Busy Week

I took the past week off from work.  Technically, it was "vacation" time, but I spent most of the hours helping Joe with projects around here.  However, we also enjoyed a late lunch with my son and his wife last Sunday (an early birthday lunch for my son who turned 30 this week).  It is seriously hard for me to believe it has been 30 years since I first laid eyes on my 7 lb 7 oz baby boy!

Judy, Stephen, Kristen and Joe after lunch

I also took a couple off days to drive to Rochelle, VA to visit my daughter and her husband in their new home.  I really enjoyed the drive there, as the weather was perfect.  That part of the state is very pretty and their new home is right in the heart of picturesque. Since my gardens are producing lots of veggies, I carried zucchini, yellow squash, peas and cucumbers with me to share with the kids.

Front of House and Guest House

Buildings in Back Yard

Living Room

Building in Back Yard

Neighbor's Roof-top Garden

While I was visiting with them, my daughter told me about her recent call to Verizon.  It seems she calls every month, as she monitors their high-speed Internet usage, and recognizes they are about to exceed their allowance.  This month when she made the call, it was answered by a gentleman who said, "this Christ, how can I help you?"  She thought she'd heard wrong, so she asked him to repeat his name, which he did.  So, despite her surprise at his name, she embarked on her monthly explanation of being in jeopardy of exceeding their allowable usage, and asked if there was anything that could be done.  Christ told her that he could offer her the next tier of usage for $80 per month... she was surprised by this, since every other month, the representative has told her that the cost for the next tier is $199.  She questioned Christ, explaining that she'd always been told that this level of service would cost $199.  He checked and said, "well, that IS what it says, but I always offer my customers this service for $80, and they always get it.  If you have any problem with it, just tell them Christ sold you the service for $80......"  Hahaha... I'd like to see Jenn make THAT call!

Jenn Weeding her Garden at Her Floral Studio

One of Jenn's Gardens at her Studio

Another of Jenn's Raised Bed Gardens

Jenn's New "Office" -- Her Floral Studio

It was great getting to see all of the kids... we don't get together nearly enough!  Hopefully, one day, we will have this old farmhouse renovated, and will be able to have family gatherings here.  Right now, I'm afraid, any family gatherings here would have to be camp-outs... on the other hand, we have a LOT of really nice camping sites, right on the property!

Another "big deal" happened this week.  I decided to rent the pond house to a friend who was looking for a house with five bedrooms... when she and her family came to see the house, she fell in love with it.  It was a hard decision to make, but I decided to rent the house, rather than trying to sell it in this market, where everyone wants to make a "deal" on a foreclosure.... So, July 1, my tenants will move in and I will become a landlord, for the first time in my life.

Meanwhile, back on the farm, we have been gardening, WEEDING, building fences, giving Joe a MUCH needed haircut, WEEDING, transplanting, WEEDING, building a chicken coop, working on the old farmhouse, continuing the trenching operation, mulching, WEEDING, and ENJOYING the bounty from the gardens.  I tasted my first kohlrabi today....first time I remember ever tasting it, and it was pretty good... I hope the rest of the kohlrabi garden produces... Next year I will plant a large kohlrabi patch, I think.

Chickens... in their temporary housing unit.

First Watermelon Spotted 6-10-11

Sunflowers Officially Taller than Judy

Gardens in Full Green Mode

First Kohlrabi Harvested

Some of the Day's Bounty

We already have the first watermelon on the vine.  All of the watermelon plants are volunteers from last year, and, if all volunteers produce, we will be getting pick-up truckloads...however, all we have right now are a bunch of healthy watermelon plants and a single watermelon.  Zucchini and yellow squash have been coming in like gangbusters for the last week or so.  We have been enjoying dinners of yellow squash sauteed with onions and garlic .... a most satisfyingly complete hot weather dinner!

I have a bag full of zucchini that I will be using to bake zucchini bread in my oven...YES, my OVEN!  Joe was able to get the range that we'd removed from the old Hallieford mansion in January 2010, out of the storage unit where it, and the rest of the kitchen from that house, were waiting patiently, and installed it in my garage kitchen.  Now I will be able to bake like regular folks.... crock pot baking is awesome, but, I think I will enjoy baking 6-8 loaves of zucchini bread at a time, and freezing them for later use.

Range, hiding in the Storage Unit

Judy Resting after Loading Rolls of Carpet

Joe Loading Range into Van

Tomorrow it is back to work for me.  We will have a VERY busy next couple of weeks, I'm sure, as we need to clear out the rest of our belongings from the pond house, and have it ready for the tenants to begin moving their belongings in on June 23.  We are also anticipating (finally) the pour of the cement slurry under the old farmhouse, this week.  It is all ready to go, with the plastic rolled out and taped.  Once the slurry has been poured and set, we will be able to start with the floor joists. We are in no hurry, but it is great to see progress... who knows, we might even have a FLOOR by summer's end! 

Plastic being laid on floor before pour

Yucca Blooms after Transplant