I found the perfect couch today. I was going to wait until the 24th and go into the "big city" where the Goodwill's would be having their 50% off sale. But I decided instead to take our big truck with me into the little town where we do our grocery shopping, and check out the thrift stores to see what they had.
First off, I decided to buy a bookcase which was marked $31.25. Pressboard, but I thought it was an okay price. I should have pictures of it tomorrow, if everything goes as planned. When I got up to the register I saw a sign behind the cashier that said, "All Children's Clothing $0.75 each. Everything Else 50% Off". So I asked the cashier if *everything* was 50% off. She said it was. So my bookcase only cost me $15.63! I also bought two more frames, they were $1.13 and $1.37. They had shades of blue.
There was a couch there that I liked for the shape. See, I'd already decided color shouldn't affect my choice, since I could make a slip cover, hopefully for not too much. But this couch was $174.95. Too much, even at 50% off. I looked at a few more couches, each one more and more expensive. I contemplated purchasing the one for $174.95, but started looking around some more and found a couch for $99.95. It had shades of blue and was very pretty and clean looking. I took some measurements on it and called home to consult with ds2 and we decided to go for it. So it ended up costing $49.97. After I saw this pretty one, I decided the other one was going to require several hours of time making a slipcover, plus it was dirty looking.
After I paid for the bookcase and frames, I paid for the couch. I wasn't done yet though. I went looking around again and found a nice chair, that cost me $7.47. I initially purchased it to go with the new couch, since the colors are similar, but I may end up giving it to ds1, we'll see. I bought three more frames that I liked. I'm going to put pictures with frames in shades of blue and gold all over the accent wall. I can't wait to see how it looks!
While the man was loading up my furniture, I saw a VHS cabinet that I wanted, cost $6.63.
I decided to go home and unload, then change back to my Pathfinder. I love my little SUV. It has air conditioning and a wonderful stereo system. The big truck has neither, and it was getting pretty hot out today.
So I switched vehicles and took off again. I still had to buy groceries and run errands. On my way back, I decided to see if the lamp and end table I'd liked were still at the store. They were! The lamp was $4.25, complete with lampshade. The end table was $7.13. Then I drove back to Lowe's and bought a Minwax Wood Finish Stain Marker. $4.98. Once I got home, I spiffed up the end table with the stain marker, and shined the glass. It is a handsome looking end table, and the wood matches the wood pieces on the couch. Oh, and the lamp is blue, too!
All in all, a good day, full of blessings! The really cool thing is I asked the lady at the thrift store how often they have 50% off sales and she said not very often. I asked her if they had them at certain times and she said they never know when, the main office just calls them and tells them to do the sale. So I felt like God heard my prayers asking for a couch to match the livingroom colors, and he sent me looking on the 50% off sale day!
I hope to have some wonderful before and after pictures tomorrow and Sunday. I'm concentrating on the livingroom this weekend.
My right ear is now involved in this illness. It feels funny... clogged and like I might be getting an ear infection. I had ds2 put 3 drops of warm olive oil with garlic into my ear, hoping to stave off an infection. I also took 15 drops of grapefruit seed extract. I have been taking echinachea, vitamin C, and extra cod liver oil (Vitamin A). I'm also trying to get enough (more) sleep. My tonsils are less inflamed, but I did feel feverish today while running all over the place... Tomorrow I do have to leave the house to purchase hay and chicken feed, but I should then get to be home for the rest of the weekend.
Until next time.
Friday, March 16, 2007
New Couch
Labels: Home Improvement, My Faith, Sick
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Embarrassing Driving Moments
Labels: Song of the Day
Doggone it. I thought I had something to jot down quickly. I am tired, and I am having chocolate milk for dinner for the fourth time in the past ten days. My tonsils are still swollen, I just want to crawl into bed, but I need to take a shower! My tonsils were better this morning, but they start hurting more as the day goes on.
I REMEMBER! This morning I was driving to work and the sun was right in my eyes. I am RIGHT IN MY EYES: intense, bright and blinding. I was going through an area that is under construction, with the road winding and curving. The path changes every few days. Today I was blinded by the sun so badly that I ran over two road markers, they looked kind of like these except they were white with orange stripes. They were plastic and taller than my hood, but I ran them right over. Alarmed I came to a sudden stop and the cars behind me passed by me on the real path. I was embarrassed more than anything, but also grateful that I hadn't just ran over road markers into a giant hole in the road, or driven off a 1 foot dip or something worse.
Song of the Day: Face of the Earth by tobyMac (Portable Sounds, 2007)
BTW, I mainly got onto the computer to post my SOTD, since I did have one.
Until next time.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Oh, The Things They Recycle
Labels: Sick, Song of the Day
From a recycling company in "the big city". A HUGE pile of toilet paper remnants.
My tonsils have been getting better, but I awoke at 1:30am and could not fall back to sleep again until it was time to wake up at 3:30. I snoozed until 4am, but had to eventually get up. I don't get sick time since I'm not full time and I only have eight hours comp time that I am saving for the last Monday of this month. So off to work I went. My tonsils are still hurting, the right tonsil is worse today. Not getting enough sleep last night did not help. It sure felt good to get home and gargle with salt/cayenne water. I should have brought some to work with me. As it turns out, once I finally got up, I was VERY hungry. So that is probably what kept me awake and I forgot to just get up and have a glass of milk or something quick.
I'm trying to get into bed early tonight.
Song of the Day: All In by tobyMac (Portable Sounds 2007)
Until next time.
Monday, March 12, 2007
More Electricity
Labels: Song of the Day, Things You Don't See In The City
Over the past two or three weeks, new electrical poles have gone up on the main highway in my area. A new subdivision is going up and they need more power! I drive to work in the dark, so I didn't notice the poles being put in place, but finally noticed when the wires were draped from one pole to the next. It was very interesting watching how the heavy wires are hung. They use several pullies on each pole. Today they were taking the pullies off each pole. I was able to pull over and snap a photo of the three linemen in a row.
Song of the Day: No Ordinary Love by tobyMac (Portable Sounds 2007)
Until next time.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Living Room Paint Job
Labels: Home Improvement
Here's the living room before:
And after the paint job:
I don't feel well. My tonsils are still swollen and what do I decide to do with my day? Of the dozens of things I SHOULD have done, I decide to PAINT. How did that happen? Well, I was watering the goats and I walked past these buckets of paint and I wondered what colors were in the buckets. So I found one that looked dark green. I brought it up to the porch and when I finally got the lid pried off the bucket, I realized it was the grey-blue paint I'd bought years ago... and even used in the last home we lived in. I thought it would look sharp to paint just the one living room wall. I did paint the entire wall, top to bottom, side to side. Here's the desk side of the living room. Click here to see a before picture of the desk area. The difference is quite striking!
