Creepy Crawlies and Other Critters

Ever since I moved to the country, my life has been full of encounters with all sorts of critters--some good and some not so good. I had no idea that where I was moving was a spider haven. I find a spider in my house almost every day.

The first one I found was a black widow. I have never in my 24 years seen a black widow indoors. To find it in my living room in plain sight multiplied the horror by ten.

I had placed a box near my front door with a bunch of things I was going to take to Goodwill and apparently the black widow thought it was a good place to take up residence. I have since sprayed my entire exterior for spiders, which has been greatly helping decrease the amount coming inside. Even so, I still had one plop down into the dishwater as I was washing dishes yesterday (thankfully not a black widow). *shudder*

Next in line on my encounters list were the green caterpillars that suddenly attacked my tomatoes. I'd been noticing that the tomatoes were going down hill and couldn't figure it out, until I took a closer look...

Not being aware or on the lookout for these guys, I'd probably let them attack my plants for a few days. They blend in well until you look closely. And the squirt a nasty yellowish liquid at you when you try to pluck them off.

And lastly, the only "good" critter on my list, is the kitten I adopted two weeks ago. I've named her Nora. She keeps me company and makes my house feel more like a cozy home.

Hanging Laundry on the Line

I don't have a drier at my new place, and I was actually looking forward to having to hang my laundry to dry. It's one of those country type things I've always wanted to do. And yes, sometimes I like doing things the "hard" way. What I learned, however, is that it's really not that hard to hang laundry out.

Before going outside I put my cowboy boots on. I'd been walking around in flip flops and realized from the weird looks my neighbors were giving me that this is not smart where I live now. Not only will your feet get incredibly dirty, but there are briers, spiders and who knows what else out there. 

My washing machine is outdoors, and I had to pick out leaves and clean the dirt out of it before using it. I'm hoping I don't have to do that every time and it's just that it was sitting there a while since it had last been used...

Hanging my laundry on the line was a cinch. It probably took 5 minutes, and by the time I was done with the last piece, the first piece I'd hung had already dried. I was able to fold it in my basket and take it inside. Voila! Super simple.

It's funny, but my coworkers, who are very much city people can't believe I actually hung my clothes up to dry on a line (They don't know why I wanted to move to the country in the first place). They feel sorry for me! I suppose if I had children and was doing multiple loads a day, it might be too much. But for one person, it's no trouble. 

More "city girl" country updates to come...

Move Update (with more pictures)

I've been extremely busy at work and extremely busy with moving, but here are some photos of my progress:

The living and kitchen areas are all I've worked on so far. This room used to look like this:

It's hard to see in these colors because I took them at night, but the wall color is a soft gray 

My country kitchen.

 I love this pot rack from IKEA

I love the country feel of my sink. It makes me happy when I'm doing my dishes. 

I got my table at IKEA for $149 and am very impressed with the quality. I thought these would be rickety chairs but they are quite sturdy and the table is nice and solid as well. I hung my washboard and have a plate to hang on the other side. 

This morning, I had a visitor at my backdoor. There is a family of cats living under my shed and every day it seems I see a new one. There are at least six!

So far, living in the country is just what I imagined it to be. Every morning, my neighbor's rooster wakes me up (at 5 am, no less). I hear horses neighing out the window, and goats are bleating in the background. Even though I have a long commute, coming home to my area instantly relaxes me. 

Paint Scheme

Tomorrow my family is coming up to help me get started painting my new place. I'm going with a grey and yellow color scheme. Yellow for the kitchen and light grey for the living room.

Today I made my first purchase for my new house. It was a sentimental first step. I love this grey chevron patterned chair. Even though I like living in the country as opposed to the city, I am not much for country decorating. Instead, I prefer classy modern interiors, blended with vintage touches.