Weekend of October 16th, 2009 - Fire pit and Halloween!

Friday night we ate yummy veggie burgers and roasted potatoes with rosemary, then we carved pumpkins!  I did an owl face and a scary face and Piet did Obama!

We harvested our sunflower seeds that have been drying for a week and cooked those and the pumpkin seeds (plain and tamari flavored).  I burnt the sunflower seeds, but the pumpkin seeds came out great!

We got a late start on Saturday, and after eating egg-in-a-hole, Piet got working on some artwork (Seth and Joe playing chess) and I got working on the flower beds around the house.  We took a long walk through the woods with Kaya and collected more firewood.  Pieter then raked most of the leaves and chopped them up with the lawnmower and I mulched the two flower beds that I weeded earlier.  We then had homemade pizza for dinner and had our first fire!

Kaya kept watch over the field in case any animal decided to pay us a visit :)

After a couple hours by the fire we went inside, watched the movie The Future of Food (excellent, everyone should watch it) and enjoyed some ice cream.

Sunday morning we had breakfast nachos and did some homework.  Piet watched the Patriots game while I finished putting the rest of the bedroom together.  We finished the evening with some yummy Thai food.  Now we just have the workshop to clear of boxes, I have to put my closet/sewing room together, and we need to paint the kitchen and dining room and the inside of the house will be all done (for now anyway)!  We look forward to having Cathy visit in two weeks!

Weekend of October 9th, 2009 - Getting ready for winter

We started the weekend off with a yummy homemade veggie pizza that Piet made from scratch.

I started to weed the side garden, but didn't get too far before it got too cold, here it is before I started:

Piet put together the old-school mower and finished mowing a big part of the yard.

 

I weeded a pretty big spot in the garden and tilled the soil.  Then planted a TON of garlic and mulched it for winter.

 

We planted more herbs in pots (St. John's Wort, another species of lavender, valarian, 3 new basil plants to replace the one that died, sage, and a wildflower bookmark that will sprout from Jay!)

 

Piet's uncle Danny was visiting from San Fran and he came up for a night.  It was really great to meet him and we all had a wonderful night visiting and eating an AMAZING pasta meal created by Piet.

 

 

Uncle Danny brought a hunting vest for Kaya that Mama T got for her.  She looked fabulous and will now be safer walking in the woods with the (potential) hunters.

Weekend of September 25th, 2009

We're making some progress with the yard, the sunflowers are about to pass, but are still beautiful.

We also planted some herbs:  lavender, rosemary, thyme, curly parsley, oregano and basil.  The basil died over a cold night though.  

The old tenants left an old lawn mower for us, and Piet got it working and mowed some of the lawn, and then the mower died.  Piet had the amazing idea to get an old-school mower because they are much more earth-friendly (no gas!), so he did the research and ordered one.  This is with the old mower:

We got the compost bin built and started filling it.

I dug up all along the front of the house to make a flower bed and planted four different types of spring flower bulbs. During this process I saw a few snake skins and then a snake!

Pieter made the most amazing "farmer's market" risotto with roasted vegetables and topped with eggplant and goat cheese, and a yummy beet and goat cheese salad on the side.

 

We had a great, productive weekend, with a lot more to do in the next few weeks!

Discoveries

We had an amazing weekend, full of discoveries!  There are baby carrots growing in the garden and apples in at least two of our trees. 

We planted rosemary and lavender in pots so we can bring them inside during the winter.

We were out walking with Kaya on Saturday night and saw a deer in the garden.  There is a creature (we think it's a squirrel) living in our kitchen walls, his name is Wally.

Late Sunday night we heard lots of gunshots, which was scary, but I'm sure, normal in this area. 

I spent over three hours in the garden weeding out the row of carrots and string beans, it was beautiful out and was very relaxing!

 

We took a few hikes into the woods and found lots of beautiful trees and plants.  We also discovered a large quarry/pit off the side of the road.  Here are some random pictures of things we have found in the yard and in the forest:

All moved in

We officially moved in on Saturday August 22nd 2009.  We filled a 26 foot U-haul truck, drove 3 hours north and unloaded the truck, all in 12 hours.  

Over the next four days we unpacked everything and got the house situated.  We instantly felt at home and were amazingly happy.  I (Sara) had to go back to Portland since I have one more semester of school until I move up here full time.

Piet started school and brought Kaya to the farm.  She is very happy!  We have string beans, peas and sunflowers growing in the yard/garden.  We also have blueberries and blackberries in the fields.  Pictures of the house are below.