TWO NIGHTSTANDS AND A PROJECT

With our recent move from an apartment with a guest room to one without, we had some extra furniture.  There were two nightstands, one on each side of the guest bed.  We just couldn't part with them as we got them at our favorite furniture store NADEAU and the distressed style and solid wood construction made them a must keep. A bonus was the fact that they have storage cabinets below, which is ALWAYS needed in a small house.

So we decided to move them to the farm.  At first we hoped to put them in the farm master bedroom on each side of the bed.  However, there was not enough room on the wall where the bed is for both of them.  They are just a bit wider that the space allows.

So the next (and really only other) choice was the guest room at the farm...

Here is one on the left side of the bed with the lamp and alarm clock...

...and one on the other side of the bed.

And just like that, we now have more storage in the house.  

The yellow one that used be in the farm guest room now fits perfectly next to the master bedroom bed, giving us a spot for an alarm clock and a few other things.  It has a drawer too which is always nice and a little shelf at the bottom for something decorative.

But the pale yellow doesn't go since the room decor int eh master is blue and white so we'll need to paint it.  Now we just have to decide if all blue or all white.  Might go with white so that it could be moved around if necessary, but the dresser is blue so it might be better to go with that.  It will, of course, have to be a project for when the weather cools down this Fall. 

There will be painting involved!

HOT OVERGROWN AND GOOD EATS WEEKEND UPDATE

It's a hot weekend.  Ugh.  The garden is done and so am I, ha.  I went out yesterday, early in the morning (was there by 8am).

I mowed and then watered the fruit trees and plants on the porch. I also moved some things to the barn.  But that was it. I was done.  

I contemplated trimming the Vitex (Texas "lilac") because they seem to be in a competition to see which one can take over the stairs first.  But again, it was just so hot and by this time it was about noon and I was running out of energy.

They'll still be there  when the weather cools down.  We can duck, ha.

When I got home, 2nd Man was making this.  He took cubes of chicken breast, coated them in seasoned flour and sautéed them. Then he added milk, water and a little chicken broth to make a gravy and simmered it all until thickened and the chicken is fully cooked.  Then serve it over/alongside some mashed potatoes.

Super easy and super good!

Farm Shark

Of course, mowing was not without its dangers.  Farm Shark was spotted again!  I had to mow around him/her several times.

Something tells us there won't be any more sightings until this time next year.     

HAPPY SHARK WEEK!

ANOTHER HOT DAY

But today will be quick.  

Mowing and harvesting whatever is available and coming back into town.  We're under another heat advisory warning.  It's going to be 100 plus with the heat index.  Mowing early and getting back to where it's cool.  Unfortunately, with only one window unit IN the house, it's just too hot.

Monday/Tuesday is forecast to be rainy and stormy.  We're OK with that.  

Here's another sighting of Farm Shark!  

At the entrance to the driveway!

I'll see if I "capture" any more today while mowing!  I'll catch up on comments tonight.

HAPPY SHARK WEEK!

WOODEN SHIPPING CRATE TRASH TO TREASURE FIND

(Farm Shark sighting pic at end of post)

Regular readers know that I have a favorite place to look for bargains...our downstairs trash area!  Our building has trash chutes on every floor and they feed into a separate room, but for boxes and other things that people can't put in the chute, there is an area (indoor) near the loading dock, where people can put the things they don't want.  

I've found quite a few cool items so far.

Here is the latest!

This wooden box.  We're not sure what it was used for but the most obvious guess is that something was shipped in it. There was no lid or if there was at some point, it was in the trash where we couldn't get to it.

There are markings on the outside, obviously "this end up" here.  And rope handles on each side.  

Inside there were wooden pieces screwed in place.  I took my cordless screwdriver and removed them.

It's a well built box, very sturdy and heavy.  I was thinking of mounting some wheels onto the bottom and then using it somewhere in the barn/workshop.  There is ALWAYS a place for more storage in there.

Another good find that will be repurposed into something useful!  Stay tuned!

