.
While I was eating lunch, something fell from the Mimosa tree outside the living room windows. I saw it fall from the corner of my eye, and heard the THUMP. Looking out, I saw what appeared to be a piece of black garden hose at the base of the tree. Then, it moved. It was a rather magnificent black snake, who had been working his way up the tree to have his lunch of baby birds in a nest. After recovering from his fall, he slithered toward the house. NOT a good option, in my opinion. They are beneficial snakes, as they eat mice, but I don't relish his company IN the house. I tossed pebbles at him to discourage his progress in my direction, but now he's in a cart of construction debris. I'll get Vance to move the cart and unload it in the burning pit tomorrow..... warning him about the snake, of course.
The rest of the day was filled with paperwork, bookkeeping, and gardening. I think the paperwork and bookkeeping would be easier if I'd spend an hour a day on it, instead of marathon sessions. That's how I'm dealing with the gardening. I'm still planting in succession so as to extend the harvest.
Got in some yoga and slow undulations, which is helping my back recover from lifting a heavy window last spring.
Life is good.
Lunch was a salad with egg and goat cheese and homemade goat yogurt ranch dressing.
While I was eating lunch, something fell from the Mimosa tree outside the living room windows. I saw it fall from the corner of my eye, and heard the THUMP. Looking out, I saw what appeared to be a piece of black garden hose at the base of the tree. Then, it moved. It was a rather magnificent black snake, who had been working his way up the tree to have his lunch of baby birds in a nest. After recovering from his fall, he slithered toward the house. NOT a good option, in my opinion. They are beneficial snakes, as they eat mice, but I don't relish his company IN the house. I tossed pebbles at him to discourage his progress in my direction, but now he's in a cart of construction debris. I'll get Vance to move the cart and unload it in the burning pit tomorrow..... warning him about the snake, of course.
The rest of the day was filled with paperwork, bookkeeping, and gardening. I think the paperwork and bookkeeping would be easier if I'd spend an hour a day on it, instead of marathon sessions. That's how I'm dealing with the gardening. I'm still planting in succession so as to extend the harvest.
Got in some yoga and slow undulations, which is helping my back recover from lifting a heavy window last spring.
Life is good.
Monday, February 04, 2013
Week three of eight, February 4, 2013
It has been three weeks since Dan broke his leg, which occurred right after he recovered from breaking his pelvis, pubic bone, and ribs. So.... he's been recovering since early November. I've been doing everything else.
Today, I am tired.
This morning I made cheese, gathered and washed laundry, milked the goats, fed the goats and dogs, brought in the newspaper for Dan, vacuumed the carpet, put away the photo albums, made breakfast for Dan, worked in the office on paperwork, cleaned up clutter, provided deposit slips for a renter, framed two pictures, made Paleo banana muffins, burned trash, carried out the scraps to the compost pile, and paid bills.
This afternoon, I fixed lunch, washed more laundry, did more paperwork, checked on the new goat kids, cut browse for the goats, fed the goats, milked one goat, moved Dan's truck under the shed, moved the seeded veggie flats to the new little greenhouse, went to the post office, the feed store, and the bank, fixed supper, rode for 20 minutes on the exercise bike, and then ran out of steam.
I need to spend more time in the office on the tax prep. That may have to happen between 2:00 and 4:00 AM.
Today, I am tired.
This morning I made cheese, gathered and washed laundry, milked the goats, fed the goats and dogs, brought in the newspaper for Dan, vacuumed the carpet, put away the photo albums, made breakfast for Dan, worked in the office on paperwork, cleaned up clutter, provided deposit slips for a renter, framed two pictures, made Paleo banana muffins, burned trash, carried out the scraps to the compost pile, and paid bills.
This afternoon, I fixed lunch, washed more laundry, did more paperwork, checked on the new goat kids, cut browse for the goats, fed the goats, milked one goat, moved Dan's truck under the shed, moved the seeded veggie flats to the new little greenhouse, went to the post office, the feed store, and the bank, fixed supper, rode for 20 minutes on the exercise bike, and then ran out of steam.
I need to spend more time in the office on the tax prep. That may have to happen between 2:00 and 4:00 AM.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
A day full of experiments!
This was one of those FULLLLLLL days. It started early with laundry. I like getting it started early so it's done early, and then I can feel virtuous.
