31 Days of My Real Farm Life - Day 5



31 Days of Life on Our Farm!



Today in North Alabama, the temperatures were in the 80's.  Very nice if you need to be outside.  Our day started at 6:00, as usual.  I sat down in chair in ouroffice, and the phone rang.  Daughter #3 was on the phone, and was going to drop GrandBoy off at the road, if I would meet her there.  Our driveway is a half mile long.  No exaggeration!  So I met her at the mailbox, and picked up our boy.  When I got back to the house, the rest of the household was up, wondering where I had gone in my pajamas.  But they soon knew because GrandBoy let them know he was home as soon as he came through the door!  Daughter #1 watched him since it was her day off.  She also went grocery shopping and worked on party food for her Dad's party.

This  morning Pappy dropped off his trailer so the "barn dismantlers" could fill it with old hay.  Last night, the head guy helped Pappy load all the metal onto another trailer, and Pappy and GrandBoy unloaded it this afternoon.  GrandBoy would lift the corner of the next sheet, and hold it like that until Pappy came back from moving the previous sheet of metal.  GrandBoy was helping.  As he would say, he was "working"!

This is a sheet of the metal we purchased.  The barn was over 100 years old, with hand-carved oak beams and hand made nails.  We saved a couple of nails.  Pappy may buy some of the beams, when the guy decides how much he wants for them.  Pappy wants me to look up the metal we bought and see if it is 100 years old.  We will see.

Pappy went to Tennessee today and worked on one of the pastures we rent.  He sprayed the fence line and ditches.  He also checked all the fencing.  You have to have good fencing if you are going to keep cows.

The mobile home movers finally got finished.  They called me at 10 and wanted to get paid.  I told them I could meet them after 12, when I got off.  They wanted to come to my office.  I said "no".  We waited two days for them to get started.  They can wait 2 hours for me to get off.

When I got through going to the post offices and bank, I went by the house to pick up GrandBoy.  He and I went to the local elementary school where GrandBoy will go in the fall.  They have three year old preschool there.  GrandBoy could have gone this year, but his birthday is 2 weeks late.  He will definitely go in the fall.  The Preschool program is new here, and not available at each school.  So I wanted to make sure this program wasn't income based, and what the requirements were to attend.  The program is for any three year old who lives in the district.  So GrandBoy will definitely be going!  He was excited when he saw the playground.

Then we went to the local thrift store to return a vacuum cleaner I bought Saturday.  It didn't work, and I had 5 days to return it.  We looked around and picked up a few items.  GrandBoy wanted to look at the toys.  So that was the first stop.  We bought a bull dozier to play with in the sand box for 50 cents.  GrandBoy got a shirt, and Pappy got 2.  I got a book (but don't tell Pappy.  I told him I was trying not to buy any more books.  This made him very happy.).  I also got a Home Interiors Christmas picture that is framed.

Next stop was to Daughter #3's work.  This is GrandBoy's mom.  She works at a thrift store in the next big town to where we live.  I was carrying her some items that were at our house that she needed.  And while we were there, she asked me to pick up a few items for her.  She can't shop on a day she works.  She got some Christmas place mats.  I got some leg warmers to wear under my skirts, and some new Puma socks.  I also got Bubble bath.  I love bubble bath. I also got a rug for the bathroom, and a woven piece that I would like to make a rug out of.  We will see.

For dinner, I made hash out of the pork roast I cooked the other day.  I started by frying potatoes.  I love fried potatoes, but don't eat them often.  I added onions, green bell peppers, and a tomato that needed to be eaten.  When those veggies were cooked, I cut up the roast and let it heat through.  I added my favorite Soul Food Seasoning.  It was delicious.

Other than that, I'm still hanging out laundry, and I fed the chickens.  That about covers it here for the day.

Oh, I forgot to tell you.  Remember the guy who is in charge of barn demolition?  After I left yesterday, he told Pappy that he remembered where he knew me from.  Pappy said, "Well, where do you know her from?"  He said his brother used to rent from me.  And then he said, "And you know, she used to be married to a cop".  I was appalled that he thought I was divorced!  But Pappy thought it was funny.  He told the guy, "No, man, I am that cop". See Pappy has not cut his hair in the year he's been retired, so it is getting pretty long.  I guess he didn't look like a cop to that guy.  I guess it was pretty funny.  As long as I'm not divorced.  Honey 

Saturday Happenings

Today I had to work a little while.  The company I work for, owns a commercial building that held a thrift store.  The thrift store went out of business and left a building full of items.  So we are going to have an indoor yard sale next Saturday to sell all the items.  I have a charity group I use lined up to be present when the sale is over to pick up the items left over.  There is a room full of black trash bags full of clothing and items that were donated.  Those bags are stacked to the ceiling!  This will be interesting, to say the least.  I think Daughter #2 is going to help me with the sale.  I hope most of the items are taken before the sale is over.  There is furniture, appliances, clothing, toys, shoes, books, you name it.  All kinds of items you'd see at a sale, and a lot of them.  It is very hot in there.  Maybe it will be cool next Saturday.  One of my tenants came in over there.  She was the postal carrier.  What a coincidence!

