Tidbits

 

We enjoyed our 78°F days, but then the weekend brought us rain. The wind was terrible, but we still had breaks in the day to do some outdoor adventuring.  We have a tree down, and a few large tree limbs down due to the high winds.  Monday morning it was 21°F!  A big swing in temperature for us.

If you saw my post about the "blind date" with a puzzle, I have some news about that.  My husband said to toss it in the garbage and chalk it up as we were duped in the purchase.

I however, took photos, and contacted the store we purchased  it at.  Mind you, we bought it January 31st, and we just finished it.  I was nice and polite, but to the point about our disappointment on the expense and product. 

The store responded back to me.  I'm told they purchase them from a vendor from California, and were as disappointed as we were.  She said they were supposed to all be "new" puzzles.  I explained to her that that the box was even falling apart.

They are looking into new vendors now, and we got a refund.  It pays to inquire. Thankfully, I had taken a photo of the purchase while at the store too.

So we were not being duped by the store, and they were being duped by their vendor/supplier.  If that is true.  I do find it odd a business would buy pre-wrapped puzzles to sell.  Why not wrap them yourself?  Anyway, we got a refund, including tax.

I tried a suggested mix of essential oils on cotton balls, and placed them in a few windows, to deter those nasty orange ladybug pests from entering.  The next morning there were 4 in the same window.  

The ladies are laying once again.  Very thankful for that.  I see a breakfast frittata and maybe some boiled eggs soon.

(Mom taught me to always remember to clean my clothesline)

The clothesline is back in action (or was, ha ha!).  First order of business was to clean it.  It has much wear and tear this spring, so I have a new one to install (that was supposed to be put up last year, ha ha!). 

The weather on this particular day was absolutely fantastic.  It was like a breath of fresh air (yes, and with windows open once again).  I spared you from seeing all of my laundry, ha ha!

Kitchen tip:  I never thought to do this, and I use more than one, and they often stick inside each other.  Brilliant!  Kudos to Cooks Illustrated. 

Here you see me reading a book on the porch (our 78°F day), and the weather was amazing!!!  I was enjoying a glass of iced nettle tea too.  I normally do not have my phone with me, but I was waiting on a call.  I snapped a photo.  The garden is brown still, but the green grass is returning. 

The weather is going up and down so often, it makes gardening and outdoor work very limited right now. We have had a hankering for roasted swiss chard, and we cannot find one bit of it in stores right now.  It's on the list to plant again this Spring.

I can say, that I need to stay out of book stores and yarn stores for a while now, ha ha!  I'm re-stocked in both, and have plenty to keep myself entertained.  I sort of abandoned my shelf lining project, but have not forgotten about it.  What can I say?  When the weather is nice, we enjoy it. 

Tidbits ©  March 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Repairs/Renovations Progress ~ Winter Projects

Here is an update on our progress on our winter project list.  We've made some headway with the hallway, and a small repair in the master bedroom.

If you have followed my blog, you know that we started the hallway repairs/renovations 3 years ago.  

Life happens.  There were appointments, losing people we love, taking advantage of a time where someone could rip out our carpet for us (changing plans), and so forth.  I'm just glad I we got back on track.

The hallway has two steps in two locations, longer than normal, wider and the lowest part has a high ceiling.  It's on a cement slab as well.

It is so wide, we had several bookshelves in there, to accommodate books for the kids and myself.  When the local town library closed, I brought home a ton of books that were educational, and good for school needs.

Since then, the bookshelves were emptied, books donated, and bookshelves taken out.

(January 2021)

It all started with ripping out the carpet and getting new flooring.  The dogs and cats, and constant foot traffic wore the carpet out.  Well, that flooring (that first replaced the carpet) is being changed due to the fact we had to rip out all of the half wall paneling, so nothing matches color-wise.

 

We have been looking at flooring at every hardware store in the area, for the hallway (and kitchen). 

These 3 photos were taken in different light/location in the hall.  You can see that the original paint looks different in each one.  It is why it took us so long to pick out a paint color.

We decided on our paint color, but in complete shock on the price.  A gallon went up almost $14.00!   A whopping, almost $68.98!  I had to laugh when I friend said I was "overthinking" on the process of picking a color.

(This is the flooring we picked out {earlier photo prior to painting})

The hallway walls are now painted, other than the repaired drywall areas.  The color depends on the light coming in at the moment, but it is a farmhouse gray, and we love it!

The new flooring was picked up and installed.  It's very close to the color of the remainder of the house, but we did have to go with sheet vinyl flooring for this project.  Older houses do not have exactly flat flooring, ha ha!  Nothing is square either.  Either way, it saved us money, and it looks great!  I'll most likely be looking for a few runner rugs soon.

What's left to do?  Mud the repaired drywall areas one more time (done), sand and paint them.  Once that is done, we need to install floor trim.   We need to do some work for the two steps in the hallway as well.  Personally, once that is done, I may look into motion sensor strip lights for both steps, so we can see them more easily at night.

 We also need to paint the interior door to the garage and re-install door trim, and prime and paint the entry door.  Oh, and install the other light fixture.

We went to pick up the other light fixture, and they did not get them in as they said they would.  I will have to order it online.  No stores in the area had any in stock.  Well, there is a store within a 1 hour drive, that has them in stock, but we just don't have that kind of time right now.

Out with the old, and in with the new!  I've had this new switch plate since 2021.  They are USA made.  I can't believe I found where I had stored it all these years, but it's replacing the old one.  The old one is being donated.

Speaking of windows, I finally removed 15 year old scotch tape on the outside of the door window.  The kids, over the years, taped birthday (or other party) signs to the outside, and the residue was left.  It has been cleaned off completely now.

One of the electrical outlets in the master bedroom has been installed.  One more needs replaced, but that is part of an entirely different repair job that we'll tackle later.

Repairs/Renovations Progress  © Feb 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart