You have all been waiting....HOUSE UPDATE!

As you all know...I had been in the process of removing the old green asphalt siding from my hut...In the beginning I had no idea how to replace the horrendous ugly siding that adorned it...how do you buy siding with no money? paint was not an option...this stuff is like gravel and it is UUUUGGGLLLEEEE! And people just don't leave new siding laying around in piles for scroungers like me to take home...

After the first winter...I was working away outside and noticed that a piece of that siding was askew...hmmmm...it was white underneath it...I went over there and ripped it right off!   underneath that green gravel  nastiness was cedar clapboard...why would they side over that? I know it was considered a "poor" siding...meant for cheap building of the mining houses that are so prevalent in my area but why would someone let Mr. Siding salesman put that nasty stuff on their house?  Well...after questioning several of the natives...they all were of the same mind...INSULATION! and at the time, I suppose...there was no HGTV and no decorating no no's! HAHA!  and insulation was a new concept beyond stuffing paper under the linoleum and wall papering with news papers to keep out the draft...

Another concern, though...did they do it to cover worn out siding? were there pieces missing? broken?  I spent all that day carefully prying up random pieces of that asphalt siding...peeking under it to see if all the clapboards were still on the house....AND THEY WERE!  I got really brave the next day and took off two entire layers on the bottom of the house...I found some damage...water damage mostly...from being exposed to the elements...but nothing structural...nothing a reallly good pallet or cheap board could not fix!

I got this far before I could not reach any more without a ladder...and it stayed that way for the better part of 6 months...and went about my business...the wooden orchard ladder leaning on the house was beyond my comprehension...NO WAY was I shimmying up the side of a house on that thing....

My Honey finally borrowed a ladder from his family...a nice, adjustable ladder that reached to the roof...I was still not getting up there...it is a really long way down! I couldn't let go of the ladder with even one hand after I got up there...this little hut is 3 floors tall....and it felt like Mt. Everest to me....so I would go half way up...stick the pry bar up under the siding and give it a tug and then duck really fast...it was a long...slow process....It was either that or wait for Honey to do it on the weekends...I climbed, pulled and ducked a lot that week...Honey got the top most siding...and it was gone....I saved every nail...an entire 4 gallon tub....and that ugly green asphalt is now a floor in our shed.....and I have 16 pounds of  green finishing nails...

That siding was in amazing condition! We did end up buying a roll of insulation to stick in the walls upstairs as you could feel the draft....the house had blown in insulation and it sunk! The ground floor has lot's!

Then came the sanding...it took 5 days and 1 roll of auto body sanding paper to get the house sanded...I had a palm sander...that lil sucker sanded that entire house...and it still works! We had been given some scaffolding and that was a great blessing, considering my aversion to the ladder...Baahaa!

Ready for Primer!! YAAAAAAAAAY!

I had been decorating , setting up and bartending all summer for the weddings in our area and I finally had saved enough money to buy the doors I wanted for the house...with what was left over I bought primer...

Before

New door!

 After

and we borrowed a sprayer from the neighbor...

And my Honey went to town...we finally finished at 10p.m...that evening....aided with the headlights from our car....

It took 6 gallons of primer to cover that thirsty old cedar in two coats....

And another new door!

I don't know if any of you have noticed the details on this lil hut? the foundation is hand tooled rock...and just painting the house with the primer brought it out in all it's loveliness....

But this is where we left off for the winter...more compost pile runs for firewood and garden clean up took up the rest of the season...

The sunlight thru those doors is wonderful and I can't wait to show you the house color...and what those doors look like painted red.....

I know you are waiting...

I know you all are waiting for pictures of the house...but I am going to regale you with the last of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 first...baaaaaaahaaaaaaa!


I went to my Daughters house for the months of January, February and March...she lives in Georgia... I didn't want to leave!  I went from this...

To this...

 In 5 hours....GREEEEEEEEEENNNN!    Georgia is gorgeous...and WARM! Beautiful 75 degree January days....My Daughter and Grandkids and I had a wonderful time!

