A LITTLE PORCH DECORATING

We're finally getting around to finding items we can use to decorate various places in the new house.  Found a few fun things for the front porch.

First up, the table between the rockers.

This wooden pig we got back when we sponsored a pig for a dear friend's son in FFA.  Then we had a cute sign in the mudroom at the old house.  Lastly, the metal candleholder adds the nice pop of yellow color we like against the red of the house.

On the bottom, we put our Christmas cactus, for now anyway.  Yeah, it's a little small, will find something bigger for down there but for now, it fills the bill, ha.

We might have shown this before but again, these are our outdoor fabric pillows that I picked up on clearance a year or two ago...just waiting for this moment.  Now we just need some hanging plants.  Oh and another thing we'll be doing shortly.

FERMENTING JAR A NEW ADVENTURE

In addition to canning, I think I'm going to try a new adventure now that we are out here.

I've been seeing these in the store and I would stand there and think "hmm, should I get one?"

Hey, it was only $15, what the heck, why not try something new.

It's all glass, except the fermentation lid of course, but the jar and the weight are both glass.

The instructions seem pretty straightforward...

...but just in case, I ordered a couple of cookbooks off of eBay just to get some ideas.  This is a small jar, so starting small seems like the best way to get a foot in.  2nd Man wants me to make some hot sauce first so I guess we have some fermented hot sauce coming soon (once I learn all the ins and outs, ha).

Anyone ever done any fermenting?

GOOD FOOD AND KITTY CAT SUNDAY

 It's another rain on and off again weekend.  Did manage to get some yard work done. More on that later this week.  Time for some good food.

2nd Man made us some carnitas, just seasoned roasted pork and then filled some corn tortillas and topped with chopped onion and cilantro.  Of course, I had to make our new favorite margaritas, ha.

Our Ring camera captured this.  "A cat is lying on the porch".  Ya think?  Ha. She is living her best life, that's for sure.  The only thing she needs is a catnip 'rita, ha.

#catdistributionsystem

 

SHOE COVERS OUTSIDE TO INSIDE HELP

Here is our latest idea.  Now I know we didn't think of this but it works out so great we thought it would be fun to share.  

The other day I was taking my boots off after being outside in the dirt and grass when I just needed to run inside for a bit and back out.  I thought "there has to be a better way to do this if I just want to run inside for a few minutes?" You know, to get water or something to eat or the inevitable item I left inside that I need.

Then it hit me!

These!  I figured, this would work perfectly for going in and out for quick things.

 
I ordered them, got them and have already put them to good use.

Here are my boots for example, as I was ready to come inside for a few minutes.  Some dried mud and grass on there that I don't need to be tracking through the house.  I pulled out a pair of the shoe covers...

...and put them on.  Aside from the pointy toe shoe vibes (ha!), they are perfect.  I was able to roam around the house without worrying at all.  Then when I went back outside, I just slipped them off and put them back in a drawer in the garage to use a few more times.  If they had been wet and/or muddy, of course I would just throw them away.

I ordered them HERE ON AMAZON.  100 pair for $9.99.  That's only 10 cents per pair.  Seems like a no brainer for clean floors!  2nd Man is happy that I am not tracking stuff on the clean floors and so that makes me happy.  It's a win/win for sure!

DINNER VOYEUR

So the other evening, 2nd man and I decided to eat on the screened in porch.  It was cool and there was a nice breeze.  I was about to set the table when I noticed something in the distance:

See her there?

Looking at us?

Here is the closeup.  She stood there for probably 5 minutes watching me move around and then she meandered on her way.

#RuralLifeBestLife 

GOOD FOOD AND KITTY CAT SUNDAY

 Another week has flown by.  And of course, it rained.  Again.  And again.  And now it's too wet to mow.  Ugh.  So I did other things but we still had time for some good food.

2nd man made some healthy shrimp pasta.  This was simple, shrimp with some olive oil and pasta water mixed with fresh lemon juice and zest.  We used whole wheat pasta as well.  Then we topped it with some fresh basil.  Of course, we had a salad first and I made some more of those whole fruit margaritas.  It was a great way to end a Saturday.

