Beautiful Spring Day

 

The weather has been beautiful.  Today the high is 71°F.  Porch weather, and we are loving it.

I have not run out of things to catch up on or clean.  My kitchen is full of door wreaths of Mom's I put one on each door, and plan to donate the remainder.  She had a knack for finding the most beautiful ones.

Considering my brain has not yet re-charged, I will be relying on notepads to keep me in check.

I'm considering getting a barn cat this year.  We are getting a few field mice.  I think Jasper, who is a great mouser, is on leave ha ha!  Country life at it's best.

My homemaking tip today:  sure fire way to catch a mouse in 24 hours or less.  Use the snap traps.  Put a small piece of cheese on it, covered by clear tape, poke a few holes in it and wa-la!  Their teeth catch in the tape and tripper the trap.  Otherwise they get away with the snack and trap never goes off.

How long does arrowroot powder last?  My bulk buy container does not have an expiration on it?  Hm?

Short post today.  I'm off to get this day started, and dig thru the freezer for something to grill.  We'll be taking advantage of this beautiful day.

Tuesday Tidbits

 Although I thought  my brain would re-set, after a break, it has not.  Yesterday I forgot my husband's birthday.  Sigh.  My husband told me yesterday I was a "hot mess" and not to drive anywhere today.  There is nothing worse than instinctively picking up my cell phone to call Mom and realizing I can't.  I guess the ol' journals will be coming out again. Maybe designate one solely for chats with Mom.  It will take time to get thru this for sure.

The chickens however, are back to laying a good amount of eggs.  I never got around to baking a breakfast, so that must be done today, or my husband has no to-go breakfast for work.

The weather is warming up enough for drying clothes on the clothesline, so I'm going to tackle all of the remaining laundry today.

I felt like everything, at a point of the day where I just wanted to relax, went wonky.  First my scanner froze in scan mode.  Then, when that was fixed, my emails were not going out.  It's all working again this morning thankfully.  Electronics can be a headache for sure.

I still have a huge pile of mail to sort, toss and take care of. My computer desk area is in total disarray.

Meanwhile, Daughter K continues to move stuff out of the house.  Her rabbit is now at her new apartment.  However, I am constantly on dog duty, meaning that first early am trip out is on me.  I am not eagerly excited about taking two dogs out in the dark.  Her cat Jasper is acting funny, and possibly needing a trip to the vet for a check up.  On a good note, her new job will almost double her pay.  

Hopefully this crazy schedule and mass load of things to be done will taper off soon.

Happy Homemaker Monday

I'm back, in case you wondered where I've been.  It was a last minute decision.  Literally.  The vacation dates were set in May of 2021, and unknown to me, my husband did not cancel them.

He kept asking, and I kept saying no due to the situation, but my mental and emotional state was not good and he picks up on that pretty well.

So....off to FL we went.  We literally in one day borrowed a box trailer, loaded our motorcycle, and off we went to meet our friends, who were already there (and also encouraging us to get there).  They literally still had a room in the house for us.  Daytona beach (Bike week) was the most crowded we have ever seen it in the last three years.  Unbelievable.

We had a really good time, so I am glad we went.  What made me say yes, is that my husband's job is moving him up, and overtime will begin soon and we may not get another vacation the rest of the year.  So we went.

What I really didn't like, is getting text messages the entire trip, while on vacation.  However, our house was in the boonies, and cell service was about zero.  We all couldn't send texts, emails (I don't get those on my phone, and like it that way), and even calls.  My phone was either in the trunk of the bike, or charging.  We basically got service where ever we stopped or ate food.

I knew we both needed the wind therapy.  One of our sanity savers, and a way to decompress and rejuvenate.  

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

The weather . . . 

60°F and sunny.

As I look out my window . . .

All of the snow has melted.

Right now I am . . .

Sipping coffee and trying to slowly wake up.  Daughter K took a car load to her new apartment last night, so I have dog duty today (all day), and wasn't happy about that, but.....

Thinking and pondering . . . 

Lots of stuff.  Too much stuff.

Homemaking tips . . .

Hm.  I haven't consumed enough coffee.  Will have think on this one. 

How I am feeling . . .

To be honest, exhausted from the second leg of driving home.  The first leg, we dealt with bad wind and we had to slow down (losing time to get going). Pulling the trailer with our bike was a bit rough, and traffic was crazy. Just after we left, a tornado went thru the area we were leaving in Florida.  We didn't find out about the tornado until the next morning.

I'm also cold.  90 degrees agrees with me much better, ha ha!

Also, while in FL, my chin connected with the end of the bed frame and boy it's so sore, my ankle is swelling.  I am back to hobbling around.

On the breakfast plate . . . 

Bagel, coffee

On my reading pile . . .

Finished this one.

