WE MISSED SHARK WEEK

 Regular readers know how much we enjoy this.  Alas, we missed it!  Well not all of it, we had a few shows set to record and caught them.  I had grand plans for this year and our must see TV, Shark Week 2024 on Discovery.

Normally, I post "farmshark" sightings but didn't get any pics done this year either.  It seems Hurricane Beryl had other plans for us.  

This was the schedule (click to enlarge).

On Monday July 8th, Houston was hit by the hurricane.  Sigh.  While we didn't lose power for long, the internet and cable TV were longer to come back fully.  Things we had set to record didn't and half the time the guide didn't work so we couldn't set new ones to record each night.  Oh well.  They'll be repeated so we can just keep this listing for future reruns.

I got gifts for us! The plan was to give them in the middle of the week. Again, grand plans, ha. Ocean color gift bags and red tissue paper. Seemed "sharky" to me.

Found a couple of fun gifts for us.  These are "Bento boxes" that I was going to head to the store and fill with some candies, his favorites and mine.  I wanted gummy fish and gummy sharks and even saw some dark chocolate sharks.  But alas, no going to the store to get them on my lunch break.  Well, we can use them later for something fun.  And then what are the other things?  They are shark socks!  They go up your ankle, mouth up, so it looks like a shark is attacking.  No, we won't wear them out in public, ha, but when it's cold this Winter, we'll be able to remember the warm days of Summer (and the hurricane?!? ha).

And we didn't forget about Hobart!

Look at these:

Little shark cat toys!!!  I mean, how perfect is that? Hobart was thrilled.  Notice one is missing?  Pictures of him "attacking the shark" coming soon!

I was a little bummed about missing it, but 2nd Man reminded me of something: next year, shark week will be on our new big TV in our NEW HOUSE!

SHARK WEEK AT THE FARM?

LET'S DO IT!

NEW HOME TEASER EXTERIOR SIDING AND COLORS

Here is a little teaser of the new house...

This is a computer generated image of our actual house plan.  More will be revealed in future posts, we have to make it exciting, ha.  Yes, it will be red and white, like a barn.  We kind of started on the outside and worked our way in, ha.  Those who have followed the blog for a long time know that we always wanted the house to be barn red.  We have our outbuildings that color and it just seemed like a natural to have the house match.

The builder uses Sherwin Williams paint throughout (inside and out) so the fun part has been going to the SW store and looking at a million paint samples.  OK, so not a million but it sure seems like it, ha. 

We pulled these (and one more in white we forgot to put in this picture).  They were the closest to barn red that we imagined.  We know that in these computer pics it will be hard to tell but some were too bright red (we don't want fire engine red) and some had too much purple.  A few we didn't bother with since they were orange or rust tones.  We looked at all of them outside in the full sun because that's how it will be seen.

In the end, we narrowed it down to what they call "Poinsettia" for the red color and "Cotton" for white on the trim, shutters, decorative elements and porch railing.  We get three colors on the exterior without paying extra for paint, and we have something in mind for the third but more on that in a future post.  The front door will be talked about in another post as well because, well, that's exciting too, ha.

Inspiration, image courtesy of wikicommons

The colors are subject to change, let's be honest, the exterior painting is one of the last things done, so we could change our mind before it gets to that point...but not from the red and white, we're set on that.  Photos like the one above have been an inspiration to us for a long time as we planned.

Not our house, yet

Lastly, as you can see on that house in the previous picture, we liked the look of the vertical siding.  We had options brick, stone, regular siding, etc.  In the end we chose a James Hardie board and batten exterior siding, to reflect a barn/farmhouse look, as in the example above.  The siding on the outbuildings is also vertical like this (not board and batten of course) so it will keep things looking deliberate instead of accidental, ha.

Next time, the third color in a special place!

WEEKEND WAS GOOD BUT PAINFUL

This weekend was mowing for sure, it hasn't been done in a couple of weeks (hurricane Beryl) and there is rain in the forecast ALL week.  That means next weekend will be out for mowing.

It was a good day up until the end (see last part of this post for that).

Not my best work, but I got it done!

It was hot and I took several breaks.

The clippings will blow away in the rain and wind this week so I'm not too worried.  Heck in a month or two, I'm not even sure how much I'll be able to mow when construction starts.

A little longer than normal but that's because I had to go over some areas a few times with the mowing deck up and then down just to get through the thick areas.

I decided to clean some things off the porch and move them to the garden shed.  Remember the hoses I got a few months back.  A couple were still on the porch so I grabbed the first one and threw it in the back of the truck.  I grabbed the second one...and felt a searing pain in my hand.

Yep, that's a wasp nest.  A LARGE one.

Multiple stings on my hand.  This was after the initial pain died down.  It was multiple stings (either from one or several).  I decided it was time to call it a day and head home as I wasn't sure how my heart was going to react to the venom.  My rate was up higher than usual.

This was later in the evening.  My knuckles went away, ha!  It was sore but as of this morning it's much better.  Oh and those little *%&^% no longer exist...and I will wear gloves from now on when reaching for things outside.  Wasps, spiders, and scorpions oh my!

