Raised Beds: Part 2

    I finally have an update to show you on our raised beds!  If you missed Part 1, you can find that here.

    After building the frames of the beds, Colton added the sides.  We decided to go with horizontal boards, which we stained and sealed. 

    The insides were reinforced with another layer of wood to keep them from bowing under the weight of the dirt once they were filled.  We then put hardware cloth (wire) in the bottom to prevent gophers from digging up into the beds.

    We lined the beds with more of our free, heavy-duty plastic and added logs and branches to the bottom to help take up space, resulting in less dirt we would have to buy.  The logs will decompose over time and enrich the soil.

    Then, just last week:

    We got dirt!  We had actually called to get this dirt several months ago, but our local supplier is a one man band and his dump truck was broken down.  Some time passed and we thought maybe he had forgotten about us, so Colton called again.  He had his truck fixed and then it broke down again!  So still no dirt for several weeks.  Colton called again last week, and finally we were able to get the dirt.  His truck had only been fixed for two days by the time we got it! 

    The boys were so excited to watch the truck dump the load.  Of course, the dirt was like a magnet and they ran to play in it as soon as the truck drove off.  They have been having fun digging, climbing, and playing in it every day.  Thankfully, children are washable, and playing in the bathtub afterwards is just as fun for them.

    I did not get any photos of the process, but Colton used the tractor to scoop the dirt into the beds.  This saved us hours of work and hard labor.  We did have to do some spreading by hand, but the shovel work was minimal.  This was a tremendous blessing.

    This is our progress up to now.  It feels good to finally be making some headway on this project again!  Next we will be mixing in some compost and raised bed soil, but that will be another post for another time...

My Bluebirds on the Ground Report

    Hello and happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans!  

    I just wanted to share that Annabel kindly invited me to write a guest post on her blog, The Bluebirds are Nesting on the Farm.  She has readers from all over the world, and some have been giving reports of what is going on in their area, as well as preparedness measures they have been taking to stay ahead.  I feel so honored to be able to contribute!  I hope you'll visit her blog and look around.  It is such a wonderful source of homemaking and preparedness encouragement, and I really think Annabel has the ability to turn everything she touches into something beautiful!  

    My post is here.

    I have also added a subscription service to my blog on the sidebar (it can only be seen when viewing "web version") should you like to receive an email alert when I publish a post.  Otherwise, you can follow along through Blogger (also on the sidebar), or you can simply bookmark my blog and visit whenever you like.  All of these options are free for those who want to follow along.  I do appreciate all of my readers and your lovely comments, so thank you!

My Little Spring Garden of 2023

    I had been throwing myself a real pity party earlier this year, as another season was passing in which I wouldn't have a garden.  Again.  I was battling health issues, Colton hadn't finished my raised beds due to weather and time restraints, it was difficult to manage with small children, etc... But then I stopped myself and said, "Kelsey, the real reason you don't have a garden this year is because you haven't planted one."  So I got to work and my small children helped.

    We have a little shed in our garden that we bought second hand a couple years ago.  It has always been my intention to dress up the outside and make it pretty, so that is what I focused on.  I had a water trough that I had pulled out of the dump and that was going to be my planter, along with empty pots I already had.  This was the state of my area:

    This was after I had already started weeding, so you can see it was in need of attention!  After I weeded, I put down paper feed sacks that my father-in-law had been saving for me.  The children acted as paperweights since there was a breeze.

    We topped that with a good, thick layer of wood chips that Colton had previously chipped.  The children had fun with this.  Can you spot their little green wheelbarrow below?

       I lined the trough with plastic (free from a co-worker of Colton's) and filled it with dirt.

    I added a new liner to my window box and planted strawberries in it at John's request.  (Colton built me faux shutters from wood scraps, which I still need to paint, along with the window.)  I planted four spearmint plants in the trough.  I love spearmint, but it's invasive so it needs to be contained.  This was the perfect solution.

    Here is how everything looked after it all filled in:

    The pots next to the trough hold my elderberry bushes.  These had been in smaller plastic pots, and once I transplanted them, they really took off!  The pots at the front of the shed hold a jalapeno and basil plant, both purchased during a plant sale.  (The trellis you see isn't staying there- it's going in between my raised beds.)  