OH, and the old couch is gone. Those outdoor chairs are going to have to suffice until I can find a new (second hand) couch to fit in that spot. I am also planning to put pictures up in that wall area by the front door. What I really want to put there are some of dh's and my wedding photos, and some of the boys when they were babies. But
I think it looks really sharp. I just wish I'd chosen to spend my time doing something else today. And now what am I doing? Blogging, and I feel exhausted. I guess I'm going to lie down for half an hour, then get up and milk.
Until next time.
Relapse
Labels: blah blah blah, goats, Home Improvement, knitting, My Faith, Sick, Song of the Day
I'm sick again!! I seem to recall at least two people telling me I should be extra careful with myself in couple of weeks after being sick because it would come back on me again. Well, on Thursday evening my throat started feeling sore, this time my tonsils felt swollen. I began taking my "get well" stuff, to include echinachea/goldenseal, vitamin C, vitamin B, cod liver oil, and whatever else seemed logical. I have also taken some L-Lysine because I know it helps with healing mucous membranes. Speaking of mucous... I've also had to take that Guaifenesin stuff. It's supposed to help the mucous thin out. I don't know if I'm having more trouble for having used this stuff, but it seems like I've needed it every day. I'm also fully on my asthma meds (Flovent *and* Albuterol).
But so many things have happened in the past week. First off, dh will be back home with us in two weeks, we are all so happy that he will be back with us. It is hard to fill the shoes of another person who does a major portion of the household, yard and critter responsibilities!
Our air conditioner stopped working about a month ago. I discovered we should have something called a low ambient cooling kit on our unit since we run it year round, no matter how cold it is outside. Dh has mentioned it is "hard" on the unit to run during the winter, but I don't remember him ever mentioning the low ambient kit as a solution... anyway... we finally got the house cleaned up enough to feel comfortable having a guy come out.
About that... the first guy I called verbally attacked me during the conversation. First off, he charges $85.00 for a checkup on the system, and $65 per pound of freon. I'd called another place a week earlier and they charge $55 and $12 per pound of freon. I knew the $65/# was very expensive. After I got the information I needed I said I'd have to give him a call back. He then says to me, "You've already called twice before, are you going to have me come out and fix your AC or not?" I was flabbergasted and responded with, "Excuse me?" As the conversation went on, he demanded to know if I was working with another shop. Finally he seemed satisfied that I wasn't someone out to get him and he said, "Okay, I just wanted to make sure you weren't doing recon for another company." Whew. It was so distressing to me once I got off the phone I started crying a little bit. Wishing we could just wait until dh gets back home so he could take care of this for us.
Then I called the other guy who advertises in our local newspaper. He said he charges $59.95 and $28/# for freon. He was much nicer. We were still going to try to wait until dh got home, but then it got up into the high eighties and was nearly 90°F in the house. It was making all of us cranky, especially ds2. So I talked him into calling the guy out on Friday morning. He came out, and he was a really nice person. We ended up talking a bit, and come to find out his wife leads a church in town. We want to start attending church, and we might try this one out. We went by the church on Friday late afternoon and the daughter was there. She is probably 18 or 19 and getting ready to attend college. So back to the AC. It was kind of weird because he didn't actually fix the unit. I'd mentioned that dh can repair AC units, but he doesn't have the gauges, etc. So this guy says he would be happy to let dh use his tools. Dh doesn't understand why the guy would do that... but I think he was just trying to be nice and give us a break. So he ended up putting FIVE pounds of freon into our unit. From what I understand... if you need less than a pound in a year's time, that's almost normal. But five pounds? That means you have a leak. The guy told me there were two ways to find the leak, but it was expensive. So I guess because I didn't say "find the leak" he didn't want to charge us as much money as it would cost. He also thinks it still might be the inside coil is dirty, deep down in the coils and he told me about a cleaning solution that I could get from Home Depot, which he says is about $4.00 a can. But he charges $120 to do the cleaning, so he told me how to do it. It ended up being $8.xx per can, and he said to buy one for each side of the coil. We haven't tried cleaning it yet.
What was happening with our unit is the inside coils were freezing over, which was in turn causing the unit to run and run and run and run and in spite of running constantly the temperature in the house was staying the same. That's a very bad sign. Air conditioners are very costly, running into the thousands to replace. Most people don't understand all the care that goes into them and wonder why they break so often. It's because air conditioners need regular attention. We have been using these cheapy filters and I wanted to buy something that was washable and found these on the Internet. When I first saw them, they were $70 each and they recommend you buy two. I asked dh about it, and I'm glad I waited! Sheesh!! I was looking around at Walmart yesterday and found they have washable, reusable filters for under $4.00!!!! I bought two, so we can let one soak and be thoroughly cleaned and have a clean, dry one to put in.
Ds2 asked me when I was going to start doing a "Song of the Day". I guess I will start, but his SOTD is one for every single day that he posts. I don't see being able to keep up with one song every single day. So today's "Song of the Day" is tobyMac's Lose My Soul from the Portable Sounds album.
As a surprise for me on Wednesday, ds2 switched out my toilet for my new one. Unfortunately, it is flushing veeerrrryyyyy slowly. You can see here in the photo to the left how very close the water is rising to the top of the rim. We have done a bit of troubleshooting, but this might be one of those things that wait until dh returns. It could be a number of things wrong. Ds2 says the back part of the toilet foot is sitting on carpet, which could cause the carpet to be unbalanced, which could cause a slow flush. Or there could be something in the toilet pipes, which is causing a bit of a clog. The holes under the rim could be clogged, although I poked through each and every one of them with a nail. Anyway, lots of things we could try, but we haven't had the time or energy.
Ds2 has been cooking like a mad fiend all week long. He made himself a daily menu and stuck to it, really liked the idea and the ease - no stress each day "What's for dinner?" so he's asked me to generate a meal plan each week. AGH. Like I need one more thing to do. I figure if we have four week's worth of meal plans we can just do them over and over and over again. Right?
