Author: Julia

I am a retired software solutions architect. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for over forty years. We went full-time RVing for 3.5 years and saw much of the United States. After deciding to stop RVing, we bought a ranch house halfway up a hill on five acres. After Bruce and I talked about names for our five acres, we settled on Blackberry Homestead as a homage to the wild blackberries on the hill. 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. Gardening and reading are my favorite hobbies.

Refrigerator Arrived!

October 12, 2024 Another big step, the first appliance has arrived and been installed at the house, a Whirlpool refrigerator. The ice maker line is leaking under the house, so the ice maker isn’t working. Here are the installers bringing in the fridge. They have an awesome set of harnesses that allow them to carry […]

My Computer Desk Arrived Today

October 10, 2024 While Bruce was out mowing on the new lawn mower, the FedEx truck arrived. Bruce thought it was our bed frame, but it was my computer desk. Bruce spoke with the FedEx driver to find out if the bed frame was in the truck. The driver explained that a new contractor has […]

Amusing FedEx Tracking of Our Bed Frame

October 10, 2024 Our bed frame was scheduled to arrive on Monday. It is Now Thursday. Just for fun, I am sharing the text messages I’ve been getting from FedEx. For your reference, Madison, Alabama is 55 miles away from our house. I don’t think they know what is going on.

Nox Helping Me Fold Clothes

October 10, 2024 In the RV, I took a load of clothes out of the dryer and put them on the bed to fold. Nox was on the bed and she decided after a long day of riding on the mower, walking around and doing Nox things, that she would help me fold clothes. Please […]

WordPress Anniversary

October 9, 2024 It’s hard to believe it has been five years since I signed up with WordPress, but I got a notification that it has been five years.

The Electric Zero Turn Lawnmower Arrived!

October 9, 2024 Just before noon today, I got a call from the FedEx Freight truck driver. He was 15 minutes away and he was worried about getting turned around in our driveway. I told him we had a loop that he could use. He decided from Google maps the loop was too small. That […]

Poison Ivy Removal Set Up

October 9, 2024 Yesterday, I used the half barrel to hold open the large yard trash bag. I put on blue jeans and a long sleeved shirt. Next, I added heavy duty kitchen gloves. I pulled poison ivy for two hours. Bruce opened the gate for me and the door. I was able to get […]

Plants Have Been Moved to Blackberry Homestead

October 8, 2024 I have received many comments over the years about the plants I have in my RV kitchen. The comments have all been positive. I’ll tell you the backstory of the plants in my RV kitchen. My Great-aunt Hazel had a stunning, large pot of salmon colored smallish amaryllis blooming when I visited […]

Bought an Electric Zero Turn Lawnmower

October 8, 2024 With all the deals Amazon has been having, Bruce found an electric zero turn lawnmower that got great reviews. Bruce purchased the Greenworks 60V 42” zero turn riding lawnmower and Amazon decided my account had been hacked! I had to reset my password and my two factor authentication. Bruce was wondering when […]

Stop at the Post Office and onto Blackberry Homestead

October 7, 2024 After buying the refrigerator, we headed to the Muscle Shoals post office to pick up our held mail and to let the post office know the mailbox is now the correct height. We drove to Blackberry Homestead and parked in the garage. I cleaned the pink bathtub and pink sink in the […]