Spring is in the Air

Hello!

I hope everyone is healthy and doing well.

Quick update on our Hercules….he is continuing to do well with his mobility and he has his appetite back!  Al took him in last week, and then again, yesterday for blood work.  Fortunately the blood work can be done at the local vet near us in Tazewell.  It’s only a 30 minute drive. Today, he drove him to Knoxville for his second Chemo treatment.  But, they were unable to administer it to him as his white cell count was super low.  This isn’t a bad thing or a good thing.  It just is. So, Al and Herc drove the 1.5 hour trip back home.  They will do another blood test next week and we will go from there. I’ll keep you posted.

Over the past few weeks we have been busy around the farm preparing for Spring.  We decided to move the garden up to the plateau.  Our greenhouse will reside up here once it is complete and the location makes it much easier to step outside and harvest a few vegetables or work on the weeding.  The wood you see in this picture is the base of the greenhouse.  This little storage building was used when we had the RV.  We stored a lot of random items in it.  We plan on moving it closer to the garden and it will house most all of our garden tools and equipment.  We will move the solar panels as well so they can supply energy to pump water to the garden. Our first garden was only semi successful but, we learned a few things along the way, and will incorporate them into this new garden.  Al has been tilling it over and over to try and kill as much of the grass and weeds as possible.  We utilize a website to help us plan out our garden.  Not all things grow together.  It’s by The Farmers Almanac and has been super helpful.  https://gardenplanner.almanac.com/

We also cleared out a piece of land along side the driveway and planted about 250 daffodils!  I can’t wait to see those babies bloom!

Right now, between rains, we are all about grading and mowing.  We have spent the first year (which will be exactly a year on the 26th of this month! I can’t believe it!) working on the inside of the cabin.  It took precedence over the outside obviously.   We still have the basement to finish but, for now, we are going to focus on the landscaping.  It still looks like a construction site around the cabin and I’m so sick of it! On rainy days, we will work on the basement.  I am excited to create some flower beds in and around the cabin and all along the driveway.  Ah, Spring. <sigh>

With Spring comes Spring cleaning, too!  While I can’t get on the excavator and grade as of yet, I will spend some days sprucing up the cabin.  If you know me at all, you know I am a clean freak. I organize to a fault.  I’ve been this way my whole life.  Living here has been challenging to say the least!  We lived out of boxes for a good bit and well, my craft room/office is still like that!  I’ve learned to make the best of it though.  I created a Spring Cleaning checklist for myself and thought I would share it with you.  I hope you can get some use out of it. Spring Cleaning Checklist

Helpful hint:  Distilled white vinegar is amazing.  I use it to clean my stainless steel appliances.  I use it on hard water stains. I run it through my coffee maker and dishwasher once a month. And, I even wash my bath towels in it.  It really works wonders.

I’ll be making my way down to Georgia at the end of the month.  I’m going to help out with my granddaughter for about a week then, help my youngest daughter get settled into a new apartment.  Never a dull a moment but, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Next up, my Spring/Easter decorations!

Thanks for reading!

XO,

Elisa