Sunday, October 04, 2015

Preparing for cooler weather

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I've spent a very busy and productive weekend.

There's been much to do around our house and property as we get ready for cooler weather.  Country living is wonderful, but it also means quite a bit of work and that's something that Curt and I don't shy away from.

Yesterday was mostly spent inside, I had some deep cleaning I wanted to get to but also a run to the base commissary for some grocery shopping.

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When I did my big grocery shopping trip last week, the commissary had some sort of power outage which resulted in them shutting down the store pretty much the whole weekend.  I had just arrived when I saw the signs and had to turn right around and come back home.

By the time I was able to get back to base, they had reopened it, and I was able to get some groceries, but the frozen and dairy areas were still closed off.  Basically all my items from those areas, I was unable to buy.

Long story short, I returned yesterday to finally pick up the few things that I wasn't able to before, so it wasn't a big haul at all.

After returning home and putting everything away, I kind of pottered around a bit, but mostly tried to relax and take it easy, I was so exhausted and stressed from everything going on with my grandma, that I just needed some time to myself.

Watched a few shows, worked a bit on my crochet, stuff like that.

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Today was a full day of chores, both for the hubby and I.

I started with some major cleaning and organizing, and what prompted me to it, was the discovery of a mouse in our pantry last night.  I hate mice, I really really hate mice, they make my skin crawl like nothing else.

Curt was able to catch him and dispose of him in the field, but the thought that he had been in my pantry just grossed me out, so first thing this morning, I tore apart the pantry, washed and disinfected every shelf, and bleached it all out, including the floors.

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Removed some of the items you see above, because I wanted nothing that any other mouse could climb on, through, in and so forth.  Everything was placed above the kitchen shelves.

The remaining shelves in the pantry were filled with boxes, tightly closed that don't allow for any mouse to get behind and hide.

I need to get some peppermint oil and I need some mouse traps too, but for now, I've gone through and bleached all the baseboards throughout the house and the areas I found evidence of the mouse having walked through.

Also tracked down any hole that I thought he could have come in through and closed it up with aluminum foil and tape.

Gross!!!!

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After all that work, I also decided to rearrange some of my kitchen drawers. One of the things I did was take all my tea that was just hanging out in a basket, and actually made a Tea Drawer. I will have to take a picture of it to show you. I just love it because it's so much easier to quickly find what I'm looking for.

I then helped hubby mow the yard.  Ok, we have 3 acres and we recently bought a riding mower from craigslist.  Honestly it's not something we could really afford, to get a new one.  We saw a good deal and jumped on it.  Unfortunately, as is the case many times with items on Craigslist, you sometimes get things that don't work.

It ran for one day and now we can't get it to run at all.

The grass however does not stop growing and we would rather not get into trouble with the city, so a few weeks ago we bought a very cheap push mower.

But folks.....it's 3 acres, which when you think about mowing with a push mower, it is just crazy.

We took turns mowing, the kids actually helped a bit too, but most of the work was hubby and I.  Seemed like it took days to do, but thankfully we finished it though we're both quite a bit sore.

After the grass, we worked on gathering, cutting and stacking fire wood.

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We still have a long way to go, just had to stop for the day as we were both exhausted.

Once inside, I took a shower, slipped into my pj's for the rest of the day and then did some baking with Jasmine.  We made a Lemon Meringue Pie and also my Portuguese Cookie Cake, then I got dinner in the oven, which was Italian Sausage Penne Casserole.

All in all a very busy productive day, but I'm beat.  I'm currently sitting on my bed working on this post and as soon as it's up, I'm thinking I may watch some more Lockup Raw and then turn in for the night, that 5:30 am alarm comes around way too quick.

7 comments:

Simply Quaint said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Simply Quaint said...

Try this again lol

Sandra so happy that your grandma is doing so much better, miracles are amazing! I am still praying she stays on the road to recovery......

Now onto the mice issue, unfortunately I hate to break the news to you, but mice can get to the top of your cabinets, where we use to live I had open kitchen cabinets so I decorated the tops above sink etc with florals, when I got up there to clean, omg the mouse droppings, disgusting, I would hear them time to time running too...yikes...we were in the country as well... The best thing is to fill every crack, crevice, opening with steel wool, caulking etc...they will flatten themselves to get in anywhere...under your sinks kitchen, bathroom etc...plug hole around drain pipes, dryer vent make sure it's sealed...door cracks........good luck they are nasty.........

I was wonder if you could share once again your source for free tv like all the links you use....I especially want to watch downtown abbey and hate to wait til January......would so much appreciate....,,

Hope your days get better, still sending many prayers and hugs

Blessings
Rhonda

NITA said...

So glad your granny is better!!

Our Pest Control also said do not stack firewood next to house, its a breeding ground for mice...
What we do is put everything in Rubbermaid and Tupperware containers, then peppermint oil & in traps use birdseed.
If you have a problem you will catch them right & left if not then its an isolated mouse.
Also check in closets for evidence.

Anonymous said...

Ya, those little pests get into just about everything, high or low, covered or not. Cover all open holes; that foam that expands works wonders. Make sure the closed boxes haven't been "gnawed on" as well. Also, yes, don't place the wood near the house. Not sure about Texas, but termites, black widows, brown recluse and roaches (for sure) will love it. So glad about your Granmother's turning point. Good wishes for her continued recovery. Mary in Georgia

Tina Leigh said...

As soon as the cool weather comes, the mice think they have to move in. I like the glue traps because you can put them down in corners & paths & they will run right on & get stuck. I cut the traps in half & place a piece of food in the middle of it. For stopping up the holes...the best is that SPRAY INSULATION FOAM! You can buy it at Walmart and it is very easy to use. Spray it around pipes in any hole and then it swells up. Great stuff. Curt probably knows all about it.

Jen said...

Dryer sheets also work great at keeping mice and the such out. We use them in our camper with great success. I second the comment about sealing up the holes. Even the smallest of holes they can crawl in.

Getting ready for winter is something we love doing. Have a great week.

Susanne said...

I'm exhausted just reading about everything you did. LOL. And may I say "Ewww" to the mouse too.