Just Finished

There aren't many books that I can say I finished in a few days. I generally have a short attention span with books, marked by my pile of half-read selections on the shelf. This one had my attention though, probably because I could picture a minuscule version in our own yard.

The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball

The Dirty Life - A Memoir of Farming, Food and Love by Kristin Kimball. The author is a New York city writer that stumbles upon a love for farming while doing an interview, and clumsily goes from enjoying reading the paper at a coffee shop to milking the cows before sun-up and providing crops for an entire community.  One afternoon she finds a horseshoe from decades past while plowing the field and notes:

 "You can't truly own a farm, no matter what the deed says. It has a life of its own. You can love it beyond measure, and you are responsible for it, but at most you're married to it."

It made me think of our tiny 7x7ft square in the front yard. The bullets, canning jars and marbles that we turn up while weeding, and how if the dirt could talk it would have more stories than our neighbors that have been there since birth. Chickens have returned, cucumbers are growing rapidly, we have our first watermelon, eggplants are bright purple, and the tomato plants look like tarantulas taking over the plot. 765 may be tiny but it sure is productive.

We Need Names!

Our new little ones are arriving at 765 today.

It's been a quiet back yard since Honey and Cosmo passed away. For the first week or so after I would go out, stand on the stairs and still expect to see them come running around the corner in search of food. And our fridge seems vacant without the mound of eggs falling all over the place.  It did give the grass a chance to grow back though, and my baby tomato plants are probably thankful for no pecking. But now it's time for some cheeps in the yard again. Since they are more like teenage girls (don't worry neighbors, no roosters) instead of chicks we won't have to wait quite so long for eggs either.

These ladies are in need of names... suggestions?

just arriving.

our new lawn mowers.

We're Still Here!

I know it has been inexcusably long since my last post, but hey, I kind of had an excuse. We were getting married! And filling our house with more goodies from all of our family and friends than we probably deserve. (Along with boxes, packaging and more boxes and those don't make for very good pictures). But, since it has been so long I've got something good for you. Really good.

The shed (phase 1) is COMPLETE!

Remember what this poor thing looked like before this whole big project began?

Now we've pretty much got the most fabulous shed in Spanish Town, with awesome doors to actually close it! And once again those could not have been possible without the help of Mitch and his amazing construction skills. Big thanks!

Like I said earlier, we are calling this Phase 1, because really, if there wasn't something to do in or to the 'man cave' it probably wouldn't be a good thing. I'm sure we'll add another splash of orange and maybe some classy outdoor lights, but until then I'm going to say with the addition of 765 on the shed, it is complete. One item checked off the list.

FINALLY!

Sanded.
Primed.
Painted.
Handles polished.
New hinges installed.
Upper cabinets scrubbed...

...We pondered shades of gray for hours, then sporadically changed our minds when we got to Home Depot. Unpainted all of the handles (please don't ever paint cabinets without taking off the handles... ever!) with toxic things that ate through gloves. I knocked over a tower of freshly painted drawers. The dish washer was pulled out for weeks, making maneuvering difficult. We worried that this might end up looking exactly like it did before all this work began....

But now I can say...the kitchen cabinets are complete!

I wish these pictures could adequately display how drastically this refresh has decreased the grunge factor. I'm no longer scared to put my pots in the cabinets for fear of the 100 year old stuff that builds up on unfinished wood.  And there's nothing like having half the kitchen space for a month to make your appreciate the size of your kitchen, once the pots are no longer in the living room.

Clean. Shiny. New. 

Whew.

{this pup seemed to think she made a better camera subject}

A Year in the Making

I don't think there could be a much more appropriate post for the beginning of Year Two at 765. Last year our first project post (here) included removing warped fan blades from our porch ceiling fan and a trip to the Habitat ReStore to buy new ones. Sadly the new ones didn't fit and we've spent the past year with a blade-less fan adorning our porch. Not too enjoyable on those stagnant Louisiana nights.

{out with the old}

...Until now!

Thanks to Dennis "the man who taught Travis everything he knows" Moore, we have a brand new, energy efficient ceiling fan. And can I tell you, when you are the main target for all mosquitoes within a 5-mile radius this fan is imperative for survival. Evenings on the porch can officially commence!

{in with the new}

Big thanks to Uncle D for the fan and preventing further mosquito scars... And of course thanks to Nic for helping install it!