Painting

We have a lot of out buildings built out of press board, most of which were never painted before we moved in. Since the sun shine tends to be in limited supply around here, I tend to go a little overboard when I see a week with no rain in the fore cast.
This is Pop's little house that we built for him. It looks much better with a coat of paint.  It still needs some work around the edge of the roof, and then I'll be able to finish the paint job.

This is the generator shack. It also stores buckets of sand for winter cat litter.

This used to be the work shop. The garage didn't have hydro when we moved in. Now I'm using it to store farm supplies that aren't tack. Rabbit cages, water heaters, feed dishes, etc.  My second batch of chicks also started off in here.

This is my garden shed. It used to be an extension of the chicken coop. We moved it over to the garden since we weren't using it for chickens anyway.

If you're wondering why most of it is pink, it's really not that I'm a girly-girl. I'm just cheap. I'm not fussy about colour, but I am fussy about price. I watch for mistint sales all the time. Some places will sell mistints as low as $2/gallon. The town also does a paint swap every year, so I go late on the last day and pick up all the leftovers. I buy all sorts of colours, and then mix them together in 5 gallon pails. Whatever colour they turn into is the colour I paint. I do try to keep similar colours together, so everything doesn't end up brown or gray, but that's the limit. As long as it's all latex anyway. I don't like oil paint. Too much work and waste for clean up- I reuse the same rollers and paint brushes all summer, sometimes longer. I also don't think they mix as well, not to mention the smell. To be honest though, the pink was an excellent deal- $25 for a 5 gallon pail of mistint.

 We did the garage and the entrance way to the house the first summer here.  It was leftover brown from our last house.  It was kind of a mistint too.  We knew the base paint was for a dark tint, but it was really cheap, at $15 for 5 gallons.  I bought three of them, and tried to get them tinted as light as we could.  I ended up lightening the brown as we worked our way through that house, adding white after each room.  Still had about 8 gallons left when we moved here.

 The garage was actually the beginnings of a small house that the previous owner got from the guy who was building it.  He had it moved here to be a garage, but never did anything with it.  My dad and hubby put the big doors in the front of it.  Then hubby reinforced the floor. 

 There were a couple gallons of brown left afterwards, so I added all the latex paint that the previous owner had left in the basement, to create this greenish-beige.  Unfortunately 5 gallons only covered one side of the barn.  The older and more weathered press board gets, the more paint it takes to cover it.  It chips and bubbles and falls apart while you're painting.

My bedroom and living room are both painted from the same bucket of mixed mistints. The computer desk was a gallon of mistint that I had set aside.  I love the chocolate colour. 

I'm hoping to get pop's place and the barn finished next summer.  And then there's always hope that I might get the trim done all the way around the house, too.

Puppies, Puppies, Everywhere...

They are busy little beasties!  Running around the yard and the house all over the place!  So cute and cuddly, and so hard not to get attached.  Ebony's pups are 8 weeks old now, and some have moved on to their new homes.  It's sad to see them go.

Cindy's pups are getting busy, at 6 weeks old.  They're not quite as outgoing yet, but it won't be long now.

Waldo has had  the big snip.

Wonder went into heat a couple of weeks ago.  Her first.  We've had her, Waldo and Cindy all tied up.  I missed my dogs!  It's not natural having the bed all to myself!  lol.

But now my beasties are back in the house.   Waldo has healed.  Everyone is happy.  And no more puppies for us!

Winter has arrived!

It is a beautiful, sun shiny day!  After three days of tiny, easy to see the crystals in the flakes, snow, we have about two feet of accumulation.  More across the front lawn where it drifted.  Mountains on the edge of the driveways where we piled it.  The temps were running between -5°C and -12°C.  The snow kept coming.

Last night the temperature took a nose dive.  I'm not sure how low it dropped, but it's -24°C now, as I type this, at nearly 10am.  Winter has arrived.