Let's see, he's made Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo ala Alton Brown. He also made my version of Posole, made with chicken instead of beef. The first time we had it was with a good friend, 
I believe it was her birthday and her neighbor made the dish for her, which was one of her favorites. That version was made with beef, but I prefer mine made with chicken breasts He's also made a very expensive, rich, but tasty Salmon with Cream Cheese Dip. Pineapple Upside Down Muffins, which brings me to another thing that happened this week. Ds2 cut his thumb pretty bad. I'll spare you the closeup, gory pics he took with the cut laid wide open. You can trust me, it was GROSS looking. He cut it with a serrated-edged knife whilst trying to open a jar of maraschino cherries. I was out milking and I heard this, "Raaahhhh!" sound from the porch. I thought... "Is he trying to scare me? What was that about?" He disappeared right away, and I put the girl away I was done milking and got the next one out. Then he comes to the porch again and yells, "Come see all the blood!" GREAT! I left the goat on the stand and went inside to see what was going on. He tells me he cut his thumb to the bone. He was letting it just bleed all over the place, so I asked him to rinse it so I could see how bad it was. I really don't think they do stitches in fingers or thumbs, so I told him I didn't think a visit to the ER was necessary. I had him rinse it, checked it out and then had him hold a paper towel to it. He said he wasn't feeling so good, so I had him sit down so he wouldn't faint on me. He was pale looking by that time. We got the bleeding to stop and I went back out and finished milking. When I came back in, I immersed the bucket of milk into the chilling bucket and did a bit of Internet research. I then took a trip to town for butterfly bandages, steri-strips and other assorted bandaging items, plus some finger cots (a small condom-type covering to place on your finger if you need to wash dishes and don't want the cut to get wet or exposed to bacteria while cooking).
I got my sister's birthday gift sent off to her in time to reach her on her birthday! I took a clock and made a new face for it, using a picture of her children when they were younger. A picture from four years ago. She loved it, and she cried when she saw it. She has it in her kitchen. I'm so happy she likes her gift.
On the knitting front... I've actually made a bit of progress on the newest baby sweater. I started out last week with a goal to knit for 30 minutes each evening, but that was really far too much relaxation time spent on knitting, for it was cutting into sleep time after all the chores were completed. I did get another few inches completed though. It takes me about 15 minutes to complete one inch. So it will be slow going on this one, but at least I'm staying with it. I have felt so crappy I haven't even had the strength to knit. Ugh.
I heard that a young lady who helps with blood draws for goats was in town yesterday. I asked to see if she could squeeze me in. Thank God, she never called. I do want to get all the goats tested again for CAE. The only little girl that we sold last year has come up positive for CAE. But the gal who owns her, had a lot of babies from that time period show positive for CAE. She called to let me know, and ask me if I wanted the little girl back. I told her we didn't. It is too hard to deal with. I'm pretty sure our herd is negative, as we keep a closed herd and the only doe we've brought in from was a CAE-free herd. However, we haven't tested for 2-3 years now. And this disease can pop up unexpectedly. Your does might be clean one year and positive the next, simply because immune systems are weaker and they succumb to the virus. At least, this is what I've heard.
On the FlyLady front. I've done NOTHING. I have been too tired, and sick. I have not even shined my sink in probably two weeks now. I have continued keeping ds1's room clean, and today is the day we clean his room again. I still feel tired this morning, and don't want to get any worse so I am not sure what all I'll get done today. Ds2 asked me yesterday, "Why do you put so much pressure on yourself to get things done? Why not take it easy?" Well, easy to say my dear son. He knows how much work it takes to keep this place going.
Let's see, anything else... oh yes. Yesterday I went to a rummage sale. I got a few things there.
Coffeemaker for dh. It's a Black and Decker Spacesaver model, $5. Hope it works! His old one leaks and make a black mess on the counter. There are eight of the glasses, $2.00 for the set. The Crockette was $1.00. The two necklaces and two bracelets were a quarter each. Both necklaces look well made and ds2 saw 14kt on the serpentine necklace. (I wonder if they are worth anything!?) There is a 14kt on the heart necklace, that one cost $0.75. There is a pair of hoop earrings that look like 14kt. I've been wanting a pair of hoops, but haven't wanted to pay the price for them. These were $1.00. My ears will be able to tell, since I can't wear anything less than 14kt or my ears start itching and turning red. A brand new, never been used Windows keyboard for $2. Always good to have a spare on hand. Two Reader's Digest magazines for ds2 which the lady let me have for free. I spent $16, or maybe $14... what else did I get? Hmmm... I think a couple of things were left out in the car.
Well, I think that about catches me up for now. So many more things happened, like on Friday it was so hot that the critters drank up all their water and when we got home after being gone for six hours their buckets were turned over and bone dry. Now we have to get either more water buckets in the pens or start filling them every single day. And now it's time to throw hay.
Until next time.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Row Counter and Toilet Exchange
This is going to be a quick one... I have to work tomorrow, and need to get into bed. I was having the dickens of a time keeping track of my rows on the knit baby sweater. I was using tiny gold safety pins, but they were cumbersome. I remembered seeing something on a blog I read, Crazy Aunt Purl, about this row counter she'd made. I think she made one? Or maybe just thought it was neat. Anyway, the beaded row counter is made by Turtlegirl76.
I already had the tools. The "charm" kit cost under $2.00, as did the large assortment of beads. So about $4.00 and I can make as many row counters as I'll ever need. My pattern is four rows long, so I made mine for counting four rows.
Here is the progress I've made on the sweater. This is the back. I have to do 9 or 10 inches worth of rows.
And here's a closeup of the beaded row counter:
I had a full day today. Ds1 and I worked on his room again to make it pretty, and he took a shower. I got the steers' mineral tub in place. I also secured this big black bucket thing to the fence so I can feed them their hay in that, and I raked up the hay from under two pallets and fed the leftover hay to the steers. The last time we just shoved all the leftover hay in a pile to the side, what a waste!!
I fixed the goat gate, it was hanging by a nail or two and about to come loose. I also tightened the screws on the chicken pen door. I went grocery shopping to four stores and spent a LOT of money.
And last but not least, we did get the main bathroom toilet switched out yesterday. The fuzzy toilet seat cover was on clearance $3.50 and the floor rug was also $3.50. I bought a new shower curtain rod today, as the one currently being used falls down very often. I'm going to sew a new shower curtain, probably from a flat sheet, hopefully next weekend.
Until next time.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Livingroom Curtains Finished!
Labels: Home Improvement
The top valance is done. The old valance measured about 185 inches. My material was 60 inches wide, so I went with 180 inches.
The new blinds and the new curtains are complete and in place! This project took me about 6 hours total. The blind hooks were already in place, but I had to replace the ones on the left side because they were old and cracked when I tried to tighten them.
And here's what the curtains look like closed. I think I may need to buy another layer of thicker material and attach it to the back of the curtains to protect them from sun damage. It won't take too many days of hot summer sunshine bearing on the windows, even with blinds in place, before this material will fade.
Total cost for this project:8 yards materials $8.00
2 curtain rods $1.94
2 - 29" blinds $7.94
Tax $1.54
Total $19.42
Until next time.
Friday, March 02, 2007
The Baby In The Baby Sweater
Labels: crocheting, Home Improvement
My sis loves the baby sweater for her little one. She sent me an email today, with pictures. What a cute little boy.
