Pink Squirrel Farmstead

There are many predators for chickens. For instance dogs, coyotes, cats, foxes, raccoons, weasels, skunks, opossums, snakes, owls, and hawks. We mostly have problems with hawks trying to get the chickens on the farm. We want the chickens to safely be able to forge for bugs.

Hawks will attack any time during the day. Hawks have extremely good eyesight and will scope out areas from high up in the trees. Once a hawk finds its prey it will go in for an attack. Sometimes hawks will pick up the chicken with their talons and take off with them but they will also pin them down on the ground and use their talons to kill them on impact. Unfortunately, there are usually not any signs of an attack; you will just notice you are missing a chicken.

There are many different ways to keep chickens safe. You can build safety shelters like chicken tractors, or chicken runs. They keep them safe but with everything there is always cons. If chickens are in a small area they will destroy the ground and it will eventually just be dirt. We prefer the chickens to free range.

I have heard of people using reflective ribbon, and pinwheels to scare off hawks. The sunlight will shimmer on the ribbons and will make the hawks nervous to approach the area, and as wind blows it will make noise. These options usually work temporarily but the hawks are very intelligent and will figure it out.

Even though dogs can be a predator, they can also protect them. Live stock guardian dogs are or can be trained to protect animals on your farm. The dogs can intervene an attack or even alert you of an attack. But hawks can even carry off small dogs so you would have to have a larger breed dog.

You can make a scarecrow and set it up to deter the hawks from coming into the area because they think it is a human. You cannot just set it up and you are good to go from then on. You will have to periodically move it to different spots.

When I was at the farm last we tried letting the chickens out to free range and it did not go as well as we had hoped. We had previously seen a couple small owls but we had also seen several hawks. Unfortunately, when my parents went to put the chickens back in the coop there was a hawk devouring a poor chicken. Now I know it happens but we try to do everything we can to keep our animals safe and we started researching what to do.

My dad recently made a scarecrow (maybe he was inspired by all the fall decor I put all throughout the house haha). If you know my dad you know he loves vibrant colors, and Hawaiian shirts as you can see above. So you know he made a Hawaiian scarecrow. So far the last couple days it has kept the hawks away from the chickens.

Time change is coming soon and it will be getting darker earlier so it was time to add more lighting to the bathroom. My dad has been doing an amazing job with putting in the electrical, I know it is much more difficult with trying to put in into finished walls. I am so excited for each and every improvement on the house. Let their be light! 

Nothing starts your day like finding a new water leak on the RV. I didn’t want to have to do plumbing today so I tried tightening the connection but no, it wasn’t having it, still drip, drip, drip ugh! Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind fixing things or working on things but the crawl space is just less than ideal for cutting pipe and using tools. First things first, I turned off the water and drained all the water lines. Since I don’t know the size of the piece I need I had to take it off so I can compare the sizes at the store, I know the pex line is 1/2” but I didn’t know what size the screw on thing-a-ma-jig was. I cut the pex line and started unscrewing it as hot water started pouring out, I quickly grabbed a hand towel to try to lessen the burn and got it off. Whew, finally! Off to the hardware store I shall go!

I got back home from the hardware store and put the new piece on, thought wow that was too easy. I had Payton turn the water back on and Cheyenne turn all the water faucets back off, water started spewing everywhere, all over me, all over the storage compartment I was laying in trying to fix it, I yelled, “turn it off, turn it off!” Luckily Payton was still there and got it turned off quickly, and Cheyenne turned the faucets back on to drain the lines again. I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.

I realized I had not pushed the pex line in far enough into the connector, thought it was fixed but I was wrong again. I use shark bite connectors because it works good for me and they are easy to use in tight places. Since the screw on thingy wasn’t tight enough I would have to figure out how to get the shark bite end off of the pex line, so YouTube here I come. I watched a video showing how to do it but I didn’t have the tool to take off the shark bite connectors…. Luckily, the hardware store had them in stock and they were only $2. By the way, the video made it look a lot easier than it was. Needless to say I got it off, tightened up the screw on thingy and then connected the pex line back. I talked real nice to it, prayed it was fixed then had Payton turn the water back on and Cheyenne turn off all the faucets in the house. Hallelujah! I did it! I’m a rockstar! Okay, maybe not but there is so much satisfaction in fixing something, even though I am beginning to hate RV’s.

