Wednesday, March 3
I.am.exhausted. My feet, ankles and back are killing me and have reminded me all day that my desk job has made me a little soft. I worked at the B&B today for nine hours because I was the only girl that could get there. Thankfully the river finally crested last night and the floodwaters have begun to recede. So far the roads seems to be in good shape which means people will be able to get into or out of town. The condition of the roads under the deep waters remains to be determined.
I arrived this morning just before time to deliver breakfast and stayed until after the dinners were delivered. There were meal deliveries, dish pick-ups, cabin cleaning, towel folding, kitchen cleanup times two, and in between I ironed a few sheets and napkins. It was a non-stop day but a day that flew by quickly.
As I previously mentioned, the floodwaters are receding, hallelujah! Now to see the extent of damage across the county and to start cleaning up. Many groups are already organizing clean-up parties and that’s a wonderful thing to see! If there’s one thing about our community is we are Appalachia Proud and we are resilient. We will do all we can to bounce back.
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Now I’m going to immerse myself into a chapter or two of the book I’m reading and then call it a night. An early night. I stayed up way too late last night listening to the flood update from our local Emergency Management Association.
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Farm news: 18 eggs
Miss Mabel has been spotted sunning herself in the paddock and the chickens are enjoying these warmish sunny days.
Thursday, March 4
I did not feel like journaling today. Instead, I did a little crocheting and knitting this evening and then sat on the couch with LizzieBelle and watched a movie with CountryBoy.
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Farm news: 16 eggs
Friday, March 5
Finally the sun shines on my day off! The morning was cold so I tidied up a bit indoors, vacuumed, and actually moved CountryBoy’s recliner and vacuumed underneath it. Good grief at the mess under there and all the stuff I have to vacuum move and/or vacuum around. Methinks we still have too much ‘stuff’. I’ve begun to gather up some more items to donate and a few set aside for an upcoming neighborhood yard sale in a couple months. I find myself wanting fewer and fewer things. I’m not sure whether it’s my age, or the desire to be able to easily clean due to my busy schedule, or what it is but I’m truly discovering that less is more. I’m also trying to minimize what’s on the floor for LizzieBelle’s sake because of her limited eyesight.
I also put away the last of the Winter decorations this morning. And, in between those tasks I sat for a few minutes here and there and did some knitting.
It warmed up quite a bit this afternoon so we got started on the grape arbor…
The wood needed to dry a little bit so today we just trimmed the ends and stood them all up so they could dry out. I’m hoping to get them painted tomorrow.
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It’s that time of year where we need to be diligent in checking the email for cabin bookings. The weekends are beginning to fill up and we have bookings into June already. That’s a good thing!
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As we were outside greeting our guests our order from Johhny’s Select Seeds was delivered. Vegetable seeds, flower seeds, soil block maker, leak proof trays, and the weed barrier. The mesh trays are on backorder and are expected to ship the middle of the month. That should be about the right time to start some seeds!
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Farm news: 24 eggs. Way to go girls!
Saturday, March 6
I did not take the time to journal again today so I’m writing this Sunday morning. I wore myself out painting all day and by the time I had to call it quits all I wanted to do was take a shower and try to ease the pain in my back. Last Wednesday and today has proved how out of shape I am. Between the winter months and a desk job I have grown soft for sure. I hope to remedy that in the upcoming months with lots of garden work and simply moving about more.
I spent the day painting the arbor pieces and the fence. My goal was to get two coats on everything and be done but I ran out of daylight and warmth. I managed to get two coats on the 4×4’s and the 2×6’s and two coats on two out of four sides of the runners.
I still need to get two coats on the other two sides of the runners and another coat on the fence. Here’s a before and after of the fence…
The black fence will be easier to maintain and coordinates with the black barn. Some day I hope to have a white house with black shutters which will tie everything together nicely.
My painting companion for part of the day…
… LizzieBelle catching some zzzz’s and some vitamin D!
After supper and a hot shower I spent the evening alternating between crocheting and knitting.
