Today on Ferrell Farm . . .

The days seem to be getting longer.  The sun actually came out today.  It really put me in the mood to be outside which is good thing since I have some seed potatoes and onions I need to plant.

After I picked up the boys from school, I hurried home to change and get out in the dirt!  I found my onions and potatoes, my rubber boots, and headed for the barn.  I decided to feed and water the chickens before I started on the garden.  Dave usually feeds the chickens. :)

They were happy to see me.  :)

The cows were happy to see me too.

They were "mooooing" at me the whole time I was out there feeding the chickens.  Unfortunately, I'm not the person that feeds the cows ever!  That's Dave's job!

As I was returning the chicken feed to the barn, I noticed my sweet husband driving up the driveway.  He took off work early to help me get the garden ready.  He's so sweet.  :)

I think he was worried about me using the tiller by myself.  That was fine with me! 

Our garden was pretty sad looking after a long winter of neglect. 

Dave worked hard using the tiller . . . getting the ground ready for planting.  Someone showed up to help him.

He insisted on helping till the garden.  :)

 Dave was so patient and sweet while Shane was helping him.  I know bending over and controlling that tiller while letting Shane "help" probably didn't make the job very easy, but Dave let him help as much as he safely could.

Dave tilled up a 10 x 10 square of the garden for my potatoes and onions.  The dirt was wet and gummy which  made it difficult to till.  We decided to let it sit overnight and hopefully the soil will dry out a little before I plant tomorrow. 

Shane was a big help to his daddy . . .  and he loved helping Dave squeeze the bar to make the tiller go.

While we were busy trying to get the garden ready for planting, the boys were having a great time on their 4-wheelers.

Zach had too much fun . . . mud riding!

Really Zach . . . like I don't have enough laundry to do!

Alex finished his homework quickly so he could ride too.

Alex even let Shane drive his 4-wheeler around. 

Sometimes he can be a sweet big brother!

All this activity on the farm between school and evening services at church.  A busy, busy afternoon for

                       the Ferrell boys and me!

Makeover Monday - Bar Stools and Chairs

By the way, I know it's Tuesday.  I'm just a day behind in my blogging.  :)

So my sister, Michelle, and I spent the day shopping for bar stools and chairs this past Saturday for my breakfast room makeover, and I actually bought one bar stool and one chair to try out in that area.

I wrote about our fun shopping trip in my previous post, but I didn't share how the bar stool and chair looked in my house.  So I took a few pictures from every angle of the bar stool and chair . . . .  to see how they looked.  The view to the bar stool from the pantry . . .

The view from the living room . . .

The view coming in the patio door . . .

Ok . . . I really like the bar stool.  The boys LOVE the bar stool.  They fight over who gets to sit on it!  So the bar stool question has been decided, I think.  Now I just have to get two or three more and soon!  

Now regarding the breakfast table chair . . .

  
The back of the chair is quite a bit taller than the original chairs that came with the table.

And the chair also seems to be quite a bit bigger than what the breakfast table needs.   I'm thinking I might need to get a bigger table if I decide to buy these chairs.  Imagine 6 of these chairs placed around the table . . .

It's hard to decide.  I love the chair . . . it is so comfortable and sturdy. 

What to do . . .  We need 6 new chairs for the table.  Some of you may have already noticed that I only have 3 chairs left out of the original table set, and we are having to use a piano bench for additional seating! 

I also have to consider the space between the kitchen table chairs and the bar stools.  That is a highly traveled space . . . lots of little boys running back and forth in that area . . . not a lot of room . . .

I think I will work on refinishing the table this week and put off making any decisions concerning the chairs until after I've finished that project.  Who knows?  I might ruin the table and have to purchase a whole new set!  Ha!

Let me know what you think.  I am honestly having a difficult time making a decision about the table and chairs.

Hopefully, I will have made a decision about the chairs by next week's Makeover Monday with . . .

                          the Ferrell boys and me!

Saturday Sister Fun in Tuscaloosa!

My sister Michelle lives in Alabama which isn't that far from where I live in Mississippi.  Actually it's just a hop, skip, and about 20 miles to the state line. :)

One of my intentional missions (or resolutions) this year is to make an effort to spend more time with my sister on her own turf.

