New Patio Cover

Four years ago, we had to take down our patio cover when we opted to update our siding with Hardiplank.  When we bought the house, it had an arbor type cover and we really wanted to have it completely covered.  I'm the plant fanatic, so my husband could care less about the back porch.  I'm pretty persistent though, and this year we had the funds to put towards the patio cover. 

Before...

It's not a small space without all my plants cluttering it up, but a little naked looking if you ask me...boring!!

Work Day 1...Wednesday

Work Day 2...Thursday

Work Day 3...Friday

Next week, they'll finish boxing in the overhang from the little roof part that goes over the kitchen window and put the shingles on.  We'll still need to put a rain gutter across the front, stain it all, paint the new Hardiplank and add the ceiling fans.  In the area where the little arbor is, we're going to take out the Esperanza's (hopefully to relocate), adjust the plant bed and lay down down pavers or something.  I'm not 100% sure what I want to do with that, but I've seen it in backyards when I'm driving and I liked it.  I'm thinking it will be a perfect place for succulents, but still have to do a little more thinking.  Those things might take a bit, but I will have updated of the almost finished project once they get the shingles on this week. 

It was WONDERFUL to sit under it Saturday and watch the rain!   I'm looking forward to lots of time in my new space.

Mr. Graceful...not!

Charlie has learned there's a whole new world to be explored at the top of the stairs.  We've had Charlie and Molly with us for about two month, and until last week they never paid any attention to the staircase.  Gone are those days.  The first couple of days when he found the stairs, he would only go to the first or second landing.

I tried to get him to come up the stairs, but he just stood there and looked at me while banging his tail against the wall.  That was yesterday.  This morning, he made it all the way up and explored the bedrooms.  It was kind of cute watching him go room to room.  As he walked from room to room, he'd do that wiggly, submissive puppy thing like they do when an older dog is checking him out.  He wasn't so sure about coming down, so I had to pick him up and lug him back down.  It was that or face the wrath of a teenager being woken up by a barking puppy.  The girls didn't have school today and had them out of their kennel more than they should have.  I got a call about 11 a.m. asking me how to keep Charlie off the staircase.  My suggestion was to put the guinea pig's cage in front of it; that got tossed out.  Throughout the day he got a bit braver, and by the evening had become quite a pro at zooming up and down the stairs.  The landing isn't always graceful though! 

I wish I had been further back, because he completely bellied out when he hit the floor...hilarious!

I'll be picking up a baby gate in the near future. They had to go in their kennel early because the girls were preoccupied and he really digs his new game!  I on the other hand don't have that much patience to keep retrieving him from upstairs, not to mention pulling the socks out of his mouth that he keeps carrying down!

Molly hasn't found the joy in the game like Charlie has...no, she'd rather just knock the trashcan over!  I suppose it's a good thing that we're starting obedience classes on Thursday.

Huernia confusa 'Lifesaver'

I stumbled on another Huernia that I didn't already have!!  Let me correct that, I had one coming in the mail, but I really didn't know if they were the same or not, and the more Huernias, the better!  The other varieties I have were in this post.  Now I know that this one is different than the one that I recently received in a swap, because that one is red and this one is brown. 

Meet Huernia confusa 'Lifesaver'...in brown!

The first picture was outside, but I couldn't get close enough with my camera since it's pouring down rain right now.  I threw on my rain jacket, tiptoed through the mud to bring it in for a better picture.  I adore the raised "lifesaver" in the middle.  

I think these are running a close race for my favorite next to my treasured Kalanchoes! 

Elk Hunt

Little did I know 16 years ago when I married a hunter that we would have a freezer full of elk meat. 

In August, my husband and his friend went to Idaho for a week long vacation hunting elk.  He ended up with a 6x6...I'm still not exactly clear on the specifics, but it has something to do with the horns on each size.

Can you say, "Happy Hunters"!  This is my husband and his friend that he went on the hunt with.

I told them they looked like the Beverly Hillbillies on way home!  I think they each had three large ice chests full of meat and then all of the other stuff they took with them.

The horns are almost as tall as Shelby!

Venison and fish are quite common to have in the freezer, but we've added another big game variety to the family diet. I ended up moving all the elk and fish to the dedicated outside freezer, and they fill the entire thing up.  I really hope he doesn't shoot early in the quickly approaching deer season...there's not any room!!

It's taken me some time to get used to cooking venison, but the elk meat has been wonderful!  So far, we've had elk burgers...delicious and roast...equally wonderful! It's not as gamey tasting as the venison, so I think it's much more versatile.

Mall Fun with Hats

Us girls had a little fun yesterday trying on hats at the mall.  First there was the ear muffs, bow and sunglasses.

Followed by the badger hat, I think...both girls had to try this one on.

This was followed by the sock monkey hat, which came home with us.

She also wore it through the mall having a "little" fun with the front strings! 

The most fabulous though is this next one...

I adorned this one as well, but hey...only one person can video!

Hopefully this works...make sure to turn the volume up!

Daughter #1 walked out of the Hallmark store on this one, I guess she has her limits! Party pooper!!

When I was downloaded these from my phone, I realized I had his one too.  While they're technically not hats, these cornucopias sure looked cute on the girls heads during a visit to Hobby Lobby!

It excites this mother that her girls are finally appreciating her crazy hat fetish!

Job Change

My posting and visiting other favorite blogs has been sporadic over the past few months.  For a while I had not been happy at the job I was at.  I wanted to make a change, but kept procrastinating the inevitable.  Finally, this past summer, my husband and I decided that I was going to just put in my notice and take a few months off while I looked for another one.  I was looking, but I just just too stressed out all the time to put too much effort into it, much less get online when I got home.  I put my notice in the first of September and my last day was the 16th.  On the 15th, I got a call from a lead that I had originally missed getting my resume into because of timing, but they wanted to see me.  I went for the interview that following Monday and was offered the job on Tuesday.  This was a little overwhelming because I had come to a place in my mind where I was going to be off a few months.  I have several good friends who have been without a job for months, so I certainly didn't expect just a week off. 

I  had brilliant plans of cleaning out the house top to bottom, having the biggest garage sale of my life and spending some much needed time with my succulents.  Not to mention the books I wanted to get caught up with!  As soon as I accepted the job offer, I let my husband know right away that the week would not be spent tearing apart the house.  Heck no, I had books to read and shows to get caught up on!  I also got to spend half a day in my backyard with my plants; the cheapest therapy I've ever had!

It might sound strange, but I knew that this was the right time.  At church, it seemed like the messages were all aimed at me trusting that God had my back.  That was the same feeling that I had in my quiet time at home.  When I put my notice in, it was as though as switch flipped and I was back to my normal self.  The last week was a tough one because I started double guessing myself.  I refused to go backwards though and was really ready for the downtime.  All in all, I now know that all of this was just a trust thing, and I'm so glad that I took the leap of faith!

This past week was my first week at my new job, and I think I'm really going to enjoy it.  The funny thing is, it's just a street over from where I was previously.  That means that I still get to have lunch with my coworkers friends a few times a week, and that just added to the great week. 

All that being said, I am looking forward to getting back to my computer time in the evenings.  I've missed reading everyone's posts as well as putting my own together!