{Gratitude} Lately

Lately I've been thankful for well-worn pearl snaps and fresh muscle sprouts.

For baths outside and pups with rabbit ears.

For buttered pretzel buns and sword in the stone pickles.

For honey making bees and hives that remind me of the ocean.

For Napoleon Chocolate Mouse and bakeries within walking distance of the Harvest House.

For my Papa's Banana Bread and early mornings on the porch swing.

For dirty garden paws and fresh herbs for cooking.

And for bearded men who sell organized spices and best friends who makes you tea when you're sick.
What have you been grateful for lately?

Here's to gratitude and how it turns everything into enough.

Happy Saturday, brave ones!

{Love Lost by Ta-Ku}

Because it's Friday. You made it, brave ones.

{Today's Letters}

Dear Timothy James, this morning we get to bring River home after getting her lady parts removed at the vet. Can we put Pound Puppies under her belly so she can still feel like a mama? Dear Wiltshire Pantry, three fist pumps for making want to bathe in my Reuben sandwich with a giant loofah. I have a feeling we'll be eating lots of you this summer. Dear Newbery Medal Winners, I've always wanted to read every book on your list. Can't wait to start soon with a group of friends who love children's stories as much as I do. Dear Husband, wanna polyurethane the porch swing, lay stone pavers with me in the backyard, and grill burgers on pretzel buns at the Harvest House today? {Circle YES or NO}. 

Happy Thursday, brave ones! Favorite sandwich you've ever eaten? Go.

{Projects Around The Harvest House} : Part V

Lately we've been busy coming up with watering solutions for the Harvest House.
For the front of the house we used a 50 gallon barrel we found on Craigslist for $25.
Converting it into a rain barrel was easy after purchasing a rain barrel diverter kit and a spigot.

For the back yard we had to get a little creative.
Watering five raised beds every day isn't cheap so we came up with a solution to use the leftover wood from our carport and build a frame to vertically house two rain barrels.

Without a gutter system in the back corner of our yard we decided to use three large funnels
to catch the rain water. My dad said they look more like urinals.



Once the rain falls into the funnels it fills the top barrel and overflows into the bottom barrel
via a PVC pipe we connected with a couple of elbow fittings.
The spigot at the bottom allows us to attach a hose so we can now water our raised beds.

We've also been busy with our bees and added a second box to our hive last week.
At the rate they're making honey we'll have to add another shallow super in the next few days.

Our other big project was repainting a pair of Adirondack chairs for the front porch.
Tim prepped the chairs by removing the old paint. Praise the Great Lion of Judah for hand sanders.

After two coats of Benjamin Moor's Wedgewood Gray the Adirondack chairs look like this. Sexxxy.

Lastly, we assembled our coop which is now the humble abode for four chickens and rooster.
Our rooster's name is Scofield and our hens names are McButter, Mailbox, Bacon and Eggs.

So far they love running around our backyard, climbing on our fence, and playing with the bees.
Stay tuned for more house projects coming soon!
Happy Tuesday, brave ones.

{Today's Letters}

Dear Mr. Loerke, this weekend we finished building our rain barrel system for the back yard, chased the chickens back into their coop, walked to dinner each night, had our neighbors over for breakfast in their jammers, and went to bed with sunburned shoulders. I love our life. #humbled Dear MMR, thanks for reminding me that humility and integrity go together like chicken and waffles. Your friendship is better than honey on a bee sting. Dear Bee Sting, three points for making me yell the queen-mother f word, four points for making my middle finger look like a sausage. Dear Timothy James, last week you made the Harvest House sausage, apple, and sweet potato hash. The energy you have from eating better has made our evening walks more entertaining. I'm a fan of the new you.

Happy Monday, brave ones! How was your weekend? Any highlights?

{The Supreme Test}

"For the supreme test of a fisherman is not how many fish he has caught,
not even how he has caught them,
but what he has caught when he has caught no fish."
- John H. Bradley

On Mother's Day I went fly fishing with Bek & Molls.
We caught lots of laughter, trees, and brush. 

It was better than a 15" trout.
I guess that's why they call it fishing, not catching.

