Now I know why they have hot tubs

 

 

It seemed that almost every place my husband and I looked at before we choose our house had a hot tub lurking somewhere.   Some had them hidden away in a corner of the deck, others had them right out there in the open, or covered with lattice, and one memorable one had it sunken into the basement floor. 

 

 

I still remember looking at the MLS photos and trying to figure out what the floor height padded cover sitting directly in the middle of the basement floor was.  It took some time, but after reading the listing details, I realized it was a hot tub.  Now, I am a total klutz, and it doesn’t take much for me to trip over my own feet.  So can you imagine a open pit of water in the middle of the floor?  Right, not going to take much for me to fall into that one. We didn’t bother to take a look in person.  And how do you get rid of that if you don’t want it?  Not like you can fill it with kids toys, and cover it up or anything.

 

 

We lamented to our Realtor about hot tubs so much that it became a running joke, she would look around, and with a certain amount of glee in her voice say, “yep it’s got one.”  If it wasn’t apparent immediately that the house had a hot tub, we would all search until we found one. And we found one almost every time.

 

 

Seriously I couldn’t understand why all these houses up here had hot tubs, what for, I kept asking her? Now after a bout with –20 C weather, and a average below zero temperature that seems to be here until next summer, I can understand.  Baby it’s cold outside.  And a hot tub is certainly one of the only ways you can get warm. 

Just don’t fall in by accident when you walk across the basement floor.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

 

PS:  Two more sleeps until we get possession of our new house, that’s if I can sleep for excitement.

 

 

Picasa, give it a try now, for me

 

Google has upset quite a few people by their announcement that Picnik is going to be phased out.   It didn’t really affect me, since I had tried Picnik, and found it a rather maddening wait beyond the lovely “sending request” quotes such as “chasing butterflies,”  or “picking daisies.”

I just never caught on to it’s more complex offerings, almost all of the ones I wanted to use cost more money, and since I had discovered Picasa and all of it’s free delights years ago, I just never bothered to take the time to play with Picnik.  I am sure it’s lovely, but it’s going away, so what are you to do?  Go back and give Picassa a try, I think you might like it.

I have Lightroom and Photoshop, but I use Picasa for most of my blog photos, it’s quick, easy to use and now it has some fun Picnik settings to boot. I don’t need to think about what to do next when I use Picasa, I just do it. 

This entire series of photos took me minutes to make. It does get easier, and that’s the norm for any program, the more you use it, the easier it is.

So go back, reload Picasa, and give it one more try.  I have the feeling that you won’t be disappointed. All of these photo effects were made with the new Picasa.   And if you would like to know what I did to them, you should be able to hover over them and the title of the photo should come up.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Spotty internet has me seeing polka dots!

 

Maybe it’s the internets fault, or maybe it’s from oncoming snowstorms.  But things are slow, and spotty, in blog land when I try to read your blogs.  It’s so frustrating that I am seeing polka dots, those little circles that seem to just go around forever, while the blog loads!

So I’m sorry if you are one of the people who’s blog I just can’t seem to leave a comment on.  I am trying to read them all, it’s just that for some reason, I either can’t pull up your blog, or if I can, I can’t leave a comment on it.

 

 

At first I thought it was our internet connection here at the farm, it does seem to be affected by oncoming snow storms, and I can lose the connection at any time suddenly.  I can post, not too many problems there, but I just can’t read, or comment on many of the blogs that I used to be able to see without any difficulty.  But then I started to read about other bloggers having the same difficulties….and I knew it was a mixture of both internet, and blog land.

 

 

Polka dots those slow circles,  are driving me….round the bend.  So now you know, if you haven’t heard from me in a while, there is a good reason.

Please wait, sending request….

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

My beloved plants, will you still love me if you are withering away in the sun?