There was a mouse in one of the kitchen mousetraps that I keep out all the time. He was caught by the upper lip and whiskers on one side of his face. EEEWWWW.
Milk goats, feed goats, feed bucks, feed dogs, put away milk, clean up milk, clean up kitchen. The usual morning drill.
Two of Lonnie's rectangular planters now have portulaca and sweet pea seeds in them. Watered and ready to grow.
The turf grass seed got its obligatory morning rotation of 10 minute per section watering cycles. I only have to move the hose eight or ten times!
Checked on the guys who are taking the dead oak tree down at the Cabin in the Woods. It's huge, and they worked all day. I also tried to get the water system up and running again, but the gaskets on the water filters have GONE MISSING!! Those will have to be replaced.
The fellows who are taking the tree down are also my vehicle mechanics. What can I say, it's the Ozarks! Turns out my Tundra needs a new transmission. Rick showed me the ounce or so of metal shavings that came out of the transmission fluid pan. Curls of metal, metal filings, chunks of gears/fins. Pretty scary.
The security/alarm system repair man showed up to work on the wireless alarm that's in the workshop. We're having trouble with that, plus the two hour electrical outage the other day did bad things to the control box. That's all fixed again.
Today's cheese experiment is jalapeno cheddar. That's an every 45 minute "do something with the cheese" project that started at 6:30 and ended in the afternoon when the curds went into the press. A couple of turns in the afternoon and one before bed, then it will press at 40 pounds overnight.
Burned feed sacks and some branches. That wasn't really successful. The branches are awkwardly stacked, and the fire didn't catch well.
My Sun Oven came yesterday, so I experimented this afternoon by making egg custard using solar energy. Unfortunately, I used an unfamiliar recipe. I'll try again tomorrow, and the dogs can have eggs for breakfast.
Cyndy and I cleaned up one of the carports, putting away tools, throwing away trash, moving stuff to the SELL shed, and just making the area look tidy. It's ok with me if it looks like we live here and have lawnmowers and a charcoal grill, but I don't like the CLUTTER look. There's still a few things to be moved, but it's much better already.
I experimented with charcoal grilling the kielbasa from the Mennonite butcher shop. They were awfully bland when cooked indoors, but this time I seasoned them and grilled them. That improved them tremendously. I've just got to improve my charcoal igniting skills. I'm charcoal challenged.
Had a nice visit at the "Outback", which is going to have a name change. Angela likes to call it Meadowsong. I brought three cheeses: Ch'Rella, Cracked Black Pepper Cheddar, and the coffee and lavender aged cheddar. The first two turned out well. I fear the coffee/lavender is a bit bitter, and I don't know why.
After I got back, I planted Rudbeckia and Zinnias on the west side of the house. I hope those seeds will get enough sun to sprout there.
Then, I mixed up the Agri-gro foliar fertilizer and FINALLY got an experimental plot sprayed in the hay meadow. This is the first time I've used this 15 gallon tank sprayer, and the project went smoothly. The spray tank sits in the utility trailer and is towed behind the lawn tractor. The pump for the sprayer hooks by a long wire to the tractor battery. Very handy system.
Then, normal evening stuff. Milk goats, feed goats, feed bucks, feed dogs, put away milk, wash milk bucket and strainer, etc., etc. I think I'm tired now!
There was a mouse in one of the kitchen mousetraps that I keep out all the time. He was caught by the upper lip and whiskers on one side of his face. EEEWWWW.
Milk goats, feed goats, feed bucks, feed dogs, put away milk, clean up milk, clean up kitchen. The usual morning drill.
Two of Lonnie's rectangular planters now have portulaca and sweet pea seeds in them. Watered and ready to grow.
The turf grass seed got its obligatory morning rotation of 10 minute per section watering cycles. I only have to move the hose eight or ten times!
Checked on the guys who are taking the dead oak tree down at the Cabin in the Woods. It's huge, and they worked all day. I also tried to get the water system up and running again, but the gaskets on the water filters have GONE MISSING!! Those will have to be replaced.
The fellows who are taking the tree down are also my vehicle mechanics. What can I say, it's the Ozarks! Turns out my Tundra needs a new transmission. Rick showed me the ounce or so of metal shavings that came out of the transmission fluid pan. Curls of metal, metal filings, chunks of gears/fins. Pretty scary.
