Planting plans et. al.

Since we plan on starting a small "farm business" once we are established over in Belton, today I've been reading up on propagating some of the plants that we already have, from cuttings. I already do this with gardenias, and honeysuckle, with a lot of success. Apparently, I can do the butterfly tree (chaste tree) which is a vitex cannabifolia, and camellias, although they need different techniques to the gardenias and honeysuckle, which I start in water with rooting powder.  

There is also a difference in rooting times, my gardenias are pretty quick, 4-6 weeks before they have rooted nicely and are ready to be transplanted into pots to "settle" for a couple of months. The honeysuckle is sometimes a bit quicker.  Apparently, camellias have to be started in a potting medium, with rooting powder but can take up to 9 months to start rooting. The chaste tree cuttings also have to go in a potting medium, having been dipped in rooting powder, but they have to be under plastic, to keep moisture in, and can take 6-8 weeks. 

It seems I will be busy, but happily so, as I do love propagating plants.

I'll also be starting off some of my houseplants, the spiders as they have babies, and the traily pothos. Years ago, in Germany, and then - again - in Florida, I had pothos that trailed all around my living room walls. The barn we are erecting has plenty of window space, so I can position some tables in front of windows to get plenty of light.

I have bulbs to go in a "rockery" area near the pond, and under/between some of my bushes, as I want to provide as much bee/butterfly and hummingbird food as possible for as many months as I can, hence plantings that bloom at different times, and the fruit trees that fruit in different months, as well.

Finally got the engineering plans for the barn, that we needed to apply for the permit, so that's now been done and the wait for it begins. I can see that there are 2 lots of fees to pay during the process, but as long as it gets approved, no worries.  We just need to be able to put the tractor, trailer, mower, tiller, and all the plants inside out of the weather, and to keep them from being stolen. 

Even once we get the concrete pad done, it can take 6-8 weeks for them to come out and build the barn so it's not a quick process by any means. At least we are moving forward though, and that's a load off my mind.

So Much Has Been Happening!

It's amazing. In only a few short weeks the land is transforming, and becoming even more beautiful.

Where the greenery is dying off for Winter, more of the creek, and the natural ponding on the marshland, is showing, I love the way the Winter sun shimmers on the ripples. It's absolutely gorgeous.

The work is slow and laborious, since I am actually no physical help whatsoever. Despite having some help with mowing and filling in ruts, there is a good half of the property still to mow. Hubby has also started pulling up the broken front fencing, so that he can clear that area there of the grass and kudzu. We will eventually have a black railing fence down there but for now, we just need it cleared to plant the roses and gardenia that will be inside the new fence. We've been taking some of plants over every time we visit, along with some of the rocks for the (eventual) rockery area near the pond. 

Friday, with it being 70 degrees, hubby took me some more gardenia cuttings off of our bushes, and I got them set up, in my plastic jugs with plant food and rooting powder, to get them started up. I'm pretty successful with the gardenias.

We've decided that we will try to start a "farm business" over there, so gardenias will def be one of my plants to be selling when the time comes.

It's been a fast few weeks of money going out, as we plan and start on getting things done out there.

The first thing is def the well, we need a water supply, so we paid a deposit there and are waiting on the guy receiving the permit to go ahead and drill it for us.

We had some issues with the original company that was going to build our barn, but the lady - Cindy - who brokered the deal, stepped in and cancelled them and we are now going with another company, Quite a big chunk of cash on that deposit.

I'm def getting good at spending hubby's 401(K) money, that's for sure. Chris, the owner of the concrete company who is going to be doing the pad for the barn, is a sweetheart. It's going to be expensive, but he sees our vision for the land, and is going to be grading it soon and doing some extra stuff for us like terracing part of it. That'll be in the New Year.

Then we also made plans with our plumber-to-be, Nick, who is another smashing guy out to help us in any way he can.

They are all local people, and seem to share our values, so the connections were pretty awesome. We end up staying talking for ages, and they are busy folks so their phones keep pinging ... and we end up keeping on talking ...

The little dog hasn't shown up since that one day, but the big bag of dog food that we left over there in the shed, keeps getting dragged outside, so either she is doing it or we're feeding something else in the neighbourhood.

Hubby has been trying to find the markers for where the neighbour's property and ours merge down near their barn, as their fencing doesn't encompass all that's theirs. Hubby met them the other day, he said they're a nice young couple.  They aren't moved in yet, but I'm hoping that when they do, the young guy will help Mark find the borders and then they can fence it together.

Today is misty and cool, but we went back over anyway, and Mark actually walked down to the creek to take pictures and video for me, since I cannot get close enough yet. It'll be awhile, as he has to clear some of the weeds around the edge, and then build me a boardwalk out and down to it. Takes time and money, and just not the most important thing right now, so I'll make do with the pics and just hearing the creek's distant rippling.

A Beautiful Day

God is soooo good! The past 3 weeks have turned somewhat frustrating with all that needs to be done over on our new property. We had opted to have a metal barn built so as to be able to store the tractor and other stuff over there instead of taking it back and forth as needed. Having signed the contract for one, that company then ignored calls and messages when I needed their license number and type for the building permit causing us to basically grind to a halt on our plans (and worrying that our deposit was just going to disappear into thin air). Well, Cindy, the lovely lady at the place we ordered it at on Clemson Boulevard, stepped in and cancelled that order and got us the same deal with a better company who uses all-American steel to do the build, and so, today, we went over to sign the contract on that one.

We were already planning on looking for the nursing mama dog that I'd seen before, heading into the woods, up the road from us. We'd sat by the tract entrance where I'd seen her go in, and had left food, a few days ago when we'd last gone over. Today, my plan was to do the same again, and set up a spot on our property to attempt (over time) to coax her to, in the hope of trapping her and her puppies, and eventually getting them all vetted and adopted through one of the rescues. To that end, we'd taken over one of our dog beds, to put in the one wood shed that's over there, and were going to begin getting it cosy, for when we managed to catch her.

So, today, we had grabbed lunch from Arnold's and were going to sit down by our creek and eat before heading to Cindy. Lo and behold, as we're eating, out of the corner of my eye I see what looked like my Lightning and (yes, my brain sometimes is slow) I thought "what is Lightning doing running around?" before it dawnied on me that we hadn't brought our dogs with us.  It was the little mama, same colour, sorta looks the same but smaller.  Well, I put some of my fries outside my door and she gingerly came over, grabbed one and backed away, and repeated the action, with me talking to her the whole time. I took a chance and opened my car door but stayed still, and she continued grabbing fries while I talked to her.  Hubby snuck out the passenger side and grabbed the bag of dog food we had for her, and went around and out some down for her in the take out container.  She sniffed at him and backed away but continued to eat, only backing further away when he attempted to stroke her head. After she finished eating, she ran slowly away from us, and towards the sheds, where she then managed to disappear from view.

We put more food and water down, in the take out container, but decided to hit up the Dollar General after seeing Cindy, and getting better bowls and more food, which we then took back to our property, and Mark changed out the food and water, and we left the new bag of dog food there so that tomorrow, we can put more down for her.

It's as if she recognised my car from the time we'd sat by the wooded area up the road, when we'd left food, and when she saw us on our property she figured she'd take a chance.  So, we're going back tomorrow, with cedar chips to put on the ground under the dog bed, and then also on it, and a blanket to go on the top as well.  Since it's supposed to be bitter cold tomorrow night, I'm hoping she'll find it and get her puppies to it. We're going to use blocks to prop it open just enough for her to go in and out but hopefully shut out most of the wind and cold. 

It's just lovely that she came to us, I'm hoping to build up trust with her and (although I'm hoping a rescue will work with me to get the puppies vetted and adopted) I'm thinking she will probably end up as ours eventually. She has a very submissive nervous posture, so I don't think she'll end up as anyone's lapdog and wanting petting all the while. She's not as timid nor anti-people as Mystery was, but I just think she'd be happier with us so that she can be who she wants to be.

I'm pretty certain God had a hand in that! From about 1/8 mile up the road, in the woods, to just coming over to us on our property.  Yep, He def had His hands in it. Praying he helps mama find the savvy to bring her puppies to the shed so we can keep them all safe.

Diary Of Our Land Transformation #2 : More Mowing and Filling Ruts

 Today began cold and frigid, but once the sun came out it got a bit better. I did a quick run to Chick-Fil-A for chicken minis for everyone for breakfast as Our granddaughter, Jel, and great-grands, Daniel and Samantha, came to help hubby today and accomplished a lot (although we still have probably more than 1/2 the property to mow). That's a lot of overgrown pasture, that's for sure.

Jel and Samantha commandeered the lawnmower

and did some straight up and downs, front to back, and then some meanderings down by the marshland and creek. Daniel took charge of the tractor,

and made a small hit on an overgrown dirt pile, that he got buckets of soil from to fill the ruts in the dirt road from the front of the property,

with hubby levelling the spots out and then me, in my trusty Serendipity, going back and forth over them to pack the dirt in real well.  Trust me, my Kia Soul is a farm car, she LOVES doing this stuff!

We took some fencing over and one of the plants in pots, tomorrow we plan on taking more plants over, it's supposed to rain Monday so they'll be able to sit and get a good soaking, and on a nicer day, in a few weeks, we'll plant them out along fencelines to grow into bushes.

Diary Of Our Land Transformation. #1 It's All Go!

 Finally, we closed on the property, on Friday morning, and here we are, just 2 days later and it's just getting busier and busier. Yesterday the real work began. We have to have a well dug, so I had called Lee's Well Drilling Service on Friday afternoon and he came out there to meet us yesterday, and we began the process. We chose where to put the well (he found the perfect spot and it was exactly where I'd told my hubby I wanted to put it) and signed the contract for him to start the permitting process to get it done. 

Our next thing is to get the electricity turned on and all I have to do for that is get the number off of the meter we want to use off of the 2 that are there from when previous owners had mobile homes there, and they will switch it on! That'll be my first Monday morning call tomorrow. I's spoken to a lovely lady at the power company on Friday afternoon and she also put in a work request for an engineer to come out to see abut removing unused wires at the front of the property since I need to use a sod cutter down there to clear grass from where I'll be planting roses, gardenia bushes and privacy trees. I don't want to have to deal with the grass keeping on coming back, so am thinking a sod cutter will remove a lot of roots to help with that.  When we do start planting, then I'll have a weed barrier down and mulch on top, so hopefully that will help it stay nice.