Farm Shark

I was driving to the barn to put the box inside and that's when I saw it!  Farm Shark!

HAPPY SHARK WEEK!

FENCE FLOWERS INSPIRATION THURSDAY

(Farm Shark sighting pic at end of post)

Every Thursday we like to post a picture of something we've found online that inspires us to do something similar at the farm. Sort of our own blog bulletin board so that we can eventually look back and someday, hopefully anyway, recreate it...enjoy!

Flower along picket fence, image via Pinterest.com

We love flowers.  While not at the farm full time, we can't always have flowers like this, but it doesn't stop us from saving images of things we like.  And these are just so pretty.  Colorful, casual and sort of an organized chaos.  Of course I want to find just the right spot for a white picket fence because, well, it's a white picket fence!

Be inspired!

Farm Shark

While I was roaming around the property, I saw this by the old mesquite tree!  The feared Farm Shark!

HAPPY SHARK WEEK!

OVEN ROASTED SUMMER SQUASH WITH CHEESE RECIPE

(Farm Shark sighting pic at end of post)

While we didn't grow zucchini this season, we did grow yellow squash and had several coming in each week.  2nd Man asked me to buy a couple of zucchini and he was going to make something for us.  

He sliced up both the yellow squash and the zucchini.  He put them on a sheet pan, overlapping each other.  Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Lastly he sprinkled it all over with shredded cheese (this was a mozzarella/cheddar blend).  

Roast in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the squash is soft and the cheese is starting to brown and get bubbly.  

Dish it up and serve!  It's SO simple and quick but also hearty enough to be a meal itself it you were so inclined.  Of course, it does make a wonderful side dish of vegetables with steak or chicken.

We've had it several times now.

Enjoy!

Farm Shark

We think we discovered what was eating all the fruit on our fruit trees!  FARM SHARK!

HAPPY SHARK WEEK!

CLEANING THE GARLIC FOR STORAGE

(As promised, Farm Shark sighting pic at end of post)

Where's the garlic that has been hanging in the barn for the last six weeks?  

Here it is!  I cut it all down and brought it up onto the porch where it was about 20 degrees cooler and breezy, which made for a nice time to do it.

Each head is dry and still covered with the dirty outer layers.  I just did them one at a time. 

I cut off the neck a few inches above the head.  This releases the papery layers and makes peeling them so much easier.  I also trimmed the roots.  

You simply grab a head and sort of just start rubbing your hands around it and the outer layers start to flake off.  You can tell when you get down to the tighter inside layers where they don't want to release.  That's when you stop.  

You are left with the type of head you might see at the grocery store. 

It's messy of course so don't do it indoors. Bonus for being outside, the breeze blows most everything away when you are done, so there is that.

I can say that I was in heaven while I was doing it, sitting on the porch in a rocking chair (hey don't judge!) with only a cool breeze and the wind chimes singing gently.  It felt right. 

Here is the basket when I was done.  

When we got back into town, I sorted through all of them and these are the oddly shaped heads and the cloves that broke off onto their own.

These were what we call the "store ready heads".  Almost a dozen.  Actually if you count the two heads we've already brought home and used, we got a little over a dozen perfect heads.  We'll keep a few in a garlic jar on the counter and the rest of them stored in paper bags in the pantry. They like dark and dry.

They may not all be the prettiest but you know what?  They are ours.  We grew them from single cloves.  Just 15 minutes of work planting them, regular watering and we ended up with these. 

Nothing wrong with that.

And now...

While sitting on the porch working on the garlic, we both saw the dreaded Farm Shark!

HAPPY SHARK WEEK!

SHARK WEEK 2018

Regular blog readers will know that 2nd Man and I love the Discovery Channel's annual tradition of Shark Week.  It's a week long prime time lineup of shows about all types of sharks...with an emphasis on the Great White shark of course. 

Thought it might be fun this year to have every post this week include a farm related shark sighting photo at the end of the post. "Farm Shark" perhaps? We'll just have to see what we can capture on camera!

