The Guest Cottage

Okay, I admit it, it's tiny but I love it.  My guest cottage is just big enough for a double bed, a side table and a rocker.  No bathroom or electricity, just a place to sleep.  I bought it just as a frame of old wood, but once it was moved to our property, the builder of my little cottage used wood and tin off an old house in the back of our property.  I loved the old weathered blue paint so we left it original.  The beadboard and windows inside are from the old house too.  Inside you'll find an old iron bed, quilts (of course), an old rocker and table with a wash basin and pitcher. 

Family and friends are always welcome to grab a flashlight and a pitcher of water to wash your face or brush your teeth and head on out there. 

My next project?  I bought a small grain bin and want to make that into another guest house. 

2 a.m.

Yep, that's what time it was.  I sat straight up in the bed last night because the dogs were all barking and jumping around.  My husband was out of town so I got up and looked out the window, figuring the wind had knocked something over on the porch.  There they were - the donkeys out doing what can only be called "frolicking" in the backyard.  They were running in circles and jumping up and down like they had won the lottery, but they had won something even more exciting . . . freedom! 

I put on my boots and a sweater, grabbed a flashlight and took off out the backdoor.  When I got outside I saw that the entire side of the electric fence, both wires, were completely down and on the ground.  Just as I got out there, Daisy and Blue, the two horses in the same pen, casually walked out and took off into the hay field.. 

Now is the time to pat myself on the back.  I didn't panic and call one of the neighbors to help, even though I know they would have gotten dressed and come to help me.  I simply tied the fence on as best as I could, got a feed bucket with some sweet feed  and calmly walked out to Lilly and Sunny like it was the middle of the day, tempted them with the feed and they followed me back into the pen.  Next was Blue, then Daisy.  I am sure Fred will laugh at my fence repairs but I'm just glad I could handle it myself.

To tell you the truth, the air was cool and the stars were out, so it was actually really nice being outside in the middle of the night.  If I had a bed on the back porch, it would have been a perfect night to sleep there.  I need to put that on my list of projects.  A sleeping porch.  On Fred's list?  Rewire the fence.

A few little feathers . . .

A few weeks ago I had a hen that was nesting.  She was sitting on about 5 eggs from different hens and I didn't bother her.  I was gone for a couple of weeks and upon my return, I checked on the hen to see if she was still sitting there.  She was, so we decided to push her out of the nest and get the eggs since they had been sitting so long.  Okay, that was our first mistake.  We should have just let her stay on them.  We took 22 eggs out from under her and brought them inside.  Yes, I said 22!

My husband told me if they floated, they were no good but if they dropped to the bottom of a pot of water, they were good.  I tried this and threw out the two that floated, putting the rest in the refrigerator.  When I took an egg out the next day or so, I started to crack it and noticed it was black inside.  I was freaked out but luckily my hero, Fred, came and discarded it.  I cracked 3 more and they were fine. 

When the scouts came for their camping trip this past weekend, I gave them 3 dozen eggs to use (and get rid of) so I could start fresh with new eggs.  They were happy to have them until one of the scouts cracked open an egg for breakfast and found what apparently was the beginning of a baby chick with little feathers and all.  Being boys, they were slightly amused and grossed out at the same time, but decided they did not want any more eggs.   A few little feathers can really ruin a breakfast.

I am trying to decide what to do with my rooster.  I didn't buy a rooster, but he was a baby chick that has grown up and is now fertilizing my eggs.  I am thinking about getting rid of him and posting a "GIRLS ONLY / NO BOYS ALLOWED" on my hen house.  I do, however, love to hear him crow in the morning.  Decisions, decisions.

Dirt Roads

Plain and simple, I've never met a dirt road I didn't like.  I am always intrigued about what is down each road.  Could it be an old plantation, fields of flowers or miles of corn, cows grazing . . . it could be anything.  I have been known at any given time to catch a dirt road out of the corner of my eye and regardless of where I was heading, turn and go in a completely different direction.  Of course your cell phone doesn't usually work out there, and there's always a chance of getting stuck, but it doesn't phase me.  I can't help it, I'm just so curious.  I could spend hours just rambling around before finding my way back home. 

