A girls day out & finished projects

Sunday, December 5

Church. Work. Relax. That was the basic gist of the day. We did manage to hang the curved shower curtain rod I picked up yesterday on our way home from Lexington. Thankfully the installation was easy and finished just in time for us to get our showers before church. This evening I finished skein six for the baby blanket.

Monday, December 6

We had quite the downpour during the night and this morning. Enough so to create ruts in the driveway. We assessed the road while walking to the mailbox. It’s been worse but it was bad enough that CountryBoy would need to grade the road. In fact, he wound up grading it this afternoon because we had a last minute showing. We were watching a movie and having some popcorn when our realtor called around 2:30 and said she had someone wanting to see it at 3:30. Before I even hung up CountryBoy was out the door to detach the tiller and hook up the blade and start grading the road. While he did that I tidied up the kitchen, cleaned the upstairs bathroom and vacuumed then CountryBoy mopped. We had it all done before 3:30 so we watched a few more minutes of the movie while we waited for the showing. It went well. They loved the place and kept saying we had a beautiful home. The cabin was a hit as well so now we’ll just wait and see.

Last night I had prayed for a sign or something to happen – a clear message as to whether we are to sell the farm and move to a simpler property or are we to stay put. I’m not sure whether the showing today was part of the answer to my prayer or what. As far as staying put it seems each time we start wrapping our heads around the possibility of staying at the farm something like the aforementioned incident with the rain happens and reminds us of the continual maintenance that’s necessary and is what we’re trying to get away from. Hopefully I’ll know more in a few days cuz I just don’t handle the limbo stage very well. Maybe if half our house wasn’t packed up and empty it wouldn’t be so bad.

This evening I started the seventh skein for the baby blanket and I’m almost finished with the backstitching on the cross stitch piece I’m working on.

Tomorrow is the day I’ve been anticipating for about a week now. It’s lunch at The Glitz with the B&B crew. So fun and exciting!

Tuesday, December 7

The day I have been waiting for is finally here!!! It’s the day the girls of Snug Hollow B&B can let their hair down and be waited on which is such a nice treat. The staff continually does their best day in and day out making sure the cabins are spotless and cozy, the food is delicious, and that the guests have all they need. To be able to sit down all together and enjoy a delicious meal is something we all look forward to.

We went to The Glitz at Irish Acres in Nonesuch, Kentucky again. We love that place! It’s an old school house that has been renovated. The main and second floor contain room after room of high end antiques (a bit too high for any of us but we love to look nonetheless) and was all decked out for Christmas …

… and the basement (which was the school cafeteria) has been transformed into a glitzy wonderland that serves the most scrumptious cuisine. In fact, we all dove into our plates and it wasn’t until dessert that anyone thought to take pictures. So, I snapped a quick photo of the Nonesuch Kiss before it disappeared.

Each of us picked up a little something to commemorate the day. I paid too much for a pair of stone studded Christmas ornament dangle earrings and WAY too much for a face mask. I hated to pay that much for a mask but the ones I have don’t fit and don’t stay on my face and I can’t find any masks in any of the stores I’ve been in. Thankfully, this one fits. Hmph, it should for the price.

Before heading home we stopped at The Amsden coffee shop in Versailles. I got a delicious Iced Snickerdoodle Latte and the girls did a little more shopping while there.

I am fortunate to work with such a great bunch of ladies…

Along with our coffee we each got a bag of goodies and a super warm, lightweight jacket.

It was a fabulously FUN day with a GREAT bunch of ladies!

Oh, and since I didn’t have to drive I took a skein of yarn and the baby blanket and I was able to get quite a few rows done during the drive there and back.

Wednesday, December 8

After such a fun day yesterday it was back to work today. I thought is was going to be a short day because there weren’t too many sheets that needed laundered and ironed. I decided to tackle the pile of stained sheets when more sheets showed up in the hamper. Quite a few more than we had all anticipated. I threw them in the wash while I continued to work on the stains. Among the stain pile were some napkins so once all the sheets were in the dryer I threw in a load of napkins and tablecloths. What I thought would be a short day ended up being a six and a half hour day.

I walked in the house and was greeted with a tantalizing aroma. CountryBoy had mentioned on my way out the door this morning that he had no idea what we would make for supper. I suggested he get on Pinterest and look up some Mediterranean recipes. He did and it was delicious! I’m so thankful he knows his way around a kitchen and doesn’t mind cooking.

I finished the cross stitch piece this evening.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it but it’s done, yay!

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Our realtor called this evening and we have a showing tomorrow at 11 o’clock. We’ll see what happens.

