A sense of accomplishment

Ice on the windshield

The weather has been cold and dreary lately but Charlie and I beat the weather today to get a lot accomplished.  It felt really good too -- to be productive.
While I cleaned the kitchen after a week of neglect, Charlie re-attached our mailbox to it's post (I believe a snowplow launched it into the ditch rather than vandals).  We also replaced our furnace filters and ran a bunch of errands.  I've also baked a cake and have bread dough rising.  Tonight is all about relaxing now.

What's new?

I am feeling the need to leave a blog post just because I haven't done one for a while.  It's not that I don't have anything to blog about, I just don't feel like I have much time.  We have a bunch of projects going on that are half completed that I wanted to blog about when they are done.
Spring is progressing nicely here although the weather has been a little peculiar this year.  The weather has been all wrong for morel mushrooms.  Apparently it has been right for tent caterpillars though.  We have a multitude of them and they are driving me over the edge.  I am plotting ways to kill them (usually I leave other creatures alone).  I wish I just had a bunch of free ranging chickens or even a pair of guinea fowl to munch on them.
Charlie and I are working on building some raised bed gardens this year.  We have the lumber and have it cut -- we just have to get it all assembled.  We also are making a "salad garden" for the back patio that is also in the works.  We bought a Cub Cadet tractor last weekend and finally mowed the lawn (looking for a small mower or a weed whacker to take care of the small areas the riding mower can't reach).
I saw a new bird at our feeder this morning.  It is a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  Recently we have also been getting Blue Jays, Nuthatches, and Gold Finches.
This weekend my good friends, Rich and Jen came over from Grand Rapids.  We went out to eat at the Frankenmuth Brewery and went to a few stores as well.  Mostly, we have just been sitting around enjoying each other's company.
Once I get a project complete, I will blog more.  Until then, I hope you are enjoying your Spring.

Exploring the "back woods"

I spent a little time exploring our acre of woods behind our house this week.  I was checking to see if I could find any morel mushrooms but I think it is to early.  Perhaps this week I will have more luck.  Anyway, I found many interesting things while exploring so I thought I would do a little show-and-tell.  This creepy doll head was found face down in the dirt.  I put it on the stick to get a better photo -- but I think it looks like it is from a horror movie.  I am curious about how old it is and what happened to the little girl who owned it.

Next, I spotted some interesting plants.  This is a Jack-In-The-Pulpit...

some very fuzzy fern fiddleheads...

a marsh marigold...

and a mystery item.  I have no clue what this is.  Charlie thinks it is a young mushroom.  I'm not even going to guess, I'm just going to keep watching it to see what it does.

I also found this cobalt blue glass jar in the back.  The lid is corroded and falling apart.  These old items scattered about make me want to get a metal detector and see what I can find back there.  We live atop a ridge of sand about 50 miles long.  I've been told that the Native Americans would have had a road along this ridge ages ago.  Often loggers would have used these same roads in their pursuits as well.  I can really feel the history of that woods.  Particularly when I come upon this tree...

This is an old oak tree.  It's limbs are larger that most trees.  I know it is in rough shape, but it is still alive -- still growing.  Can you even imagine the number of lightning storms it has survived?
Anyway, as you can see, Sassy came with me to explore.  She followed me around fairly closely.  She is not an outdoors cat and a strong breeze can freak her out.  Other cats scare her.  Pretty much everything scares her.  So to have her come back this far with me is impressive.

New sofa

My parents and my brother came over this past weekend to bring us a new sofa.  Well, a "new" used sofa.  My Dad's second cousin passed away (he was elderly) and the family gave away his belongings.  It is quite comfortable and looks nice in our living room.  Dad decided it was a good place to take a little nap.

They also brought a vintage kitchen cabinet that I am going to re-finish and use in the basement to store some of my canning supplies.

We had a nice day visiting.  The yard is starting to get greener and things are coming to life.  We have tons of pine trees on our property and there are lots of baby trees coming up as well.  We went around the yard and dug up several white pine and spruce trees for them to take home and plant in their yard.

My brother assembled my fire pot that I won at work last year.  It promises many good evenings socializing with friends and family.  I can't wait.

Making Plans

Seed and plant catalogues are beginning to find their way to my mailbox lately.  I've been marking up pages like a kid making a Christmas wish list in the Toys R Us mailing.  I know I should start small this year and not bite off more that I can chew.  This is, of course, our first year at this home and I can't expect to have my garden running full tilt right away.  I'd like to get a good start on it though.