 

 

 

I am finding out that many of the plants that I easily grew on my deck in pots, won’t flourish in the ground here, and I must ask each plant, will you still love me if you are withering away in the sun.  I must decide before spring if I am bringing them up here, with over 150 plants safely tucked away in a friends garden, this is a big decision. To take a chance on whether or not they do well, or do I give away the very last of my beauties. The cull began this summer when I sorted, thought, and pondered which of my babies I should take, and which I should adopt out to a new homes.  I have already given away over 100 plants, but this is a harsh, dry climate, and it doesn’t suffer water lovers well.

 

 

The ferns, oh the ferns….my little babies, with their sweet fronds that burst from the black soil in the first days of spring. You are my muse, your green shoots some of the first spring photos.  I know that you don’t like hot and dry summers, but I simply can’t part with you yet. Will you survive, do I have enough shade?

Hosta, you water hungry swaths of vivid green leaves, what am I to do?  Will you survive in the shade, and can I commit to watering you every day when it’s hot?  If I use grey water will I feel less guilty about my water consumption?

 

 

Bleeding Hearts, your golden leaves, and red stems are the very first sign that spring will come soon.  But you require so much water, and the heat will make you wither. What do I do?

Succulents, I know you will not suffer, you love the heat.  Lewisia, with your jewel like flowers, you will thrive in this climate, and my collection of hen’s and chicks will increase greatly. But is it to be farewell to lobelia forever?  Goodbye to my ferns? Hosta la vista hosta?

 

 

I have no idea, I just know that a water wise garden doesn’t include much of what I have right now.  I am all for water consumption, and certainly won’t be wasting it on green grass, or purchasing any new water loving plants.  But where do I draw the line, these are expensive well established plants, that might do well if I can care for them properly. Let me know what you think.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Farm Friday: About that asparagus picker

Sharing shots of our life, from the farm in the North Okanagan

 

 

 

It’s Farm Friday, and I would like to share some shots of the gorgeous farm that we are staying at….soon to be the place we are no longer staying at, but visiting, since next week we will be in our new place!!

 

 

Last week I had talked about the Asparagus picker, and mentioned that it had flat beds that were similar to a surf board, yes, asparagus surfing in the country, life is exciting out here.  Well I didn’t have any shots to share, and it was dark, so I had to wait until another day to get some shots. 

 

 

I ventured out on a cold day, but it was totally worth it because look at the frost, and I love the bright blue color that matched my nose, and frozen fingers.

 

 

During the spring time, when the asparagus is growing and not just brittle branches of frost, the farm workers lay on the beds, face down, and pick the asparagus as the “plane” is towed behind the tractor, talk about laying down on the job.

 

 

All joking aside, it’s not a easy job.  But how many people can say that they had a chance to surf the earth?

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Thrifty living 2012 : How we got here, our stories

 

 

 

I’m taking part in Brenda from A Cosy Little House’s new series on Thrifty Living 2012. In this series, there will be five women sharing the individual struggles they face economically with their families in a particular region.

Each week [Thursday] one of us, Brenda, Claudia, Elaine, Diane, and myself will feature a topic on how we are living more thriftily in the year 2012.

 

 

Welcome to the second post of Thrifty Living 2012, today we are sharing the rest of our stories on how we got here, next week the thrifty team will be addressing our consumption of gasoline in our various regions. What it costs. How we try to cut back on it. What strategies we've implemented.

Living on the West Coast of BC, Canada is expensive, and many luxuries are out of reach, the largest of those being a house.  The Vancouver area is rated high as one of the most unaffordable places to live, and owning a house in this area is beyond most of us since average housing prices in Vancouver are around a million dollars. We had longed to move to the Okanagan and purchase a house that we could afford, and live our life for us, not for the mortgage.

 

 

My family lives up in the North Okanagan and we have always wanted to call the area our home. With both of my parents rapidly aging, and going through illness we decided to put our condo on the market last spring.  Unfortunately so did many others, the market in White Rock was flooded with condo sales, and prices were dropping.  There were days during the seven months time it took to sell, that I wondered if it would ever happen. But it did, and we are up here, and about to move into our first “real” home.

This felt like just another road block to us in our long term yearning to move.  Two years ago my husband was unexpectedly laid off, and told that he would be back at work in a few months.  We had no warning, and had just purchased a new vehicle and had monthly payments.