Finished these two, but lesson learned....don't read this series out of order.  I read them all years ago, and wanted to read them again, but the ordered books haven't arrived yet.  I'll resume with them in order after they do arrive.

On my TV . . .

Anything really.

On the menu . . .

Have no idea.  I know it's pick up today, since we just got home yesterday.

From the camera . . .

Sorry for the bad photos, when I transfer from phone to computer they are just not the same focus)

A few photos from the dock of the house we all rented in Florida.  No, we didn't see any alligators, but I'm sure there were some in there.

Looking around the house  . . .

It's a hot mess.  I knew if I left town, it would be, but that will change soon.

To-do list . . .

- take an important phone call (pre-set)
-make an important phone call
-empty dishwasher and put away dishes daughter washed

-wash all our laundry, bedding

-take trash out 

-empty travel totes

-clean out truck

-get mail, go thru mail and pay any bills

-fold towels daughter left in laundry room

-wash dishes

-clean master bath

-get mail

-tend hens 

Prayer list . . .

...for all the folks in the Ocala, FL area who suffered due to the tornado that went thru over the weekend.  Jasper.   Daughter K's cat.  His health is not well, so she'll need to take him to the vet to find out what's going on.

Spring Clean Battles Move Out

 

I moved most of my yarn/craft supplies upstairs, but it's between Daughter K's room and the stairway.  I'm dealing with tripping over boxes and whatnot to move more up there (to clean out my room and closet). 

The quilt photo is a quilt from my Great Grandmother.  The photo was taken in 2011, when I attempted to donate it to a historical society.  It didn't happen.  I have had it in a bag on my bedroom floor since last fall.  

It was time to clean up my own bedroom.  I still have Christmas presents in there for the grandkids (not wrapped either).  I sent an email out to my siblings to see if they wanted it.  I do not want to store it anymore.  It's thread bare, and cannot be used or washed, and I have no where to hang it (and protect it from dust).

Heck, I just put away more Christmas decor my daughter left out, and today a small Christmas tree, and this weekend the outside Christmas lights come down.  Life has been that hectic, busy, and so forth.

In the midst of a snail's pace of getting order again, I have several lists going for the next trip to town, in either direction.  I think I will try and make my own arrangement for Mom's headstone, but have yet the chance to visit the craft store.  I have something in mind.

I'm planting new herb seeds for my indoor pots, and hoping it warms up so the window area is not so cold.

Beautiful Tablecloth

 My brain was on over drive yesterday morning, as I had one day to try and attempt to at least clean up the kitchen.  It was a bit tough to dodge packed boxes, but I'll deal with it all, and boxes will be gone soon.  

Be still my heart!  I had a bag full of tablecloths from Mom.  As I unpacked them, I found a Pioneer Woman one.  It made me so happy, it's on one kitchen table.  I have Pioneer Woman's kitchen curtains, glassware, and a trivet.  I am so blessed to inherit it.  I absolutely love it.  My napkin holder is being passed to Daughter K (doesn't match kitchen anymore), and I will soon find some goodies to add to my kitchen.  I can't wait for a shopping trip to beautify the kitchen. 

Speaking of kitchen, I spent the entire day cleaning it.  Oh my, crock pot put away, all of Daughter K's stuff off the table (she's terrible at doing that).....even started a box for my husband.  He's terrible (then again we've been dealing with a lot lately) of letting tools sit around.  I have a box labeled "Honey-Do Box."

New Recipe ~ Greens and Tibits

 

I am saving this recipe to try this summer.  I thought I would share it.  Has anyone made this?  I am just now learning about it.

I got some organic dandelion greens blanched and in the freezer.  There is only one store that sells them this time of year.

It was another day at Mom's house.  I made two trips to the re-sale store in town (benefits area businesses).  It's been difficult, but the busyness keeps my mind off things.  I've been able to pass on some kitchenware to our Daughter K, for her new apartment. Clothing has been donated to a soup kitchen.

My house is a crazy mess, so once Daughter K is completely moved out, we will start major repairs and updates.  We also plan to do a major clean up in the garage when the weather gets better.

This and That

 

We got a card from one of my cousin's, and it was obviously opened by someone in the mail system.  It's sick that this happens.  They probably thought it was a birthday card and were looking for money or a check to steal.

We also got cards and a beautiful wind chime from my husband's work.  Mom loved wind chimes too.  In fact, she gifted us one made of shells.  I can't wait to hang them on the porch this spring.

I finally got around to baking a healthy breakfast, but forgot to take a photo.  It involved sausage, eggs, bell pepper, onion, jalapenos, garlic and dandelion greens.

I've been slowly working on a menu this week, but I am slow joe fizz this week.

My asparagus seeds are starting to sprout.

My kitchen is filling up with packed boxes, for another move day for Daughter K.