I'd like to build some raised bed gardens, a salad tray to grow lettuce on the patio, and something to contain my compost pile.  I'm figuring out how to fix up the shed out back so we can get chickens.  A chicken tractor would also be a good thing to have.  I'd like to plant blueberries, paw paw, and a variety of other fruit trees.  I might even try some hazelnuts or some other nut tree.  I'd like to find the perfect spot to start some asparagus and rhubarb.

I'm sure it is more than I can get done -- but I'm going to try.  I had grand plans for this weekend but woke up with a killer sinus headache.  I'm off to a slow start.  I want to get my craft room properly set up.  Up until this point, that room has been the catch-all room for stuff we moved in but didn't have a home for yet.

Also in the near future, I'd like to paint the work bench and cabinets that are in the basement.  Our basement has potential for a nice work station for messier crafts (woodworking projects, starting plants for the garden, possibly even tie dye).

I also have plans to learn how to make cheese.  I finally took the plunge and bought a mozzarella/ricotta kit from urbancheesecraft.... obviously I will blog about the whole process as I learn.

P.S. The photo above is from Fayette Historic State Park in Michigan's Upper Penninsula.  I shot it years ago while on vacation with my "bff"s Rich and Jen (and my ex-husband).  My current profile picture was also shot in one of the historic houses in Fayette.

Last minute Christmas gifts

The Christmas tree is FINALLY up and decorated. This is one of my favorite ornaments -- a couple of love birds (perhaps turtle doves? I'm not sure I know what those look like) snuggling in the tree.

Today was nice and relaxing. Charlie came home from work in the morning (after running to Ohio and back yesterday -- hauling sugar to the cereal plant). He took a nap while I started assembling Christmas gifts with Christmas music on in the background. We scaled way back this year -- mainly because we have a house to pay for now. I needed a few things to fill a gift basket to Uncle Dave and Aunt Mary (our previous landlords) as we are going to see them this weekend. I thought I'd share what I made in case you too are looking for inexpensive last minute Christmas gifts.
These chocolate coated pretzel rods are easy to make and definitely yummy to eat! I just melted a block of "Candyquick" and cover the pretzels... then add some sprinkles before they harden up. You can find either chocolate or white chocolate flavored in the baking section in most larger grocery stores.
I had a lot left over so I decided to jazz up some caramel corn. I broke that up in to chunks once the chocolate set up and bagged it up too.

This last photo is of some spicy sweet pecans. This is my first year making these (Mom made them previously and I insisted on getting the recipe). I halved the recipe she gave me because I only had 12 oz of pecans. They made the whole house smell AMAZING and, well, Christmas-y.

Grease a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Blend 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 3/4 tsp ground pepper, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne.

In a separate large bowl, beat an egg white until slightly thickened but still a bit frothy. Add 12 oz. pecans. Stir until all the pecans are well coated. Add the sugar mix and stir well until the pecans are evenly coated. Place in a single layer on the cookie sheet. Bake 1o minutes; stir. Bake 10 more minutes; stir. Bake 5 minutes more then transfer to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and cool completely.

They have a bit of a kick from the cayenne and the pepper, but I like it.

So, anyway, Charlie is up now and we need to go out and grab a couple gifts -- and also deliver the gift to Dave and Mary. It finally feels like the holidays are here.

Mid December day

The cat continues to adore her sunny spot in the dining room near the slider that looks out onto the backyard. This morning there was quite a show back there. We had the most turkeys I've seen out there yet. I counted at least 23 of them -- they were having a real party! There was feasting and gobbling, males were mingling with females... why, I just imagine that they planned the whole thing in advance and sent out e-vites to all their neighboring turkeys. "Come on over to Shari's backyard, we're having a hoe-down!". Things got a little crazy when one of the turkeys jumped onto the roof of the little shed. I could almost hear the other turkeys cheering him on "Jump! Jump! Jump!" like some drunk teenager about to jump off a roof into the pool at some house party. Well, that is what I was imagining anyway.

Slumber Party

Last night I had visitors.  Two of my nieces came over to spend the night and watch movies.  We popped popcorn and watched 'Annie' and 'Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs'.  It was a good time.  This morning we made pancakes for breakfast.  With full bellies we headed outside for a photo shoot.  Here are a couple of my favorite photos.

Their Uncle Charlie came home shortly after we shot these and we all hung out for a bit and watched another movie - 'Up'.  It was nice to be able to have people over and to have a spare bedroom for the slumber party.