Just before this all happened I had moved from a garden center job of 15 years,  to a retail position indoors, and taken a pay cut of 1/3 less wages.  The few months stretched into more, we lost our benefits through his work, and my hours were reduced, we struggled through it like so many are doing today still.

 

 

We had two big benefits though, one was, we are children of depression era parents, and we were brought up in one income households.  Money was tight when we were both children, and we learned never to spend what we didn’t have, and keep our expectations realistic.  So our credit card bills are always paid off at the end of the month, only buy what you can afford.

 

 

Our second saving grace is some advice we were given when young. Pay yourself first.  It is some of the most important pieces of financial advice anyone can ever receive.  There are many ways to set up a saving account that will siphon off a bit of extra for your own personal rainy days, and if you learn this lesson well, you will always have a nest egg for those unexpected events that are bound to happen.  By saving small amounts each month, you learn to work with slightly less each month.  Soon the benefits of saving will outweigh the pinch of having less money, and when the compound interest starts to add up, it will be a extra incentive to save more.

Drop by and visit Brenda, Claudia,  Elaine, Diane to see their stories and how they deal with living thriftily in 2012.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Thrifty living 2012 series coming up on Thursday

 

 

I forgot in all the excitement about the deer photos to let you know that once again I will be joining in on Brenda from A Cosy Little House’s Thursday’s series on Thrifty Living 2012.

 

Be sure to drop by all 5 bloggers and see what they have come up with.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Deer-ly beloved what a collection of deer photos

 

 

 

Deer-ly beloved we have gathered here on this blog to view some deer photos.  And not just one or two, but a grand total of 66 photos of deer.  Imagine our surprise when we put that camera card into the computer and up popped 66 shots of deer-ly beloved deer.

 

 

And all it took was some frozen squash and pumpkins collected from the garden, and dumped in front of the camera.  If you feel like viewing all 66 deer shots, feel free to visit this MBD Picassa album.

 

 

In the process we learned a few important lessons. 

One:  Deer like to pee on the pumpkins that they can’t break open, either they do it, or the dogs did it.  Or maybe it was the coyotes….all I know is don’t you go and eat that yellow snow.

Two: Our first impulse was to go to the feed mill and buy a bag of corn. It was a generous impulse, but apparently we would have ended up killing them by mistake.  Deer cannot digest bellies full of corn, and develop acidosis, which eventually kills them.  Well fed deer are no longer nomadic like they should be, and are exposed to parasites, and disease when they are grouped together feeding at one site.

 

 

Three: The things you learn, when you think you are doing something right.  Check out this site from Farm and Dairy, it’s full of interesting facts on deer, stuff I had no idea about.

 

 

Four: Don’t feed the deer!

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Counting the days, and I want some photos too!

 

 

It’s a mere 9 days until we get into our house.  I am counting the days, I can’t wait, it’s going to be so exciting to finally have our own place.  And to know that the banging upstairs isn’t from the third floor neighbours, it’s just one of us making some noise hanging pictures.

I’m still reminding myself to bring quarters each time I need to do a load of laundry, old 17 year habits don’t die easily.  After all of those years shuffling, and coordinating laundry on 3 floors in our condo my husband and I tag teamed the laundry so many times, it was second nature. “Do you have quarters?”  Yes, what floor?  “The washer on one, and the dryer on 3.” It seemed that the entire condo building wanted to do it’s laundry at the same time, no matter what day, or time we choose. Now to have the luxury of doing laundry whenever, and however we choose….bliss.

No more curious neighbours walking past our ground floor windows as I am getting changed.  Can you believe it, privacy?  More then once I have dove for the floor in the bedroom and hid myself behind the bed, as yet another neighbour strolled by to admire the patio garden.  That gives another meaning to the phrase, nude garden statues.