I am not a winter person.  I am a hermit.  I hate to be cold.  I hate walking thrugh the snow.  My big snow boots are heavy.  Walking anywhere is a chore.  Walking through snow drifts up to your ass- a much bigger chore.  I prefer to spend my winters indoors, curled up in front of the fire with a good book.

But we are Canadians.  From northern Ontario.  Where the sun doesn't shine.  Much.  For months.

Which leads some people to think...  my parents...  that I should spend time outside...  to get my sunny D.

That's vitamin D.  A much needed vitamin produced by your skin when exposed to sunlight.  Sunlight which is in short supply.  Especially in the winter.  In Canada.

Add to that- it's pretty darn cold here.  In the winter.  In Canada.

So, even when I do venture outside, there is very little, if any, of my actual skin exposed.  Most often I am covered from head to toe, with just the skin on the top of my nose, between my eyes exposed.  I'm not likely to absorb much sunny D that way, now am I?

But there are days, when I sit and drink my morning tea, reading emails, playing stupid facebook games, blogging, wasting away my time on the computer.  In my living room.  With the fire crackling away.  My house a lovely, warm, 80°F in spots.  With my head uncovered.  My hands uncovered.  And sometimes even a short sleeve shirt.  And the sun comes up behind me.  My living room windows are east and south facing.  Father sun bathes me in his light, and I am refreshed.

These are the joys of winter in the north.  Beautiful, sun shiny days.  Because it's too cold to snow.

Rita

Yesterday, in the heart of the snow storm, Rita went down. We tried for hours to get her back on her feet, and at one point thought she might be out of the woods. When she fell again, we knew it was time to say goodbye. Rest in peace old girl. You will be dearly missed.

 

Rita came to us three years ago, our first summer here on the farm.  We had lost Sailor, #3's first pony that winter.  Rita was listed as a 31 year old saddlebred mare, free to a good home as a companion horse.  When we talked with her heart broken owner, and went to see her, we learned that she was severely emaciated.  The woman had boarded her horses out of town, and lost her source of transportation (her boyfriend) that fall.  She didn't get out to see them through the winter, and by spring the damage had been done.

All three horses were severely undernourished, but Rita was the worst of the lot.  She was starving.  She was old.  She had arthritus in her left foreleg, and she couldn't be ridden by adults.  The chances of finding a home for her at all were pretty slim.  But she was exactly what we were looking for.

There is nothing like an old nag when it comes to a child's first horse.  Rita was so well broke and gentle and trustworthy.  We didn't think she'd have the gumption to get too wild and unmanageable by our little boys.  Perfect.

We brought her home and fattened her up.  It didn't take too much work.  Some worm meds, access to free choice hay and grass, lots of petting, brushing and love.  By the end of the summer #3 was in his glory with a horse of his own.

Rita grew into her own that winter.  In addition to all the hay she could eat, she had the only private stall in the barn.  Right in the middle, where she could be kept warm by the other bodies milling about.  She was treated to extra grains and special high fat, high fibre feeds.  By spring she was roaring to go.  Practically a filly again.

And so it happened one day, while #1 trotted up the road on Tori, and #3 walked along with Rita.  #1 let out a click, click, click with his tongue, and off he and Tori gallopped.  And Rita decided she wouldn't be left behind.  #3 learned the art of staying in the saddle at a gallop without notice.  And he was hooked.  Speed is amazing when you are 7 years old.  From that moment on, they gallopped together all the time.  For hours at a time.  I'd tell him to slow down so I could take pictures, and he begrudged those moments.  But then they were off and running again.

I rode Rita once.  Just once, before I handed her over to him.  She was a beautiful ride.  She couldn't handle the weight of an adult for long, but I had to make sure she was safe for him.  I have to admit, I was totally jealous.  If Tori ever gets to that degree of responsiveness, I will be truly blessed.

