Dreams Come True

I wanted to share with you today a most amazing dream come true for a darling young friend of ours.  Alina Sayre is a long time friend of my children and like a daughter to me, and she WROTE A BOOK!!!  It is sometimes so hard to grasp that our children and their friends grow up and off they go into life making their dreams come true!! We of course are so proud of her!  So read on to hear what this amazing young lady and graduate of Seattle Pacific did with her English degree! Bravo and loud cheering......

Synopsis: 

The Illuminator's Gift is a family-friendly fantasy novel for ages 9-14 (and the young at heart). Here's what it's about: 

Ellie is a twelve-year-old orphan who desperately wants a family. She just doesn’t expect to find one when she joins the crew of the Legend, a flying ship in a secret rescue fleet. On board, she meets a boy with a pet tarantula, a bully with eyes like mirrors, and a librarian who can read eighteen languages. Unexpectedly, Ellie also discovers a powerful gift that only she can wield. But when the Legend is called to a dangerous rescue mission, Ellie risks losing everyone she loves. Will her mysterious gift be enough to save her and her friends from a deadly enemy bent on destroying their world?

Links: Both paperback and Kindle versions of the book are available on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494226227/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER, and my author website is alinasayre.com. 

Oliver and Ivy Grow Up

I wanted to update you on Oliver and Ivy.  These are my two goats that we bottle fed all summer and they grew up into the sweetest pair of siblings you could imagine!  They still love to frolick in the field and are so happy and sweet.  I swore to my family that I would NOT become a crazy goat lady however, they are so amazing. I am very surprised at how attached to them I have become. Fun on the farm!!

1948 International

 This 1948 International truck was a gift from my husband for Mother's day.  For me it is the coolest thing he could have given me and I was over the moon with joy!! Pictured here is my totally cool neighbor who sold it to my husband and one of my boys who we need to move it!

Here are my two boys and their best buddy who tried to push it out of the spot it has sat in since 1983. We thought we would tow it home with our truck. Mmmm...maybe not........

 We thought it was safest to call a tow truck. Out this professional came very quickly and hauled it over to our house.

 Here it is headed down our barn road.

Lastly here it sits, probably until all the kids get out of college waiting to be restored!   A few of our neighbors let us know right away they thought it looked totally cool sitting on our barn road!  One called it a great accessory! YEAH!!  Happy Mother's Day!! It is my mother's day assessory! Fun!!!

Direction Arrows

These arrows were so easy to make!  I wanted to share with you how fun they looked and how the goats enjoy them! My oldest son picked up some smooth pine at Home Depot, cut the points and used scrap for the ends.  My daughter primed them, and then painted them with chalkboard paint.  We then screwed them in four directions on this random post that is by our barn.  As you can sort of see, they are pointing toward the garden, chickens, goats and barn.  Just a little girlie fun around the farm!!

Flea Market Patriot

 I wanted to share with you how cool and patriotic our barn looked on the 4th of July! This flag I picked up at the De Anza flea market for $20. So simple and  loved how it looked!

Baby Goats

Goats have been our plan since we began our journey to the country and this week they were born!! The mom Moonlight gave birth on Monday to two kids, a doe (female) and a buck (male). The breeder is five minutes from my house.  So I scooted over and got to take these pictures when they were only one hour old.  So cute..... the male which we have named Oliver is the black and brown one and the female which we named Ivy is the lighter colored one.  Ivy looks more like her mom.  They have adorable long floppy ears.  We are so excited!!

Sink by the Greenhouse

My handy husband put irrigation into the garden this year so I can install a drip system this summer. As well as irrigation he built a sink for me outside the greenhouse for rinsing veggies and some counter space.  The sink is built with scrap lumber and some 100 year old barn wood from my neighbor.

A Busy Spring

Well here we are and it is only April 27 the garden is in, planted some apple trees, and our berry patch is growing in high gear!

Tack room before and after

Windows were installed in the tack room and then we had the huge task of painting and painting and painting.  ALL surfaces were painted including the floor with cement paint.  The ceiling took 8 coats of paint and primer.  My handy hubby installed lots of molding. Just rough cheap boards from Home Depot and some rural looking corrugated metal to hide lots of imperfections and create handy magnet friendly walls. Here it is before and after!

Some cool furnishing were picked up at a flea market and the big cabinet here and the amazing chalkboard were salvaged from my neighbor's out buildings.  I am a very blessed Farm Chick!!

Tack Room Desk

Here are my $10.00 oak desk drawers from my favorite salvage.

I painted some turned legs from home depot.

Then my handy husband put four legs on each drawer.

Then that handy husband cut a top out of plywood.  He had to put a little curve in the middle so that I could reach to open and close the window.

He routed the edges to make it splinter free. Then for fun I painted it pink!

So for about $50.00 I have a desk in the tack room for record keeping for our goat girls when they arrive.

Amazing Sliding Barn Door

Our barn needed a VERY large sliding door to cover the front opening.  We have kids (baby goats) arriving sometime in May and we needed this VERY large deterrent for the mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats, and raccoons that live in our area.  It will also keep out winter rain and drafts that goats find uncomfortable. The following is a series of pictures of the barn door from start to finish.  You will see it was definitely a family project!  Everyone got in on the fun!!

 

At the end of a long work day the sillies settle in and with this shot we say DONE!!

Outside the Tack room

Before..........

After.....

Completing the Center of the Barn

Now all of the loose dirt, chicken feathers and other debris has been removed.

Organizing tools and ladders begins.

New gravel is now spread. Remainder of tools organized.  We even built a work bench.  Ah so much better!

Barn Renovations Continued

The new year finds us preparing the barn for the arrival of baby goats some time in April.  First we need to close an opening at the back of the barn .We used retaining wall bricks for this job.  Followed by scraping out the inside of the center of the barn and laying down new materials that are less dusty and somewhat cleaner. Whoa Go Goats!