Now I Know It Is Spring

Now I know it is Spring because I saw my first robin today.  We stopped at a rest sto in Tenneessee and as I was walking to the car there was a robin at the end of the side walk just kind of standing around.  As I moved a little closer to get a picture it did not seem to bother it.  So I took a couple of pictures and I realized that now it feels like Spring.  Welcome Spring!
We left the farm really early yesterday and drove the 12 hours to get to Branson.  We hit one snag along the way where a bridge was closed but Tim figured out a detour to get us back on the route we needed to take.  We jhad a great night with Mom and Jim; it is great to be back in Branson!

Here We Go!

We are on the road and headed West!  The G1stBRT journey has begun!  The Grandparents 1st Birthday with Rory Trip is the new name of this trip and we are so excited to begin this trip.  It feels weird pulling out and not pulling the RV but we know our opportunities for stopping at whatever we want will put a special twist to the trip.  Our first stop is Branson, MO to visit Mom C and Jim!  Branson is like going home since Tim was raised around the Branson area.  So Mom, here we come!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!  I hope you all have a blessed one.  This is our first Easter at the farm and it is the first of many.   Last year we celebrated Easter in Cottonwood, AZ and before that we always seemed to be in Orange Park, FL for Easter when we were traveling.  This is also our last day here at the farm for a couple of months.  We leave tomorrow to start the R1BT journey.
Yesterday we spent the day getting the Crafty Cottage, me, and the Shed, Tim, cleaned up and ready to be closed up for a couple of months.  Today we will spend the day packing, getting the RV ready to be closed up and put the Golf Cart away.  We will be ready to leave bright and early tomorrow morning heading to Branson, MO.  I will be posting daily on this blog but to follow our travels I will be posting on my Travels With Ruth blog (travelswithruth-ruth.blogspot.com) so check it out! 
Have a very Happy Easter!

Paper Crafting

I love Pinterest, have you been on Pinterest?  It is a great site to get ideas on everything from recipes to crafts, DIY projects to redecorating to travel, etc.  It is a one stop site.  I get some great ideas from Pinterest and yesterday I spent the day creating the ideas I see.  I call it paper crafting because I am using paper to create mugs, utensil holders and candy butterflies.  My sister sent me this great thinlet diecut to make mini treat bags and it works great and I created utensil holders for her next SAS in May which I will be there for.  I also created some paper mugs that is going to used for a "party favor" in honor of Mother's Day which will be Sunday of the May SAS week end.  I did create a couple of special door prizes and one for myself.  It is a four seasons hanging banner that can be up all year long.  I know I have posted several holiday banners that I have made but now I have one that can be hung up all year long.  The final item I made is a paper butterfly that can hold four Hershey Kisses.  It is really cute and I had so much fun making it I ended up making 30 of them.  These will also be used as giveaways at Pam's SAS and maybe some for my mom for Mother's Day.  Yesterday was the last creative day I will have in the Crafty Cottage until we get back from our trip in June.  I guess yesterday the Crafty Cottage lived up to it's name. 
Just two days left, counting today and we leave on the R1BT journey.  I am still looking for some name suggestions for this trip so if you have any please send me your suggestions by commenting below, email, text, messenger or call me.  I will announce the name Monday morning.  If  I choose your name for the trip you will receive a souvenir gift from one of the places we visit which could be from Branson, one of the National parks or Hawaii.  The name of this trip should include Rory's first birthday along with going west to get there and needs to be submitted by 6:00 pm tomorrow.   Good luck!

Getting Prepared

Only three days left, counting today, and we leave for our trip out west.  I have originally named this trip R1BT (Rory's 1st Bday Trip) but decided it sounded like Rory was going on a trip for her 1st birthday so I want to change the name a little bit.  I have named our journeys since we began traveling because it was easy to reference a trip and organize the pictures from it.  We have finalized our itinerary but it is not carved in stone and we have built time in it to allow us to stop and see something along the way.  We were not able to do this when we traveled with the RV because we needed to have reservations for campgrounds to park at night.  We do not have any hotel reservations made for this trip so we are free to stop when we are ready.  I have the complete itinerary on my first blog, Travels With Ruth, (travelswithruth-ruth.blogspot.com) and will be updating that blog daily while we are on the road.  I will also have daily posts on this blog too.  It will be what we are doing but will also cover things that happen at the farm while we are gone courtesy of Lisa and George keeping us updated.  So, yesterday Tim and I went to Newport to get some things for our trip and  while we were in town we got the car washed; it had been a while.  It was only the second time the car has been washed.  When we got home Tim cleaned out the inside and took out the mud mats and replaced them with the carpet mats that came with the car.  For the next few days we will be washing clothes, getting packed and cleaning out the refrigerator and freezer.  By Sunday we will be packed and ready to depart early Monday morning.  Check my other blog for more trip details!

First Cut Of The Season

Spring is in full swing here at the farm and so it was time to cut the grass for the first time this season.  The last time the grass was cut here at the farm was sometime in October.  Unfortunately we had a fatality here over the winter.  George's Steiner tractor died and could not be fixed easily so it was retired and pulled to the barn to become a project for a later date.  This meant that George needed to purchase a new lawn tractor.   He did a lot of research and he and Tim visited several places  because he wanted to get something that would work well on the hills with zero turning.  So he ended up purchasing a Cub Cadet mower.  It was delivered a couple of days ago  just in time to mow before the rains hit today.  So George spent a good part of the day mowing the orchard and Tim, using the push mower that he borrowed from George, mowed the hillside that is too step for the Cub Cadet.  Now the grass looks nice again, for about a week, then it starts all over again.  George seemed please with his new Tool, I called it a toy but was corrected, so all is good here at the farm.

The New Driveway

The Golf Cart now has its own driveway.  Tim has been working hard creating a drive way.  Since he and George cleared out some trees and brush between the RV and road the area seemed destined to have a driveway for the golf cart.  This way we can get in and out of the "golf cart garage" without driving on the grass.  Driving on the grass is not a big deal unless it is wet then it gets torn up and we are hoping to have a nice lawn again near  and around the RV now that the deck it built and paths and driveways have been created.  Thanks Tim for working so hard in creating the driveway; it will be well used and save the grass!