New Year, Oranges & Snow!

We had a great Christmas. Spent it with family. My FIL had his artificial hip removed back in October & has been in re-hab ever since. SIL & family came down from Atlanta to spend Christmas with everyone. We took Christmas Eve dinner to the re-hab place, then niece opened her gifts. We stopped exchanging with the adults on hubby's side of the family several years ago. We were just exchanging $$ & gift cards & decided to stop.

We still exchange with my family so we headed to my sisters on Christmas Day. Had a wonderful late lunch & after gifts were opened we headed to the country to work on the Barn Apartment.  We have been working on it since late 2015.

Yes, we take things a little slower here in the south ...lol. Really though, the reason is that we save up to do what we can & then stop & save up some more so we can pay off as we go. We were in the final stretch & only had to install the plumbing stuff (faucets, toilets, etc.), get a septic tank installed & then hook up the water. Greg got the plumbing done & we got the septic installed but not inspected before we left (that happened yesterday). He'll hook up the water when we go back. Then all we have to do is take all the crap things that I have been accumulating. Once my wrist(s) heal I will be able to clean cabinets (need water for that), install shelving paper & get the kitchen set up too. I can't remember what I have bought (mostly at Estate Sales) & what I still need.

It was cold the whole time we were there & the only thing I got done was get my asparagus beds ready for winter & pick the oranges that had finally ripened.

42!

We headed back to the city on the 30th because it was supposed to get even colder in the country. When we got back, the Christmas Cactus was almost in full bloom.

Pink is pretty but I wish I had a red one too.

We had a low key New Years Eve dinner & the usual for New Years Day (pork chops, turnip greens, black eyed peas, rice & cornbread). Greg headed back to work yesterday (bummer for him).

We are having cold weather here in the city & it is currently raining which may turn to sleet later this afternoon if the temps continue to drop (dropped from 36 to 34 in the last hour). There was snow just west & north of the city & quite a bit near our country house. Here's a a couple pics of relatives kids.

These were taken about 5 miles from our house up there. Here's a couple closer to the house, not as thick but accumulation none the less.

And last one, taken in town about 8 miles away.

It will most likely melt by nightfall or tomorrow morning. Fun for the kids & a novelty for the adults as this only happens this far south every 10 years or so.

Headed to the kitchen to make 15 bean soup as we are supposed to have hard freezes (20s) for the next 3 nights. All animals are hunkered down trying to stay warm. For those not allowed inside I've created warm boxes with bedding & quilts, under shelter, out of the wind, to keep them warm. Plus, they have very thick coats of fur & are doing fine.

Hope everyone has a great New Year!

He Wasn't Invited ....

But he showed up anyway. BP (Bi-polar for those that may remember) cousin let his cows into the fields to graze whatever was left from the last growing season. Mr. Bull here decided he had had enough of the girl cows & the grass looked greener on our side of the fence. He found a way in & decided to stroll around for a while.

Thank goodness he didn't actually take a bite of this little pine.

He is a fine specimen.

Standoff

He wasn't aggressive but Nelly didn't like the looks of that big thing. We left her on the screened porch so she wouldn't try to chase him off & get trampled. He finally had enough & eventually found his way back out. Gotta get my Dad to talk to his relative about fixing the area he got in.

In other news, the cranes were migrating. It's funny, you can hear them coming waaaay before you see them. They fly very very high but I was able to get just one shot that actually shows them looking like cranes. You have to biggify it to see.

My orange tree produced a few (& I mean very few) oranges this year. It was loaded with blooms but only produced 8 oranges. I thought they might be on the sour side but am happy to report that they are quite tasty.

A quick shot of the prime rib we had for New Years dinner. We froze 1/2 of it for later eating.

And last but definitely not least, here's Nelly in her Christmas sweater. She doesn't look too happy about it but she didn't mind it at all. Although it is a bit snug so she's on a diet now.

Country Tree & Weed Update - Plus a Lady Fidget Quilt

Went to the Country last weekend. Summer is mowing season for us. Greg works until 1:00p on Saturday. We leave the city & arrive around 4:00p. Jump on the mowers & mow until dark.

This is only the 2nd time mowing this year. We are about 5 weeks behind due to the rain earlier in the season. Greg went the weekend I was at the quilt retreat only to find the larger 72" mower had a mechanical problem so he had to mow with my our 60". First mowing took almost 6 hours & a lot was still too wet to mow.

There was also string trimming to be done around all the trees & crepe myrtles. We usually only have to trim once or twice a year .... thank goodness.

But we got it done. Here are a few pics from around the place:

Oranges!

Peaches about the size of a 50 cent piece

Pretty blue weeds along fence line

Honeysuckle

Lots of it!

Pretty white weed bush. Lots & lots of these along the fence

Blackberry growing under In-Laws porch.

One of the Cherry Bark Oaks planted in 10/15. Birds seem to love it.

And last but not least, I made a Lady Fidget Quilt I mentioned in my last post.