I did finally start on the new baby sweater that I'm knitting. I have about 1 1/2" done so far.
I also am up very late tonight, because I started on my living room redecorating project. I bought a "Webster" from the local Ace Hardware. They are regularly $8.99, but on sale this month for $4.99. I came home last night and took down all the living room cobwebs. We had an overabundance, and I don't think anyone has removed cobwebs since we moved in here about five years ago. Seriously. Hubby loves the Daddy-Long-Leg spiders, actually going so far as to stun flies and toss them up into the spider webs. I don't mind spiders, but these cobwebs were so dusty and filthy no self-respecting spider would ever dare to call them home. So they are now removed.
So the project I started on tonight... replacing the sad looking living room window covering. Yes, that is a mattress pad. ROTFLOL.
The valance at the top is filthy, covered with dust and cobwebs. There is only one blind, and it's filthy and dusty as well.
When we moved in here, we invested in window tint and tinted all the windows in an attempt to keep our place a bit cooler. It did help quite a bit.
Anyway, I found some really pretty navy blue material at $1/yard from Walmart, which I'm going to make into curtains. I completed the top valance tonight, but I will wait to share pictures tomorrow, when I'm finished with the rest of the curtains, and have the new blinds in place.
On the list for this weekend is the boys' bathroom. I don't think there will be any before pictures... it's really a raging mess... I am hoping ds2 will help me replace the toilet. I've also bought a towel rack, toilet paper holder set from Walmart, cost only $8.97 which is going in their bathroom, too. I also bought a fuzzy toilet seat cover and the little carpet that goes in front of the toilet on the floor. I can't wait to see how different it looks. Maybe I'll take some before pictures, which don't show too much of the mess.
Well, it's now almost 10:30pm and I'm exhausted, so I have to get into bed. I think I'll have some Ovaltine.
Until next time.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Stolen Phone
Labels: PTL
One of our cell phones was stolen over the weekend. I found out at 5 o'clock this morning and called our phone service provider immediately. The lady I spoke with suspended the phone number and informed me any charges to the phone prior to the time I'd called in to report it stolen would be our responsibility.
I was wracking my brain trying to think of how I could get an old phone, and thought about my sister and my MIL. But it was still too early in the morning to call either of them. Then I remembered my employer participates in a cell phone recycling program and people donate their old phones to us. We usually make from $1.00 to $4.00 on each phone turned in. So I thought I'd go through the current box of donations and see if there was a phone I could borrow for a few weeks. There was. Only it didn't come with the phone charger. It uses the same charger my phone uses, which was convenient, but my phone charger was at home. So I decided to ask some of my coworkers if they had a charger with them. I asked our janitor first, who actually lives across the street from our job. Her charger was the exact one I needed to use. I got the phone charged up and put my SIM card into it, to see if it worked and all the numbers dialed, etc.
Next step, buy a new SIM card. They cost $20. I went to the nearest phone store and explained our situation, and said I'd be buying a new phone in a few weeks, but just wanted to buy a SIM card for now. The guy takes my information, goes and gets a SIM card, puts it in and says, "There you go, you're all set." I said, "Thanks!" turned and caught myself, realizing I hadn't paid. I told him I hadn't paid and he said, "Oh, no charge." PTL.
So I got that all taken care of. Later on today I decided to call and see if any long distance phone calls had been made. So the representative looks and says no phone calls have been placed on the phone since Friday. I sighed a breath of relief... then she says, "However, yesterday they downloaded 14 ring tones and 7 games which cost $97." OUCH!! Then she says she is going to refund those charges as a courtesy to me. She said she could only reimburse the ring tones and I'd have to talk to someone else about the games, but she said just explain our situation and she couldn't make any promises but hopefully they could help me out. The next guy I talked to was more than happy to take the charges off. Wow. I was so thankful. Both of them told me that is the new thing that people are doing now, who steal phones. They download ringtones and games to try to drive up the bill as fast as they can to make trouble for the owner of the phone.
So a potential $120 more debt today, down to nothing. I feel very blessed and thankful to God for this blessing today.
Until next time.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Necessity is the Mother of Invention
Labels: Home Improvement
I got some more work done on ds1's room today. Finally felt well enough to proceed with the redecorating I've been doing for him in there. I still want to paint his room and I'm thinking of getting the paint matched to the cream color of his bedding, with some of the darker maroon for the door frame. Maybe.
Here is a laundry list of what we did in his room today:
Changed the door handle to one with a keyed lock, and just a round knob. Our cat Tiger knows how to open this type door knob, so ds1 had resorted to piling bricks against the inside of his door to prevent the cat coming into his room. He has one lone rat in there (in a cage) so he doesn't want the cats in his room. Since his room has a lot of mice activity, obviously the cats want in there.
The door stop was just hanging by what I don't know. So I tacked 
that firmly into place. I also put down a threshold. That involved locating the hack saw, no small feat... but I did find it, and hack-sawed the threshold down to 28 inches. Since the door stop goes all the way down to the floor, I had two choices. Either cut a little square into the aluminum threshold (lots of hack-sawing) or use the hacksaw to take out the bottom of the door stops. I opted to remove the bottom 5/8" of the door stops. I have an arrow pointing to the door stop in the picture to the right.
The threshold just barely fit under the door stops, so I had to tap it into place with the hammer. I tucked the carpet in his room under the threshold. I know this threshold isn't the kind one should use in between a bedroom and hallway... but it was the least expensive one ($10) and I needed one that was wide enough. It looks so sharp now!
Then we stripped his bed and got his bedding into the washing machine. We changed the litter pan on his rat's cage. Thanks to ds2 that was an incredibly easy and simple job. When we did the major cleaning on ds1's bedroom, ds2 put a garbage bag around the litter pan. What a great idea. I'm so glad he did that. I followed his example and replaced the bag. I changed out his blinds. I bought new ones from Lowe's, they were only $3.97. It's easier to replace them than try to clean them!
Next I went to work on the curtain idea I'd had. Ds1 doesn't use the flat sheet on his bed and his bed is too low to the ground for the bed skirting to work. So I took the skirt off the bed skirting and made a valance curtain. Then I took the flat sheet and used the decorative section which is supposed to go at the top of the bed near the pillows, as the bottom design for the curtain. A friend of mine recently commented on how much easier it was to sew when she ironed her seams. 
Since the material needed ironing, I decided to try that little tip. Wow. It really made a big difference.
Now the invention part... well, I didn't have any curtain rods. So I went out and got the baling wire. I don't know how anyone can live without baling wire. It's even better than duct tape!!
I put two screws in the wall. One for the valance curtain, the other one for the lower curtains. Then I bent the end of the baling wire and fed it through the top of the curtain. Hooked the wire to one screw then the other. Voila! I had to put a screw in the middle at the top because the curtains were sagging, but the extra screw took care of the problem. Ds2 was helping me by this time, and had put in several of the screws. I had him put two more near to the middle so I could put up the window sashes (I think they are called sashes - the piece of material that you use to draw back the curtains).
OH, and I figured out how to use my sewing machine's button holer. It is a Greist Automatic Buttonholer. Anyway, pretty nifty tool.
Now to start cleaning up the living room. We haven't done the "House Blessing" in three weeks! What a disaster area!
Until next time.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
The Too Big Swatch
Labels: Aggravation, knitting
The pattern calls for size US 6 needles. Since I don't own hardly any knitting needles, just to be safe I bought not only size 6, but also size 5 and size 7. I started the gauge swatch with the size 6 needles. Too wide. 1/2 inch to wide. I went down to the size 5 needles. Guess what? Still 1/2 inch too wide!! So then I went looking in my stash, I knew I had another pair of needles but wasn't sure of the size. They were size 3. So I started a third swatch. Well, the width is just a bit wider than 4", but now the length is almost five inches!!
Now what do I do? 
Do I just try to knit tighter? Won't that be a pain as I try to knit tightly throughout the entire sweater? Aren't I going to find myself off guard - heaven forbid - actually relaxing - and knit too loosely again?
You know what one of my pet peeves is? When people say loose when they mean lose. Like, I'd like to loose ten pounds. I suppose that could make some kind of sense, but it's not "LOOSE" people, it's "LOSE".
Okay, end rant.
Maybe I should try to find a forum that continental knits and ask there. I found a neat YouTube video today: Continental Knitting Demo
Okay I'm watching it again... she's talking about having more tension on the yarn. Maybe that's part of my problem? She also made a comment about how continental knitters knit more loosely as a general rule. She says that she always has to go down at least two sizes when starting a pattern. Like if the pattern calls for US 6, she automatically begins her swatch with size US 4.
I have not cleaned house or done dishes in days. Ds2 has been keeping up with the kitchen and he also defrosted and emptied the big freezer to make room for the beef. I just HAD to take a day off today and do nothing. I'm still not feeling 100% and I keep having a bit of a sinus headache. But my breathing is WAY better. I was having to use my Flovent twice daily (I can usually get by fine with only 1x/daily) and having to use my rescue inhaler (Albuterol) up to 4 times daily.
I am hoping to get some more work done on ds1's bedroom tomorrow. I am going to make a curtain for him out of the flat sheet, and I bought new blinds to replace his old filthy dusty ones. I also bought him a new locking door knob, with one of those things you put at the threshold of the door, under the door? Because the carpet in the hallway and his new carpet don't exactly meet up, so I want to cover that up.
I'm tired.
Until next time.
Purl - Continental Style
Labels: knitting
Well, I started the gauge piece. I'm supposed to knit 30 rows, but I can already see I'm at least too wide. 22 stitchs of stocking stitch by 30 rows should equal 4 inches, but my 22 stitches by about 8 rows is 4.5" wide. So I'm going to move down to the next smaller sized needle.
I also totally forgot how to purl!! I went to try and find my favorite page on how to continental purl, but I cannot find it! It was on about.com but now it doesn't seem to be there anyplace. I searched and searched. Then I began searching for an illustrated or photo tutorial for continental purl, but had a hard time finding anything that was helpful. I finally found a site called knittinghelp.com which has a bunch of little movies to watch on how to do the stitches. I knew something was wrong with my technique because when I went back to the knit side, the stitches were twisted and tight. So I asked ds2 to help me make my very own photo tutorial. Okay, first photo. I'm holding the yarn on the front side of my needle.
I asked ds to stand behind me and take the pictures... um, that's not exactly what I meant... can you see the hay in my hair??
Okay, insert the needle through the front of the stitch.
I'm using my thumb to hold the stitch in place.
So as to not confuse myself, I took a picture of the yarn in the down position, so that I will hopefully remember that it has to go up and over the needle.
Okay, take the yarn up over the needle (or the needle under the yarn, whichever way you prefer to think of it). This part is very important. If you do this the wrong way, once you turn to the other side to do your knit stitches, it will be difficult to get your needle into the stitch. If you find it is difficult, if it seems like the stitch is just too tight, you have probably done this part wrong.
Now take your needle over the yarn, then through the stitch on the needle.
It's kind of hard to see in this photo, but the yarn is wrapped snug around the needle, ready to be pulled through.
Until next time.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Thank You Thirteen, We Love You
Labels: knitting, Ranch, Self-Sufficiency
I remember what beef tasted like years ago, when I was a child. In the past decade or so, it has started tasting really awful, a liver flavor. About a year ago, when dh and I were shopping we had a conversation with the meat guy and he said the reason why meat doesn't taste like it used to is because they don't dry age the beef anymore. They cut the meat and put it in plastic and send it to the store. It ages as it travels!
So on February 5th, we had one of our beef picked up... we called her "13" because her ear tag number was 5116. 
The butcher told us "13" was on the lean side. Her hanging weight was 320 pounds. He said as a result, of course we'd get less meat back. The cost for processing was $204.00. Having her delivered to the plant cost $100. We estimate the cost for hay to be at least $1200. At least $150 in milk. $20.00 in water.
I picked up our beef today. We added up all the cuts of meat, and the weight came to 226. So with those figures, the meat adds up to $7.40/pound.
We barbequed rib steaks, round steak and two t-bones.
OH.MY.GOSH. OH. The taste. Incredibly delicious. I have not tasted meat this good in such a long time. I made a real pig of myself tonight. I must have eaten close to a pound of meat. It was so tender and so tasty.
The only problem with having such a "lean" and small beef is the cuts are all miniature-sized. SIL and MIL helped with money toward this venture and SIL is going to be so excited to see the tiny cuts of meat, lol. The t-bones you see in the photo to the left are about 8 ounces each and are about the size of a deck of playing cards, LOL!!!
I talked with the butcher today and he says to me, "Next time you do this, you should try to grow them a little bigger." ROTFLOL. I chuckled and said, "Well, how do I do that?" He didn't really have an answer, but instead told me how much the steer in the back weighed, the ones he just had delivered from a feedlot. And he also told me about raising his own steer and how they weighed in at 1100 pounds live weight. I asked him how much he fed his steer and he tells me *two* flakes of hay a day. Our three were getting *eleven* a day for the past four months!!!
I bought some yarn today, with a pattern included. I'm going to knit a baby sweater! I can't wait to cast on. I bought the size needles I needed, plus a size smaller and a size larger.