Thinking ahead, we are also wanting a power pole installed and need a concrete pad laid for a metal storage building and then, said building erected. Having had a trailer stolen from here before, in a more inhabited area, we want to make sure that anything we take over there before we are actually living there, is locked up safely and well-lit.

Hubby's back was giving him gyp, so our planned canna lily transplant didn't happen. They've been growing in a big pot but we plan on popping them down near the creek as they help naturally draw out impurities from water. There is already one down there so when we saw that, we figured it could have a friend.

One of my goals, over time, is to put various cleansing plants in the marshy  area and creek so as to naturally purify it. The canna lilies are the beginning of that project.

My granddaughter-in-law and great-granddaughter came over to hang out with us and went on a wander. Our Miss Lily was enthralled at finding a turtle slide in one area of the creek so I have promised that we will pop a bench down there as we get doing things, so that she can sit and watch the turtles with her mum or dad anytime she is over. Ah, the magic of childhood and simple things.

I'd like to get a water barrel system going over there, and soaker hoses, so that we'll have water to water them with since we won't have running water until after we have the well. We've used them here, and I'm definitely wanting some by the orchard we'll be planting in January when the fruit trees arrive, and for the vegetable garden that will (hopefully) get started in Spring.  I'd considered a Fall one but I honestly think we have so much else to do and prep first, that we aren't really likely to get that done.

We're also planning on using a solar pump to use some of the water from the creek, but that's also going to be a "later on" project.

I just have such a lovely vision for this property. I have the  privacy trees for the front being delivered in February, and fruit trees for the "orchard" coming mid-January (these are during their recommended planting seasons for my zone). 

During our warmer Autumn days I'm hoping we can also get some of our gardenia plants transplanted out so that they can begin to flourish.  Those that are now bushes by our gate here began as potted plants 23 years ago. So I'm hoping my planted cuttings, once transplanted over there, will flourish and begin to grow into bushes. I'll be starting more cuttings over the next few days. There's an awful lot of fencing the plant my bushes along!

I did find out yesterday that my older ridearound, although much stabler/steadier than my lighter weight one on the uneven ground, was ok going down to the creek on a strip that my hubby mowed down for meto ride down, but did not want to come back up!.  He had to push me numerous times with the tractor and unfortunately, the last time broke one of my rear lights. It's great on the flatter areas but def not on ruts. My grandson was surprised at how heavy the seat of it was, when we had taken it apart to take it home. We actually left our trailer with the tractor and mower in his driveway overnight since we are going back over there today.  Save on gas and wear and tear.

Hubby mowed for about 3 hours. The grass was about 4 feet high last week, but then the rains had came, and beaten some of it down but it was so thick. The piles left that were blown out of the mower show how dense it was. He managed to do maybe 1/8 of the overall grassland. We think that by the time he gets it all done it'll be time to start redoing this bit again.  Obviously, once it's all trimmed and under control, keeping it that way won't be as difficult as this first cutting.

This is the overall picture of the property. It used to be a part of the home at the front, the barn of which is actually stables,

but now is separate. Our property used to be the pastures for the horses. Where Mark mowed yesterday is on the far right side, from one of the fences and down towards the marshy area near the creek. He got it done about 1/2 of the way, and level with the little "dirt road" by the tree up top. 

It was not an easy mow, that's for sure. The cut grass looks very untidy for now, but will decompose and replenish the ground.  This pic is from close by the tree looking down towards the creek.

Methinks though, that for it only now being our third day (and we are heading over there about noon for him to mow some more) we've made a pretty good start. It's beautiful out there, and we have such plans.

God is good! I can only hope we live up to His plans for us.

Changes

Well, it seems the more we think about stuff, the more we overthink it and then end up adding and discussing more options. We wanted to build maybe a log cabin on the property - whew! Not going to happen.  They are just as, if not more than, expensive as the subdivision houses going up around us that are wood (bang! bang!) and then chipboard and then siding, and costing $300-$400 thousand dollars.  Ridiculous! I'm not putting us in the poor house for something like that.

So, last Friday, we went and looked at some modular homes.  They are stick built and have sheetrock walls, so can be wallpapered if I want to go that route.  They are pretty spacious and I really like the kitchens in a couple of them.  The neat thing is, the guy who owns the business said he can modify for me so I have some wider hallways for a mobility scooter, should I end up needing one indoors in a couple of years, and change out other stuff too. About 1/3 of the price of the cabins and build-on-your-land houses.

We're 95% leaning towards that now, and once we close on the land we'll go back and sit down with him and discuss all our options to make it work for me.  The one we like most is a 4 bedroom - and that FINALLY means I can get my train set all put together,

in its own room,

all nice and cosy

and be able to enjoy it ...

and get back to finishing up some of the models that I put away when we started trying to pack away to renovate this place. I have a turntable, engine houses and a gas station to build! I had to stop because Brunel wouldn't leave things alone, jumped up on my modelling table, knocked things down, messed up some of the cardboard models (like my war memorial), so the project ended up on hold awaiting its own dog-free spot.