The security/alarm system repair man showed up to work on the wireless alarm that's in the workshop. We're having trouble with that, plus the two hour electrical outage the other day did bad things to the control box. That's all fixed again.
Today's cheese experiment is jalapeno cheddar. That's an every 45 minute "do something with the cheese" project that started at 6:30 and ended in the afternoon when the curds went into the press. A couple of turns in the afternoon and one before bed, then it will press at 40 pounds overnight.
Burned feed sacks and some branches. That wasn't really successful. The branches are awkwardly stacked, and the fire didn't catch well.
My Sun Oven came yesterday, so I experimented this afternoon by making egg custard using solar energy. Unfortunately, I used an unfamiliar recipe. I'll try again tomorrow, and the dogs can have eggs for breakfast.
Cyndy and I cleaned up one of the carports, putting away tools, throwing away trash, moving stuff to the SELL shed, and just making the area look tidy. It's ok with me if it looks like we live here and have lawnmowers and a charcoal grill, but I don't like the CLUTTER look. There's still a few things to be moved, but it's much better already.
I experimented with charcoal grilling the kielbasa from the Mennonite butcher shop. They were awfully bland when cooked indoors, but this time I seasoned them and grilled them. That improved them tremendously. I've just got to improve my charcoal igniting skills. I'm charcoal challenged.
Had a nice visit at the "Outback", which is going to have a name change. Angela likes to call it Meadowsong. I brought three cheeses: Ch'Rella, Cracked Black Pepper Cheddar, and the coffee and lavender aged cheddar. The first two turned out well. I fear the coffee/lavender is a bit bitter, and I don't know why.
After I got back, I planted Rudbeckia and Zinnias on the west side of the house. I hope those seeds will get enough sun to sprout there.
Then, I mixed up the Agri-gro foliar fertilizer and FINALLY got an experimental plot sprayed in the hay meadow. This is the first time I've used this 15 gallon tank sprayer, and the project went smoothly. The spray tank sits in the utility trailer and is towed behind the lawn tractor. The pump for the sprayer hooks by a long wire to the tractor battery. Very handy system.
Then, normal evening stuff. Milk goats, feed goats, feed bucks, feed dogs, put away milk, wash milk bucket and strainer, etc., etc. I think I'm tired now!
Friday, May 18, 2012
What I want to do
A. Finish getting the forest buck pen put back together
B. Mow the overgrown areas in the doe pen(s)
C. Call Dish Network and cancel their service because the receiver hasn't worked consistently in weeks anyway
D. Paint the outbuildings
E. Build my outside shower
F. Build an outside sink/counter
G. Replace droopy pen wire with cattle panels (by milk house and behind milk house)
H. Go hear some live music played some where
I. Sew
J. Sight see
K. Swim in the river
B. Mow the overgrown areas in the doe pen(s)
C. Call Dish Network and cancel their service because the receiver hasn't worked consistently in weeks anyway
D. Paint the outbuildings
E. Build my outside shower
F. Build an outside sink/counter
G. Replace droopy pen wire with cattle panels (by milk house and behind milk house)
H. Go hear some live music played some where
I. Sew
J. Sight see
K. Swim in the river
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Interesting stuff
Sweet pea seeds:
http://www.fragrantgarden.com/
Perennial sweet peas:
http://gurneys.com/perennial-sweet-pea/p/80852/
http://www.fragrantgarden.com/
Perennial sweet peas:
http://gurneys.com/perennial-sweet-pea/p/80852/
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Itchy, dusty work
Cyndy came to work this morning, and we cleaned and sorted for six hours. We got both sheds cleaned out and tools moved to the main garage. Found Kathleen's sewing machine and her camera equipment from when she was in the Navy. Started moving stuff to be sold into the storage shed by the backhoe. Made more inventory lists for the probate court. It really went pretty smoothly.
Cyndy took another batch of clothes to the Sheltered Workshop. There were two LARGE containers of clothing and some hanging clothes in one of the sheds.
This morning before she came, I badly jammed my right big toe. It didn't get sore until almost 3:00 PM, and now it's REALLY sore
Got back into the Maze Runner this afternoon on my MP3 player. I listen to audio books while I'm working. It's a young adult series of books, and I'm on book one. It's similar to Hunger Games.
