A slow day

 

Some days I am all full steam ahead, and then some days I crash, and need to take a step back and regroup so to speak.  I call it my replenishing the soul days.   

"But you're a stay at home mom, why would you need that?", well I guess in a way that may sound true, but we often have such a busy schedule too, and I don't know about anyone else as I can only speak for myself, but homemaking is tiring at times, and there is always something to do.  Always!

If you're anything like me though, taking that step back feels like I'm cheating or a guilty in some way.  It's very hard for me to sit still without starting to feel like I need to be doing something.  There's a fight that ensues inside me, one side says to be still because the work will still be there tomorrow, and the other says I need to not be lazy and I should be busy not sitting.  I guess it's true that we can be our biggest critics right?

Anyway, today has been a slow day.  I'm dealing with a banger of a hormonal headache and slight cramping, so whether I wanted to or not, I was forced to take it slow and do the absolute needed only.  That meant mostly computer work, so I went and visited everyone on the Happy Homemaker Monday post, and also those who joined in as old fashioned bloggers.

Then I paid some bills, and worked on the new meal plan and budget.

 

I'm having Curt pick up the groceries from Walmart today, because my cars' battery has decided it's time to die.  I would have put off grocery shopping until the weekend but we need food now, so hubby just told me to do the pickup and he would go straight after work.  God bless this wonderful husband of mine.

So basically I have sat around doing computer stuff, I read my Bible, finished the book of Revelation and started 1 Samuel, and put some new books on the shelf.  

Oh and just realized I never showed you these, I got them at an antique store this weekend.  We were just walking around not really planning on getting anything but I had to bring these two, especially one of them and you'll see why.

 

 

Have you heard of the Companion Reader books?  They are vintage books that have two stories, one on each side of the book.  Classics that we all remember reading as children.  The first Companion Reader book I got was at a thrift store, and I grabbed it because it was Little Women, without even realizing that it also included Little Men on the other side.  

This time, I grabbed it for Heidi.  Who remembers Heidi?  One of my most memorable stories I remember reading as a child, and even watching a children's series on it too.  I loved it so much, the whole story was just the sweetest.

And again, I completely forgot that it came with a second story.  Didn't even notice until I got home and was taking the book out of the bag.  The story on the other said is that of Hans Hinkler, another favorite from my childhood.

These are great books to have for your kids to read.  I've been on the lookout for more of these Companion Readers at my local thrift stores and antique stores.  They are super cheap, I paid $2 for this one, so they're a great buy and I think these older classics are better for our kids and grand kids to read, than the nonsense I see in the bookstores for children, nowadays.

I was all happy with that find, and as we came around one of the many booths......ok, wait.  Maybe I should quickly explain how our biggest antique store is set up.

It is an old historic building downtown, 3 floors high.  The bottom floor is a huge open area, with amazing antique finds in every nook and cranny.  The next two floors up are split into booths by different sellers, also with crazy amazing items.

As always I am immediately drawn to the bookshelves.  Hubby knows, he will walk around to other areas because I get stuck going through the books.  It was at one of these many shelves filled with hundreds of books, that I saw this next one and I couldn't contain my excitement.  It was $4.  That's it.....but oh my word.

 

Beatrix Potter - The Artist and her world.  There is a copy of this book on Amazon for $31.  Yeah, thirty one dollars.   There are also a few copies on Thriftbooks, the cheapest being $5.  So I got it for much cheaper and though it's not in perfect condition, that doesn't matter to me.  I actually love old books, books that show they've been read many times and carried around and loved by their previous owners.

I honestly can't wait to read this one, to learn more about Beatrix Potter and her life.  What a great find, isn't it?

Well friends, that is it for today, I leave you with my two babies.  I love them so much, these little faces are my shadow during the day.  Even if they're napping, the minute I start to move out of sight, they're up and at my feet.  Unconditional love for sure.

Anyway, I hope you have a blessed Tuesday, I'll see you back here tomorrow.  

This day in 2006 - Coffee and Special K anyone?

