Happy Homemaker Monday

 

We are finishing up the wall decor in the living room (see photos below), and moving onto the next painting/repair/remodel project soon.  

I'm still dealing with laryngitis.  I'm told there is a virus that causes this for 3 weeks.  If that it true, I'm rounding week 3, and still sipping hot teas - ginger, sage, thyme, lemon and honey.  Today switching it up with 4 thieves vinegar.

We were invited to trailer our bike again to FL for Daytona bike week.  We declined.  Personally, I do not want to go on trips where there are babysitters and kids (that was a recent disaster).  I'd rather hunker in and get this house in order (greatly needed and deserved), as garden season will sneak up on us.  Plus, there is the cost to go.  We spent too much on the last trip.  We also want to save vacation days for camping this year.

I have to call ODOT today.  Someone hit a deer in front of our house yesterday.  We called the Sheriff and they would not come out with their "list" for someone to remove it.   Basically, they said it was on our property, so it was our job to take care of it (eye rolling here).  ODOT should be able to come remove it today.  

Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

The weather . . .

Looks like we'll be in the 30's the next few days and 100% chance of snow again mid-week.  Schools are delayed today due to snow.

As I look outside my window . . .

There is a layer of snow out there.

Right now I am . . .

Drinking coffee, writing up this post, and trying to wake up.

Thinking and pondering . . .

My husband and I are considering adding more chickens to the coop, with a promise to build a new coop (he promised as the coop they are in is a hot house in summer with no relief from heat, and no protection from flying beasts when out in the run).

On my beside table . . .

It's a hot mess and needs cleaned off.

On my TV . . .

Whatever we find interesting.

Listening to . . .

80's music.

On the breakfast plate . . .

Eggs, bacon, coffee.

On the menu . . .

-roast, veggies

-one pan chicken and veggies
-crock pot pork chops and oven roasted veggies
-Soup of some kind, possibly sausage/sweet potatoes and kale
-meatloaf and side crockpot root veggies

On my reading pile . . .

On the to-do list . . .

-clean master bath
-laundry
-bake a breakfast, prep dinner and do dishes
-dehydrate garlic

-finish putting shelf liner in cupboards (an abandoned project for some reason)

-re-pot the cactus plan (still need special soil for it)

-empty dishwasher, load it

Plans for the week. . .

*see to-do list

-moving all the paint supplies to hallway, and others to a storage spot, put all flooring tools back to their home, filling a box for donation, re-organizing family videos, and to-do list.

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating . . .

Not quite halfway done with the blanket.

Made these embellished paperclips for two of the girls for Christmas, and just found them the other day.  These are nice to make for "random acts of kindness" as well.  The top ones are mini dog bones and the bottom ones are flowers.

My simple pleasure . . .

Peppermint schnapps in my homemade hot cocoa (or coffee)

Lesson learned this past week . . .

Something I learned:  Cut potatoes in slices, when boiling to make mashed potatoes (rather than cubes).  They will cook evenly.  I've been cubing my potatoes, as learned from my mother, for years.  Who knew?

From the camera . . .

Guess how much we paid for that sign?  It is 24 x 42 inches and normal price $89.00, with sale price $64.99.  

We paid $6.48!  No kidding!  We had to drive way north for it, and it had a scuff on it.  Online is sold out.  The store clerk gave us 90% off and we literally got the scuff off with a Mr. Clean eraser. My husband fell in love with the sign, so hence the travel day, and in the end worth it.

Another wall project of my husband's.  He's having so much fun with "take back the house" project.

Sign was as gift from a daughter (ha ha!)

Decor went back up on the breakfast bar with framed photos. I finally framed the directions my husband wrote out for me 24 years ago (to get to his house).  I see it's upside down, so I need to turn that around in the frame ha ha!  Back then, we didn't have cell phones, and just had land lines.

My Aunt's chicken plates were put back up.  I have 3 more in my kitchen.  We are thinking of a reading chair at this wall.  Not sure just yet.

(a bit dark as it was a stormy day when I took these photos)

Prayers . . .

...for our friend Hope's husband Steve.  Not sure what happened, but she is asking for healing prayers (and a miracle) almost daily.

Devotional . . .

"As each of you received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God's many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor]. -1 Peter 4:10

Taking back the house continues and other ramblings....

 

Woke up to fog.  The weather today is high of 51°F.  No rain until tomorrow, so the chicken coop just might get cleaned today.  As you can see in the upper part of the photo, the Christmas lights are still up (but off).  I may just get those down and put away as the weather is nicer.

