I'm still sick. My asthma has been giving me a LOT of trouble. I am sure if I called my allergy/asthma specialist he would prescribe prednisone, which I abhor.
I figured out something. Every time I start feeling the tiniest bit better physically, I start trying to get the house cleaned up again. (I also considered the thought that maybe I really AM allergic to housework?) So today being my only day off, I decided I can't do anything. I did clean out the truck this morning, and go through 3 months worth of mail.
I seem to get sick physically every time I get an emotional crisis. Last Sunday our herd sire was sick with a condition that is sometimes fatal. I was very upset and crying over that. He recovered and we will make sure to treat for that condition. I found out that the Ammonium Chloride for which I paid $16.00 for a pound, can be bought on the Internet for $1.60 per pound. Great.
Thursday was very emotional for me at work. I've been basically railroaded into changing an area of the way our agency runs from manual to electronic. The person doing the manual thing doesn't want to switch to electronic and threatened to quit. It is scary for me to confront this person but I had to. I was very nervous and upset after the big scene. Later, this person came back to my office and apologized, but I was still very emotionally disturbed by it. I WAS feeling better on Thursday morning, but then I felt worse on Friday morning. Another emotional crisis = sicker. I don't think I'm just imagining things.
Then Friday morning I discovered that a website I worked on to customize for dozens if not hundreds of hours had been deleted from the webserver. I am positive it wasn't intentional, but the person who downgraded the website has been out of town and so I was freaking out worrying about that. This is not just a site that belongs to someone else. It belonged to a few ladies and we all sold items from this site. However, everyone is now wanting to drop out, but I want to keep the site and keep selling my things. Just very emotionally distraught again. Finally my friend got back to me and she's been out of town. She is going to see what she can do to help me get the site restored and into my name. So that helped me feel better, but the emotional stress. I have been crying about it since Friday, several times. I'm sure being sick isn't helping me feel any more positive about anything.
I was away from home most of Friday. Ds2's appointment was at 9am, once again frustratingly inconclusive. His legs hurt and we have ruled out blood clots and poor circulation. This is the third doctor he's seen for his legs hurting, only each and every doctor instead of listening to ds2's complaints of leg pain chose to concentrate on the sores on his shins. Which do not itch or hurt him, and are not on his calves, thighs or anywhere else on his body. This doctor was a hematologist and thinks it's strictly a "growing person" thing combined with ds2 being a "big boy". He suggested ds2 continue to get plenty of exercise and do what he's been doing to continue to lose weight. Once ds2 and I got home, dh and I took off again for town, to pick up the "shred" and run errands and grocery shop. So I was gone from home from 8:30am to about 5:30pm. Yesterday (Saturday) we left home for the big city (dh helping one of his coworkers with his evaporative cooler) and were gone from about 9am to 6pm.
One neat thing yesterday. Costco had a really nice drill on sale for $29.97. It is cordless and comes with two battery packs. It was $34.97 on March 31 and Costco gave us the difference back. We actually bought a second one, because dh will be using his for work and we need a drill for around the house.
So today I have tried to do as little as possible. I did nap from 10am to 1pm. I'm wheezing a lot, even though I'm using my Flovent medication twice daily on schedule I'm still having to use my rescue inhaler several times a day. Since I'm sick, it's to be expected that my asthma is acting up. The last thing I need to do is take prednisone, which I'm pretty sure being a steroid depresses the immune system (which Flovent is a corticosteroid, so probably has the same immune system depressing feature) At least now I'm not coughing up thick green phlegm. I'm taking fenugreek as an expectorant, the herbal version. I'm also taking grapefruit seed extract, vitamin C and The Grapefruit Remedy (a family recipe used for 35 years). I am feeling better, but I'm still sick. I'm starting to wonder if this is going to be the story of my life from now on. I have known people that get sick again and again and again and again. And have to take off work every couple weeks for being sick. But that isn't me and has NEVER been me.
I haven't been doing Nourishing Traditions hardly at all. My health has declined since falling away from many of the traditional foods. I did make my kefir last night for the first time in a couple of weeks. Poor grains, in the fridge starving for new milk. I should go check on them now.