This day in 2007 -

This day in 2008 - Lemon Bread Pudding

This day in 2009 - Feeling a little blah

This day in 2010 - Something big my way comes

This day in 2011 -

This day in 2012 -

This day in 2013 - Homemaking in progress

This day in 2014 - Cooking Thursday - Cinnamon Roll Cake

This day in 2015 -

This day in 2016 -

This day in 2017 - Happy Homemaker Monday

This day in 2018 -

This day in 2019 -

This day in 2020 -

This day in 2021 -

This day in 2022 - Drought and old books

This day in 2023 - Happy Homemaker Monday

{ Good Dog and Best Patient Award }

Our sweet Kaia is home and resting, thanks to our good Lord!

She came home sporting a Good Dog Bandana, given by the vet's office, for being the best patient and a really good dog.  The vet said she was a social butterfly LOL

Apparently, our Kaia was still recovering but trying to play with the other puppies and kittens that had been neutered and spayed, keeping them entertained and making them feel better.  The vet and the technicians all loved her.

 

We opted to do a onesie instead of the Elizabethan Cone, better known as the Cone of Shame  hahaha

She did come home with the cone, but wasn't liking it at all, and a couple times walked into things.  So with the vet's approval we decided to do the onesie instead.

I must say, she has not once even attempted to look at or touch or lick her sutures, it's as if they aren't even there, but we will still keep the onesie on for the next 14 days.

The onesie we picked was the Recovery Vest.  It comes with a pocket where you insert a Lavender essential oil disk, to keep the pet calm and to help with anxiety as well.

 

 

 

We got the large size because it was the closest to her weight range, although it is a little big on her, but it doesn't bother her at all.  It's soft thin material, and because it's not snug on her body, it doesn't rub on or snag on her sutures at all.  It also allows the skin to breathe.

She does have a slight skin irritation, and has medication for that, along with her pain meds.  But she is doing so well, she has eaten, she is drinking, she tries to play and run, but also gets tired pretty quickly and takes a lot of naps.  

Kaia had a slight temp this morning, but the vet said that's normal due to the surgery and anesthesia etc.  At the time I'm typing this post though, her temperature is back to normal.

 

The thing I'm finding the hardest, is keeping her from jumping on the bed or couch.  We pick her up and put her on, or pick her up and put her down, but there have been a few times that she just goes and does it before we even get to her.  Keeps me on my toes for sure.

 

We are just thrilled that she is home, recovering, the surgery is done and went well and now we can just concentrate on her healing. 

{ Kaia went in for her spaying }

It's been a very slow day.  I have spent it with my hubby, who is home on leave for the next 3 days.  

Early this morning, we dropped Kaia off at the vet for her spaying.  It broke my heart, and I know that may sound so ridiculous to say, but just leaving her upset me.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried on the way home.

I think it brought up a few memories of Marley.

Anyway, she didn't get to her surgery until this afternoon, and we got the call around 3:30pm letting us know she was in recovery and had done really well.  We get to pick her up tomorrow at 8:30am.  I am literally counting down the minutes hahahah

So I spent the whole day, just trying to keep my mind busy.  

 

Hubby and I went to Petsmart for some supplies for Kaia for her after care, then came home, did a little yard work, had a swim, barbecued some burgers and bratwurst and just relaxed.

 

I did hang up some clothes inside, it was so hot out, that I didn't even want to put the washing in those temperatures.

 

Would you believe me if I told you they were all dry, in 10 minutes?  Even inside, and even though there were some towels too?  This heat is ridiculous.  

 

Anyway, I didn't take photos of anything else,  but I am going to just show you what my husband was working on.  Tomorrow I'll show you Kaia and anything else I get up to during the day.

 

 

 

When we first moved to Texas, in 2015, my mother in law had given my husband, his dad's old smoker.  He had that smoker for so many years, and then passed away, and it was just left at his parent's house in Oklahoma.

We brought it home, and used it just a few times, but it was pretty dingy, rusted, old, the wooden board on the front was destroyed from the weather, the handles were broken etc.

