Monday, February 8
Did you watch the Super Bowl last night? We didn’t. In fact, we didn’t even know who was playing nor did we care. I did find out that Tampa Bay was playing because a co-worker was rooting for Tom Brady. Here it is, almost 24 hours after the Super Bowl and we still have no idea who won. Again, nor do we care. Watching football (or any sports for that matter) is just not who we are. Now shows about aliens? CountryBoy is all about those! Me? I don’t watch very much TV.
LizzieBelle had a good night but woke up at 5:30 with a coughing spell. I rubbed her chest and belly for almost 30 minutes which kept the harsh coughing down. We all wound up crawling out of bed at 6 o’clock. Plenty of time to drink both mugs of coffee before going to work. Instead of my usual travel mug of coffee I took some hot Ultra Spice Chai tea that my B&B boss had given me. SO good!
This morning I struggled a bit at work. I didn’t really want to be there. None of the emails waiting in my Inbox needed my attention so I spent the morning pondering topics such as decluttering, minimalism, passion & purpose. I read a few articles and blogs on the various subjects and jotted down a few notes. Lately I’ve been drawn to these subjects but I have yet to wrap my head around them and how to incorporate them into my life. When I started this blog I wanted to focus on ‘simple living’ but life has been anything BUT simple since moving to the farm. Lately I’ve been wanting to get to the root of how to live simply but I have no idea where to start. I feel, though, that these subjects are something that I need to pray about and ponder some more to try and find a direction before I can even wrap my head around it or write anything down.
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Eventually a new ad came in, I put some labels on some envelopes then before I knew it the ad deadline was here (at noon) and I printed out my ad schedule. After that the day picked up and I managed to lay out four pages and got started on a fifth page. I like having a head start for Tuesdays.
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Farm news: 9 eggs and one turkey egg
Tuesday, February 9
Two jobs. One day. And a trip to Lexington. You’d think I would’ve collapsed into bed as soon as we got home but I wasn’t tired. The weather forecasters are calling for a Winter Storm with freezing temps, rain, with snow on Thursday. The weather advisors and the locals are most concerned about the accumulation of ice – possibly up to a half inch. Wednesday it’s supposed to be cold and rainy which is why I stopped at the B&B on my way home to iron so that I wouldn’t have to leave the house tomorrow. I thought if CountryBoy was up to going out that it might be a good time to go to Lexington to return the hip bag before being rained upon then snowed and iced in.
We were zipping along I-75 and were a few miles south of Lexington when traffic came to a complete stop. Luckily I had my crochet bag with me so when LizzieBelle went over to sit on her Daddy’s lap I pulled out the baby blanket. Five minutes later traffic started moving and eventually we were all herded into the far right lane. From what we could tell there was a pretty serious accident on the bridge that spans the Kentucky River. We saw one car being towed away and it was in rough shape. Our thoughts and a quick prayer went up for the occupants. Once we were past the scene of the accident traffic all but dissipated and everyone was on their way once again.
At Target there were five or six people ahead of me returning items and all of the open registers had at least that many waiting in line. Thankfully it didn’t take long to return the bag then we were off to our favorite pizza place (in Lexington) which is just across the parking lot. Once we finished eating we headed back to the mountains. It always feels so good when we can see them off in the distance and even better when we’re home!
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I called the vet today about LizzieBelle and her still having a cough with only about two more days of antibiotic left. She said that was normal and that because her trachea was raw from the coughing that it may take another week or two before the cough is completely gone. If it is not, then I am to call back. I hope it’s gone by then, or sooner, for all our sakes.
Wednesday, February 10
LizzieBelle had a rough night with several bouts of coughing. They were short bouts but there were quite a few. Around 3:30ish she had another bout and I got up with her. We slept the rest of the night on the couch with a few more bouts of coughing but not major. She’s had several bouts today and one more day of antibiotic.
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It was SO nice being able to stay home today. It rained off and on and I was glad that I wasn’t out in it. I had a few things in mind that I wanted to accomplish today but nothing was set in stone. CountryBoy had forgotten that I didn’t have to go to work so he came wandering down the stairs around 6:30. We had a nice long morning sipping coffee by the fireplace. I had picked up the baby blanket and started working on it where I had left off while sitting on I-75. Before long I was having a hard time pulling the yarn. I always pull the yarn from the center and this skein started out like any other however it did not take long to realize that this skein was NOT anything like the others. I spent about 15 minutes trying to untangle the section I needed and directly CountryBoy said he’d work on untangling it for me. He enjoys the challenge of untangling yarn. He says he’s had lots of experience untangling his fishing line, ha! Little did he know the challenge ahead…
As he would free up some of the yarn I would work a couple stitches trying to stay up with him so that he would have less yarn to mess with or possibly get tangled again. As he tugged and worked at the mess I kept my hook in place so that he wouldn’t accidentally pull my stitches out…
At one point even poor LizzieBelle was involved…
CountryBoy was pulling the yarn free and had un-knowingly been tossing it on a sleeping Belle. Conquering this skein was truly a family affair.