BUT...you have to go home sometime...went home to a leaking roof...and some other miscellaneous problems...SOOOOOOO...the Honey and I decided it was time to go make some money for these repairs...and to buy a piece of land in Georgia....so we could visit in the winter time....there are just things you cannot scrounge or find in piles...

We didn't want to go over the road again...we wanted somewhere you could make BIG money and then go home again...a few phone calls later...we ended up making plans to go to Wyoming...to the oilfields...we were both working in the oilfields when we met...so it was a big deja vu going back there...

Our first thought was how do you live somewhere and pay no rent...no utilities and don't have to drive back and forth to work? We settled on this...

It was sitting at the salvage yard...eight hundred bucks and lot's of bug spray later...we had a rent free home...we towed this piece to Wyoming and parked it in the yard of the oilfield company we were going to drive for...they hooked us up with free internet, sewer, water and electricity!  AND THIS...is my other summer home...

I live in this most of the time...I have two summer homes and live in a gated community! I am so much cooler on line! BAAAHAAA!

There is just something about this that makes my heart flutter...(don't mind the enormous bug on the window) the smell...the noise...it is very exciting to me...

This is what I used to do in the oilfield...

I am so very glad I don't do THIS anymore! huge physical labor...it makes me tired remembering it....and there are parking issues sometimes...

Yes...those are camels...they were "parked" in Colorado...who parks camels in a semi truck lot?

So yes...I am truck driving again...but I miss my garden and my hut...but there are blessings that are being sent my way...being in the right place at the right time? I got a 2000 Yukon Denali for FIVE HUNDRED BUCKS!  AND...my roof is being put on my house as I write this! so very happy about that!

Rhubarb...mmmmmm..mm.mmmmm!

SeaBlueLee asked for a Rhubarb dressing recipe...this is for her!

I picked a TON of Rhubarb last year...it seems that it is finally getting the attention it deserves...beyond the ordinary strawberry rhubarb pie...I remember my Grandmother sending me out to the Rhubarb patch with a little bowl of sugar...I would sit and dip Rhubarb in that sugar in the spring sunshine til my lips puckered and I had a belly ache...wonderful memories...but what do you do with Rhubarb beyond the ordinary? I had 16 one gallon freezer bags full of it...

Well...I experimented...a lot! Hee Hee!

The first thing I made was a Rhubarb Salad dressing...OMG! It was so good!


Strawberry Rhubarb Salad Dressing...
1/8 cup honey
1/4cup water
1 cup sliced rhubarb (about 1-2 stalks)
1 cups chopped fresh strawberries
1/4 diced red onion
3 tablespoons cup white wine vinegar
Zest of 1 lemon
1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup olive oil


Directions
In a medium sauce pan, stir together honey and water. Bring to a boil and add rhubarb, strawberries and onions. Continue to boil for another 5 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat and stir in vinegar and lemon zest. Simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced by half and rhubarb is tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

I didn't use the lemon zest because I didn't have any...and I didn't use Honey because I didn't have any...I used regular syrup...AND I didn't have White Wine Vinegar...I used Apple Cider Vinegar...HEE HEE!

It not only tastes good...it is really pretty! A light pink color with the consistency of  a regular store bought dressing...

Pour it on fresh spinach salad...with tomatoes, chopped onion, sharp cheddar cheese and carrots and you will fall over in bliss!

I used my Alpine strawberries...out of my garden...it takes A LOT of those little berries but since I have 31 plants and they grow all summer, it wasn't a problem....I have these little berries because someone told me they were impossible to germinate and grow....hmmmm...don't ever listen to someone when they say that...I poured all the seeds in a strawberry container from Wal Mart full of potting soil and stuck them in my living room window...they all germinated...and they ALL are growing still!  They are scrumptious but they have an amazing strawberry-y taste...AND they grow all season!

Alpine Strawberries lining beds...

