Farm House Story

Sunrise at the farm house is always beautiful.Sunrise at the farm house is always beautiful.

This is week 12 of our farm story. The Farm House is the subject of this week's news. I am still trying to get unpacked and situated and we continue to bring more stuff from the office. It seems I may never get this manufactured farm home unpacked and organized. Progress is so slow because I am having to work my job at David's Garden Seeds® as well as concentrate on the house!


Our Farm House This Week

Life is better on the farm in the farm house!Life is better on the farm in the farm house!

Monday, October 14, 2019

Good Monday morning and welcome to the farm house where we are living and conducting as much business as is possible.

The propane man showed up and put some more propane in the tank this morning. The electric company did not show up at all. Nacho worked on the greenhouse. Bethany worked in the garden.

I got up, fed the girls and David and got ready for the day. I cleaned up the living room and vacuumed because David's father and his father's friend, Annie, came to see the house. Because it was David's father's birthday, we drove them into San Antonio to Chama Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse. They loved it. It was so good.

We took David's dad to Chama Gaucha to celebrate his 84th birthday. It was delicious!We took David's dad to Chama Gaucha to celebrate his 84th birthday. It was delicious!

Then we took them to our store in San Antonio and showed them around, picked up a few more things and came back to the farm.

They left and we got to work some on the house and on our business, David's Garden Seeds®.


Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Cloudy day looking out front door of farm house to Farm to Market Road 2504.Cloudy day looking out front door of farm house to Farm to Market Road 2504.

This morning, Nacho showed up to work some more on the greenhouses. Bethany showed up and planted a lot of green beans. She planted quite a few varieties of them.

We did not leave the farm all day. It was pay day so I had to write some payroll checks. We also received some refund checks in the mail so that was a nice surprise.

I spent most of the day working on the business in my office. I did some laundry and hung a few things up. David spent most of the day in his office working. There are still a lot of boxes to empty here in the farm house. Maybe I will work on that some tomorrow. My understanding is that the furniture truck will be here tomorrow to bring the foot board and put our bed together. Also, someone is coming to make a back deck so we can use our new kitchen door.

My head and hip were really hurting this afternoon when the barometric pressure dropped. It is interesting but so painful.

I got a call from Shelf Confident that my drawers are in. They have to inspect them all and then pre-assemble them. They said they will be out one week from today and that I need to empty all of my cabinets. That will be a pretty sight (Not)!

We got photos of our two grandchildren in the mail. Holley and Max, you are so adorable!

Around 9pm, I heard thunder and a lot of lightning started flashing. Then the rain began to pour. It rained on and off all night long.


Wednesday, October 16, 2019

 I had to go out with Lucy this morning because she did not want to go out in the rain. I got wet so, yes, it is still raining at the farm house -- not hard right now but it is still coming down.

David told our workers to stay home today. Hopefully, the furniture truck will still come and deliver my foot board so we can get the bed parts out of my living room where they are stashed behind the couch.

The furniture folk called me the other day and told me that the end tables I ordered for my living room are on back order until December 2nd. Swell. My living room lamp should be here today. They have one of the floor models of my end table so they are going to bring it and let me borrow it until my tables get in. So I will have an unbalanced living room for my houseful of company for Thanksgiving. If they had told me the day I chose the tables, I would have chosen something else. Why is there so much withholding of the truth these days?

So David got up and made coffee and some pretty good grits this morning. I put a banana and coconut whipped cream in mine, no sugar, and they were so good! He rarely makes grits.

After breakfast, a white truck drove up to our large generator. David was out back so I called him. He said one of the generator guys was giving the generator an oil change this morning. Apparently that has to be done about every ten days and it is not cheap. Nothing about this generator has been cheap! However, it does supply us with electricity since our electric company still has not hooked us up. I still cannot believe they won't put up our poles and turn our electric on but they have had our money since August.

I think I will make some sourdough starter today so we can have sourdough bread sometime this weekend. That sounds good.

David grilled up some burgers for lunch and they were really good. After lunch, I made the starter dough for sourdough bread so we may be able to bake it on Sunday if it turns out okay.

While David was grilling the burgers, the furniture truck showed up with the footboard for our bed. The two furniture truck guys came in and put our bed together. It looks great. However, they said the missing living room lamp still has not come in.

I asked the driver about the living room end table that Betty told me this past Saturday I could use until my back ordered end tables come in on December 2. The driver said that the manager said I could not have the table. The furniture company sent me an invoice showing a table would be coming today. I have called over there twice asking to speak to Betty. Two different men have said she has not yet come in today. Swell.

I finally spoke to Betty who said the manager who approved the table loan was a different manager. Betty did not notate the file which is why the table was not sent. I guess we will just wait until December 2 for them to come in. At this point, I am disgusted with all of them.

Right before bedtime, I noticed that my starter dough has risen and touched the plastic wrap and then went back down some. It is interesting. I ordered a sourdough starter glass jar from Amazon. When it arrives, I will put photos up of it.