Another room will be a gym, with my bike and my seated stepper in, out of the living room and everyone's way, and methinks a massage chair would go nicely in there too :)

There's even a mud room with a doggie wash area! Oh yes, that'll come in handy. Not that ours will be enamoured but oh well, dirty dogs need bathing!

We have our new beds so don't need fresh ones, I so love my bed, it really helps with my lymphoedema and blood pressure.

The kitchen, well, I won't need a fridge freezer as we have the 3 here to take with us. I'll be having to run down all the contents over the next couple of months though and then start restocking again once they're installed in the new place.

It seems moving is a great and easy way to declutter :) You get to start from scratch all over again. And even at my age, I am excited about this. I am so looking forward to it.

On Sunday, we went over to pop some treatment tabs down the septic tanks, so as to get them cleaned up a bit before we move there, since they've not been used in awhile, and lo. There was a young couple wandering around the property. They said they were buying it too! I immediately got a hold of our realtor, and she contacted the seller who said that, although they had received other offers, that ours was the only one accepted and that they should not have been on the property. Ruby later clarified that because we have signed and exchanged contracts that the seller backing out would be a lawsuit for breach of contract, and that since we already have a closing date, not to worry. The seller's realtor was quick to "oh no, no, no, your clients are the only ones with a contract". I felt bad for the young couple, as the lass seemed as in love with the place as I am.

With it pouring down with rain since the middle of the night, and non-stop ever since, and due to keep on like that until Wednesday, we plan on doing a drive by on Wednesday evening to see how flooded the marshland area gets, and to see the flow in the creek.

Planning, Planning, and More Planning

 Getting ready for our new place is exciting, but we'll be taking it easy and doing "stuff" slowly because I want everything done "properly" and not rushed. Once we've closed, and it is really ours, the first project will be fencing the front. I've found some lovely black railings and an arched double gate

that opens to 12 feet wide that Mark can do the honours and make open electronically.  We want to set them in brickwork kind of like this example above. The one here has made my life so much easier, and has proved convenient for the rest of the family as well, when it's raining or cold and they don't want to be out in it.

I plan on bringing the fence around and partway up the "drive" (dirt track!) and then having the gate there, about 20 feet in from the road so's folks aren't on the road waiting for the gate to open.

Once the fence is done, and Spring arrives, we will plant roses behind the fence and behind them, a few feet and parallel to the spaces between the rose bushes, a row of gardenias (these will eventually grow to be like a hedge). Then, a few feet behind those, a row of privacy trees.  I haven't decided on which ones I like the most yet, or which have the least problems. I hate seeing a row of privacy trees where 2 or 3 are yellowed and dying, and it seems some varieties are more prone to do that, than others.

Coming in from the gate, to the right, I'm going to have a mini orchard and today placed an order for 5 fruit trees, to be delivered in early Spring. All are multiple varieties on one root - 4-on-1 plum/pluot, 2-on-1 cherry, 4-on-1 pear, 4-on-1 apple and 4-on-1 fruit salad.  The pear and apple are considered "constant harvest" as the varieties blossom and fruit at different times for a longer harvesting periods. 

Then, we will be moving our grapevines from here and will have a couple of rows of grapevines running from the driveway in the direction of the creek. I may have to buy a few more in Spring to complete the rows.

We'll be moving a lot of plants from here to there throughout Spring. Gardenias and roses mainly, but also some young trees we'd planted this past year, and I'm continuing to start gardenias from cuttings off our 2 original bushes so that we can have them along many of the fencelines around the property.

We'll have 2, possibly 3 beehives this year, and they will be at the top end of the property, close to where Mark is going to dig out some of the swamp, when we have an excess of dry weather, to form a natural pond. We really need it dry and cracking in order for him to be able to do that, and we want to put a solar pump and fountain in the middle of it, before he then "breaks though" to the creek to allow the water from there to flood in. At the same time, we'll be putting in various aquatic plants that naturally clean all the different minerals and pollutants from the water, so that, over time it will be beneficial to the rest of the swamp as well. And all naturally!

The bees will definitely have an abundant supply of food and water sources.

I'd been talking about getting milkweed so as to help Monarch butterflies ... and lo and behold, there are a smattering of them throughout the property, and yesterday I even saw a couple fluttering around each other, like they were playing. It was nice to see.

We're also going to add to the morning glories that are there as we were blessed to see a hummingbird on one over the weekend.

It's really a paradise there.

So Much Has been Going On

I fell in love about 8 weeks ago. Love makes you do silly things.  Sometimes things you might regret but you charge ahead regardless. I did that, and then I paused and waited patiently for a sign that this was the right thing to do. A week ago last Thursday, 11 days ago now, I got that sign, and thus began a mad and crazy rush of doing everything on a "must do" list, in order to procure the object of my attentions.

Hmmmm, I can hear you thinking.  What is she on about? 

Well, our little bit of heaven, in the boonies, has been shattered by the encroaching onslaught of 2 subdivisions close by making traffic horrible on our tiny winding road, and then the house being built right up near our back field fence, and rudely facing onto our property. I am no longer in my happy place here, so we have found us almost 9 acres out in Belton that is STILL in the boonies, to move to. It's even got a creek running along one side.