After about four hours the mess was neatly balled up and ready to easily be made into stitches…
I decided to finish this skein today. I worked on it off and on and managed to finish the skein late afternoon. 8 down 1 to go for the body of the blanket.
While he was untangling the yarn there was a point when there was no yarn for me to use so I decided to start tackling my emails which are absolutely ridiculous. I’m horrible about opening nine/tenth’s of my emails and even worse about deleting them. 10,000 plus emails and over 6,000 had not even been opened. sigh. In my pursuit to simplify and declutter I knew that one of my major tasks would be conquering my Inbox and that I would have to devote some time to cleaning it up and unsubscribing to most. Once that is accomplished then I seriously need to get in the habit of reading and deleting them as they come in.
By the time CountryBoy finished untangling the yarn it was almost 1 o’clock. WAY past breakfast! We ended up having brunch around 2. It’s been so nice having the day to just do whatever, whenever. I could get used to this.
I spent an hour or so changing some things around in the kitchen. My tea was corralled in a beautiful wooden tray which made it easy to find the kind of tea I wanted but it was just messy.
I decided to switch the popcorn and mixer station with the coffee and tea station. There’s a gap between two of the boards on the counter where the coffee was and all sorts of coffee grounds have fallen into the drawers below so I thought the popcorn maker and the mixer would work better there…
… since popcorn won’t be able to fall through the crack. And I think this coffee and tea corner will work out much better…
I wound up using a set of sewing drawers (which originally sat on the coffee and tea bar) for my tea bags. I had supplements stored in there but decided to put them in a drawer. Now I can simply flip through the tea bags to find the kind I’m hankering’ for…
… and they’re all tucked away nice and neat. I really like how these little stations turned out. Accomplishing these sorts of tasks always makes me wonder why I didn’t think of them sooner or do them in the first place. Of course, I ask myself that and then two months later I wind up not liking it and changing it again. We’ll see how long I like this arrangement. I do, however, enjoy these types of projects – making spaces practical yet pleasing and trying to make our house look homey and inviting. I see lots of gorgeous spaces while browsing Instagram or Pinterest. As I swoon over the image thinking how gorgeous I soon start to think that when it comes down to it the space isn’t very practical or functional. I mean, no appliances on the kitchen counters or tons of pillows on a chair or bed has me wondering how in the world does one cook, sit or lay down without having to rearrange everything or dig out their cookware?! Anyway, while it would be nice to have such a gorgeous space I have no desire to have an impractical space. My constant goal is to have my spaces pleasing and practical and to display items that have a dual purpose. I have yet to reach that in this house but I keep trying.
Thursday, February 11
LizzieBelle had a good night! Which means we all had a good night. She coughed a couple times throughout the night but would only cough a few times and then she was right back to sleep. She did wake up at 6:30 with a pretty bad bout of coughing. She coughed quite a bit this morning but eventually the coughing subsided. We are all longing for the day when she is well again.
We woke up to an icy world. I opted to stay home from work – off the roads, safe and sound. If the weather is better I’ll go in tomorrow or maybe I’ll just scramble to catch up on Monday.
After breakfast we headed outside. CountryBoy with the drone and me with the camera. The trees are covered in ice…
The pine trees are drooping with the weight of the ice…
There was an unusual beauty to this day…
CountryBoy has been waiting for snow all day but we just keep getting more sleet and more ice.
He wasn’t really thrilled about this day since it didn’t snow, but me? I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to be at home thanks to this icy day.
I soaked some Navy Beans overnight and got them going today with some nice chunks of country ham. No seasonings needed because of the salty country ham. I’m eating a bowl as I type this!
I’ve deleted a couple thousand more emails today and have been working on the baby blanket. So far skein 9 is cooperating and pulling from the center nice and easy.
The birds have been hitting the feeders hard all day today…
… and have been hanging out on the icy branches waiting their turn…
Today’s Winter Ice Storm was not as bad as predicted at least in our area. We still have power and no downed trees or broken limbs. Last night I prayed for this storm – that it would go easy on us, that those that had to be out in it would be safe, and for the safety of all the Public Service employees.
I snapped several photos and then my camera battery died. I haven’t bought a second battery yet so we came inside and I put it on the charger. Note to self: order another battery so that I always have a charged battery.
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We placed our first seed order today. Lots of good stuff from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company – golden butter wax beans, lima beans, Roma tomatoes, pink jazz cherry tomatoes, bonny best tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, sweet corn, yellow Spanish onions, bell peppers, broccoli, watermelon, strawberries and black Goji berries. We plan on placing a second order with Johnny’s Selected Seeds for weed barrier, various flower seeds and maybe another vegetable or five (wink).
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Farm news: 11 eggs plus two hens still sitting on nests.
Dream Valley Farmstead 