Thursday, December 9

We slept in today. It was a quarter till eight when I made myself get up. I had the morning chores done before CountryBoy crawled out of bed. By the time we finished breakfast it was almost ten o’clock. We had one hour to tidy up the house before the showing. Luckily there wasn’t much to do – vacuum downstairs, wash & dry the dishes, and mop the mudroom floor. The showing went well and they loved the farm and house but due to some upcoming circumstances the buyers aren’t able to make an offer until after the first of the year. Our realtor said there was supposed to be another showing this afternoon but it was canceled because they didn’t make it to town. Must be people from out of state. Maybe they’ll schedule another day.

After everyone left we headed to town to pick up an antique loveseat we had seen the other day at the Peddlers Mall. Or so we thought we had seen at that particular mall. We walked the whole store (quickly scanning for two more dining chairs along the way but finding none) but we didn’t see the one we thought we had seen. There was one there but it wasn’t quite what we were looking for or the one we remembered seeing. I did buy a rug for the living room so that was worth the trip.

I think the rug makes the living room a bit more cozy and definitely warmer on the feet.

Since we didn’t find the loveseat there we thought maybe we had seen it at the Peddlers Mall in Lexington so we headed on over there since we were already halfway there. We quickly walked the entire mall faster than the other one (because of its size) three times and didn’t find it. We reckon someone bought it along with the desk CountryBoy had his eye on. He said something told him to get them when we first saw them but, well, you see how that turned out. We were both looking forward to sitting in front of the fire and having our coffee in the morning but you snooze, you lose!

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I finished skein seven and started skein eight tonight. The baby blanket is on the home stretch.

Friday, December 10

Even with sleeping in till seven fifteen it was still a nice, long day. This morning we brought the tall secretary desk in from the tack room in the barn. We had originally purchased it for the cabin but we put the ladder shelf in its place. The narrow desk CountryBoy made to fit the dining room wasn’t working out very well for him so we decided to clean up the ‘ol secretary and bring it in. We moved the narrow desk to the sunroom then brought the cleaned up secretary in. After unpacking a few office items and setting them in place I think it’s going to work out a little better.

This afternoon we ran a few errands in town on our way to pick up a friend. We were having dinner with some friends so we picked up the husband and met the wife at the restaurant after she got off work. The food was OK but the company was great! It has been too long since we’ve gotten together and we enjoyed the visit very much.

Speaking of food, there was only one item on the menu that was suitable for the way we’ve been eating and we had just eaten it last night. Salmon. I love a good piece of salmon but I’ve had it twice already this week and we both had it just last night. So… we chose something we thought would be a treat (or maybe a cheat!) and that we would enjoy eating but we were both mistaken. We were both miserable and the food sat heavy all evening. Hopefully that was a lesson learned. We’re really enjoying the flavors of the Mediterranean and we’ve already begun to notice some subtle, positive changes towards being healthier. Now to remember that when faced with various food choices.

On the way to the restaurant and running errands I worked on the baby blanket. I figured I’d make use of the travel time.

Saturday, December 11

Today started abruptly with a phone call at 5:16. It was our local Emergency Management notifying us of a tornado warning and to seek shelter immediately. The call woke me from a sound sleep and it took me a minute to figure out where the phone was. By the time I remembered the answering machine picked up. I heard the message then listened for wind or any such telltale signs of an impending tornado. I didn’t hear any so I dozed off again. Fifteen minutes later the phone rang again. I was awake enough to snatch up the phone this time. And this time I was able to press 1 which notified them that we had indeed gotten the message. After that I took LizzieBelle out and there was still no signs of a tornado, just some lightening off in the distance. CountryBoy and I decided to sit in the living room and wait until we thought it was necessary to seek shelter. I mean, at that point, there was no wind, no rain, no nothing. Eventually the rain and the wind came but nothing so severe that we felt threatened. Our fellow Kentuckians to the west of us were not so fortunate. There was quite a bit of devastation and many lives were lost. Our prayers go up for them during this disaster.

It was a pretty low key day after that. I did a lot of crocheting while responding to friends and family checking on us to see if we were OK. I finished the body of the baby blanket and have gotten started on the border. To keep my bum from getting any wider and sorer I walked to the mailbox this afternoon, took a shower, and did one load of laundry. Last Sunday we were asked to sing ‘O Holy Night’ tomorrow morning so I went over it a few times. CountryBoy will have to sit this one out as he has a bit of a cold. We also watched three movies throughout the course of the afternoon and evening. Like I said, it was a pretty low key day after such a startling morning.