#4 hasn't been much of a rider yet.  He likes to go for a walk, with someone leading him around, but hasn't expressed much interest in riding on his own.  When I thought he was ready last summer, I put him up on Rita and handed him the reigns.  She walked a little bit with him, turned slightly, and he spooked.  Panicked.  Jerked the reigns.  She wasn't impressed.  She took him over to the closest tree and stuck him in the branches.  She refused to move until I went over and got him down.  It was pretty funny in retrospect.  I guess she was a one boy horse.

We learned from our farrier that Rita had had a long and busy career.  She'd won many shows and events in her youth.  She was a proud mama of at least two other show ring winners.  She was worth a lot of money once.  And here she was, the heart and sole of the farm, the most glorified pet, in her final home, a freebie.

Rita was my trusted lawnmower.  After riding and treats, we often left her at the edge of the garden, or in the back yard, no fence, no ties, no lead.  She was free to munch away the rest of the afternoon, where the others couldn't be trusted to stay.

Rita was never pushy.  Walking into the pasture with carrots or apples is a certain way to meet friends.  Some who are just a little eager and friendly.  Some who get their treat and chase everyone else off, thinking they will get all the treats.  Some who would check your pockets to see if there were any more treats in there.  Rita would stand off a ways, just watching.  She'd wait for us to come to her.  Let us give her hugs and kisses.  Wait for us to tell those bossy others that these treats were not for them.  She'd accept her treat happily, and gently, but not pester for more.

Rita was the one who would stand in her place as we approached without treats, too.  The others had their moments, sure, but they were just as likely to accept a hug, or a hand on their halter as not.  Rita never faltered.  If it was a friendly pat that we wanted, she was happy.  If it was time to go and ride, she was happy then too.

In this time of change, the one thing we hadn't even considered, was the idea of looking out into the pasture and not seeing Rita.  Of course we've always known she was an old girl, and it could happen at any time.  But still, her spirit was so young, that we weren't prepared for it.  We are all broken hearted and hurting.  But we will cherish the memories always.

The Centre of My Universe

AKA...  my computer desk.  I didn't take a picture of it before I started.  The clutter and chaos were unbelievable.  But then about halfway through clearing it off, I decided to paint it.  So I snapped a couple of shots to show you what it used to look like, kind of...

We used to have one of those big corner desks.  You know the type...  They look really cool in the store, or other people's houses.    But then you buy one, and discover that it's really very crowded.  And then you move a couple of times, and try to figure out where to shove it in a corner where it's not going to block a doorway or a window.  And then you still need another desk, because there's no place to put your printer without it being a pain in the arse.  And then your kids get bigger and you get a second computer... 

Well, we ripped that sucker apart.  The shelves you see on top and bottom come from the original desk.  Press board with that fake wood veneer finish.  Hubby cut a sheet of 3/4" plywood in half for the desk top.  The ends are two small MDF bookcases that we had at the time.  One was painted green, the other brown.  The book shelves face outward, which worked really well at our old place.  The desk fit perfectly between two doorways.  Here, that doesn't work so well.  There's only about a foot and a half of space between the left end and another book case on the wall.  I keep my printer paper and stuff I don't want the kids digging through down there.  It actually works pretty well that way.  Out of sight, out of mind.

I cleared off about half of the desk- all the stuff that was likely to fall off- and we pulled it away from the wall.  I washed the wall and did the putty.  And as I'm standing on the ladder looking down at the top of the desk, I am really annoyed with the whole mess.  The dust.  The clutter.  The crappy press board that's chipped in various locations.  The stains on the plywood.

I kept dusting and cleaning as I waited for the putty to dry.  Well, I got to wondering how the paint would go on over that crappy veneer.  Hmmm...  So I grabbed a brush and did a little test spot at the back.  I only did one coat, so it still kind of shows the wood grain look through the paint.  And off I went...  I had the desk done before the wall.  #3- the head of the computer addict department here- had himself a very miserable day.  But I think it was worth the whining. 