I haven't done our taxes for this year. I think I'm going to file an extension as there is no way humanly possible for me to get them done within the next week. No time.
Since I was with dh yesterday, I did get a chance to work on the knit baby sweater. That is one true thing about being out with dh when he's working on side jobs. I at least get to sit around and do nothing for the most part. Otherwise I would have been home feeling compelled to tidy up the house. I got about half of one of the front sides done. I ordered another of the Yarn Harlot's books, Knitting Rules, it arrived by mail and I've been reading that in the past few days. It made me want to knit more. I already want to knit more, but there is no time for that at all on Monday through Thursday.
I hope I'm feeling well soon. In the meantime, my dh is the Energizer Bunny and keeps going and going and going. He needs only four hours of sleep each night and drinks coffee and eats whatever he wants. He never gets sick and never gains a pound. I have also discovered drinking even four ounces of coffee affects my immune system (caffeine stresses out the adrenals) I wish my body was a little bit more like his. Today he finished fixing my toilet (fixed the handle which I didn't have the muscle to finish -- some little chain thing you have to snap into the plastic part of the handle and I could not do it -- and adjusted the float so it flushes properly now), has been cleaning off the porch, built a new bee box (our old one was warped beyond recognition) and I don't know what all else he's done today. We would still like to have bees, but have not ordered them for about three years. Dh is hoping a swarm finds our bee box. Or maybe I should post on Freecycle and Craig's list like a friend of mine has done.
Until next time.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Basket Case
Labels: Nourishing Traditions, Sick
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Sick Goat Doing Good
On Sunday our herd sire could not urinate. Urine was still dripping steadily from him, so it wasn't a complete blockage, but I immediately suspected it was urinary calculi, a problem especially for male goats. I was so worried I was crying because it can be fatal and Bambi is such a nice buck. I have heard horror stories about bucks who are aggressive and dangerous to have around. This boy leads easily and is gentle with the does when breeding. I would hate to have lost him.
We called a vet - not many vets "know" goats, but there are handful who have some experience with goats, and are willing to give advice on the phone. (Vets make their money on horses, cows, dogs and cats, so tend to concentrate on those). The vet we called on Sunday does house calls, but not to our area of town, and he doesn't work on Sundays anyway. He said the other vets probably wouldn't come out on Sunday either. I read on the Internet that Ammonium Chloride can be given as an emergency treatment, so we set off to the nearby town we like to shop in to see if we could find any. None. A lot of things we look for to treat the goats is like that. No one seems to know what we are talking about. We ended up buying some herb combinations from the health food store. One was Uva Ursi and the other was Planetary Herbals Stone Free. Both items that humans would use for kidney problems or kidney/gallbladder stones. I made the "onion cure" which consists of one large onion, 6 cloves of garlic and the juice of four large lemons, cooked until the onion turns clear. I then strained the mixture and watered it down just a little bit. I opened several capsules of Uva Ursi and crushed several of the Stone Free product. Mixed into a gravy like mixture and drenched the buck with it.
He was straining so hard to urinate, poor guy. I was worried about him all night, and then dh and I had to leave to work on Monday and I was afraid we'd come home to find him dead. But we got home and he was not only alive, but peeing and headbutting with his buddy! I had managed to find the Ammonium Chloride from a chemical store in the big city and we drenched him with a heaping teaspoon of that mixed with water, just in case he had any other stones that still needed to be dissolved.
So that was a big relief. Now we will need to figure out what to do for maintenance. One of the big problems is bucks should not be fed the same as does. The does get alfalfa hay and wow, what a difference good hay can make! Two of my milkers that normally give me around 2 pounds of milk each day are now up to over 3 pounds! The hay we'd been getting delivered from the nearby hay dealer is apparently poor quality hay for goats. I guess they call it horse hay, and handpick it for horses. They like the hay to be stemmy and have hardly any tender green leaves - to prevent the horse from bloating. Tender green stems and leaves is what the goats need to make more milk. It is hard to find anything but alfalfa hay in our area. And to complicate matters, the bucks hate grass (bermuda) hay. AND since the grass hay is harder to come by, it is more expensive than alfalfa.