We couldn't decided what to do with it.  Thought of getting rid of it, but neither one of us could bear to do it, so the next plan was to go ahead and bring it back to life.  Give it a new coat of metal paint, new board, new wooden handles and grates.

My husband sanded it all down and removed all the rust first.  Unfortunately the grates inside were very rusted and old, so we got rid of those and will buy some new ones.

He then bought some metal black paint, and gave it a new fresh look.  He also made new wooden handles, and just needs to make a new board for the front of the smoker.  It's a work in progress but already looks so much better.

While he was out there working on it, a butterfly just appeared out of nowhere and landed on one of the smoker's legs.  It didn't move, it stayed there the whole time my hubby was spraying the paint and working on it, only leaving when he was done for the day.

I think that was my father in law, giving his son some love and appreciation for the work he is doing on his old grill.

Very sweet to think about, isn't it?

She is looking as good as new.  It's amazing how you can refurbish something with just a little elbow grease and a lot of love.

I can't wait to see it all finished.  We plan on having a whole barbecue area, with the smoker, our gas grill, and hopefully some cabinets of some sort for keeping all the barbecue tools.

But it will happen slowly, because everything takes time and money, of course.

So there you go, that was my day, nothing really happened.  I'm just glad this day is done and I can look forward to tomorrow.

Have a good Tuesday night friends, I'll be back tomorrow with an update on my little girl.

{ Wednesday Catch Up }

Good morning everyone, welcome back to my little corner here on the web.  It's been a while since my last post, so I thought it was time to come in, and show you what I've been up to.  

Be prepared though, I have a lot of pictures to share, so you may want to grab a cup of coffee or tea, before you settle in for a little chat.  I just felt I needed to get these pictures and my thoughts, on the blog, but there really is no sequence or events, so I'll be kind of just jumping all over the place, hope that's ok.

So what has been happening around here?  A lot of homemaking and getting back to the core of who I am.  I was feeling so discombobulated for a while.  Felt like I couldn't get back to the things I wanted to do and loved doing.  But that kind of changed about a month ago, when I pushed myself to just get on with it and quit allowing life and my convoluted mind to keep me in a unmotivated, stuck place.

The first few days were hard, I wanted to revert back to old habits, to sitting around, to not wanting to do anything, to making excuses for not baking this, or making that, or gardening or whatever it was that I had floating around in my brain.  It was like a bubble of all these things just brewing in my mind, but being stuck there and not really coming out and being accomplished.  

If you've ever been in that state of mind, you know how difficult it is to snap out of it.  But I did, I forced myself and I am so happy to be where I am at this moment.  I've regained a renewed love for homemaking, cooking and baking, taking care of the home, working on projects, making things and watching the kind of shows and movies I've always loved.

So, I've bounced back and I couldn't be happier for it.  I just hope that it also keeps me focused on the blog, and putting out posts like I used to, whether it be something I want to show you, a day in the life, a recipe or whatever it may be.  Life goes by so fast, and I'm letting it go by without documenting it.  Well that's a sad thought, isn't it?

Anyway, that little intro went on longer than I thought it did, but that is what happens when you haven't talked in a while, then open your mouth and it all comes tumbling out.

Let me now shift gears a bit and show you in pictures, what I've been doing.

Little man Elliott, was a bit sick on Sunday.  Being the cat that he is, he sometimes gets into things he shouldn't, like Kaia's peanut butter treats.  He vomited them up on Saturday night, then spent most of Sunday feeling quite sick, threw up two more times and just wasn't his usual bubbly self.  Thankfully, after much prayer and no doubt the offensive treats making their way through his digestive system, he bounced back and got back to his sweet, funny, naughty nature.

I've been quite busy faffing back and forth, between the inside of the house and outside.   Thought truth be told, it's been more in than out, because the triple digit temperatures we've been enduring the past few weeks, have been way too much to endure.