Planted Purple Hyacinth beans. My lettuce and chard and kale bed is coming up. I want to get some beet seeds, too. Kirsten made a beet/strawberry/apple juice smoothie that was wonderful. She used the tops and the beet part.
Planted two more tomato plants that I got from Angela. These are heritage tomatoes that are very meaty. I don't like goopy tomatoes.
Looks like my squash seeds that I put out right away when I got here are almost a TOTAL failure. I had six hills with a couple of seeds in each hill in that one bed, and only ONE has sprouted. I had planted a short row in front on the beans, and only one is up there, too. Very disappointing. I planted a few in one of the tires that used to have blackberry plants, and those are up. Perhaps those few really cool days after they went into the ground hurt my seeds.
More seeds to plant, but they are gourds and pumpkins and sunflowers.... non-essentials. I'll get to those sometime.
The blue Previa runs again. The battery was not only dead, but it had a "bad cell." Had gotten a new battery in town the other day, but it took necessity (a place to put boxes waiting to be shipped) to be the motivation for installing the new battery. The van seriously needs a bath now. I rinsed it, but six months of dust doesn't rinse off. There are errands for Thayer tomorrow, and I'll run it through a car wash somewhere.
I am at the point of needing to make new lists, and that feels good.
Cyndy took another batch of clothes to the Sheltered Workshop. There were two LARGE containers of clothing and some hanging clothes in one of the sheds.
This morning before she came, I badly jammed my right big toe. It didn't get sore until almost 3:00 PM, and now it's REALLY sore
Got back into the Maze Runner this afternoon on my MP3 player. I listen to audio books while I'm working. It's a young adult series of books, and I'm on book one. It's similar to Hunger Games.
Planted Purple Hyacinth beans. My lettuce and chard and kale bed is coming up. I want to get some beet seeds, too. Kirsten made a beet/strawberry/apple juice smoothie that was wonderful. She used the tops and the beet part.
Planted two more tomato plants that I got from Angela. These are heritage tomatoes that are very meaty. I don't like goopy tomatoes.
Looks like my squash seeds that I put out right away when I got here are almost a TOTAL failure. I had six hills with a couple of seeds in each hill in that one bed, and only ONE has sprouted. I had planted a short row in front on the beans, and only one is up there, too. Very disappointing. I planted a few in one of the tires that used to have blackberry plants, and those are up. Perhaps those few really cool days after they went into the ground hurt my seeds.
More seeds to plant, but they are gourds and pumpkins and sunflowers.... non-essentials. I'll get to those sometime.
The blue Previa runs again. The battery was not only dead, but it had a "bad cell." Had gotten a new battery in town the other day, but it took necessity (a place to put boxes waiting to be shipped) to be the motivation for installing the new battery. The van seriously needs a bath now. I rinsed it, but six months of dust doesn't rinse off. There are errands for Thayer tomorrow, and I'll run it through a car wash somewhere.
I am at the point of needing to make new lists, and that feels good.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Monday, Monday
I thought I was going to do office work this morning and run down to Thayer in the middle of the day, but I awoke to an intimidating weather report. We were supposed to have wind and rain by mid-day. Plans were shuffled, and I headed to Thayer after securing everything for the weather.
The weather gods didn't see the forecast. Finished all my shopping at Wal-Mart, Hirsch Feed, and Harp's grocery store, and it didn't rain. Bought the van a new battery. Went to the post office. No rain.
Came home, ate lunch, tried to take a nap. The lawyer's office called with the news that the letters testamentary from the court had come in, and the UPS delivery man scared the dogs... or they scared him.... whichever.
Packaged up goat blood and milk samples to ship off for testing (routine stuff), scooted to town to the post office and the lawyers office, and then discovered that the bank closes at 3:00 PM. So, I'll have to go BACK to town on Tuesday. It's a ten mile drive one way, and I really try to avoid making that trip daily.
The plan for doing paperwork never materialized, either. I started on the inventory for the estate because I have thirty days to get that done and turned in to the probate court. I only inventoried the garage and workshop, but it's a step in the right direction.
Here is a wonderful poem by Wendell Berry that my good friend, Angela, sent me. It certainly applies at this point in my life, and I felt much better after reading it.
No, no, there is no going back.
Less and less you are
that possibility you were.