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Farm news: 26 eggs
Sunday, March 7
Last night was probably the best sleep I have gotten since LizzieBelle’s diagnosis. We are finally getting into a routine and she was only up one time last night. I have her bed at one end of the couch, a night light on, and we have lots of throw blankets to snuggle up in. When we come back in from a trip outside I turn the bathroom light on which lights up her bowls in the kitchen and she gets a drink while I do my business. She’ll either come find me or she’ll wait for me by the fireplace and I pick her up and put her back in her bed. She is settling down and falling back asleep much quicker than before. We just feel so bad for her because on top of all her ailments her eyesight is not improving nor can she hear very well. We are doing our best to keep her comfortable and to assure her that we are looking out for her and I think she knows it. We love her so much and are spoiling her even more!
This morning has been productive already. CountryBoy cooked up another batch of artisan bread and I have a batch of soon-to-be yogurt in the yogurt maker. I also did some knitting while sipping coffee. I’m going to have a nice stack of dish cloths and dish scrubbies ready for the buying. (I’ve had a couple requests for them so I thought it would be a good time to make some while clearing out my yarn stash.)
Our guests are enjoying their morning and will more than likely check-out at noon so we were not able to go to church. I’m going to go in to work a little bit early in hopes to get home a little bit early.
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It only took me a couple hours to get the ironing done so I was able to get home a little earlier. I could’ve gotten home a lot earlier but I stayed for another hour and a half and worked on the Contacts project so that I could get a few hours in – don’t need the check to be too small due to lack of hours!
My great-niece and her family were there when I got home. They came laden with a bucket o’ fried chicken and all the fixins. We enjoyed a tasty supper and had a nice visit.
I had every intention of publishing this blog post tonight but I spent almost two hours catching up with a dear friend after our company left. Family and friends come first so I hope to publish this blog after tomorrow’s entry.
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Farm news: 24 eggs
Monday, March 7
I still can’t get used to typing ‘March’. It’s crazy how fast the months are flying by!
Lots of good things to mention today… our town is busy cleaning up after the flood and lots of services are being provided at no charge. Laundry trucks came in and are washing clothes for free; road crews are picking up any and everything that was ruined by the flood at no charge; all but one road has reopened (rail cars need to be righted and the tracks repaired that run alongside the road that runs alongside the river); churches are providing cleaning supplies; individuals are making boxed lunches and driving around and delivering them; damage assessments have begun; businesses are cleaning up and figuring out their next step; and the list goes on. It’s very sobering to drive around and see the entire contents of people’s houses sitting on the lawn; muddy, wet carpet and padding wadded up waiting to be discarded; cars stained with mud from being submerged; and so on and so on. My heart aches for these people and I find myself wondering if there are enough handymen around to remove and fix soggy drywall, ruined floors, electrical systems, and so on and on. There is still so much to do to recover from this historic flood so continued prayers would be much appreciated by all.
LizzieBelle actually did her happy dance when I got home from work which was exciting to see! I want to say that she was happy to see me but I think it was the anticipation of getting a treat that had her doing the two-step. At any rate, she hasn’t done her happy dance in months so that was very encouraging. We have also been getting some good sleep. It seems creating a routine has helped.
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Work was slow today yet somehow I managed to stay busy. This afternoon I finished laying out four pages and I have a jump start on two others. That’s always a good thing because ya just never know what’s going to happen these days!
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CountryBoy made two batches of banana bread then got started on the most difficult part of the grape arbor build – burying and leveling the cement deck blocks that will anchor the arbor. He said it was extremely hot today (at 61 degrees!) so after he would get a block in place he would lay down on the cool grass for a bit to rest and to cool off. He said every time a car would drive by he would stick his arm up and wave just in case they saw him lying there. Too funny but actually a smart thing to do so that people don’t call 911 or turn around to check on him.
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Farm news: 34 eggs but CountryBoy broke one, the chickens were eating one, and he left one in a hidden nest in hopes that the chicken would continue to use that nest and not find another place to hide her eggs so 31 eggs came into the house.
The mesh trays came in today so we are that much closer to starting this year’s garden season.
Dream Valley Farmstead 