My sourdough starter is sitting next to my cook top stove. I have to wait 24 hours and then stir it. After that, it will sit for another 2 to 3 days before I can bake some bread.My sourdough starter is sitting next to my cook top stove in my farm house. I have to wait 24 hours and then stir it. After that, it will sit for another 2 to 3 days before I can bake some bread.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Good Thursday morning! It was 57 degrees at the farm house when I woke up and it feels amazing. Our manager at David's Garden Seeds® called in sick today but we cannot go into San Antonio as someone is coming to build the back deck running from the dining area of the farm house to our current pool deck.

Annabelle with Mrs. David's Garden Seeds® in the car to go to the new vet.Annabelle with Mrs. David's Garden Seeds® in the car to go to the new vet.
Lucy wanted to drive the car to go to the new vet.Lucy driving the car to see the new vet!
Ethel with Mrs. David's Garden Seeds® in the car to go to the new vet.Ethel with Mrs. David's Garden Seeds® in the car to go to the new vet.
Kitty safely at home after her shots. She hissed at the vet four times today!Kitty safely at home after her shots. She hissed at the vet four times today!

This afternoon, all of our pets are getting rabies shots from a new vet. David picked the vet out but we have not met him/her yet. Our dogs and cat have ever only had one vet, Dr. Lori Vara in San Antonio. She is wonderful with animals. Honestly, it is just too far to drive for the animals.

We took the four girls over to Lytle to their new vet. The staff and vet are very friendly and the bill was half of the price to take them to get shots in San Antonio! The cat hated it and hissed four times in the office at them.

Contractor started back deck work from farm house to our pool deck. He dug holes and poured in cement.Contractor started back deck work from farm house to our pool deck. He dug holes and poured in cement.

The contractor showed up to work on the back deck of the farm house. He dug some holes and poured cement and did all he could do for today and left. He is from San Antonio.

We got back to the farm house and the water well people never showed up and they did not respond to David's texts. They did tell us they would try to start Wednesday, the 9th of October and then they decided today would be a good day last week. They did not bother to call and say they couldn't make it. That is not how to do good business. If we did business like that, we wouldn't have a business. So David called them and left a voicemail. There was no return call by closing time today.

Of course, the electricity people did not show up either. Four weeks ago, David called them and they said they would be putting up our poles and hooking us up in three weeks. Apparently, they have a different counting system than we have...David called them today but got a voicemail. He left a message with no return call by closing time.

David ordered some Agribon cloth that was shipped by freight. It was supposed to arrive today but by 10pm, still has not arrived. Agribon is a cloth to put over your rows of plants to protect them from frost. For the last two years in San Antonio, we have had early freezes. We are not sure how it will be out here so David likes to be prepared.

I cleaned a lot today and did a small amount of unpacking.


Friday, October 18, 2019

Good morning and Happy Friday from the farm house! It was a beautiful, cool morning. I woke up to 53 degrees and very little humidity. Bethany arrived to start planting more. The trash company dumped the dumpster early. The deck contractor is supposed to arrive but has not yet and it is now almost lunchtime.

Early this morning, around 7am, David called to find out where his Agribon is. Turns out they lost the package in freight. How exactly does that happen? Are the truck and driver lost? Did someone want the package so they made a deal? This is not a tiny package. It is large so it comes by freight and not UPS or FedEx. Anyway, they will try shipping out another one.

The water well company still did not return David's call so David called again. They said because it rained earlier in the week, their equipment is stuck in mud so they have to free it and then complete the job they were working on this week. They said possibly they will be here next Tuesday or Wednesday to start digging our well.

The electric company still has not returned David's call. Now the race is on...Who will be here first, the electric company who we paid on Friday, August 9th (they said we would have electricity by November 15) or the water well company who we paid on September 25th (they said they would be out the following Monday, September 30)?

David has not heard from the transport company about a bid for our front deck and steps so he has moved on to a different contractor. We are waiting on a bid from him. Hopefully it will be sooner because I still feel like I am falling every time I take out the trash or answer the front door.

David hanging something on the fence in the front yard of the farm house. I decided to see what was going on.David hanging something on the fence in the front yard of the farm house. I decided to see what was going on.

We used to do a lot of trade shows, selling our seeds so we have vinyl signs. Since our business, David's Garden Seeds® will soon make the move to our farm, David put two of the signs up on our front fence. If people stop by now, we have no seeds out here for them but we can give them a business card or point them to our website.

I think we are going to have to see about getting better internet service. Even though the internet guy came a week or two ago, this is still slower than dial up. AT&T recently put cable in the ground in front of our house. The AT&T company told us there is no internet service out here so maybe they will realize it is not true and we can get it. Oh, the joys of country life!

David hung up two of our David's Garden Seeds® signs in front of the farm house.David hung up two of our David's Garden Seeds® signs in front of the farm house.

In the afternoon, we went to the store and got groceries. While we were there, the contractor texted and said he would not come today after all. Maybe Monday?

