The Host and The House Barn

What a fun day!

Due to a confluence of circumstances my turn to host book club came today as we're in the midst of the house barn remodel.

The book is The Host by Stephenie Meyer, of Twilight fame. It is a surprisingly good book although a little adolescent and feminine in it's scifi-ity. I REALLY loved it and recommended it, that's why it was at my house.

So anyway getting ready this for it this morning was very stressful, but after 3 glasses of champagne it turned into a very fun and relaxing evening with the book club girls.

But why talk? PICTURES!!

While I was partying, the guys got the carpet in and finished up the house barn. Move in day is tomorrow!

House Barn Makeover!

We are currently in the midst of an emergency remodel of the building formerly known as the Big Red Barn, now renamed the House Barn.

Like so many others, my unfortunate brother Tim lost his job last fall. Last month he hit a deer in his car. It was a minor accident but insurance totaled the car, so he and his wife have been borrowing various cars while fighting insurace and looking for a new one. Last week they learned they were going to lose their apartment.

So this weeknd we're pulling together to clean up the room upstairs that I use to start plants for the garden. It's like one of those home makeover shows but except with more drinking and swearing. Also there isn't any plumbing for a toilet so they'll have to come into the house frequently. Except for Tim, he'll probably just pee out the window or something. So not really like one of those shows at all... maybe a redneck version.

Before (after preliminary cleanup):

First a tile backsplash:

Then a coat of paint (cranberry punch):

Then some pergo type flooring for the kitchen area:

Not bad progress for one day of work! Carpet's going in tomorrow morning. :)

Busy Week

It's been busy around the farm lately so here's a pictorial rundown of what's been happening.

Monday:

It's spring! Our tulips are blooming! My grandmother planted them 20 years ago and I love seeing them every spring.

Tomatoes are needing transplanting to bigger pots, haven't gotten to that yet.

Tuesday:

Tested a honey-chile glazed salmon with black bean sauce and jalapeno crema recipe. Served with rice, delicious! Learned a valuable lesson, honey-chile glaze when converted to smoke will make you cough like mad. Note to self: keep heat on LOW!

Wednesday:

Haircut and highlights courtesy Tonia's Salon in Chaska. The pic doesn't do it justice, it turned out really cool.

Thursday:

Went to Kohler & Dramm downtown to get flowers for Paul Spangrud's Memorial. :( Also picked up some gifts for my Old Sames, for when I host in three weeks.

Friday:

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Planted potatoes in the rain, got in all the reds. They're so tasty. Then went shopping with Katie, got some super cute black shoes-should get a picture of those-I LOVE them! Then we smuggled a bottle of rum into Star Trek. Great movie, absolutely loved it, and that's not just the rum talking. :)

Saturday:

Flowers for Paul. Such a shock, his passing. So sad for the family, my best friend's Necole and Tim, Tammie and Katie. Their parents Mary and Verne, and his young son Will and wife Nancy.

The memorial was packed with well over a hundred showing up, so many good friends coming together to show their support, and many more who couldn't be there were very there in spirit.

So that was my week, full of new beginnings and farewells that will not be final.

Semi-typical Spring Day

It's Monday, I'm recovering from the weekend. Slept until 1:00 Got up, fed the horses, had breakfast: a bagel with peanut butter and a cup of tea. Met some guy who drove down from Milaca to see how our CSA works.

Pretty sure I told him (via email) not to come, we're a really small farm and aren't really doing anything this time of year. So instead he called and Mom and she told him to come anyway so now 'Sean' is spending the night in his van parked in our driveway...creepy!

I guess he's from California but moved to Minnesota to be with his fiancee. They're starting a CSA up there so he's doing a tour of CSA's around here to learn their secrets. He actually reminds me a lot of Kenneth from 30 Rock. So yeah, super creepy in a nice guy kinda way.

I'm operating under the assumption that serial killers out number regular people, and nice people are rarer than... well something really rare, like A class Malaysian Serama's.

So that's his cover story if we all disappear or turn up in various locations around the farm. Cheery thought, eh? Ha!

Kitty Makeover!

Safina got a haircut today (actually yesterday, but it sounds better if I say today) it's a yearly thing for her, for ever so many reasons.

1. Her hair mats if I don't brush it, and will rip out by the roots when the mats get too big *ouch*
2. She hates being brushed and will gnaw on my arm if I even try it
3. She gets overheated in the summer with that big old fluffy fur she has
4. She likes it!

She loves the sensation of the clipper and being able to groom herself without getting hairballs. Plus we make sure to tell her how pretty she looks and she just glows under all the attention. I swear she'd be blushing if she could. Of course we make sure not to mention that she looks like a giant gray squirrel, I don't know how she'd take it...


Relaxing during her 'spa day'.

She looks like she's giving me a disgusted look, but she's really in mid lick.

Nap time!

Farrier Fun

The weather was so nice today and the horses were behaving so well, it was a perfect time to trim Ben's hooves.

When I had the big horses I hired a professional horse hoof trimmer called a farrier to trim their hooves. It's a physically demanding job and takes a lot of skill and experience to balance them properly. The hoof wall on a big horse is about as thick and your finger and it's very tough to cut through even with the right tools. It's a really important job when you're working on a riding horses because besides carrying their own weight they have to carry a rider too. Hooves that are not trimmed correctly can lead to lameness or injury.

The little guys have much less weight to carry and their hoof wall is much thinner and relatively easy to clip. So I gave it a shot.

The tools of the trade

I rasped my hand in the process and Ben managed to turn almost completely around while I was holding his hind leg but they turned out really well!

I wish I took a 'before' picture. The 'after' picture is not so impressive without it. Just trust me they look way better now.

Mud

We are in full mud season here in Minnesota. Springtime here is a mess of melting snow. The chickens and horses take full advantage of it, stomping in the puddles, and for the horses it's the perfect time to try on a new coat color.


Candy has been wondering how she'll look as a grey. I don't think it's a great look for her but she just keeps putting on a new coat of mud everyday!


All the horses are a little scruffy looking this time of year as their winter coats fall out. Soon they'll be looking sleek in their summer coats and I'll get some good pictures of them.



The chickens on the other hand are just happy to be outside. The roosters have settled down a lot, although Pumpkin is still in his own spot away from the other boys.

Apollo has made a full recovery and is enjoying taking a stroll with little Paris. ^

So cute.





In other news I've started seeds for this summer. Peppers, onions, leeks, shallots, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, and eggplant are done. I'm working on broccoli, and cabbage.

Spring is in full swing now!