I also had an idea of what I'd love to do. I'd love to open a yarn store. I would just love to do that. My town doesn't have one, but it is one of the fastest growing cities and we just got a Starbucks, and it is filled with yuppies. I am sure it would be a hit. I was thinking I should start writing up a business plan and just see if I could get a small business loan.
Until next time.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Maybe Dead Trees?
Labels: Gardening, geek-stuff
The only one that seems to be alive is the apple tree... the citrus trees have crispy yellow leaves... the peach tree is totally leafless... I do hope they come back to life as it grows warmer. The garden is still alive. I am hoping to find some time to work on it this weekend. I need to do some weeding, and those radishes need to be removed.
Until next time.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Milk Time
[Place your cursor on the bottom right corner of the right page to turn the pages of the book]
Once upon a time there were five puppies who loved their raw goat's milk. All five puppies were very good and anxious for their milk so they all learned to sit and stay seated until Mommy poured the milk. It sometimes took a minute or two for them all to get seated at once, but they were able to do it. Good puppies.
Mommy finally poured the milk for the good puppies. But now Mommy had to take a picture of all the good puppies, so they had to wait longer for their milk. Mouths were watering and one puppy, the only boy, gave Mommy a mournful look, begging with his eyes for Mommy to say, "OKAY!" so everyone could have the delicious milk.
Finally, Mommy said, "OKAY!"
All the puppies started lapping up their milk quickly, except for one little puppy who had learned many weeks ago that Mommy leaves some milk in the bucket. When Mommy saw that this little puppy had learned that, she began leaving this little puppy's share of milk in the bucket. None of the other puppies have figured this out, even the little boy puppy, who is very smart indeed.
The End.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
He's Got The Whole World In His Mouth
Last night, ds2 was bouncing an earth made of beach ball material in the air and LJ was bouncing all over my bed trying to get it from him. Ds2 bounced it into the living room and there went LJ, tromping off the bed to get it. We were not sure if the "world" would make it, due to LJ's teeth, but he very gently grasped it betwixt his canines and brought it right back to us.
I had a chance to take LJ with me in to work on Friday. I was only there for about a half an hour and I think I'm going to see if I can get permission to start bringing him to work with me on Mondays. I'm going to start working Mondays beginning the last Monday of this month.
Almost everyone who meets him gushes and exclaims at how beautiful, and how well behaved he is. I met a friend of dh's on Friday, and his wife was there, too. I was trying to get LJ back in the truck and so dh was on the passenger side calling to him, while I was on the driver's side. Dh's friend was on the driver's side and goes, "Awwwwwwww" looking at LJ. His wife came around and said, "What?" He pointed to LJ and the wife starting Awwwwing, too. LOL. They kept saying how beautiful he was and they asked what kind of dog was he. I told them he was a pitbull and that we had always said we would NEVER own a pitbull, but we were asked to foster him and we fell in love with him. They said their dog had just run away a couple weeks ago, I got the impression they had a pitbull, too. They asked how old he was and they commented on how well behaved he was. I told them we are pretty big Dog Whisperer fans and I attribute LJ's good behavior to him. They like Dog Whisperer, too, so they could relate.
The only problem that day was due to a mistake I made on Thursday. I hadn't thought that far ahead, about bringing LJ into town with me. So when the hens gave us 15 eggs, I gave each dog one egg. LJ must have gotten some of the other dogs' eggs, because boy did he have bad gas all day long on Friday.
It was so funny. I was in one coworker's office and LJ had gas. I told her and apologized and explained about the eggs. She was nonchalant and said, "Oh, that's what dogs do." Okay. Good. No fuss. But then by the third time and the smell was filling her entire office she said maybe we'd better get going now. LOL.
Until next time.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Happy Valentine's Day!
I went in to work today for a few minutes, and discovered that dh had conspired with his mother to have flowers delivered to my job. It was supposed to be a surprise, but of course I was at home sick. We don't usually celebrate holidays... but the past few weeks have made me realize how just much I love my dh and a couple of weeks ago I told him I wanted to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, and asked him if he could get something for me. I have learned that it is better to ask, than to have expectations, and end up feeling disappointed because my mind wasn't read.
The flowers are really beautiful. I changed the water tonight, and cut the stems diagonally.
Thank you dh and to my really sweet MIL.
Until next time.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Homemade Egg Noodles
Labels: chickens, recipes, Sick
I have been making homemade chicken soup since I got sick last Friday... well, three batches and I have one more chicken thawed out. I've been making chicken salad sandwiches with the extra chicken.
On the first night that I made chicken soup, I also made homemade egg noodles.
The recipe I followed was from my old La Leche League cookbook. Very simple and easy. I paid ds2 to milk, feed and water on Saturday night, while I stayed inside and made dinner. Chicken vegetable soup with egg noodles.
Especially since our hens are laying again. They were on strike again and didn't lay for about three weeks. We actually had to break down and buy eggs from the grocery store (four dozen).
Anyway, crack two eggs in a bowl, scramble well. Mix in 1 teaspoon salt. Now mix in some flour - between 1.5 to 2 cups until the dough is pliable. Don't knead, just mix it together well. Roll it out on a floured surface until the dough is about 1/8th of an inch thick (or thicker if you prefer a thicker, more dumpling-type noodle). Use a pizza slice cutter to cut the noodles to your preferred length and width.
I like to strain the broth from my soup temporarily, bringing the broth/stock to a boil to cook the noodles. They take seconds to cook. You can tell when they are done because they float. You can also remove a noodle from the pot and taste it for doneness.
Until next time.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
I Lost My Balloons!
Labels: Memory Lane, My Faith, Sick
Not today. When I was five years old.
My Grandpa brought some balloons over to our house for me. I don't remember if it was my birthday... it could have been my birthday as the weather was fair out. There were several and they were helium balloons.
I don't know what possessed me, but while my mom was napping on the couch, I took my balloons out in the front yard and let... them... go... Ohhhh!! I was very upset, I ran in to rouse my mom, and I remember crying and crying about my balloons. I seem to recall that she didn't get up, so I ran back outside and watched them float all the way up into the sun.
I had nightmares for YEARS and YEARS over my lost balloons. Even today, when I see balloons floating away, it conjures up feelings inside me. Feelings of great regret and angst from what I said to myself as a small child and for years during those nightmares, "How stupid could I have been? Why didn't I just reach out and grab them? Why didn't I just grab the string?!" I wonder if perhaps my mom said those very words to me? I seem to recall trying hard to wake her up and she wouldn't get up.
Anyway, so ds1 and ds2 are both sick with the cold that I had, except that theirs turned into really bad sore throats, with coughing. I decided to take them in to the doctor instead of wondering and hoping they were going to be okay. Ds1 had a rash on his face which really made me wonder what was going on with him. He wasn't quite as sick as ds2 yet. Ds2 was dying of the sore throat pain. We tried all kinds of over-the-counter meds, none seemed to do much for him.