The living room floor has been cleared of boxes, styrofoam, window screens, and whatnot.  The breakfast bar has finally been moved from kitchen to living room, and the new plant stands have been put together for Mom's plants.  It's early, so hence the dark photo, but will try and get a day time photo for you.

The stands hold all but Mom's cactus.  It is blooming again.  I need to figure out a place for that.  I also need to re-pot it.  The cactus is still in the container that it came in (how it was at Mom's house).  I will need to contact a friend to make sure I get the correct soil, and I will need a new pot for it.

We have no end tables or lamps just yet.  The kids broke the last lamps we had (most likely the help of their dogs).  It's on the to-do list.  

I still have to clear up my yarn stash in my bedroom, now that the living room is done (and I can access the upstairs).  I need to find the last tie back for the curtains.  I didn't feel like doing it yesterday, so it's back on the weekly to-do list.

I also pulled the new wall decor from the closet to the living room.  We have not decided on where to hang the decor.  We may put up a shelf to match the white wash theme, but we have not found a board for our white wash barnwood shelf brackets just yet.

I have pulled several boxes of "office" stuff that was shoved into the office from the computer area (kitchen) when the kitchen floor was done first.  Lets just say, I have a lot of boxes to go thru and purge, re-organize and put back where it needs to be (or find it a new home).

I still need a file folder for the computer desk area in the kitchen.  I better write that down before I forget.  The last one I tried to order from Amazon, had to be returned due to damage.

Our paper shredder died on us, so I have asked my husband to get us a burn barrel.  We'll see if he remembers. 

Most importantly, today I will be getting out my garden planner and getting a plan in place.  Possibly some new chicken coop plans as well.

Priming the Trim and other ramblings. . .

 

I wasn't even going to paint the trim in the living room, but after we talked about it, we decided it would brighten up the room.  I have started to prime the trim, which is slow going.  I decided to use a tool to paint edges vs. using expensive paint tape.  It is slower, but works for the job.  You can see the room is already brighter with the trim white vs. dark wood.

Good news!  I got an email and a text.  The flooring will be in this week, and the gas heater is ready to be picked up.  I guess that means I better get these windows done, so we can get the walls painted next.  I never expected to do that either, but since we had to replace the entire floor, and it hasn't been painted in 14 years, we decided to do it.

I have been a bit depressed, and not feeling like it's even Christmas time right now, but glad this project is keeping my mind busy.  I'm just used to baking, and making homemade gifts this time of year, and I am not.  Heck, I'm not even sure where my Christmas cards are, that I bought a few years ago.

I am having grave pillows made for Mom and Dad's grave.  I will post a picture of them when I pick them up.

I am rotating crochet projects again.  I think it's just because I get bored doing the same blanket every night (although I am very happy with my color rotation).  I dug out baby yarn to re-stock baby booties.  I'm working on finding a nice, but inexpensive way to package them.

I'm also looking for inexpensive clear (with zipper) blanket storage bags.  I would like to have them for when I donate the lap afghans.  I found some on Amazon, but the per-piece price is a bit higher than I would like.  I will keep searching.  Wal-mart is more expensive and their bags are a bit too big.

I haven't had time, but there is a new crochet venture I am going to start making, as this living room project comes to an end.  It will keep my spirits up for selling stuff next year.

Today will be interesting.  Balancing house work while painting is a true hot mess, ha ha!

Happy Homemaker Monday

We took advantage of a rainy day, and got work done inside Sunday.  I guess we'll be looking at new kitchen faucets soon.  We took it apart, blew air threw the lines, soaked parts in CLR, and we still have no water pressure in the kitchen faucet.  Sprayer works great, but not the faucet.

We finally installed the new kitchen island light.  It's been sitting in the garage for two months.  It was a lot of work, as we had to move the wires from one area to another, cut a new hole, etc.  I'll have to wait for him to patch the old hole before I can paint, but I love it.  The old light never matched the kitchen and never turned on.  It had those long florescent bulbs an looked like it was installed as a used light. Anyway, it's up and my kitchen is bright!

Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  I'll link later after she posts.  My morning is a busy one today.

The weather . . .

....in the 80's all week, but once again a rainy weekend ahead.

As I look outside my window . . .

Morning doves are pretty noisy this morning, and our hummingbird is busy with our flowering bushes.  There is a layer of fog out there, and it's a bit warmer than the weekend was.

