1 year, 12 months, 365 days, 8760 hours, 535,600 minutes, 31,536,000 seconds....

We are fast approaching our 1 year anniversary of life in the fast lane! sorry, life in the "slow" lane! 

 Anyway, before we digress with reminiscing lets catch up on what has been happening in the now....

The conservatory is nearly all finished - and I apologise in advance for the photos, I did ask the builder to provide them in daylight, but he forgot *tuts and rolls eyes*

So when we left last time the floor had been put down...

So Mr M cracked on and got it all framed...

Then he fitted the "bargain" windows we had brought a few weeks back for much cheapness! and he wrapped it all in tar paper and clad it all in cedar! what a deal that pile of cedar has been!  The roof is corrugated clear plastic to let the light in!

We still have to complete the inside, although the fairy lights are up...

And the door is a work in progress!!

This week he will finish it up and voila our conservatory will be finished! We are all set for the rain! Bring it On!!! although after today I am not sure winter is ever coming!

I myself have been cracking on with some painting! the kitchen cupboards had been waiting too long for tarting up, so they have all had some tlc...

First some paint, as shown by Miss Molly Wobbles....

I knew we would eventually find a use for that driftwood I collected last winter, makes lovely handles...

Next it wouldn't be a blog without the garden update, it just keeps on providing, we have lots and lots of tomatoes finally, and beans - anyone for beans!

My courgettes and cucumbers are going for the over achiever award 2016..

And potatoes, I still have 2 bins to tip....

Our neighbor was here last week and he had a very successful couple of fishing trips, the "prize catch" being this 25lb Green Ling Cod (its meat was green too), knowing that fish this size are out there is even more of a reason for me to stay on shore.... it's teeth are enormous.. but it tasted delicious though!!!!

We also had some visitors last week, Ray and his wife Leanne.   Ray and Gareth used to work together at Boeing.  We had a wonderful time with them showing them Wern Y Wylan and then taking them on a hike along one of our favorite beaches, we had such a good time we forgot to take any photos to mark the occasion :) but they were our first visitors in our new property/house/barn/shed, hopefully the first of many!

And so that brings us back to our One Year Anniversary! This year has flown by and I am very much enjoying going back through our blog to see how far we have come!  We are in a great position to be able to start our house "proper" at the beginning of 2017...

Highlights of this last year for me are...

•  Actually moving....

•  Surviving 7 months in the airstream and actually enjoying it...

 

•  The creation of the saw horses...

•    The endless talents of Mr M...

 

• Starting my garden from scratch and watching it grow into something spectacular....

• The bonfires....

• The beach...

•  The storms...

• And the sunsets...

 I am excited to see where we will be on our 2nd year anniversary!

Watch out Port Orford - The British are Coming!!!

Here we go then....

So the pump house is all finished, even the finishing touches! The tank is full and we are now pumping from the well into the tank, from the tank into the house via a miriad of filters.  Water comes in, and water goes out....

He has been working hard getting it all up and running, even working overtime in the evenings to get his control panel all wired up...

The control panel looks after the tank and manages how often the well fills the tank, I am sure Mr M has explained to me exactly how it works, but all I hear is "blah blah red light blah blah green light blah blah off and on" etc....

He also spent some time tidying up, there are now pavers all around the tank...

and a gravel pad at the front of the shed...

He's a tidy worker is Mr M!

So now that is done next job is ....... *drumroll* building another shed! LOL... ok actually this isn't really a shed, but more of a conservatory!  Background.. when we built the covered porch on the side of the barn next to airstream, we originally intended to move it round to the front of the barn! Turns out we have gotten quite used to having it there and the useful storage it provides!

So we are going to build a new one by the front door!  After last winter and ALL the rain we know that it is a necessity, wet dogs, wet feet, wet shoes, wet coats etc.... UGH, my head is spinning!

We have moved one of the pallets of decking round to the front and built a smaller one around the doorstep...

With the high winds that we get in the winter he dug a hole and set a post in concrete and bolted the decking to this, that should help keep it grounded..

He put some fancy steps in around the side where he had taken the deck pallet from, still using the timber left over from the barn build - reuse, recycle...

Yesterday we had a Saturday off from the Farmers Market so we could go to Coos Bay to visit our favorite shop Habitat for Humanity to purchase some windows, they are so Cheep!! only $7.50 each, I think they have been there for a while and will need a good clean! Mr M get the mop!