Sunday, December 12

I woke up wanting the day to already be over with. I wasn’t exactly grumpy but I just didn’t want to do anything that I had to do today but do it I must. I did not want to do the morning barn chores which included breaking the ice in the water bowls but I did it. I did not want to restoke the fire again this morning after working thirty minutes or so in the middle of the night trying to get it going again so that the house wouldn’t be an icebox when we got up but I did it. I did not want to sing ‘O Holy Night’ in church this morning but I sang it. I did not want to go to work but I went and worked four and a half hours finishing all the sheets, making room sprays, and ordering more supplies for the sprays. By the time I left work I was feeling better – part because all of the things I had to do today was nearing an end and the main part being the camaraderie of the evening crew. I thanked them for being them and told them I was glad I got to see them today as they helped lift my crotchety mood. A tantalizing aroma greeted me when I walked in the door. CountryBoy created his own dish of seasoned shrimp & veggies over rice. It was delicious! I spent the evening finishing the border on the baby blanket. All that’s left to do is weave in a few ends. Another project soon to be finished!

Monday, December 13

I woke up today feeling more like my usual self. For that I am grateful. I had a decent nights’ sleep (which is helpful) and even slept in a bit. It was also a nice, sunny day with temps in the mid fifties making it quite comfortable outside.

Right after breakfast we headed to Rural King for some cracked corn. Our freeloading chickens ate the last of it this morning. (Still zero to two eggs a day.) While there we picked up some cat food, a block of bird seed, and did some Christmas shopping. After that we stopped at the Peddlers Mall in search of chairs and a vintage loveseat. No luck.

We needed some more fruit so we headed down the highway to Richmond so we could stop at Aldi’s. We stocked up on fruit & veggies, cheeses, and somehow a half gallon of eggnog wound up in the cart. Well, that would be me who snuck it in when CountryBoy wasn’t looking, teehee. It’s one of my weaknesses this time of year. They did not have any popcorn that wasn’t microwaveable so we stopped at Walmart to get some. We did some more Christmas shopping but I still had one more thing to get so we headed to Kohl’s. After some searching I found what I thought the recipient might like and now our Christmas shopping is done. All in a day, yay! We’ll get some stocking stuffers for each other at a later date.

This evening I started my next project. My former boss gave me a bunch of crocheted squares that her mother had made. My plan is to join them together to make a piece that would drape over the back of the couch or maybe a tablecloth depending on how many squares I have. First, though, I put all the squares in a basin with some warm water and Oxiclean. They were dingy and needed a good cleaning. I’ll leave them there overnight then rinse them. After rinsing really well I will attempt to block them then figure out how to join them together. Once it’s finished I plan on giving the completed piece back to her. Since her mother is deceased maybe it will be a treasured piece.

Our errands took all day. LizzieBelle went along for the ride and she is wore slap out. She’s been sleeping all evening with the exception of one potty break followed with a long drink of water. Poor baby girl!

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Last night we got a booking for the end of April 2022. We don’t even have a 2022 planner/calendar to write the booking down. We’re not really sure how it was available to be booked because our calendar is only supposed to be open three months ahead. Apparently something has changed. We’ll have to check it out.

Tuesday, December 14

I slept in again this morning. Even so I managed to get a few things done like rinsing out the crochet squares that soaked overnight; did a couple loads of laundry; made some more iced tea; helped (a tiny bit) with making breakfast; and we wrapped the Christmas presents. I was ready to get the crochet squares out of the rinse bucket and start blocking them but I couldn’t find my straight pins. They’re packed away somewhere and for the life of us we could not find the box they were in. After wasting what seemed like half the day (it was really only a couple hours) I decided to go to the nearest dollar store (about fifteen minutes away) and buy some straight pins. After asking a clerk if they had any and where they might be I found that there were only 30 pins per pack and they wanted a dollar a pack. Since I needed a LOT of pins I decided to drive on in to town and get them at Walmart. An hour later I could finally get the squares out of the rinse bucket and start blocking them. I used towels folded in half then straightened and pinned the squares to the towels. I will leave them there until they dry. Meanwhile, I found out how to join them together with an invisible seam. Hopefully it will be fairly easy. The crochet thread is quite small so I’ll be working with small stitches.

This morning I also finished the baby blanket. (It’s a much softer, buttery yellow rather than what the photo shows.). YAY!!!

Like I said, I was zipping along this morning until the straight pin fiasco. I must admit I was a little furious over the whole thing. I am so sick and tired of seeing boxes stacked in the dining room; the occasional searching for something in said boxes; people traipsing through the house at any given moment; no offers on the house; living in limbo; and so on and so on. I know I need to change my outlook and look for the positives but it’s getting harder each day.