We exchanged contracts at the beginning of last week and are now waiting to close December 9th (possibly earlier if we get all our ducks in a row before then).

Yesterday, we were out there mowing so that we can have someone come out this week to do some testing and make sure that the septics are working as they should (so that we don't need to pay for a new one!) and that we can have a well dug. The current owners gave us permission to mow since the grass is 3-4 feet high and it was either, allow us on the property to do it, or they'd have to. 

My mate, Kwacha, came with us and my granddaughter, Nicolette, met us out there. While Mark mowed a little (the tractor mower deck started smoking so he had to stop. Found out, once we got home, some string or something had wrapped around it and the belt, so he got it sorted and we are going back over, this morning) us girls discussed my vision for this property. They both understood my peace there.

Mark wandered back over to the stream and took some more pictures for me, even as I planned the first project for once it's truly ours - the front fencing and electronic gate with gardenias and roses along the fenceline and then a row or 2 of trees for privacy. We are going to do an indent, so that the gate is not at the roadside but maybe 20 feet or so on the property, so that we can get off the road easily. 

From the beginning, I said that if this property was meant to be ours, it would happen. If it was meant to be it would be ... God has been really good to us and everything fell into place within a week, once we decided to go for it.

Itt's probably going to take us around a year or so to get it ready for us to start building, but come Spring we'll be planting bushes, fruit trees, veggies, loads (and I mean LOADS!) of gardenias and roses, and we'll have 3 bee hives up and going. We've also seen milkweed on the property, so are going to nurture that so as to, hopefully, help the Monarch butterfly population.

 

Getting Ready For Spring

 This weekend, and earlier today, I've been busy starting rose cuttings (yellow and pink) and planting some rooted gardenia cuttings in buckets, ready for planting out in Spring. I still have more to do later (2 more containers of gardenia cuttings rooting in water, to plant) and then will wash out the containers and have hubby cut me some more to start some more rooting. I want to have a load of scented plants ready for Spring, so that we can have them all around the yard.  

I've ordered some bulbs as well, daffs, wood hyacinths, tulips and crocus, and 2 peony roots.

Everything geared towards Fall plantings for Spring bloomings, and Spring plantings for blooming through Summer - all BEE FOOD :) 

We may have lost our bees this year, to that dratted wax moth infestation but it was an experience we have def learned from.  Next year, we will buy 2 more queens and their bees, and they will have plenty of beautiful flowers to enjoy. As well as the trees.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be planting some of the new growth from under the fig and cannabifolia (butterfly) trees, in buckets. Again for transplanting in Spring.

I do love my fragrant bushes and trees.

Marketing - Ah The Joys Of!

I'm usually pretty complacent about my health issues but, in wanting to go out and market myself and my books, right now it is such an obstacle and that annoys me no end. I'd love to be going into schools, daycares and libraries to do readings to little ones, but I can't guarantee how I'll be feeling in an hour or so, let alone make plans for a few days or weeks ahead. It would be awful to schedule something, and then I'm having tachycardia or A-Fib, or my blood pressure is way high and not responding quickly to extra meds, and then to have to cancel and let people down. So,what can be done?

Well, some people do lives on Facebook, but I've always hated being on camera, so I've had to be a bit sneaky.  I've been recording myself reading my writings, and putting them on youtube with an illustration pertaining to the content. That way people can listen to me and my creations, without me having to be on camera.

I'm also asking folks who've read my books and poetry if they'd write reviews for me, and then I'm sharing those.

I took a chance and boosted a post on Facebook, with a targeted audience of parents of young children, so I'm now waiting to see if that will help me get my books out to more people.

Finally, I'm asking friends and followers on social media to share my posts so that I reach folks that I don't know personally, or who aren't my followers on social media.

We shall see how this progresses.

What Were My Favourite Children's Books?

 I was an early reader, and from the get-go, I was hooked. Back then, I'm 70 now, there weren't all the paraphrased versions of the classics, so (between the ages of 7 and 11) I read most of the classics by Dickens, the Bronte sisters, Captain Marryat, Anna Sewell et.al. and some more contemporary, like Marguerite Henry and even Louis L'Amour.

My favourites back then were Brighty of the Grand Canyon, Jane Eyre, Lorna Doone, The Children of the New Forest and Oliver Twist. 

My Brighty copy was bought secondhand and was a dingy red hardback, that seemed huge to my 7 year old self, but I loved that book and read, and re-read, it over and over. It had awesome illustrations but sadly I don't remember the illustrator. 

I'm not sure what happened to it, whether my mum may still have it stashed away, since she has shelves full of old Ladybird Books, which were also my favourites and encompassed so many subjects.

My nan had bought it for me, and also regularly spent 2/6d on various Ladybird Books that were about things that interested me. Stone Age Man in Britain was one of them, and on annual holidays with my grandparents we toured Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall visiting historic sites - including burial mounds, caves with stalactites and stalagmites, places in the books that I read, and relics of the Industrial Revolution.

On those trips, on our first night out of London, we'd camp in the New Forest, which obviously fuelled my love of Captain Maryatt's book. In Somerset we'd visit Exmoor, the Doone Valley and Oare Church, the settings of R.D. Blackmore's novel.