We are desperately needing rain, our rivers and ponds are drying up, our grass is all dead, our plants and fruit trees are struggling to survive.  It's been quite the dry summer for us.

Inside though, the plants are thriving.  So much so, that this gorgeous Peace Lily above decided to flower after about 3 years of not producing anything.  

Let me tell you a little story about this specific plant.  My sweet mother in law Pat, gifted me this Lily when my equally sweet grandmother Odete, passed away in 2016.  Had this been years ago, this poor thing would have been dead within a month, tops.  I just could not for the life of me, keep any plants alive.

But to see it not only thriving but now flowering, is just amazing.  I am so happy to see this beautiful Lily in all it's glory.

In between my homemaking, I have also started a college course.  Brace yourselves, I know you're probably wondering what on earth, and where did that come from?

But, this is a free course, amongst many others that are offered by Hillsdale College.  It is called The Great American Story:  A Land Of Hope, and is available for anyone who is interested to take.  I must admit, I am quite enjoying it and learning more about our beautiful country.

They have quite a few free courses to enroll in, and I'm going to take a few more of these, just for fun.  Wanna know my next?

The Young Jane Austen:  Northanger Abbey

 

No surprise, is there?  Hahahahah

I have also been reading, a lot, like a lot.  (That just reminded me of Johnny Depp's trial when Amber Heard on the stand said that when she met him, he drank a lot of tea, a lot of tea, like a LOT of tea.  LOL)

This wonderful book pictured above, is for an upcoming review.  It is called The Weekly Gratitude Project.

Also am on book 2 of Janette Oke's Women of the West series.....Julia's Last Hope.

And, currently, also reading What Will They Think?  Nine Women in the Bible who can Help you live your Life Boldly by Grace Valentine (also for a review)

Desserts, cakes, and breads have also been working their way through the kitchen.  Along with delicious home cooked meals.  

This delicious looking pasta dish below, will be up on my food blog, hopefully by this afternoon.  It is a really inexpensive, yummy meal that stretches quite far, and is the easiest thing to throw together.

The grill has also become our newest friend, and weekends are spent outdoors, under the gazebo, eating yummy things, like steak and these amazing Korean Barbecue Bratwurst, from our local butcher shop.  

 

They are divine!

Homemaking is full speed ahead as well.  I've moved things here and there, I've reorganized, cleaned and focused on keeping our home lived in and cozy.  There is nothing quite like having a clean, tidy home is there?

For this purpose, I've relied on some trusty and long time favorite cleaners, like the Old English.  I've been using it for over 20 years and have never found another that is as good.  

You know I believe that when we find a good product, as long as it's still in production, why change it?  They make so many.  The shelves are usually packed full of dozens of cleaners, which sometimes just confuse a shopper.  I just stick to what I know.  anyone else like that?

In the garden, we've been having a hard time.  The drought that I mentioned at the top of this post, hasn't been kind at all.  Our little grape vine, has been coming along for 3 years.  We actually thought it had died, but it suddenly sprung to life and has clung onto the wire fence.  A few weeks ago we noticed a grape, one single grape.  Can you spot it in the photo below?

I am hoping that eventually it will grow into more, but the fact that it has been growing slowly but steadily the past few years, is enough for me to appreciate.

I have two pepper plants, and only one has produced so far, and again, just one single pepper.  What is it with the single fruit and veg?

My cherry tomato plant has been consistently providing beautiful red tomatoes, so at least this one is doing well.

One of my Hibiscus plants, has a ton of mushrooms growing in it's soil.  Now, for a newish plant lover, as I am, this was a bit of a concern.  I first noticed my money tree growing mushrooms, and now one of my Hibiscus.  

But I researched it, and apparently it's normal and actually means your soil is quite rich and providing a wonderful ecosystem for your plant to thrive in.  I was pulling the mushrooms out, and will continue to do so with my indoor money plant, because I don't want Elliott to get into it.

But as for my outdoor plants, I think I'll leave them be.

