March. And Spring Weather!

Yes it is March and we are busy. The day was spent cleaning and preparing for the year. The Wife spent the day out front cleaning out the front flower beds (raking out the old mulch and tearing out the weed- ridden landscape fabric) and I did time in the garden pulling weeds, composting the garden beds and tidying everything up. This was after our trip to the gym. Kinda not sure why we went now. It is 6:19 pm and I'm wondering how much longer we are going to be able to stay awake. Anyway here's a few pics from the day.

Before shot.

 After shot.

And look what I found while cleaning. A few cabbages and a few turnips. 

We also picked up some flowers today.

And the rest of the plants are starting their journey.

As I said earlier we are hitting the gym regularly now. It a process, that's what we keep saying to ourselves. Other than that things are moving along.
Hope to blog more. See you next time.

February 7th?

Yes it is I guess. Where does the time go? This seems to be a running theme with me lately, always putting up a post saying "Yes, I've been missing." I am trying believe me. I do have reasons for my absence.

• We are still hitting the gym and I'm now to the point where I don't care if people see me or not. I try and work hard at it and that's all that matters. Hardest thing is getting the mid section trimmed down but I can see it slowly going away. The thing I find difficult really is the pain the next day. The program I'm doing is involved with a lot of sets plus a few extra things I do at the end. Wow. The first week after my layoff was terrible. Keep pushing through. One thing that is nice is that we prepare all of our lunches pretty much for the week ahead of time. Saves some money and time throughout the week. 
• Hit and miss upstairs right now. Weather hasn't been too kind. Needs to warm up a little. 
• Work is about to get busier this year for us. We have a few good projects coming up that we're all looking forward to. 
• Seed starting time! Yes, I started onions, peppers, and some flowers today. Not sure if I'll be putting up the light stand this year. It takes up some room. I probably should. Next weekend. 
• Concentrating on the youngest and his college choice, choice of studies, scholarships, etc. A lot in this that I was unaware of. 

Other than that it's the same thing going on everyday. It's getting brighter everyday, which means it's lightish when I leave work to go home. Still TV- less although we have been cruising Netflix and Hulu. Sure I miss watching the Euro golf on the weekends but we are saving ourselves $100.00 a month. That money definitely goes elsewhere. 

I got off my buut last weekend (or so) and did some weeding around the garlic plants and looked at the carnage that was the rest of the garden. 

Well that's all for now. Except I just realized that it's Super Bowl Sunday. Obviously not watching it so GO PANTHERS! Leia says so too as she's purring away next to me on the couch. 

2016 And Here We Go

Well let's see what 2016 has in store. I hope this year will give me a chance to lay back some and quit working all of the time. I've purchased a golf membership the last two years and used it a total of maybe 5 times? Rarely played paintball last year. Haven't gone backpacking since I don't know when. Bought a new pack 3 years ago and haven't used it once. It's nice too (it looks nice.) Heck, we didn't even go anywhere for vacation last year. Used maybe half of my vacation days last year, most at the Christmas Holidays.
After typing all of that and reading it, I do need breaks more often!
I know I haven't been posting a lot lately, been busy. That and lack of ideas too. But here's a good one.
List of things I've got going on:

• Still working on the upstairs of the house. Got the other main room and a half bath framed out. Need to do some wiring, insulation, etc. Also got to run main power up there too. I'll take some pictures for you later. We'll discuss this more....... quiet.
• We put in a pool last year. Still got to stain the deck though. 
• I also have to stain the deck on the back of the house. 
• Paint the front porch.
• Hah! Still haven't fixed my wife's bathroom ceiling! But now she wants tongue and groove wood on the ceiling (probably after seeing my sheetrock finishing skills upstairs. Hey, I can build it.) That and she bought some paint for the walls. 
• Laid out for some tile backsplash in the kitchen. Left it up to the wife to get it. So far she hasn't. 
• Work. At my job. Still do that.
• Finish some small furniture projects.
• Do some misc repairs and painting around the house. Starting to look a little rough. 

Smaller list than normal but the upstairs work entails a lot of things! Doors to cut down and install, electrical rough-ins, hvac units, carpet, etc. I keep busy. 

