He Couldn't Take It

I knew it wouldn't be long.

With his trusty sidekick of course.
Yesterday was the day.

Mr. LB fell the 2 big trees that needed to come down.
It had snowed Saturday
so there was still a skiff covering most of the ground in the morning.
Needless to say, the ground was still as wet as last weekend.
Above is the locust which was dead.
You can see a couple large rounds of cottonwood in the background.
Those are from one removed out behind the shop 2 summers ago.
We will take care of them this summer.
He got this all bucked up and taken care of before moving onto the next.

My folks came up so Pa helped with the cottonwood.

This one was pretty good sized and was leaning way over.

They got most of it cleaned up and I have a feeling when I get home from work,

I will find Mr LB out here working on bucking up the rest.

It amazes me just how much water these trees use.

That's actually a puddle in the stump.

This is also how that large one in the background of the first picture was.

The wood from this will need to cure for a while before we do anything with it.

Now I have to figure out what to do about the stumps.

Always something :-)

Reeeally Delayed Gratification ~ Kitchen Renovation

So long 11-12 year old "temporary" kitchen.
About 11-12 years ago, I was going through a pretty rough patch of life.
Without going into great detail,
I will just say that a functioning kitchen wasn't all that high on the priority list.

(Closest thing to a before pix - we were excited to get moving on it.)

Imagine. . . me. . . a kitchen not on the priority list!
That should give you some inkling as to the severity of it.
Well, of course, time and God tend to take care of things accordingly.
Life is !Much! better now:)
However, for the past 11-12 years, I have lived with a kitchen
that was made up of the very cheapest chain building store counter top
cut to "kinda" suffice for two sections of cabinets.
This cheapo counter top was warped and not even fastened down
so it rocked if you were trying to cut at one end of the counter.
The sink was an old one full of chips, scratches, stains, and even a little rust.
But that didn't matter, because it was "just temporary."
Bahahaha! Oh the beauty of it all.

(In progress - sorry it's blurry, 
but we finished around the bottom of the cupboards as well.)
Over the past two(?) weeks, we have been in the process of getting the old, partial, warped counter top and sink out which was rather easy under the circumstances described above, and finishing the kitchen properly.
This is also why there hasn't been a post for the past week or so.
We both work full time so we've been doing this in the evenings - after work.
Right in the middle of it we also had an out of town memorial to attend
so that just made it take a little longer.

(A little closer)

Here's the other side of the kitchen.  Believe it or not this is actually better than it was at one point.  And yep, that dog just slept right through it all.

(Almost there.)
I can't tell you how appreciative I am of a real kitchen.

 The actual countertop.

Even with dishes drying in the sink and the kettle on the stove :)

We have made-do a long time.
I think the pictures say it sufficiently.
I am aware that different folks like different styles, and maybe our tastes
aren't trendy by today's standards, but we are loving it!
I am loving the clean factor.
I can wipe up the counters and sink and they actually look clean.
Wow!

PS~ I'm a cast iron sorta gal.
Also, if you've never used them, I love flour sack dish towels.
I mention it, because during the holidays, I was visiting with my cousin
and she asked if I had ever used them.
Of course I have, had, and do.
She had only recently discovered them which surprised me 
as she spends a little time in the kitchen.
I'm a little spoiled (eh hem, I mean loved:) My mom likes to embroider on them and crochet around the edges so I usually receive them as gifts.
They do work just as well without the embroidery and crochet though.

                                                        

Hunting Elk, Finding Grace, Giving Thanks

Hello All,

The past week and a half - two weeks(ish) have been elk season around here.

Many vertical miles have been covered.

It has been unseasonably warm so the elk haven't bee pushed down by the snow yet.

That translates into us having to go find them in Tim-buk-tu.

I had a spike tag since we are just after the meat.

We did see some but nothing where we could actually get to them.

So once again, we are elkless.

I do feel blessed in that I got a bear and a buck.

Elk are just a little more elusive.

One nice thing was that it was 'away'.

Not away as in far from home.

We just drive up the road a ways, get out, and start climbing.

