Just Breathe
We’ve been up at 6 am every morning to start work on the upstairs and falling into bed later than usual. Last night, I sat down at 10:30 to write this post and decided it just wasn’t going to happen! So a day off from writing a blog post it is. 
As usual, on my “days off” I’ll leave you with a photo of Dexter, who has the art of relaxation down to a science!
I love how Dexter is so flat in this photo. He certainly knows how to relax! My ideal relaxing moment is a cup of coffee and a good book.
What’s your favorite relaxing activity?
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The Mad Dash
Last Thursday our contractor finally arrived. He was scheduled to come a month ago, but you know how those things go. We’ve been pacing the floors waiting for him because we couldn’t do much until he did a few things. He took tons of measurements, installed a few boards to let us know where the walls would be, gave us a supply list and he was off.
Friday evening we got started on the mad dash to get the house ready to put on the market. We worked late into the night and until noon the next day installing the hardwood flooring. It’s the same kind we have throughout the main floor of the house.
On Saturday afternoon and evening we worked on a few other odd jobs that needed finished, like putting in the roof vents. Then we ran to the home improvement store to get supplies.
Sunday, Mr Chiots spend most of the day working on the electrical installation, while my friend and I painted trim and the doors.
Of course the foreman was always paying attention to make sure we were getting our work finished.
Mr Chiots and I are so happy that this final leg of the race has begun. We’ll be spending nearly every hour of every day on this project so the FOR SALE sign can be put in the yard this coming weekend. By finishing the upstairs our little house will no longer the two bedroom we’ve lived in for 10 years. It will be up for sale as a four bedroom, two and a half bath home. Hopefully whoever buys this lovely home will love it as much as we have.
Have you ever done any major remodeling projects?
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Quote of the Day: William Blake
In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
~William Blake
This year I’m finding myself really looking forward to winter and the rest that it brings. We’re entering the final push for all the changes that will happen. The contractor finally arrived this past week and we’ve been madly working this weekend! The hardwood flooring is all done (more about this project a few others later this week).
All these long days filled with lots of work have become the usual for the past 6 months and it’s starting to catch up with us. Luckily the finish line is in sight. There will be a For Sale sign out front this coming weekend and there are only four more weeks until we move. Thankfully – winter will be before we know it and will bring much needed down time!
Are you looking forward to fall/winter?
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Pole Beans vs. Bush Beans
This week, I’ve been reading Vertical Gardening: Grow Up, Not Out, for More Vegetables and Flowers in Much Less Space. I do a fair amount of vertical gardening here at Chiot’s Run because I like the structure that vertical features bring to the garden. They also take up less space, a very important thing when you’re short on garden space for all the things you want to grow.
On Tuesday I read that pole beans outproduce bush beans and decided to see if this was true. Luckily, I have both pole beans and bush beans growing in the garden. The pole beans are growing on a teepee in the lower garden and the bush beans are growing in a row beside the asparagus. I have about the same number of each, perhaps more bush beans than pole beans. The pole beans were planted a week or two after the bush beans.
After harvesting both types of beans, I weighed my harvest. The bush beans produced 11 ounces and the pole beans produced 1 pound 6 ounces. (pole bean harvest on right, bush bean harvest on left).
The nice thing about pole beans is that they produce continually over a longer period of time than bush beans, they will be producing until frost. The bush beans are just starting to bloom for a second time and will probably fade soon after I harvest this batch of beans
I also prefer pole beans to bush beans because they’re easier to pick. The beans are easier to spot and higher since the vines grow vertically.
I always love learning little bits of information like this. Even though I will have more garden space next year, I’ll still be trying to maximize that space in any way that I can. There’s just something about pole beans scrambling up a trellis in the garden.
Do you grow bush beans or pole beans?
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Friday Favorite: Quotes
I’m a huge fan of quotes, though I’m sure this comes as no surprise to you given that each Sunday I post one. There are quotes scribbled on pieces of paper on my fridge, jotted down in the notebooks, copied and pasted into text files, and stuck to my computer with post-it notes. I even have a Pinboard dedicated to them over on Pinterest. Pairing quotes with photos is also one of my hobbies and you’ll find me often make them up in my spare time. Here are a few of my favorites:
Do you have a favorite quote?
