Nearly Livable

Guest Blogger Extreme Notification. Peter here.

So the parents came home early from vacation(thank god, it is horribly isolated up here) and the bathroom is under construction as I type this very sentence. Though, with every project the snags are abounding, today's special is served cold and under cooked with a side of Where the heck is the vent piping? oh yeah, it wasn't installed comeback when it is in season. It is being taken care of and doors are being sanded and stained. I don't want to say anything too soon, but we very well may be on the verge of a livable space, but shhhh too loud and the dream will vanish.

Though to alleviate stress in the house I have taken upon the culinary arts and have made dinner the folks. This was night one of many and my first attempt at shrimp and mousse.

mmm...

even later summer post

Warning: Guest Blogger Alert. Heather here.
Well a month has passed. I've been in Toronto and Grand Rapids. The folks have been at the Farm. Let's see what's happened in the intervening time.
The flowers are still blooming.And wonder and enjoyment of the flowers is still blooming as well.Some sort of bug enjoys this particular tree. What evildoer is it? Only the master gardener knows....Inside the house things are similarly invigorating. There is now tile and a door in the downstairs bathroom. This blogger hopes the plumber has installed the toilet by the time this post is up.The progress, however, seems to have angered the house which threatened to eat Dad as he worked on the ceiling in the basement bedroom. Pete attempted to help the situation. Both were too near the maw for my taste.

Since Pete was spared the fate, I was forced to assume that the ceiling appreciated his Michigan shirt but didn't like dad's political shirt. Mom, fearing neurotoxin, wore all the appropriate safety gear.

She was mistaken for a terrorist just once...well...only by dad. But if he would stop arguing she wouldn't need to try to look scary. Eventually the ceiling was finished!But not until shortly after the carpet was installed!!Here Pete enjoys the floor Hoff-style. All he needs is some BK and he could end up in YouTube hell too.

All joking aside, the basement bathroom and bedroom look fabulous and will look even more fabulous with furnishings and working plumbing. The folks should be proud. And Pete should be happy because now, not only does he have the QUIETEST room in the house, but he doesn't have to live in his birthday hockey bag anymore.

Happy first day of Fall, y'all. Heather out.

Late Summer Post

Guest Blogger Alert: Heather here. Summer Road Trip 2010 Part 2 included a trip to the folks prior to visiting John in Toronto. In fact, I'm writing this from the train on my sadly, much delayed, way there. Long story short: my train stopped to allow another passenger train to pass from the opposite direction. Before it reached me, that train broke down, and before mine could go, a freight train needed to pass as well. After the freighter passed it was announced that we'd be towing the busted train with us to Toronto. Ah well, I'll make it sometime. In the meantime, I've got snacks, wi-fi and a quiet person as a seat mate so... all is well.

Up at the house a lot has been going on, but not all of it is visible to the casual observer. Some lovely things include LOTS of flowers, a growing garden and noisy chickens.
This is the butterfly garden which covers a patch of the driveway island. I didn't see any butterflies while checking out the flowers, but winged pretty things or not, the flowers were beautiful.

Next to the porch is a hummingbird garden. Again: no wildlife present when I was looking, but Dad affirmed that he'd seen a hummingbird the other day while taking the air on the porch. Right there. I enjoy that the angle of the picture has given Dad a midget arm.

On the other side of the porch is the trellis trio that was used during Becca's wedding and currently serves as a fabulous electrical meter cover. It was covered in morning glories of the Michael's variety for the wedding but as it has achieved a home it has acquired some natural ones and looks quite nice.
The compost pile has generated a veritable sunflower jungle. Perhaps only three or four stalks have turned into this ten foot tall extravaganza.
The chickens having sufficiently recovered from the trauma of losing some of their cadre to a predator (not a drone, but likely a weasel or raccoon) were enjoying the great outdoors and, in a strange twist, their new shade structures. The kiddie table and dog igloo (or dogloo, if you'd rather) provide some needed shade for the chickens during the heat of the day. I say a "strange twist" because the chicken yard has a quasi nursery school vibe now.

Also wreaking minor havoc on the landscape is a woodchuck. He's tunneled a hole under the woodpile out back. I suspect that his empire of the underworld extends to under the step up the mom's office, but I was assured that that was a home for snakes only. After leaping into the garage Pete assured me that they were not the biting kind. The mosquitoes were however so I went inside. Pete is looking forward to the annihilation of the woodchuck and the subsequent bragging rights. If it were a movie he would call it Apocalypse Woodchuck Now or perhaps Reservoir Chuck. The garden is doing well to my untrained eye. A plethora of tomatoes seemed to have the corner on the market.
The basement has seen some progress too. The addition of a door to the eventual back bedroom was hailed as mighty progress. The addition of a resident had something to do with that. Look! He greeted me with a fist bump from afar. I preferred to interpret it as "thanks for waking me up, Heather" instead of the more likely "what the hell? I'll hunt you down when I get the energy up!" that it probably was. The debatable progress was the seeming explosion of pipe insulation noodles and rolling chairs that seem to have multiplied in the presence of the ancient organ, perhaps in fear for the Chockley House of Haunts that can be the only outcome of the creepy musical instrument's installment in the basement. An extended family dinner and a market morning with Mom and Becca made for a very fun, if brief, trip to the farm.

Happy Mother's Day!

Guest Blogger Alert: Heather here. Stopped up to the farm last week for a quick Tuesday through Friday visit.
A lot has happened since the last time I'd been there at Christmas. There are curtains in the living room (sorry no picture of that) and there has been some painting done as well. The foyer and the bedroom hallway have gotten some pale blue/green.

The chickens are still there. Still pooping everywhere. But now as a Mother's Day present the kids all chipped in on some fencing. Rob and I happened to be home at the same time, and with a some help from Mom and Dad, managed to get the chickens fenced in.

There is a tractor gate and a man gate and so far the chickens seem happy. They do love the shade though.

Happy New Year!

Guest blogger alert: Karen here. We had a great New Year's Day at the Farm with everyone except Heather and John. Even the chickens had a record day! Enjoy the pictures responsibly :)