I used to work in the city and sat in traffic every afternoon heading home and dream of being on the roads out here.  I have often said I'd rather drive an hour on country roads than sit in traffic for 30 minutes.  It's such a freedom that you just can't get in the city.  Being out here is not everyone's dream come true.  My grown kids can't imagine living out here, even though we are very close to the town of Holly Hill, but they enjoy the city life in Charleston, restaurants, movies, all kinds of activities and people.  I get that, but for me it's the dirt roads that make me happy. 

I Made Jerky!

My husband and I got a dehydrater a couple of years ago but never used it.  I decided to pull it out and try to make jerky.   Turns out, it's really easy! 

All you do is add the seasoning packet and cure packet with a pound of hamburger or venison burger, then pack it into the jerky gun.  I definitely need a little more practice getting it to come out consistently but you just make strips of the mixture, lay the strips in the dehydrater and let it dry for several hours.
That's it! 

Yeah, I did it!

The Longest Yard Sale

I talked my daughter-in-law into going on the Longest Yard Sale with me this past year.  We had never been before and were anxious for our big adventure.  It ended up raining off and on during our trip but we had a great time and got some really neat things.  We started in Alabama and worked our way up. 

We had no idea how far we would get each day so we did not make any reservations ahead of time.  On Friday we waited too late to start looking for a hotel so everybody was booked.  We found a Holiday Inn Express that had one room left and we told her we wanted it.  We offered to give her a credit card number over the phone to hold the room but she said she was too busy to take the number, just give me your name and I'll hold it.  We got there and she had already sold the room!  We were debating and laughing about sleeping in the car in the Walmart parking lot and I even went and bought a pillow and pillowcase.  We tried a few more hotels listed on the GPS in the area and found another place that had rooms available and only $60 a night.  When I told the gentleman on the phone that we wanted to book a room, he said "You do know this is a nudist resort, don't you?!"  I just about dropped the phone and said "nope, didn't know that."  Sarah texted her sister and Matt and asked them "Walmart parking lot or nudist resort?" and they both said nudist resort.  Luckily we found a B&B a little farther away and it was beautiful.  We had lots of laughs thinking about what we would have encountered at the nudist resort.  Maybe next year.

Here's a picture of Sarah with a big cotton basket she bought on the trip.  She also bought a baby crib, a vintage bowl set, two quilts and a funky lamp.  I bought two iron beds that I love.

By the way, Alabama and Tennessee - you are beautiful!!!

The Disclaimer

Any time I go out of town and leave my husband here with the animals, he gives me what I like to call "the disclaimer."

The day before I plan on being home, he starts the phone conversation with . . . "Well, the house is kind of a mess because I've been working alot and one of the dogs got sick in the house last night, and another one of them chewed up the newspaper.  Then I had to throw the bedspread in the washer because Molly has been sleeping on it and I didn't get a chance to do any dishes because I had to go buy horse feed and we were out of dog food."  This disclaimer is used to tell me ahead of time not to expect much when I walk in the door.

When I got home from a trip today he had swept the kitchen floor, but there were dishes in the sink, the bed was a big pile of blankets and sheets, there was a bunch of clothes on the dining room table, the refrigerator was full of styrofoam containers and there were some dog blankets in a pile on the porch which had been thrown up on. 

I can't help but smile when he starts the disclaimer because I know what's waiting for me, but it's still so nice to be home!

More You Probably Live in the Country if . . .

Okay, here's a few more.  You probably live in the country if:

1.  No two eggs in your refrigerator are the same color;

2.  You actually "hang" clothes;

3.  You hope your husband is getting you snake boots for Christmas;

4.  Your second language is deer - you know what "button buck" and "cow horn" mean.

More to come, I'm sure!

Where are my eggs?!