Hope you all had a better weekend!  Tune in tomorrow for New House Teaser Tuesday!

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY

 Almost forgot to post for today.  I usually have it ready to go but had the wrong time scheduled.  Today is Sunday, it's hot here, was supposed to rain but so far, none.  Update tomorrow on the farm events of yesterday.

Dinner the other night.  Mixed grains with a side of peas and carrots and topped with a nice fillet of broiled mahi-mahi.  So yummy!  We also had a salad to start.  We eat LOTS of salad now. 

Hobart is sleeping in one of his usual spots, the fuzzy blanket on the couch.  He has several "usual spots" around here and we just adapt to wherever he wants to sleep at the time.  Because...

#notspoiled

OFF TO THE FARM TODAY

With rain in the forecast ALL of next week, next weekend might not be a mowing weekend. Since I didn't do it last weekend "post hurricane", today is most likely the only day I have.

I'm afraid it might even be a bit too wet today but I'll see what I can do.  If I can at least mow the driveway and around the house for now, it will be good.

Hope you all have a good weekend.  More later!

MORE FUN DISH TOWELS

Remember last summer when we posted HERE about 2nd Man getting me some fun BBQ themed dishtowels?

Well check this out:

We went to the same store last week that he found the others at an found these, new for this year!  Same style (terrycloth back/large sized) and these say "Fired Up!". I don't mind being fired up when grilling, ha.

Some more fun towels!!

 

We have shown this before but for new readers, we'll post these pics.  Where do you keep these finds?  We believe everything should have its place and the "place for these" is this...it was my Mom's and now it's at the farm, sitting under a window in the kitchen. I can't remember what she kept in it, but we use it in the kitchen at the farm to store all the dish towels we have so they are in one place.

The best part (besides storage) is...

...it doubles as a bench!

It's made of solid wood (not particle board), hand painted, and has a tight seal when it closes.  Since we aren't there 24/7 to keep an eye on things, we keep some cookbooks stacked on top so that we are sure no mice will be able to sneak in.  It's been a few years and no issues at all.

Since we'll be packing stuff up, soon we'll get them all out and take inventory.  There are also tea towels and dishtowels that both of my grandmothers made and embroidered little sayings on them.  Will have to share pictures!  The new house will have PLENTY of drawers for towels and such so that means we'll have to figure out where it's going to end up!  I'm thinking on the covered back porch by the door...a place to stop and sit to take off shoes or something.

NEW HOUSE TEASER TUESDAY

Until construction actually starts and we have those pictures to post, we'll start something new and have a regular post the same time each week.  We'll call it "New House Teaser Tuesday" or something like that and then we'll name each post what we are going to tease about, kitchen, exterior, bathrooms, pantry, etc and share some pics and info.

Of course, we'll also have extra posts along the way as other things come up, like when we think of ideas or want to share or ask about something or choose colors.

For this week, here's a bit about the house:

Stock photo source wikicommons

We signed the contract and put down our (non refundable) deposit, so it's actually happening, ha!

The house will be 1956 square feet of living area.  That encompasses 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a foyer, family room, dining room, kitchen, utility room and a large walk-in pantry.

It will be built on a slab, no more pier and beam.  The total concrete area of the slab will be 2970 square feet.  That's adding in the concrete for an oversized two car garage, a back porch behind the garage and a large covered back porch that will be screened in.

They say once they break ground, weather permitting, 6 to 8 months to finish.  We're trying to get to that point by September.  Because then, six months would be March.  Great birthday present for both of us, ha.

Another question we get is wondering if we will move out there right away when it's done.  Yes.  We've waited (as many of you know) a long time to do this.  Let's do it and get out there so we can start enjoying our dream.  2nd Man works remote 100% of the time and my boss has already told me I can work a hybrid (we'll have to figure out what that will entail).  The drive for me will be 45 minutes to an hour each way but hey,  I enjoy driving and besides, we do what we do to make dreams come true and live our best lives, right?

I sense a lot of podcasts and audiobooks in my future.  I used to (when cars had CD players) check out books on CD from the library. I think I'll have to transition to Audible or something like that.

FARM UPDATE POST BERYL

 I went out there to check on things.  I didn't think I'd need to mow but even if I did, it was still a bit wet.  Turns out, I probably could have mowed but it didn't seem too bad and the heat was no bueno!

I arrived and there were shingles.  Quite a few.

Everywhere, ha!

I stopped counting at 23.  Not worried though since the house will be gone soon. The decking on the house has been on there for so long, it's hard and dry and like a solid sheet of iron underneath the shingles.  No water leaks inside anywhere.

They didn't come from the barn or shed, they are OK.

I did have pick up branches and stuff and cut a few others that were semi broken.  Thank goodness for Bill the farm truck!  It was great to throw them in the back end and then I drove to a distant part of the property and dumped them.  Will let nature decompose them.  Having this truck has been such a blessing.  We're happy to have it!

After a few hours, it was just so humid and the mosquitoes...oh my gosh I can't even describe.  You would take a step and a cloud would swarm up.

Didn't think about it, but when getting a mosquito bite on blood thinners and you slap them, um, yeah, I'll spare you those pictures, it looked like a crime scene!