But away from the 'outside' world, the anger, the bashing, and the filth.

One of the days, I hunted alone since Mr. LB had to work.

It was the best therapy.

As I was hiking along, the song "How Great Thou Art" found its way to my head.

Why is it that when a song gets in my head, I know only the chorus 

and a partial line here and there?  Poor little brain.

Regardless, for the past week or so I've spent a lot of time conversing with God,

and this (partial) song has continued to pop into my head.

I kept thinking of looking up the lyrics but haven't had much of a chance.

Finally, a couple nights ago after supper, Mr. LB and I sat in where it was a little softer and where the fire is.

I finally got to pick up my stitching, and he browsed facebook on his phone.

He was laughing at something a friend posted.

Then he brought up something another friend had posted.  

It was a song.

Can you guess which song?

Oh yes, "How Great Thou Art" by HomeFree.

It's an amazing rendition.

I had never heard of them.  They won a TV contest at one point so I might be the only one who hadn't heard of them.

Here is "Ring of Fire" also - just because, well, Wow!

Needless to say, I'm thinking God is working on me.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of year.

I love that families get together and give thanks, no gifts or gimmicks, 

just thanks.

Honestly, I was struggling a little with the tension of society this year.

We will be traveling to see family we haven't seen in many years

including my 93 year old grandmother.

(My last surviving grand-parent.)

I am so anxious and excited to see them but had some sort of reserve or trepidation about traveling.

When that song played on Mr. LB's phone, it all began to dissipate.

I know we will be fine on our travels,

and it's okay to enjoy the season and appreciate all the gifts we're given

with each dawning light.

He does work in mysterious ways.

I'd like to wish each of you a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.

PS: The next day, I did something I haven't done in at least a year or two.

I went and splurged on the CD.

I have listened to that song numerous times in the last couple days.

                                                                     

How and Why We Are Preparing for Winter Now

Yes, it's spring here too.

Because if we wait until winter, it will be too late.

We have our wood in.

It's not all split and stacked, 

but we can do that over the span of a couple weeks.

The most difficult part is getting it off the mountain.

We began getting wood in spring because they close the forests

for fire hazard and often don't reopen them until late in fall

which is about the time we start using the wood.

This picture is of the back of the shop.

And yes, I'm letting you see the whole messy truth.

It didn't really dawn on me how much was there until I saw it in the picture.

The large rounds are from the pine we took down last fall.

(That's the link if you would like to see it.)

We are stacking it a little differently this year to see if it makes a difference in keeping it a little dryer ~ the section we will use first is that which is closest to where the rain can hit.

And the other thing we'll watch to see is if it keeps it a little tidier.

I know it's a wood stack, 

but it seems like a shedding cat at times.  

We'll have to wait and see.

The other thing that has been a focus is fishing. 

I know that sounds pretty leisurely.

Fly-fishing is a passion for Mr. LB. (I don't fish.)

Spring fish tend to be best - at least in the Pacific Northwest.

This year has been a little slower since we haven't had 

as many opportunities to hit the rivers.

This will hopefully be made up for at the end of the month.

Mr. LB gets to go to Alaska.

This has been something on his bucket list for years so

he is giddy as a schoolboy.

We are also hoping that our fish supply is bumped up a bit.

Due to the distance, it will be frozen rather than canned.

But gee. . . let me think if I can manage - yep!

That's how long I have to think about that one:)

One more thing we usually have going on in May-June is morels.

This year was a bad mushroom year.

There are usually enough for sautéing and for dehydrating

but not this year.

I will have to get the flavorless store-bought kind and 

dehydrate those to have on hand for winter.

Morels only have one season per year so we're are out of luck until next year. 

By taking care of these things now, far enough in advance,

we not only get to "play outside," but we won't be left scrambling to get

wood in before the snow flies and can kinda ease into the seasons.

It's won't be long before the pea harvest and we'll be back

to having the pressure canner out 

as a semi-permanent part of the kitchen decor.

                                                                      

This is Mr. LB's absolute favorite for salmon on the grill.

We have actually given it as a gift:)