Brownie Estate Volume 1 Issue 1

 

So here's an update of what is going on at Brownie Estate.

 

Saturday - we had made our plans to do our work in the morning and then spend the afternoon at the pool.  Mother Earth had other plans that included an overcast morning (perfect for the work part) but a hellacious down pour for the afternoon which led to a fifteen degree decrease in temp and no pool.  Sad....yes.

 

The hubby got some wood cut and nicely stacked - he mentioned how pretty it looked, very neat and up against the wall.  He does a lot of cutting and stacking because we heat our home and our water with a {Heatmor} Water Stove system.  The good side of this set up is an extremely low energy bill - in the winter we may pay $90 each cycle to heat our house (2400 sq feet).  It has been as low as $45 for an energy bill and well you just cannot complain about that.  The down side is of course the need for wood which can be a headache.  However, if you properly maintain your system the wood need is relatively low. 

 

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I have received some emails about our my husband's pig.  Personally, I am not fan of this girl.  She hates human beings.  I can see myself finding her a new home on a novelty farm.  To be one of the cleanest animals she sure is messy.  Pigs cannot sweat so in the summer heat they need too cool - thus you see her handy-work (or should I say snouty-work).  Originally we had a kiddie pool in the pin for her - after the monsoons of the summer of 2013 we removed the pool and the piggy decided to do some excavating herself.  Pigs love to root and she is no exception.  Her favorite foods are bananas, watermelons, and cantaloupes....along with anything we eat.....along with anything my chickens eat.....along with ok I'm sure you get the picture.  She's fat and seems pretty happy unless a person comes around so woot woot.

 

This is probably my favorite picture.  We aren't in the process of construction or masonry or painting inside the house yet but we are working outside.  Originally, this picture would have been a pit of overgrowth and scraggly trees.  My husband (along with his dad) have worked at clearing out the scraggly woods behind our house and this is how it currently looks.  The goal here is to have grass and a large area for the kids to play.  There will also be some flowers but you knew that already right?

 

So my husband (fresh buzz cut) is staring at this huge brush pile (refer to the picture above this one) that he wanted to burn.  We aren't under any burning warnings because we've had more rain than Noah lately.  Needless to say it did not burn at all (probably because it had just poured rain for 90 minutes) but he is some pyro dude at heart so he had to play with it.  If you look between the brush pile and the husband you see an opening and a small building in the woods.  Folks you are looking at my future chicken barn area!  My favorite animal off the farm is the chicken (bet you didn't know that) and now I will have an even snazzier coop de la coop!  My little girl is wanting a sheep pretty badly....thinking about fencing in some of the grassy areas on the property for a few sheep.  Do you think I would make a good shepherd?

 

Here's the top of the brush pile - this lasted 20 seconds.

 

 

 

I have read that in advertising two things catch our attention faster than anything else

 

1.  Babies

2.  Puppies

 

Well this little heart melter took four steps on Friday.  This was him as we were waiting on dad so we could get our grub on.  I captioned this photo on Facebook as Date Night with my two stud muffins the one I married and the one I made (and not from a Pinterest recipe).

 

 

OK back to the grind.  Here is one of many boxes of yard sale goodies I have for sale.  I spent about an hour going through baby stuff and pricing it only to think:  why am I doing this?

It is a yard sale and I probably shouldn't be spending so much time pricing but I just feel the need.  Look for a blog post coming up about Brownie's Yard Sale Nightmares.

 

We also decided to move the sale up a month.  Anything I make off this sale will go towards the surprise beach trip in August. My little girl still has no clue and I have nearly spilled the beans like twelve times already.

 

Lastly, this picture.  Last week I worked so hard to get my kitchen in good order.  Normally, you cannot see the counter tops because they are covered in papers, drawings, plates, snacks, five hundred cups (because all five year olds need at least 500 a day to go through), along with cooking items and oils.  So a picture after I had finished it up that morning was warranted.  I am so sick of this kitchen and its nonfunctioning 1930 cabinets and perma stained floor and crappy paint job.  I am totally ready for the remodel to begin and my patiently waiting is quickly turning to impatient.

 

For the first time I can actually see the yard, kitchen, diningroom, deck, laundry room, hall, bathrooms as they will be.  Impatient I have become!