Got to talk with my parents yesterday, my mom is going to have to have surgery on her knee and get a partial knee replacement, and due to some other things going on in life right now, I won’t be able to be there. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers next week while she is in surgery and recovering.

The goats have been giving dad a run for his money. Trying to keep the two separate has been quite the task at hand. Dad rebuilt a pen twice and used some redneck ingenuity but he is surviving. It’s comical to me because I am here in Texas, it is not so comical to him dealing with it there in Kentucky . But they are pretty darn adorable and they apparently love morning glories.

Payton is in all online public school, the school gives a timeline of when things are due but you can go ahead as well. Payton finished this semester of Spanish yesterday with an A! We are super proud of her, the semester doesn’t end until January 9th. Sometimes a little hard work will make life a little easier. She will also finish this semester of Art next week. Way to go Payton!

Hunter is excited he has a door on his room now. Since the door was taken off of the entrance to the stairs it makes it hotter in his room when the wood heater is on, so now he can block off some of the heat. I’m sure he will appreciate the heat more as it gets closer to winter.

Fall and winter brings out my love for baking. Over the weekend I did a side by side comparison with a new bread machine recipe. I made the same recipe one with all purpose flour and one with artesian bread flour. I blind taste tested them with family members. It was a unanimous vote with the all purpose flour as the winner. The artesian bread flour loaf made the crust crunchier than the all purpose flour, but they were both good. This bread will be amazing sandwich bread. I like using the bread maker to make my dough, it helps keep a good constant temperature for it to rise. Today, I tried to bake it in the oven but I split it into two loaves. Unfortunately, I should have made it into one loaf but at least it was still delicious. I guess I’ll have to try it again. Let me know if you are interested in the recipe. Who doesn’t like fresh warm bread and butter?

Recently, Buford has been having some peculiar behavior compared to his normal sweet loving nature that we have enjoyed. First he started urinating on our outdoor couch and luckily the cushions are washable. He has been grabbing my mom with his horns and pulling her towards him. Then while my dad was in the chicken coop he knocked over his beer and decided to help himself to it. It was a bit of odd behavior but not too terrible.

My dad and Hunter mowed the yard(they are hoping for the last time this year) and dad cleared some more along the fence line. It is very important to clear around the fence line to be able to make sure the fence is all intact and no repairs are needed. As we get animals on the farm we need to make sure we can keep them on the property.

My dad was able to find a guy to deliver firewood to the house and then him and Hunter would just have to stack the firewood for cheaper than the cost it was for him to drive to get it and have to unload it and stack it themselves. While they were stacking the firewood that got delivered Hunter and Buford took their relationship a bit further than Hunter would like. While Hunter was bent over picking up firewood Buford decided to try to mount him. Let’s just say Hunter was a bit traumatized by it. Unfortunately for us they weren’t expecting it and didn’t get a video. I asked Hunter if he could recreate it for educational purposes on my blog but he said no.

Buford is in rut. Rut is when a male goat (buck) has a surge of hormones raging through them. Usually this happens between the months of August and January, and they are ready to mate with does (female goats). They can breed all year long but during rut breeding is the only thing on their brains.

After doing extensive research I have learned a lot about goats in rut, and lucky for you I will share some of what I have learned with you. It is advised that a buckling be moved away from their mothers at 3-4 months old because they can start breeding and may impregnate their mother. In fact, a buckling can technically breed a doe at 7 weeks old, but luckily it is not very common.

During rut bucks can have a stinky smell and it can be pretty intense. You definitely want to stay up wind from them. The smell actually comes from their own urine and from scent glands behind their horns. Apparently the does like it, and the smellier they are, the more chances they have of getting to breed with the doe. Unfortunately, some bucks urinate in their beards or on their faces to get really stinky to flatter the does. Not sure Buford will get a lot of snuggles from me during rut. Hopefully he doesn’t do this part. Ewe, just ewe.

In the midst of his rut my dad found a new baby goat that we added to our farm. Her name was Jill but that is my mom’s name so we had to change her name. At first I wanted name her Maybell but it just didn’t fit her and we ended up deciding to call her Sugar. She looks like a bag of sugar. I can’t wait to go to the farm and snuggle her. She is about 3-4 months old and cute as a button.