I also made rhubarb sauce...it's like apple sauce!  I put it in my Oatmeal...warm over Vanilla Ice Cream and spooned it into Vanilla Yogurt....

1 lb cubed Rhubarb
1/4 Cup water
1/2 C. Sugar
Combine all ingredients in a pot and stir together. Cover, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce is simmering, remove the lid, stir, and cook for about 5 more minutes until the rhubarb is soft. Let cool... Put it in a blender to make smooth if you like...you can also add or decrease the sugar to taste...

And last but not least....Rhubarb Sauce for Pork Roast...

4 cups cubed Rhubarb
1/2 C. Honey
1/4 C. Water
1/8 tsp Ginger (more if you like)
1/8 tsp. Onion Powder
1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

Stew all ingredients together til Rhubarb is soft...mash with potato masher for a lumpy consistency for dipping or put in a blender for a smoother consistency...I used pepper like it was going out of style because I love the sweet/tart hot taste...

I glazed my roast with the sauce half way through the cooking time...LOVED it! with fresh carrots and oven roasted potatoes...

Rhubarb is just one of the many plants people tend to ignore, any more....but it is an amazingly adaptable vegetable that is usually free for the taking!

2011 in a nutshell....

I am trying to catch up with 2011 so you all know what I was doing....the season was a fabulous one in the gardens and I learned many new skills!  I still have to expound upon the virtues of sheet mulching...this is the garden in 2010...

This is the flower garden in 2011...

I revamped this garden with the new doo dads I got from the salvage yard for two ducks! I didn't plant anything in this garden this year...except for sunflower seeds....

This is all what came up out of the dirt in June!

I haven't weeded....watered....NOTHING!

There were flowers in there that I planted in 2010 that came up this year...forgot about them!

It was absolutely gorgeous and offered a cutting garden that filled the house daily with fresh flowers....

In addition...the veggie garden was fantastic!

Onions...

 I am still learning how to plant in succession so I have fresh vegetables and then have another crop for storage in the fall...

I got some interesting vegetables this year...my Honey called this one the "MAN" squash....

I have seen many of these hanging from the pick ups in Texas........BAAAAAAAHAAAA! 

The crops came in in 5 gallon buckets and bushel apple baskets....

The girls loved to take dust baths....

We also went and picked up a small chicken coop made by George Neill that we thought would be an excellent rabbit hutch! His skill at building this little hutch made me smile! It's soooo cute!

We moved the duck pen and made a bigger one...complete with a pallet fence....

My Honey rebuilt the foundation on the back porch and we took the walls down to add electricity...

We did, however, take SOME time out to enjoy the beautiful summer afternoons...

When fall rolled around...I took First Place in the Antique Tractor Pull....at Pumpkin Fest!

I also learned the art of bartering...hee hee! I received two free freezers...big ones! I put them in the shed and filled them to overflowing...the first thing I bartered for was meat...I gave the neighbor all the squash and zuchini he could put in his pick up...and in return, he promised me a certain amount of meat for the winter...he baits the bears and deer with these fruits...

yep...and here he is....I didn't get to see the deer..it came in a box....roasts, brats, sausage and steaks....

I also traded Apple Butter Jam for Apples...thirty 5 gallon buckets full! and made apple butter, apple sauce and Crap Apple Butter....

 OH! and Rhubarb...and Blackberries!

This Rhubarb made the best Rhubarb salad dressing I have ever tasted! it also makes awesome sauce for Pork Roast!

My neighbor gave me plums and I canned 7 quarts of Plum Sauce for use on Duck! YUM!

Can't forget Mayonnaise...nothing beats it fresh with a hint of garlic...

I learned how to make Artisan bread from fresh ground wheat berries...we ate the whole loaf in one sitting it was so good!

We of course butchered chickens and ducks for the winter....and I sold some at a whopping forty bucks a piece for Thanksgiving!

Winter rolled around and we had so much food!

and too much snow!