Happy Homemaker Monday

Quarantine day 29.

Last Saturday I started cleaning out the herb garden, and took a nice motorcycle ride to get dinner with friends (with 6 foot distance).  It's the only way to get a ride in right now with everything else closed.

I'm seeing re-seeded parsley plants popping up already. My green onion is looking much better this year than last year as well.  No asparagus out in the vegetable garden yet.  My chives are looking great too.

Checked off the to-do list - knock down wasp nests.  This one was about 8 inches across.  Hubby also cleaned 80% of the gutters as well.

My garden helper.  She loves (loves) to be outside, especially in the sun.  She is one dog that behaves without a fence.

Sunday the weather was not that good.  It rained, was cooler and rained again.  I worked in the herb garden and the flower beds in between the rain (light rain).  I made a batch of homemade dry Italian dressing mix.  My indoor basil plant is doing so well, I harvested some and got 3 trays of it dehydrated in my smaller dehydrator (I store the dried leaves whole).

The kids are helping out.  One helped me in the herb garden, the other did dishes and swept the kitchen.  So thankful for all their help.

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


The weather outside is . . .
Cold, and severe wind warnings.


How I am feeling this morning . . . 
Rested physically - slept in until 8am.


On my mind . . .
A lot.  So many reports with misleading numbers, how will we all function if this continues.....just emotionally stressed now with the death of another person we know.


On the breakfast plate . . .

Cheddar and Chili Egg Casserole (Rachel Ray)



On my reading pile . . .

On the TV . . .
Mostly the Governor briefing at 2pm.  In the evening it's whatever we find interesting.


On the menu this week . . .
-biscuits/sausage gravy, fried potatoes, eggs (no apples this time)
-tuna and noodle, mashed potatoes, corn
-chili, cornbread
-not sure about the rest yet.


From the camera . . .

Looking around the house . . .
Not much we can do on the list inside, besides work on the pellet stove.  Can't paint - too cold to open windows, can't shampoo carpets either, can't do anything outside today, maybe Hubby can purge his t-shirts.  Can't purge the garage - everything is closed including the dump.  If we can do a pick up order for the fencing or even the new bathroom shower and toilet, we may do that this week (one or the other).



Looking forward to . . .

Planting the garden.

To relax this week I will . . .
Watch movies and crochet.


On  my prayer list . . .
Our family friend's parents have both passed, so she and her family are in our prayers first thing this morning.  My Mom, our family, extended family, this country, our President and so many others.

Bible Verse . . .

Philippians 4:6 New International Version (NIV)

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Journaling Bible ~ Porch Message ~ Breakfast ~ Care Package to Mom

Got out my journaling Bible.

Youngest sent us all a porch message using sidewalk chalk.

Breakfast prep the other day - burritos.

After more than 3 weeks, my MRH order finally came.  However, it came minus my stinging nettle, so I'll be checking the barns for it.

We made a trip to town, due to the mower blade needing replaced (which we forgot to bring with us).  We, at a safe distance, paid Mom a yard visit and dropped her off some groceries and necessities.  By necessities I mean wine.  She told us if she ran out she was "leaving her house."  We were not having any of that happening.  Nope.  We even scored toilet paper for her and us.  We looked like a gang with our masks on.  Mom was so happy to see real faces and talk to real people. I had gotten text messages prior to doing this and she sounded so depressed and crying.  I'm glad we made her day much better.  It was a drive for us, so we didn't get anything done at home, but if I can say I did something, it was take care of my mother.

Update on the "case" of the virus at Hubby's work.  He tracked down the person, and it was one who is habitual at finding an excuse to not work for months on end.  He told Hubby he had a sinus infection, which is why he had a fever, but they treated him as a virus case (without testing) suited him up in a hazmat suit and sent him home.  That's the problem now.  How are the numbers even showing true facts when they mark any illness (without testing) as the virus?

Our county is stating 49 "cases" but they are not testing all those "cases" either.  They stated "probable" and this is making a lot of shake our heads.

Once again, we woke up around 4am.  We are just now trying to pick items off our to-do list considering it's 30-some degrees out right now.  

Oh, one new tidbit - after shelling out $300 for Jesse's vet bill (which I felt was much lower than we expected), we had to shell out another $250 (much more than expected) to an emergency vet last night for Jasper (20 year-old daughter's cat).  He apparently has an inflamed bladder due to stress from moving.  He's now on meds.

Getting the new mower blade is back on the to-do list.  I guess our brains are not remembering stuff correctly right now.  If we can find someone open anyway.

One last note.  One of the cats that most likely were dropped here is pregnant.  We will be making calls to see if any animal control can pick her up before she has them.  I'm already feeding 3 cats right now, and another stray that hasn't left (we had 3 strays, now down to 2).

What Day is It?

I have to ask myself what day it is almost every day anymore.

My mind was in a hundred places yesterday, so no photos to share.  First, it was the day that we lost our older nephew 2 years ago, and a very hard day emotionally for my husband.

He mowed until the blade on the mower broke.  I basically did minor house chores and froze more spinach.

It was cooler and very windy, so no other outside work done.

