FEBRUARY RAMBLINGS

I can hardly believe that February is almost over already.  It doesn't even feel like we really had a winter it's been so mild here.  Back home in Indiana they're getting hit with storms dropping a foot or more of snow on them and all we've been getting are flakes. Another winter has gone and I still haven't gotten to try my snowshoes out.  

Big changes are in the air!  We bought an older camper that we're going to be redoing this spring.  I am so excited and we're chomping at the bit to be able to start working on it. We'd initially thought to only repair the back bedroom area that had water damage but now we're thinking we'll pull the walls and ceiling out and redo them to make sure the electrical is okay and to put good insulation in.  I'm pretty set on a lodge/cabin feel for the inside but as it's only about 19' long I don't want to make it too dark inside so it feels cave like.  Pictures will be posted as we start working. I'm hoping we can finally visit Teddy Roosevelt National Park this fall. We'll be going to Minnesota possibly in August and will be taking the camper with.  

Another big event is I'm starting a pet sitting service.  There's nothing like it here in town.  The kennel that was in town closed and the one vet that now does boarding from what I hear is constantly booked.  My objective is to offer people the ability to allow their pets to stay at home while they're gone and I will come in a set amount of times per day to feed, walk, etc... the pets.  So I'm crossing my fingers and I'll see how this works out.  I'm in the process of getting my business license, LLC, bonding, etc.. before I start putting out fliers. At this point I'm thinking part time but some are telling me they think I could take it full time if I chose.  That would be a huge decision though.  Small steps right now and I'll just focus on getting the business up and going for now.

Jordon and the grandbaby were here last weekend.  He's trying to crawl now so we had to make sure to keep the floor clear.  He got himself from one side of the living room to the other after Lacey.  He grabbed a huge handful of her tail fur. She was a good sport about it and just laid there while we pried his fingers off.  Needless to say the rest of the weekend the dogs stayed clear of the little fellow. We took the kids up to Jonny B's for pizza since they hadn't been to the new pizza joint in town. There pizza is baked in a brick fire oven and is so good!  The kids liked it too.  Jordon's not a big drinker and so we had him try a flight of the different beers they carry (22 types on tap).  He liked the pear cider that I like and there was one beer that he enjoyed.  It's a good way to try different varieties without buying full size glasses.

ESSENTIAL OILS:

Office Diffuser: I've been using the following combination the past two days and I'm in love with it. The scent gives a warm feeling to a room. My office diffuser calls for 5 drops but the Orange EO decided it called for another drop.

2 drops Clove EO
1 drop Idaho Balsam Fir EO
1 drop Cardamon EO
2 drops Orange EO

Bedroom Diffuser:  This is my recipe for nearly every night that diffuses while I'm sleeping.  It helps me breath and sleep better.  Matt noticed we were both sleeping better when I started using the diffuser in the bedroom. Matt says my snoring isn't as bad either.  Bedroom diffuser can take 12 drops.

9 to 10 drops Eucalyptus EO
2 to 3 drops Lavender EO

CRAFTS:

I've started a new rug in my loom.  I'm hoping it will fit in front of the kitchen area in the camper. I'm using leftover strips from my first crocheted rug so the colors are chocolate brown, tan, dark green, moss green and two prints. I'm loving the new easel that Matt bought me for Christmas.  It's a hard wood one and is so awesome.  Here's a picture with my twining loom. The adjustability is awesome.  If I want to sit I can adjust it down or if I want to stand I can move it up.

I've also managed to finish one sock and I'm working on the top portion of the second one.  I managed to knock most of the first one out while recovering from surgery the end of December. Matt's sister sent him a Care Package that he received today and inside were two skeins of sock yarn for me!!!! Bee is awesome and also a fellow sock knitter.  