While at the clinic, waiting to get my ds1 and ds2 signed in, a little boy was holding onto a Valentine's Day balloon... helium filled... he was moving his arm up and down, bobbing the balloon in the air, and suddenly... he let go of the balloon!! Oh no!!! The balloon floated up, way up high to a part of the clinic that had very high ceilings. The poor baby starting crying and his heart was just broken. His pregnant mother was talking to someone at the clinic and did not even notice the crying, sobbing, angry little boy at her feet. I couldn't stand to hear him crying, so I went over to the mother. I asked her first, "Do you speak English?" She said she spoke just a little bit of English. So I went on and asked her if she bought the balloon for her little boy and did she know how much they cost? The lady that she'd been talking to translated as I spoke to her. She said someone had given her little boy the balloon, so she didn't know how much they cost. So I offered her a five dollar bill and asked her if she would please buy him another balloon and I asked her to please tell him that she was going to buy him another one, so he wouldn't cry anymore. He seemed to cheer up after she told him she was going to get him a new balloon, and I patted him on the head and told him it would be okay now, mommy will get a new balloon for you.
Another lady who worked at the clinic saw him crying, and she tried to see if they had a ladder, but couldn't locate one. She ended up getting two books for him to take home with him.
The physician's assistant did a quick strep test and the results came back showing positive for ds1, of which they say his rash is a symptom. Both boys are now on antibiotics for the next ten days. The PA asked ds2 if his throat feels like he is swallowing glass and he said it did. She said she had this same cold just last week, so she was really empathetic to the pain they were in.
I have to give thanks to God for the fact that I didn't get as sick as the boys. I am sleep deprived due to them being sick, and being up during the night with them, but I did not get the sore throat and I am able to keep going and doing everything I have to get done. Like milking for example. It would be very difficult to be as sick as the boys are, and still get milking done every evening. I have taken the entire week off at work. I don't have the comp time to do this... but I will make it up. I am going to work for a few hours from home tomorrow to try to get some of the billing completed.
Until next time.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Sick Again Already
Labels: blah blah blah, FlyLady, My Faith, Sick
I normally don't get sick for a year or two at a time. I was sick with a head cold back in October and now here I am sick with a head cold again. I know why, because I haven't been taking care of myself properly. By that I mean I haven't been getting enough sleep, and have been drinking coffee just to stay awake.
My typical day for the past couple weeks has been getting up at 3:30am, I'm driving and away from home for 11.5 hours, coming home milking, then getting to bed at 9pm if I'm lucky. On Friday night I started feeling like my throat wasn't right. Just a bit scratchy. This has been my last 24 hours.
5am - 7am Cleaned kitchen, swept floor. The kitchen wasn't too bad, but it did take me 2 straight hours! I have not been able to "shine the sink" this entire past week. Daily upkeep makes a HUGE difference in weekend cleaning time.
7am - 7:15am Threw hay.
7:15am - 9:30am Sleeping.
9:30am - Noon Finished knitting the scarf I started on Friday. Don't remember what I was doing but I was up and awake and busy.
Noon - 3pm More Sleeping.
3pm - 8pm Awake. Helped ds2 clean coils on the outside part of the air conditioning unit. Cooked dinner (chicken soup with homemade egg noodles). Paid ds2 (who was not showing any signs of being sick yet) to milk. Watched a terrible Pay Per View movie called _Crank_. Yuck.
8pm - 2:30am Sleeping.
2:30am - 4:00 Hungry, warmed up some chicken soup. Computer time.
4:00am - 7:15am Asleep.
7:15am - 7:30am Threw hay.
7:30am - 8am Tidied up, vacuumed ds1's bedroom. Washed his bedding. He did very good this week. Not even *one* dish in his room! And he used his garbage can all week long. Very nice job.
8:00am - 11:00am Not sure what all I did... but do remember one outstanding thing. I sewed with my new machine. I made a cover for the top of the sewing machine cabinet, to keep it looking new. My new machine is incredible and amazing. I can only say the smoothness of it makes me think of cutting through butter. The motor is quiet and it is so smooth.
11:00am - 3:20pm Back in bed, more sleeping.
3:20pm to now Some computer time. Also dragged the old three story rat cage off the porch. Started my clothes in the washer. Heated up some cream of chicken soup for ds2 who is now sick and very thrilled about it. He's the weirdest person. He longs to be sick and looks forward to it. He got lucky this time. Normally he doesn't get sick. He's been sick maybe 8 times in his 17 years. I attribute his strong immune system to two things. Extended breastfeeding, and no vaccinations.
I was stressing because our air conditioner is not working. It is icing up on the coils. We cleaned the coils both inside and out. We were so excited to see how dirty the outside coils were, because we were sure that was causing the unit to ice up. But alas, once we got it all nice and clean, the unit still started icing up and is not cooling the house down. It just runs and runs and runs. I have learned more about air conditioning units in the last few weeks than I've ever known in my entire life. What with dh not being here, he is the one that usually keeps up with the maintenance on the a/c unit.
Speaking of another thing dh does, the oil changes on my vehicle. Now that ds2 is sick, he isn't going to be able to change the oil this weekend for me. I think I'm already past 5000 miles. Agh. Now is not the time to start falling down on oil changes - my odometer just turned over 200,000 a month or so ago, and now it's close to 204,000. We've been very faithful with oil changes at 3000 to 4000 miles for the entire time we've owned it. It has been a wonderful, reliable vehicle. I would always recommend Nissan Pathfinders. Mine is the 1996 model. Very lovely vehicle. The nicest I've owned in my entire life.
I just talked to ds2 and asked him how long he thinks we can go without the air conditioner. Reason being, it is stressing me out because I'm sick, he's sick and I don't want anyone coming into our home without a bit more work on our part. The boys' bathroom still needs some serious attention. It is a terrible mess. I wouldn't want to have someone come over and need to use the toilet and see that disaster area. Also, ds2 did some decluttering in the livingroom yesterday, cleaning out a shelving unit and threw away four bags of "stuff". It was really annoying as I was on the computer for the first time in days and he kept asking me if he could throw this or that away. He was behind me, so I had to keep turning all the way around to see what he was talking about. He did a great job decluttering though and even cleaned up and vacuumed the living room after he was done. So the living room is fairly clean. Except he put four bags of garbage on the back porch, which is the main entryway to our home. And the garbage can is already full. So I have nowhere to put that garbage. Plus 2-3 loads of bedding and clothing from last week's cleaning of ds1's room is still sitting on the porch.
