Adventures Abound

Those of you who know my County Lovin' Boy know that life with him is anything but boring.  In fact, sometimes I feel like a little boredom would be a welcome reprieve from the constant....well, adventure.  Don't get me wrong, I am all for having fun and trying new things.  I have three small farmers, there is no other option than to enjoy adventure!

However, sometimes my Boy's particular brand of 'adventure' is one that I could pass on.  Let me give you an example....

While working at the house one particular morning, Grandpa and I decided that we were ready to head out.  After searching everywhere for Country Boy, I finally called our contractor who told us that he thought he'd seen him way back in the field.  So we jumped into the truck and headed back.  Sure enough, there he was on his tractor looking like the King of Grand Valley...or maybe more like a smaller version of Larry the Cable Guy.  Sadly, things are not always as they seem...

Unforunately, in his quest to drive the 'new' tractor from one end of the property to the other Country Boy had gotten himself just a little bit stuck in soft ground.  No, that's not correct, he was completely stuck.

As much as I love my Boy, I wanted to get home and I will be honest and tell you that I was sitting in that truck seething about the situation.  We were now going to be very late getting home, which was throwing off the rest of my schedule for the day...and you should know that when life is as upside down as ours currently is my OCD kicks right in and I have a serious schedule!  But, I thought a little more on the situation and decided that the proper thing to do would be to close my eyes and...

ask the good Lord for a measure of strength and a large measure of patience.  I also mentioned that sending an angel would also be greatly appreciated.  Despite me and my little faith, He did just that!

Our angel arrived in the form of our bald headed and longsuffering contractor and friend Irving who, after having a good laugh and shaking his head (and who could blame him?), jumped in to help out.  Three heads are better than one right?  Perhaps not always.  There was quite a lot of ideas being thrown around...what is that saying about too many Chiefs?  While watching all of this going on from the warmth of the truck on the safety of solid ground was riveting for the first 5 or 6 minutes, I soon began to grown somewhat bored.

I figured the best thing to do would be to just stay in the truck and have a nap.  It was short lived. 

The next thing I knew we were driving into town to get chains from the hardware store.  While there we decided to grab a bite to eat, you know, since the schedule was already negated.  We ate at the most lovely place.  A small tearoom serving up fantastic and fresh food.  It was beautifully decorated with Victorian inspired wallpaper, floral tableclothes, your food brought to you on wicker trays with dainty teacups, full of older women having their afternoon tea....which made the sight of Country Boy and Grandpa sitting there in their hats, dirty clothes and big jackets make them seem like bulls in a china shop...literally.  But that is another story in itself.  Back to the tractor adventure.  Long story short (too late!), approximately 5 hours after originally finding my Country Boy stuck in the field this is the sight we saw:

Hallelujah!

Tomorrow?  The house is really coming along and I have more pictures to show you!

Keeping On...

Darn the wheel of the world! Why must it continually turn over? Where is the reverse gear?                                                                                                       ~ Jack London

Under threat of bodily harm from those whose names I won't mention, I have returned to the keyboard to continue the saga of our move to a small town.  Time certainly does pass by and it's not for lack of things to tell that I left you for over a month. 

It's hard to believe that the last pictures I posted were before the demolotion began.  I'll backtrack with some pictures of the home during the actual deconstruction. 

The dumpster arrived so that we could start getting rid of the tons (literally) of garbage

Big Farmer got a chance to 'drive' the truck

Ripping up the heavy tile and cement in the front hallway

Adrian hard at work clearing the kitchen of the very retro tiling...and revealing the gorgeous hardwood hidden underneath!

Filling in that disgusting hot tub...or whatever it was originally meant to be!

Adrian still working away (obviously this picture was a few days later)

Long hours have been put in, back breaking work but it's all. Everything is coming together and we are so close to the 'real' move that I can almost feel the anticipation in the air.

In another area, we no longer are the owners of 132 Gas Lamp Lane and it is an odd feeling.  After packing up the house completely and moving everything out I went back to do a cleaning and say my goodbye.  We brought home two newborns and one 9 month old to that home, celebrated birthdays and anniversaries, suffered losses, hosted friends both old and new....the memories are endless.  I can't wait to see what the future will bring as we start over in our small town. 

Tomorrow?  A story to illustrate the fact that life is never dull with my Country Boy.

Beautiful

Lots of leaves behind the house

A few days ago we were able to spend some time at the new house in the morning.  It was essentially the first time we wandered around the property in the daylight. It was simply stunning to see the views with the sun having just come up. 

Picnic table 

View of property and outlying fields from the top of the hill

Remains of the old barn

The original tree-lined driveway

I can't wait to live here.  The country is calling.

The 'Before' - Part 2

Master Bedroom

Upstairs Hallway

Bedroom 2

Bedroom 3

Bedroom 4

Upstairs Bathroom

Upstairs Family Room

Bedroom 5

Overgrown Front Door

Lamposts at the road

Tomorrow?  Some beautiful shots of the stunning countryside.  

The 'Before'

Kitchen work space

Eating area and wood stove

Living Room

Dining Room

Front Door

Beautiful floors...yikes

Main Floor Bathroom

Bathtub/Shower

Laundry Room

Indoor pool....just kidding!  That thing has got to go.

Kids Playroom

Kids Playroom - opposite wall

Front Staircase

The countdown to demolition day is on!  In 5 days a huge dumpster will arrive and the gutting will begin. 

Tomorrow?  Upstairs 'before' photos and some of the beautiful country.

Stew-pendous

I was not a fan of sweet potato and had never tried kale.  Why would I try Pork, Sweet Potato & Kale stew?  The recipe seemed easy enough and that is really the only thing that counts.  And it was delicious. 

Let's get started.

Collect all your ingredients.

Cut pork into bite size chunks.

Place pork in slow cooker.  Top with garlic, onions, dry mustard, cumin, chili powder, thyme, salt and pepper.

Top with sweet potato cut into large chunks.

Stir together strained tomatoes, molasses, vinegar, and water.

Pour liquid mixture over sweet potatoes.  Cover slow cooker and cook on low 6 hours.

Stem and chop 4 cups of kale.

Stir flour into the liquid of slow cooker (push aside the pork and sweet potato to make it a

little easier).

Top with kale, cover and cook for 30 minutes more (until kale is wilted).

Serve with a thick slice of crust bread.  Enjoy!

This stew was hearty and flavourful.  Country Boy had three large servings.  That generally means success!  What I learned?  It's good to try new things....kale is amazing and I actually enjoyed the sweet potatoes.

P.S. I'll post the full recipe once I find where I put it.  :(

Tomorrow?  Day 1 of 'Before' pictures of the renovation.