Friday, April 20, 2012

A Different Kind of Week: April 14 - 20

Phew! I'm exhausted. What a productive week! But only a few lessons were completed! Life's "lessons" were in full-swing here! It was a different kind of week at Our Side of the Mountain!

Grandpa and Nannie Lobster came for a visit and helped us with some (exhausting) home projects. It was awesome to have 2 extra adult hands around! And niece Noodle came with them for a visit!

We spent 3 1/2 days constructing, painting, stapling, sawing, planning, and sweating over a new, larger fenced in yard for the hens and ducks. We even relocated the flock to a different part of the yard! And the new coop arrived! Whoop! Painting it to look like a red barn was a bit of a frustration challenge though! The hens and ducks are not so sure about sharing a run together, but they're figuring it out. (Check back for a post on the new "digs"!)

Peek-a-Book Balsam Fir
Peek-a-Boo Noodle

Oh, and Grandpa and Nannie Lobster even repainted the playroom-turned-reading-nook-and-bedroom and steam-cleaned the carpet for us! Remember those mountains of books I organized last week? Well, we moved them onto bookcases in one part of the playroom with a small sofa and TV for a quiet reading and viewing area. The other part of the room is White Pine's new bedroom! And he's SUPER excited about that! At 13, he's ready for a little space of his own!

A View of the Window Corner with Desk
and Bureau
SOME of Those Books I Kept After Last Weeks Purge..Another
4 Bookcases to the Left, but SO Organized Now

Sugar Maple painted the front door a nice cranberry color. It's a little "rough around the edges", but she was proud of accomplishing a home project on her own. (Shhh! Don't let her that she probably paints better than I do! LOL)

And then there was the AFTERMATH of all these projects: yard clean-up and delayed housework. I did, however, manage to keep up with the laundry this week, but the dishes, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and other stuff...not so much. But my hard-working Sapling rose to the task and we got everything accomplished.

Oh, Pink Reliant Grapes! (Total change of subject, huh? LOL) White Pine planted a stick-looking grape vine this past week. We repurposed a wooden platform bed frame into another flower bed for Sugar Maple, and 3 wobbly bookcases into raised beds for an herb garden. And the flower bed has lots of shoots!

Flower Shoots!

Otherwise, we watched WAY too much "Top Gear", "Doctor Who", "Survivorman", and "SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS", ate too much take-out, stayed up late, and forgot some chores. ((wink)) It's going to be hard getting back on track Monday!

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21 comments:

  1. Wow! What an awesome week! I just love the chicken coop! Can you come and make us one? lol. We have been toying with the idea for sometime. We have so much other work to be done at our place, but hopefully someday! :-) It is awesome what you did with the playroom/bedroom space. It looks great. Hope you have a great weekend! :-) Many blessings, Lisa

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  2. I can't believe all you got done. I'm with Lisa, LOVE the chicken coop painted like a red barn. The reading nook/bedroom looks great too. Big projects are so overwhelming but it is so nice to have them completed. Great job!!

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  3. Sounds like an exciting week. My girls love it when their grandparents visit. I really like your chicken coop. Nice and creative :)

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  4. You got a LOT done this week! Life lessons are important for a complete education. ;-)

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  5. How in the world did you turn an old bookcase into a raised flower bed? I would have never thought of that one! Looks like you guys accomplished a lot :).

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  6. I ditto the last comment. Looks like a whole lot of family love was going on! Thank you for sharing.

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  7. Whew, talk about a busy week. I really like the new bedroom too. If you need some extra walls to paint, I've got a few :)

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  8. You are so lucky to have such a helpful family! I had to purge all of our books, too and keep just the essential! Love the chicken coop!

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  9. That chicken coup is fantastic! It feels good to get things done despite the immediate chaos it requires! :)

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  10. Love your handiwork! Your chickens and ducks will be living in style:) Love that you still learned so much even with a break from your normal schedule. Just proof that we are truly learning all the time!

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  11. Repurposing the book shelf into a raised bed is a fantastic idea! You had such a productive week. Thanks for all the comments! The kids are going to be tickled today when I tell them to check their blogs. They've been slacking and this will be just the boost they need to get back to it! 8) Too funny!

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  12. What a week! I love weeks like that though when so much gets accomplished! I admire all of the bookshelf space. Since starting to homeschooling my books have at least tripled.

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  13. I love that window corner! Cozy!

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  14. Oh, yes, definitely a busy week! You accomplished a LOT! And I'm fully convinced that life lessons are every bit as important as book learning, and often even more so. :-)

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  15. It looks like you had another fabulous week of living and learning. I *love* the new coop!

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  16. Okay, I really like the books on each side of the TV. We have a little desk I may do that with. There's never enough book sheleves when you homeschool and everyone enjoys reading!

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  17. Ooooh, purging your books-that's hard! In fact I find that so hard that I simply don't do it! It would be like having to choose which friends had to go. Some would say I'm slightly obsessed!
    I'm LOVING your hen house-can I have one please?

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  18. Your chicken coop is beautiful!! Love the color!
    thanks so much for visiting my blog and for your lovely comment on my ojo de dios, got me to visit you.
    i really like your blog (and will go exploring some more once I have written this comment). Am following you now, would be honored if you would like to follow back but no hard feelings if not :-)
    love
    jutta

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  19. you all were busy! sounds like a very productive week, good job! :) i'm ipressed with your repurposing of bed frame and bookshelves for the garden! going to stick that one into my back pocket for the future. oh someday we'll have a place for chickens and more...happy new week Jessy!

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  20. That is the cutest chicken coop I've ever seen! Very productive week it sounds like!

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  21. Love the chicken coop. I've always wanted to try my hand at chickens, but currently live in city limits with zoning laws. Someday...Here from the Show & Tell. www.theunlikelyhomeschool.com

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