We are getting dish t.v. hooked up this week and hopefully internet service as well.  We are looking forward to that.  Things are all coming together at the house -- slowly but surely.

I'm back

Finally, I'm able to post a blog again.  We've been busy moving and getting settled in to the new place.  We are having trouble finding internet service also... currently I'm at Charlie's folks' home borrowing their internet connection.

Things are going very well at the new place though.  It is a really nice feeling waking up in your own home.  We worked hard today, raking leaves and building up a compost pile.  I'm hoping to do a raised bed garden in the future and will need lots of compost/mulch.

I'm absolutely in love with the property we are on.  We have deer and turkeys frequently.  They are entertaining.  We have almost 3 acres now and I've been exploring the wooded part when the weather is nice.  There are so many magical little places on the property -- there is a HUGE old oak tree out back, little clearings where the deer hang out, fallen logs with fungi growing all over, etc.

Here are a few photos of the yard...

So, we are hoping to get internet service soon so I will be able to post more often.  Be looking forward to some good recipes this winter as my new kitchen inspires me to cook.  It may be a while before my craft room is put together, but there will be projects coming out of there soon too.

It's getting closer

Our move date is getting closer and closer.  We had hoped to have the keys this weekend, but never got the call from the seller.  Perhaps she is moving the last of her stuff this weekend.  This calls for a "drive-by".

I am faced with a weekend full of packing and sorting.  I really need to get rid of some stuff.  It is silly that I have so much.  A lot of it comes from my hobbies.  I have so much photography stuff - enough for my own darkroom (which is an option now that I have a house to build one in), yet I don't know if I ever will.  I have tie-dye supplies galore, yarn, fabric, beads, glass to make beads -- you get the idea.   I don't horde things, but I definitely fit in the "Pack Rat" category.  Anyway, I guess my point is -- it is hard for me to let go of some of this stuff.  Especially the stuff that has memories attached.

I know we are just moving 10 miles away, but I am already starting to miss the farm.  It has been so amazing living here!  We have been so lucky to be able to stay here for the last 4 years.  I'm going to miss Dave and Mary, their beautiful garden, and the barn cats.

Just a quick update

No photos for this post -- which is kind of rare for me.  I felt the need to post an update on the house.

We closed last Tuesday and every thing went smoothly.  We met the seller and she is an extremely kind woman.  She let us know that she was trying to move out quicker than 30 days and that she knew we would be anxious to move in.  She had a garage sale this weekend and is calling the Salvation Army to pick up the things that didn't sell.  We went this past Saturday to the sale (I had asked her to reserve a wood stove and some bushel and peck baskets that I had spotted during the inspection) and she informed us that she hoped to be finished moving by the end of this week.  We are, of course, looking forward to moving into the house.  We are just faced with the joys of moving everything we own from one place to another (I intend for this to be my last move for a very long time).

I apologize for the lack of blog posts recently and in the near future.  Once we are settled in I will be sure to post more frequently.

Abstract art

Is this abstract art?  No, it is just a mess.  These are the seeds from a wild asparagus plant I had gathered from the ditch down the street.  I've been saving seeds from the garden this year.  I'm excited to have my own patch of asparagus soon.

We are going to the closing on our house on Tuesday!!!  It is finally happening.  I was starting to worry we wouldn't get it done before the deadline for the first time home buyers credit.  I drove by the house today and they have a "SOLD" sign up.  How wonderful!!!

This means we should be able to move in over the first weekend of November.  I have much to do between now and then.  It is very exciting.

Autumn Harvest

I have been sticking fairly close to home this past week that I have had off of work.  It is hard to believe a vacation can fly by so quickly.  Yesterday I harvested some of the garden huckleberries.  I have way too many!  I only had two plants, but they are just full of fruit.  They both grew about 4 feet high and probably 6 feet in diameter.  I picked a large colander full and the plants both look like I never even touched them.  I've been researching how to process them and will write more on that when I do it.  They can also be washed and frozen, much like blueberries.  
While out in the garden I picked a few other things.  My first eggplant of the year, broccoli, hot and sweet peppers, and tomatoes.  Oh, and a couple summer squash.  I also harvested some seeds (from my beans, peppers and cilantro, aka coriander).  
With the pumpkin patch out behind the house this year, there has been a little traffic for the u-picks for the last week or so.  Thus the quaint signs pointing the way. 

