Tuesday, October 20
Getting the newspaper pages ready for print was pretty smooth today. By 12:45 we had the OK from the printer that everything looked good. I was glad because we had planned to get groceries this afternoon. In fact, I was home early enough to fire up the drone to see if we could get it working. We were still unable to calibrate Compass 2 but CountryBoy put it in manual mode and we were able to take flight. I had put an SD card in it and thought I was taking some photos but come to find out, I needed to format the card before it could be used so nothing was on the card. We still need to find out if we can get the drone calibrated so that we know if it’s working properly. I told CountryBoy that I’m getting too old to be trying to learn new stuff – especially technological stuff. After that we went to town for our monthly shopping trip. Had to – we were getting critically low on coffee beans. Yikes!
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Farm news: 16 eggs
Wednesday, October 21
There was a message on the answering machine yesterday when we got home from grocery shopping from the B&B saying that I could come in early as I wasn’t needed to help serve dinner to the guests. I was THRILLED because now I would be home when the contractor came by to discuss the downstairs bedroom addition. Yay!!! Honestly, it’s the little things that excite me these days. What didn’t excite me was the quote from the pond people that came in this afternoon via email. Eighteen thousand twenty dollars and some change. Holy moly! Yea, that won’t be happening any time in the near future. So instead, we will concentrate on the bedroom addition for now. It will be about a week before we will get a quote from the contractor.
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We still have three nights available next week. It would be cool to book them and have our first month of solid bookings but if not, that’s OK too. It’s been a really good month.
Speaking of a really good month, October has been an absolutely beautiful month. The weather has been lovely and warm enough to wear capris and a t-shirt with the exception of a day here and there where it was cool enough to start a fire. And the leaves? They are taking their time in turning. Each day one may notice a subtle change. Lots of trees are losing their leaves but many are treating us with the gorgeous colors of Fall.
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Farm news: 15 eggs
Thursday, October 22
Two jobs + one day = I’m ready to put my feet up! I stopped at the bank before going in to work. The transaction took a while since there were multiple transactions for the teller but going once or twice a month is so much better than every time I turn around. The morning was super busy but by mid-afternoon I was all caught up and by 3:30 I was outta there and heading to the B&B to help with dinner. We are short-handed for the next couple of weeks so I volunteered to stop by on my way home from the newspaper job to help with dinner. I had to hustle to get everything ready but the cook and I were outta there at the normal time which is 6 o’clock. I told CountryBoy that as long as I make up mind to just do the immediate task at hand and not dwell on the day or week as a whole I seem to fair much better mentally and I don’t get so overwhelmed. And the moments I’m able to snatch here and there to do something I enjoy doing are that much more special and appreciated. My continual thought is that all the busy-ness is for a season and that because of all of it we are able to make a few more dreams come true around the farm. All those thoughts help encourage my ‘stick-to-itiveness’!
CountryBoy spent his day cleaning the cabin, cooking supper and he began work on the well. It’s going to be a heavy, back-breaking job but he has been wanting to continue the rocks (which are well underground) up several feet above ground and add a roof over it. Here’s a look at what I’m talking about…
We’re guesstimating that the well is about 20 feet deep and there are rocks as far as the eye can see. The current project is purely decorative. Some day we’ll tackle the job of hooking the pump up and getting it to the house. I’m excited to bring back one more blast from the past and I think it’s going to be a great addition to the ol’ farmhouse appeal!
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Farm news: 20 eggs
Friday, October 23
What a day. We managed to get a few things accomplished in between cabin cleaning and guests. CountryBoy laid some more rocks around the well while I cleaned upstairs. When the guests left we went up to the cabin and got it ready for today’s guests. We had taken the drone up with us because I wanted to get a photo of the colorful mountain view. The drone did not fire up properly and when it did it shot up in the air about 100 feet. We tried to bring it down and gain control but it was not responding. Long story short – it disappeared – nowhere to be found. great. just great. We searched the grounds of the farm, drove on the road checking both sides of the road – nothing. I think I was too stunned to have much of a reaction but right then and there I made up my mind that I am done with electronic gadgets. done. When my iPad no longer works or supports any apps that’s it. There will be no drone. Definitely no cell phone. The only thing I will replace will be a computer. That’s a must-have as it’s the only way to book the cabin. I would also be able to keep blogging and taking digital photos. Otherwise, that’s it. Technology is changing every day which means as soon as a device is purchased it’s already old technology and in order to keep up with apps that work on your device one eventually has to upgrade. When will it end? It won’t. But, I have total control of the vicious cycle if I don’t buy into it in the first place. Sometimes I wonder what we all did before cell phones, iPads and tablets and how did we ever survive. I told CountryBoy that I am best suited for the days of sitting by the fire and knitting – not these modern, technologically filled days that drive me crazy. What galls me the most is the amount of people driving and scrolling or texting on their phone. I just don’t understand the mentality that thinks whatever is happening on their phone is more important than being a safe driver. Sadly it’s job security for EMS but innocent lives lost because someone can’t put their phone down and pay attention to the road is a high price to pay.
I will get down from my soap box now. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
After we ended the search I picked scuppernongs while CountryBoy mowed.
The fall colors are still emerging daily…
This has been one of the nicest October’s and Autumn weather we’ve had since moving here which is what spurred me into wanting to try and get an aerial shot with the drone.
