Refinished Rocking Chair

I have this awesome rocking chair that my grandparents gave me when I was pregnant with my first kid.  It had a light finish on it, but really needed to be stained and sealed.  It remained in that condition for years.  As we moved from place to place, it always came with us.  Patient and ready for it's new lease on life, there is sat... waiting.  :(

Now that we have moved to this nice open property, I have been motivated to get it protected!  I want to have my rocker out on the front porch, with out worry.  A trip to the hardware store, and I got all I needed!  I set to work right away, before the motivation waned.  I had sanded it bare a few years back, in fact when I was pregnant with my second child (and she is 5 now!) so really it should be easy! (haha)

I got the stain all done in one day, and was ready to start the first coat of vanish the next day.

After the first coat (letting it dry overnight) I did another light sand and the second coat.  There was rain in the forecast, so I was really rushing to get at least that second coat on before there was too much moisture in the air.  So I slapped that on and cleaned up my refinishing mess...for now!

I had used wood filler back when I sanded it down for the first time (5 years ago..oops!) and it didn't take the stain like I had hoped.  Oh well, I guess I shouldn't have waited so long, eh?

After the rains came and went, and a few more days on top of that (did I mention it was finals week?) I got the third coat of varnish down.  Doesn't it look great!?

Now I can rock on my front porch and wave to the neighbors as I watch them ride by on their horses and bikes. (And shake my fist at the ones in cars that fly down the road, slow down!  This is a neighborhood!)  The sounds of goats, and peacocks, and roosters fill the air; the sing song of the free range coming from our neighbors.  We have joined them, embedded ourselves in this.  Oh country living, how I love you.

We finally got the chickens!

So, now that the coop has been finished enough to actually house some fine feathered friends, we felt it was time to visit the chicken farm and ask some questions before we actually brought any hens home.  We saw some Barred Rocks and Easter eggers still in the brooder.

There has been unseasonably cold weather recently and it looks like it will be here for a good week or two (frost on my aloe!) so we are just going to have to wait to have to wait (darn the luck!) for the barred rocks that we wanted to be able to come out of the brooder.

Frost on everything!  I thought this was California?

We have not equipped the coop for any sort of heat source.  The chickens we want are about 2 1/2 months old.  So plans were made to come back in a few days and get those birds!

It took a bit longer then that.... did I mention that this is procrastination ranch?

Delays aside, we did it!  We decided on four Barred Rocks and two Ameraucanas.  They were all around the same age (hatched late Sept/early Oct) and were young enough that they would grow up around us.  The kids could hardly contain their excitement!

Getting use to their new home!

Come on out ladies, we're here!

We emptied the bags carefully into the coop and watched as the little gals ran around.  They took to the food and water right away, no problems!

I noticed that one of the Ameraucanas was the smallest of the group.  Other then that I could not tell them apart at all!

The four Barreds all looked the same to me, but I figured that their personalities would come about as we all spent more time together.

Out getting some sun :)

This was it, our first step towards our little homestead.  What we had talked about and planned for years was coming to fruition.  It is a nice sense of accomplishment, we put our minds to something and made it happen. 

Something that was surprising; the chickens were still cheeping!  The little noises I had been expecting to hear coming from the yard was not the bok bok cluck, but rather a tiny high pitched kind of squeak!  It was the. cutest. ever.

I don't call it Procrastination Ranch for nothing

So.... Little is getting done, and my gung ho spirit up and went gung ho right out the front door!  I guess life gets in the way a little bit while you are busy living it.  I have a theory that lack of a disposable income lends a big hand to this.  It's hard to do stuff while strapped for cash.  So head down, doing bare minimum, getting by.  We painted on the inside, and Noah fitted the winter wall in.

Little bits have been done to the coop, paint here, adding wire there, ect.  Coming along, however slow, it's coming.  Also, I have to admit it is a little daunting when I think about it.  I have never really owned any type of farm animal.  I have read many articles, blogs, books, publications on the subject but read and doing are very different.  What if they all die?  What if one gets sick?  What if I have no idea what I am doing?
BAH!
See, I need to get over it.  Also I need to make friends with someone that owns chickens...

The front is a slow work in progress as well.  I am focusing now on the small lawn I want, seeing as how the glads popped and are long gone.  So I put my birthday present to good use.  Oh, did I fail to mention my super sweet birthday gift from my dear husband?

Pretty sweet, huh?

Anywho, so I have been pulling up as many weeds as I can (that stupid Bermuda grass is totally lame) and hauling them out with my wheel barrow.  After all that is gone (almost there!), we are (and when I say we, I mean Noah) then going to place some drainage, and sink a well.  Over the well we plan to put a false/decorative well.  I might turn it into a planter or a fountain, not sure yet.
Then we are going to spread some seed (yes, seed!) and keep at it until it takes.

 We have painted the outside, it started off this horrible pepto pink color, but after a few coats, it ended up not being that bad. I know for a fact that the coop is going to be done sometime in the next three weeks.  Then we are going to go pick out some birds!

