We've been facing extremely high temperatures and humidity, which has slowed our progress considerably. We work during the cooler mornings and evenings, taking it easy in the heat of the day. The silver lining is the cooler nights, allow us to leave the windows open and enjoy a refreshing breeze. We recently experienced a few days of rain—one day was just a light drizzle, while another brought us an impressive 5 inches in 24 hours, most of which fell within the first 8 hours.
In the kitchen, Rick has made significant strides. He completed all the shelving inside the cabinets, crafted and installed the doors, and built and installed the drawers. The day dedicated to the drawers was quite challenging, with a fair amount of frustration as they weren't mounting correctly and didn't slide smoothly. After stepping away for a while, he returned the next day, identified the issue, and resolved it. Now, they function beautifully! We just need to stain them, and then we'll mill some wood for additional shelves, which will be stained pecan and feature creatively designed mounting brackets—stay tuned for that! We also need to trim the window, make curtains, and install a rod. Additionally, we plan to create hooks behind the wood stove for our cast iron pans, allowing us to finally unpack all our kitchen items. The heat shield won't be mounted on the cabinet until after we lay the flooring.
It's fascinating how resourceful you can become when finances are tight. We keep a tarp in our side yard to collect scraps from other projects, unused items, and things we've acquired for little to nothing. This has been a true blessing. Our neighbors have also been incredibly helpful, sharing tips on where to find free or inexpensive materials. For instance, all our cabinet doors were crafted from pallet wood we received from a neighbor who moved out, along with some we salvaged from local stores.
In gardening news, our onion and garlic patch didn't fare well this season; the bulbs turned out quite small. Cat went ahead and processed them—canning the onions and freezing the garlic. A kind gesture from friends brought us two Walmart bags full of beets, which I canned, along with some of the greens, while the rest were pickled. I also canned some rhubarb for future desserts—yum!
The garden has kept us busy. We've harvested green beans four times, and the kohlrabi and turnips are now finished; Cat has some set aside to use. This has freed up valuable planting space, and she also harvested some rutabaga, as the leaves were suffering from bug pressure. With the newly available space, Cat planted sweet corn, watermelon, green beans, drying beans, peanuts, cantaloupe, and re-planted zucchini and a second patch of sweet corn. She even started a new culinary herb garden by the cabin, transplanting the parsley and adding seeds for 12 other herbs. We'll see how they all do! We must stay vigilant with watering in this weather. One of the medicinal herb gardens is thriving, while the others are doing okay.
Now, let's talk about nature. We've been enjoying the fireflies, which are putting on a stunning light show. Our hummingbirds have mostly migrated, but a few still flit around. We encountered a massive slug in our driveway, which Rick promptly removed—definitely not something we need ruining our gardens! The birds have been quite vocal lately, and we love listening to them and watching their interactions. The flowers blooming around here are beautiful, and we look forward to having even more in the future. On the downside, we are dealing with a significant gnat problem. The cat box, our toilet, compost bucket, trash ca, and the wet wipes seem to attract them, driving us crazy. And when the maggots show up, it's just gross!
We've been tackling a lot of small projects lately. We often put things off but then dedicate a day to knocking out several tasks. The cats needed their claws trimmed, the litter box needed to be emptied and refilled, and Rick replaced the metal on the roof that was damaged during the ice storm. He’s also been testing our electrical systems to resolve an ongoing issue with our Bluetti devices and thinks he has it figured out. Today, we removed nine more stumps from the yard, steadily making progress. Cat has been baking bread and desserts again, experimenting with recipes she's collected over the years. Some have become favorites, while others don't make the cut. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect bread recipe. Cat finally printed the family photos, choosing black-and-white images to match the frames we have. Rick hung them all up alongside my tree of life. I’m also officially doing all the laundry on-site now. It uses a lot of water, but it gets the job done—no more collecting quarters!
The most challenging experience we've faced in the past few weeks has been with the brakes on our Jeep. We took it in for a wheel balancing because some of the weights fell off. The technician informed Rick that some brake pads were down to 40%, which puzzled him since he had replaced them just four months earlier. A nearby gentleman overheard their conversation and mentioned a known issue with Jeep brake lines that had never been officially recalled. He explained that the metal lines tend to rust and corrode, leading to potential collapse. Concerned, Rick promptly ordered parts to completely overhaul the braking system. In the meantime, we had to stop driving the Jeep, as one brake was dangerously close to locking up. After waiting for the parts to arrive, Rick dedicated two full days to the repairs. Now, the Jeep runs like a dream, although he was worn out for a few days afterward.
We want to extend a Happy Belated Father's Day to all the dads out there! I hope your day was filled with love and that you were thoroughly spoiled. Additionally, my oldest baby turned 30 yesterday and is currently about 32 weeks pregnant with our grandson. We eagerly anticipate meeting him in August when we travel to Michigan for a week. We're excited about reconnecting with family and friends during our visit, though Cat's body is less enthusiastic about the long drive! Lol.
Remember Small Steps Get You Miles
Rick & Cat
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