Detour around the pigs on your way to some of the pumpkins.  They are getting quite large nowadays.  Like Mom said, if they knew what was good for them, they'd go on a diet.  Last year's batch survived to Oct. 30th.  I'm guessing this year's pigs will see a similar fate.
No news on the house yet.  The mortgage gal wrote today saying she is just waiting for the appraisal to come back to her.  I'm still packing and sorting things.  

I was tempted to make a trip to Grand Rapids today, but opted to stay home.  I've got stuff I should be doing around here.  Should is the key word -- guess I should get off the computer and stop procrastinating. 

The Grand Tour

We had the inspection on "our" house this morning - things went about as well as we could have asked for.  The inspector gave it a clean bill of health and pointed out some small things that we do.

I've attached a bunch of photos so you can see more of the house (especially you Mom).  Let's start in the basement...

nice work bench...
master bedroom - has two separate closets...

attached to master bedroom is a large bathroom - has shower and tub/shower...

another view...

The next largest bedroom, would be my craft room/office...

The guest bedroom.  I like the retro wallpaper and I'm torn about redecorating it.  The carpet has to go (the rest of the house has brand new flooring, this is the only room that needs carpet).
Mom, so you can figure out the layout of the living room/kitchen/pantry and dining room.  This is looking at the whole thing from the hallway to the bedrooms.  Behind me are the bedrooms and bathroom and a door to the basement.  I'm shooting from an open doorway between the living room and the dining room.  Directly to the left would be the front door.  Beyond the woman in this photo is the laundry/garage/half bath.
Here is another view.  You can see where I was standing during the last photo - the open doorway on the far left of this photo.
Here I was standing in the extra length of space in the living room.  This is where I would put some bar stools and a reading area since we wouldn't need to use it as a dining area (Mom, I'm thinking the roll-top desk would go nicely here along the wall to my back).
A view of the storage space in the pole barn.  I hope she leaves the lockers behind -- they are kind of fun, don't you think?
This is a photo of our inspector checking out the septic system.  It is torn up because the seller was having work done on it.  Good timing.  There are two septic tanks here - kind of unusual, but still look good.
This is a view of the front yard from the corner of the house.
This is another view of the front yard, just a different angle.

I hiked out back to scope out the acreage.  It has a lovely woods out back - something I would have loved as a kid.  I still see myself spending time out there, taking photos and foraging.

So, at this point we have a signed purchase agreement and a good inspection.  All we need now is for the bank to appraise it and approve our loan.  She'll get 30 days to move after we close so we are hoping to close as soon as possible.  Everyone - pray, send positive vibes, knock on wood - whatever you do that will help.  We love this place and can't wait to get settled in!

pickles and things

I finally took the plunge and bought the water canning equipment I needed to try my hand at canning.  I started with dill pickles - they seemed like one of the easiest things to do.  And they were!  I'm hoping they turn out tasty -- the recipe said to wait a couple of weeks before trying them.

I want to try bread and butter pickles, tomatoes, and tomato sauce, and perhaps some gifts to give away at Christmas time.  Next year I should be able to make cooked jam instead of freezer jam and free up some room in my freezer for other stuff (Charlie said he might take up hunting again if we get deer on our new -hopefully- property).

Here are a couple of photos from an art fair that took place in Frankenmuth a couple weeks ago.  I surprised myself and found the artist below to be my favorite.  Something must be wrong with me to like these fish so much -- my tastes are changing.  They are pretty cool though - don't you think?
This guy was making fire pokers out of iron.  I just like the photo.
And here is a photo from the garden.  I have harvested all of the onions and am putting them by.  I've heard that they can be put into panty hose for storage.  Just put one in, tie a knot, add another one, another knot, etc.  I'm gonna have to try it to see if it really works.
We are busy trying to buy the home that I wrote about on my last blog.  After our offer, their counter offer, our counter to their counter, and finally their counter on that counter offer - we seem to agree on a price for the home.  An additional acre is being added to the deal - so we will have 2.91 acres (that back acre is wooded).  We have to get an inspection now.  Well, actually, the seller has to sign our offer, then we sign and have 10 days for the inspection.  We are hoping everything goes smoothly from here (with the bank, etc).  It will still be a while before we can move in, but if things go smoothly, we are looking at the end of October or November (hopefully before snow flies).

I have to get going today.  We have to do laundry (oh, it will be SO nice to not have to go to the laundromat any more) and go to my sister-in-laws 40th Birthday celebration at their favorite pizza joint.  I am also trying to get together with a friend to see a movie tonight at the old movie theatre in Vassar, MI.