I called all our tenants yesterday that owe us money.  I had 10 evictions in my car to post, but decided I'd try calling one time before posting.  I collected from 4 families, and received a promise from one more for tomorrow.  That made a big dent in what we needed to get this month.  Tomorrow after church I'll have to go out and post the ones that didn't pay!

Daughter #3 still does not have a phone.  She did borrow one to call me and ask me to pick up GrandBoy today.  So he is here with us.  I met her at the grocery store to pick him up.  He was tired so I don't think he had a nap today.  He ate, and laid down on his pallet. 

We'll that is about all today.  I look forward to talking again tomorrow.  Honey

Saturday Happenings on the Farm

Hi! Welcome to our home.  We are so glad you stopped by.  Saturdays are always busy here on the Farm.  Friday night, Pappy's niece and great niece stopped in for a visit on their was to Texas.  We had a nice visit, and the Great Niece was so taken with Mikey the kitten and the baby rabbits.  Her Mom said she talked about the animals all evening! 

Other visitors were some children from church.  A brother and sister group came to spend the night.  We had a "staycation".  I think they had a nice time.  They roamed the farm, looking at all the animals.  The Boy kept catching ducks!  They helped fix dinner, and watched TV.  This morning after breakfast, daughter #1 and I took them to the thrift store for half price day.  They enjoyed the bargain hunt!  After the shopping, daughter #1 took the kids out for lunch.  When they returned home, daughter #1 highlighted the girl's hair.  She got permission from their Dad first.  The girl was so happy with the results.  While the girl was getting her hair done, the boy was picking up peacock feathers.  He then proceeded to decorate Grandboy's tractor.  I've never seen such a festive tractor.  Have you?  Then they had a snack and went home.  We had a nice visit, and I hope they enjoyed it as well as we did.

Pappy is putting up the last of the goat milk to make cheese.  The goats are drying up early this year.  I guess it may be the heat.  I've been experimenting with freezing eggs for the winter.  In the winter our hens don't lay, but during the summer we have plenty.  So I hope to be able to get through the winter without having to buy eggs.

Stop back by tomorrow.  We look forward to seeing you then.  Honey

Snow, Decluttering, and "Junk" Shopping

Our small town got 11 inches of snow! And more is on the way for tomorrow. So I don't know when we will get thawed out here. But Pappy said regardless, he has to drive around the county and feed the cows Wednesday, or we will have a mess on our hands, with cows out everywhere.

Well, as you can tell, I'm not very good at page design. I can never get the photos where I want, etc. I need to take lessons I guess. Any suggestions?

I went "junk"shopping, as we call it, Saturday with the Grand-boy. We went looking for work pants at the thrift stores for Pappy. He is a big tall guy, and it is hard to find clothes to fit him anywhere, let alone at a second hand shop. But I don't like to pay full price for his work clothes, because they get torn up and worn out pretty quickly. Well, I went to the next bigger town over from us to check their thrift stores. You know, January is a great month to shop thrift stores if you have a list of the items you are looking for, because a lot of items get donated then. So I found Pappy four pair of jeans and a heavy pull over. I got me 4 long sleeve t-shirts (I don't seem to know where I put mine. I've tried wearing short sleeves and a long sleeve blouse, but not as warm.) But the great score of the day, in Grand-boy's eyes, was the John Deere collection. I got the riding toy above, priced on the Internet at $80, for $9. I also got the John Deere toy bin rack priced on the Internet for $150, for $12, and a toy plastic tractor that is really a book, priced on the Internet for $2o, for a buck! So Grand-boy had a great day, as did we all.

I made a resolution to de-clutter my house this year. I decided to do 10 items a day. This seems like a lot, but we have had a lot of change in our house this past year, and need to clear items out. Two daughters and the Grand-boy moved out (and in and out, etc). We have had grandmothers pass on, etc. I sold and closed a business, you get the picture. So each day I do 10 items, or weekly I do 70. I did good the first week, and plan to continue. Items count if I pass them on to others, donate, box up and pass on to the rightful owner daughter, or trash. I'm not keeping a list, I started to, but it got to be a chore. So now I have two boxes labeled donate or books. I also make bags for people, with their name on them. The two boxes stay in my kitchen. The bags go to the car. I make hash marks on the kitchen calendar each day to see how I am doing. So far so good. Wish me luck!

I'll be back later today to post about B90 Days. Talk later! Honey