Rory's Flowers

Last week when we were in Florida visiting our kids my daughter Jenny had bought a flower kit for Rory and I to do.  Rory loves making things with Mom and Dad and Grammie and Bumpa so we had fun working with the kit.  The kit came in half an egg carton that included three kind of flower seeds.  There was a dirt disk that we put in water and watched it grow into a mound of dirt mix.  Rory helped with everything from putting the dirt into the egg carton holes to placing the seeds to watering the end result.  She was so excited that she kept going over to the window sill to check it out. Well, she had a big surprise yesterday when the middle holes had sprouts.  The cosmos we planted have sprouted.  The other two, daisies and zinneas, still have another 7 days before we will know if they will sprout.  Jenny said Rory is so excited.  Who knows, next month when we go down to visit we may see some flowers; Rory's flowers.

Love This Camper Gift

Because Tim, Shadow and I live in an RV we do, from time to time, receive gifts that are campers.  Most of the items we receive are ornaments or signs and we love every single item and appreciate the thought behind the gift.  My sister Pam has given us a really cool camper as a gift.  Pam, our friend Pat and I were shopping at Hobby Lobby while I was out in California and we came across this metal camper that has a mess bottom and a little circular door.  It was a camper so of course Pam thought I should have it.  We were trying to figure out what it was for and one of the store associates suggested it was a bird house or feeder.  I guess I could kind of see it but with a mesh bottom?  Then my mind started going and I decided it would make a really cute cork holder.  I was storing my corks from the our wine bottles we were drinking in a glass bowl and thought how cool the camper would be as a cork holder and it would also look great in the RV.  So Pam purchased the camper as a gift and this past week end I put it all together.  Now all I have to do is figure out where to put it in the RV.  Thanks Pam, we love it!

It Snowed...But Just Flurries

The weather is a tough thing to predict especially here at the farm.  Sometimes I think we have a bubble over us to protect us from the weather.  We did get snow but in the way of flurries and it happened Saturday morning.  I was working in the Crafty Cottage and I looked out the window and it was snowing.  It went on for a couple of hours but there was no accumulation.  That was it for the snow except a few flurries this morning.  The snow ended coming in under us so the mountains got snow but nothing here to speak of.  It is still very cold outside and it looks like that is going to stick around for several days.  See, we do have a bubble over us like in the TV show "The Dome".

From One Shed To Another

Tim was shed jumping yesterday.  After he finished up the little details in the repair to the valve in our shed and other little leaks that developed while we were gone he jumped over to Travis's shed with George to do the conversion from gas to propane on Travis's dryer.  Tim did our dryer and George and Lisa's dryer so George asked if he would do Travis's too since he had the experience.  There were a couple of trips to Lowes but at the end of the day working in both sheds was completed.  Good thing because the weather has turned cold and we are waiting to see if and when we will get snow.  We are finally settling back into our routines here at the farm.  Check back on the snow tomorrow!

The Fun Things We Do When We Return

On our first day back at the farm Tim and I both had a very busy day however Tim was extremely busy.  Last week while we were on the road and heading for the farm we got a call from George that our shed flooded.  George fixed and cleaned up the shed, thanks again George, but Tim was going to have to fix the broken valve so we can have water in the shed and RV.  He started what he hoped would be short job into a 3 hour job in the shed then having to deal with some leaks under the RV too.  We lost our water heater for the RV but we don't use it since we have an external one.  Tim worked all day and into the night to get everything taken care of.  There is still some more to do.  I had the joy of grocery shopping, thanks Lisa for driving since Tim needed the car, since we had nothing in the house to eat.  Actually that is not a fair statement because we had the food that was frozen in the freezer and pop tarts.  Oh wait, this is called the fun things we do when we return...hmmm...that would be having friends that help you and getting caught up with everything.  That was fun but that was about it.  So, the best way to make yesterday pleasant?  Look at the flowering trees in the orchard!

We Are Back And On Weather Watch

We are back at the farm and our Escaping Winter journey has ended.  We came home to blossoming trees and daffodils but also the reality that winter is not over just because we are back at the farm.  Saturday night/Sunday morning not only do we set our clocks ahead an hour and Spring ahead but we may be doing it with 3 to 6 inches of snow on the ground.  I know, the jokes on us.  We were welcomed home by Lisa, George and Travis and the dogs, Roxie, Nix and Gaia.  Lisa made a great dinner, Hawaiian Meatballs...Yum and we had some wine with dinner and a toast to us being together again at the farm.  Thank you Lisa, George and Travis for our welcome home.  So, with the threat of snow upon us we are ready for it because we just enjoyed a great journey where we spent time with family and friends, visited some new sights and got to enjoy more of our great country.  For a wrap up of our "Escaping Winter" journey check out my Travels With Ruth blog tomorrow. 

Escaping Winter Is Coming To The End

Tim and I started our Escaping Winter Journey Dec 22 when we left the farm to spend Christmas and New Years in Florida.  From there we headed west and spent 7 weeks in California.  Today we are completing our last leg and returning to the farm.  It is hard to believe have been gone as long as we have and that "escaping winter" may not have been necessary this Winter but we still enjoyed our travels and spending time with family and friends.  It will be hard saying good bye to Rory after only getting to spend just a couple of days with her but we will be back next month.  Thanks again to all who made our journey so successful and fun.  Francisco Farm, here we come!