I like the fact that my chickens are free range.  They are happy to see me in the morning and anxious to get out for the day.  One thing I didn't know was that chickens will head to the chicken coop on their own before dark to roost for the night so it's easy to close them up each night.  Works great for them because they feel safe from predators at night and it works for me because I know where they are. 

But here's the problem.  Free range means laying eggs in the woods, under farm equipment, wherever they feel the urge.  It's frustrating to feed 10 hens and only get 2 eggs in the nest each day.  When you do find them in the woods or under the shed, you don't have any idea how long they've been out there.  Could be a day or two, could be two weeks, who knows?  So I have decided they need a chicken yard.  I told Fred I'd like to have a big chicken yard with the chicken coop inside.  Free range with limits, that's the way to go. 

We host a scout troop each year for a big campout and they are always asking what service they can do for us while they are here, to say thanks for the weekend.  Guess what they're doing this year?  Yep, a chicken yard.

Another Chicken Backpack?!

As we all know, Diesel wore the first chicken backpack but I am afraid there could be a chicken backpack in Hannah's future as well.  She can't leave the chickens alone no matter how much trouble she gets into.  She's not trying to kill them, she doesn't have a mean bone in her body.  She just likes plucking their feathers.  She pins them down and just pulls feathers out by the mouth full.

Three of my chickens left home.  I thought they must have gotten killed out in the woods but I couldn't find any feathers or signs of a struggle.  Turns out, they just left home.  They were residing under the cookhouse at the front of the property.   I guess they would rather live up there, eating the cat food than come back to their little chicken coop and be continuously molested by Hannah.  One of the ones that left home had already been "plucked" by her.  I named her Baldy.

Grass

Right before the dinner we hosted for our daughter and son-in-law we bought two types of fast growing grass seed for the backyard and quickly spread it out.  Then it rained for a week.  Our gorgeous green grass was thick and beautiful.  The only problem was, the seeds all moved to my garden area during the rain.  Still bare spots in the yard were a drastic contrast to the luscious green grass growing in my garden.

Now we hated the idea of plowing it up but we couldn't find the vegetable plants I planted!  I didn't know what was a weed and what was a vegetable.  I called the garden my "surprise garden."  I didn't know what, if anything, would come up and be edible.

Another valuable lesson learned.

My garden (and grass)

Dinner under the Stars

Our daughter and her new husband were coming home for a visit and we wanted to host a dinner party for them.  I had planned on having it under the stars but just as we were setting up the tables, the wind picked up and was blowing everything away so we went with Plan B and put the tables up on the porch.  We had gathered all different kinds of chairs and painted them all white, used a mix of dishes from different sets and the tables were covered with burlap painters dropcloths with a lace overlay.  I was a very special night and everyone had a great time.  On the menu - shrimp and grits of course.

Thank you, Miss South Carolina!

One day I was telling my husband I read an article about Miss South Carolina and how she was asked what brings out her inner Southern Belle and she made the statement that she felt most Southern when she has on her pearl necklace and earrings.  I wasn't hinting at all, but simply made the comment that I have never had a set of pearls.  We had bought pearls to give our daughter on her wedding day, but I just never really thought about having pearls myself.

Well, guess what I got for Christmas?  You guessed it.  A pearl necklace from my husband and pearl earrings from my son and daughter-in-law.  And you know what?  She was right.  I feel most Southern when I wear my pearls too. 

Thank you, Miss South Carolina! 

Anybody See Anything Wrong with this Picture?

Last summer I went away for a weekend with the girls.  When I got back I went out to my garden to "gather the crops" that I was sure had grown like crazy while I was away a few days.  This picture is the total amount I gathered.  The little red dots are my tomatoes.  They were not cherry tomatoes but supposed to be regular size tomatoes.  The zucchini was big enough to feed a family of 8 or use as a lethal weapon.  The okra, well, I just cut them up and we ate them, all of them, in one bite.