So today is day four of mine and dh's four day work week. Ds2 has really taken up the slack for us regarding cooking. We've had hot meals ready to eat upon arriving home, which helps a lot since the first thing we have to do upon arriving home is chores and milking. Then it's a quick shower, dinner and off to bed shortly. 3:30am gets here really fast. The past three days have not been too bad, but I am, as usual (how did you guess?) tired. I have also been sick again!! I am really frustrated at my body's low defenses against illness. This time it started out on Monday as a tickling cough and then a really tight feeling in my upper chest/lower throat. I have been taking grapefruit seed extract (gross stuff, tastes like drinking a shot of dishwashing detergent) and lots of Vitamin C and today I'm coughing up nearly clear um, stuff. That is better than it was!
It's now 10 to 7:00. I'd better get busy working.
Until next time.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
The Ultimate Surprise
Labels: Deep Thoughts
I was thinking this morning, as I was driving to work, about the baby sweater I'm attempting to knit. I won't digress into how many mistakes I've made, thus wasting my precious blogging time. Anyway, I know two people who have babies due in the month of April, and I was thinking about making a second sweater as well. But since knitting is still so cumbersome for me (I know it will get less cumbersome the more experience I have) I was thinking about crocheting a sweater for the second person's baby. I am actually quite fast with crocheting and could easily crochet a sweater in a weekend or two. Unlike knitting, which takes quite a bit longer. Especially since I don't know what I'm doing being basic knit and purl stitches. I bought yellow yarn to crochet the second baby sweater, but at a Goodwill on Saturday I found some white baby yarn. That would be pretty, but it's got that little shiny thread wrapped all around which is totally horrible when crocheting.
My thoughts brought me to the fairly common practice of learning your baby's gender prior to his or her being born. My opinion on this practice? Cheating, plain and simple.
I wondered why it bothers me so much. Most people think it's wonderful and one of my coworkers complained that she can't find yellow and green outfits for all the blue and pink ones, so she appreciates knowing if the soon-to-be-here-grandchild is male or female. I still think it's cheating.
As I was driving, and wondering, suddenly it occurred to me why it bothers me so much. I don't know if I've shared here how difficult I am to surprise. I don't know what it is but I always seem to catch on when someone's trying to surprise me, or even reading a book or watching a movie, I almost always know whodunit or how the story will end. I don't know if I am too aware or people around me trying to surprise me are careless but I always seem to know something is up.
So... I realized that not knowing the gender of one's baby before he or she is born is the ultimate surprise. With my pregnancies I didn't have regular ultrasounds, amniocentesis, etc. No one knew and could accidentally allude to the gender. It was a complete and total surprise.
No wonder I think it's cheating. It's one of the few things with which I've ever been truly surprised.
Until next time.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Here I Am
How much of a post can I create in 9 minutes? When I know good and well it takes at least an hour to make a good post. Let's try a quick update post.
My life has changed again. Dh arrived home last Monday as planned and our first meal together was Thanksgiving Dinner. For we are truly happy he is home. The first thing he did was fix the toilets. They were flushing weird. More on my toilet in another post, if I ever find the time.
Now would be the time to learn where all those "free" Internet connections are at that everyone talks about, and I definitely need to get the laptop battery charged, for I will have some extra time on my hands with the new change of schedule. I"m thinking this "extra" time may be an opportunity to blog. Why I could even sit outside my office in my vehicle and compose something... hmmmm... now I would need some type of image software to be installed on the laptop.
Dh started a new job, one which allows him to flex and since I'm working four days a week, he's going to try working four tens. Monday through Thursday. This morning he got up at 3am and I got up at 3:30am. We left the house right at 4:30 and were off the property by 4:40. We were at his job by 5:30. Quite a feat when you consider we live 51.4 miles from his job. Then I backtrack to my job which is 6.4 miles due east of his job. Well, pretty much due east. Maybe one mile south.