I can't imagine not being able to have read those books, they fired up my imagination and created a lust for more, and for exploring the settings.

So, when I had my children, one of my first tasks in their toddler/preschool years was reading to them, and then teaching them to read and write before they started school.

At that point, I fell in love with Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. As did my kids! They loved poking their fingers in the holes. Others on their bookshelf - Goodnight Moon, The Velveteen Rabbit, Thomas The Tank Engine (and I actually spent some time with the Reverend Awdry in Wisbech in the 70s), Richard Scarry Books and the Berenstain Bears books.

I actually used Bears In The Night as one of the books when I was teaching my three to read, because of its simplicity and repetition.

By the time my granddaughters were born (after I'd moved to America) I'd also become a fan of Dr Seuss, especially Green Eggs and Ham although I happily read his others to them, and the children I babysat, because I loved the cadence they introduced children to.

I am still an avid reader, I usually have 2 or 3 books on the go at any one time. My tastes are many and varied, as are the authors that I enjoy. 

The Cover Is Done!

 Today I received the cover image for "Mister McAfferty's Cat" and I am so chuffed, I think it looks great. Blueberry have done an amazing job. Richa, my illustrator, was fantastic.

Now, just a minor detail needing revision for the inside and we will be publishing!. Time to get excited all over again.

A New Month, Fresh Goals And 40 Years Of Marriage

 WOW, August already! This year is just whizzing by. The years keep whizzing by too.

This Sunday, the 3rd, marks 40 years of being married, and it's a def "who'd a thunk it?" as those who were around us in the beginning know. We went through so much, nobody honestly expected us to make it. I don't even think we thought we would, life was so tugh on us back then. But here we are. 40 years after Mark spluttered his way through his vows and took me to be his "AWFUL wedded wife" much to the amusement of everyone who was there. Later those same words showed up in "Five Weddings And A Funeral" but he did it first, LOL.

We're heading to one of my favourite places, the Best Western Riverside, in Dillsboro NC. Our room has a balcony overlooking the Tuckaseegee River. We sleep with the balcony door open, listening to the water rushing below and (nice!) it's high enough that the mosquitoes aren't up there! Last time we were there, I took my exercise bike and pedalled on the balcony but this time I'm giving Mark a break from trying to lug it around for me.

I paid for him to have an online photography course so today we went and got him a new laptop, as his old one was slow and wouldn't have been conducive to him being able to do a lot of what the course modules require.  I also blew money on a programme for me that does children's flip books (so I can sell them to folks whose little ones can access them on a tablet or computer), and does videos from books etc so I'm going to be spending a lot of time learning how to do that.

Today has been a "getting ready" day before heading out tomorrow, cleaning the vehicles, packing clothes and sundries, making sure we have everything covered that needs to go with us. It's been hectic.

Just praying that my body doesn't give me gyp on this trip, I don't want to spoil it like I did my birthday one.

Enjoy your Friday!

It's Been All Go

 We've been busy, busy, busy now for a few weeks. Hubby had been working on the hallway bathroom since we found we could not get the walk-in tub in there.  Even with the door off and the jambs taken down, we were still about an inch short of being able to finagle it. We did a re-think, and decided to put a shower in instead, rather than stress ourselves out bemoaning that which would only be accomplished were we to remove part of a wall to do so. Nope, we already have more on our plate than we need, so ... a shower was the way to go.

Then we found out my grandson was coming to stay, from England. Somehow I couldn't see a 21 year old wanting to sneak through his grandparents' bedroom in the middle of the night, if he needed the loo, so getting the shower fitted (and then the toilet put back in) became a matter of urgency, not an "as we get to it".

Hubby did a smashing job, the shower and loo were in just in time for Jacob's arrival. Nothing special, but functional.

J had a jam-packed time with his sisters, they went hiking, they went to the movies, they went to an outdoor concert, the pool, I think he needed to go home to get some rest! Added to which he helped Mark with some projects while he was here, and he had fun shooting with Mark, his sisters and his cousin. Not something he can do like that, back in England.

We tried to take him to different places to eat to try stuff he can't usually get back home. Volcano Korean BBQ, Ginza Buffet, Milano's and more. If nothing else, that boy was well-fed! All the way from the top of his head down to his tootsies more than 6 feet away!

It may have been his first solo international journey but it seasoned him for future ones - the train broke down halfway to the airport, in England, on his way here. His first flight back was cancelled and he stayed with us another day, then there were delays ... and then he arrived back in England but his luggage didn't! Plenty of glitches.

Mark's been working some more on the bathroom since J left, we have a lot to do but - for now - it's fine as it is. The shelf behind the toilet has to come down to accommodate the around-the-loo shelf stand. That's currently where the sink unit will be eventually, but we've lain a board across the floor and popped it on that since we have to pull that floor up and replace it due to wet rot .

Having got the hallway bathroom functional, we've stopped using the one in our bedroom, which also has the wet rot (the bathrooms back on to each other -and to the kitchen sink area - and it's one continuously damaged piece of flooring) so that it can begin to dry out somewhat. It will be a major project when we get to it.

This heatwave has been horrible and some of my plants have fought a losing battle, despite watering. I have more seeds to plant again soon ready for Autumn but I want to see the worst of this heat over with first.