The corn never got big enough to bother with but the donkeys and horses enjoyed eating the stalks and Diesel loved ripping the stalks out of the ground so he at least got some exercise out of it.  Squash never made an appearance, nor did watermelon or anything else I planted, oh, except the lettuce.  I had a nice row of romaine lettuce but it tasted terrible.  Not to be deterred, I will try again this year.

You want me to do WHAT?!

After a family dinner one night, my daughter-in-law left our house and started driving back to Charleston when she called to tell us that a deer had just hit the side of her car.  She and her passengers were fine and didn't stop, but wanted to let us know in case we wanted to go see if the deer was injured and needed to be put down or moved out of the road.  She couldn't get ahold of our son, Matt, in their other car and was worried (the roads were wet from a light rain) so we jumped in the truck with our flashlights and headed to where the deer was.  Matt was fine and did not stop either but there was the deer, dead in the road.  I didn't get out of the truck and figured Fred was just going to move it off the road but after he moved it, he told me to call a neighbor and see if he wanted the deer for the meat.  He hated to waste it.  Our neighbor was happy we called and Fred told him we'd bring it to him.

Then he said four little words I'll never forget - "Grab those two legs." 

I gave him the "You want me to do WHAT?!" look, but in the dark it didn't even phase him.  Now, I'm no princess and I will do pretty much anything Fred wants me to do, but this was definitely not on my bucket list!  We swung the deer up into the back of the truck and off we went.

I'm so glad it was dark and rainy so no one could recognize us.

Just Goofing Around with the Dogs

Molly and Hannah, this is NOT a convenience store and that is NOT a snack!

No puppy kisses for me today ~ ew!

Diesel with a dirt mustache.  He loves to dig!  Doesn't he look like the Joker?!

Molly picked this hat up and ran off with it.  Too bad she couldn't see where she was going. 

What, me?  No, I didn't see who chewed on the chair.  It was already like that!!

Okay, I admit it.  I have a chewing problem but how long do I have to wear this shoe?

Welcome to our Home

Well, I've shown you the outside of the house and our moving day, now I can show you the inside.  I love mixing old and new pieces together and as I mentioned before, love flea market and estate sales so in viewing the house, I'll point out the some bargains along the way.

 In the kitchen we had to take everything out and start fresh.  The island is a dresser we bought at a thrift store and made into an island, the brown cabinet in the corner was bought at an auction and the hoosier belonged to my great-grandmother.  That's a story for another day.  My husband bartered the granite for our countertops with a guy that needed work on his boat.  Love that!

We fell in love with these really old doors so we bought them and built two identical pantries for the kitchen.  When I say "we" built them, I mean Fred and his guys at work.

 Lack of storage is always a problem in old houses.  The bench under the windows was bought at a thrift store.  I painted it and added pillows.  Notice the guns in the corner.  Now that's country.

I made the pillows for these chairs on the porch from material I bought in Paris.  The two large milk cans came from a flea market in Germany and I found the small one at the local flea market.

This built-in cabinet in the dining room is a good place to store quilts and an old camera collection along with some dishes.  The wood birds on top of the cabinet were bought for $3.00 each at a thrift store.  I pick up quilts any time, anywhere but prefer old ones that were gently used.  I am not one to leave them in the cabinet.  We bring them out and use them all the time.

The one bathroom in the house had to be redone completely so we added black and white tile on the floor, new bath tub, sink and fixtures.  The walls had some thick black stuff under the plasterboard so it all had to go.  New walls and some old hunting pictures I bought at an estate sale complete the bathroom.    See below for the new half bath we added.

Our dining room and living room are separated by glass french doors.  The lanterns on the table are sometimes used on the steps outside when we're having company.

When the house was moved, we had to do away with an old three-sided fireplace that had been closed up for years.  When they took the fireplace out, we realized the hole left was big enough for a small guest bathroom.  The contractor that put it in matched the beadboard in the bathroom to the rest of the house using salvaged wood from another area.  You probably recognize Lilly and Sunny in the pictures on the wall.