READING:

I found an awesome website called Brocante Home.  I liked it so much I signed up and paid for access to her private website as well. Before I signed up on the site I bought The Vintage Housekeeper's Circle by Alison May on Amazon for my Kindle.  I think it was $2.99, so very affordable.  Unfortunately her books on her website are much more expensive so I'm glad the membership allows me to read them without buying them.  I've also read her Winter and Spring books off the website.  These seasonal books are neat in that they give ideas on how to pamper oneself, things to use or add to the home, recipes for sprays, scrubs, etc.. reading suggestions and journaling ideas.

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I've been somewhat on a prepper/housekeeping theme lately. I bought a hardcover of Little House Living and paperback of The Made from Scratch Life.  Both books have a lot of information on cooking and preparing foods such as mixes to use instead of store bought.  I highly recommend both books.  If you like Little House on the Prairie books you'll probably like Little House Living as she tries to model her housekeeping on Laura and her family.  It's made me want to reread the series again. If you Get The Made from Scratch Life there's a webpage that you can put your order confirmation number in and she gives you some freebees that are pretty neat as well. 

In addition to reading I've been watching a lot of Youtube videos, which is rare for me.  I've never been big on Youtube for some reason.  I've found Linda's Pantry which I'm watching constantly of late.  She cans, cooks and has dogs so you can see why I like her.  Watching her videos got me wanting to can so I broke out my pressure cooker and did 16 pints of refried beans since I was out of them.  Linda's Pantry has a Facebook page now also, so you can check her out there as well. She mentioned she might start blogging in the last video I watched so I'll be excited to see when she starts that.

Weekend Rambling

Another cold although less windy weekend.  I ended up having something of a long weekend since I had to take Friday off due to Lacey being sick.  She decided to rip open a brand new bag of dog food Thursday while we were at work and gorged herself.  Of course once I got home she proceeded to start vomiting a good portion of it back up all over the carpets.  She is my problem child.  Thankfully when I ordered the bar soap for my laundry soap I decided to buy a bottle of the liquid soap as well (also in peppermint scent) so it masked the smell wonderfully.  I was concerned about diarrhea Friday so I decided to stay home and play it safe because diarrhea and carpets do not go well together.

Lacey the Problem Child

Saturday:
Breakfast: Donuts
Lunch:  I had leftover ravioli and Matt made a PB&J
Dinner:  Brats and coleslaw with cranberries and sunflower seeds

Sunday: 
Breakfast:  Egg in a Hole
Lunch:  Leftover brocolli cheddar soup and roll
Supper:  Chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes (I've been craving this for weeks!)


I got myself motivated early and cleaned the bedroom and bath along with running a couple loads of laundry and working out on the treadmill before I headed out to do some thrift store and grocery shopping.  I'd planned to hit 2 of the thrift stores in town but hit a jackpot at Goodwill so I didn't bother with Salvation Army.  I picked up several queen and king size sheets for a rug project I'm getting ready to start.  I think I paid about $10 for all 4 sheets, which should make a rug from what I've read.  I may go back and pick up the other green striped sheet just in case.  I also picked up 2 Patterson novels for Matt and several books for myself.

My afternoon was spent canning beef & vegetable soup.  I canned 6 quarts of soup.   While the soup base was simmering on the stove I put together a pie using some of the Gala apples and pear apples (asian pears?) from the Bountiful Basket along with some leftover cherry berry smoothie mix I had in the freezer.  It wasn't bad for a thrown together treat especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I'd planned to can some of the 25 pounds of carrots I bought but Matt doesn't want them "mushy" so I guess I'll have to freeze them instead.

After I got done with that I was ready to kick back and watch the Olympics with Matt.  Matt and I both spent a good portion of the weekend kicking back.  I have been feeling mentally exhausted.  I think all the mandatory overtime is starting to wear on me.  I could use a vacation but since that's not on the calendar any time soon this mini vacation helped.  I really wish I had snowshoes or cross country skis so I could try that and do some skijoring and snowshoeing with the dogs.  I'm sure some good outdoor exercise would do me a world of good.  Hopefully next winter.

