New Cake Carrier and tidbits . . .

 

Check out my new round cake carrier!  I just love it.  I have had a Tupperware one for maybe 30 years and this replaced it.   It can be used for all sorts of make and take foods as well.  

I wiped down the wooden towel stand that was in the smaller bathroom, and it will go to the road for free this weekend weather permitting.  The bathroom has no linen closet, so I have a wall unit that now holds the towels and washcloths.  Daughter K is coming for a weekend in April, and after that we'll be ripping stuff out of there soon.

I'm still debating on replacing the sink, mirror and wall light.  I could paint it, but then there is the garden too.  It's a small bathroom, so the sink is pretty small compared to a normal bathroom.  Not sure if we would even be able to find one that size.  Time will tell, so will the pocket book.

We have not gotten the estimate on the kitchen floor main work, but have been making plans ourselves in the meantime.  I am hoping that Daughter K is here this weekend for another load, so I have more room in the living room to move stuff from the kitchen.

If the weather is good today (it rained yesterday again), I will trim my lavender plants.  I'm hoping for a good harvest this year.

My siblings and I are pulling funds together to purchase a memorial flag for Dad. It will have his picture on it and will be displayed on a main street flag pole along, with other flags, at his hometown.  He now also has a Korean war veteran flag holder at his head stone at the cemetery.

Kitchen-ness and other ramblings

 

I spent the good half of the day yesterday in the kitchen.  I felt bad my husband had nothing to take to work for breakfast.

I made a sweet potato (organic hannah), bacon with greens hash, topped with eggs.  It was so good too.

I also made a pecan sour cream coffee cake with Georgia pecans.  Oh my goodness!  So good.  New recipe I tired.

Dinner was homemade meatballs with a sauce made from home canned barbeque sauce, garlic from the garden and a bit of honey, on a bed of wild rice.  I wanted broccoli in it, but that didn't happen.

Cleaning also resumed, after a mountain of dishes were done, and dishwasher ran two times.  It was a beautiful 60°F day, but too windy to enjoy the front porch.

The local professionals stopped in last night to take a look at our first project - kitchen floor/new joist/new sub floor.  They took measurements and asked questions.  The estimate will be emailed soon.  My husband is 99% sure we'll be doing it ourselves.  He is guessing they will come back with an estimate of $5,000.00 or more.

Today, to prepare for it, I need to box up everything that Daughter K left on one table, and box up what I pulled from the cupboard that will be donated.  I need to take the inserts out of the table that make it longer.  That will help make moving it to the living room easier.  Then I need to box up what's in the bottom of the hutch and move that out, then we will start on the counter and cupboards, then floor.

In the meantime, I've gotten a few suggested outlet locations for possible flooring, but Hubby is not too excited about running from place to place for prices and supply.  We are dealing with his work schedule with all of this too.

This and That

Took advantage of good weather and got the chicken coop mucked, and just before the rain moved in.  I did a little bit of sweeping on the front porch, and swept living room.

Craft stuff put away until big repairs are complete.   I really don't have time to create right now.  I will try to carve out a break time for my self some how.

I guess I'll be collecting more boxes.  I have two more cupboards to empty.

I purchased a new toilet paper holder for the bathroom remodel.  It pivots up, and has no spring thing to deal with.  It should arrive today.

My kitchen is full of boxes that Daughter K needs to come and move yet.  Sigh....I do not like my house looking so chaotic.  In time it will be looking spiffy.

Here is our big job to-do list for this year:

1. Rip out some counter tops and cupboards, rip up flooring and sub floor, replace joists, re-do sub floor and complete new flooring, put cupboards and counter top back in, hutch back in, and re-fill with the dishes that are already boxed up.

2. Rip out entire bathroom off kitchen.  Replace dry wall, all new flooring, install new shower and toilet.  I already pulled a tall shelve unit that I will clean today and put out by the road for free (just needs painted again) and I'm too lazy tired to haul it all the way into town to donate.  I will paint the entire bathroom as well and Hubby will install a fan (never had one for some reason).  We already have the new shower and paint for this job.

Note:  When this bathroom is all done, we will hire someone to re-tile the master shower floor.  We hired family the last time and the grout washed away.

3. Rip up part of front room floor, replace joist, replace sub-floor, replace carpet (painting will be next year I think).  Replace furniture (dogs destroyed it).

4. Rip out and replace all carpet in stairway and upstairs.  Again, dogs, cat and rabbit destroyed it.  Painting and removing old wall paper will be another year.  No time for that this year with a garden.

5. If we have the time, rip out old carpet in our master bedroom and replace with new flooring.  Remove and install closet door to a change where the entry way is (it's in the center of a wall right now) so we can move furniture into place better.

6. Build new chicken coop and covered run.

7. Purge garage

8.  Utility room will get new flooring and paint (next year).

We already hired a friend to finish the unfinished new hallway, and have someone coming out today to give an estimate on the two floors that need new joists.  If it's out of our budget, we are doing it ourselves.  The hall can wait for now, but knowing someone is hired already gives my brain a rest.

Now....what to make for breakfast?  And dinner?  That is top of the list this morning.  I will figure it out after I down some good ol' coffee.

Progress with the repairs . . .

I am still working on re-homing the Rock Band.  We don't have the games anymore, and it's leaving as soon as I hear back from people.

Daughter E is taking all the board games, so those will be out of my living room.

A guy is stopping out this week to give us estimates on both kitchen and front room floors.  Whoever put the woodstove in way back in the day, simply cut out the corner of the floor. It has to be ripped out, new support system in place and new sub floor.  Kitchen problem is a bad joist that needs replaced.