More and more you have become
those lives and deaths
that have belonged to you.
You have become a sort of grave
containing much that was
and is no more in time, beloved
then, now, and always.
And so you have become a sort of tree
standing over a grave.
Now more than ever you can be
generous toward each day
that comes, young, to disappear
forever, and yet remain
unaging in the mind.
Every day you have less reason
not to give yourself away.
~ Wendell Berry ~
The weather gods didn't see the forecast. Finished all my shopping at Wal-Mart, Hirsch Feed, and Harp's grocery store, and it didn't rain. Bought the van a new battery. Went to the post office. No rain.
Came home, ate lunch, tried to take a nap. The lawyer's office called with the news that the letters testamentary from the court had come in, and the UPS delivery man scared the dogs... or they scared him.... whichever.
Packaged up goat blood and milk samples to ship off for testing (routine stuff), scooted to town to the post office and the lawyers office, and then discovered that the bank closes at 3:00 PM. So, I'll have to go BACK to town on Tuesday. It's a ten mile drive one way, and I really try to avoid making that trip daily.
The plan for doing paperwork never materialized, either. I started on the inventory for the estate because I have thirty days to get that done and turned in to the probate court. I only inventoried the garage and workshop, but it's a step in the right direction.
Here is a wonderful poem by Wendell Berry that my good friend, Angela, sent me. It certainly applies at this point in my life, and I felt much better after reading it.
No, no, there is no going back.
Less and less you are
that possibility you were.
More and more you have become
those lives and deaths
that have belonged to you.
You have become a sort of grave
containing much that was
and is no more in time, beloved
then, now, and always.
And so you have become a sort of tree
standing over a grave.
Now more than ever you can be
generous toward each day
that comes, young, to disappear
forever, and yet remain
unaging in the mind.
Every day you have less reason
not to give yourself away.
~ Wendell Berry ~
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Wonderful Sunday
I've got the Halloumi going. It's a middle Eastern cheese that you can grill! Non-melting. Often served with caramelized onions.
I mowed around the goat playscape and weed eated under the fence separating the goat yard and the house.
After lunch, I went to Kirsten's and drew blood to send for CAE testing on all her adult females. She has one goat with a hard udder, and I took milk samples to send in to the mastitis clinic.
I brought her a quart of milk (all I had) because one of her does had triplets, one doesn't make much milk, and she's grafting that one's kids onto her other milker that's in milk. No milk for her house! Darn, I wish I'd taken her some of the frozen milk. Didn't think of it!
I came home with a beautiful loaf of Tuscan bread, just out of the oven, a few tomato plants of unknown heritage, some goat ribs cooked with Garam Masala, and mint roots. Also brought home the long flatbed trailer that she kept safe over the winter, as I need to pick up more cattle panels on Monday.
This evening, I planted the tomato plants and mint from Kirsten, then planted rutabaga seeds. I've never grown them, but I like saying RUTABAGA. Rutabaga, Rutabaga, Rutabaga.
Snowbelle's walking better after I trimmed her hooves this morning.
When I went out the door to milk this evening, Orange, Bella, Tonto, Prince Charming, and Aster were coming up the hill in the back yard, between the house and the birdbaths. This is not where goats are supposed to be. Sigh. The fence that separates the hay field from the little orchard was down in one spot, and they found it, of course.
When I was giving Prince Charming his bottle after I milked, Tonto chewed through my ear bud cord on my MP3 players. Luckily, there are extra sets of ear buds in the desk drawer.
Goats. Gotta love them.
I mowed around the goat playscape and weed eated under the fence separating the goat yard and the house.
After lunch, I went to Kirsten's and drew blood to send for CAE testing on all her adult females. She has one goat with a hard udder, and I took milk samples to send in to the mastitis clinic.
I brought her a quart of milk (all I had) because one of her does had triplets, one doesn't make much milk, and she's grafting that one's kids onto her other milker that's in milk. No milk for her house! Darn, I wish I'd taken her some of the frozen milk. Didn't think of it!
I came home with a beautiful loaf of Tuscan bread, just out of the oven, a few tomato plants of unknown heritage, some goat ribs cooked with Garam Masala, and mint roots. Also brought home the long flatbed trailer that she kept safe over the winter, as I need to pick up more cattle panels on Monday.
