Green Acres Weekend Update

Okay, so I sort of like this weekend update thing.  Again, not sure how consistent I'll be yet (it is Monday morning, after all), and I still am going to write some more detailed posts, but it gives a bit of structure to the blog.  And it's nice to have some structure these days!

The most important event of the week was this:


All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth!

I also spent my evenings mudding the drywall in the parlor instead of folding the four+ loads of laundry I did last Monday.  I actually sort of enjoyed applying the joint compound, but I can honestly say I HATE sanding it down...and I've always had a hard time with detail work, which probably partially accounts for my love of set design because the audience simply can't see any tiny imperfections!  And despite wearing a mask and goggles, the dust somehow still sneaks into your digestive system! 

I applied three coats to the walls, but a seam on the ceiling required four because the old drywall and new didn't match perfectly.  I also found that it's important to apply thin layers as opposed to thick, because the joint compound tends to crack otherwise.  This Youtube video was helpful (I told you I went to Youtube University)!


Aunt Dottie, this is the best picture Byron got of me.  I promise!

We also worked on pruning the pear tree, which hasn't been touched in about twenty years.  I'll do a longer post on this process, but you can see from the photo that the upper portion of the tree (which is about 40' high) still needs some work.  And just imagine the lower part as "hairy" as the rest of it.

I did most of the pruning, and Byron helped me saw off a dead branch that I couldn't reach.  It was braided with two others and a little tricky to remove, as proved by this:

 

A very handy and very nasty saw!  Byron probably should have gotten a stitch or two on one of the puncture-like wounds, but he likes to be his own doctor.  Did I mention he's a history teacher???

I also squeezed in a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!  Byron and Charlie went down to Other House on Thursday to rake leaves and make sure everything was in order, so I wanted to make a treat for them for sacrificing their day.  Update: the recipe is posted here!

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are The Best Cookies Ever!

And click here for homemade granola!