My reading for the weekend included a mystery and a romance.  I downloaded a free Kindle book called A Shot in the Bark by C.A. Newsome.  Excellent book and I will definitely be purchasing her next 2 books in the series.  The book centers around a dog park so dog lovers will definitely enjoy this book.  I worked on Mansfield Park.  The movie is not my favorite Austen movie and the book is turning out to be the same which is causing me to not be enthusiastic about finishing it.  Thankfully I have over a month to finish it for the discussion group.  I just keep getting annoyed she doesn't seem to have any backbone and she's so timid.  I also purchased A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg and started that.  For some romance I read One Magic Moment by Lynn Kurland.  I adore Kurland's books about time travel.  I thought I had all them and to discover one at Goodwill that I didn't have was so exciting.   This one is definitely up on my favorites list.

Weekend Ramblings

It was a beautiful weekend with temps in the 30's.  It feels absolutely balmy! The snow is melting and everything just looks dirty.  I prefer the look of pristine snow after a fresh snowfall.  I'd planned on taking the dogs out for a walk but Saturday morning I woke up with my plantar fasciitis starting to flare in my left foot and by Sunday it was full blown.  I was not happy to say the least at not being able to go out and enjoy the weather.

Our weekend started out a bit different then we anticipated.  We were kicked back watching TV after supper when the texts started.  After several texts and phone calls Matt ended up having to go help his buddy out.  The guy had tried to save a few bucks on his dish installation.  When he went to drill a hole he hit something (big blue flash) and then half his house was without electricity.  It was something of a drama trying to find somebody that had the gauge wire he needed for repairs and to find an electrician.  Good news is he has electricity again!  While Matt was out I decided to watch a chic flick movie and started watching the Downton Abbey season 1 while knitting on my sock.

Saturday was a sleep in day for a change.  Woke up about 5 and let the dogs out and fed everybody and went back to bed.  Unbelievably the crew let me sleep until 8!  Pretty boring stuff, basically just cleaning and laundry.  When I had kids around I swear I spent more time picking up their toys to be able to vacuum then I spent vacuuming.  Now I spend my time picking up dog bones and toys before I vacuum.  Am I the only one that has this problem?

 Matt spent the day cleaning out the drain in the spare bathroom shower, installing a new shower head, and putting a new toilet seat on.  As I said, boring stuff.

 This is what my mudroom pantry area looked like this morning (Sunday).  Pretty messy to say the least.  I will say I'm not the sole reason this area is so messy as there were several things that were put in this area that didn't belong there.  This was my project while Matt was out ice fishing.  Unfortunately no fish were brought home.

 This is the same area with all my wonderful beans added.  I put all my empty jars in the boxes underneath the shelving.  Bottom shelf is drinks; water, case of wine, and pop.  Second shelf up has my potatoes, onions, and acorn squash on it.  Third shelf up has my dill pickles and salsa I canned in the fall along with the chickpeas that I canned last weekend.  I may move the cans of applesauce I have left to this shelf too.  Fourth shelf up has my kidney beans, pinto bean mix, and Great Northern beans.  Top shelf has my pressure canner and one of my large pots for canning.

Before putting everything on the shelves I bought rolls of plastic Contact shelf liners and cut them to the length of the shelves.  Basically a roll did one shelf with a bit left over.  I decided on the plastic since it was 1) thin and 2) easy to clean.  Matt wanted to put plywood on the shelves I didn't want that thickness added and if any of the jars broke for any reason we'd probably have to pitch the plywood and get new since it would damage the wood.

 Matt gifted me with a second set of shelves.  For now it's stuck in length-wise by the freezer.  I'm not liking this arrangements so this will most likely be moved once I figure out how to move things around in that room.  I plan on canning some ham & bean soup and vegetable soup so the shelves on this unit will hold those and any other items I decide to can.

Apparently all the work I did wore Moo out.  Doesn't she look exhausted laying there!