Sugar was pretty scared and confused when she got to the farm. Her life as she knew it is now completely changed. And Buford’s raging hormones just got worse. Dad even asked if we should change his name to Chester the molester because he was trying to mate her. She is wayyyyy to young for that and they had to be separated. She was very vocal the first day about her life changes. It is usually best to separate new goats from your current herd in case of they have sicknesses and then you won’t have to treat your whole herd but we only had Buford.

After she got there some more rut behaviors began with Buford. Flehmen is when bucks utilize nerve endings in their lips to smell an exciting smell. It looks quite hilarious because they stick their lip up and stretch their necks up as far as they can to the sky.

Other behaviors that bucks do that is pretty disgusting is that they will run up to a squatting doe to smell or drink her urine. Other than her urine releasing certain hormones about her readiness to breed I don’t know why they do this.

Like normal men trying to show off for women, bucks try to do the same. They stomp, strut around, stretch in funny ways (to us human folks). Trying to be fancy for his girls he will grunt, stick out his tongue, and make other weird noises. Your buck may also surprise you some day during rut by masturbating. He may do this in a colorful variety of different ways, but just know it is normal and their is nothing wrong with him. I tried to keep that as PG as possible but you get to learn right along with me. some bucks even get aggressive during rut but not all.

In a not so awkward conversation, my dad built a firewood storage rack that I wanted out of Oak boards. There is an Amish sawmill down the road from our farm and they cut the wood to your likings and the price is amazing. Since they are solid oak they are super heavy.

Since the boards were so heavy my dad designed and cut the boards then assembled them in the house. It would have weighed close to 300 lbs assembled. I love that some of the boards have a live edge on them too. After building it they carried firewood up to fill it up. It holds about a half a rick of wood. It looks so good, don’t ya think?

I tend to buy animals that are unique. Buford has become more and more a porch goat. He loves laying on the porch and relaxing, he has been showing evidence of being on the outdoor furniture but hasn’t been caught on it. He loves being around people and I love how sweet he is. Today they caught him on the outdoor couch.

At the sight of the picture I immediately thought, “excuse me, I’ve been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty. Do you have a moment to talk?” Isn’t he just the cutest?

We have been talking about colors for the house, mom said she is going to try to make some curtains for the house. I’m am planning on having a board and baton accent wall in the living room and have it the color endless sea, then have the remaining walls the color icicle. In addition, I would like to build window seals and then stain them with a dark brown stain.

For the kitchen I am starting to narrow down the colors but haven’t made final decisions on what color where but I have the palette I want picked out. One of the top 3 colors will be the cabinet and island color. The next two colors will be the ship lap and backsplash colors. Then the 3 accent colors. The door between the mud room and the kitchen will be the color raging bull and it will be a dutch door, what do you think?

One thing I did not like about the house is that the stairs were closed off. I have always pictured my forever home to have a banister that I could decorate for Christmas! Yes, I decide most of my designs based on how I will decorate for holidays, most specifically Christmas! The bathroom we put in still didn’t have a door so since I am going to open up the staircase, my dad took the door off and used it for the bathroom. Much better than the not so private, see through curtain that we have been using. Mom is also going to make curtains for the bathroom, as of right now we are thankful for the wooded area outside for privacy. Not sure how much longer that will last since fall is here and leaves are falling.

I am not one that likes to shop without a purpose, unless it is thrift shopping. On the farm I do not want brand new everything, I like character in our home. I don’t mind putting a little elbow grease into a project to give something new life. Chad does an amazing job with paint making things look old and antique. I don’t have those skills or patience.

We found a thrift store in Lubbock that had used lights galore, and I love a good bargain. We picked out a few lights and a bookshelf and went to load it all in the navigator. While we were loading them up and situating them to keep them from breaking on the way home a lady was donating a beautiful stained glass light that I immediately wanted for the library room on the farm.

I worked on wrapping the lights up to put in storage until our next trip to the farm. I was not exactly sure how to wrap them but I had some plastic moving wrap and a bunch of news paper, so I got creative. Luckily I got them wrapped up before any bad weather came through, just not put into storage.