Anyway, this morning no one was at his job when we arrived, so we are hoping he will be allowed to have a key in the near future. If I leave his job as soon as I drop him off at 5:30am or so, I'll be at my job by 6am. I can either ask about flexing my hours to work from 6am to 2:30pm, or just do something with the extra time. The only thing that sucks is the time available at home due to this schedule. I figure we'll arrive home by 6pm, I need to milk and process the milk which takes about 45 minutes. 6:45pm if I work steadily, then I need to be asleep by 8pm in order to get 7 hours sleep and get up by 3:30am again.
So I'm at work now. I have two minutes before I need to start working.
I will be here until 3:30, then I drive back over to dh's job and he gets off work at 4:30pm.
Well, that's all I have time for. Better learn where those "free" Internet connections are at, and get that laptop battery charged. Although before too long it will be so breathtakingly hot, even at 6am in the morning that I may have to rethink everything. Like maybe I'll just stay at work during my extra time.
Until next time.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Afternoon Update
My last post was at 9:30am, although Blogger thinks we are on Daylight Savings Time and says I posted at 10:30am.
My mom did come over and brought Uncle V. I guess they arrived about noon or 12:30. I showed them all the work we've already done, and we went out and saw the goats, chickens and steer, and they both checked out my fruit trees and we think they are still alive. I hope so.
Went back in the house and my mom and ds2 cleaned out both the "old" fridge and the "dairy" fridge. They both look fabulous. We looked and looked for the *smell*. There is a smell wafting in the area of the kitchen, a bad smell. We never found it even though three noses were sniffing...
While they were here I folded two loads of laundry and put them away. I also washed our Christmas dinnerware.
I set Uncle V. busy with the flyswatter and he killed LOTS. They were driving me nuts buzzing around my head, so he got most of them. I then asked Uncle V. how he felt about rescreening the screen door. He was up for it, I think he's in his late 70s. He did a great job! We brought the screen door in and laid it on the living room floor to make the job easier.
Then my mom got busy on the main bathroom. The bathtub obviously stumped her, lol.
I am feeling VERY tired right about now. I don't really feel hungry... but maybe I am hungry. No chance I could just be TIRED because of all the work I've been doing... nah.
I already decided earlier this morning, or maybe last night that my bathroom isn't getting cleaned. No time. It's a real mess in there, plus things in there from the master bedroom. The master bedroom isn't going to be spotless either. We wouldn't want dh to feel TOO out of place. MIL told me she told him the story about Aunt Bee leaving on vacation and Andy and Opie keeping the house clean, but then realizing that she was going to feel not needed if they cleaned up, so they made a big mess so she would feel needed. But I don't think he'll feel not needed, or not at home since the yard outside is just as huge a mess as it was when he left. :snort:
WHOO. I am so tired. Not sure what to do with myself. I want to finish straightening up and decorate.
Later.
Keeping Secrets
Labels: FlyLady
Dh is beginning to get suspicious. Ds2 told him my mom was coming out to help draw blood for CAE testing. So he asked me this morning on the phone which goats was I going to draw blood from? I told him I wasn't, that a lady might have been coming by a couple weeks ago. Then he said ds2 said she was coming to help draw blood. I told him I didn't know what he was talking about, and that my mom was coming out to bring 4 bags clothes for ds2 and the two milk ice chests.
ANYWAY... on to my progress for the morning. Not much. But I have been working steadily. I have washed two loads of clothes already. So glad that it's as easy as throwing them in the washer, imagine how long it would take if I had to wash them by hand in a creek on a rock? ;-) Ds1 and I did his Sunday room blessing. That takes 15-20 minutes, his bedding is in the dryer. He's eating breakfast and has had his shower. I dumped the vacuum cleaner dirt canister, we have so much dust and dirt out here I have to empty it often. There was something in a plastic grocery bag on the floor in the kitchen, either sugar or salt. I hope salt. I vacuumed that up. Now I need to go sweep the kitchen floor and remop it. Wipe down the counters, wash the few dishes that have accumulated. I've had a glass of Ovaltine chocolate milk for breakfast. I've milked and processed the milk and it's in the chilling bucket chilling. The eggs are washed and on the counter drying. I need to put them in a carton. Two loads of clothes are ready for folding. I need to make a dent in the living room.
Last night ds2 also made two loaves of bread for the stuffing, and two pumpkin pies.
More later.