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Farm news: 17 eggs
Saturday, October 24
Ever since the drone disappeared yesterday it has weighed heavily on our thoughts and minds. Even during the night our thoughts turned to the drone whenever we woke up. I had emailed the seller yesterday about the fiasco and the reply I found this morning was that no refund or exchange could be made if all the parts weren’t returned. ‘Sorry for the inconvenience’ was the end of the email. CountryBoy decided his main task today was to go look for it. He had a general idea of where it might be due to when he last saw it before it disappeared from sight and that general area was across the street on our neighbor’s mountain. I felt like he was heading out to go look for a needle in a haystack and that I wouldn’t see him until later this afternoon. Lo and behold he came back a couple hours later holding the drone. Unbelievable! Evidently it had crash-landed because one of the arms was broken and hanging on by a few wires. He repaired it but I’m going to send it back. They didn’t say it had to be in one piece so fingers crossed we can get an exchange. I was ready to just get a refund but CountryBoy enjoyed ‘playing’ with it and was going to ‘buy it’ from me. I refused the money but agreed to get an exchange. If we do, in fact, get a new one and it doesn’t work from the get-go it’s going back for a refund.
Once he finished repairing the drone we went to town. We were critically low on creamers for the cabin and we had forgotten to put them on the list when we shopped last Tuesday. I also needed some socks and a 1/2 inch notebook for the crochet patterns I’ve printed out. We picked up a few other grocery items and came back home. We went to Walmart because we could get everything we needed there and it was ridiculously packed. Neither of us do well in crowds anymore so we got what we needed and got outta there. LizzeBelle, however, had the best day ever as she got to go ‘byes in the truck’ with Mum & Daddy. So much excitement wears her out for the rest of the day, poor girl.
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It was supposed to be a high of 57 today but I don’t think it’s going to even reach 50 degrees. The house was getting cold so CountryBoy started a fire after we got home and boy, does it feel nice! Today is one of those dreary days that leave me hard pressed to get motivated. I did dust and vacuum so at least that’s something. I’ve also gotten a few more rows crocheted on the baby blanket. But overall, I don’t see much else getting done today other than the laundry.
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My Cosmos…
… are in full bloom and I love them!
I will definitely be getting some more seeds next Spring and I hope to get them planted earlier since they take a while to bloom.
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Farm news: 20 eggs
Sunday, October 25
A crisp, cool Sunday morning. We sipped coffee in front of the warm fireplace and watched daylight break. It was going to be another cool gray day. The guests left bright and early so CountryBoy headed up to clean while I waited for our company to arrive. Thankfully they made it safe and sound.
After a quick bite I went to work. I didn’t have to help with dinner so I was able to concentrate on getting all the sheets washed, dried and ironed and I was finished in four hours.
Tonight was our first night this month that we did not have any guests in the cabin. It seemed strange.
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Farm news: 16 eggs
Monday, October 26
It’s been another Monday I’d rather not repeat. Thankfully this is the last Monday I will have to deal with last minute politicians and politician wannabes before the election.
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Farm news: 18 eggs
Tuesday, October 27
As I opened up my email at work this morning there was a subject line in all caps with an URGENT AD request for this week’s paper. It was another last minute politician wanting a half page ad. The deadline was at noon yesterday and this email came in at 8:32 this morning. A lot happens after the deadline – percentages of ads to content are calculated; pages are determined; paperwork filled out, scanned and sent to the printer; and we begin laying out the paper. It’s not always easy accommodating last minute ads. We do our best but there are times when it’s just not possible and today was one of those times. There was also a breaking story and one of the editors was busy trying to get information to include in this weeks paper. She pulled it off which should make for some interesting news and hopefully a good week for counter sales. Overall, the day was smooth and we were finished by 1:30.
Friday, October 30
You may have noticed that Wednesday and Thursday’s journal entries are missing. Those days were the same ‘o same ‘o and there are times when I feel as though I am writing the same things each day and repeating myself. Many of you have said you enjoy reading the entries and keeping up with us but I just didn’t feel like taking the time to write since nothing out of the ordinary took place.
Yesterday, we did get a few things accomplished that have been lingering on the to-do list such as voting and turning in the dimes I’ve collected over the last year for our new library. CountryBoy parked at the office after work and we walked over to the library to turn in the dimes, then we walked to the polling place and cast our votes, and then we walked to the pizza joint for a pizza and then walked back to my office and we drove home. It wasn’t really that many steps overall but it felt good to walk around town and get a little bit of exercise. While I was at work CountryBoy took the defective drone to the UPS store and it is finally on its way back to the warehouse. Once they receive the drone they will send us a new one.
Today I had to go in to work to close out the month and get the invoices in the mail. It took me three hours and save for one bill that I need to check on the October billing is complete.
We are expecting temperatures in the mid-thirties tonight which means there’s a good chance it will fall below freezing here at the farm so CountryBoy pulled up the basil plants for me, hosed them off and we hung them to dry in the storage room. It will be nice to have our own dried basil for cooking.
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This afternoon was all about plants and flowers. With tonight’s possible frost I picked a bunch of Comso’s for a large vase and some Zinnia’s for a vintage blue Ball jar. I also deadheaded the Coneflowers, Zinnias, and the unknown yellow flowers. I’ll let them dry and then spread them next year. Hopefully a few of the seeds will pop up next Spring in a section of the new garden that will be for mixed flowers. The porch plants were brought into the greenhouse and all the house and greenhouse plants were watered. CountryBoy set up a heater in the greenhouse and it’s definitely keeping the greenhouse much warmer than the outdoors so that’s a good sign.
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Farm news: 16 eggs
Dream Valley Farmstead 