 

Beautiful creatures, but also quite scary.  While we love watching from the safety of our couch, we don't ever need to see one in the wild.  Because, well, we all know how that would end...

Don't be scared, it's only on TV!

Happy Shark Week!

THE HOT WEEKEND

It's hot.  We are under a heat advisory and they have set up cooling centers around town.  It is that time of year when they tell people to do the absolute minimum and if at all possible, stay inside.  

We're OK with that.  

It was 99 Saturday with a feels like of 104.

Sunday is supposed to hit 102 with a feels like closer to 109 or 110. 

You know last weekend we posted about someone losing control and taking out the mailboxes?  Well I bought a new mailbox and numbers (blanked out of course for posting) and "R" from 2nd Family built new posts for both.  He put them up.  Here is a picture.  They are beautiful!  

This wood is in it's FOURTH (and presumably final) incarnation.  

This was their daughter's playhouse when she was younger.  When she got older, they dismantled it and used it in a small chicken coop.  When they enlarged the coop, they used this wood to make an arbor.  They took the arbor down this year and saved the wood again.  Now it has become mailbox posts.  

Now THAT is re-purposing!

In the comfort of air conditioning, 2nd Man made this  three mushroom potato gnocchi dish.  

Sigh.  So good.   

Us the rest of this weekend...

CLUTTER RELIEF BOX

There is a shelf in the mudroom right by the back door to the porch...

...and it becomes my dumping resting point for everything I'm using at the time in the garden our outside or whatever.  Honestly, it's easier to put it there rather than carrying it out to the shed.  But for 2nd Man, it's a bit frustrating because he likes less clutter laying around.

I found this plastic tote downstairs at the apartment building (one of my trash to treasure finds a few weeks back) and figured it would be perfect for use as a way to corral the clutter.  And with it being a rubberized plastic, it doesn't matter if items are dirty or damp.  I can just put it all in there and dig around through it when I need something. 

2nd Man is happy.

And if he's happy, we're all happy, LOL!

GALVANIZED TUB FOUNTAIN INSPIRATION THURSDAY

Every Thursday we like to post a picture of something we've found online that inspires us to do something similar at the farm. Sort of our own blog bulletin board so that we can eventually look back and someday, hopefully anyway, recreate it...enjoy!

Always looking for fun little ideas of things that we could do sometime.  We have seen some galvanized tub ponds, of various sizes but when we saw this, with the fountain, we thought it was a neat idea.   Especially tucked into the corner of a flowerbed.  A water feature, with the sound of falling water, is always welcome when relaxing on the porch.  

Hmm, we do still have that galvanized tub that I found downstairs at the apartment...

Be inspired!  

OVEN ROASTED STRAWBERRIES

Recently, I found some articles online about roasting fruit in the oven.  I thought it might be nice to try since 2nd Man was going to make a pound cake.

Last week we posted HERE about roasting the blueberries.  Since we were going for red, white and blue in the dessert, we decided to use strawberries for the red part of that.

Fresh strawberries

This is one pound of fresh strawberries. I washed them, removed the stems, and cut them in half (quartered some of the larger ones).

Strawberries on sheet pan

Next, I placed them on a sheet pan covered with foil and then parchment paper on top of that to protect the pan from the sticky syrup.

These are tossed with 4 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract.  A great combination.  

Roasted strawberries

Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until they start to caramelize because of the sugar. Stir a few times during the process.  I stirred it around about three times I guess.

Roasted strawberry topping

Pour them into a container and make sure to get the syrup.  It's SO good!

Red white and blueberry pound cake dessert

This is what we used it for.  A homemade pound cake topped with the roasted blueberries, whipped cream and of course these wonderful roasted strawberries.

Between these two jars, there are almost two pounds of fruit cooked down to this.  This topping is so worth it and are great for anything you might want to put a fruit topping on.  Ice cream, waffles, pancakes, spread on toast, pound cake (or any cake really), just whoever you want the rich, roasted fruit taste.