One More Day To Go
Labels: Home Improvement
I'm up! Ready for a new day. Last night after my last post I kind of pooped out on myself. Ds2 asked me for a haircut, so I took a while and did that, then I went to bed.
So I'm gearing myself up right now to go outside and milk. I hope the flies aren't too bad yet. I made the mistake yesterday morning of leaving the door open while I milked and a lot of them got in the house. We have a screened in porch, but no screen on the back door itself, so a lot of flies were able to come in. The front door has no screen to speak of since it basically flaps in the wind. During the times of flies, we usually react by milking early, early in the morning, like before the sun even rises. The flies are asleep during that time. It is no fun milking while the flies are heavy and swarming. Refresh your memory by viewing these previous "fly" entries: The flies, the flies!!! and The Flies Part II.
I can't believe what a mess the living room is again. This rearranging and cleaning stuff sure can make big messes.
My sinuses were totally clogged during the night and my mouth kept drying out. I HATE when that happens. It is so very uncomfortable. The wound on my foot seems to be doing okay.
Okay, so off the computer I go. After I get back in from milking and doing chores, I believe I'll do a quick tidy up on the kitchen, which should only take five minutes or so. Ds2 started his cooking show taping last night. From what little I heard and saw, he seems to be a psycho cook that screams at inanimate objects and then immediately speaks calmly to the camera. He's making Thanksgiving dinner for dh's first meal home with us. I asked him about his progress last night during the night. He's cut up all the vegetables, onions, garlic, celery. I don't think he peeled the potatoes though so I will make a point to do that today, along with everything I have planned. After I tidy up the kitchen, and eat breakfast, I will tackle the living room. Then I think I'll put up the Christmas lights and decorations. Maybe. It's obvious that prioritizing my list has become very important. We HAVE a carpet cleaner, I so wish I could fit that in.
Until later.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
More Cleaning
Labels: Home Improvement
Okay, from 6:06 to 8:33pm I've worked feverishly without ceasing.
I swept and mopped the kitchen floor, washed a load of dishes, this morning's milk pail and the milk strainer, wiped off the stove, cleaned those bowl things under the burners, cleaned under the burners and replaced the aluminum foil. Ds2 pulled the stove out to replace the two screws that had fallen out of the one knob. While the stove was out, I asked him to sweep the debris out. He vacuumed, I then mopped under the stove and cleaned both sides of the counters which usually I can't get to, and were pretty dirty. I wiped and bleached the counter top on the left side of the sink. Cleaned and shined the sink. There were water deposits on my new faucet, which were easily removed with white vinegar, salt and a little scrub brush.
I also cried while on the phone with my mother, who was also crying. I called her around 8pm to see if she was going to be able to come out, and she told me she hadn't talked to her husband yet and then she told me she really felt nervous driving such a long distance all by herself. So I told her to bring him along and we would plant him in front of the television. But my mom's husband is a very stressful person to deal with, and ds2 heard me talking about it with her and he started getting stressed out. I need him to cook, so I can clean tomorrow. It won't help me to have my mother here to help me clean, if ds2 is in his room avoiding jerk stepgrandfather.
So I told my mom it wasn't going to work out, and then I wanted to get off the phone. And I knew it, she called back within 10 minutes, crying. So then I was crying.
But I have more to do. My feet are hurting. I think I need to take a look at my foot and maybe soak it again. I'm very hungry. I should probably go to bed soon. At least my bed is cleared off. Maybe chocolate milk for dinner again...
Until next time.
Master Bedroom Take 2
Labels: Home Improvement, LJ
AGH!!! 5:38pm by my computer and the whole house is an even bigger wreck!!! My mom says she is planning to come over tomorrow and help us clean and by my figures I have about four more hours left to clean tonight before I drop over from exhaustion.
More AGH!! It is now 5:56m by my computer. Spent the last 18 minutes futzing around with photos. Okay, in this first one you can see the shelving unit to the left -- that comes from the living room, so there is a big empty spot in the living room. I WISH that big empty space could be left there, but no, there's a big puppy that needs his own bed. ROTFLOL. I know dh is going to laugh really hard over this, and maybe even think it's a joke.