 

    I am very pleased with how it turned out.  It may not look like the big vegetable gardens I've had in the past, but something is always better than nothing.  And when we want something, pity parties don't get the job done- hard work does. 😉

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

    We've been busy, busy around here! Colton has been on vacation again, as he agreed to trade vacation slots with a co-worker who needed his autumn slot.  It really couldn't have come at a better time, though.  Colton has finished up his school job, so this vacation is a true vacation!

    Well, sort of.  This is the state of my laundry room and two adjoining rooms at the moment:

    Oh, yes.  It's renovation time!  Fun, but also stressful.  It's not stressful for Colton (thankfully I married a level-headed man who doesn't get bent out of shape over paint colors), just me.  I'm so indecisive when it comes to choosing colors and that sort of thing.  I nearly went crazy before I decided to paint the living room white, so you can imagine what starting from scratch is doing to me!  

    Do you remember that part in Pride and Prejudice (1995 film) where Maria is frantically rearranging her trunk for fear that she packed her clothes in a way displeasing to Lady Catherine?  Elizabeth comes in and reassures her, "Maria, this is your trunk. These are your gowns.  You may arrange them in any way you wish.  Lady Catherine will never know."  Well, that's what I keep telling myself about decorating.  This is my house and I can paint it and decorate it in any way I wish.  Lady Catherine will never know.  

    So that is what we've been up to lately.  Colton has been in demo mode and I have been in planning mode.  Rest assured, we do have a basic, foundational plan for the rooms or we wouldn't have ripped the walls off.  I just don't have all the little details sorted out yet.  Progress will be slow, but that's how I prefer it.  It gives me plenty of time to make decisions.

    Oh, and in case you're wondering about my raised beds, they are built, but not filled yet.  Hence, no updates.  Yesterday was 115° and it's not cooling down, so outdoor projects are once again on hold!

    What has everyone else been up to?

I'm Back!

    Hello, readers!  I am happy to be back here writing again.  We had a lovely time during Colton's vacation.  We didn't accomplish everything we set out to, as we had quite a bit of rain that hindered our outdoor projects, but that was a blessing too.  We live in a drought-prone area, so rain is always welcome!  And it meant more time inside to slow down and simply be together.

    As for what we did get done, I am very happy about it!  First, we painted our living room, dining room, and loft, which are all open to each other.  We started out with wood paneling- the kind that was ever so popular in the 70s when our home was built- and now we have white walls!  With our high ceilings, this was no small feat.  It took four coats of paint on top of the primer coat, but we got it done, and the transformation is immense.  I will admit that the paneling had a cozy element to it, but day after day for years, it can start to feel like a cave that closes in, at least for me.  Now it feels so much bigger and brighter; I don't think a day goes by in which we don't comment on how much more we like it.  (I still need to get my curtains and pictures hung back up!)

    Outside, Colton was able to get a little more work done on the raised beds.  I will save the progress photos for a Part 2 of this project.  As with all projects, we hit a few snags, but we are closer to getting them finished.

    During his time off, we also took a fun day trip.  The kids stayed with my parents while Colton and I drove to Round Top!  Now if you don't know, Round Top, Texas is home to one of the biggest antique fairs in America.  Twice a year for about two weeks each, vendors come from all over the world to set up their wares along 11 miles (according to the website) of Texas highway.  The spring show happened to be during Colton's vacation slot, so we decided to go!

    It was a lot of fun- and a lot of walking, which is why we didn't take the kids.  The forecast had predicted rain, but we took a chance and it ended up only being cloudy.  It was miles of tents like this:

    Inside one of the tents:

    The vendors sell everything from antiques and collector items to handmade items, yard and garden art, and outright junk. Some people sold things like rolls of rusty barbed wire and old cable spools, and there was even a huge tent set up with nothing but tables and tables of deer antlers (deer shed their antlers yearly- they don't have to be killed for them).  Colton and I joked several times that we could make a fortune off of ranch "junk" if we set up a tent.

    One lady had a tent full of her homemade potpourri, along with various containers to hold it.  It was beautiful and smelled wonderful. 

    There were several vendors that sold things out of old houses, like hardware and architectural elements:

    We skipped the big show barns, as those charge admission.  That is where all of the high dollar pieces are, like the European antiques.  The famous designers frequent those barns.  We didn't bother- there was plenty to look at for much less.  Prices varied from the garage sale/thrift store range to the typical antique dealer range.  I also found several pieces that were priced significantly less than they typically would be at an antique store, and I took advantage!