I am not sure of the design but I know it will involve windows, cedar and corrugated plastic!  Watch this space and it will be a surprise for us all!

What else has been happening, the garden just keeps on giving, we are in full flow of runner beans at the moment, my zuchinnis are still producing well and we are picking tomatoes daily!

 

My friend Betty turned up yesterday with a jar of her freshly extracted honey! Oh My.. be still my beating heart, delicious! I can't wait until next Spring when I can get my hive!

 

And in other EGGciting news from the homestead, I am so happy to announce that my new baby Spring Chicks have started laying, it is so EGGciting, I am EGGstremeley EGGstatic it is EGGcellent..

And so my final observation for this weeks blog is the population of Port Orford and the surrounding area! Since we have been doing the Saturday market I have discovered that there is a large British population around here, people who have lived in the US for a long time, and are now living here, either just moved or been here for a while.

I first came across a lady at the market who lives in Langlois (about 15 miles north of here), she has lived here for 15 or so years and introduced me to the concept that we are NOT unique! Apparently she has a couple of other friends (English) in town!

Next I met a lady who has just moved to the area, she grew up near Bristol.  Last weekend we went to pick some more strawberries (yes they are still picking strawberries) the lady working at the fruit stand was from Cardiff, been over here in California for years and just moved to Port Orford this year!

A couple weeks ago we bumped into another English lady whilst we were in Brookings doing our weekly shop, she lives down there having moved up from California!

Finally our friend Dennis has introduced us to Peter and Sarah who live full time in Pasadena but have had a property here for many years, turns out myself and Sarah both grew up on dairy farms within about 50 miles of each other!

And there have been quite a few Brits visiting the area through the summer, we have met them at the market!!

We did know some Brits when we lived in Seattle thanks to Boeing, but I very rarely just randomly met fellow brits out and about, my conclusion after this summer is that we migrate here due to the weather, we love the long dry summer but secretly all start rejoicing when it rains and the wind howls through in the winter!  No one can discuss the weather quite like us British!

So watch out Port Orford the British are coming.....

2,500 gallons, 20,000 pints, 9463.529 litres or 9463529 milliliters!

Yep, you've guessed it, the last 2 weeks have been all about water!  We have our water storage tank in and partly filled.

First the base was built, it is 10ft by 10ft wide, quite a bit of digging was involved!

 

Levelled out with gravel...

And then filled with 2.5 tonnes of sand, compacted down and levelled out....

Then ta da... then tank is in place courtesy of some expert rolling, rolling, rolling!!

We are now "slowly" filling it from our well, we are gradually getting there and maybe by next weekend it will be full, THEN,  we will be using water from the tank and allowing the well to replenish at a steady rate.  IF our well starts to under perform we now have enough water to support it.

Of course it all needs a filter or two and some pumping as well .... trust me the well house and the route is very complicated, I just nod and Oh and Ah in the right places!

BUT it comes out of the ground through a coarse filter and into the tank, then it gets pumped out of the tank, through 3 more filters and then a UV filter - then into the house and out of the tap! Lovely!! delicious water!

So Y'know that "free" water you have when you have your own well - yep not so free :) :)

What else have we been up to? The Curry County Fair was in Gold Beach last week, so we took the afternoon off on Friday to go and see the animals, lots of fun at the fair..

I might get myself one of these, apparently you can ride them?

 

Although I think this would be more my style.....

 



 

The 4H tent was fun, if somewhat small, although I forgot to get a photo of the cows, all 3 of them....

 



 

The floral exhibits were very good, I was slightly perplexed at how most of them had a first place ribbon...

 



 

But this amazing dahlia won "best in show"...

 

The vegetable tent was full of fresh produce and I was excited to see almost all of my veggies would have held their own, except for my carrots, I can only dream of growing carrots like these....

It all goes on around here this time of year, today we had a classic car show in town, so we popped down to take a look...

Trouble is, when you go to such an event with Mr M, and someone has an old 1966 mini cooper, you can guarantee if it isn't an 1966 mini Mr M will spot it right away!  apparently a 1966 had exposed door hinges, sliding windows and a moustache grill, none of which this mini has...

He was courteous enough not to correct the owner and tell them it was actually a 1986ish mini cooper!!

We are enjoying all these summer activities, although Mr M might be giving fishing a miss next time having gone out last Sunday and spent most of the day recovering from seasickness! poor Mr M, but my freezer is Thankful for all the fishies he did manage to catch in between barfing!

I prefer to keep my feet firmly on terra ferma!