I wish I had taken more photos when we were in the house during our house hunt.  The last time we were there was for the house inspection, and I was so intent on learning everything I could from the inspector about the house, that I never took any photos.  Condo living is easy compared to living in a house, where upkeep, and maintenance are so important.  We had a great inspection, and there are very few issues that need to be dealt with when we move in but this is serious stuff, and I had to pay attention.

Part of me wanted to wander and take photos, redecorate in my mind, letting my husband deal with the technical stuff… our offer was based on a favourable house inspection, and I was very strict with myself.  No mental decorating until you know for sure it’s yours.  No falling in love with this house until the offer goes through!

So it’s ours, in 9 days, then I will be able to share photos, and ask your decorating advice.  I don’t know about you, but I always want to know that my kitchen, and bathrooms are super clean when I move into a new place.

Meanwhile I am gathering together my non toxic cleaning supplies, organizing ideas, and hoping for more photos soon.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Deer-ly beloved where are you when I put up the trail cam?

 

 

 

Deer, oh beloved deer, why don’t you show up the nights I bundle up, lace my snow boots, and cross the treacherous ice covered driveway, walk far out there into the dark unknown to place the trail camera “just so”  in order to capture your likeness in the dark bitter night?

Don’t you realize how hard it is for this city girl used to bright street lights to walk intentionally onto a dark road. Trained from birth never to walk out of the reach of street lights, I don’t feel comfortable being out there at night.  It’s cold, dark, and who knows what lurks out beyond the shadows of the feeble house light.  It could be anything, but obviously it’s not you, my beloved deer.

  

 

Do you know how much nerve it takes for me to stand my ground and not run screaming back into the house when the dogs growl at some still shadow late at night?   That in my mind there could be anything out there. Don’t laugh, it’s not funny, and yes I know that you have spent your life dodging dogs, darkness, and coyotes, but I haven’t.

Oh deer, why can’t you decide to eat the frozen pumpkins and squash we put out for you on the nights when the trail camera is up?  Why did you bring a whole herd of your friends, we counted 8 of you through the windows, and there was no trail cam out that night.  The joy of seeing you cancelling out the discomfort of our icy toes as we watched your blurry shapes enjoy the feast below.  But our regret for being camera less was like a hangover the next morning.

 

 

The dogs were wild with joy, over your scent, left behind in the deer prints all crisscrossing the field.  Since their barking continued all night, we were both sleepless, and lacking a photo.

So deer, lets make a compromise,  you show up at least one of the nights per week that I have put out the trail camera, and we will keep feeding you those frozen pumpkins, and squash.

 

 

It’s a really fair deal, and maybe somewhere along the way, I can get over my dislike of the dark.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Land of mountains, spectacular sunsets, and long drives

 

 

 

It’s a different light up here, less grey, brighter, and there is always a feeling of wide open spaces. This is the land of mountains, spectacular sunsets, and long drives. 

 

 

For someone that’s lived in a condo with buildings all around her for the last 17 years, this is quite the change. Down on the coast I couldn’t look out my windows and see the sun setting in the sky, it was blocked half way down by a building across the street, with two more to be built beside it. Even when I drove beyond the city, I couldn’t see for miles like I can do here.

 

 

But it takes a little getting used to, all these wide open spaces, and I hope that I never lose that sense of awe at how much space, and land is out there. Distances are greater, and it’s nothing to have to drive a hour to get to a big enough city that has a Michaels, or a Home Sense.  Those were stores that I could drop by and visit whenever I liked, now it requires a planned day of travel.  One that I have only made once since we have been here.  Beside a little mental lament about the “big” city not having a Chapters Indigo, I think that I have adapted well.

 

 

With sunsets like these, who needs a Chapters anyways?

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Making my own sunshine and sparkle

 

 

Sometimes life doesn’t hand you lemons, it hands you snow storms, and grey days instead.  So we need to be able to make our own sunshine and sparkle. 

Thank goodness for photo archives, these sunflowers are chasing away the gloom.

And to give them a bit of extra sparkle, I used a bokah texture from Shadowhouse Creations.

So go ahead make your own sunshine, and sparkle. After all, winter’s not going to do it for you.

 

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams