Then there were 4 again

S started the day by making coffee, feeding the cats, and throwing pump in to drain the hot tub before heading back to bed to relax with his cup. After enjoying his porridge, he went off to church, while I prepared a protein smoothie and worked on the blog, adding photos to tutorials and writing one for the stenciled crate to post tomorrow.

Nathan is on Dad day today while Kaylin works and helps Renn master blowing her nose LOL

Ice cream barista in the making yesterday at Chapters

The desk pieces received further sanding before the first coat of stain was applied. The chair, distressed and smoothly sanded, was brought in for photographs. 

The finger sanding on the pencil holder wrecked my freshly repaired nail darn it.

this is a golden pine stain oil going on, customer wants dark but this will provide a few layers of lighter before the dark goes on.

S returned from church and filling the water tote at Britt's before 1 PM. B and Dave were out shortly after, with Dave feeding the animals before heading to his barn to setting up pens for babies. B ate her leftovers, and then we went for a ride, braving the hurricane-like winds at a warm 20 degrees, accompanied by the dogs through the winery and back.

S removed the hot tub panel, learning to install the new one while vacuuming out the remaining water. I released Switch back in winter pasture and returned to garden cleanup. Darren and Sharon arrived with their boat and trailer to park while their siding is being replaced. We enjoyed a couple of beers on the sheltered west deck as the wind howled. Britt finished riding Bird just as Dave returned with his trailer. They caught Suzi and Basil, and Dave took them to his barn.

The Stouts left around 4:30 PM. I fed Harley while Britt finished up with feeding Bird. S and I installed the new panel in the hot tub and began filling it with water. As he operated the skid steer, I told B she could head home to prepare for her trip to Denver for training until Wednesday night, and I'd assist Dave with loading Lindy and Cash once he returned. I harvested most of the kohlrabi, anticipating the possible snow forecasted for tomorrow.

After emptying the tote, S reloaded it onto the dump trailer and set off for Britt's to fetch another 1/2 load. Meanwhile, I pressed on with preparing the vegetables for supper. The beet leaves required some effort, but the beets themselves were worth it, utterly delectable. Dave returned around 6:20, so I caught Cash, and we loaded them in. As I went on with the supper preparations, Harley stood by the trailer, watching Dave gather the food and other items. When he drove away, she trailed behind the trailer, her demeanor reflecting her concern about where her bestest buddies were headed. ;( She very much enjoyed those 2 little guys being here as did we watching them.

Sheldon passed him on the way in. I assisted Sheldon in positioning the tote over the tub to drain, then returned to my supper tasks. Switch, too, seemed to be calling out, puzzled by the disappearance of the four horses. And just like that, our count was down to four horses on the ranch. After draining the tote, securing the cover, and setting up the heater and filters, Sheldon joined me to start the barbecue. He placed the potato pack I had prepared on the grill and seasoned the steak. I cooked the beet leaves alongside the baseball game, with the beets already cooked and ready to serve. We managed to sit down for our barbecue supper before 8 pm, with S declaring these to be the finest beet leaves yet. I realized I had a few adjustments to jot down, perhaps the addition of beet juice to the cream sauce made the difference. Our supper was indeed scrumptious. S continued to watch baseball and I some Emily in Paris before he joined me and we finished an episode of Lincoln Lawyer as the winds continued to howl.