Here's why I can't leave that big space. I mean, I GUESS we COULD make LJ sleep on the floor, but he gets so COLD at night. LOL. Between Vicious at the head of the bed, and him under the covers, lying on his back stretched out like a human... ;-)
So now here's the bedroom with the twin bed in there, alongside the queen bed. Wall to wall bed almost!!! ;-)
Here's the shelving unit crammed with my stuff. There is still more to find homes for. I can't even walk into my bathroom right now. I sure hope my mom does come over tomorrow and can help us out.
I've also washed and put away three loads of clothes (so far - there's more to go).
I have to go out and throw hay and fill water buckets. Probably only the goats' water buckets. My foot is still sore. I will probably soak it again. I am already very tired. 6:06pm now. I'm also going to start crossing out things on the list I made earlier.
Until later.
Master Bedroom Cleanup
Labels: FlyLady, Home Improvement
Ds2 just asked me isn't it weird how we are posting all these pictures of our dirty house, like we're incriminating ourselves... hmmm...
So I've been working a couple of hours. I'm actually feeling pretty tired. My sinuses are messed up today, very swollen and hard to breathe through my nose. So really the last thing I need to be doing is cleaning out my messy bedroom.
Crazy Aunt Purl gave a little tip about using Photoshop and suggests a thin line around the photo makes it look more professional, so I'm going to try it out.
Please still be my friend. And here goes. One before picture and one in progress picture. Looks like someone's really messy storage unit, eh? Maybe once I have it cleaned up, with FlyLady's help I can keep it cleaned up. If you look carefully, behind the blue trash can (which wasn't in there prior to starting the clean up), there is a blue chair that I used to sit in and watch television. The chair broke down and started getting covered with everything but the kitchen sink. Also, in the second picture, the cupboards are going outside into the shed. Too bad anything like this becomes a haven for mice.
I did find several books I've been "keeping an eye out for". 
I think I may nap for a while.
Until later.
The End is Near
Labels: Home Improvement
Dh will be home in less than 48 hours! We are working like ants trying to get things completed.
I have been so busy for days, no time to blog. Last night I sewed curtains to cover the pantry area, the curtain I've been meaning to finish for the kitchen under the sink area, and I made slipcovers for three Christmas themed pillows that I've had for several years. Got them from Target on a 90% off sale, I think I paid $0.75 for each one. Now they finally can be put to good use all year long, thanks to my wonderful, wonderful sewing machine that I dearly love!!! THANK YOU MOM!! (She not only bought it for me, but paid to have it cleaned!) OH, by the way, the slipcovers were made from the living room curtain material, so the pillows on the couch match the curtains.
Yesterday I found another twin bed for $50.00. This one is to go in dh and my room, since our puppy has grown to be such a large dog, we are giving him his own bed. (That's only so we can sleep in our own bed together, lol!). I know, I know!! We are some of those weird dog people now.
Here's the list of things I want to do between today and tomorrow:
Remove kitchen cobwebs(Yay for Webster!)- Clean living room fan blades and glass covers
Bring dh's new dresser in, place dh's clothing in the dresserReplace the screen on the front door screen- Move brown dresser into ds2's room and his dresser back into master bedroom
- Replace the kitchen drawer pulls (can't remember where I put them for safekeeping!)
Clean master bedroom;remove cupboards and chair(only halfway done on the master bedroom cleaning)Bring twin bed in and set it upMake sure coffee maker worksand install under kitchen cupboard- Hang Christmas lights and decorations
- Wash living room windows on the outside
- Clean vehicle out, inside and out
Sweep and mop kitchen floor- Clean all three refrigerators;
Old Fridge,New Fridge,Dairy Fridge Clean main bathroom shower and tidy up the rest of the roomHang shower curtain in main bathroom- Clean master bathroom
- And last but not least... clean the carpet? Yeah.
Orange - Completed by 8:31pm Saturday
Green - Completed by 4:00pm Sunday
But I'd better get off the computer so I can get started. I'm milking in the morning now. It rained hard on Thursday and continued to rain into the night so I didn't milk. The girls had to wait 36 hours. I also stabbed my foot on the pitchfork this morning. AND I had my tennis shoes on, but the pitchfork tine stabbed through the meshing on my tennis shoes.