I injured my back December 4th and am now almost pain free. Almost wanted to get back to working out (my injury cause to begin with) but I figured I could wait a few more days and ease back into it. I've been taking steroids and muscle relaxers. Also got some pain meds but don't really affect me. My wife and I also joined a gym. She's been going and I believe is going to work with a personal training for 20 sessions. I joined for the cardio machines and a few leg machines. I have a bench, curl bar, free weights, and pull-up bar in the garage. I need to pick up some weight plates and a straight bar for the new program I'm doing. Ease back into it I say. And I have to admit I miss working out. Looking forward to get back into it. 

We cut the TV cord a few days ago. Had Directv for the time living in this house and it was nice except for a few big downpours. But with the cost going up I decided that was enough. I upgraded our internet and we have been streaming everything now. My oldest has a netflix so we've been using it and have successfully binged through Longmire (all four seasons), and have started Hell on Wheels. I signed up for a Hulu Plus free trial ($8.00 a month with commercials) and have started watching Vikings, Wings (old TV show) and currently watching Bob Ross. Yes we don't have live TV and will miss things but that's OK by me. We may get a digital antenna so my wife can watch the news in the morning. There's enough stuff out there. BTW, Longmire season five starts Septemberish.

Oh we got a cat. Not sure I told you that? 

Leia (Goes with Chewy the dog)

Took a trip through the garden Sunday during the windstorm and pulled some turnips. Cabbage still coming end but it's demise may be coming next week. Garden needs a good weeding. 

Garden is definitely going to be smaller this year. For sure. I couldn't keep up with it with everything else I had going on. Farmer's Market idea never materialized (thankfully.) I need to get some good compost (add composter to my list above) for the beds. They don't start selling manure around here until May which is after I plant. Need a source. 

Ordered some flower seeds for my wife but I don't think I'll need but a few things this year. Maybe look for some different squash and a new tomato. I've said before that I saved a lot of seeds from last year. A lot of different tomato varieties and we were given some pepper seeds in trade for some of the Solar Flare seeds. And I am definitely going to get my onions started from seed this year. I don't know why but I seem to fail at this.

Getting late and Bob is almost finished the third episode so I'm out for now. 

Happy Trees!

 

2015 Is Nearing It's End

Well it's that time of year again. It's about gone! Yes folks the end is near. And as I have been laxed in my blog posting lately I thought I'd get one out before 2016.
And this is it. I hope to start off next year the right way. Until then Happy New Year!

Questions

Mama Pea at A Home Grown Journal posted the challenge below. Fill it out!


1)  Do you like blue cheese?
      Only on hot wings. 

2)  Have you ever smoked?
      Yes. It is a struggle to quit.

3)  Do you own a gun?  
      Yep. Shotgun, 30.30 rifles, etc. Do get any ideas :)

4)  What flavor of Kool Aid is your favorite?
      Cherry. They still make Kool Aid?

5)  Do you get nervous before dental appointments?
      Hate the dentist. When I was young we had a bad dentist that seemingly enjoyed causing you pain. To this day I can't stand them. 

6)  What do you think of hot dogs?
      Cow butt and chicken lips. What's not to love?

7)  What's your favorite Christmas movie?
      Muppet Christmas Carol. Although it is played a lot at Christmas but not actually a Christmas movie, Shop Around the Corner is another favorite.

8)  What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
      Coffee or protein shake.

9)  Can you do push-ups?
      Sure can. 

10)  What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
        I oddly don't wear jewelry. Being in and around construction will teach you this.

11)  What's your favorite hobby?
        Name it: paintball, backpacking, golf, gardening, building, etc. But favorite is being around my family doing anything.

12)  Do you have A.D.D.?
        What? Noooooooooo

13)  Do you wear glasses or contacts?
        Nope. Has surgery years ago to take care of that.

14)  What's your middle name?
        Philip. My dad always wanted to nickname me JP. 

15)  What are your thoughts at this moment?
        Wish my back would let me do something. Hurts too much right now.