{Fist Pump Friday!}

{Caroline, Kelsey, Alex, Liz & Hillary : Auburn Seniors : Graduation 2013}

Thanks to Olivia we can cross off another FPF challenge photo from our list! Here are some others: challenge photos: 1) while riding an elephant 2) with your mailman 3) in front of Antique Archaeology in Nashville 4) with Twinner at Local123 5) at your favorite BBQ joint 6) at the Pyramids in Egypt 7) at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo 8) after running a marathon 9) in front of the Sistine Chapel in Rome 10) in front of your sorority / fraternity house 11) at the National Cherry Blossom Festival in DC 12) with your grandma or grandpa 13) with your favorite professor or teacher 14) at Caine's Arcade 15) by the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco 16) with Katie Davis in Uganda or at Catalyst Dallas 17) on a sailboat 18) while cheering on your favorite team at the ballpark 19) in front of the Sydney Opera House in Australia 20) camping with friends 21) at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC 22) at Old Faithful in WY 23) at the Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox Statue in Bemidji, MN 24) at the World's Largest Peanutin Ashburn, GA 25) before / after sky diving 26) while stuffing your boca with fried goodness at your local State Fair 27) with your friends at a college football game 28) while fly fishing 30) at Carhenge in Alliance, NE 31) while rocking your Halloween costume 32) with the Fremont Bridge Troll in Seattle 33) on top of the Empire State building in NYC 34) while rocking tacky Christmas sweaters 35) in front of your favorite brewery 36) eating a cinnamon roll at Please & Thank You in Louisville 37) in front of the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas 38) in front of the worlds largest Easter Egg in Vegreville, Canada 39) on top of Mount Agung in Bali 40) with Naomi, Josh, Eleanor or Samson Davis of Rockstar Diaries 41) in Patagonia, Chile 42) with your first homegrown tomatoes or veggies of the season or 43) at The KY Derby. To participate email photos to em@todaysletters.com. Happy freaking Friday, Homies!

Each week we receive several FPF photos that can't be posted on the blog due to photo quality. We'd love to encourage you to 1) take your FPF photo horizontally (when possible) 2) use an SLR camera (no blurry cell phone pictures) and 3) take your photos in the daylight. Thanks!

{Gratitude Lately}

Lately I've been thankful for the warmth of summer and bridges to walk across.

For twinner bean sprouts and rain that saves our water bill.

For handmade tables and snacks you have to work for.

For working with my hands and doing things that inspire me.

For post dinner fishing adventures and waders with extra pockets.

For happy bees and medium supers.

For communal living and pups who love food as much as we do.

And for warm muffins and a healthier relationship with food. 

What have you been grateful for lately?

Here's to gratitude and how it turns everything into enough.

Happy Thursday, brave ones!

{Projects Around The Harvest House} : Part IV

Some of you have been asking about our carport turned garden fence.
Here is an explanation of how and why we did it!

Our original carport looked like this. It was an eyesore, was too short to pull Griswold into,
and it looked like a saggy pair of underwear in snowstorm.

Tim worked on disassembling it in stages, saving all of the metal roofing material & wooden crossbeams.

With two dogs, chickens, and other neighborhood animals we knew it would be a good idea to build a fence to keep our furry friends out of our soon to be garden. Why not re-use what we had?

Because there's simply nothing better than a family project we enlisted Twinner and Papa to help us
turn the steel panels into a fence.

We drilled 3" wood screws through the pannels into the pre-existing posts.

Soon our garden fence started to look like this.

And now it looks like this.

It still needs a gate {hoping to find an old one at a flea market or garage sale}, as well as some lights strung across it for summer evenings outside, but so far we're really happy with it.

The metal fence has kept the birds from dive bombing our garden,
and it's also been a great form of insulation for our raised beds on cooler days.
Overall Cost : $25.38 for a box of 3" wood screws, concrete drill bit, and a 4x4x8.
Not too shabby.

{House Projects : Part I | House Projects : Part II | House Projects : Part III}

{Today's Letters}

Dear Mr. Loerke, this weekend we installed our first rain barrel. This means we now own a hacksaw and meat thermometer. {Because you can never go to Lowe's and leave with just one thing}. Dear Tristan, thank you for taking me to your high school art exhibit last week. I left A) feeling inspired B) craving time with you in your studio and C) wishing I could eat the watercolor of asparagus you painted. Dear Third Floor Office, I avoid unpacking you like I avoid going to the dentist. Maybe tomorrow's crown will inspire me to get you organized so I can read a book in your window seat. Dear Timothy James, you've officially made it 14 days without sugar. You deserve a cupcake bowl of bananas the size of your head. So proud of you.

Happy Tuesday, brave ones! What was your favorite class in high school?