A violent wind storm came through with 55mph gusts. I was not a fan of it in the RV, it was definitely rocking us around like crazy! We ran out and put the plastic totes into the backseat of the truck. The cover to the hot tub flew off, it even flipped over our shop vac. We survived, maybe with a bit of anxiety but we survived. Lots of trash blew in that we got picked up, Payton found a air freshener still in the package that blew in too. She was super amused. The RV sewer hose racks even blew across to the other side of the RV. Oh the fun cleaning up everything that blew around everywhere.

In better news, Hunter got a call back on a job application at McDonald’s. He went in for and interview and got the job! Yay!! He started on Tuesday for orientation, and training on Wednesday. I have asked him each day how it has went, first day he said he worked the grill and burned his self 3 time, and that his feet were killing him. Today he said, “Well my feet feel like their falling off, but otherwise ok.” I am so glad he got a job and can now save up for college.

Chad asked me to make some Charro beans for him to take to work, I have made this recipe several times with no problem. The beans looked great but for some reason we’re not softening up like normal. I went to google for some advice. I read several sites that said to add baking soda to the beans and they will soften up. I couldn’t find exactly how much to add and I was in the middle of making carne guisada as well, so I grabbed a spoon out of the drawer and sprinkled a heaping spoon full all over the beans I had in the crockpot. This is where it all went wrong.

Let me remind you, that our washer/dryer combo is out of commission. As soon as I finished sprinkling the baking soda I knew I messed up. Luckily, I had the crockpot near the sink because here came a bean juice volcano. I ran and grabbed a bath towel to start cleaning up the bean juice, it had already soaked through a potholder and it kept on bubbling everywhere. There was bean juice running down both sides of the kitchen counter, all over the floor, all over the counter.

I cleaned it all up and chunked the bean juice soaked towel, and pot holder out the door so I could spray them out with the garden hose and hang on the line. What a great time to not have a working washer. Luckily the baking soda worked on the beans but next time, there better not be a next time, I’ll use a lot less.

Back on the farm, they have started getting firewood ready for the winter. Buford’s leg is getting much better and he is finally putting weight on that leg again. He got his second dose of wormer, and has been dusted with the powder several times to help rid of the louse.

Mama cat is doing great with all her babies and they are so cute! I wish I was there to snuggle them! Mama cat will now rub up against you but will slap you with her paw if you attempt to pet her. She doesn’t mind if you pet the kittens though.

I have been racking my brain for a while now trying to figure out how to clean out the front gutters on the house. The gutters were overly clogged and even had a plant growing out of it. I attempted while I was there to climb on the roof but it was too steep, I tried putting a ladder in the bed of the side by side that was on the flat bed trailer but it still wasn’t tall enough (osha probably wouldn’t approve). I thought we’ll, maybe just should replace the gutters but still wouldn’t be able to replace them because we can’t reach the darn things. But my dad figured it out today!! He made some contraption on the end of a leaf blower and got them clean! I was so glad! Great job dad!

My dad and mom went to the small animal auction and bought a pig. They were told it was a KuneKune at the auction but it didn’t look like one to me. My dad named the pig Arnold, he seemed to be quite timid and he was a little guy hopefully he is sweet. We can be hopeful, right?

Dad put him in one of the barn stalls while he built him a pen in the garden area. He wanted the pen to be movable so that it could be moved all over the garden area. He got it all fenced in a made a little house for him.

Kunekune (pronounced cooney cooney) pigs are know for being excellent grazers and they do not rut up the ground like other pigs. They have a very sweet and loving demeanor. Sprinkles was the best pig ever, I am still sad that we had to give her away when we moved from Dalhart since we didn’t have the farm yet to move her to. She has a wonderful new family and I am thankful for that. Kunekune pigs also have waddles or tassels that hang down from under their chin, Arnold did not have them. Maybe he is part kunekune but definitely not full.

Arnold began rutting up the ground right away. Luckily the ground in the garden needed to be tilled. He did quite a large patch in a short amount of time. Arnold was very busy. It didn’t take him long to escape from the pen. I can just imagine in my mind Hunter, Mom, and Dad chasing the pig around. I laugh thinking about them chasing this pig all over the farm. I got this text from my dad “The pig escaped… not sure if he dug out or jumped the fence. It sure was a sight, Hunter has no clue on how to catch a pig, your mother is to slow, and I’m way to old for this shit.”

