When plans change...
- May 10
- 7 min read
Hello friends and family. Welcome back to another update from the homestead. I have some really exciting news to share, but that will have to wait for now.
When we last left off, our rain catchment system was in good working order. We managed to collect another tote full of water with another storm that blew through. We were full. Then another rain came and the over flow filled two more containers we have. We ended up with about 600 gallons of water at our disposal. What a good feeling. We just need to get all the water systems in place in the cabin, so we can easily use said water. It is coming.
We were so looking forward to mom and dad coming. We had all the groceries bought, everything was weed wacked, cleaned the cabin. This place was looking nice. The plan was, they would leave Wednesday morning, drive part way here, stay at a campground and get here late afternoon on Thursday. Well...I got a call from my sister Wednesday morning. The camper was all loaded up and ready to go. They had dropped their dog off to the sitter. All done on Tuesday. Wednesday morning, mom ended up in the ER. She felt horrible. She was diagnosed with pneumonia. They were getting ready to discharge her, but something concerned them on her heart monitors. She ended up staying the night and had additional testing done. Fortunately, all the tests looked good. She was sent home with 4 prescriptions and instructions to rest. So, they had to cancel their trip. I was pretty upset, but it wasn't her fault. They will reschedule another time, if you can avoid getting sick and hurt. People wonder where I get my gracefulness from.
So, we changed our plans a bit. I took a day off to recoup a bit. We spent a day changing out the tires on the jeep and getting the soft top on. The detailing the inside was the hardest part. Oscar was filthy. That is the name of our jeep by the way. We headed into town to get the jeep washed and the mats. He was looking much better. We got the back of the conex cleaned and organized again.
One day we went into town to run errands. It can never be a quick trip in and out. We stopped to wash laundry. We were only going to wash and bring home to dry on the line. The power went out on that side of town. I was immediately on the phone with the owners. It took them a bit to get back with me. The power managed to come back on before he called. One of the washers we were using turned back on, but other didn't. We added the quarters to restart it. Shortly after the owner showed up and refunded our money. We went ahead and dried the laundry there as well. We lost valuable time and the forecast was for rain later n the day.
Because our weekend plans changed, we decided to head up to Tom and Theresa to give them a hand on a few projects. They have been so good to us, so we wanted to help them out. That is what friends do. So, we leisurely headed up on Friday afternoon. Took a tour around the gardens of theirs. They are so much further along, but hey ours is a first year garden, and it is doing good for such. Tom made it home and Theresa made a fantastic dinner. Saturday rolled around. The guys were going to replace their room of their house. Theresa and I had other plans. Her truck was acting up, so I drove her to an Mennonite Store in Kentucky. I was in absolute heaven. It is a good thing I have some self control. They we were off to Sam's Club and the feed store. When we got back, we had to head out to watch one of the grandsons play baseball. After that, we headed up to the restaurant to pick up our burger and fries order. They were fantastic. After that, I helped Theresa, her son and a few of the grandkids process 12 meat birds and a rooster. Those meat birds were the best I had ever seen. The average weight was amazing. It was a long day of processing. When we were done, Tom and Theresa took us to a pizza joint. It is called the Thirsty Goat. The pizza was so good and the peachy lemonade was excellent. We all had left overs for lunch the next day. We got our butts back home and straight to bed.
The following morning, the guys headed back up to the roof. Unfortunately with rain delays and technical difficulties the day before, the got 2/3 of the way done on one side. Their goal was to just finish that side and schedule another time for us to go up and help get the rest done. That would have been this weekend, but rain was in the forecast and it was Mother's Day. I helped Theresa harvest spinach. She sent both bags home with up. She opened the farmstand so I could do a little shopping. Picked up a jar of the strawberry rhubarb jam and a tallow body butter. The jam is so fantastic and the body butter smelled so good. Reminds me of one of my old faves from Bath and Bodyworks. I managed to snag the recipe for the english muffin bread that she always has on hand. I immediately located the discontinued bread crock from pampered chef to bake them in. When we headed out, Therese send us home with half of one of the chickens we processed and 2 bags of frozen sweet potato puree. We so love spending time with them. It is good for the soul. We are always sharing information and ideas. I even got some seeds to plant in next years garden.
Back on the homestead, we got busy with cabinet making. I am so stinking excited. I want a real kitchen back. All of our cabinets are going to be custom made. We are making them taller because we are both tall people. Plus, the frig had to fit in one. In the upper cabinets, we wanted to utilize as much space as possible. The cabinet on the left is 50 inches tall. We have a running joke around here. Our large window one the bedroom side is called the big fucking window. Then we install the tv that we had in Michigan. It is the big fucking tv. Now we have a big fucking cupboard. Please do not be offended by the profanity. Rick's job to put the cabinets together. I get to paint them and assist when needed. It has taken a few days, but the framing is all done for the cabinets. It will take some time to get all the shelves, drawers and doors. We are making all from scratch. It has been a bit more difficult to function in the kitchen now, but we are managing.
While Rick has been working on the cabinets, I have spent the last two days cleaning garden beds in the medicinal herb garden. I take my little stool out there, park my butt and get to work. I managed to get all the seeds in the ground that I had. Each one was watered well and placed a bamboo label on all of them. I even created a new bed with logs to attempt to contain 3 types of mint I planted. I also put a log border around another bed I already planted out awhile ago. I have 4 spots left for planting in the garden. I have seeds on the way for them. Today he got the lazy susan in, cement boards on the counter tops and trimmed the counters in prep for morter and tiles.
In garden news, I direct sow the rest of my gardens. The rest of them are doing really well. We have been eating lettuce, radishes and green onions. We are still enjoying a few. We got our first raspberry of the season. I gave the onions a hair cut. I am drying them out in the sun so I can powder them. It is supposed to rain tonight, so I had to put them in the conex for the night. I can start harvesting our turnips. Just waiting for the kitchen to be in better working order. The green beans are about 3 to 4 inches tall. The cucumbers, watermelon, and pumpkins just poked through the dirt today. Just waiting to see life from our tomatoes and peppers.
We went on a field trip the other day because it was raining. We headed to our local Mennonite store. It was a tad disappointing after going to the one in Kentucky. After that we hit a local greenhouse. I wanted to stop there because they have amazing prices. We picked up a few zinnias and 4 marigolds. Paid $10.50 for 6 plants that are a decent size. After that, we headed to a mennonite farm stand. We didn't have a lot of cash on us, so we only bought four tomatoes. I am looking forward to going back to get some milk, yogurt and baked goods.
One of our neighbors we have never met ended up giving up his land. So, the next door plot is available is anyone is interested. Anyways, another neighbor who has been taking care of the land for them let us know that we can help ourself to anything that is left down there. We scored big time. PVC, conduit, mail box for a project, pallets, some tools, cooler, tote, ladder and some other odds and ends. We feel very blessed. Our neighbor stopped by today to give us two used solar panels he got off of his mother in law. If you are good to people, people will be good to you. Whether it is supplies, work or knowledge. That same neighbor let us know that we can free pallets from a store nearby. We will be making a trip soon to get some. We have plans.
It has been another long one. I just want to share it all. Before I go though, I want to take the time to wish all you mommas out there a Happy Mother's Day. I hope your day was full of love and joy.
Thank you for stopping by our blog. We really appreciate it. It means a lot to us. We just want to share our life with family and friends. We also hope to inspire those who are dreaming and have not taken the leap. You can do it. It takes some hardwork, knowledge and stubbornness, but if you really want it, you can make it happen. Take care and we will see you next time.
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