Purely Pumpkin Pics

I had to do another pumpkin post. I couldn't help myself!

I told you I had way too much fun!

We had pumpkin bread, soup, cookies, brownies, pies...you name it. I'm excited to try new recipes next year and plan on freezing even more too.

This is the hillside where it all began. You can see where the dirt is bare, that's where I grew hundreds of pumpkins! There are still a few there that I left for the chickens to peck at.

Jake and Elwood love Pumpkins! They ate every last one!

Can you see the orange pumpkin hue on Jake's face?

Ahhh, Sunsets at the Villa are the BEST!

The Last of the Flooring Projects

This project was a doozy, not because it was hard or even that expensive; but because it took several months to complete and all the while we had to live in a bit of a mess. That's not easy for me to do!  (I have issues with waiting and messes) 

First we had to clear everything out of the basement. Remove all doors, tape the walls and worst of all... Skye's room had to be moved upstairs. Yuck!

The basement floor had many problems that needed fixed before beautification. We had to make it level, fill in drain holes, and patch the concrete. Before we could do any of those things we had to sand and clean the floor.

It's never all work and no play here at the Villa, but sometimes the line does get blurred a bit.

In the middle of the clean-up, Skye decided it was high time for Jon to get his crash course lesson in rideing. It only took one lesson! Jon is a fast learner and Skye is a great teacher.

Look at that focus! Jon was cruising around the Villa in no time.

I definately see a smile. I'm so glad because Jon may not know it yet, but he has lots of rideing trips to go on with the Shore family.

Now back to work/play. (See, there is a thin line between the two.) Arron and Skye leveling, patching and filling holes.

Remember, all this took time. Time to cure. Time to dry. Finally, we got to the cool part. Staining and epoxy coat. First re-tapeing all the walls.

Time for a break.

Pizza.

 Never ever have extra help on a project without feeding them!

I'm not sure if Laiken and Jon come out to help us because they enjoy it or because they know they'll get fed. Maybe it's a little of both?

 I never said the food had to be fancy!

Time to squeeze in another lesson from Skye.

How To Unicycle.

Back to work/play. Adding the etching stain.

Now tell me, what woman would'nt want to come downstairs to find this?

After much waiting again. Waiting to dry. Waiting to cure. We got this.

A Tickle to My Green Thumb

The best way to kick off Spring is with Spring planting. Why not plant a statement piece? I love going to Nurseries, and will go any chance I get. Lately, mom and I have been going to Du-Rite because they are so knowledgeable.

With such a large space and starting basically from scratch, I think it's best to ease into and savor the landscaping of my yard. Our first project is the front bed. After pulling away the grass and amending the soil with compost, I had to make some decisions. What to plant?

This is my east facing flower bed so I wanted to do some fun shade loving/tolerant plants.
Azaleas, Columbine etc. But what about my statement piece?

We need an evergreen in the front yard, badly. After a bare, dreary winter I know we will appreciate an evergreen. Nothing that will get huge, especially up close to the house.
 After spending some time looking around, doing some window shopping,  it's been decided were getting a Pom-Pom tree. Yep, one of those old lady, 70's trees. Surprised? Me too. I distinctly remember dis-liking these trees. I can only explain it by saying my palate for plants has matured.

 It's a good thing I took Arron with me to Du-Rite Nursery that day. He insisted on the big Pom-Pom tree. I would have spent half as much on a tree half the size. I'm so glad he talked me out of saving money to get the one that was right for the space. See, these trees won't get taller because of the way they have to be pruned to keep their shape. It pays to be in good company!

There was nothing left to do but get it home and get it in the ground.

It was pretty heavy. I'm sure you noticed a fork-lift placed it into the back of the truck. No worries Skye was home, so let's begin.

They only slightly dented Arron's brand new tailgate.
Oops! Arron was not happy about that.
Dag gunnit!

I think it was worth it. Don't you? No pain, no gain, and all that.

We will do curbing when we do the front walkway and stoop. I also have rock picked out to cover the dirt.
 (Covering the dirt is my new obsession)

I snuck in a Magnolia tree. I got the plantin' bug. "Try and stop me, O someone please, just try and stop me."
 -Katherine Hepburn in Holiday
(love her!)

VPV Garden

I recently told Arron I needed a garden bed...

I guess I should choose my words more carefully.

He even carved in a VPV in the headboard!

Topping it off with some compost.

A few finishing touches.
Two end tables and a bench.
Now it's a regular bedroom set.
Maybe I should have been more specific...
and asked for a queen sized garden bed?

Working Outside

Spring is finally here at VPV.

There's so much to be done. Always.

So we just start with the top priorities.

The goats need to be moved to the back pasture.

This is good for several reasons,

they eat down all the weeds, and

they eat weeds (free food)

they just happen to be out of hay.

If we play our cards just right,

we won't have to buy more hay until

late this Fall.

Skye and Arron spent the bigger part of the afternoon

pounding T-posts and stretching fielding fence.

My job was to push a lever on the wench,

that is attached to the 4wheeler,

that would tighten the cable that was

attached to the roll of fencing.

It was easier that it sounded just then...

I mean it was back breaking work!

and I need a deep tissue massage.

We also burned stuff.

Which is always fun.

It was a great day and all the animals

were out enjoying it with us.

Olive the poodle is always involved in our projects.

She's like a silent partner, or a very thoughtful supervisor.

You know, the strong silent type.

The hens were out enjoying the sunshine.

Marching back and forth eating grass and bugs.

Oh, and a mouse.

I found this little guy in the grain bucket.

Skye grabbed him, and fed him to the chickens.

They love mice.

We love Springtime at the Villa!