They finally got him barricaded and put into a stall in the barn while they worked on revamping the pen. Dad said he was not easily coaxed with food, that makes it a bit more difficult. Dad is want exactly sure where he got out so they put barbed wire around the bottom of the enclosure in hopes it would keep him in and they put a pallet under his house to keep it off the ground.

Buford came to help with the fence building since the Arnold was in the barn. Arnold loved Buford but unfortunately the feeling was not mutual. Buford would try to head butt him anytime he came close to him. Dad was ready to butcher Arnold after the escape. He offered Arnold to the neighbors and after they discussed it for a couple days they took him up on his offer. I’m sure dad was glad to know he would not be chasing Arnold around anymore.

The same neighbors came and cleaned out the manure and hay piled up in the barn to use for their garden. We definitely did not need it or want to haul it all up to our garden area. The barn was finally cleaned out. What a relief! It was just asking for a family of rats to move in this winter, so glad it is gone. Look how good it looks now!

We have been living full time in the RV for almost 2 1/2 years. If Chad had told me 11 years ago that in the future we would live in an RV full time, I would have told him he was crazy. But here we are killin’ it, well most days that is. RV living has its ups and downs. For instance, we have become closer as a family, and we have learned what is truly important and what is not. By the way, a full size kitchen is important, RV kitchens do not have enough room for someone like me. I have kitchen gadgets that I use regularly, I like to have a good stock of groceries, and I like to cook big meals and bake. That is one thing I look forward to on the farm is having a big kitchen.

Since we live in the RV full time we do not have the option to just take the RV to the shop for months to get fixed. After the first winter in the RV the central heat and air went out. I tried hiring someone to come fix it but no one wanted to work on an RV. I have not fixed that issue other than using window units and space heaters.

I have learned how to fix plumbing issues, not my favorite but I am super thankful for Sharkbite pex plumbing supplies, they cost a little more but they work great. I have changed out the septic drain lever twice (it is a really bad design) which is not for the faint of hearts. I have also switched out the water pump and changed out the bathtub drain, and plumbing because the old one was leaking. I am very thankful for YouTube, I have watched so many how to videos on different RV models that have helped me enough to get through it.

The bathrooms in the RV are usable but not cute in any way. Of course I saw on Pinterest how to put in faux ship lap which I was able to talk Chad into doing. And while I was in Kentucky this last time he repainted our bathroom, and gave our bathroom cabinets and mirror a facelift. We have always hated the bathroom cabinets but have not had the time or ambition to get it done.

There is also constant maintenance with an RV. Every 2 weeks or so I clean out the septic tanks with a wand attachment on our hose. And with a family in here we are constantly cleaning up because of a couple things are out then it makes the whole house look like a mess. Luckily it doesn’t take long to clean.

When we moved into the RV one of my requirements was to have a washer and dryer. We went with a washer/dryer combo to save space. I do not recommend it. To wash and dry 1 load of laundry it takes 4 hours if not longer depending on what you are drying and the laundry loads had to be super small. Eventually I just started hanging clothes out to dry on a clothes like because we just had too much laundry.

RVs are not designed to live in full time even though so many people do live in them full time. The washer/dryer combo also was not made to be used like a household washer and dryer. If finally kicked the bucket on Chad while I was gone this last time in Kentucky. There is not room for him to pull it out and look at it, so when I got home I crawled behind it through the closet and went to work on it.

When I opened up the back the drive belt was not on it, so I though oh that should be an easy fix. I tried and tried to get the dang belt on and finally resorted to YouTube which showed me how easy it actually was to get it back on. I finally got it on and then had Payton turn on the dryer to see if it would work. Within 10 seconds it threw the belt again. I then thought we’ll maybe we just need a new belt. But after researching more, it is the bearings that went out and we ended up just taking the whole machine out. I will just have to go to the laundry mat and do laundry for a while.