The bees are flourishing, We've stopped giving them the sugar water (it was fermenting in the heat!) so they are just getting water until the seasons change and we go back to sugar water. Right now they have plenty of pollen and nectar around, so they are happy bees.

Maybelline, our big hen, died recently leaving just Henrietta in that pen and the other chicken, that we were given years ago, in the other, so we have now combined them. That gives us a total of 3 pens that they can be moved between, meaning that the 2 not in use can start to overgrow a little and then we can pop them in there and let them scrabble around in the greenery.

We're going away to Dillsboro (and poss Cherokee) for our 40th wedding anniversary next month, and so we've been taking Brunel and Lightning to doggy day care one day a week for the past few weeks, to get them ready for a 3 day/2 overnight stay at the doggie hotel. Lightning still doesn't have time with the other dogs but has got much better with people and goes in quite happily, and they say he's such a good boy, so snuggly. That's good as for too long he was terrified of people and other dogs and snarly with all! At least now he's ok with people.

Meanwhile, I had a long chat on the phone, with my illustrator for Mister McAfferty's Cat, and we ironed out so many issues. She sent me a pdf of all the sketches for the illustrations, and is now starting the colouring process on them, so hopefully this project will soon be complete. 

Methinks that is all of my update, although I may have forgotten some things (my mind becomes more like a sieve, day by day!).

Major Decluttering And Other News!

My new stand-up recliner is in boxes in the living room, and hubby's new adjustable bed arrives tomorrow, so today is the "sort out the bedroom" day before tomorrow morning, when it becomes the "move-out-the-king-size-bed" and "move in the new stuff" major effort. Today is clearing shelving units and organizing in chests of drawers (yes, we're still pack rats but our messes will be hidden from view and -for awhile - organized.

I definitely do not need AVON papers from 10-15 years ago, LOL.I had a drawer full, all packed neatly in large envelopes. AVON memorabilia, that I'll be dropping off on team members the next time I go to Fountain Inn.

I reorganized my "reliving my childhood" into a plastic drawer-type tub, Bunty annual at the bottom, yarn, knitting needles, pins and darning needles oon that, and topped by my 2 Sindy dolls, some Sindy clothes and accessories.

Hubby found blueprints from a class he took when he was working construction in Florida in the 90s!

Damp-cloth wiping down everything and will lemon polish surfaces later.

The dogs aren't sure what's going on with all this hustle and bustle. We're hearing some whimpering, as they are not in here with us, and want to be. There's no room. Ha! Decluttering actually means there's a lot more clutter for a bit - I have piles of stuff on the bed to be put away in a new place. 

Hubby is about to take some stuff to donate to Miracle Hill, and pick up the dresser that he bought from there, yesterday.It has a (separate) thick glass top that our grandson, Dylan, will be coming over tomorrow to help him get off the truck. The drawers part should be ok for him to slide off by himself. That'll be replacing the shelves we currently have the tv on. Dylan coming over also makes a good excuse for him and Lily to have brunch somewhere with us. Good family time.

In other news, I've started on a new book. "That's God!" It's in its early stages yet but I'm hoping it'll come together nicely over the next few weeks. "Mister McAfferty's Cat" is proving a nightmare to have illustrated. I'm doing so many revisions, and getting bombarded by originals being re-sent, without the revisions or my notes being taken into account. Very frustrating. It's pushed my blood pressure up a few times as I've struggled to go back through old emails and pictures to see what I've said and done before, only to find that none of it seems to have been taken note of. UGH!

I was frustrated earlier in the week by the idiots who've been building a home behind us. They seem to like upsetting our bees. First time they parked a huge truck by them, left the engine running and proceeded to unload materials, where they could have parked infront of the house instead of alongside our fenceline. They were there a couple of hours. Poor bees were well stressed. Then, had another machine, maybe a mower or something, and blew sand all over the hive where he could have driven it the other way and blown it away from them. Again, stressed them out.I drove down to complain but he stayed on the far side of the house so as not to deal with me. 

My granddaughter and 2 great grands are on their way back from their vacation to and from Niagara Falls, with all the interesting museum and fun things along the way. From the photos she's been posting, they've had a blast!

Also, found out my grandson, Jacob, is coming to stay in a couple of weeks, all the way from England! Haven't seen him in over a decade, and he just turned 21! Excited, and so looking forward to it!

Catching Up On The Last Couple Of Days

It's been a good couple of days.

On Sunday, Angelica and Samantha put up some more of the fake ivy screen along the fence, which is blocking some of what makes the dogs go crazy. If it's not something loud, like a nosiy truck or school bus, and just maybe somebody on a pushbike or jogging, then it doesn't seem to bother them as much. Very thankful for their help, and they've done a good job.

Hubby and I were down the field. His bees already know him and he goes over and talks to them. It's neat watching their behaviour. 

We haven't mowed near the hive as there's a plentiful supply of dandelions to keep them happy until the wildflower mats flourish. 

Mark put up 2 posts and cable, and then planted 2 of the grapevines, as well as some other flowering plants.

The dogs got to come down there with us and after an initial sniffing sround the hive, they decided to leave the bees alone. We were a bit worried about Brunel, as he's an eejit sometimes and likes to catch flies and things that hover near him. Thankfully, he seems to have decided that's not a great idea with the bees.