Right now I am . . .

Brewing coffee.

Thinking and pondering . . .

Possible camping trip.  I'll be working on that soon.

How I am feeling . . .

Tired, but ready to tackle the day.

On the breakfast plate . . .

Coffee and toast until I get a casserole baked.

What I am wearing . . .

T-shirt, sweatpants and slippers.

On the reading pile  . . .

My canning recipes.  Just checking to make sure I have all the ingredients.

On my TV this week . . .

Anything that looks good.

On the menu . . .

-Fajitas, baked bell pepper fries
-BBQ chicken, green beans

-leftovers

Looking around the house . . .

I'll be working in the living room, so we can get that project started next.

To do list for the week . . .

-clean kitchen
-check garden
-bake a breakfast
-order new keyfobs for the truck

-shampoo carpet upstairs

-put trash out

-run dishwasher

-laundry

From the camera . . .

Here are the cute wine glasses with lemons on them I found.  They match the lemonade wine cocktail bottles, and everything is citrus themed in the silent auction basket I put together.

Devotional/prayers . . .

Prayers for 6 puppies that were picked up by a rescue transit company in TX.  After one person dropped them off to another transit company, they were lost (last co. says they are all dead), but prayers they find them.  Also, there are 18 people in the county we live in, that have E. coli.  They have not found the source yet.

 

Happy Homemaker Monday

 Long, but busy weekend.  While our handy-man had the weekend off, I was working hard to paint bathroom door trim, and juggle the laundry, put things back where I painted another smaller area of a kitchen wall, do dishes, cook, garden, and stock up.

The bathroom repairs continue.  The floor is in.  He had to make some changes with the new sub-floor.  The new shower base drain hole was about 1 inch off of where the original drain was.

The kids, when they lived here, took long hot showers, so the paint on the ceiling was literally coming off.  It's been cleared, sanded, and areas filled.  It could be another 3 days before the drywall can be put in.  The ceiling will be painted with kilz, then re-textured, and painted with ceiling paint.  Each step taking a day to dry, so I'm trying to be patient.

The garden is starting to roll in bounty.  I pulled the last of the lettuce plants and made us a big salad for these humid and hot days.  I spent most of the day Sunday in the tomatoes. Many of them need tied up again.

My husband is working every single day.  He gets no days off for a few weeks.  I'm not running out of things to do, but I do miss him.

I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  Will link up when she posts later.

The weather . . . 

We will hit the 90's again, with possible thunderstorms tonight or early tomorrow morning.

As I look outside my window . . .

The sun is shining, and the weeds have once again taken over in the flower beds.  I found some smaller wild growing mullein and have moved them closer to the house.

Right now I am . . .

Doing a load of laundry, and just finished breakfast.

Thinking and pondering . . .

Trying to decide which job to tackle on rainy days - upstairs, bedroom closet, or front room (need to clean out a file cabinet that was previously in kitchen desk area).

How I am feeling . . .

Pretty good actually.

On the breakfast plate . . .

Sausage, bean, and egg breakfast burritos, topped with home canned cowboy candy, coffee.  Lots and lots of coffee.

What I am wearing . . .

Garden work jeans, tank-top and currently slippers until I head out to the tomatoes.

On my reading pile . . .

Somehow I keep adding to the pile, but not reading lately.  Just zero time for it.

On my TV this week . . .

Anything that catches our eye.

On the menu . . .
-roasted turkey, zucchini and corn saute
-chicken, apple/pecan/cranberry salad

-turkey a'la king, peas

-Mac' n' cheese (haven't made it in a long, long time)

-leftovers

Looking around the house . . .

Well, it looks as if the house is under construction, ha ha!  I'm trying to keep things organized, but half the bathroom stuff is in the kitchen, and trim is being painted in the living room.

To do list . . .
-clean out fridge
-laundry

-mail in rebates

-call body shop and make an appt.

-weed flower beds

-tie up tomatoes

-harvest kale

-dishes

-vacuum

-find Mom's camping journals

-check campgrounds for a fall camping trip (if it happens)

From the camera . . .

These were from all weekend.  Momma and her babies.

Devotional/Prayers . . .

-prayers for my friend Marilyn and her husband (Brian, and his sister Christy), as her Father-in-law suddenly passed away yesterday.

This and That

Our hummingbird came to the porch for a very long visit.  It was about 5 feet from me enjoying our porch hanging flowers.  Visit from Mom?

Woke up to no water pressure in my kitchen sink, and a ton of dirty dishes to wash.  I left the water on to clear air and painted.

Before

The other side of the bathroom door got primed.  I will be picking up paint samples soon for the other bathroom.

I also painted the last wall in the kitchen.  I just have to paint some trim and the kitchen will be done completely.

We got a lot of rain yesterday, so the garden should be popping with bounty soon.

We were on the porch eating dinner, and heard a gun shot.  He pulled into our drive and we talked for hours.  He was taking care of rodents in the field north of us, so we gave him permission to park in our north drive to take care of ground hogs that took over our barn rubble, and were also causing havoc in the same field.

I put 8 # of onions in the dehydrator.  We did not plant onions this year, other than bunching onions, and my herb garden green onions.  I found a deal on organic, and decided to get that stocked done.

 

Slippers to the Garden and other Tidbits

 The other day I came inside to do something, and realized on my way back out I still had my slippers on.  I take my muck boots off at the door.  So funny.  My brain is on overdrive I swear.

My living room is a mess and now the bathroom door is in there getting primed.  I painted one side yesterday.  Half of the bathroom floor is in, but they had 4 layers of flooring, so it's lower than the kitchen floor.  There is more work to do, and more supplies, to get the floor even with the kitchen.

I've taken care of the peaches now.  I canned 8 half-pints of reduced sugar jam, and baked a peach crumble.  I left the rest for us to snack on.  Not sure if I will get any into the freezer or not.

I started water-glassing eggs.  I figured if I fill that bucket up, I can start dehydrating, but this will reduce using canning jars right now.

We are going on more than two weeks of zero rain.  We had thunderstorms in the forecast for today, but those left just disappeared off the radar.

I've been doing pretty well keeping up with weeding the garden, but not the flower beds.  I got the green beans weeded finally.

Daughter E never made it out to help clean the upstairs.  She took her car in for a new tire at Midas and they told her that her wheel bearing was so bad that her car was not safe to drive.  I got on my phone and with the help of my husband, (our go-to man is doing our bathroom) he found a friend to change it. Cost of part was $104, he asked for $70 for the labor, and she paid him $100.  Midas wanted $500.00 for the job, and it's a fairly easy job to do.

Just lots of work in a day . . .

 I was out of the garden by 8am.  It's mostly tilled, but today I need to weed and till.  Grass is up around some plants, but other than that, I'm keeping up with it.  I had to run to "the big" city" again.  I needed a new rack for my canner pot.  I searched for hours online, and only found them on ebay for $20.00.  I ended up going to Wal-mart and getting the pot and rack for $24.00.   

I moseyed over to the meat to pick up something to grill, and wasn't shocked to see there was nearly nothing in the way of chicken.  Two packages literally (should have taken a photo), and thankfully all organic was available.  Same with the ground beef as well.

I went to the hardware store and picked up paint for the living room and bathroom door and bathroom cabinet.

Not the greatest photo, but I finally painted the beam in the kitchen ceiling.  It was truly a balancing act on the ladder, to avoid using a ton of paint tape.  My husband is tall enough to do it without a ladder, but he is overly, completely, and utterly exhausted from work.  He was thankful I did it, but I did have our handy-man working in the bathroom, so using a ladder was okay.

I still have half of the ceiling to paint, and the trim around the bathroom door, but once the bathroom is done, we can (gulp) take a look-see at the damage of the living room floor.

As for the bathroom, the entire floor was removed yesterday.  I'm frustrated, as the people who put the last floor and drywall in, just left debris under the house.  It's been a lot of work, but our handy-man is still at it.

Again, sorry for the bad photo, but I realized yesterday, that the paint on the beam matches the praying hands from Mom.  I'm still cleaning the cubbies and adding new items to them.

I thought I had bought seeds to plant tarragon, and could not find them.  I had searched the stores for a plant or even seeds and found zero.  Frustrated, I came back home and went thru my seeds again, and found them.  Those got planted, although late.

Errand Day ~ Bathroom Project Starts!

 

This was my fitbit at 7pm  last night.  It was errand day, and not by choice.  I had to go to the "big city" for an estimate on the truck.  We may be getting a second estimate, because the first will not fix paint chips on the hood from the deer encounter.  

Anyway, I took all my lists with me and landed at 5 stores!  I loaded online digital coupons before leaving the house.  Meijer had 20% off all ball canning supplies (you can check, but not sure how many days it's good for).  I picked up more canning lids for a great price, as things are not going well in this country, and wanted to be prepared.  Also, our Wal-mart had higher prices on canning lids than Meijer.  The 20% off was a great deal considering the times we are dealing with.