    We saw tons of vintage chandeliers.  They were beautiful, and some were huge like this one:

    It is hard to tell the size of it from my photo, but it was massive.  It was hanging, but I'd venture to say it was nearly as tall as me.  The prices, though!  I kept telling Colton how my Craigslist find was a steal.  What I paid for my chandelier didn't even come close to what these vendors were charging, not even by a long shot.  So I was very pleased about that.

    I wish I had taken more photos, but I was trying to be discreet about it.  When we went 10 years ago, there were several vendors with signs up that said "No Photos".  However, that was before social media was a big deal- I imagine they might welcome the advertising nowadays.  Still, I didn't want to cause any issues, so I kept the pics to a minimum.  A Google search will give you tons of photos if you want to see more.

    Here is what I ended up buying:

    The first thing is a long, antique chicken feeder, which I plan to use as a centerpiece on my dining table.  I can decorate seasonally with it by adding candles, pumpkins, pinecones, moss, etc. to it.  It will also fit nicely on top of the piano or mantle, so I have many options.

    Second is an antique sewing machine drawer, which I plan to mount on the wall as a shelf.  

    Next is a booklet of sheet music.  I have a project in mind for this that I have wanted to do for years.  If it works out, I will share.  Otherwise, I can always use it for papercrafting!

    Lastly, underneath my finds, is a European grain sack.  It is folded in half for the photo, so it is very long.  My plan for this is to make two throw pillow covers out of it.

    As you can see, I have a plan (and backup plans) for everything I bought.  As we shopped, I kept my budget and my home in mind.  About an hour into shopping is when I found my first purchase, and I had to laugh when Colton expressed his surprise that I hadn't found more to buy in that time.  But places like Round Top are not just for shopping, they are for getting ideas.  And I was very aware of the way ordinary things were being marketed and displayed to make them attractive.  I will talk a little about that in my next Thrifty Thursday post.  Until then, I'd love to hear from you!  What have you been up to during my time away?

Our First Project of 2023: Part 1

     As you may have guessed from my posting on Thursday, the boys and I are feeling much better.  Thank you so much for your prayers!  It is so nice to be able to get back to the things we enjoy.  The weather has been beautiful, especially in the mornings and evenings, so we are turning our thoughts towards outdoor projects.  Colton has some vacation time this month from both of his jobs, so we are going to try and make the most of it!  Working on projects together is fun for us, so it's a win/win.  I'm sure we'll have some downtime, too, though.  Maybe.

    For our first project, we are tackling this little spot:

    This is in the garden to the side of my garden shed.  Behind it through the screen door, is the chicken run.  (The metal building is the coop.)  Initially, the chicken run fence started at the front of the shed, but since our chickens free range anyway and we wanted more garden space, we moved the fence to the back end of the shed last year.

    It created this little nook, which has actually turned out to be more awkward than anything.  I thought about planting herbs and flowers around the perimeter and adding a picnic table or seating area in the middle, but it never happened.  About all that has ever grown here is stinging nettle.  In reality, I am not very good at a cottage-style garden layout, as much as I absolutely love the way it looks.  My mind operates better with orderly rows.  And living where we do, I always have snakes on my mind when the weather heats up.  Lots of bushy plants on the ground are perfect hiding spots.  

    So what to do?  Can you guess?

Maybe another photo will help...

    Colton is building me raised beds!  I'm really excited about this project.  As crazy as the last year (two, really) has been, I haven't been able to have a garden like I normally do.  I've missed it so much.  I think this will be much easier for me to manage for the time being. Eventually, I might give the boys their own little section of the beds to grow things in.  In any case, I think this is a good use of the space.

    So far, we (when I say we, I actually mean Colton) have leveled the area, put down black plastic, and built the frames for the beds.  We already had the dirt for leveling from another project we did last year.  We also already had the black plastic.  Someone at work gave Colton a huge roll, and we just set it aside for "just in case".  We always seem to have projects, so we gladly accept free materials when offered!  We did buy the lumber, but the price is surprisingly coming down, which is nice.  

    Stay tuned for progress reports!