This evening, I planted the tomato plants and mint from Kirsten, then planted rutabaga seeds. I've never grown them, but I like saying RUTABAGA. Rutabaga, Rutabaga, Rutabaga.
Snowbelle's walking better after I trimmed her hooves this morning.
When I went out the door to milk this evening, Orange, Bella, Tonto, Prince Charming, and Aster were coming up the hill in the back yard, between the house and the birdbaths. This is not where goats are supposed to be. Sigh. The fence that separates the hay field from the little orchard was down in one spot, and they found it, of course.
When I was giving Prince Charming his bottle after I milked, Tonto chewed through my ear bud cord on my MP3 players. Luckily, there are extra sets of ear buds in the desk drawer.
Goats. Gotta love them.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Back to paperwork, mail, and bookkeeping
Yesterday was a VERY full day, and we got a lot accomplished. My friend, Cyndy, came over and we sorted through three closets of stuff and uniforms. There's a stack to go to the daughters, a stack for the auction, a staging area full of items for the auction in the fall, and a large sack of clothing going to the Sheltered Workshop in Alton.
After that, we cleaned the milk house and installed the new washable mats on the milk stands and floor. I caulked the seams that had allowed rainwater to come in.
Then, we mowed. Three of the mowers are working now, thanks to Lonnie's stash of new lawnmower batteries. Cyndy mowed around the house, and I mowed the front pasture/yard.
This morning, I'm decluttering. Sorting and cleaning makes more mess!
In a little bit, I'm going to start on the stack of mail, paperwork, and bookkeeping. There are Lonnie's things to deal with, and the end of the month approaches, so there's the normal bookkeeping.
I'll run to town later to go to the post office, bank, feed store, etc. It's nice to do NORMAL things.
The garden is looking good, even if it's only partly planted. The peppers, tomatoes, and herbs survived transplanting in fine form. The lettuce is starting to sprout. Still waiting to see little beans and squash coming up.
After that, we cleaned the milk house and installed the new washable mats on the milk stands and floor. I caulked the seams that had allowed rainwater to come in.
Then, we mowed. Three of the mowers are working now, thanks to Lonnie's stash of new lawnmower batteries. Cyndy mowed around the house, and I mowed the front pasture/yard.
This morning, I'm decluttering. Sorting and cleaning makes more mess!
In a little bit, I'm going to start on the stack of mail, paperwork, and bookkeeping. There are Lonnie's things to deal with, and the end of the month approaches, so there's the normal bookkeeping.
I'll run to town later to go to the post office, bank, feed store, etc. It's nice to do NORMAL things.
The garden is looking good, even if it's only partly planted. The peppers, tomatoes, and herbs survived transplanting in fine form. The lettuce is starting to sprout. Still waiting to see little beans and squash coming up.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Back in the Ozarks
I returned to Missouri on April 17th. The migration north was a bit early this spring due to several factors:
1. I have goats due to kid in May, and they needed to be settled in and NOT traveling for a month before their due dates.
2. The Go Green Festival in Thayer was scheduled for the following weekend, and I wanted to attend.
3. I needed to begin the process of settling Lonnie's estate.
After a week of being here, all is going remarkably well. The goats are happy. The festival was outstanding. The legal process is underway.
Today, my plan is cleaning and sorting out things in the kitchen, making goat cheese (cheddar and feta), and doing goat stuff. I need to separate the bucklings from the girls, clean up the fence lines so the electric fence doesn't short out, and clean the milk house.
However! I got distracted by cleaning the kitchen drawers because of the mouse droppings I found when getting out the utensils for making cheese. So, washing all the kitchen spoons, spatulas, silverware, etc., took precedence!
I did get the buckling's fenced area ready.
1. I have goats due to kid in May, and they needed to be settled in and NOT traveling for a month before their due dates.
2. The Go Green Festival in Thayer was scheduled for the following weekend, and I wanted to attend.
3. I needed to begin the process of settling Lonnie's estate.
After a week of being here, all is going remarkably well. The goats are happy. The festival was outstanding. The legal process is underway.
Today, my plan is cleaning and sorting out things in the kitchen, making goat cheese (cheddar and feta), and doing goat stuff. I need to separate the bucklings from the girls, clean up the fence lines so the electric fence doesn't short out, and clean the milk house.
However! I got distracted by cleaning the kitchen drawers because of the mouse droppings I found when getting out the utensils for making cheese. So, washing all the kitchen spoons, spatulas, silverware, etc., took precedence!
I did get the buckling's fenced area ready.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Random thoughts
Humans require positive feedback to survive.
The most important feedback source is our own minds.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
I need my Wonder Woman cape.
Things are going right along today.
Roofs in progress on three houses - two rentals and my office. They finished another rental yesterday. Also they are repairing the corner of the Blue House where it had tornado damage.
Crew is here to take down the two dead pine trees in the yard at the Blue House.
Clint (the BIL of evicted renter) will be here later to work on the Blue House. More trash to haul out of back room at garage. Clint said he'd be late due to a teacher conference at school. One of his kids is coming home with pee soaked pants, and there doesn't seem to be a good explanation so far.
Jimmy the Farmer came by in his brother's truck this morning. Jimmy's truck was stolen at the Oktoberfest in New Braunfels over the weekend. Had three checkbooks in it and probably all his receipts for the last six months or so. Tools, etc.
Dan's outside picking up pecans. He thinks he has a buyer for them at $10 a pound, shelled.
Got cheddar out of the mold this morning. It looks good.
Talked to the attorney about paperwork if I sell the Doll House later this year. That looks good.
I'm still trying to get done on paperwork. ROFLMAO
Can't find my lists of things to do.
Roofs in progress on three houses - two rentals and my office. They finished another rental yesterday. Also they are repairing the corner of the Blue House where it had tornado damage.
Crew is here to take down the two dead pine trees in the yard at the Blue House.
Clint (the BIL of evicted renter) will be here later to work on the Blue House. More trash to haul out of back room at garage. Clint said he'd be late due to a teacher conference at school. One of his kids is coming home with pee soaked pants, and there doesn't seem to be a good explanation so far.
Jimmy the Farmer came by in his brother's truck this morning. Jimmy's truck was stolen at the Oktoberfest in New Braunfels over the weekend. Had three checkbooks in it and probably all his receipts for the last six months or so. Tools, etc.
Dan's outside picking up pecans. He thinks he has a buyer for them at $10 a pound, shelled.
Got cheddar out of the mold this morning. It looks good.
Talked to the attorney about paperwork if I sell the Doll House later this year. That looks good.
I'm still trying to get done on paperwork. ROFLMAO
Can't find my lists of things to do.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Back in Texas!
We got back on Halloween. Uneventful trip, thank goodness, spread over two days.
It's dry here. DRY. Dry. I was able to find hay from an irrigated hay farm north of Cordele.
Have had the experience of evicting a renter for the first time, complete with sending a certified letter from the attorney and everything! Yuk. He did move out without complaint, but we've hauled 800 pounds of trash to the landfill.... so far.
I've hired help to do the fixing up, cleaning, painting, etc.
Today, there were supposed to be three folks there working. One on the garage that the renter didn't finish building, one cleaning, and one on general clean up. The general clean up man called to say he was working in the oilfield today, and the house cleaner came by to say she wasn't going to clean due to her eye doctor saying to take it easy for a while longer after her eye surgery. The garage builder worked from 9:00 to 1:30, then got called to his oilfield job.
McCoys Building Supply delivered the materials for two of the four roof replacement jobs. They will start on Wednesday.
A painter who has worked for me before is coming Wednesday to give a bid on repainting the Blue House. It needs painting at least inside, maybe outside, too. We'll have to see how it looks after being power washed.
The good news is that Lonnie and I went to El Campo to have massages, and I went shopping while Mary G. did his massage.
Eating out is sometimes a challenge. Lonnie got choked badly at Travel America on Sunday, so he's cautious about eating at all today. We stopped at Praseks, got a chopped barbecue sandwich and sides, and it was AWFUL. Really bad. He was able to eat a grilled cheese sandwich this evening.
We will see what tomorrow brings!
It's dry here. DRY. Dry. I was able to find hay from an irrigated hay farm north of Cordele.
Have had the experience of evicting a renter for the first time, complete with sending a certified letter from the attorney and everything! Yuk. He did move out without complaint, but we've hauled 800 pounds of trash to the landfill.... so far.
I've hired help to do the fixing up, cleaning, painting, etc.
Today, there were supposed to be three folks there working. One on the garage that the renter didn't finish building, one cleaning, and one on general clean up. The general clean up man called to say he was working in the oilfield today, and the house cleaner came by to say she wasn't going to clean due to her eye doctor saying to take it easy for a while longer after her eye surgery. The garage builder worked from 9:00 to 1:30, then got called to his oilfield job.
McCoys Building Supply delivered the materials for two of the four roof replacement jobs. They will start on Wednesday.
A painter who has worked for me before is coming Wednesday to give a bid on repainting the Blue House. It needs painting at least inside, maybe outside, too. We'll have to see how it looks after being power washed.
The good news is that Lonnie and I went to El Campo to have massages, and I went shopping while Mary G. did his massage.
Eating out is sometimes a challenge. Lonnie got choked badly at Travel America on Sunday, so he's cautious about eating at all today. We stopped at Praseks, got a chopped barbecue sandwich and sides, and it was AWFUL. Really bad. He was able to eat a grilled cheese sandwich this evening.
We will see what tomorrow brings!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Life throws you curves
It's summer in the Ozarks. We went from a WET spring to a HOT and DRY summer suddenly. Hay is cut and ready to be baled. Goats lie in the shade in the afternoons.
Lonnie's mom passed away a week ago. Now comes the process of sorting her possessions and settling her estate. It's going to be a challenge, in that her will has yet to be located.
Lonnie's health has declined as well. He is not strong, and he gets out of breath easily. The transition from active man to frail elder is hard on his mind, too. He's frustrated and fearful.
It's important to remember that this time will pass.
Lonnie's mom passed away a week ago. Now comes the process of sorting her possessions and settling her estate. It's going to be a challenge, in that her will has yet to be located.
Lonnie's health has declined as well. He is not strong, and he gets out of breath easily. The transition from active man to frail elder is hard on his mind, too. He's frustrated and fearful.
It's important to remember that this time will pass.
Monday, March 28, 2011
OOPS
I really need to post more often. It's March 28, 2011. The winter is essentially over, although today it was in the 79s instead of the 80s like we had been having last week.
Kidding is well underway with eight live births out of three does so far. We are bottle feeding some of Cassie's quintuplets.
Cole and Nathan came down for spring break, and a GOOD time was had by all. Travis came down for fishing, too. It's a job to pack in a hunting trip for antelope, red buck, and skunks... plus a fishing trip.... plus a birthday cake into one week, but we DID it!
Kidding is well underway with eight live births out of three does so far. We are bottle feeding some of Cassie's quintuplets.
Cole and Nathan came down for spring break, and a GOOD time was had by all. Travis came down for fishing, too. It's a job to pack in a hunting trip for antelope, red buck, and skunks... plus a fishing trip.... plus a birthday cake into one week, but we DID it!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Cold weather gratitude
It's January 12, and we are having our coldest weather thus far this winter. It was 31 when I got up this morning, and we warmed up to about 42. Pretty cold for South Texas!
I'm so grateful for a large stack of firewood and our wonderful wood heater in the living room. We've heated with wood since 1980, and I love wood heat! It's constant and soothing.
The insulated clothing industry also has my gratitude. Without layers of warm clothing, tending the animals would be MUCH more painful.
Soup will be on the menu tonight I think. Hooray for soup weather!
I'm so grateful for a large stack of firewood and our wonderful wood heater in the living room. We've heated with wood since 1980, and I love wood heat! It's constant and soothing.
The insulated clothing industry also has my gratitude. Without layers of warm clothing, tending the animals would be MUCH more painful.
Soup will be on the menu tonight I think. Hooray for soup weather!
Saturday, January 01, 2011
2011 - a Gratitude Journal
My goal here is to spend some time and bandwidth to record what I'm grateful for. It's so easy to focus on the negative things and to let one's thoughts become mired in the negative.
Today is 1/1/11. A good new beginning!
I'm grateful for having spent the Christmas holiday with Nathan and Cole, and for having Travis, MaryAlice, and Arielle come down here for New Year's weekend. The blessings of healthy children and grandchildren can not be underestimated!
Today is 1/1/11. A good new beginning!
I'm grateful for having spent the Christmas holiday with Nathan and Cole, and for having Travis, MaryAlice, and Arielle come down here for New Year's weekend. The blessings of healthy children and grandchildren can not be underestimated!
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