And speaking of a wonderful way to end a Saturday...

Here is Babygirl taking her post dinner bath on the front porch.  She's such a sweet little thing.  We'll soon be taking her to be spayed.  She won't like that process at first but it will ensure she is able to live a long and peaceful life out here.  

#catdistributionsystem

OOPSIE WITH THE FARM TRUCK

So this happened...

A couple of weeks ago, after a heavy rain but a few days of drying, I thought I would take the truck over to the garage to load some things into it.  I started to drive away and the back end started spinning in place.

I got out and looked and oops!

Yeah, that's kinda stuck.  We had another overnight rain shower and...

...it sank a little deeper!  A few days later, it was dry again (or so I thought) and I decided to see if I could move it out of the hole.

Big mistake, THAT only made things worse!

With a week long stretch of rain in the forecast, we needed to get it moved.  "J" recommended we call her ex to come help since he has a BIG truck but we didn't want to bother him and would rather "save" that card for maybe something else, ha (in case I get the mower stuck or something).  So, yesterday we called a local wrecker company to do a winch out and about 2 minutes after they got here...

It was back on dry land, the driveway, ha.  They were awesome by the way, and right after they left, I moved the truck... 

...to the driveway!  It will stay there through this rainy stretch we are about to have.

Good timing because this was about 2 hours after they left.  Rains are coming!

Bill the Farm Truck had an adventure (against his will, ha) and will need a bath, though the rains might help with that, ha.  For now, he is safe and sound on concrete.

GOOD FOOD AND KITTY CAT SUNDAY

Another week has flown by.  This weekend I'm taking a break from outside stuff and trying to focus on some inside things.  Our guest room is the current storage room for stuff that we haven't moved to other rooms.  Time for some good food and some kitty cat pics.

We had some turkey meatballs, with orzo, homemade sauce, so low fat mascarpone and fresh basil from our herbs we have growing in pots.

Babygirl was sleeping under one of the rocking chairs on the front porch.  I snuck outside to get her picture and of course...

...she woke up and looked at me like "really? I'm trying to sleep here!" (we also warn her about cat tails and rocking chairs, ha). 

#catdistributionsystem

BLUEBERRIES AND OLIVES

No, not a recipe, ha.

Although, on a charcuterie board, that might be a good combination with some cheese, but I digress.  No, this is a random fruit tree update.

This is the Arbequina olive tree.  I need to get it in the ground soon.  It's starting to get little buds on it.  We know an olive tree can live for a LONG time.  They are also beautiful trees as they grow, so we want to find just the right spot for this one to enjoy both the olives and its appearance for a long time.

And then two of our blueberries are covered in fruit!  Can't wait.  I have put bird netting over them to keep the birds at bay.  We feed them plenty of seed, they don't need to eat our berries, ha!

The other fruit trees have not really budded out.  Not sure why but it's ok, this year is getting them back in shape.  I am getting ready to top them all off with soil and some mulch to keep them healthy and of course, looking good and keeping out weeds.

SO THIS HAPPENED

Not too long ago, I decided to go outside and pot some herbs.  I have this table outside that I am currently using as my potting bench.

I grabbed the bag of potting soil which I noticed was kind of open.  I thought I had closed it up last time but thought maybe the wind blew it.  I picked it up and put it up on the top and opened it up.

What they heck is that?  Oh, it looks like a bird nest.  I made a noise and then saw this...

Three little hungry mouths open wide!  Baby birds!  "J" said it is probably the Caroline Wren.  She has the same kind of nest and two babies in one of her potted plants on her porch.

I carefully put it back on the shelf.  Now we crack open the back porch door on occasion to check, and mama is regularly there feeding her babies.

Now I have to find a new place to work on my plants, so I don't disturb the new family and when I was edging, I skipped that area to keep the noise down but hey, I am 100% ok with that.  Another reason why we are so happy out here and loving every minute of it.

#RuralLifeBestLife