I have a sister who said, according to the Bible that the virus will end Easter Sunday.  There is a lot of talk on this.  I know one person who would have answers to this claim, and that is Dad.  I cannot even call Dad. He has bad hearing and will not answer his phone.  Oh, my oldest sister is taking care of Dad right now, during this virus stuff going on.

I call my mother daily to check on her.  I often talk to my siblings via call or email.  One sister in MI has been sick, but her doctor said it was pneumonia.  

We are doing okay here.  We are just anxious for this to be over and are uncertain of our future, so the garden is focused on right now.  We are tackling our to-do list, but it depends on the weather as to which one we do.  We have not picked up fencing materials for the dog fence, nor the new chicken coop (although those stores are open we choose to not go out).

I received free organic lettuce seeds, and one daughter brought me a bag of organic soil.  I plan to plant some today (although late) and see if I can add that to the garden next month.

Just the Bits

We had a very nice day yesterday.  The temperature went up to 70°F.  We were swamped with a wet ground, but we cleaned up the front porch. My husband even got some mowing done too, and we grilled out for dinner (although our propane is now out for the grill).

I baked flourless brownies and made whiskey butterscotch sauce for a rare treat.

I also froze a bit more zucchini.

I dehydrated a small amount of mushrooms too.

Laundry went out on the line.

I am finishing up on cross bookmarks.  I am putting the tassles on next.

Some Good ~ Some Not so Good

Quarantine Day 24

Monday evening we let the kids roast weenies (non-gmo/beef) over a backyard campfire.  They were in heaven and I'm glad we could give them a bit of normalcy in all of this.

Finally found one bag of whole wheat flour, but it cost me dearly for shipping.  I'll go without after this, unless the stores restock here.

We got a text this morning from our friend who has parents on ventilators (confirmed cases of the virus).  Her father passed away early this morning.

Our youngest daughter has been having bad headaches, I have been dealing with a cough, and yesterday my husband got a phone call that he had been reported having been around someone with the virus at his work.  I had a mental breakdown last night, so I'm praying for a better day today.

We had bad storms last night, so everything is soaked outside.  Otherwise it would be a good day to do some garden work, cut wood or other work.

We picked up our masks and they are washed and drying.  Now our daughter who is working can wear one at work.  They have counter guards up at her work, have a limit of 40 customers (thankfully she works at a smaller store), and use gloves.

Sun Fun ~ Garden Plants ~ Garage Clean Out ~ Ride

My daffodils are blooming like crazy!

Yesterday I noticed the hyacinths are starting to bloom too.


To update on yesterday, we never saw the person we heard, but it was dark out when we did.  However, when I took one dog out (with my husband) we could smell a campfire in the woods behind the house.  We are going to mow down a path out along the woods to walk all the dogs now.

The sun was out all day Monday.  So thankful for that. I had to stay home for a Fed Ex delivery, so my wonderful husband went to the greenhouse and picked up flats of tomato plants etc.

We chose to go and get them early this year, as we both have a feeling so many more people will now be planting a vegetable/fruit garden.  I called the greenhouse ahead of time, and she said people were already coming in and buying plants.  Her supplier has warned her she may sell out quickly as May approaches.

I'm not sure I'll be getting a rosemary plant or not.  They do not survive here in winter and I cannot for the life of me keep it alive all winter indoors.  I have a plan, but we'll see.

I enjoyed a cup of nettle, mullein and plantain early yesterday.  MRH is closed again, so I will be checking my stinging nettle patch soon.

The garage cleaning is finally underway.  Hubby is ready full force to get things cleaned up and I'm taking advantage of him being home.

Oh, and I got my ride yesterday and I slept like a baby last night.  My first ride on our new bike.  I miss the old one, but love the new one.

Cold, Cloudy and Dreary but...

The bedroom is 95% done with spring cleaning.  Woohoo to that.  I took advantage of a cold, darker day and got Hubby on board to clean up his stuff.  I'm hoping to get him to purge t-shirts next day we can't work outside.

In celebration of our efforts I lit some candles and relaxed.  A much better day for both of us.  

We were both up early this morning.  Nothing like hearing (at 5am), what sounded like a loud pick-up truck pull in near the property and shut off the engine, to get you out of bed.  It's still dark here, so we are trying to be quiet to not wake the dogs just yet.  

Armed and ready, and they haven't started up their engine to leave either.  It'll be light soon and we will be able to see if they are along the south tree line (property line near the field).  We also discovered our south flood lights are not working, so upon daylight those will be replaced (I bought back up bulbs thank goodness).

Now that the traffic is very low, we can literally hear so much better now too.  I think after that mess with the nuisance neighbor for 3 years, we are easily on alert much more than before.

Oh, and after we went to bed last night we both hear what also sounded like trucks (2 that our daughter saw through the front window, because I ran out and looked myself also), slow in front of the house and it sounded like they were going to stop.

Keep your doors locked and your phones charged, and stay armed.  Even if you have to put baseball bats at every entrance.  So far, we do not hear them again, but like I said when daylight arrives, we'll get a better look.  We are in the boonies, and on a country highway, making an easier target.  Stay safe my friends.