We have been busy little beavers...

Our old kitchen from 1942

We took the plunge and did a total remodel of our old and outdated kitchen.

We decided that we could do this now and enjoy it for the next two years. Or do it later, when we move out and the next tenant can enjoy it.

We wanted to enjoy the new kitchen.

We started the demo on March 9th.

Today, I did the last of the touch up paint and Mr. Farmer is working on the tile under the wood stove. 

The first day of demo

We have plywood walls. 

This IS and old house and they used what they had.

new pantry wall, primed but not painted

before the counted tops were installed and the appliances are put back in place

I love not having the refrigerator right next to the front door.

  I love the wide open feeling.

I love the blue cabinets.

looking down at Waikiki from Diamond Head

I even managed to squeeze in a trip with my youngest to Oahu.

We spent five wet and warm days in Ko Olina.

We hiked everyday, in the mud.

Not what I wanted to see...

When I returned from a weekend with my girlfriends,

I did not expect to walk into my dryer in the kitchen!

The element had gone out just as I was leaving the house three days before.

While I was gone, my sweet husband fixed it.

He was waiting for help to put the machine back on top of the washer.

YEAH! I love it when he fixes things!

And I have a few quilts finished.

The first one is from the book '3 Times the Charm' and the pattern is Fiona.

I used a layer cake I picked up a couple of years ago.

I love the soft colors with the poppy red accents.

This quilt is Nice Day from 'Schnibbles Times Two'.

I used fabric from my stash and free hand quilted many feathers on this top.

And this patriotic Friendship Braid from 'Jelly Roll Quilts'.

I love red, white and blue quilts.

I also freehand quilted this top.

I am putting my Farmers Wife quilt top together and I have completed all the blocks for my nieces baby quilt.

But right now, my lawn mower and tractor are calling me to come ride.

Where have I been...

Grand Canyon

Bryce Canyon

Zion

We took a fantastic road trip to Arizona and Southwest Utah in November. 

We spent our days hiking and enjoying being in the outdoors with our dear friends.

And we are doing some research into a total gut job on the kitchen.

This kitchen is original to the house.

The house was built in 1942.

The cabinets are made out of plywood, as are the walls.

The counters are slopping towards the floor.

 And the upper cabinets are too low and don't allow for prep space.

We received our first full bid.

We choked, as it ate up our whole budget.

The bid included Formica counters and reusing our existing appliances.

 And we have other work, besides the kitchen we need to address.

Like replacing the floor.

 

 Here is a peek at my design wall.

My niece is expecting a little bundle this summer and I have started this Scrappy Trip Around the World for the new baby.

The instructions can be found over at Quiltville.com.

 

My little business...

 

The reasons I get up and go to work...

• To pay for my girls collage eduction
• To buy that kick-ass Dyson vacuum I have always admired
• To pay for that last trip to the dentist

Thank you to all of my faithful and loyal customers over the past season.

You came and picked produce to feed your family, share with a neighbor or impress your co-workers.

And I am grateful you picked my farm to visit!

A Little Farm Life

 I picked a few treasures in the garden the other day.

We have had a stretch of dry weather that is going into the record books.

Therefore, my garden is overwhelmed with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and beans.

But all this dryness means it is dusty.

It has been windy too.

The wind comes from the East, right down the Columbia Gorge.

And into our island.

And this is the view from the Poodle Palace.

The youngest farmer daughter has finely moved in...

and she was offered a job else where today.

What to do... take it or stay?

And look at how our Tug has grown!

He tops the scales at 55 pounds.

He is a big boy!

He still barks at cats and eats apples off the trees.

But we love him.

The view from Mt. Hood

We recently spent the night on Mt. Hood at Silcox Hut with Mr. Farmer's family.

We were celebrating my father in laws 85th birthday.

This first photo is from Silcox Hut looking south at Mt. Jefferson.

A very smokey view as there is a forest fire to the south east of Mt. Jefferson.

 This is Mt. Hood the next morning. 

Beautiful!

Not a cloud in the sky kind of morning.

Our family hiked up to the hut and hiked down from the hut.

Part of the way down, we followed the Pacific Crest Trail.

Beautiful!

And the work continues on the Poodle Palace.

We hope the youngest farmers daughter will be moving in soon.

The house does not smell like dogs any more... yeah!

Every wall upstairs has been washed and painted,

The wood floor has been cleaned and waxed.

    And the carpets have been shampooed.

Doesn't this look wonderful!

I Have Been Quilting

This is a quilt top my mom asked me to quilt on Gene.

The pattern is called Tucson Sunset and can be found here.

My mom will be using on a bed in Arizona, so the pattern is perfect!

This is a close up of the quilting.

The pantograph is called Curly Q and can be found here

I enjoyed working on the quilt.

 I have missed Gene...we need to spend more time together.

And I did a little research into the bag of silver we found in the Poodle Palace.

It can be found on Ebay for $3000.

Do you think the previous owner misses the silver?

Doubt it!

My dad took the Seth Thomas clock we found to a friend of his who repairs clocks.

I am waiting to hear back.

Curious... is the clock valuable too?