My Little Party for One

My apologies.
I know I said I would post garden party recipes.
They're going to have to wait...how about some pretty flowers and a little update on this groovy thing called life.

Oh...it's been fun.
My little fairytale life here on the farm. For two lovely years I've been unemployed, happily. There hasn't been one day of boredom. So many things to do here on the farm, from gardening, to painting, to dreaming and planning my next project. I've spent time at the library, learned about solar power for the cabin, I've framed walls, hung drywall, built rock walls and even built a cocktail bar in the barn.

Fast forward to a lousy economy, dairy farming is in a world of hurt right now - we don't milk our own cows anymore but hubby is a herdsman for another farm and things are more than a little unpleasant in the dairy economy.
I haven't been blogging much, I've been getting things in order and oh yes...searching for a job.
I finally got the call...today...I start at 2, going to fill out the new employee paperwork.
Eeks.
Tomorrow it's eight to five.
Thanks to my fabulous friends and former employers for those glowing references.
Gotta get my game on so I don't make liars out of you guys.
Oh yeah... and a big thank you to my new employer, for taking a bit of a chance on an (almost) fifty year old woman with skills that are a little rusty.
Signing off now -
Gotta go find something to wear - don't think jeans and a tool belt are going to work for this one.

One more thing. Tami did a lovely post today on Saturday nights dinner here at this old farm, pop on over there and take a peek!

My Favorite Evening

I'm exhausted...but it was all worth it.
Last night was one of my favorite evenings of the whole year, it was our annual progressive dinner / garden party.
When I get overwhelmed with how much time and energy my yard and garden take...it's all worth it when I can go out with a clippers and a bucket of water and pull together an arrangement for a party. Yesterday I grabbed a couple of slips of scrap paper leftover from making my menus for the party...and ta daaa...the arrangement came together in no time flat - there is just so much to "pick from" here at the farm.
The really great part was that the arrangement perfectly picked up the colors of the drinks I served, sangria with slices of orange and lemons.
The funny thing is I was trying to pull out the colors of the menu and table settings, such a happy coincidence that I ended up with a drinkie matchy matchy, wish I could say I planned it that way ;)

Here is a little peek at the menus from each home...oh goodness gracious it was all so good - there are no words.

The menu for main course here at the farm.


Tami's menu for the appetizer course.


and Karen's menu for the dessert course.

I'm going to try to post recipes later on this week, Tami made a special request for a couple of them and I'm happy to share.

Good food, good friends...good times.

The Messies

Dark cabinets...

Or light painted cabinets.

I love the cream colored kitchen...hubby likes it too.
But I think we have to go with a wood stained cabinet look.
I found these pictures online cruising real estate listings...these condos have the same layout but different color schemes.
The layout is quite similar to the layout of the kitchen upgrade we need to do here at the farm. When I look at the two photos side by side I really prefer the cream colored cabinets.
But I don't think I can have them, it's just not practical.

We're messy... plain and simple. Call us Mr. and Mrs. McMessie.
Hubby farms, he's dirty. I garden...I'm dirty.
We eat almost all of our meals at home. I cook a lot, and I don't mean popping something out of a cardboard box and shoving it into the microwave.
I chop, slice, dice, saute, fry, bake, and simmer...my kitchen gets a serious workout. That means splatters and spills, hubby opens cabinets with sticky fingers and no amount of whining from his lovely wifey will change this behavior.
So...I think dark cabinets are our only option - to hide some of those splatters and sticky finger smears until they get cleaned up by yours truly.
If anybody has any advice for me on kitchen remodels I'd be more than happy to hear it, all I know how to do is dream about a new kitchen...never really done more than that.
Yikes.

For my irl friends, yup...it looks like it's going to happen.
I'm getting that kitchen upgrade that this old farmhouse is sorely in need of.
Guess we better plan a little farewell party for those nasty 60's cabinets and the lovely 70's linoleum.
Maybe it should be a demolition party.
Champagne and crowbars ...
I just love a good theme party.

The Dizzy Gardener

Lovely...absolutely lovely.

The Husband and I went on the Horticultural Society Garden Tour this weekend.
Ooooo Laaa Laaaa!

We've been trying to play catch-up around here, the last thing we need is to go trotting off to drool over other peoples gardens, and that's exactly why we try to go every year.
To dream, to gawk, to marvel at the time, energy, creativity and oh yeah...lots of money that other people spend on their gardens.

The other thing this gardener/blogger doesn't need is more ideas for her own garden, because she has about 3767 unfinished projects at this old farm.

But there they were, those chairs..painted black...next to a big black shiny pot.

Wait...I have chairs just like that! I should paint them black!
And set that big shiny black pot I have next to them..and plant purple blooming plants...and set it on the dock just like they did.
OK..so I'm lacking a dock.
I still want to paint my chairs shiny black and find a pretty spot for them with that big black pot.

Make that 3768 projects.

Winter / Summer

Summer is here! Yikes.
I can't keep up, every year it's the same story. I think everything is going pretty good,and then bam! The gardens explode with weeds, everything needs to be mowed or pruned or picked.
I race around as fast as I can but no matter what I do I can't catch up.
The fantasies of moving to a condo return.

Next winter when I can't wait to get my fingers in the dirt, I'll look back at this post.
Here's the veggie garden in summer.

And winter! Brrrr.

I'm weeding, planting, transplanting, waging war with slugs and bunnies - they don't seem to want to share.

If I need a break from the garden there is always this cabinet to work on, replacing glass, fixing the door...and then paint...hmmm.
I'm thinking white, with a little scuff sanding on the edges...or maybe silver...or gray?

Mal's Mallard Magic

Some days ... I tell ya.
When you don't know what on earth you're going to do, somehow your friends swoop in to save you.
That's what happened here at this old farm last night.

There I stood, in the middle of the driveway - camera in hand...with a frantic look on my face. Like magic...my "niece" Malorie appeared, a knight in shining armor, ok...a knightess in a shiny new Pathfinder.
You see...I was trying to rescue some duckies that had fallen into the fishpond that we had drained for repairs. The mama duck thought I was up to no good, so she chased me away from the pond, hissing and attempting to peck at my bare legs with her beak. Note to self: when doing battle with an angry duck, don't wear shorts and flip-flops.
I was at a loss as to what to do. The mama was so upset I was afraid she was going to hurt herself.
Then....ta daaaaa.
Malorie pulled on the driveway, I frantically told her my story and she said "I'm not afraid of a silly duck!"


Here's the really mad mama duck, standing at the edge of the abyss, where her two little darlings were four feet down...quacking for all they were worth

Hellooo...anybody up there?

Malorie walked right up to the pond, the mama quacked, hissed and fluttered...Mal stood her ground. Mama took to the air, flew around in circles to divert us I think. Hubby fished the ducklings out of the pond with a swimming pool skimmer. Hey...desperate times call for desperate measures!

The ducklings waddled off to the creek, mama flew back and landed in the water.
Hooray!

And they all lived happily ever after.

I love a happy ending, don't you?