Pantry!

 My pantry is overloaded with foods, canning equipment and empty canning jars. The shelves we put in hold so much but not enough for my liking.

I'm also a Prepper and I've now filled all the storage areas I thought would take a long time to fill and now have no idea what to do with things.

Somethings gotta give and it needs to happen soon.

A couple weeks ago we laid our John Henry to rest, she was 16 years 4 months old and had been with us since she was 8 weeks old. I still see her out of the corner of my eye and look for her at bedtime to carry her to bed. 

Rest easy John

Before we lost John, in December we welcomed a used English Mastiff, Clare.

Shes 4 years old & had at least 4 litters of puppies, was only 97# when we brought her home. Since then she has gained weight, maybe 20 lbs so far and is looking good. Clare is a GOOD DOG, she sits, lays down, stays, comes and has excellent recall. 

If you look closely you can see that her hair was course looking 

but now she is all smooth and soft and her hair glows.

Ambleside is SO BIG now, she weighs as much as my TB and is as tall as my older mare. 

Amble is a PILL.

Lots of changes

I'd almost forgotten about this blog but I knew I'd be back sooner or later.

We lost our dog Jenny so turned the dog/mud room into a pantry. Added shelves to the closet

They're FULL now

Built this awesome can holder

I don't know if this had been mentioned or not but I painted the front fence from white to black and it looks so much nicer now.

The black really stands out

In March '22 we built these raised garden beds. So far I've got $48 into them 

& that was for the top layer of dirt. We put branches in the bottom, then a layer of last years composted mowed lawn grass, then two year old hose poop/shavings/hay/sand compost and topped them off with the purchased garden soil. The compost was absolutely loaded with worms.

We put the garden on the north side of the house where they will receive 12-14 hours of direct sunshine per day. I'm going to use companion plants in each bed so they can protect each other from pests, shade delicate shorter plants and not be near plants they don't tolerate well. I've got all the seeds and just waiting for the sunshine to warm the world to plant them. 

Last week I scored this greenhouse. It's one year old, no damage to it at all, a friend helped me go to Seattle to get it and I was able to put the frame back together that evening by myself. The next day another friend helped put the plastic on.

We've had a couple days with HIGH winds and even though I had neglected to tie it down, it stayed in place and I was VERY lucky for that.

Those two water troughs will be put out by the road at the end of the black board fence; last year we had one & it was loaded with flowers so this year there will be three loaded with flowers.

Inside the greenhouse right now is one of the beds, I'm just using it for a table at this time. I've got a bunch of starts on trays and am happily surprised to say that Marigolds and Peas are growing well. Each night I cover them all with a plastic sheet and take it off during the days.

Tomorrow will be our warmest day so far of the year, up to 72*. I'll be airing out the greenhouse and working in the other beds. I need to put stakes in corners and install bird netting to keep chickens out of them. I've also got more plastic that I'll be putting over these beds when there are seeds in them.

A couple other BIG additions to the farm are:

My new Gypsy Vanner filly, now 9.5 months old. She's from Canada and she's been here since November 2021. Her name is Black Orchid Ambleside, the B.O. are the breeder but Ambleside is the name I had chosen in 2010 when I rode a Gypsy in England for the first time, then had lunch in an OLD pub in the little village of Ambleside. I knew I needed my own Gypsy & I'd name her Amble. 

The other big addition was a 2021 Can Am Commander 1000xt.  This machine is FUN. We've taken it to Nevada, Liberty, Walker Valley and Tahuya many times.

We are so blessed to have our beautiful home.

 

Bathroom Is Almost Finished

I found this mirror yesterday after searching high & low for one to fit the space. I really didn't want to get two, felt it was too narrow for that & most larger ones are just a titch too large. I knew this would be perfect as soon as I saw it & it was installed before the end of the day.

We have decided to NOT use the tiles that are partially installed here. They keep popping off & if they do that now, will they do it later? I'll get something different that might have a bit of color.

 

A Room For A Boy

We finished this room for Soren to use, it's got some toys, his bed & in the drawers there are all new clothes for him. 

I'm going to take down the blinds & put up curtains that are easier to use.

The closet needs dowels that are kid level 

The floor is waterproof so he won't have to worry about spills

We have installed a small fan light in the ceiling and the door is a barn door slider

The Reno Is Almost Finished

 Last January our bedroom looked like this, with blue tape marking an imaginary wall, there was a doorway into the Jack & Jill bathroom and the white carpet was wasted because we knew it was coming out. In early February the work began.

This is what it looks like now. 

The shower has got 6 built in corner shelves.

I love the western style mirror I found at Lowes, on clearance.

We put this light in but its small, it might need to be replaced in the future.

There is another light that's also a fan & heater, works great.

The floor is waterproof click together rubber tiles, it's perfect. 

We found brushed bronze towel holders to match the other items in there.

It's Taking Forever

I just need to remember that we're doing 3 rooms, not just adding a bathroom.

MASTER BATHROOM

This is the old vanity in the Jack & Jill bathroom, photo taken January 1, 2020.

This is that same wall, April 26, 2020.

I had these boards ready to put onto this wall for a month, it took 1 hour to put them up. 

Still needed:

Light replaced

Mirror hung

Mirror frame made

Backsplash

1 Piece of trim on floor

caulk around sink & tub

This was the longest/fastest of all the projects

The tile we got for the side walls & between the backsplash & wood, now that I see them all together I think I want something with more color, this is pretty but drab.

NEW BATHROOM

The shower is in and drywall has been sanded

Today texture was sprayed on the walls, it should be ready for me to paint tomorrow.

New Bathroom So Far

This is when the room was the ending of being our bedroom. Whoever put white carpet in a farmhouse bedroom was nuts. At this stage we knew the carpet was going to be removed so we didn't take huge steps to protect it & keep it pristine like we did for the first 4 years we lived here.

We removed the carpet and I painted the wall, not knowing quite where the shower would be 

When you don't know exactly how to do plumbing, it will take you a lot longer to do projects. It also takes longer when you get two different sets of parts.

Plumbing finished and it doesn't seem to leak. Drywall looks good. 

Jack and Jill door in the beginning

Door removed, plumbing partially finished

Drywall inside master bath

Drywall inside new bath

Its almost ready for me to paint the first coat. 

Today the fan hole was cut to fit the new fan, which will have a light, fan and heater. The light and heater will have one shared switch so they will come on at the same time. The heater will have its own switch. I'd prefer that the fan & heater be on timers.