I think it came out pretty good in the end.  My crappy camera doesn't do it justice.  It is rather strange not to be surrounded by stacks of clutter though.  The really cool thing...  Right there in front of my keyboard...  That's $19.  $19 that I lost months ago in the clutter.  Money that we collected for a fundraiser, that I ended up paying out of pocket.  So it's kind of like I got paid for cleaning up my disaster zone.  Gotta like that!

I finished the final wall today.  Hung up the kids pictures that we had taken in the spring.  Nothing like getting things done in a timely fashion, eh?  Sorted through printer paper and books.  Tossed a ton of papers that I no longer need.  Still have two bins of receipts and bills and such to file, but at least they've been moved to the 'tax zone', rather than cluttering the computer desk.  By tomorrow night I should have the rest of the stuff back on the walls and put away.  Just in time to set up the tree!

Winter Work

It snowed!  It finally snowed.  Just starting off gently this year, with a mere 8 inches.  Then some rain, and it sunk.  We're sitting with about 4 inches now, but it's staying, with more in the forecast.

It is officially hermit season.  Yay!  I am so happy!

I wish I could say all my chores were done and I can settle in for a long winter's nap...  but no such luck.  I still have my white rocks to put in the freezer.  But while I'm procrastinating about that, I decided to paint the living room.

That was not a well thought out plan.  The staircase comes down into the living room.  The wall on the far side of the staircase covers two floors.  I can not reach the wall.  Hmmm...  I painted it with a roller on a pole.  It looks ok from downstairs, but upstairs...  uh-oh.  Thankfully there's no reason for guests to head that way.  I need hubby to build me some kind of platform to put the ladder on so I can finish the edges.

The next little hiccup was the front door.  There is a nasty draft along the edge of the door joints.  It causes condensation.  The paint will not dry.  It's going to need some touch ups in the spring.

The third little hiccup.  I already have the south side window covered in plastic.  And I am too lazy to take it down, paint the trim, wait for it to dry, and recover it.  So I will need to finish it in the spring.

The fourth hiccup.  Not really a hiccup.  Just an observation.  Kind of a hiccup.  Should really rip the wall apart...  Ok.  The south wall had these two spots near the ceiling that were very badly covered in soot from the woodstove.  I had been assuming that it just accumulated there because of the way the air flows in the room.  But once the furniture was out of the way, and I started washing the walls, I discovered that they are cold spots.  Either there was never any insulation there, or the insulation has fallen.  Either way, it should be fixed.  Which will be a very messy project.  Which isn't going to happen this year.  For now it has been painted over.
And finally...  my computer desk.  Uh-oh.  The huge monstrosity needs to move.  Before it can move, it needs to be cleaned off.  It is the catch all for papers of all sorts.  It is the centre of activity.  It is the drug of choice for all of the addicts living here.  I have this wall yet to do.  TODAY!  Oh, no.  I am afraid.

But it will look stunning for Christmas.  Because everything will be clean and dusted and uncluttered for the first time in... !!? ...  EVER?  So I should get to work...

The Business of Goats

#1 has made his first sale.

Hard to believe that this cute and cuddly little kid...

Chance, the white kid on the edge of the foundation, with his mom and sister.

Has already grown into this rather large- 160 pounds- billy goat.

Chance, who I'm sure has cost us nothing more than maybe three square bales of hay, brought in a whopping $135.  Not enough to cover the cost of his mother, but hey, he was only one kid.  It gives the boy hope for the future of his business.  He's in debt up to his eye balls right now.  $390 for stock seems like a fortune to the boy.  Now hay and feed for the winter to add onto the total.  He was beginning to wonder if it was worth while.  Or if he should just call it quits.

Especially when Oscar is loose AGAIN, and mowing down mom's garden...

But there is hope for the future.  If Oscar has done his job, and all goes well in the spring, by next fall there should be three billy kids going off to market.  And double the nannies here.  And profits to be made.

l to r:  Mama, Nanner, Oscar, Chance, Lucy, Choice