Weekending

It's all fun and games until someone ends up in Urgent Care....

We've been trying to button up household projects because our busy season #1 begins in exactly 2 weeks.  Yikes!  So Friday was the day to FINALLY paint our entry room.  And paint we did.  J did the cutting in of the main color (he's much better at that) while I painted the trim.  As I painted the baseboard I got a couple small bits of paint on the hardwood floor.  J's answer is to use a putty knife with a thin, damp, cloth wrapped around it so you can get under the baseboard without disturbing the wet paint.  And it works!  I finished up and was walking to the sink to wash my brush.

We were laughing about something, I can't remember, when I felt something sticky on my foot.  I looked down to see the putty knife (which I had dropped without realizing) laying on the floor and blood was literally gushing out of the side of my foot.  I never even felt it - that's how sharp it is.....

Two things you likely know:
1. A putty knife is very sharp.
2. Flip flops do not count as shoes.

I should have been paying attention with something very sharp in my hands, and I wasn't.  And because it was nice outside I was wearing flip flops.  Not my best idea....

A long story short, I decided we'd better head to Urgent Care.  First, because I was thinking I would probably need stitches to get the bleeding to stop and second, because I wanted to get a tetanus shot.  I think my last one was 10-11 years ago.  The hardest part was figuring out how to get myself from the kitchen floor to the Jeep without bleeding all over.  J was quick on his feet to concoct something that worked to put pressure on it until I could get into the backseat and off we went.

This was a first for J because he's always the patient.  The last (and only) time he's had to take me for medical attention was 20 years ago.  So I felt the need to remind him (a few times) that this was going to take time.  He's not exactly patient with waiting and, as you know, there is no hurry at Urgent Care.  He questioned me on this asking why it's called "Urgent Care" then.  As he debated the name I continued to try and prep him for what would ultimately be a 3 hour commitment, most of it sitting and waiting.

And that's how our weekend started.

I am fine, we completed the painting on Saturday and thankfully it got better from there.  You'll notice a bunch of hideous cords under the tv - J made a shelf that has a hidden pocket on the back to hide those awful cords.  It's awaiting it's final coat of stain.

Great news.....THE KITCHEN IS FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it?  Completely finished. I'm SO excited!  Exactly one year from when the project started it finally reached it's completion.  We did not renovate the entire kitchen, so it wasn't a large job at all.  Instead, it was put on the back burner as the business picked up and finally completed a week ago.  I'll pull together a proper before and after post soon.

Around the yard: We've got the clothes line up and working.  I just love drying clothing outside.  Except when there's a high pollen count.  On those days it doesn't get used.  My azalea bushes are full of buds just waiting to pop open.

Hosta's have peaked above ground as have the ferns.  The daffodils that I have planted are starting to push up but are still under the mulch.  I was checking out our fruit trees and bushes and noting all of the new growth.  I'm so excited!  There's just nothing like fruit picked right from your backyard.

Garden:  There isn't anything happening in the garden right now.  At all.....  Because we don't have direct, full day, sunshine in the garden, our asparagus (the first veg we see) won't show itself for another 2-3 weeks.  The dirt is finally completely unthawed so I'll be able to begin cleaning it up (what I should have done in the fall) and prepping it for planting this week.  I have a few new things I want to add this year.

You've seen cattle panels used throughout the internet for growing trellis I'm assuming?  Well I'm going to give it a try this year as a replacement for the trellis system I've been using.  It will allow for more growing space (because it's longer than my current trellis) and will allow for heavier veggies to grow.  I'm also going to do something different with my potatoes this year.  Last year they I made hills in our veggie beds and they didn't do great so this year they'll go back into towers. (thank you Daisy for your incredible posts on all things gardening - such an inspiration!)

Chickens: They are doing very well and thoroughly enjoying the temperature change.  We adopted another chicken this month.  Our pet sitter only had one left and was moving into town so we agreed to take her.  She's a barred rock and is a tough little girl which is the perfect personality to make it in our group.  We've named her Lolita.

We are getting, on average, 14 eggs per day from 35 chickens.  Not bad at all.  A few of the girls aren't laying much at all anymore because of their age, so they are starting retirement.  They hang out and enjoy the snacks and sunshine.  They've also been getting in some good garden prep time.  They absolutely love to dig and search for worms.  It's perfect because I get a nicely scratched garden complete with fertilizer and they get their fill of worms, bugs (including ticks) and such.

Oliver: Ollie is doing well.  He gets bored but he is adoring the attention that comes with being the only dog so we've decided not to move forward on adopting a pup at this time.  I think he would be very jealous and fall back into his eating issues.  With the temperature changes it makes his life a little easier as he LOVES to hang out on the back deck in the sun.  So that's exactly what he's been doing any chance he gets.

Jackson: Oh, what do we say about Jack?  He's a brat.  He just continues to pick-pick-pick at Ollie.  I wish Oliver wouldn't respond with fear but he does, and it just makes Jack so happy.  Jack also loves the change in temps and spends his time in windowsills that have open windows.  As well as trying to escape. He's a "the grass is always greener on the other side".  Jack wants to go anywhere we tell him he can't go.  Once he gets there, however, he's scared to death.  Doesn't matter, he's still insistent on rebelling against us.  Such a handsome guy but has that catitude cats are known for.

That's what's happening on the homestead.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Weekendingwas originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)