Upstairs Work in Progress...Eli's Room, Our Room

Finally got the drywall hung thanks to major work on Daddy's part past few days.  Need drywall in our room.  Mud and tape ahead, feels like endless task.

The 2010 Growing Season Begins!

Little purple crocuses are popping up around the yard, as well as tips of daffodils and tulips. Signs that my bulb planting frenzy last fall was not in vain. My hands are covered in blisters from raking, but the yard is looking tidier. We've got the seed catalogs out, I've already picked up a few packets of the cold weather crops.....snap peas, gourmet lettuces, beets. I'm trying seed tape for the beets this year. I never have the patience to strategically plant those tiny, tiny seeds, I just sprinkle 'em over the soil. Nor do I have the patience or the heart to thin the seedlings, I want them all to live and grow and be yummy. What they wind up doing is elbowing each other right out of the soil where the chickens can peck at them. So anyways, this year I'm trying the tape which should eliminate the need to thin. I also purchased one of those little tools that you put the tiny seeds in so you may sow them one at a time.
My last minute garlic from last year, (cloves thrown into chunks of frozen ground then immediately covered in snow,) seems to have actually produced a few sprouts. The chickens scratched up a few, but I pushed them back into the earth and then topped the area w/wire. The chickens are happy and free, already the egg yolks are turning a rich golden orange, far more nutritious than the weak yellow of winter when they are living on mostly feed. Of course, now the hens are also back at the egg hiding game. Daisy's coat is gorgeously shiny from her renewed diet of stolen eggs. I'll probably have to start keeping them in the coop for the first half of the day if I want to collect any eggs. We lost our last bantam, the beautiful Beloved, a couple weeks ago. Those tiny birds are so lovable and sweet, but they just cannot defend themselves against the various predators around here. We are sticking with the large breed birds from here on out. I've ordered a few silvers and need to get the chick rearing area ready for their arrival, sometime in early April.
We are making quite a bit of progress inside the house. Shermen built a really lovely wall / shelf area in the downstairs bathroom, and I am (supposed to be) tackling my storage insanity up in the attic so we can start tearing down walls and putting in the 2nd bathroom and (!!) baby room.
We are sending in the completed application to Pauquette Adoption Agency this week. Wonderfully exciting and busy times!
A great resource I've found for what to do with all that produce we'll soon be finding in our gardens or at farmer's markets, Clean Eating magazine. Recipe ideas, as well as good articles on healthy living. I'm trying to move more and more in the direction of avoiding processed foods, eating as "clean" as possible. They also have a facebook group.

Credenza Before & After

I finally got around to sanding, priming, "re-finishing" our cool old credenza.
The top of the credenza is a blue enamel. For the front and sides I used Behr's glaze mixed with Behr's Antique Brown over an undercoat of umber brown, for the darker panels I glazed Behr's Toffee Crunch over the Antique Brown. I "scumbled" some gold trim detail, put a layer of glaze over it, then scumbled another layer of gold over that. The pretty blue flower pulls are from Anthropologie.

Things Looking Brighter, Inside & Out

Last nite my very ambitious husband worked literally all thru the nite hanging drywall; finally passing out about 7 this morning. What a wonderful change to wake up to- walls! It's actually sunny out this morning, so our big new windows filled the room with light and I was able to truly visualize what a pleasant room this will soon be. We are almost to the point of "cosmetic" work in this

room...(tape, trim, and paint) the point where we can glimpse

some light at end of this renovation tunnel.

I expect he will now sleep the rest of the day, so it's my day to putter about (quietly) and maybe prepare the other half of room for drywall. We debated the financial / quality of life pro's and con's of hiring out the drywall / trim vs Sherm buying tools necessary to do the job himself. We went with #2, and I am now very excited to learn how to use all these exciting tools so I can work on some creations of my own.

I have big dreams for the old chicken coop under the huge maple tree becoming a greenhouse, a cool new trellis & support for the grape vine, picture frames, on and on.

We actually started some seeds early this year, and now it's looking like maybe too early. We have decorative blue corn thats almost a foot high after only a couple weeks. The grow light definitely needs to be put on a timer rather than 24/7.

I'm interested in trying a style of planting called "Three Sisters" which involves corn, beans and squash.

http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/3sisters.html

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/teach/2003045238014436.html

I have also been researching white / scented plants, flowers and shrubs for the patio area. I want to create a glowy and fragrant "night" garden area where we can sit and enjoy the sound of the waterfall.