Last month I went over and spent the Sunday afternoon with her at their camphouse on the river.  Her hubby was out on the river fishing so we had a lot of sister time together.  We talked and watched tv together.  It was just like old times when we lived together during college and law school.   Here we are getting ready to eat supper together.

She even made me chicken and dumplings for supper that night  . . . my favorite.

This past Saturday I met her at her house, and we drove over to Tuscaloosa for a day of shopping . . . specifically shopping for chairs and barstools for my breakfast area.

Michelle works in Tuscaloosa and she know lots of places to shop.  I had the best time!  We went to a Home Accents store where I found some cute burlap/jute placemats for my table and a roll a green window pane mesh to use as a table runner on my dining room table.

Then Michelle took me to a store called The Orange Crate which is an unfinished furniture outlet.   

There were sooooo many chairs to choose from and sooooo much furniture there that I wanted!  I had to keep reminding myself that I was there to look at table chairs and barstools.

Michelle helped me narrow down to this chair -- the unfinished version.

I tried out several barstools and finally settled on this one -- a finished version.  I actually plan to buy the barstools finished in black or buy them unfinished and paint them black myself. . . . paint them myself . . . buy them already painted . . . what to do?

I don't think we have room in the breakfast area for a barstool with a back on it even though I do love that style of barstool. 

Michelle and I are such opposites!  Michelle can walk in a room and know immediately what furniture she wants and is absolutely positive about her choice.  Me . . . not so much!  Ha!

So even though I loved both the chair and barstool that I picked . . . I decided to buy only 1 of each to bring home . . . and try them out . . . live with them for a little while to see if I loved them.  The lady at the store said that I could bring them back if I wanted to which was a relief!  :)

After accomplishing the main objective of our shopping trip, we decided to get something to eat.  But before that, Michelle drove me by her work building.

Michelle actually works for a big law firm in Tuscaloosa.  Isn't that funny?  I'm a lawyer but she's the one that works for the big law firm!  Ha!  Life is so ironic sometimes!  Here's her work building.  She stood in that glass building watching that huge tornado as it traveled through downtown Tuscaloosa.  She said they watched the tornado as it was headed straight for them . . . and then suddenly it turned and went another way.  I couldn't imagine that!  She assured me that she was only 30 feet from the "safe room" in the building, but I don't think I would have picked a glass building to wait out that storm!  Like I said . . . we are soooo different!

We ate at a neat little place called Hooligans.  They had sweet tea with mint.  Yum  :)
It boasts American and Mediterranean food, but we ate strictly American -- cheeseburgers and fries! 

 After lunch we went to see the Purse Man.  You can read about the Purse Man here.

This is an awesome place!  His store is filled with row after row of bracelets, necklaces, and earrings . . . each item priced $1!  It was overwhelming . . .  the volume of jewelry you could choose from . . . I filled up my tiny basket to overflowing  . . . and the purse man brought me another . . . slightly bigger basket.  He could tell this was my first time in his store.  :)

He has purses too, but by the time I got to the purses . . . I was completely overwhelmed!  Oh and the purses are more than a dollar.  The ones I saw were around $20.  Still a great price!

Here are some of the necklaces & earring sets I got for $1 each!  ($4 total!)

Two more necklaces - a shorter variety -- $1 a piece !

My bracelets . . . $1 each!  ($$7 total!)

Some earrings . . . Yes $1 a piece!

I also bought several of these cute leather bracelets for the boys and their friends . . .  $1 a piece!

Can you tell that I LOVED the purse man . . . even though those $1 items sure did add up!

We went to Academy Sports, Lowes, and Hobby Lobby.  And then it was time to go home, so we stopped at the Chicken Salad Chick's place to get some chicken salad for supper -- to go. 

I got the Fancy Nancy sandwich with a side order of broccoli salad.  Yum Yum Yum!  That was some of the best chicken salad and broccoli salad I've ever eaten.  Michelle got a Kickin' Kay Lynne, a chicken salad with jalapenas in it . . . There were several different varieties of chicken salad to choose from . . . and I can't wait to go back!  We had gone by there for lunch earlier that day but there was a line of people going out the door onto the sidewalk waiting!  Luckily for supper, there wasn't a line!

We had a great day!  And the good news . . . I have 5 more chairs and 3 more barstools to buy!  That should set us up for several more shopping Saturdays in Tuscaloosa!  Yea!