At Home Depot (my last stop), I had to wait forever at the paint counter due to lack of employees.  It was a very long day.

Meanwhile, our handy-man was gutting the entire smaller bathroom.  We ran into many unhappy surprises.  First, after the shower was removed on the other side in this photo, we discovered there was a leak in the back of the shower that disintegrated about 2 feet of drywall.  AND!  They did not use the proper drywall for behind a shower. 

The toilet was removed, only to discover that the metal fixture under the seal had completely rotted, and the flooring around the toilet was rotted.  So.....half the floor was removed, only to discover we'll need to replace the entire bathroom floor.  Oh joy for us. 

However, while the floor is out, we are having our handy-man (adding more costly dollars, but worth it), add heat tape to all the pipes under there.

Happy Homemaker Monday

 I am constantly forgetting what day it is, with this miserable work schedule my husband has.  

I'm definitely not running out of things to get done around here either.  I finally got some cabbage fermenting.

By the way, have any of you canned sauerkraut? I just looked up one recipe in one canning book that requires 25# of cabbage.  I would cut that down, but would like anyone's feedback on how it tasted after canning it.  Any other small batch recipes too.

I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. I will link up later when she posts.

The weather . . . 

-hot, humid and no rain in sight

As I look outside my window. . .

-grass is dying and the yards look terrible, but garden has been watered consistently.  I have another maple tree to plant, but have it in a bucket of water until we see we'll get some rain.

Right now I am . . .

Drinking coffee, trying to get enough energy to get my power shower.

Thinking and pondering . . .

I want to plan a camping trip or something when this work week schedule is over, but there is no end in sight just yet.  I need to start boxing up stuff in the living room to prepare for that project, but have to make room somewhere to put it.

How I am feeling . . .

Tired, exhausted, run down, the whole sha-bang.  I'm up super early today due to help arriving to gut the bathroom.

On the breakfast plate. . . 

A veggie dump with dandelion greens and bacon.

What I am wearing . . .

Depends on the time of day. Early am - gardening clothes (jeans, tank top, muck boots), out of the garden clothes (sweat pants, t-shirt).  By 4pm?  Pajamas and I'm not kidding.  Have to go to town clothes?  That would be jeans, and a nice top or t-shirt.

On my reading pile . . .

-no time to read right now, did some tilling in the garden yesterday

On my TV this week . . .

Mystery channel

On the menu . . .

-turkey, veggie

-Reuben's

-Philly, either in a bell pepper or on a bun

-leftovers

Looking around the house . . .

-as I told my husband, "Rome wasn't built in a day" 

I still have some painting to do in the kitchen, then the bathroom gets painted, then we move to the living room.....

To-do list . . .

-wash bedding

-paint bathroom door

-put away dishes, wash crock pots

-water grow bags

-get estimate on truck damage

-mail in rebate

From the camera. . . 

Damage done from the deer.

Prayers . . .

...for workers to get the machines repaired and back up and running so my husband can go back to normal work hours and we can finally have time with each other.

This and That

I noticed when we stayed at the island the last time, she had black washcloths with the work "makeup" on them.  Genius.  I could just go to the store and buy black ones, but made one myself with cotton yarn to see if it would work well.

I love this pattern, so we'll see how it goes and if the face makeup will stain on it or not.  I'm hoping it works vs. using my other lighter washcloths that do stain.  I don't wear makeup that often, but I am happy with this pattern, and they stitch up quickly.

Thankfully my husband had Saturday off, however, he never took my bathroom door off the hinges for me.  It'll probably happen tonight.  We have a hired handy-man coming to help gut the bathroom (so happy for that).

We finally picked up a new toilet for the bathroom, and wow the prices have really gone up.  $229.00 for one on sale!  Thankfully we had $140.00 in rebates from the kitchen floor repair.

Three of the kids came over to have a lunch for Father's Day.  I was tickled pink to have their boyfriends take a desk down from upstairs and see the girls remove more of their belongings from upstairs.

I've been taking advantage of the weather, and getting the laundry caught up, and dried on the clothesline.  We were to get rain today, but now they are saying no rain.  We are literally having a drought.

I wanted to plant some arnica seeds, although late, but may wait until we do get rain.  My calendula seeds are sprouting, so that is good.  I've had to water daily though.