There is definitely never a dull moment around here. Back in Kentucky, Hunter and my dad finished cleaning out all the foam in the basement. And found that there is a section on the floor where there is concrete is higher than everywhere else. Maybe they did it to level the “Amish fridge” since the rest of the basement is made so any water will go into the drains built into the floor. And my dad got the light above the bathroom sink installed. Let there be light!

Everything went well with the laundry room except one of the washers is showing a code now so we will have to get that repaired eventually. I am sure my mom is glad not to have to go to the laundromat anymore.

We cleared out the hill behind the house to keep varmints from getting close to the house as winter approaches. I used the walk behind weed eater to do most of it but part of the hill was as just too steep so my dad and Hunter finished up with weed eaters. I also hit a bee hive and made some bees very unhappy with me.

The kids and I finished working on the loft above the workshop in the barn. We chunked most of it out the exterior door to the hayloft in 2 batches, after each we organized them into piles so the other stuff wouldn’t get broken in the pile. There was a ton of trash, windows, and lots of wood. Found extra replacement pieces for the vinyl siding on the house and some other random stuff. No fun finds other than wood. We checked on the Mama cat while we were up there and she is doing great along with the 5 adorable babies. She is getting a little more friendly each day.

On Tuesday the part to the Side by Side was scheduled to come in. You would think that my dad was getting in a check for a million dollars. He even started stalking the UPS man to see exactly where he was at. Then when the UPS man came by he went up the driveway to the neighbors house first. I busted out laughing, it was too funny. Unfortunately, by the time he got there with the part it was starting to get dark so he would have to wait until morning to fix it. Before I got out of bed (at day light) my dad was already down working on it. By mid morning he had it up and going. My parents took it for a romantic drive to the Amish store right down the road and my dad came back and said “it doesn’t go fast enough.” Back story, when I was a teenager I had a racing 4-wheeler and I told my dad it did not go fast enough and he grounded me from it. Rude, I know! Maybe I should have grounded him from the side by side.

Now that it was fixed I finally got to see the back of the property. Yes, I was too lazy to walk to the back of the property. But it was nice to finally explore not of foot!

There was a large pond like body of water that we weren’t quite sure was so we went back to explore a bit. The beavers have damned up a creek and with all the rain we had it was quite the body of water. It was very disgusting but cool, all at the same time. Found several logs that the beavers have been gnawing on. The neighbors to the right have told us before that sometimes they have to destroy the beaver damn but didn’t realize it was that big. Now we know what he was talking about.

It was our last day in Kentucky and we soaked it up as much as possible. I missed my hubby and I was ready to be home but I wanted to take my goat home too. Maybe I could pass Buford off as a new dog breed. He likes sitting on the porch like a dog. Chad said no we couldn’t keep a goat in the RV.

I would say I would just stay another week in Kentucky to punish him for telling me no but he has already proved since I have been away from him for 3 weeks that I must die before him, he is spoiled and would not survive without me. He has burnt pizzas, broke a mirror, spilled stain in my bathroom sink and managed to break the washer/dryer. Maybe the last one wasn’t entirely his fault but he was the one using it when it broke. He was redoing our bathroom to surprise me but I don’t do surprises and FaceTimed him too much for him to keep it a secret! He also cleaned out the hot tub and got it ready for me so I could soak in it when I got home. He is truly the best and I couldn’t wait to be home in his arms.

The next morning I took Hunter to his job interview at Wendy’s. Unfortunately they did him wrong and I was astonished that a company would treat a potential employee that way. His interview was supposed to be at 9am. He went in 10 minutes prior to his appointment time. They had him sit at a booth then a while later came and told him that his interviewer would not be there until around 9:30. He sat patiently and waited. At 10 am he had still not been interviewed and no one had even talked to him about it. He finally went back up to the counter and asked about his interview and they took his name and number down, said they would have the interviewer call him but has yet to do so. It’s sad that so many companies are short staffed but he keeps trying to get a job. He is Autistic but he is high functioning and a hard worker. I told him that it is their loss and to keep looking because apparently they do not value your time. So he will continue to work on the farm and help his grandparents out. After supposed to be interview, I dropped Hunter off at the farm, hooked up the trailer and headed back to Texas. I made it to New Boston, Texas that night and stopped at a hotel. We continued our journey home the next morning and made it home safe and sound.

