Monday, October 31, 2011

A Week of Visitors



Tim's parents were out of town for part of last week so we were lucky enough to dog sit for them. Jake spent a lot of time perched on the back of the couch (Timber's usual spot) making sad faces and watching for them to come back. Lola is hissing at Bear, who she liked to slap in the face and boss around.


Here are Lady and Bear after a walk. I love Bear's happy face!


Yep, definitely missed Teri and Grant.

Timber and Bear relaxing after a walk.

My nephew had been waiting to help out with the Hen House ever since we mentioned building it, so we had him and my niece sleep over Saturday. This is after the first coat of paint. He is a hard little worker.

One of Bear's favorite things in the whole world is a hose. This is a neighbor friend giving him some water. Later Bear laid down next to the hose hoping someone would turn it back on.


Taking a little break from the painting.


Jake hanging out under a table, safe from being stepped on by any big dogs. The weather this weekend couldn't have been more perfect!


Bear wishing someone would turn back on the hose.


We made "Monster Eyes" to pass out to the neighbors. *Thanks Jessi and Ali for teaching me how to make the cake balls :)




Bear stayed up stairs for the entire several days he was here. He was terrified of going down stairs. It was too funny watching him peek his cute face around the corner down at us. Tim and Bear were both exhausted after a day of play here.


Isaac and Dave came over to go to the dog park with us. We had six people, six dogs, and lots of fun.

Putting the second coat on.

We chose "Candy Apple Red"....at first it looks a little pink then dries to a nice bright red.


My nephew loves to help out, so when he found out that Tim needed to mow the lawn he offered to do it.

In the meantime, my cute niece helped me gather leaves from the front garden beds. We took them to the back yard and put them on the lawn to be mowed and put in the compost. Tim and I had so much fun with the kids and love that they had fun helping us with our work.


Now to put on the roof, a few latches and hinges, and we will be all ready for the hens!

Lola discovered the gopher (?) hole. She sniffed around it, tried to reach her claws in and pull something out, than sat for over an hour just waiting to try and catch it.

Every time the door rang with trick-or-treaters Charcoal would run to the door and greet them. They thought he was a great little Halloween cat.

Lola was up to her usual shenanigans, climbing and balancing on things. I put up the baby gate so Timber's bark wouldn't scare off the little kids. Lady slept through most of it. I heard that there weren't a lot of kids last year, so I only bought one bag of candy and a bag of plastic frogs that jump. Within forty-five minutes everything was gone and I had to run to the store for more.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Projects in Pieces and Pictures


A summary of our past week in pictures.


 Grant and Tim measuring and cutting. I get a kick out of seeing Tim and Grant working together because I see how alike they can be. They are both hard workers and both good with working numbers in their heads.


Walls starting to go up.



A vent for circulation.

Tim cutting the dividers for the laying boxes.


The laying boxes. This way we don't have to walk into the Hen House to get the eggs.


After narrowing it down to three, we chose the far left (Candy Apple) with white trim.

Lola being mischevious as usual.
 A bee on our flowers. Our neighbors have beehives and we were lucky to receive a jar of honey on our doorstep the other day. Just in time to go in my tea when my cold hit. It was delicious.


A bag in pieces (The Sunday Sling by Amy Butler.) Now to cut the lining.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and were able to enjoy the beautiful weather.


Monday, October 17, 2011

The Beginning of the Coop

Tim has spent the week working hard to check one more big project off the list. The CHICKEN COOP. He spentThursday and Friday clearing the area and tilling the gardens. Saturday he bought the wood and unloaded it. Sunday Grant, Tim's dad who happens to have awesome building skills, came over and worked hard all day to cut wood and build the base. Thanks Grant (and Teri for letting us borrow your husband for the day and hopefully a few more to come.)


The view out our kitchen window looks right back to where the chicken coop will be.
   

The view from the coop.

 

Tim is ready to unload the truck.


 Timber checking out the area.


Tim and Grant putting it together.




Meanwhile, in the house, I was scrubbing floors until they shined!

 Lola watching the bird on the feeder....one of her daily activities.


Charcoal taking a nap under the table "Lady" style.

And finally, over the last several days Tim and I have turned half of these into....

These! 

I just hope they taste as good as they look.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Dinner time....







One of my favorite things on a chilly night is a hot bowl of soup. Tonight, I decided to make this soup and it was delicious. Not too sweet but not to salty and perfect for dipping grilled cheese sandwiches into. I changed a few little things.....fresh sage from our garden instead of dried, and also fresh Aristotle basil from the garden as a garnish. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did if you give it a try!