Already!  Lets go get them birds!!

My Galds have popped!

Ok so I got like 20 bulbs from the fundraiser at my kid's school and so far only three have sprung up,  Sad face

Besides that, the drip irrigation started to get all finicky and has decided to not work 100% of the time.
Sad face.

So now I have this strip of awesome dirt in a planter that has been weeded and irrigated and nothing  growing.  Now I have no idea what to put there next to the three glads I have there.  Maybe some more glad blubs?

Rosemary Bushes

I have these 4 small Rosemary bushes that I purchased and set aside for the front.  I know I want some privacy, I also envision the front full of fragrant plants.  So I am placing the Rosemary along the front of the patio set back far enough that we can let them get nice and full and bushy with out encroaching on the patio slab.  I also would like to get Jasmine and plant those along the south side and have them climb the wood fence.

For now I have the Rosemary so Imma start with that.

The front is dirt and weeds and little else.  I gave the small strip intended for the Rosemary a good soak and pulled up the weeds.  It is much easier to pull crabgrass with a deep watering.  So mostly by hand, but I also utilized the hula hoe, the weeds came up and the small bushes went in.

They all looked pretty good, save for one that appeared to be a bit dried out.  I did take a few weeks to actually put them in, my bad!  I put it and hoped it would take.

Another deep soak and there you have it!  I can't wait for them to get all big.  I have many plans for you little Rosemary.

Tillamook and beyond

Oregon had many scenic moments.  Many.  Too many to count.  Honestly, it is so green and vibrate that it feels like a whole other country (namely Canada) I was wide eyed the whole time.  At one point I thought I was going to cry.  Literally.  We had planed to go to the coast and had to drive through the thickest most amazing forest. 

We stopped at a nice spot and did a quick detour hike through the thick ferns and ground cover.  It was a rain forest.  Everything was huge, the trees, the ferns, the flowers.  All oversized and incredibly green.  Layers of moss covered every surface and the trees towered high above seemingly endless into the sky.  The kids ooo'd and ahh'd in amazement and I had to join in.

Once we made it to the coast we drove a little north to Tillamook bay (with a side stop at the Tillamook factory to try some squeaky cheese!) and drove up along just north of Tillamook bay into The Barview Jetty park.  We parked and walked a short distant to the soft sand.  There was a strong northwesterly coming in the early evening.  It was exhilarating and deafening and I loved it.  The ocean is where my heart is.  I am use to the southern California beaches though, full of rocky pebbly sand and toned tanned beach bodies frolicking in the surf.   How assaulting!  This was a stark contrast.  The wild grass and reeds grew right out of the sand, just like I have seen of pictures of the east coast beaches.  It was new and exciting, I was actually stoked to see tall grass growing at the beach, don't ask me why.

Vast expanse stood before me, the wide foreboding sea, and the thick expanse of forest butting up right against the ocean. 

I was entranced by the beauty.  It was all too much.  The soft wind-blown sand melting under your feet.  The calm lapping waves of an ice cold sea. 

The squeals of delight coming from my soaked kids each time a wave threatened their feet.  This was it. Cue the tears.


I had this overwhelming feeling.  I never wanted to leave. I would make my home here by this driftwood and jelly fish, thank you very much.

I didn't want to go back to the car and drive to the hotel we had for three more nights.  It felt like home, only a home I had never known before.  Maybe I was falling in love (is that why I inexplicably quoted Sleepless in Seattle?) with Oregon.  I think you can fall in love with a place.

We ended the little beach trip with a walk onto the jetty.  It reached out so far, the kids loved walking out into the sea with out getting wet. It was time, the kids were soaked and cold and the fireworks stand was only open for 30 more minutes, so we went back to the car and left this little bit of heaven vowing to return someday.

A little something about the Timberline

So while we are looking at brochure after brochure of Oregon deciding what to do with our day, we come across a little blurb about a ski lodge near the peak of Mt. Hood that was in the feature motion picture The Shinning, well well well, don't mind if I do!


A quick Google search confirms, yes it is open, yes it is an active ski lodge and yes you can visit.  Fun fact, the Timberline is also a historical landmark.

It smelled like Christmas in there.  All the exposed wood and carvings everywhere made for interesting sights.  Alas we forgot the still camera so I can not share some of the beautifully carved benches and banisters, but you can Google Timberline Lodge and see some great pictures.  Much better then my little digital camera could do justice.  The hotel staff were super friendly and I know that you can arrange tours, but with a four and six year old to keep entertained, we opted to pass on the tour.

There were many trails all over the mountain and the Pacific Crest Trail runs right to the lodge.  So naturally we had to walk on it for a bit.  But at 6,000 plus feet, the hike was short lived!  That's the other thing, here it is close to July 4th and there is snow on the ground.  The ski lifts were running and all day snowboarders and skiers were coming on and off the mountain.  The kids built a snowman and had a snow ball fight... in July!

