Piglette

Piglette has grown considerably.  Unfortunately, she is also getting kind of affectionate.  I'm trying not to make a pet of her, but she really seeks out our company.  She's very vocal and wants attention and rubs.

I've never seen a pig snout close up.  It's amazing thing, really.  Somehow that snout can dig big holes.  She can use it almost like a plow.  It feels like rubber to the touch.

She sits like a dog and wants to be petted.  I'm taking pictures from outside the fence because I'm trying to get her to go away from me so I can get a better picture of her.  She won't go away.

It's hard to make eye contact with her because she seems to be always looking down.  It's probably just that her eyes are so little and on the sides of her head.  They can't be seen when you're standing looking down at her.

Pigs have weird long mouths, too.  Sometimes she licks me, which is what she has done here.  In this picture there is a small tusk visible.  I always wonder if she's going to bite me, but she's never tried, even though sometimes she does bite my boots.

Ugh, Winter Garden Work

The worst part of gardening, for me, is the clean up after the growing and harvesting season.  I put it off far too long.  I read about other gardeners "putting their garden to bed", but I let mine stay up all winter like a rebellious teenager.  There is no tucking in or a last drink of water for my garden.  I try to ignore it or procrastinate until nearly spring every year and I'm always sorry.

This year, I've had a pretty good excuse.  We had an early freeze before Thanksgiving.  Of course, I couldn't work out there when it was freezing.  Then there was Thanksgiving itself.  Who has time for gardening when cooking and prepping for the prime holiday is approaching?  Then there was more freezing and raining, then Christmas, then more freezing and raining and freezing and raining.

Today is the first sunny, not freezing day (and by "freezing", I mean "not above 50") we've had in months.  My excuses won't fly.  I must get out there and clean it up.  Except for the mounds of taller green in the center of the picture, which is arugula that is living on and on, every other green thing in sight is weeds that must be pulled.  ugh.

The eggplant and tomato vines have to be pulled out and the asparagus has to be cut back.

I only want to stay in the warm house, drink coffee, eat cookies, snuggle up with a book, and/or work on my upholstery projects.

But, we have a bunch of free mulch waiting on us.  Tom doesn't even have to chip wood this year.  So, the heat is on.

Kitchen Reno XVIII, Finished!

I bet y'all thought I had forgotten about the kitchen reno.  Nope.  It's finally finished and the homeowners have moved in.

Remember what it used to look like?

Click on the pictures to enlarge them and get a better look.  The vintage green lamp on the far right is an Etsy purchase.  I painted the bronze metal frame white because the bronze was just too dull.

The hickory butcher block countertops were the last big project and built by Nephew (in the picture).

Aren't they gorgeous?  He bought the rough lumber and turned them into this.

Lovely edges mimic the simple concrete countertop edge.

He also made the window seat top.

And a new sill for the window above the stove.

The view from the living room.  Sorry about the crookedness of some of the pictures.  For some reason, I tend to lean the camera to the left when I take pictures.  I'm trying to correct that.

When the sink is in the island, there are a few things that have to be done differently because there are no walls to put electricity into.  Our solution was to run the electricity under the house and under the base of the cabinets and put electrical outlets in each end of the cabinet.  There is also a GFI plug in the sink base to plug in the disposal and dishwasher.  I was thinking that we'd have to put the disposal switch under the sink also, but Tom came up with the idea of a button (like this) on the sink.  Aside from his engineering feats that kept the house from completely caving in under all the weight from the concrete, the disposal button was his best design contribution to this kitchen.  I didn't even know they existed.  But, we had an extra hole in the kitchen sink and it worked out perfectly.

Flea market vintage pendants.

Ideally, I'd have liked the crown moulding on the pantry cabinet and above the refrigerator to touch the ceiling, but with the old ceiling being so uneven, it didn't make sense to try to do it that way. Huge amounts of caulk would have been involved.

Another view from the living room.