Author: Julia

I am a retired software solutions architect. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for over forty years. We have a 12-pound dog, Nox, who we love dearly. She has been with us since 2009. We went full-time RVing for 3.5 years and saw much of the United States. We bought a ranch house on a hill in the middle of five acres. We are working on creating our homestead. I love cooking and enjoy sharing recipes. I am also an artist and I’ll share my current projects. Reading is my favorite hobby.

Just Another Sunday

June 6, 2025 On Sunday (June 1), Bruce and I walked around the back pasture. We looked some more at the leaning pine (pine tree number 1). It appeared to be leaning more into the pine tree it fell into. We thought it was leaning more earlier and Sunday, I was able to find a […]

Making Flower Pots Out of Plastic Food Bowls

June 3, 2025 On May 30 (Friday), I had PT. After PT, Bruce and I tried out a restaurant in a historic neighborhood in East Florence, AL. We enjoyed our lunch at Ray’s at the Bank. I had the Roundabout Burger. It was so messy and delicious! Bruce had the lunch special, which was a […]

A Gift to Myself and More Yard Work

May 31, 2025 On May 29 (Thursday), I didn’t have PT. The office was closed on Thursday, so they scheduled me for Friday. Since PT caused some unexpected pain on Tuesday, I was glad to have a couple of days to recover. Wednesday was tough, but I was better on Thursday. My physical therapist wanted […]

Fireflies in Flight

May 31, 2025 On Wednesday (May 28), Bruce and I worked in the yard. Bruce unloaded the dirt he purchased from the truck into the lawnmower cart. Using the lawnmower, Bruce pulled the cart to the garden area and the north fence. He would unload the cart, placing the bagged dirt next to the fence. […]

Harvest from the Garden

May 28, 2025 On Monday (May 26), after it stopped raining for a bit, Bruce and I dressed up in our coveralls. We headed out to clear the section on the south fence under the trees. We had a lot of branches down from the storm last week. We loaded the branches into the mower […]

A Very Rainy Memorial Day Weekend

May 26, 2025 Today is Memorial Day in the United States. It is a time to pause and remember those who died in the service of our country. Memorial Day is also the unofficial start of the summer. Public swimming pools, amusement parks and water parks open. In the United States, Memorial Day is considered […]

FOTD – Flower of the Day

May 24, 2025 It was raining this morning when we took Nox out. I stood under the eaves, on the back step admiring the day lilies that had just bloomed today.

Cutting Up Pine Number Three

May 23, 2025 Bruce gave the downed pines numbers based on how close they are to the house. Pine number one is the leaning pine. It is closest to the house. The broken pine is pine number two. The large pine that fell over with the roots exposed is pine number three. Bruce has started […]

Skyline of Blackberry Homestead Changed Again

May 20, 2025 First, Bruce, Nox and I, as well as the house and outbuildings, are fine. We had a violent thunderstorm hit around 5 o’clock clock this evening. It rained so hard with strong winds that we had white out conditions from it. We were under a tornado warning. We had the closet door […]

Trellis Up, Strings for Tomatoes and Netting for Beans and Cukes

May 19, 2025 Yesterday (Sunday, May 18), Bruce l took me for a 15 minute motorcycle ride. My physical therapist said I need to see what happens when I ride. He wants me to ride every day for 15 minutes for a week. We started on Saturday. After we got back home from the ride, […]