Wednesday, December 15

Work day. I went in my normal time, 9 o’clock, to find no other employee vehicles and the front door locked. For several hours it was just me and the boss. I managed to get caught up on some office work, did a couple loads of laundry and ironed a couple of sheet sets. As I was getting ready to leave the boss mentioned that we needed to change some wording in a document so I worked on that for an hour or so. Since there were no guests on sight there was no breakfast. I grabbed a few coconut thins cookies out of the freezer and snatched a couple pieces of pistachio & rose brittle a guest made to tide me over till I got home. The brittle was SO good! And festive too with bits of pistachios and rose petals throughout. As I was finishing up I began hankerin’ for a pizza. I happened to mention it to the boss so she asked if I would pick up something she had printed since the print shop was across the street from the pizza place. We left immediately after I got home. We each got a salad and shared a small pizza. Both hit the spot and filled my empty stomach. After that we stopped at a local antique & vendor mall only to find it closes early on Wednesdays. We stopped at two other places that we hadn’t been to before. They had lots of cool stuff but we walked out empty handed. No antique loveseat or suitable chairs were to be found at either store so we headed home. We had a potential buyer for CountryBoy’s banjo coming by to look at it and I am happy to report that it is sold. yay! One less item collecting dust and cobwebs in the farmhouse and one more item that will hopefully get put to good use by someone else. win-win!

This evening I started joining the crochet squares together. The task is much easier than I had anticipated and for that I am glad. I have forty two squares so I decided to make a piece that can be draped over the sofa. I’ll be joining ten squares across and four deep leaving two squares left over. Two squares had stains on them that didn’t quite come out so that will work out good. I’m thinking this project won’t take me as long as I had originally thought.

This evening we also got two bookings for this weekend. whew! That makes three bookings in one week – yay! We were beginning to wonder why we weren’t getting any bookings but this is a slower time of the year. We still can’t figure out how the one was able to book in April. We have three months availability selected but the calendar shows six months out. Must be a glitch in Airbnb’s programming. Nonetheless we’re grateful for the booking.

Tuesday, December 21

The shortest day of the year – the Winter Solstice – is here which officially ushers in ol’ man winter. From here until the Summer Solstice the days will increasingly become longer. Other than being ready for bed by 6:30 we haven’t minded the shorter days this year. We’ve had so many warm and sunny days during the Autumn months to chase away any winter blues.

You may have noticed that it’s been almost a week since I’ve journaled. I’ve spent the days working on joining the crochet squares together and I finished it over the weekend.

It’s beautiful! I wrapped it up and took it to my former boss yesterday. She was thrilled with it which made the effort worth it. I discovered that it was her late husband’s grandmother’s crochet squares, not her mothers, which made them even older than I had originally thought. When I found that out I knew she appreciated having these heirloom pieces back in the family. We also stopped at the post office so I could mail the finished baby blanket.

The biggest fiasco during the last week when I wasn’t journaling was dropping my camera which resulted in a damaged lens. I was grabbing it off the end table and didn’t notice that the strap was hanging under the open drawer and as it caught it was like the camera was just yanked right out of my hand before I even knew what was happening. I was distraught when I picked it up and noticed that the retractable part of the lens looked like the leaning tower of Pisa. I cried. Literally. CountryBoy tried to fix it but was unsuccessful. That evening I priced a replacement lens online and cried some more. There will be no replacement lens for a while.

We’ve made the decision to take the farm off the market at the end of the year and we’ll attempt to hire people to help us simplify the maintenance of the house and farm. Over the course of this past week we’ve spent several days hitting up three different Peddlers Malls and antique shops looking for household items to replace what we sold. Here’s what we’ve gotten so far… a braided rug for the dining room, a queen mattress and box spring for the master bedroom, a bed frame for the guest room, and a Victorian couch for in front of the fireplace. Still needed are night stands, lamps, and a hutch.

What’s funny is the day we came home with the rug, mattress and bed frame there was a message from the realtor about a showing a week from today for a serious buyer (according to their realtor). I had to shake my head. No sooner’n we decide to take it off the market there’s a serious buyer. I’m not really sure what that means but at this point, whatever happens happens and we’re OK with it.

We are looking forward to our Christmas Eve celebration with our adopted Kentucky family. There’s always a bunch of people, lots of food, fun, games and laughter. Which reminds me – we’ve got two and a half days to find the box with the Nertz cards! And, we opted to forego stuffing our stockings this year.

Wednesday, December 22

It was a crisp 28 degrees when I left the cozy warmth of the farmhouse and headed to work. There wasn’t a whole lot to do but I stayed busy and five and a half hours flew by. For supper I heated up some leftovers and am going to spend the evening proofreading this here blog post in hopes of publishing it tonight. After that I may work on a new cross stitch piece I started a few days ago.

CountryBoy kept the home fires burning, brought more wood in, filled the bird feeders, and got the cabin ready for either our next guests or next week’s showing – whichever comes first.