Storm Update ~ Chicken Treats

Thankfully, our home was not in the path of any storm destruction, tornadoes etc.  We got some rain and wind, and that was it. We are once again saturated.

I purchased these to hang treats for the chickens.  I tried it out with a head of organic lettuce.  Our grocery store has a $.99 veggie/fruit clearance area, so I'm taking advantage of that until garden season is in full swing (if we still do a garden).

They were first looking at it, like what in the heck is that?  They ate it all in one day.  I bought the gadgets online with Amazon, and it came with two.  I can slice up fruits and veggies and slide them onto the reusable metal stake and hang them around the coop run.  It not only keeps them healthy, but provides more nutrition for them, not to mention some fun in the process.  I used to just tie a string to a head of cabbage, but I do like this gadget.

Travel Coffee Maker (K-Cups) and Travel Case

 

If you love coffee and travel both, these are great!  I though you'd enjoy a post that wasn't about home repairs/renovations ha ha!   This is not an advertisement either.  I am just sharing.  The single serve coffee maker fits in center, and there are pockets inside and there are pockets on all outside areas too.

It has a hand strap and shoulder strap, but mine arrived with out the shoulder strap.  I have messaged Amazon, and waiting to hear back.

Off brand single coffee maker we found at Menards and works great.   We can use organic K-cup coffee or fill it a reusable "k-cup" and bottom  spill tray and stand do-hicky can be removed to fill a travel coffee mug.  This coffee maker can fill up to 14 oz. of water.  You do have to measure your water before adding (to make the amount you prefer).  My husband got me a free Yeti that fits perfectly under it, or add that space filler and fill a regular coffee cup.  

Back of coffee maker travel bag.  There is a slot to slide this over the handle of your suitcase.  If you have a suitcase you can pull out a handle to pull with, this slides over the handle for easy carry or use shoulder strap or hand strap.  Either way, lots of options.

We love our coffee in the morning, but do not like hotel/motel coffee, and the coffee at most fast food places tastes terrible.  We finally invested in a coffee maker to take traveling or even camping.  It is electric, but so far works great.  Keurig single coffee makers are pretty expensive, and this works well for now.

The weather forecasters are saying we are in a big storm (severe with warnings) later today.  They are saying hail, chance of tornadoes, rain, wind and so forth.  I have water bottled for the chickens.  I am getting my day started and will make sure all the dishes are washed just in case we lose power.  I have my portable phone charger charged, and will be charging my neck lamp too.  I have oil lamps and have prepped for such a storm, but you just never know.

A message to those who froze fruit last summer/fall - go bake or make something.  I dug out some blueberries, and baked us a blueberry oatmeal breakfast bake.

Spring Weather and Spring Flowers and Tidbits

 

Yesterday I woke up to beautiful weather in the 60's and sunny.  I took advantage of it and washed a white bed cover and bed skirt.  I put more laundry out after that, but just my husband's.   Rain was still in the forecast off and on, but it all dried thankfully.  Next good day I will get more dried outside.

Spring Daffodils are up and more starting to bloom.  I wish I didn't have moles, or I'd have a ton of tulips as well.  

It's been a trying cycle of, move this to get that done or do that to get this done, and where did I put that or those?

It took me a while to find these felt pieces I bought to put under the bedroom dresser and night stands.  I still need to put some square ones under the bed as well.

More door trim was primed, and hopefully will be painted today.  I've unpacked the suitcase and we are getting moved back into the bedroom nicely.  The dresser has moved out of the master bath, we can clean in there and start using it again. 

There is dust everywhere, in the master bath, from the tile being removal in that one end of the bedroom.  It needs a good cleaning anyway.

I didn't even realize that Easter is this coming Sunday, until yesterday.  We are now invited to an Easter meal, and quite frankly the weekend is the only time we get any work done (unless we pay to hire someone else).  I would rather stay home and finish the bedroom.   I am in no position to cook/bake either.  I'd be happy with PB & J and some sliced apples.  We'll see what happens I guess.  

I'm starting to think. . .

 

Old ceiling fan.  The room has two of these, so this one still needs to come down.  It will be sent to scrap as it does not work correctly.  The other will be donated.

One ceiling fan went up, but after we painted the ceiling, so we'll need to pull the top metal piece down and touch up the paint.   The old ceiling fans were both about 16-17 years old, and they were used (not new) when the builders installed them.  The newer ones now have a hook on them, making it much much easier to wire in.  The new fans have reversible blades, so if we decide we don't like them this color, we can flip the blades to make them all white.

Although we got one completely installed, we got no where after that. He got the painted trim up around one door, and the battery on the nail gun died.  Our handy man had borrowed 3 batteries and a saw on Friday, and they were not returned until later yesterday.

We ran to town to beat the storm, and to get a few items we needed.  After that nothing got done.

My husband is putting the cart before the horse again.  He wants to move furniture back to the bedroom before the floor trim is installed, closet door installed, and other things that need finished first.

He's also expecting me to entertain a meal (today of all days), and my kitchen is completely full of donations, boxes of stuff from the bedroom, our suitcase we are still living out of, a bookshelf that needs to go upstairs......I can't.  I just can't do it.  The table is covered with "stuff" once again with the gutting of the bedroom etc.  I suggested we meet somewhere, and that was rejected.  I honestly want to work on the bedroom and stay home and get ahead on this project.

I'm starting to think that participating in a craft show this month was a bad idea.  I do not have room in the living room to bring all my completed inventory downstairs.  

Mental Break ~ Self Care Day

I took a day off to get a mental break so to speak.  Do we really get a complete day off?  I mean there is cooking, meal planning, dishes, laundry, dusting, sweeping floors.....the things we have to do to keep our home clean.

However, we have been going, going and going on this home repairs and renovating, and I noticed I was so exhausted.  

So what did I do to get a break? First, I gave myself a break from stressing over the messy house due to the work needed done.  I gave myself a pass so to speak and decided to not be so hard on myself for the condition of the house in whole.  In order to completely gut a room, the contents will end up in another room, making you feel overwhelmed, hence the "pass" on a messy home.

I disconnected with any social media.  I watched movies and finally (finally) finished our blanket for the living room.

I literally crocheted an entire day, sipped coffee and binge watched movies.  I dug out the bag of camper ornament pieces and got them all finished!  The list of the "unfinished" is finally dwindling.  The ornaments just need packaged for the craft show this month.

We are expecting bad weather today.  There were tornado warning last night in areas all around us, but thankfully we did not get hit with one here.

The forecast is rain and a wind advisory, so we won't be returning flooring supplies today.  It will be a bad day to haul anything in the bed of the truck. 

I may have convinced my husband to re-install bedroom door trim, and move our dresser out of the master bath, and start working on the carpet removal of the closet.  We'll see what we get done today ha ha!  It's almost a two day job, as the floor trim needs installed as well. 

This and That

 

I've been terrible at meal planning, but we brought home some tomatoes from our recent trip, and sliced them up.

We made BLT's.  I have no idea for the rest of the week yet.  Other than I boiled eggs for egg salad.

I managed to get that air mattress into the bag it came with.  It's not shutting all the way, but it's in the bag ha ha!

I think my husband and I decided we need a complete day off.  It may happen this weekend.  We'll see, but that would be nice.  I feel like we've been working on the house for the last two years now.  There are so many people jealous of our updates, but it all started because it needed to be done, not by random choice.

I'll admit, I am exhausted daily lately.  I don't even have energy to read a book, let alone crochet our blanket.  I was excited about garden season, but lately?  Not.  We do deserve a break now and then.

Update on Upstairs Flooring

 

I was told this is the best urine odor/stain remover for carpets, and other flooring.  I have been using it on the upstairs flooring, but you have to wait 24 hours to re-treat spots.  Our daughter was terrible at taking her dogs out.  Anyway, it's working, but we still plan to paint kilz on the flooring after I have the spots treated well.  We removed all of the carpet, so I cannot give a  review using it on carpet, but you can go to their website and read them from others.

I'm so busy downstairs, I often forget to go up there and treat spots.  Hopefully, we will wind down and get things in order, but this week is a whirlwind of activity.  

Yesterday was the perfect weather day to work out in the garden, but the ground is still too wet.  It's never been a problem, but has been the last few years.