With that, I decided it was time to pack up and head back into town.

On the way out, I was driving down the driveway and saw this adorable bunny nibbling on grass.  Cute!

When I got home, 2nd Man had made two loaves of whole wheat bread with grains.  We're good for a week of bread!

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY

Well, one week ago today we were getting the outer bands of rain from Hurricane Beryl.  Today it's hot and humid and half a million are still without power.

It's been crazy but slowly returning to normal.

Last weekend, we decided to indulge but make it healthy.  Here we have burgers and fries and ketchup.  But the burgers are ground turkey, with lettuce, tomatoes, purple onions, turkey bacon, and avocado on whole wheat 21 grain buns...the French fries are thin cut and air fried with avocado oil, and the ketchup is low sodium no sugar added.  Pretty healthy for a splurge meal!

Here is Hobart watching the hurricane pass through.  The winds were gone and it just rained for hours.  He was fascinated with the drops on the window.  We let him enjoy his time, because...

#notspoiled

LAST LEASE RENEWAL AND A GIFT

We recently signed another year lease at our apartment (the last one we have to deal with, or at the most, month to month for a couple of months since we are building a new house) and the leasing office dropped this off at our front door with our lease papers...

A bottle of wine!  Trader Joe's.  We enjoy TJ's house wine, it's good to drink AND, since they say to always cook with a wine you would drink, 2nd Man uses it in recipes too.  We'll just keep this for cooking.

Tied to the bottle with a ribbon were some stalks of dried lavender...it smelled so wonderful!

We thought it was a great way to present a bottle of wine as a gift (we'll have to remember that if we ever take a bottle of wine as a gift)!  It was a very nice gesture and will be appreciated and used to its fullest!

And now the clock starts ticking!

WEEKEND WEATHER AND BERYL UPDATE

Well, in retrospect, this post was a harbinger of things to come.

First, an update.  The city is still reeling from the Beryl.  There are still well over a million homes and businesses without power.  School campuses are closed.  Mass transit is not yet back.  Downed trees EVERYWHERE.  Even my office is still without power, the entire six story building and all the places around it.  We're hoping to have power (possibly today as this posts) soon or maybe tomorrow.  Who knows.

It's miserable for so many because we are having heat indexes well into the triple digits.  The city is opening cooling centers all over town.

"J" from 2nd Family said the power came back Monday night at 9pm.  About 12 hours without power at the farm.  Not too bad, considering many in Houston may wait days more for power to return.

I went to the farm over the weekend to get ready before the storm arrived...

Thankfully, I was able to mow.  With heavy rain in the forecast, that was my goal.  I accomplished that.

Literally 1 minute difference from the last regular mow.  Right on average.

I put the mower up in the shed and put everything that wasn't tied down in there as well.  Just to keep the flying objects to a minimum.

When I l left at 2pm, it was a feels like of 115.

I've never had this message before.  My phone was in the little compartment thing on the mower and when I took it out to check my status, it had this message.  I didn't even know they would do this.  As 2nd Man said, that's a sign for you to take a break too.  Yes sir.

This is the sky to the Southeast when I was leaving.  Clouds were coming.

And when I got to the end of the road, it was this.

I stopped at the gas station on the way home to fill up (as they always say to do when a hurricane is coming) and this is what it looked like.

At home in the safety of the apartment, this was the radar for the farm (the pin is the house).  Yep, I mowed just in time!  Of course, just a few hours later, the bottom dropped out as an actual Category 1 (gusts to Category 2) hurricane came in.

"J" said the farm seems OK, she said we might have lost some shingles but with the house going soon, not worried about that.  More the trees and stuff around the property we are worried about.  We'll make a better survey this weekend.  No rain in the forecast now for a while and we're fine with that.

Considering the storm was a Cat 5 and 4 for so long when it formed, as bad as it was here after it diminished, we dodged a disaster of epic proportions.  Houston will recover, we always bounce back stronger.

HARROWING BERYL UPDATE

 It has been a crazy morning without much sleep.

Here is the radar at about 5am when the howling of the wind woke us up.  We're downtown, the red pin.

Four hours later, it was slow moving and we are in the intense part of it, the dirty side.

Here it is a bit ago, it's finally moving out.  The eye went over the farm.

We had winds of 90mph sustained.

There has been 10 inches of rain (and counting).

2.1 million people are without power.

Bayous are overflowing in some areas.

Airports are closed.

Many roadways are impassible.

2 fatalities so far.

A coworker sent this picture she took from her front porch.  She said it has been very scary.

And here are a couple of videos.

First up, one I took from our balcony (door open, hand outside, I didn't go ONTO the balcony, ha).

Wish you could hear the howling wind, it makes this eerie whistling noise. Like some end of the world movie.

Then there is this video that "J" from 2nd Family send showing how intense it was at the farm:

Yikes!  She said she is finally able to sleep and will be taking a nap...well deserved nap after the night she had out there.

The mayor just told everyone to stay home and shelter in place while they get emergency crews out across the city, they are still rescuing people and trying to get power back on to essential areas.

I think we might take a well deserved nap as well...