See I was thinking I need to get someone out immediately, since it is already starting to heat up here. But ds2 said he didn't think we'd call anyone out for a couple of weeks at least. That really takes a big load off my mind. Because now I don't have to force myself to clean the boys' bathroom, the porch, etc.
It's time like these that I embrace my faith, refusing to let life get me down. This is all I need, is to be sick. I have always thought the reason I rarely get sick is because of my devotion to getting the proper hours of sleep for my body. I have been running myself ragged the past couple of weeks, and now it's time for me to cut way back on the things I'm doing. As much as I hate the thought of it, I am going to have to. There is also the worry of getting so very ill like I was back in the summer of 2002.
Did I mention here yet that my job finally approved my extra day each week? That's what you call cutting back, yessiree. ;-)
Seriously, we need the money. Speaking of money, I haven't had time to look at our money for weeks again. I have no idea how much we owe and to whom. I should get off this computer now.
One more thing. I'm doing all I can to keep this virus from getting any worse than it is now. It basically feels like a head cold and I'm just really tired. Every time I exert myself physically I start to sweat and then I get really worn out tired. Even sitting at the sewing machine made me really tired.
Until next time.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Room Makeover
Labels: FlyLady, Home Improvement
Yesterday ds2 and I tackled ds1's room. Dh and I removed the carpet several months ago, and we never got it replaced as planned. Yesterday, I couldn't take it another minute. I made up my mind I was getting flooring down for him one way or another. Initially I was thinking linoleum since carpet can so easily be dirtied, but since the subfloor was now dirty and stained, it wasn't going to be easy or cheap. I considered buying sheets of particle board and laying a new subfloor, but that would take more time and money. Then laying the linoleum tiles one at a time. I started thinking carpet, even without padding underneath would be better than just subflooring. Anyway, ds2 got that laid. It cost $75.00 from Home Depot. Not bad! I also bought ds1 a new set of bedding, and a new rat cage.
He always gets mad at whoever tries to clean his room - because he thinks he does an appropriate job. But he does not, so we have to help him stay on top of it. In the past few weeks I'd fallen short on that responsibility, so things had gotten a bit out of hand in his room.
But now it's all pretty and nice. He was very thrilled at his nice new room. His room is getting added to the FlyLady routine.
Until next time.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Leanin' Tree Cards
Labels: Bargain Hunting, Memory Lane
I went into a little shop (downtown in the big city) on Thursday just to see what they had in the store. When I got in there, I saw an elderly man and assumed him to be the owner. I have this thing about supporting small business owners, and immediately started wondering what little trinket I could buy that wouldn't damage my credit card too much. You know I have the same feeling at yard sales. This obligation to "buy something" and not just be a "Lookie Lou".
As I browsed, I came across these incredibly beautiful cards...
I have been dismayed at how expensive cards are starting to be, even from Walmart. You can get cheapie $0.99 cards, but if you want even a halfway decent nice one you're looking at three dollars and up. I bought a Hallmark Valentine's Day card for my dh there yesterday which cost $3.34.
I have found that you can get a fairly nice card from "dollar" stores, but they are mostly pastel and vanilla-type cards. Not bad for a dollar, but if you want something spectacular, try and find an outlet that sells Leanin' Tree.
While at the feedstore yesterday, I noticed they had the Leanin' Tree Valentine's Day cards for sale (the other little shop didn't have them in stock yet). Then I realized they always sell Leanin' Tree but I hadn't taken much notice of the cards on previous visits since they sell mostly the cowboy/cowgirl versions, which wouldn't be something I'd be interested in giving (the one I linked to is mild, some are rather risque or disgusting). I bought two of the Valentine's Day cards (which were not cowboy/cowgirl).
This morning I decided to go online to the Leanin' Tree site to check them out. The cards I saw in person retailed starting at $2.49, but online, they are all $1.85. Plus they have an offer if you buy 20 cards, you get 10 free. I'm seriously considering buying my cards here this year. I have always wanted to be organized with sending birthday cards to family, but I usually only get cards sent to my mom, and my three of my four sisters. I always send Mother's Day cards to my mom and all my sisters, my mother-in-law and my grandma. My MIL bought me a "card organizer" for Christmas. It has a folder for each month, with places to write birthdays on each folder. Anyway, I figure the cards would end up costing me $1.465 each ($1.85/each for first 20, plus you get 10 more free, $6.95 s/h). Maybe I could finally get it together this year! They do restrict the offer somewhat, you can't buy Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Cards. But that leaves Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthdays, get well cards, anniversaries, etc.
Which reminds me. I made this really cool Christmas gift for my mom one year. I took photos of everyone in the family, or got photos from them to scan, and then I put together a calendar (found online from Microsoft Templates which uses Word) with photos for each person for that month, and their name on their birthdate. My mom LOVED that calendar and has since asked for another one each year. (I'm the bad daughter, I have never made her another one since). Okay, hold up. I just went to Microsoft Templates to see about downloading the 2007 photo calendar and they have two available - one Monday through Sunday (*WHO* uses a calendar that goes Mon-Sun?), but they BOTH require Word 2007. I barely got Word 2003 last year. Sheesh.
I was thinking about creating a calendar for my mom, for a late Christmas gift. I did recently order color cartridges for my printer... but now it would really become a labor of love since I'd have to use this 2005 template, and repopulate the dates... or maybe there is someplace else online to download a template similar to this one? I have downloaded this one, in case Microsoft Templates stops offering it.
I bought this card for a friend of mine who just got both her legs broken by a spooked horse bucking and kicking while she was removing the saddle from its back. :-(
The card in real life is just breathtakingly beautiful, and the envelope has the same colors and design in washed out colors. The picture you see at the site hardly gives the card justice. And I paid $2.79 (plus tax!) for it - which I still think is a great price compared to what I'm seeing at Walmart.
I only have 10 more minutes before it's time to feed.
I'm also doing this romantic Valentine's Day card thing this year. I did it once, years and years ago. You take your card to your sweetie, address it, put your stamp on the envelope and then insert it into a larger envelope. Put appropriate postage and address to (one of the places) Loveland, Colorado. Loveland will hand cancel your stamp, and send your card on its way. I think it's a cool idea. I emailed several friends about it, but there was no response. Oh well. Maybe it's just me that thinks it's cool. You can read more about it here: Get a Valentine Postmark.
I did tell three of my coworkers about it as well. One by email. She's new. She didn't respond at all. The other was a coworker who just turned 64. She said she would never bother to do something like that because her husband wouldn't appreciate it. The third person is one of my younger coworkers, I think he must be 25 now. He is newly married (about six months) and his wife is pregnant. I think he might do it, I told him his wife *would* appreciate it, since women tend to appreciate things like that.
Time to feed!!
Until next time.
