Another wonderful day in paradise...........

Okay, well maybe I'm exaggerating a bit but I do enjoy my life and my days.  Today was a slow day...meaning I was the slow one but I trudge along getting done what I can until I run out of steam.  Today was bills and paperwork...not a lot of fun but grateful I have the money to pay those bills and enough left over to get to next month.
So, I celebrated tonight with this........chocolate peanut butter beer!  It's delicious but pretty strong as in a dark stout but I am really enjoying it.

Yesterday I worked on the porch and the day before that......I re-shampooed half of the room using Nature's Miracle that Betsy and her daughter, Mandy recommended and it worked!!!!  Thank you both so very much!  The rug looks great considering it's very old and it smells clean and fresh out there and just feels good knowing it is really clean now!  You gals are awesome!
I also washed the brick wall with Krud Kutter and got all the dry wall dust and hunks off of it.  Then I moved my old farm bench (I found it 30 years ago or more in the barn when I bought my farm) that I refinished years ago and put it on the porch.  Remember when I tore the doors off of my entry way closet? Well, they were sitting there and so I took the hinges and knob off and voila!  Shelves!

I used some pots I had to support each shelf and started putting my magazines on it.  I'm not sure if I will keep it this way but I am trying to 'group all things together' instead of things spread out all over the house so I can really see what I have and what I want to get rid of.....it's a process.....a long drawn out process but it's fun! 

The red bench doesn't really go with the orange brick but I've really felt that I am making headway....whether or not I really am is another story but I'm having fun and that's all that counts! LOL!
I also used Krud Kutter on the grill grate and hosed it off outside but it needs a good scrubbing and some heat resistant spray paint I found here
The grill is inside and is to the right of the bench.  I also found my favorite green spray paint here (it's so like the old fashioned green they had back in the day).  Walmart used to carry it and now they don't.  Last but not least my favorite spray primer here which again, Walmart no longer carries but
Amazon does although more expensive but at least I can get them.
I finally caught up with last week's cozy memory blanket squares and now I'm working on this weeks.....the lime green is the first square for this week and the bottom 3 were last weeks.  It's already Wednesday too!  They look a little wonky until they are attached to another couple squares.  I can't seem to keep up and I haven't even started on Christmas presents yet!  Yikes Batman! 

 Did you know I have an 'undercover agent' living in my house?  Miss Peeps must get cold....she's always burrowing underneath my bed covers and now this.......the rug by the front door....she is TOO funny that girl!

Well, the rain has started, the curtains are drawn and the candles are lit............time for a cozy evening......oh, see the cards my grandson's sent me.....they drew legs on the leaves and made them into 'critters'......it helps that their mother is an art teacher! LOL!

I'm settling in with another new book tonight........my Halloween read for this year.........

I read her first book several years ago and was mesmerized by her writing and the story line.....I highly recommend it........in fact it was so good I want to re-read it and I rarely ever do that.  It was a library book at the time but now I want my own copy.

 I'm off to eat supper and get my jammies on and curl up with a hopefully great book for Halloween....it's coming!
Happy Trails!

Exciting day in the neighborhood yesterday!

My new neighbor next door had some tree people come and take a huge old oak down in her back yard that was going to fall in my direction eventually!  Thank you, Marguerite!  I was out there taking pictures of the entire process all day on and off. They also trimmed the other oak that had some dead branches.  This is the tree Nitty likes to sit under!
 I asked them if they minded if I took pictures and they said they didn't.   I will let the pictures tell the story as I think it is a fascinating one.  You couldn't pay me enough to do that!  I don't like heights OR chainsaws but this father and son team are true professionals!   If anyone needs any tree work done in North Central, Arkansas, these are the guys to call!  It is Goodson and Son Tree Service out of Ash Flat and their number is 870-895-3876.  They are insured and give free estimates.  There were 2 houses,  a fence and my clothesline they had to watch out for and not one was harmed in the taking down of this tree. Enjoy!
This is the tree that just got trimmed............

 This is the tree they removed.  I'm sure this tree was here before these houses were!

 They had to use my yard as her yard is fenced in which was fine.  At least I didn't have to pay the bill! LOL!

 They use lots of ropes to control where branches go when they get cut and they were very precise they only missed landing them on the flatbed trailer once!

 They remove sections and lower them carefully down to the ground by rope.....

 The father is on the ground and the son is in the tree......he was part monkey but extremely careful....on their business card it says  "25 years accident free" and I believe it as they were precise in everything they did. 

Obviously this young man is not afraid of heights!

 The chainsaw dangles when he is climbing...........

 The last of the branches..............

 Now for the tree............or what's left of it..............

 He would cut it off in sections and tie a rope around it and lower it carefully to the ground.  Look at that.....he's up there smiling!  It must be the view! LOL

 See the father on the bottom pulling on the rope?  That is so when the son is finished cutting that section of tree with a rope around it the father can just lower that section to the ground slowly and safely.

The son cuts it almost all the way through and then he twists it off and controls it so it doesn't go swinging even on the rope.  I told you these guys are good!

 You can see the rope tied around the section he is cutting here............look at those chips fly!

 Here I actually got a picture of them lowering a section...........

 and this last big hunk took them a while to cut up to be able to move it..............

 and now they are gone and this is all that's left.  We will miss you big old oak.....you served us all well for many many years.  A big thanks to my neighbor who paid to have the tree taken down and hired such great professionals to do it!

 I'm sorry for the amount of pictures but I was really trying to give you the 'step-by-step' account of what I thought was truly something you don't see every day.  Happy Trails!