We told the propane company to come every Monday and every Friday so we don't run out of electricity. They showed up this past Monday but never came today. David called the propane company three times this afternoon because we were down to 30%. We don't know if we will make it to Monday. All three times, the phone rang and rang and never got answered, nor was there voicemail. Just before 5pm, they still did not answer. David called other propane companies in the area and finally found one that would bring us propane in the morning. If you are just joining us on this page, Karnes Electric still has not hooked us up so we have to get our electricity through a giant generator that takes propane.

While we were shopping, the freight delivery company manager called David. Yesterday, he was supposed to get a large package of Agribon cloth to protect our garden if it gets cold. The package was lost in transit. The manager said it was lost and he would keep looking for the package. That was it. How do you lose a huge package that has to be delivered by a freight truck?

Bethany left the farm house around 3pm while I was putting groceries away. I was really in pain in my hips and back so I sat down and relaxed for a while. I really need to get unpacked and organized and start exercising to relieve my pain. Since we moved out here, my pain has gotten much worse and I have gained weight. I think it is from all of the sitting and waiting in the shed shack because that is the only cool space we had. It was too hot to get out and do anything. We had such little space and we ate out for every meal because we had no way to cook.

So now that it is cooling with temperatures in the 80s and 90s instead of in the 100s, I need to start exercising again and eating better.



Saturday, October 19, 2019

Good morning. I woke up at 6:30am and got up to make coffee. The cat was in the kitchen waiting for food but David and the three dogs are still asleep. The quiet in the farm house is nice. I am in my office, looking out the window and catching up on YouTube videos. David hates it when I watch YouTube.

It is cloudy outside and 69 degrees but it will get up to 91 today which is ridiculous when it is October 19th! I need to clean the farm house and vacuum and unpack. Hopefully, I will be able to get things done without much pain.

Well, wouldn't you know, the regular propane company sent a truck to our house early this morning after not answering any calls yesterday. David had already called several other propane companies yesterday, trying to find one to come out this morning because Patriot would not answer their phones (no one would answer the three different phone numbers we have). So David went out and told them that we had another company on the way because no one with Patriot would answer their phones and we were getting desperate.

The regular guy said the wife of the owner of the regular Propane passed away and yesterday was the funeral. Honestly, they should have left a message but they don't have an answering machine. We are sorry to hear this, but how could we know they would be here today when they wouldn't answer phones yesterday? David came in and called the new company. The dispatcher said the truck was on its way to our house. So we sent the Regular guy away. A little while later, the new Propane truck showed up and filled us up.

David went outside to work in the garden. I vacuumed the whole farm house and I hurt now. Then I steam cleaned the couch and loveseat in the media room. They needed to be cleaned badly. I sucked up a lot of dirt. I think I will have to give them another good going over because the dogs get this sand on their feet from outside and then go up on the furniture.

The FedEx man brought a box for the girls from Chewy.com and right after, the mailman came and brought some Amazon packages for both David and me here at the farm house. We were having our deliveries go to our store in San Antonio but now everyone seems to know where we are.

My jar for the Sourdough Starter came today from Amazon. I may just bake some sourdough bread today if the starter is ready. I am excited about it. Tomorrow, I am planning to make a pork roast which sounds amazing!

I did bake some sourdough bread but I was not watching the bread machine during mixing and I should have. All of these strange lumps were in the bread. I believe it needed more liquid when mixing so next time I will watch it. It still tasted good though.

My sourdough starter in the glass jar I got from Amazon. I just typed in sourdough starter and this jar popped up on Amazon.My sourdough starter in the glass jar I got from Amazon. I just typed in sourdough starter and this jar popped up on Amazon.

I poured my sourdough starter into the glass jar when it was all bubbly and put it in the refrigerator. It took five hours after I replenished with flour and water.

I unpacked four boxes in the master closet and hung up and put away a lot of clothes. I will try to do more tomorrow. Yes, we still have a lot of boxes in the farm house. My back and hips were in severe pain when I finished so I took a hot shower and just sat in a recliner for the rest of the night.

I got an email that our cruise now has the excursion information. David is finally taking me on a cruise next year. I have been asking for 32 years. I am so excited.


Sunday, October 20, 2019

Good Sunday morning!Good Sunday morning!

Good Sunday morning to you from the country farm house! We are up early and getting ready for church. I am still in a lot of pain. I have to remember that I am not 22 anymore.

We went to church and stopped by the office to pick up a few things after. Then we came back to the farm house and had a quiet day. I made a pork roast with veggies and it was good. There were no visitors, no workers, just a quiet day.


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Hi! I am Juanita aka Mrs. DGS. This photo was taken in our commercial kitchen during a potluck.Hi! I am Juanita aka Mrs. DGS. This photo was taken in our commercial kitchen during a potluck.
Mrs. David's Garden Seeds in the greenhouse with Lucy the lap dog.Mrs Davids Garden Seeds in the greenhouse with Lucy the lap dog.

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