We will need to go to town and buy furniture sliders to move the heavy stuff too.

I had to re-do some e-mail paperwork, but next up is to clean up the entire corner of the kitchen to prepare for taking cupboards and counter tops out, which means unhooking the computer and moving that to another room.  There will be a blip in blog posts I imagine.  

In the process of getting kids to clean up their stuff they have left, I am filling boxes of my own for donation.  You don't really realize how much you have until you have to box it up to move to put in new flooring.

Thank you for your prayers regarding the missing 22 year-old.  Unfortunately, they found her and is now in Heaven (so, so sad to hear this).

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weekend was super busy, but Daughter E squeezed my husband and I in for a haircut.  I actually got a hear treatment while she cut his hair.  It was way over due.

It hasn't been decided yet, but due to my husband's new position at work (12 hour days) and lack of help with the garden, I may be doing more downsizing for this garden season.

Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom, and now I am technically a "homemaker."

I will link up later when she posts (and if I can remember to, ha ha!)

The weather . . .

It will be a nice sunny 70 degree day, but rain will resume for a few days.

As I look outside my window . . .

...checking a trap we set for an unknown pest

Right now I am . . .

Starting the washing machine, writing this post, and making a list for the grocery store, and figuring out a meal plan.

Thinking and pondering  . . .

Oh....there is a ton of this going on.  Trying to make a plan to get someone hired to rip out the kitchen floor.  I have someone to install new flooring, but we have yet to go purchase that.  First, we need the plan for the person to do the more serious work, and then buy supplies to get the job(s) done.

Homemaking tips . . .

Honestly, my brain is over-worked right now, so I have nothing that comes to mind.  If I do, I will come back and share.

How I am feeling . . .

Mentally and emotionally exhausted, but hopefully that will change as we get thru the week.

On the breakfast plate . . .

Leftover omelet we had Sunday morning.  My dear husband made them with mad hatter peppers.

On my reading pile . . .

Still waiting on my used book order.  I don't have time to read right now anyway.

On my TV . . .

Anything we find interesting.

On the menu . . .

-Italian sausage/bell peppers/red onion

-have no idea yet

From the camera . . .

The roses my husband surprised me with are absolutely beautiful, and smell wonderful.

Looking around the house . . .

I'm glad Daughter K is finally moved, but she has a lot of stuff yet to move and clean up.  She left the living room a pigsty.

On the to-do list . . . 

-dishes

-laundry

-tidy bedroom

-start cleaning living room to make room for kitchen tables, counter tops and cupboards (first big job on the home to-do list)

-clean up computer area (which will also be moved to do kitchen floor repair)

-dust down the Rock Band and re-home

-start cleaning porches on good weather days

-muck the coop next best weather day (ain't happeneing today)

-clean out fridge and do a re-check on freezer

-put out going mail in mailbox

-put trash out

-burn down burn pile

Prayer list . . .

A 22 year-old missing girl in the area about 1 hour from our location.  She is the daughter to a co-worker of my husband.  Last seen on March 18th.

Rainy and Windy Day

 

It was not really the best weather day to do this, but we drove to Hobby Lobby and with my wire cutters in hand, made this in the truck on the way to the cemetery.  It wasn't cheap, but worth every penny to put together.  I think it turned out very nice.  

We (my husband and I) also put flowers on my Grandparents grave (next to Moms), and drove to the town where Dad is buried and put flowers on his too.  

On the way home we realized how many graves we need to yet visit this year - his parents, his sisters, our grandson, his nephew and his nephew's son.....just too many sadly.

Today we will be having Christmas with our Daughter T and the grandkids.  I know it's March, but it's been a whirlwind since Christmas (or before that).  The grandkids will be tickled pink to get presents in March.  She was unable to visit with us Christmas day, and she has a busy work schedule.

My blue roses are blooming beautifully.  I'll try and remember to take another photo of them today.

It's a brisk wind-chill of 32°F here his morning, and the wood stove is warming up the house.  I hear trickles of rain, but hopefully that will stop so we can burn down the burn pile, only to add more to it later today.

Blue Roses

 

My husband is simply the best!  I was surprised with this delivery yesterday.  He knows exactly what I need and when I need it.  Mom loved blue roses and so do I.  They don't exist in the real world, but one year I found a blue rose plant at Home Depot.  I could not for the life of me get it to bloom blue.  It takes a certain soil to bloom blue, but I really, really love my surprise delivery.  I very well may search for a hybrid plant this year and try again. 

Although Daughter K is "officially" moved, there is much still here for her to move to her apartment.  I plan to box up anything for her if needed.  Now that she is out, I spent a good day cleaning (but oh my, she left the upstairs, downstairs and bathroom a mess).  My fitbit has finally gotten back up past the 10,000 mark.  Yeah, there was no way I was logging my "stress" on that fitbit, as it was at a all time high (for several reasons).

As soon as we toss the couches into the burn pile (her dogs chewed up the cushions, we'll take down the kitchen tables and start ripping out the one half of the kitchen (hopefully very soon).  That repair job is first on the list, and a must-do job before garden season is in full swing.

I had to be stern with Daughter K last night.  In no way are her dogs to visit us.  We will visit them at her place.  Once they are out they are out.  Now she will be forced to better train them, as she is in an apartment.

It's raining today, and it's the only thing holding us back from starting on the kitchen floor project (need to empty the living room to make room for two kitchen tables, all the chairs, cupboards, hutch and stove.  It really stinks not having a crawl space to do this repair, so cupboards and all will be pulled out to rip out the floor and replace the joist, sub floor and then new flooring while the kitchen is empty.