As you know we have been using an outhouse, and a shower tent with an on demand shower we found on Amazon in the basement since we bought the property. Since the home we purchased was an Amish home and had no indoor plumbing it has been quite the chore to put in indoor plumbing. WE HAVE INDOOR PLUMBING YALL!!! I cannot express the excitement I had to soak in the bathtub and not have to go outside to potty in the middle of the night!

I will admit there has been a few hiccups along the way. My dad has a new hate for the brass plumbing fixtures we bought for the tub/shower. But they sure are purrrdy! I love them!

It was actually a lot easier getting the bathtub in vs. the wood heater. All the parts needed to hook up the faucet to the tub did not come, little did we know. Since the bathtub is from 1929 and faucet holes in the tub are not that close together now. We had to buy adapters that then changed the size of nut that holds them on. After several head scratches, lots of pondering and a trip to Ace Hardware we had a solution. Dad complained the entire time hooking it up and I can’t really blame him.

We have the toilet hooked up and I’m working order, along with the toilet closet sink hooked up. Oh did I mention how nice it was not having to go outside to potty in the middle of the night. The toilet closet light has not been installed yet and a couple other electrical plugs on that wall but it will be done in time.

In addition, when we went to mount the shower head to the wall it was too far away and it needed to be mounted straight up from the faucet. We decided to use that beautiful beam to mount it to but then after installing it, it still was 6 inches shy of where the shower head needed to be. We found a second beam and cut what was needed and mounted it to the big beam. I am actually super glad we had to do it because I love the look of it with the brass fixtures.

The electrical plugs on the new wall have been installed and are in working order. Once we hang sheet rock we can hook up the other sink. We hung the shower curtain rod that is a square that goes around the entire bathtub. It was not an easy project and I slipped while standing on the side of the tub and landed on my knee into the cast iron tub. 10 out of 10 do not recommend, after we finished getting mounted I took a one way ticket to the couch with an ice pack for the rest of the day.

I snuck into the bathroom against Chads strict orders to rest my knee and hung the shower curtain up. Unfortunately we did not account for the 360 inches of shower curtain needed for it…. So only half the shower has a curtain. I did end up going to the dollar general to get some temporary shower curtains until the others come in from Amazon.

We also now have laundry room plumbing in and since the floors I did are now dry we can do laundry tomorrow unless there is more hiccups…. usually is hiccups so I won’t be surprised. We still have a wall to put up to separate the laundry room from the mud room but it will be so nice not having to go to the laundry mat to do laundry.

Also we have hot water running to the sink so we don’t have to heat water to dishes now. We are moving right along and I am so excited, I only have a few more days on the farm before I head back to Texas. I cannot wait to see my husband! We have never been apart this long our entire marriage!

Today the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. We had some delicious cinnamon rolls for the Amish store up the road. Dad reminded me first thing this morning that I forgot to tell about him torturing me with the fake mouse cat toy yesterday. I was minding my own business, being the angelic person that I am and he tossed the dang thing at my feet and I screamed like a little girl. Luckily, no one was recording it, he got me pretty good though.

The kids put the chickens out in the chicken tractor this morning, we checked on the mama cat, and checked on the bunny rabbits. All are doing great! Mama cat moved the babies back up to the hay loft and I brought her up some food. While up there I explored the hay loft and found that there was all kind of wood, tin, and other items stored up there. I checked the roof for any signs of leaking from the previous day of rain, but it looked pretty good.

We moved the base up to the bathtub up to be put in place, then we moved the bath tub up. Surprisingly, the tub was much easier than the wood stove. I painted more on the bathroom walls so that when we install the toilet and sink, I won’t have to paint around them. Dad worked on some of the bathtub plumbing stuff and I helped when I could.

It was now time to start building the bathroom wall that separates the living room and the bathroom. While we started working on the wall, Cheyenne worked on cobweb removal and when Payton was done with her schoolwork she went to help clean out one of the stalls and a walkway behind the stalls.

Tomorrow we will move sheet rock down from upstairs to put on the wall. It is so exciting that we have made some progress today. Hunter worked on cutting down some pokey annoying tall weeds today and started burning them so their seed pods won’t create more for next year.