Organizing and Routines

I have finally gotten back to being in a routine at work after a super long winter break that ended up being 18 days.  We got 2 extra days due to the polar vortex and during those days I decided to attempt a project that I've been putting off, organizing the attic.  

We've been throwing things in there for the past 5 years and it was time to condense, purge and get it in order.  Everything came out and I went through every box.  We got rid of very little but I condensed and properly organized it all.  

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Busy

I've been around lately but just super busy, too busy to blog.  Once August kicked in I hurried up to finish the projects that I had had been putting off all summer: patching/repainting the porch and fixing cracks in the bathroom.  Then I started to feverishly cook food from the garden and prep meals to stock the freezer for the school year.

I've been picking things from the garden but not taking many pictures.  The past few weeks have been solely focused on getting ready for the new school year.  Ready or not the tomorrow is the first day of school with my new batch of first graders.  I met most of them at preview night last week and I am excited to get started!  Once the school year is underway I should be around a bit more.

A Day At The Fair

We went up to Bowling Green to spend the weekend with my Dad and Connie.  Of course we had to hit up the county fair to see the animals and the usual sights.

 

 I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pose next to a massive (pregnant) milking cow and pretend that this is everyday stuff for us.

  Those pigs looked precious as if they were snuggling, even though I know better.

 

 Sweet corn at a beef auction and my city boy pretending he knows how to drive the tractor.

 

I loved this artwork!  I would buy it if I could.

All in all it was a fun day spent at the fair!

Salvaged Wood

Earlier this year a strong storm sent my Grandmother's barn leaning.  It was a very old barn, according to her 200 years old, but I'm not sure if that's accurate.  We can safely say it's been around for generations.  It's been structurally unsafe for years and was already planned to come down this summer.  Nature just helped to get the process moving.

They tore the barn down earlier this month and I asked that some of the wood be saved for me.  I don't know what I am going to do with it but I have seen lots of ideas out there some are here, here and here.

This past week I went up to sort through what was saved with my Dad.  Much to my dismay we had to cut down some of the pieces that were 18 feet long for storage and transportation reasons.  But I think I got a good haul.

I was able to get some in my car, the rest we got off the ground for storage.  This is one of those many moments I wish we had a truck.  I'm not quite sure how I will get the rest to Cincinnati or what I will do with it.  But I'm looking forward to having it for future possibilities.

Indy

Every summer I look forward to the weekend we go to Indianapolis to spend time with my sister and her husband.  We normally see them when there is a holiday or an event going on, this visit is always just cause to spend time together.

We climbed 32 flights to the top of Circle Monument in downtown.

 

As usual we ate our way through the weekend.  I've heard that a Mexican Coke is better because they use sugar cane instead of corn syrup.  So when we went to a candy and soda shop I found one and had to try it.  We also did some olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting.  We walked away with a sun dried tomato oil and pomegranate vinegar.  It was a great weekend!

Snowy Hike

Not much has been going on in our world other than work and living the routines of life.  After the recent warm up we had it then quickly got cold again and we got a light snow.  We decided it was the perfect weather for a snowy winter hike.

In And Out

I hope that all of you can excuse my absence lately.  I have not been around and will be in and out over the next few weeks.  After many years of substitute teaching on Monday I was hired to teach first grade for this school year.  It is exciting to have my own class but there is a lot of work in preparing my classroom and most of my days right now are spent from morning to night at school.  I will be in and out over the next few weeks as I have time and I look forward to catching up with all of you soon!

Indy

Over the weekend we went to Indy to visit my sister and her husband.  We started off the weekend with a trip to the state fair.

 

On Saturday we made a trip out to Traderspoint Creamery, an organic, sustainable dairy.  We took the "tour" which turned out to be nothing but a walk down a gravel road to a field with a few cows in it.

 

Multiple times we were warned about the electric fences and not upsetting the bulls while out in the fields.  We didn't quite get what the big deal was until we got out there and realized the only fence between us and them was a single electrified wire (which you can sorta see below) and wouldn't stop a charging bull.

 I got a lot of pictures of the animals but none of the humans, whoops.  We spent the rest of the weekend eating some good food and catching some Olympics.  Overall a great weekend with family!

Shootin'

We spent the weekend up near Bowling Green, Ohio to visit my Dad.  So what do you do when you go to the country for a weekend?  You go shootin' in the field back yonder behind the house :)

 

 

I'd say from looks of this sign the city slickers did alright.

 

Andy even took a try at the crossbow too.

Weekend Recap

We had a fantastic and busy weekend.  We went and picked almost 7 pounds of blueberries.  We have been snacking on them a lot so I wouldn't be surprised if we are already down to 5 pounds.  I think I am only going to make a small batch of jam this year we still have some left over from last year.  Many of them are going to get frozen for Andy's smoothies and the rest will be eaten fresh.  We have plans to go back and definitely pick more.

We tend to be homebodies but this weekend we were socializing fools.  We went to Andy's company picnic and attended a 10 year anniversary party.