Sometimes, really pretty things happen around here...

...and best part is, this didn't need any paint, filler or nails!

The Escapee

The people next to us keep chickens (you may remember seeing the party they had at the coop in a previous post). This smart little clucker figured out a way to pop through a hole in the fence and roam through a field to come visit us...twice so far.

Sometimes it's not bad/smelly/scary/strange...

See? Every now and then we have fun around here. One of the best things we've found left behind by the old owners was a large cement container that we've now turned into our awesome fire pit*. (Don't ask to hear the story about how we had to move it to our chosen location -- lots of swearing and general bad behaviour, the usual when Trevor and I have to move something large and heavy.)

*We're not going to run out of anything to burn anytime soon. In fact, we should have that pit going 24 hours a day -- and after 2 years we might have the junk piles gone.

Now there's the money shot.

Minor (major?) baked potato incident. Not enough tin foil + in the fire too long = something that looks like a charbroiled brain.

Here's proof of our bounty around here-- freshly picked grapes and apples. We'd better get used to living off the land because once our bank account is bled dry by this house it's all we'll be eating.

Last long weekend with no reno's

We're just starting to get accustomed to life without renovations. It was very strange at first to not have an endless list of things that needed creating/fixing/improving/finishing in the house, but we've adjusted to it (a bit). Now we spend our time packing, cleaning and planning for the new house now -- oh, and we also have a bit more of a life. I think I can count on one hand the number of times we've been to Home Depot in the past month and a half (but we still know the layout by heart!).

This weekend marks the last long weekend we'll have before we move into the next house and have our lives chewed, swallowed and spit out by it. And that's putting it nicely. To take the edge off of that I'm posting photos of a fun day out to the Othello Tunnels where we hiked, relaxed and were otherwise oblivious to our future reno lives, so I can look back at it wistfully one day and say, 'oh look, we were normal back then!'.

Some of the tunnels are quite dark.

View down from one of the trestle bridges.

When they were constructing the tunnels (back in the day) they would light the charge and then scurry up the ladders away from it. Yikes.

A small perk

Now that the house is almost ready for staging (still a few touch-up's to get to, *shhh* those will be fixed on the weekend!) there's a little more time to do other things around here...like make homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream*.

Ohhhhh yeahhhhh.

*Okay, so it's really 'ice skim milk'.  I didn't have cream on hand, and it's stinkin' hot around these parts right now.  It still tastes good though!

Obsession: Tilt-shift photography

This shot was taken in Malta.

I've loved this style for a while, but haven't managed to put out the mucho $ for a tilt-shift lens.  Until that day, I can use this to transform my photos, which is just as fun!*

(*Seriously, I was giddy.)

At the old Popeye movie set in Malta.

A school in Monte Carlo.

Trevor in Northern Ireland.  (He looks like a plastic toy!)

Looking down on a view of Monaco.

I bought a book for the cover

I've done this before -- this book was calling my name off the shelf (and it was 20% off, so really calling my name). 

Here's the  illustrator's website (Helen Chapman) with more samples of her work.