I soaked my foot in hot water with epsom salts and tea tree oil for about half an hour. I didn't even realize I was injured for about ten minutes. My foot kept ACHING and ACHING. But I kept on doing chores and finally it occurred to me to wonder if my foot was bleeding. I sat down to check and there was a two inch wide round circle of blood stained on my sock. I went in the house, put some tea tree oil on the wound and a bandage and changed my sock. Finished with chores and while I was filling the chicken water buckets I stepped on one, tipping the water INTO my shoe. The shoe with the injured foot, mind you! So I came in soon after and did the foot soaking.
Now to find something to eat. My first goal is to tackle the master bedroom.
Until next time. Or shall I say, until later.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Final Update for Today
Labels: blah blah blah, FlyLady
I continued on working throughout the day. I did lie down for an hour and tried to nap, but my sinuses are so thoroughly clogged (I wore a quality brand name dust mask when I was messing around in the dusty shed) that I had to lay there gasping with my mouth open. I have a very hard time sleeping with my mouth open, so I didn't really sleep all that much. My sinuses are still clogged... I wonder if I have any hydrogen pyroxide... I read about something on the Internet about putting hydrogen pyroxide in the ears to help with illness. I took one dose of grapefruit seed extract, I should take more of that tonight. I have to do something to try to get my sinuses to clear or I'm not going to get much sleep tonight.
Let's see, here's what I accomplished. I restraightened the living room, and vacuumed one area. I took the blades off the dining room ceiling fan and washed them in the sink, then washed the entire fan (it had fly poop spots all over it and was just grungy and covered with chunks of dust). Having the stepladder in the house is coming in handy. I still need to clean the living room fan. I'm not following FlyLady at all, but I want to! I just have been needing to focus my energy on specific areas in the house in order to be ready in time.
I also tackled my bedroom, just one small area, about 10 feet by 4 feet. But I got it all picked up and vacuumed. Ds1 and I did the Sunday "room blessing" we started doing on his room ever since we got it cleaned up. I did give him the chair I bought the other day, he was happy about that. I washed his bedding and clothes, and I washed my bedding and two loads of my clothes and laundry.
I think that is it. That kept me busy for HOURS. Ds2 relayed to dh by phone that all I do is sleep. Hmph. Even though I know it was said for the effect of detering dh from thinking we are cleaning (we are SUCH slobs here!! Just take a look at that living room before picture, geez!!!! Talk about CHAOS [FlyLady's acronym for Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome]) it still got on my nerves a little bit, since I have being going without naps and enough sleep just to work as much as I can on the house.
Between today and yesterday, ds2 tackled the dining room area and gleefully threw away LOTS of things. He is feeling blocked since our TWO trash containers are now full. ("Mo-om! There's nowhere to throw anything away!") I don't know how much they hold, but they must hold at least 65 gallons or maybe 80. Two weeks ago we ordered a second can from our trash company for three months so we can work at throwing more stuff away. I fear we need another rolloff. And yes, I am donating what (little) I can, that isn't completely destroyed by mice. I have an entire set of Woman's Day Cookbooks in my vehicle. I already checked on eBay. One person sold a set of 12 for $3.99 recently. My version is 1979.
Here it is 8:20 and I still have to pull my clothes and bedding from the dryer, make my bed AND wash my two work dresses. I have decided to dress at least halfway professionally tomorrow as my job is having a tour for one of our major funders. I have been dressing down for the past 5 months. I have not had the energy to dress up, and I've grown fatter so most of my clothes don't fit me.
And on that note, as I go to bed with a glass of chocolate milk for dinner...
Until next time.
Living Room Wall Photos
Labels: Home Improvement
Running out of steam... had to go through the dusty, dusty shed to find our family photos. I cannot remember where or if our wedding pictures made it through the past few years. I did find several small images of us posing after the ceremony. There are numbers on the back... I wonder how many years professional photographers keep the negatives? Okay, here's my progress so far today. Framed pictures on the wall!
Once more, a "before" picture for comparison. Wow. Big difference!! I am so excited, but kind of stressed, yet again, because time is running short for the house makeover. Dh will be arriving home next Monday.