16)  Name 3 drinks you regularly consume.
        BCAA, coffee, water

17)  What is a current worry of yours?
        The cat tearing down the Christmas tree.

18)  What do you currently hate?
        Again, the pain in my back. Sucks. 

19)  Where is your favorite place to be?
        Home.  I like being home. 

20)  What do you plan on doing on New Year's Eve this year?
        Probably watch TV and fall asleep around 9 to 10. Exciting I know. 

21)  To where would you like to travel?
        Europe. Love to tour Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Spain, France. For a year. 

22)  Name three people you think will do this questionnaire on their blog.
        I don't have a clue. 

23)  Do you own slippers?
        Somewhere...

24)  What color shirt are you wearing?
        Gray workout shirt. They're comfy and soft.

25)  Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
        Never tried.

26)  Can you whistle?
        Yes. 

27)  What is your favorite color?
        Tan/beige I guess, according to my wardrobe. 

28)  What songs do you sing in the shower?
        I don't sing. You wouldn't like that, trust me.

29)  Would you be a pirate?
        Interesting. Don't really know. 

30)  What's in your pocket right now?
        Nothing. 

31)  What's the last thing that made you laugh?
        I'll probably go to h*ll telling you. It was funny but not very nice.

32)  What vehicle do you drive?
        2016 Dodge Ram. Broke down and got one with the ecodiesel. The miles I put on a vehicle a year, I hope it makes sense. Getting 600 miles out of a tank so far. 

33)  What's the worst injury you've ever had?
        Cut my right arm badly when I was young. 

34)  Do you love where you live?
        It's OK. Grew up around hills and I do miss those. 

35)  Would you change your first name if you could?
        Nope.

That's my list. Better get on yours. 

It's December?

Yes, I believe it is that date; December 1st, 2015. It has been a while since I have been blogging I know but life has been keeping me very busy lately. With the upcoming holidays I don't see it slowing down at all. Let me go back to my last big post and see what's changed since then....
Wow, it has been a while. August Harvest Monday. I don't have my spreadsheet with me at work so that'll be on the next post, finishing off summer crops. We did get some plantings in for this fall; red cabbage, turnips and lettuce (which we need to cut on and use.) We've been fairly fortunate with the weather so far but I see freezing temperatures coming up soon. We also planted some garlic to over- winter for late spring pickings. Our garlic last year did wonderful and these are looking good so far.

Turnips a growing.

Thought I had a picture of the garlic but alas I do not. 

All of the fall plantings are also part of my youngest son's FFA course project. Actually excited that he choose to join FFA this year. A lot of farms around us but mostly tobacco, cotton, and sweet potatoes, mainly due to the soil we have here. Property that goes up for sale is usually very expensive per acre. Starting at $5,000.00 per acre is not unreasonable. 

Planting his crops.

 

View from earlier in the fall. 

Seed catalogs have slowly been pouring in the last few days. Seems they're getting a jump this year. Park Seed, Totally Tomatoes (looked at this last night), and Baker Creek have arrived. I saved a lot of seeds from last year for what I wanted to plant this year. I did share some of my True Black Brandywine and Pink Brandywine with another person on Heirloom and Organic Seed Exchange on Facebook. I can't seem to grow them here in the Sandhills well. I do have some Solar Flare seeds if someone is interested. Not all of them as we are planting those again this year! 

Definitely cutting down on the size of the garden this year, back to a manageable size. It was just too much for me this year with all of the other things I have going on. Someday though, it's all that I'll be doing. With the way things are going all around us, I may have convinced my wife of off- grid lifestyle and start this sooner. Almost. I honestly believe some people are getting nuttier. Of course I may seem that way to them :) I am looking for property on the side in a location suitable for retirement, etc that we can work on as we go for now. We'll see.

Started another new exercise program (yes I still do it) and man it's a killer. Arms feeling it today.

Thrift store find of the year so far. $1.06 and its handy as we like to cook a lot this way. Saves time in the evenings. 

Welp that's it for now. Gotta do a couple other things and get back to work. Have a good one. 

Still Here

Yes I am. Just keeping very busy right now. Hope to have a good post coming up later this week.