FINALLY A PERFECT WEEKEND

It was an amazing weekend.  We finally had cool "Autumn" weather.  It actually got down to 49 early Saturday morning!

The skies were beautiful too.  I was able to do a lot in the garage and emptied some of the remaining boxes and moved boxes to the barn, trying to get the garage finally cleared out so we can park both cars in there.  It's almost there.  Right now, all that's preventing that now is just getting rid of the empty boxes and trash, should have that done this weekend. 

We opened the windows and the sliding doors in the living room to the screened in porch and the breeze was amazing.  It aired out the house and kept things nice and cool.  We checked our app and found out the air conditioner had not run since Friday!

I also got outside and filled the bird feeders and re-hung them around the yard. Really enjoying watching and learning about the wildlife out here. We used to wonder why people birdwatched and now I think we understand.  There is just something so enjoyable about being in nature and learning something new.

Plus, it's nice to do something good for the wildlife.

GOOD FOOD AND DARWIN SUNDAY

This weekend has been amazing!  Windows open, working in the garage and attic, it's cool and beautiful.  Getting a lot done we have put off because of the heat.  

Time for some good food and some Darwin pics.

2nd Man made his Piccadillo the other night.  Ground turkey, potatoes and veggies in a tomato base with Mexican rice on the side and corn tortillas.  So yummy and always good and healthy comfort food.

After we eat, 2nd Man bottle feeds Darwin and then I take him to weigh him and clean him up.

Here he is taking his post bottle bath on my arm while watching TV!

It wasn't long before he fell asleep...

...and then fell over into a deep sleep, dreaming of more bottles and snuggles.

By the way, he has crossed 500g which is a pound!

Five weeks old and 1 lb.  

#livinghisbestlife

 

GRANDMOTHERS QUILT

Getting things set up in the house. We were going through quilts we had saved and stored away and found this one.  My grandmother (on my mom's side) made most of them and when she passed, we found some that had been made but never used.

With the guest room being pink and yellow in its color palette, we figured this one would be perfect on the bed in there.  Bought some new sheets and put them on and then put on this quilt. 

Here is a closeup.  I remember when we my mom pulled it out of the linen closet at my grandparents' house, she looked at the star shapes and recognized some of the fabric from dresses she had as a child. Most of it was from old flour sacks that doubled as extra fabric for creating things around the house, including dresses and/or quilts.

 I took this picture before we put the bedspread on so you all could see it. Not sure what this pattern/detail is called but I bet some of you out there know, ha. It fits the bed just enough, though it doesn't go down the sides much; it was probably made for a full-size bed instead of a queen, but it still looks awesome on there.

We are waiting on one piece of furniture for the room and it will be finished.  Once it's done, we will be sure and post pictures.  We love how it's coming together.

AWESOME DEAL ON NEW TREES

Recently, when we went to Tractor Supply for kitten supplies, I noticed they had really nice looking fruit trees.  This was end of September.  They were $40 each (till a good deal for the size) and I asked if they go on sale and a guy said that usually sometime in October, they can go down to $20 each.

Saturday, I fired up Bill the Farm Truck bright and early (we were already up at 6am feeding Darwin, I just stayed up, ha) and headed to Tractor Supply.  Sure enough, most of their trees were on sale for $20 each down from $40.

I dug around and found the ones we needed, bought them and loaded them in the truck.  Side note, this truck has been so awesome to have, but I digress, ha. Drove home (a little slower than normal and off the freeway) with a backend full of trees.

I picked up three fruit trees to replace ones we have lost.  They are huge, two of them (apple and plum) are taller than the garage roof, so about 8 or 9 feet high.

Anna Apple

Santa Rosa Plum

Florida King Peach

So excited to have found these, as they are perfect for our zone.  They had other varieties but they are varieties that need many more chill hours, much more than we get here.  These are the actual varieties recommended for our county.  Always remember when fruit tree shopping (or any plant really) to check your zone.  Stores often just get a random selection and you need to buy according to your area's climate. 

And while I was there...

I found PECAN trees!!

Caddo

Kiowa

Creek

I did some checking and of all the varieties they had, three of them are perfect for our area.  Our original plan was just one, but two of them do best with each other for wind pollination, they will produce much better, and then I figured they were such a good deal, lets just get the third one.

The fruit trees will be planted as soon as weather cools down, the pecans will have to wait for something special we are working on.

GOOD FOOD AND DARWIN SUNDAY

 Sunday has rolled around again.  It's been a good weekend.  We have a nice burst of cooler weather, mornings have been in the mid 60's.  That's nice weather for us after our Summer of heat.  It's not completely Fall yet but getting there.