Here's another angle of the living room.
Now I must go finish the job I was working on before I got sidetracked with taking photos of the beautiful wall of photos... fixing the washing machine.
Until next time.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Living Room Makeover Part II
More before and after pictures. The bookshelf photo from earlier today now contains all the books from this shelf. As ds2 was pulling the books down and handing them to me, I noticed some of them have mouse teeth marks on them. I'm thinking... how in the WORLD can those doggone mice get all the way up there!?
This shelf is so high that I can't reach the top shelf. And I'm so curious as to how those mice are getting all the way up there, especially since it doesn't seem like they bother any of the other shelves. So I had ds2 get the stepladder and take a look... and here's what he found. Those darn little critters took advantage of the manufacturer's shortcut on the top of the shelving unit and made themselves a mousehole, and have been eating some good books.
Now look how neat and tidy that area looks!
tobyMac's Portable Sounds is the current favorite of ds2's and mine. Most of my life, I have felt ostracized for my love of this kind of music - disco, rap, hip-hop. Almost like... a white person isn't allowed to love this kind of music. tobyMac is certainly filling a wonderful place for me as previously the only place to hear this type of music was secular. I believe I've already mentioned that I was reluctant to stop listening to the local "old school" radio station, but around back in October the station changed the DJs around, and the "new" one had a filthy line up. And SO MANY commercials for their "old school parties" where they were drinking and dancing and it was just too much. So ds2 had been listening to KLOVE for a few months... and I decided to give it a try. That's when tobyMac's hit song Made to Love hit the charts. That was the song that prompted ds2 to buy tobyMac's CDs.
I don't quite know how to put into words how much I love and appreciate that my child loves this music, too. SOMEONE (my.very.own.teenager) loves the same music I do!! THANK YOU DS2, you ROCK! I thought your teenagers were supposed to hate their parents' music, and listen to something else, usually hard metal rock; and parents and teenagers were supposed to be feuding when it came to music. I do hear of friends complaining of their teens blasting their stereos in their room, and their head is pounding for the sound of it. And ds2 and I sit here tonight, both blogging (I think he's working on some Flash, too), listening and jamming to tobyMac. Ahhhhhh, bliss.
My experience with buying artist's albums is I find I like the hit song, and a couple others. But never do I find myself listening to the album all the way through, over and over and over and never tiring of it. With tobyMac's Portable Sounds and Diverse City, I dislike maybe 3-4 tracks on each album. Can I still call them albums? Or does that date me terribly?
My only complaint is my memory is so poor. It is difficult for me to learn the lyrics, especially since I don't have much time to sit and read the lyrics and sing. I spend a LOT of time driving, I've put nearly 3000 miles on my vehicle in a month's time, but it is difficult for me to "get" the songs without reading the lyrics while I'm listening and singing. I love it when we go someplace in the car, we bring tobyMac and ds2 has many of the songs memorized, and I love to hear him sing, and am so envious proud that he can pick up on the lyrics SO easily!! Some of the songs flow easily for me but I especially have trouble with catching the rap lyrics, but ds2 picks them up so quickly. Okay, they "flow" but I still have trouble learning the lyrics. I am, however; able to pick up on the choruses rather quickly. DUH. Like who can't do that? LOL!
And now, a closeup of the photos that are on the wall so far. Artwork from ds1 and a photo of him at the age of three.
Song of the Day: Feelin' So Fly tobyMac (Portable Sounds 2007)
Until next time.
Living Room Makeover Part I
Labels: Home Improvement
I started just after 6am. Here is the (obviously, LOL) before picture:
This is the table that the television sits on. It was in pretty bad shape, so I lightly sanded it and painted it with the accent wall color. I should have taken an after picture, but you can kind of see it in the previous picture.
My ear is better. I'm really tired right now and my throat is feeling sore again. I had to go into town and buy hay and also went to the thrift store again and picked up a chest of drawers for $20.00. Then I went to Ace Hardware, and then to the feedstore and back home.
Until next time.
Friday, March 16, 2007
New Couch
Labels: Home Improvement, My Faith, Sick
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.
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.