A little detour by the name of Dunsmuir

So while driving on the 5 through Northern California we saw signs for this little historic town called Dunsmuir.  It was early morning and we had already been on the road for two and a half hours and we were hungry.  So off the freeway we came, driving on to this winding mountain road.  This is what road trips are all about.  One of my favorite things to do is find little gems.  Things you wouldn't know about other then by driving and seeing with your eyes.  Some of the best experiences we have ever had on the road is from simple little impulses to follow a sign that says "this way" or saying "want to check that out?"

It ended up being this awesome little town high up in the forest with incredible views and according to this sign: The Best Water on Earth.  I love the confidence!

Full disclosure, I did drink the water and it was really good.  The fountains run continually so I hope the water is not recycled back in...
At any rate, we ate a fantastic breakfast a café and decided to walk around a bit before hitting the road again.  After all we had about 700 miles to cover by that night.  The town had little unique touches everywhere.  This fantastic mural for instance.

 The buildings were very interesting to look at as well, lots of homes that had unique and artistic little elements to them.  Lots of green everywhere.

The firehouse was very cool, a historic building that was well maintained and I think still functional.  I know the sign says Sheriff, but it was a Firehouse too!

We only took 20 minutes or so to walk around, but from what I could see this little historic town was peaceful and serene.  It is also a stop on the railroad, so that would be a fun little trip!  This is the train stop right here, or at least part of the station.  I think a newer building was off to the left, but I didn't get a shot of it.

There were all these historic buildings that were old homes turned into store fronts.  Being that it was early Monday morning; nothing was really open.  So I snapped shots of the store displays.

I knew we must be getting close to the Oregon boarder when I saw Blackberries growing onto the sidewalk.

The air was so fresh and clear up there. Everyone smiled as we passed, and were very polite.  It was refreshing to say the least.  I spotted this old movie theater, I just love old movie theaters.

We had circled back around and saw our parked car on the main drag.  Was that really the time?  We had been here an hour!  Oops, time to hit the road.

 One last look at the incredible view that is enjoyed by the locals here in Dunsmuir.   I believe that is Mt. Shasta...What an amazing little town.  I am glad we stopped here.

It's vacation time

Well it is finally here, vacation!  The coop and various other project have been put on hold while Procrastination Ranch goes on vacation.  A road trip that has been long over due.  The PNW needs to be explored, and we are the ones to do it!  I fully intend to nerd out at the local museums featuring the great migration to the west.  Lewis and Clarke museum and the like.

Everyone I know that has been to, or lived in Oregon says the same thing to me;
"you would love it there!"

So we are very excited to go.  This trip in particular has been talked about for years.  Back in the day (before kids) we had grand plans of all these road trips.  Oregon and Washington being top on the list.  Now, a mere 10 years later the time has come!  We did Washington years ago when friends of ours were getting married in Spokane.  I decided that we would extend the trip for the wedding into a family vacation and made arraignments to fly into Seattle and rent an RV and drive across Washington to the wedding, and then continue on into Canada for a week and fly back out of Seattle.  One big loop.  It was amazing, to say the least.  But I digress...

Oregon here we come!

(Mom and Dad please feed kitties and doggy and water plants... the ones in the back too.  Oh, and get the mail?  Pretty please?  Thanks!!)

Coop De Ville

So the chicken coop is coming alone nicely, with progress being made almost everyday.  I have photographic evidence to prove it!

The chicken ramp

I just love the sound of the hammer clacking against the nails and wood.  It was very satisfying whacking with all my might and watching the nail imbed itself into the paneling.  Wiping sweat from my brow, I imagined the grateful little chickens running around and pecking at the carpenter ants that are over running my back yard. 

View from my kitchen window, the open half of the one wall will provide a nice breeze to keep the chickens comfy in our dry hot summers.

We got nice heavy duty hinges for the double doors.  Mmmmm hardware....

The top to the nesting boxes is done!

The last of the walls are done and the window has been installed.  Complete with hinges to let some air in.  Happy chickens make lots of eggs :)

All the openings have been covered with chicken wire to keep predators out. No animal is going to eat my chickens before I do!

The dang staple gun kept getting jammed making the chicken wire very difficult to get done, which was frustrating in and of itself because it should have been one of the easiest jobs!

The kids have proclaimed that they are sleeping in the chicken coop tonight, with plans to lay down blankets and pillows.  After trudging load after load of stuffed animals and books and blankets the kids talk about how awesome it is going to be, then (spoiler alert!) mom says no, put it back.
awe shucks!  :(  "We never get to do anything fun!"  They cry. 

     Part of me wants to let them go through the motions and see how long it takes before they are knocking on the door to come in for a snuggle and a story.  However these thoughts are ignored and instead the old fuddy-duddy wet blanket comes out of my mouth - shooting down their nocturnal adventures.  Maybe some other night, but for now I have other plans for them... like cleaning their room for instance, which has been turned upside down in their enthusiastic pursuit of sleeping in the coop.

The pressure is being felt to get the Coop De Ville (yes I named the coop and yes it is the "Coop De Ville") done soon as we have planned a road trip up to Oregon for the end of this month and I want to get those chickens in there when we get back.