I love my sister!  Thanks for a great day Michelle . . . and a great day for me . . .

and the Ferrell boys without me!  Ha!

And Thanks to you too sweet Dave . . the #1 Ferrell boy in my world!

Tasty Tuesdays: BBQ Meatballs

My sweet friend, Myra, shared her recipe for BBQ Meatballs with me a couple of weeks ago.  My family loved it!  I got her permission to share the recipe with all my bloggy friends.  (Please excuse the pictures.  I'm not a great photographer.)

BBQ MEATBALLS


1 LARGE CAN OF EVAPORATED MILK
3LB. GROUND CHUCK OR GROUND BEEF
2 CUPS QUICK OATMEAL
2 EGGS
1/2 CUP CHOPPED ONION
1/2 tsp SALT
1/2 tsp PEPPER
2 tsp. CHILI POWDER
2 tsp. GARLIC POWDER

Mix together evaporated milk, ground beef, oatmeal, eggs, onion, salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder. Make into small meatballs. Place in 2 (9x13) greased pans. Top uncooked meatballs with BBQ sauce and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Spoon BBQ sauce over meatballs periodically as it cooks.

BBQ SAUCE

3 cups ketchup
2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup chopped onion
2T liquid smoke

Combine all ingredients and pour over uncooked meatballs.

I halved the recipe for my family.  We had plenty and even had some left-overs for the next day.   The sauce thickens up as it cooks. 

This was a very easy dish to prepare and my boys loved it.  It goes great with mashed potatoes!

Give it a try . . . and let us know what you think!

Love from the farm and . . .

                           the Ferrell boys and me!

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Makeover Monday: Ferrell Farm Sign

I'm back working on my breakfast nook makeover after taking a little break from it last week.  :) 

After Zach's spend-the-night birthday party, I was too pooped to do anything except try to get my house back in order.

One of the decorative touches I have planned for the breakfast nook is a "FARM" sign.  It all started last year when Dave began tearing apart our old piano.  We had gotten two opinions from piano experts about the piano, and both opinions were the same:  the piano couldn't be salvaged so get rid of it! 

Remember this . . .  that lovely piano which sat on my front porch for months . . .

Until finally sweet Dave decided to break it apart . . .

Which decision took many months to complete . . .

Until finally with the help of the Ferrell boys, my front porch was finally free of the sad, sad piano . . .

When Dave started tearing apart the piano, I set aside several solid pieces of wood from it to use in my crafting. 

I saved the bottom left and right sides of the piano . . .

I thought it would be cool to put the two ends together and make a long sign.

So I got my sweet Daddy to put the two pieces together to make a large wooden sign.

Here's how Daddy attached the two separate pieces together on the back side:

I taped off the outside edges with blue painter's tape . . . all around the sign . . . to create a border . . .

And "whitewashed" the wood with some leftover white paint.  Sorry, I can't find any pictures of that step.  :)

This weekend, I decided to finish or at least make a significant start on finishing my farm sign.  I selected a couple of fonts from my computer and printed out the letters for my sign.  It took a couple of trys to get the exact size and font I wanted.

I taped the printed out words onto the sign . . . centering it and laying it out just the way I wanted it . . .  Taping only at the top of the paper -- not on the bottom.

Working from the bottom of the words, I placed some carbon paper under the letters with the carbon side face down on the wood being careful not to dislodge the tape or move the words . . .

I carefully traced over the letters with a pencil . . . pressing firmly but not too hard.



When you are through tracing the letters, you can flip the paper up and see if you missed anything.  Be careful not to untape the papers so if you have missed a line or two, you can just lay the sheet back down and it will be placed over the traced words exactly.

Using carbon paper to trace letters on signs is a technique I learned from some of the prison work center guys that used to work at the courthouse.  They would make cute little key chains out of scrap wood for people working at the courthouse, and they shared this handy little transfer technique with me.  This was years ago . . . I can't believe I still remembered it today!  Ha!  Even at my age!

I used a black Sharpie to trace the outline of the letters on the wood before painting it with black acrylic paint.

Here's my sign after painting it with the black paint:

And that's where I've stopped with my sign.  However . . . I'm not through with it.  I plan to distress it and antique it and even add some decorative swirls to it . . . before hanging it in the breakfast nook. 

Hopefully, I will be finished with the sign before next week's Makeover Monday with . . .

                               the Ferrell boys and me! 

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