Work, guests, work

I feel as though that’s the gist of my days as of late.

Wednesday, August 12

It was a very loooooonnnnnggg day at the B&B. This morning while I was getting ready for work the thought hit me to roll some Stress Away on my wrists and neck so I did. I haven’t done that in ages but for some reason I felt like I should so I did. Boy was I glad! On my way in to work I even prayed that I would be of some help to someone today. Well, there wasn’t enough ironing to do but there was a special luncheon for eleven and I helped with that as well as retrieving the breakfast dishes from the cabins and finishing up the newsletter. Once I updated the contacts in the program we use for emailing the newsletter (which is the most time consuming part of the whole newsletter process) I scheduled it to go out tomorrow afternoon. As I was headed out the door to go home I remembered I needed to make up a few more bottles of the B&B’s signature room sprays for the gift shop. So back in I went and quickly made up six bottles. More bottles are on order and I will make up some more when I go back in Sunday afternoon. The Stress Away worked and I think I was of some help to several people today.

After my long day I came home, ate some of the delicious chili leftover from the other night and it was even better than the first time we ate it. I made some more sugar water for the hummingbirds and gave some B&B kitchen scraps to the chickens then sank into the tub for a long soak after a long, hot, sticky day.

Today’s guest is coming in later so in a bit we will go sit on the front porch and wait. I almost feel as though I could go on up to bed but I think the sluggishness is because I’m finally sitting down. Here’s hoping for a good night’s sleep when the time arrives.

.

One more day of work before my weekend. yay! In fact, I worked so long today that CountryBoy thought it was Thursday and had gotten some fish out to thaw for tomorrow’s supper thinking, of course, that tomorrow was Friday. Oh well, tomorrow will go by quick enough.

Speaking of tomorrow, I think we are going to try to go to Lowes after I get home from work. I’m chomping at the bit to get started trying to seal up the greenhouse before winter. I just know that time is slipping by and before we know it we’ll be gathering wood and donning sweaters and the greenhouse will still be cold and drafty. I had originally wanted to start at the roof and work our way down. But, since we have to wait on someone else to measure and get the metal for us I’ve decided to now work our way up. Even though the roof leaks in some spots I can easily put a bucket under the leak and it shouldn’t bother the floor. Anyway, here’s the plan… lay 1/4 plywood over the existing wood deck boards then lay vinyl tiles down. This should block the majority of the cold air which was seeping up from the ground and between the deck boards. Another big cold factor are the windows. I have a plan to try and seal them better as well as the one door that goes to the front porch. We will start with that and go from there. I am really hoping that I will be able to leave most, if not all, of the plants out there throughout the whole winter. I’d also love to be able to use that room during the winter months. But, anyway, I wanted to go ahead and get the material so that we can get started on this weekend hopefully.

.

Farm news: 31 eggs

Thursday, August 13

It was a rocky start to the morning. LizzieBelle was ready to get up at 6 o’clock. I, however, was not so I tucked her back under the sheets against by belly and we went back to sleep for another hour. CountryBoy was downstairs before I was so he turned the burner on for the coffee percolator. Soon after, I started smelling something that smelled like there had been something on the burner and was burning off. I didn’t think much about it until I heard what sounded like the percolator creaking and making sounds. I checked it and there was no water or coffee grounds in it. We were already getting a later start than usual and now the coffee is that much later in starting its brewing process. sigh. At about ten minutes to eight the coffee was ready and we sat in the greenhouse and drank, er guzzled, it. Luckily it doesn’t take me long to get ready for work so I was only three minutes late.

The rest of the day was slow. I managed to stick it out though then stopped to pick up some drinking water for the cabin before heading home.

Yesterday’s guest was unable to make it last night and said he would be here this morning. It was about 5 o’clock when I got home from work and he still hadn’t made it. We were beginning to think he wasn’t going to show up but we didn’t know that for sure and we had planned a trip to Lowes since we thought he would be settled in. (We don’t like to leave until we know for sure that our guests are comfortable and have everything they need.) He showed up around 6 and after a quick rundown of the cabin and the side-by-side he was off. We told him we would be gone but to leave a message if he needed anything and we would take care of it when we got home. He was much obliged and there was no message when we got home so all is good.

In Lowes I let LizzieBelle walk on her leash rather than put her in a buggy with her blanket. Y’all would be amazed at how well she has relaxed and actually enjoys going in with us now. When we first got her she would shiver all the time from nerves. Now she sits in the buggy like a champ and looks around and gets all kinds of nice compliments of what a pretty girl or what a good girl, etc. and even allows people to pet her. But back to today – I let her walk on her leash throughout the store. This is the second time that I’ve done that. And it’s the second time that she has left her mark in the garden department. sigh. And let me tell ya, there’s no stopping her mid-poop! She and I ran over to the cashier where I grabbed a plastic bag and ran back over to pick it up before someone stepped in it. The thing is, she pooped before we left the house. I don’t know, there must be something about the garden department in Lowes, ha! Either that or she walked so much that she worked up another poo. All I know is I’d better have a bag with me if I let her walk the store again!

.

Farm news: 24 eggs

Friday, August 14

Today has been a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Two weeks worth of laundry plus cabin laundry, emptying the greenhouse and sweeping it, cleaning the cabin and getting it ready for tonight’s guests and finally, the Chocolate Lover’s Zucchini Cake has been made. All things that were in need of getting done.

I forgot to get a true ‘before’ photo of the greenhouse before I started emptying it but here are a couple shots one from each of the doors…

I was hoping to get started on the floor of the greenhouse today but CountryBoy was just not up to it. I’ve learned, over the years, that if he’s not up to doing something it’s best to just let it go because things do not go well. So, the contents of the greenhouse will remain on the front porch until he’s mustered up the gumption to get started. I don’t think the floor will take long with both of us tackling it. It also started raining this afternoon so there’s no chance of getting started today. Although we are glad for the rain. In fact, I had to water the flowers in my flower garden last night when we got home from Lowes. They were looking a tad droopy. Today’s rain will perk them right up.

.

After our guests arrived this evening we actually got started on the greenhouse floor since the rain had come and gone. We cut four pieces of plywood and nailed three down. The fourth one will need a few more cuts made before it will be ready to be put down. We are at the section of the greenhouse where the wall juts out to accommodate the electrical box that was added to the house after its construction. I’m hoping we can finish cutting and laying the plywood in the morning and get started on the vinyl tiles. In between guests, of course!

.

There was no time this week or today to browse through old photos for Flashback Friday. Maybe next week?!

.

Farm news: 31 eggs

Saturday, August 15

It was a busy day full of hard labor. In between cleaning the cabin and greeting guests that were going and coming we spent the day working on the floor in the greenhouse. After CountryBoy marked ‘roughly’ the center (nothing is square) I started laying the center tiles while he went up to the cabin to clean it. A few items needed washed and taken back up so while he worked on measuring, cutting and laying the edges I took the washed items up to the cabin, swept and did the white glove test to see if it was ready for today’s guests. Just as I was coming back down the guests were pulling in. They had requested an early arrival if possible and it just so happened that it was indeed possible.

After that we put down two more sheets of plywood and I started on the center tiles again with CountryBoy finishing up the edges. I say I had the easy job since I just had to peel and stick but he thinks he did since he was able to sit on the floor and just scoot around. I’m glad he thinks his was easy!

We are waiting to lay the last piece of plywood until the wood that was directly under the rain barrels is good and dry. I think we are also going to have to dig a small trench right outside that area as the wood sits on the ground and there is an outside rain barrels that’s prone to overflowing. That should help keep it dry in that corner. We’ve also decided not to put the rain barrel back in.

I chose a slate looking tile because I thought it would look good with the already white walls and it has a natural look. I’m pretty pleased with how well it turned out…

LizzieBelle the photo bomber! The roof still leaks so the blue bucket is in place to catch the rain. We had a small shower today so I was able to place the bucket in just the right spot. I think it’s so much more inviting and appealing to our egg customers.

There are still some things on the front porch that I really don’t want to bring back in so we need to find a place for them. We also need to put the screen door back on but we’re calling it a day.

.

Farm news: 28 eggs

Sunday, August 16

This morning dawned cool and crisp and foggy. While having coffee in our nice and fresh greenhouse the sun peaked over the mountain trying to shine through the mountain mist…

By the time we finished our second cup the sun had successfully chased off most of the morning mist…

It was a lovely start to the day.

The rest of the day was pretty much like all the others when there are guests in the cabin. We did manage to prune the lavender, put a few more things back in the greenhouse, hang the screen door, harvest some corn which CountryBoy promptly shucked, de-cobbed, blanched, bagged and put in the freezer until we can can it.

.

It was a short day at the B&B. You just never know! I had all the sheets that had been washed and dried ironed, folded and put on the shelves in 2.5 hours. It was nice, though, to have the rest of the afternoon. In fact, I sat on the front porch and finished reading two garden magazines while CountryBoy shucked the corn. Now don’t think that reading two magazines is impressive… I had already read most of them during some other down times so it didn’t take me long. Besides, I’m a slow reader. You would think I’d be quicker with all the speed-reading classes I had while in elementary school but nope. I like to read everything. I’m afraid if I skim it I’ll miss something.

.

Farm news: 24 eggs

Three teeny watermelon have been spotted trying to survive amongst the weeds that have overtaken the watermelon vines. We’ll see if they amount to anything. The black eye or cowpeas as well as the green beans are blooming again. The little bits of rain that we have managed to get has done wonders for the garden.