Thursday, January 24, 2013

Still alive...

You remember that moment in the late fall when you realize that life is about to finally slow down? You know~after the canning, garden clean-up, butchering, winterizing, back-to-school planning, etc...

I remember it too.

Only, the slow-down didn't happen here.

Still busy, just a different kind of busy. Here's some of what we've been up to...

Bailey guarding the feed room door.

We said goodbye to our beloved behemoth, Bailey. At 14-1/2 years old, arthritis had set in and  crippled her. She was ready, even if we were not. The hardest decision was whether to let her die of natural causes and bury her, or to call the butcher truck and end her suffering.

We chose the latter. Somehow, it seemed less wasteful. Hopefully by the time our hamburger is ready, we'll be ready.

For now though, we're eating a lot of vegetarian meals.☺

"Hey Porky, you've got a smear of jelly behind your ear!" Pigs.

Porky left for freezer camp too. The largest of our three pigs, he weighed in right at 300 lbs. His siblings were about 50 lbs. behind him, so they're hanging out a little longer.

Porky was a real pig.

We'll give up our vegetarian ways when the bacon is ready.☺

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company~LOVE.

My seed order finally arrived. All 66 packets of seeds. I've always said that I'm an addiction just waiting to happen.

Hi. My name's Kim and I'm a seed catalogue-aholic.

Hmm...I thought that would purge my guilt. But alas, I have none. Not whatsoever.

Shameless. Is it Spring yet?

12 feet of laminated ugliness.

I've been spending a lot of time with the new "man" in my life. His name is Mr. Orbital Sander. I love him. He allows me to take ugly furniture like the table above, and turn it into something less ugly.


Sand, primer, sand, paint, sand, paint, sand, seal.

It's hard to tell from the picture, but the table color is ivory painted over barn red, then sanded. I'm not sure it will stay this color, but for now, I'm diggin' it.

I'm currently eye-balling some ugly laminate cabinets...


...in the dining room, utility, family room, and all 4 bathrooms.

My Mister got scared, so he booked us vacation tickets to Cancun.

Like a trip to a tropical paradise will distract me from Mr. Orbital Sander.

Pshhh...Men.☺

12 comments:

Stone Cottage Adventures said...

I, too, love Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and have actually visited there. It is a BEAUTIFUL place. -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

farmer said...

So sorry for the loss of our cow,we to had to make a hard decision on a foundation cow we loved very much,it is never easy.
Sounds like we have alot in common,I to admit to being a seed junkie,it is so hard to order just a few,even if I have nearly 100 packs left over from last season..sigh.
Enjoy your trip!

Rae said...

Sorry about the loss of Bailey. :(

I am glad to see that we're not the only ones that grow our hogs out to at least 300lbs. When I want a pork chop, I want a CHOP!

Mary Ann said...

Laughing so hard, this post did me a lot of good tonight. I'm sorry you lost your dear old cow, but my goodness... you gave her a good life for a long time!

Candy C. said...

Lots going on! Love the table re-do. I haven't ordered any seeds yet, I just can't get enthused this year for some reason.
A trip to Cancun, huh? What fun that will be!! :)

Sue Ming said...

Congratulations Kim! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this exciting information.

grow room plans

Missy said...

I haven't ordered seeds yet- but will this weekend. Sorry about your cow.

Missy said...

Not sure if comment went thru- I have the hardest time with those sideways non-robot verifiers.... anyway- I haven't ordered my seeds yet. Will soon... but not as many! Sorry about your cow.

Mama Pea said...

I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to make that decision regarding your 14-1/2 year old cow. For what it's worth, I think you made the wiser of the two decisions. Still hard, I know.

Some day I'm tempted to write a post about why winter time isn't the "slow" time with the type life we all lead. (Geesh, just look at how long it takes to put all those clothes on in the winter before going out!) I was planning on getting some specific things done inside today, but it's now 4 o'clock and none have been accomplished. I ended up going out two different times for work I needed to do and then again to help hubby with a project of his.

Oh well. We can relax when summer gets here, right? Hee-hee.

Farmgirl Cyn said...

Well, now gosh dang it! First you had me all sad over your old cow, then you had me commiseratin' over our common addiction of catalogs, then you had me laughin' over your love affair with Mr. Orbital. Gotta love a machine that can take the butt ugly out of furniture and turn it into something worth lookin' at.

Susan said...

Well Well, that Mr. Orbital must be a two timmer cuz he has been my dance partner for years :o) I turned an old tv cabinet into a homeschool cabinet and another one just like it into a wardrobe closet. I love him! He always makes me feel good about myself LOL

Sorry to hear about the old cow, I know it is hard to loose our long time friends. We have a horse that just turned 30 this year and each year I say he won't make another winter...

Blessings and have fun on your trip!

FoxyLady said...

Love your Bailey photo. Too bad it was time. New to your blog...but, it looks interesting. :)