Unfortunately, the promised rains didn't come, so I was out last night watering all the plants in the front yard, and we had to take a hose down the field so's Mark could water everything down there.

Mark had his appointment with his cancer doc yesterday and he is stable for now, white cells still high but red cells coming up, immune cells coming up and no kidney issues. YAY. His next apointment is in 6 weeks.

Tonight, we attended our great-granddaughter, Lily's, preschool graduation and it was lovely. The whole class sang, and performed to, 3 patriotic songs and did so awesomely well. All the families were very proud, and deservedly so.

 

Our Bees Are Home!

It's been another smashing day, and we've finally brought our bees home. 2 got out of the box, even as Mark was carrying them out of The Carolina Honey Bee Company. One landed on his arm as he walked across the road and he brushed it off and it followed him to the car, along with the other one. He put the box of bees in the back, and those 2 just kept crawling up my back window. I kept watch on them as we drove home. They did check back to the box (where the Queen was with the rest of her crew) but then played back up the window. All the way home.

They all seemed very happy with their new home. Some were a little slower at finding their way in but even those buzzing around weren't bothering Mark as he was doing stuff with them, and he wasn't wearing any protective gear at all.

I stayed in the car, as our ground is too uneven for me to walk on down there. 

The box they came in, with some bees still in it and others going into the hive through the entrance. Just off the right, level with the far end of it, is the berm that my hubby and grandkids shoot at. Unfortunately, you can see the house being built along our back fence line. Why would you build a house that close?

Close up of some of our new babies finding their way in. They are neat to watch. 

So now we just want to give them some space and let them settle in. 

Tomorrow, we'll be down there to plant some more vines and trees. We intended doing it earlier but hubby went to dig and the post hole digger handle snapped, so he has to geta  new one tomorrow in order to accomplish that.

Felt Like A Florida Summer's Day

Yes, it did! I got out of the shower this morning and had to close the window and put the AC on - I couldn't get dry fast enough. I was sweating while trying to get dry! The air was already getting warm and humid. Thankfully, the AC kicked in pretty quickly and I was soon ready to face the world.

We took my 3 newest books to the library for the local authors shelf. I'm hoping that local people will check them out for their children, and maybe buy them as gifts for them, their grands and great-grands. I'd love to have feedback on them from more than my family.

Lunch was a pita from Cava. I always do the "build your own" and have had some excellent compilations. Today's was a Honey Harissa Chicken with red pepper hummus, tomatoes, onions and cucumber. Hubby and I shared it, their portions are very good.

This evening, earlier, we planted 3 wildflower mats down by where the beehive is, so that - when they grow - the bees will have a nice wildflower patch to hang out in, close by. They'll also have all the other trees and plants we've been putting down there.

Then, I planted out the miniatures that we got from Lidl, in 4 window boxes. 2 were pink rose, yellow kalanchoe, pink rose, and 2 were yellow kalanchoe, pink rose, yellow kalanchoe. They should look really pretty once they are all established together.

Tomorrow is our big day, when we go to get our bees. I'm excited. Hubby's been refreshing his knowledge (his dad had bees, and then Mark had taken a beekeeping course a couple of years ago when we first decided we were going to get bees) by reading up on the subject.  We just want to be good bee parents!

Spring Plantings Are In Full Swing, And Other News

Spring has sprung, as we all know, and we've been busy planting. Hubby has been working on a flower bed in the front yard by the fence, I planted the mini roses in the window box, and today I planted the 6 lily bulbs that I bought on the weekend, and some of the cress seeds that came in the mail from a fundraiser for Upstate Animal Rescue Foundation of SC. I also have 3 seed mats from them, one for "honey bees"

and 2 wildflowers but because it's been raining for the past couple of days, I've not been able to get down to the field to lay the out near the beehive. 

Hubby has a couple of new rose bushes to plant down there as well. I want a lush retreat of scented flowers and shrubs down there so that I can enjoy the fragrance along with the running water sounds of the stream and pond hubby is building for me.

I'd bought 4 nice wooden planter tables and hubby put one of them together tdoay. I'm putting the window boxes in them with the miniature roses in, I decided they'd last longer that way. They are quite sturdy but take a bit of time to put together. I'm patient, and thankful my hubby does stuff like this for me.

They'll also be going down the field, to go in a V from the corner of the field, down the 2 fences, behind the beehive area. Just to have everything down there, neat and tidy, looking nice.

Hubby went back to work on Wednesday and oh! that 5am alarm was just sooo unwelcome! Since he only does part-time, and it's only 2 days a week, I must not complain. Bleary eyed I shall be on those 2 days!

We ran out of time with the dumpster due to the rain, so it went back today and I'll rent another in a few weeks so that the rest of the demolition of the old building can be completed, ready to concrete a base and get prepped ready for the new one.

On a different note, Mister McAfferty's Cat ... it seems my project is harder than I expected. So many revisions of illustrations, I got so fried, and have had to request them do them in order and we get them right before going to the next. I'm glad they are patient with me, I must be one of their most awful nitpicky authors.

That's about it for this time. It's still raining, and looks like it will be for much of the next week.