Evening magic.

Perhaps I'm a broken record, but the magic of the beaches in the evening are so alive for us still, no matter how often we go.  Ice cream and a little salt and sand just before bed? Quite thankful for being a local to this coastal life. 











Thrifted. A fast farmer. A little mama.

 
1) Thrifted.


 
Three old time mason jars. A carved wooden glass and bowl. Richard Scary (we love him) and another book with sweet pictures.  $5.00.
A red basket.  Four vintage transfer ware cups and saucers. $5.00  For real, each cup would sell for well beyond $5.00 if I was to resell.  And to whoever it was who asked what I do with all the dishes I collect, why, we use them!  When I insist on using fancy as much as possible, things break.  Replacing them for fifty cents is worth the fancy meals, I say.

2) A fast farmer, filling up this bottle again and again for his livestock.
 3) Mother hen. Who insists on babywearing, quite often these days. Where does she learn that?
 It's mighty cute, I tell you.


 

Barn Progress. Found Treasures. Chickens.

So, that little extension of a brooder I just built?  Well, just a few days back, our 'baby' chicks were perched on those walls. I knew it was a temporary solution, but come on now, little chicks. Give your farmer a break.

Yeah, so not going to happen. 

The lucky part about this farm is we have plenty of space. I had options. I could move the chicks to the coop above the garage.  Dangerous flight of stairs multiple times a day and too hot up there.  Or I could make better walls where they were.  Except we would have to buy materials. I finally looked at my husband and said "We have a perfectly good room with four walls IN the barn that's filled with junk. Let's clean that out."

Umm....my enthusiasm was not contagious at all. In fact, I think he thought it was a terrible idea. I know for a fact he thought I was crazy.  Thing about me, I ignore him and do my own thing. Which meant a mask, garbage bags and a TON of work. 

You see, this room was so jam packed with junk that you couldn't step foot in it. As in the whole entire room.  Broken glass everywhere. Lots of beer bottles. Lots of old grain bags the mice had a ball in. Lots of hay and dust and grossness. 

This took days to complete.  Mostly because the glass meant I had to go slow.  And I tell you, I was sore for a couple days. It looks like it's not a big deal, but it was, trust me.


And now, insert the chimes, we have this:

 It looks like it might have been a milking parlor at some point. 
 It even has a hatch that opens to the underside of the barn. Perfect for dumping manure.

And the task of catching 47 baby chicks? Really, not a big deal with Audra. She's the quickest of us all at catching them.

 And now, they have two windows and a whole bunch of space to roam. All 47 of them.


Bonus?

Well, when we were cleaning everything out, there were treasures. Old papers with notes, old tin cans that held coffee and the like, lots of harvest baskets, a couple other random wooden boxes.  I hollered for my husband to help when I found couple things that were whole. Imagine my delight to find these:

A duckblind (I ripped off most of the burlap)
 A HUGE solid table. Guessing they used to use it for slaughter?  Not sure, but it's the appropriate height.
 And...squeee....a HUGE grain bin!  I mean, it's huge and marvelous!  I need my dad to help me fix the top and a compartment or two.  But it's huge and awesome!
 Like everything else we've found here, the mice have had a field day.  I need to do some major cleaning, but how fun is this?!
 There's also two of these.  They are adjustable.  Any idea what they are?
 Now our chicks are happy in their home. And I'm pretty happy that it is a perfectly good place for them to grow in. There is no emergency to get them into better quarters now. Phew.

Although they are happy at home, they still are the luckiest chicks around given the great adventures they go on.

The Itch to Stitch: Dress 7




Dress one: Here.
Dress two: Here.
Dress three: Here
Dress four: Here.
Dress five: Here.
Dress six: Here.


Remember how I promised a dress a month for an entire year?  Well, two days ago, I forgot.  But, I'm proud to say I finished *just in time*.

This is an Oliver & S pattern again. I was going to try to do 12 different patterns, but I opted to do this one again because the one I made before has been our go-to dress. No sunburned shoulders, no pants needed, one piece and she's good to go.  Everytime my husband dresses Audra, if it's clean, he puts her in it. (Which I love.) Only I was reminded as I got going how Oliver &S have fantastic clothes but make everything way too complex in the pattern.  Certainly not a good choice for a last minute dress. 

Didn't get it done in time for pictures with sweet girl, but at least it's done. I made it in blue because of that blonde hair and those blue eyes, so she's sure to look mighty cute.

She just turned 2 and I think I have officially made her 14 dresses total in her life so far, not to mention coat, skirts, pajamas, dolls, toys etc.  I wanted to take advantage of giving her mama mades as much as possible before she became too big to refuse.  I tell you, I am having the time of my life creating for my little girl.

Zucchini Sausage Cheesey Pasta

Here's a random experiment that turned out oh-so-good.  Decided to record so I don't forget what I did for next year...particularly when I'm in panic mode with a gazillion zucchini and summer squash.



Zucchini Sausage Cheesey Pasta

1/2 box elbow macaroni, cooked
1 small onion, diced
1 lb ground turkey sausage
1 T butter
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small summer squash, diced

3 T butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

1/4 cup green onions
1 T fresh chopped oregano
Salt/pepper
Shredded parm cheese

1) Cook macaroni according to package directions.
2)Sautee onion, add turkey sausage. Cook until done. Remove from pan, set aside in big bowl.
3) In same pan, melt butter. Sautee summer squash and zucchini until done. Add to sausage mix. Add pasta.
4) Prepare sauce in sauce pan.  Melt butter, whisk in flour. Whisk in milk. Heat over medium/low until just barely boiling. Add cheese. When cheese is melted, place all contents in big bowl.
5) Add green onions and oregano, salt and pepper.
6) Serve hot or bake until heated through.
7) Top with parm cheese.

Chicken love.

There's a lot of chicken love around these parts, even now that these birds are no longer in the house and their adolescent look is a bit awkward.  It's quite a life these chicks live, I tell you.  I bet chickens who get the most hugs are likely the best layers anyway.











 

 

1-2-3

It's the 1-2-3 of summer living. Pick fresh. Meals homemade. (Pull sleepyheads out of bed). Gone in seconds.  Love summer eating.
1.
 2)
 3)

Color.

Some color.
 A blank slate in the form of upcycled packing paper, tacked to the barn.
 And a budding artist.
 Creating tractors during rest time is the perfect way to rest. Especially if a special stuffed animal is dressed for the occasion and back carried..
 Happy kid.

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