Sunny day

We finally had a warmer, sunny day and all of the animals are out enjoying it!

4 months

Wood stove update

About a month ago I posted pictures of our wood stove being installed. Here is the wood stove in action:


Having a wood stove is mostly pro's with a few con's mixed in.

PRO's
-Gives a cozy feel to the house.
-Has provided almost all of the heat for the house (i.e. we've not turned the furnace on once since December 21! We do supplement with a small electric radiator in Samuel's room when necessary)
-No need to worry about freezing when the power goes out. This was one of the reasons we installed the stove. The other was to save on our electric bill, which brings us to the next PRO:
-Our most recent electricity bill was $170 LESS than the month prior (before we had the stove).
-The kitty cats LOVE lounging in front of the fire.
-We love lounging in front of the fire.

CON's

-Wood has to be chopped and split to have heat. Good thing this isn't my job or we'd be very cold. (Dan says this should be on the PRO list, since not only are we using a renewable energy resource, but he and Danny get some great exercise preparing the wood.)
-Wood has to be inserted into the stove. This is mostly my task, so it sometimes gets chilly because I forget.
-Having wood in the house is a messy business. I do a lot more vacuuming and dusting than I like now.


The bottom line? We HIGHLY recommend a wood stove as a primary source of heat IF you have a ready, free source of wood, AND the stamina to cut and split it.

Where does the time go?

It just occurred to me that it's been a month since I last updated the blog.  To say that I'm still learning to manage my time amongst work, motherhood, wife, housekeeper, farm and my own hobbies is sadly an understatement.  I'm getting a little better as the weeks go on though.  I will persevere!

Mass upload below!

Homemade dinner

Galveston Chicken.  One of our pastured chickens baked with a spicy rub.

Homemade garlic-butter croutons.

Around the house

Family and friends have been asking me for pics of the house since we moved in.  Sorry it's taken me almost 5 months go get some posted.  Unfortunately, I only got a few pics taken before Samuel woke up from his nap.  I'll have to do another post later... hopefully sooner than 5 months from now.  Here is what I have so far.

Front entryway

Formal dining, at front entry

Living room, open to front entry and formal dining room

Breakfast room, looking into family room

Family room

In family room, looking into breakfast room and living room

Living room, from breakfast room and back door

Loves to play

Samuel loves to play in his exersaucer in front of the back door so he can look outside.  He also loves being a ham while doing so.

Farm truck

Dan wanted to have an old beat-up 4-wheel drive truck to drive around the farm that he wouldn't have to worry about getting dinged and scratched up. I think this truck fits the bill!

Snowy pork

We have a couple of pigs that are ready to butcher.  As soon as we get a night that will stay between 30-40 degrees, Dan and the boys will process them.  Until then, they'll keep playing and romping around...

WFH

At the beginning of the year, Dan started working from home one day a week.  More often when the roads are snowy and icy.  It's been nice having him home with Samuel and I.  It gives me a little bit of a break to do things like go outside and take pictures of him.

He looks a little mad in this pic, but he was really waving and smiling at me.  I think he was on a conference call, so perhaps he was just focusing on work. Note the pretty snowflakes in the pic.

Snow, snow, go away!

We've gotten more snow this year than I can remember.  No sooner it melts, we get more.  It's very pretty, but I'm ready for spring!  Here are some snowy pics around the house.

Snowy front

Snowy front yard and driveway

Side of house from near the barn

Barn/chicken coop from front yard

Back of house.  Hopefully the deck will get built this spring/summer

Sleepy

Samuel fell asleep snuggling with Daddy.

Must have had a restless nap; thus the missing sock.

Little ham

Cozy by the fire

Buddy's all-time favorite spot now is in front of the wood burning stove.

Mmm... tasty

Samuel discovered shortly after Christmas that his hands are fun to play with and tasty to suck on.

Bendy Ball

Samuel playing with his Bendy Ball that Grammy and Grandpa got him for Christmas...

Do you mind?!?

Umm, Mom... can I get a little privacy here, please!

Un-Hunk

Samuel's most favorite thing to do in the whole wide world is eat.  His most dis-favorite thing to do is pause during eating to burp and/or realize he's not getting any more food.  The series of pictures below were snapped in about a 45-second period after he realized feeding time was over...

What the heck??? Where's the rest of my food?

Mom... do something!  Dad won't give me more food!

 

Maybe if I look sad they'll give me more???

That didn't work.  Maybe they want my pitiful look!?!

Ok, how about a pouty face?

I'll just try crying again...

Grammy and Grandpa visit

Dan's parents (aka Grammy and Grandpa) visited for Christmas...

Family room on Christmas morning

Grandpa and Samuel

Buddy playing in a box

Grammy and Grandpa opening presents

Daddy opening Samuel's presents...