Busy, busy, busy this weekend...

We have so much to do to get ready for our Memorial Day cookout:

The outhouse has to be finished - not much left to do there but put in the toilet and sink and get them hooked up of course. I don't get to participate in that activity but I do get to decorate :) I might have a thing or two that would look cool out there. Wally already said no candles... I guess since it's made of wood, candles probably wouldn't be a very good idea...lol

The outdoor kitchen still doesn't have the stone in place but the grill will work and the seating is ample so we're good there. The sink hasn't been hooked up but there shouldn't be too many dishes in need of washing. We'll be using styrofoam - thank you very much. Wally wanted to have the bar put up in time but I don't know if that will get done or not. He did find a nice big cedar log with which to make the bar top. It's going to be the kind of bar you stand at rather than sit. If you want to sit at a bar, you'll have to go inside and don't forget your phone book - you'll need one to sit on because the inside bar is built "Wally Tall."

Our spare room needs a few things cleared out since we're expecting guests from out of town. I have to load up the bags and boxes of stuff that I have set aside for the thrift store and get them delivered. I also have to figure out where my Grandma's china is going to go. Right now it's on the floor of the bedroom in my dad's old foot locker. I don't have a cabinet here like I did in FL and I don't want to put it out where it could get broken or dusty, etc. This one is a challenge though because there are times when I like to use it so is still needs to be readily accessible. I'll have to think on that.

I need to get the fold-out couch cleared off. Right now I'm using it to store extra towels, jeans, socks, etc. until I have shelves in my closet upstairs. I do have a table in the laundry room that I can stack this stuff on. At least it will get it out of the way in case someone needs to stay on that couch.

We have plenty of extra sheets, blankets, and pillows. If you remember, I wrote about all that stuff when I first started the blog. I was busy washing, hanging and folding the sheets and blankets for a couple days :) I'm glad I did all that now that we may be in need of them!

We won't have time to get shoes on the horses but Wally is going to saddle them up and tie them to the hitching post in case anyone wants to ride. You'll need to know how to adjust the stirrups for yourself because he's not planning on spending the day readjusting them... lol  Don't worry, I need a lesson myself, it's been years since I did that.

Today the FEMA guy is supposed to come look at the holler and determine if we're eligible for any funding to repair it. Wally, Daryl and Jim were down there the other day and it took them 4 hours to get back out. They had to cut down trees to put in the holes just to be able to get the truck turned around so they could get back out. Good thing Daryl packed the chainsaws before they headed down there. Daryl said some of the holes are so deep I could stand in them and you wouldn't even see me. Wally said it looked like you could stand down there, have a truck drive over and you could change the oil... lol  our own little Jiffy Lube in the holler :)  ha ha ha   I make fun but it's a shame such a beautiful place was so devastated by that water. The picture on the blog doesn't really do it justice. At that point the water had only just begun to do its damage. Keep your fingers crossed, hopefully we'll qualify. As it is, we have to leave the farm and go out and around the back way just to get anything to or from the barn. It's a long ways which makes it really inconvenient to say the least.

So there's all that plus the usual chores of cleaning the bathrooms, the floors and doing the laundry... lol You can well imagine how tired I'll be come Monday :)  At least it's not supposed to rain - indeed we've had about enough of that and while it is nice for the land, trees, yard and flowers, it makes for a difficult time doing laundry when you like to hang it on the line. Which I do - as you well know.

Pulled pork and chicken leg quarters are on the menu along with whatever sides we come up with. I'm sure there will be bunches of those because everyone we've invited has asked what they can bring. Claudia's bringing German potato salad, she's German so I trust it will be authentic and yummy tasting. I'll probably make some of those sausage and cheese stuffed jalapenos and some cole slaw. Gotta have slaw if you're having pulled pork... they just go together!

I got a really good deal on some rib eye steaks last night at the Food Lion grocery store. They were $4.99 lb and hardly any fat on them at all. There's a little on the edge but the rest looks real lean. I bought two pounds and may go back for more tonight just to put in the freezer. I won't usually buy rib eyes because A - they're too expensive and B - they're too fatty. These were neither. We're having them for dinner so I'll be able to tell you how they taste when I write my post for Monday.

I bought the ingredients for the biscuits so I can make them for Debbie. She said her mouth watered when she was reading about them so she is now insisting that I make them for her when she comes up next week. No problem here - we love them too. The only problem is going to be making enough of them!

It wasn't raining when I got home but it looked like maybe it had just stopped when I got there. I took a picture of how it looked as I was coming down the driveway. It was a little foggy but otherwise very green - so green it smelled green... ha ha. If I can get my phone to send the picture to my email, I'll post it.

All the while we're working on the list of chores, we also have to fit in getting my squash, peas, radishes, onions and tomatoes in the ground... if nothing else gets done, the planting will. If all goes well, Wally might make it over to the Mennonite store to get the plants today. If that's the case, I'll get them in the ground before darkness falls tonight. Jim says they're on sale now because they need to clear their greenhouses for the next crop. Lucky for me, we waited all this time... LOL  As you well know, we didn't purposely wait, we had no choice because of the rain, rain, rain.

I have so much more to say but alas work calls - I'm providing back-up assistance to a co-worker while she is on vacation so if I'm able to finish her reports in a decent amount of time, maybe I'll check back and write some more.

If not, I hope you enjoy your weekend and get plenty of rest...

"An hour's hard digging is a good way of getting one's mind back in the right perspective." - Richard Briers