It's happening

Wow, I didn't think this day would come. The first renter moved out...now I have been told the other one will move out in two days. I'm crossing my fingers but I am NOT holding my breath. There is so much to do

1.Cleaning
2.Stairs
3.Painting
4.Light fixtures
5.Removal of Second Kitchen.
6.Replace all painted over outlet covers
7.Shower curtains etc for second bathroom
8.Fix real Kitchen
9.And of course moving our stuff

thats my little list. The house needs a lot of work but I knew it was going to be a fixer-uper so this is just my movin list.

Ok so we got in there and tried to replace a vanity and found so much more so the bath is going to be a project.

The other renter is 95% moved out and should be done soon!

Improvements will be on our other blog!

In Sickness and Health

Wow we'll let me just say that Patrick and I have been married for just a little over 2 months and life is making sure that we can live up to our vows.

for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health

10 days in Patrick gets hit by a car

16 days in I find out I have a UTI and strep at the same time

31days in I still have strep and now Patrick does too

46 days in he gets laid off

It has been a bumpy ride and I am just trying to keep positive at the moment. Patrick is fine. Who knew that he was tougher than a car. I just cant tell you how grateful I am that he is ok. I think we are both over the Strep thank goodness that was such a pain in the butt. Now for the money. We will be fine but of course there is stress there always is with a loss of a job. I am just trying to keep the flow of money up and Patrick is finding little jobs to do while we wait to hear from potential employers.

Moving or lack of...

On May 26th we gave the renters of our new house their 30 days notice. They were on month to month leases and agreed to move should we ask them to. Since June 26th (technically 31 days) at least once a week one of them tells us he's moving "this weekend" sometimes both of them, and yet nothing. Not to mention the guy who hasn't paid a penny since we gave him his notice and was way behind to begin with.

It has been a constant battle with them always telling us they have a place lined up and then they don't. Recently it has been "I have to fix up the place first" and "I have to wait on the utility company". Quite frankly I don't believe any of it, and Patrick and I are very aggravated. There is so much stuff that he could be working on out there if we could get just one of them to move out, not to mention the amount of stuff that could be done if both of them were out.

The next step would probably be to do all the eviction/small claim stuff, but honestly I don't want to have to do that. Why is it that people cant just do the right thing and move out of other peoples houses when asked? Why must everyone overstay their welcome?

The frustration continues...

Duck House

As you know we have three little ducks but right now they have been cooped up in a brooder in our dining room. Except for an occasional outing. They really love it outside, they are ducks, and I feel bad not letting them out more, however recently the mallards have figured out how to get out and run around the house. I came home to them sitting on the couch the other day, so I am wanting this project over sooner rather than later.

We didn't really want to put the babies out to totally fend for themselves especially with the predators around the property, I really wanted them to have some kind of hutch or something.   

We found a blog that a lady made of a floating duck house. We decided that a floating house would be a wonderful idea and decided to give it a go on our own. 

Cutting the boards down to size.

Patrick and Gabe putting it together

We made the front higher so that the rain would run off. 

We wanted to keep it as waterproof as possible when we painted it so we bought Rust-Oleum Deck & Concrete Restore, and we we thought that olive green would go nicely on the pond a little camouflage for the ducks.

Chicken Fact

Did you know that in Houston, Texas you can't have chickens unless you have a permit? Even then you are only allowed to have up to 7 hens on your property. Do you know what you need to get this permit? Just guess, I bet you can't. OK are you ready.

You need a note from a doctor saying that you need to eat fresh chicken eggs, for health reasons!  I just couldn't believe it, I mean it is Texas.

Little Blessings

So I have this need, well I guess it is more of a want, for everything to happen faster. It just seems like everything homestead related has been happening so slow, probably just because the move hasn't happened yet. I think this blog is good for me, it kind of makes me realize and appretiate the little things because after going through my pictures so I could make this update I realize that there really is more than I had realized, even if they are little things.

So here they are the little things, that make my life a little better.

we got our shed moved over

Everything has been sprouting :)

We are officially producing now! The strawberries are taking off, I can't wait to have other fruits and vegetables!

the boys found a turtle



We took the ducks on an outing in the yard to the little pond. They thought it was fun but I just thought it was bath time. After they got all clean and dried off you could see that hey they actually have a few feathers now! They aren't just little balls of fluff anymore.

Clean Duckies

The Chickens continue to get bigger. I cant believe that they are almost all feathers now. I think it is about time to put them outside but I don't really want to do that until the move, so we can check on them and feed them easily.

Homesteading 1-2-3

The hubby has been all about homesteading lately. Which is what we are calling it by the way "The Homestead". He's been reading this book. 

It's all about being self sufficient. Trying to grow your own food and not have to go to the store or at least not as much. It also talks about how to can food and dry/keep seeds for the next growing season, and a ton of other stuff. He keeps telling me that we could replace one of our incomes, which would be cool, but it all seems like a big dream at this point in the process.

Well you already know that we have chickens and ducks, this is the book i read before we bought our friends that taught me all about them and what to expect in the early days. it was a fun read and had a lot of good info. 

Boy have they been growing fast. Honestly I can't believe how big they get in just a week. Here are the three flightiest birds perched on the side of the brooder. Patrick thinks that our chicks are probably 3 weeks old. They have been really growing lately and getting their wing and tail feathers.

Well like the book says you can farm on less than 1/4 of an acre so we have 4 this should be easy right. Well here is our little start we have two garden beds and a chicken coop. It's a work in progress. 

The funny thing is we really aren't all that big into the veggies however I will say that as I get older I am trying to try more things. Ok so what are we growing in our little gardens? Tomatoes, peppers (all sorts), lettuce, spinach, dill, strawberries, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, peas, green beans and okra. I think that's all for now but I'm sure Patrick will come up with more to plant soon. We have started some from seeds and some from plants we bought at the store. I cant wait for little plants to pop out of the dirt!

When Patrick talks about everything he wants for the homestead, this is what I picture, me ringing the dinner bell with the chickens around my feet. We found a dinner bell in the barn and now Patrick just needs to make me a stand, and it could happen. He does tell me that if he's in the field I have to ring the bell not use his cell phone, I think it's neat, and the boys will love it if I let them ring it.