Had this yesterday.  We made some meatloaf a couple of months ago and vacuum sealed and froze packages of slices for just this moment.  There's no beef (turkey and pork) and LOADED with almost invisible minced veggies (onions, mushrooms, carrots, herbs, etc) and topped with turkey bacon! 2nd Man put in some boiled eggs. He said his mom used to make them like this. It was really good. Add some mashed potatoes (using non-fat dry milk, you'd never know the difference) and asparagus spears on the side. It was oh so good!

Now it's time for guess who...

Darwin! I left my laptop on a pillow on the floor yesterday while we were about to feed him and he decided to try to log in. We think he was going to do his own blog post but he doesn't know the passcode! 🤣

He's growing and getting bigger every day.  Still on the smaller side.  He's a few days over 4 weeks old and weighs 368g as of this morning.  The guides say that a 4 week old kitten should weigh between 350g and 450g.  So he's a good weight, but just on the small end of that scale.  Not sure if he'll stay small or get bigger.

We shall see.

#livinghisbestlife

DARWIN SAYS HELLO

We thought we'd surprise everyone with a new picture of Darwin.

He is 4 weeks old today.  Still a tiny thing but growing every day.  He had his first vet appointment (non-emergency, ha) and he is doing great.  We have charts of his progress, every time we feed him, how much he eats, how much he weighs, etc and we showed the vet.  She said "wow, you guys are all in and doing an amazing job. For him to have started at 70g as a preemie, and now he's 300g, you have done an amazing job of saving this little guy. I'm impressed!"

Darwin, once again, was the star of the clinic as everyone had to come kiss him or snuggle him and he was happy.  Even the vet said he was a very sweet and calm kitty.

And we were happy.

#livinghisbestlife

    

 

FIRE EXTINGUISHERS FINALLY

You know, after we moved into our brand new home and realized we didn't have fire extinguishers.  Everyone should have at LEAST one in their home.

We decided on three.  We found this double set and then a larger "primary use" version.  They had a sale for the month for home safety awareness, so we got a great deal on them.

Once I get the barn organized (cooler weather this Fall), we will get another one for out there.

The big one (the primary use one) is mounted on the wall here in the utility room so it is close to the kitchen AND the garage.  

We put another one in the master bedroom closet so we have it at that end of the house and the last one is in the study/office so it's at the other end of the house.

Never can be too safe.  We have a volunteer fire department out here at the house so it is important to at least have the chance for a head start if, God forbid, something happened.  2nd Man is curious about one of those blankets that you can throw over a fire on the stove.  We might look into one of those too.  

GOOD FOOD AND DARWIN

It's a rainy weekend...time for some good food and, now, some Darwin!

 

Lest you all wonder if we still eat fish and salads, ha, yes, regularly.  Here is a wonderful salad topped with some pan-seared Mahi-Mahi.  On weekends we usually splurge and eat something else, of course always swapping out meats, adding grains, using greek yogurt instead of sour cream, low fat cheeses etc. 

 

Darwin is sleeping at the moment.  In fact, as tiny kittens do, he sleeps most of the time.  After 2nd Man fed him, I cleaned him up and he fell asleep on my chest.  I couldn't resist getting a picture. 

#livinghisbestlife

RAINY RAINY

 After weeks of no rain, we're catching up...

We're having a break right now, after about 3 days of heavy, albeit on and off, rain.

So far, no flooding but lots of standing water.  No yard work for a while, ha.  How much rain have we had?

 

We found this app called "RainDrop" that is used by farmers, gardeners and forecasters alike to determine rainfall amounts in certain areas.  Independent analysis as well as user reviews say it is accurate to within .10 to .25 when compared to actual rain gauges on the property.  

We have had 6.26" of rain in the last 72 hours!

That's quite the rainfall. Plants and tress are nice and watered and the aquifer is getting refilled as well.

Win/win

But alas, more rainfall is on the way.

So this weekend we'll stay inside and snuggle with Darwin.

INTRODUCING OUR NEWEST KITTY

HELLO WORLD!!

Introducing...

DARWIN!!

We decided to keep our Australian naming theme.  

Sydney...

Brisbane...

Hobart...

and now...Darwin joins the family line.

We also chose that because, just like Charles Darwin and the whole survival of the fittest, Darwin was the only one of his litter to survive.  He's a fighter for sure.

He's only three weeks old and not out of the woods of course, but growing every day. We are not sure yet if he will be a tiny cat, he is so small, but the Vet said he seems to be healthy, just small for his age.

This is just after his eyes opened.

He's tiny but loud, ha.  

There has been drama...we had to make an ER run when he hadn't pooped in three days.  He got a tiny enema and he was good to go. They also gave him a micro dose of dewormer just to be safe since his mother is a feral cat.  He was the star of the ER clinic, everyone wanted to say hi.  They were calling him "little nugget".

He's eating well and loves his bottle. He stretches out his legs arms and holds on as much as he can.

He's got fleece blankets and four stuffed animal companions.

He's a sweet baby boy.

We are giving him his best shot at a great life. 

Hang in there Darwin and welcome home!