Where'd She Go?

That question may or may not have crossed your mind in the last few weeks. :)

After proudly declaring to my mom in mid-March that I'd managed to get through winter without even a hint of a cough or sniffle, spring arrived and she hit me hard with seasonal allergies.

Then I caught a virus.

Oh, irony, you annoying thing, you. 

Just when I least expected to be sick, I spent days in bed with a fever, queasiness and the kind of soul-sucking fatigue I hadn't experienced since being pregnant.

Well, I'm finally back to the land of the living and functioning, and just wanted to pop in so you didn't think I'd completely disappeared!

I feel like I have lots to share. And I will over the course of the next few weeks!

We've added a new hen to the flock. (I promise an introduction to all the ladies is coming very soon. It's way overdue!)  Her name is Lucille and the pecking order is still being re-established.  And poor Lucille's been on the receiving end of a lot of pecks.

Though I haven't touched it in more than two weeks, I'm painting a lovely, curvy Depression-era armoire and have vowed to finish it this week.   My porch is overrun with furniture from Craigslist and recent curbside finds. It's looking pretty bad (like white trash bad) and my husband complains loudly and frequently about it. <g> Much furniture painting is in the near future.

We (meaning me and my husband) dug god-only-knows how many post holes for a pig barn, pig pen and a fenced orchard in our continued quest toward living more sustainably. Fortunately, we have friends with a gas-powered post-hole digger and they kindly lent it to us, so it was actually fun to do compared to do it the old-fashioned way. (As I did last year when putting in the chicken run. Never again!)

My husband's done the majority of the work in building the barn and getting the fence up and I'm proud of him for seeing his vision through. The pigs are scheduled to be picked up Friday and I'm ordering a few more trees this week so we can get them in the ground this month.

Finally, my sister's house is nearing completion. I took sneak peek pictures a few weeks back so that's another forthcoming post. Let's just say it's amazing what new paint will do to an old farmhouse. 

So, like I said, much will be written in the next few weeks as I get back into the swing of things.

I'm just happy to be feeling better and able to get outside amongst all this springtime beauty.

Country Living

Hope you're well,
Erin

P.S.--Brenda at Cozy Little House featured Carolina Country Living in her weekly Welcome Wagon post on March 25th.  Check it out--along with the other blogs she featured that week--here.

Brenda is such a generous and thoughtful blogger. She's been doing the Welcome Wagon as a way to introduce new blogs for some time now and she spots some real gems out there in blogland. She's also quick to share useful blogging and photography tips, of which I have borrowed several. Thank you on many counts, Brenda!

And welcome to new readers and followers who found me through Cozy Little House--so glad you came by!