Besides, am I the only one that looks at this photo above, and immediately pictures a fairy house?  There is something about this picture that is so magical in a sense.  I have stared at it for far too long, but I can't help it, it takes me into fantasy worlds, with beautiful English forests.

Boy my mind can travel can't it?

And with that my dear friends, I bring this catch up post, to an end.  I really enjoyed sitting with you and chatting a bit, bringing you up to speed with what I've been doing or working on, and showing you a bit of what is around me.

On today's agenda, I have:

• College Course Work
• Feeding my sourdough starter
• Pulling down my bag of fabrics to sort through, for a project I want to get into
• Watering all the plants out on the patio
• Taking more photos for another blog post
• Reading
• Hoping to finally watch the new Downtown Abbey movie

What are you up to today?

{ Recipe binder and new notebooks }

 

Every year, I buy new notebooks to use for my budget and meal plan. It's something I've been doing for a long time, and can't really imagine trying to function without them. 

 

They keep me organized, they keep me on track, and I love having a record of everything I've done throughout the year. 

 

This year, I also purchased a planner. I am not a fan of planners, I'll just throw that out there. 

 

Not because I don't think they're helpful, but because I have never been able to stick to one consistently. I start off great, and within a few weeks it has been set aside, and never looked at again. 

 

But this coming year, I want to try and be consistent. I will probably not use it like others do, and I'll have to adapt it to my needs, so it will probably end up being more of another place to record weekly meals, birthdays or important dates, and blog posts I want to work on. 

 

I don't think it will be a place to keep appointments and so forth, because as I stated above, I don't stick to it, and I forget to even look at the planner. 

 

I have a new budget book. I've mentioned before how I keep mine, but basically, I just organize it by month, I write down all the income that comes in and then all the expenses. 

 

As I pay my bills, I check it off, write down the total and the confirmation number alongside it too for future reference. 

 

I also got a new meal plan and grocery shopping book. Again, I've mentioned it before in my blog, you can read that post here.

 

On one side is the menu, on the opposite page is the grocery list. I take this book with me when I go shopping and if for some reason I can't find an item I need for a specific meal, or if something is on sale, I can easily change the meal plan, right there in the store. Love it, it's helped me immensely. And it also helps when I'm planning a new menu, to go back and see what we were eating and what our favorites were. 

 

The new book I got this year, is actually a dream journal. I dream a lot, like every night, and I usually remember all of my dreams. Some are strange, some are no doubt visitations by family members who have passed on. They tend to show up in my dreams anytime I'm going through a hard time. 

 

I just thought it would be fun to keep a dream journal. A place I can jot down my dreams, first thing in the morning. It will be interesting to go back and read those. 

 

 

 

Next year, I also plan on bringing back my recipe binder. I used to have one, and for some reason I can't find it. I think with all our moves while active duty, and then state wide moves after retiring etc., it seems to have been misplaced or lost, I don't know. 

 

 

 

But as much as I love my food blog online, and the ease of having thousands of recipes at our fingertips, I still feel like there is nothing as amazing as actual recipes in your hand. 

 

My recipe binder was one of my favorite possessions, so I've decided to bring it back to life. I've been working on it and will do a more in depth post, this upcoming week. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Days have been otherwise slow here at home.  Curt is on leave, Nick is on Winter break.  I've spent a lot of time reading, baking and snuggling with these two sweet boys.

They've become so sweet with each other, a cute bond has been forming.  Yes there are still moments Elliott aggravates Marley and Marley will bark at him once, then it's done.  Hahaha

I do thank God daily for the blessing of Elliott in our lives.   It seems a strange thing to say since I've never liked cats, and now here I am, completely besotted with this little boy.  

The funny thing is that he has taken to me as well, and because he has been with us and Marley his whole life, he acts more like a dog than a cat.  It is quite funny to see.

 

I have also been enjoying catching up on tv shows.  I binged the whole Bridgerton series on Friday.  So good, and I had been eagerly waiting for a new period piece to watch.

 

I will say, there were far too many sex scenes, it actually made me a bit uncomfortable at times, but it was a brilliant series and I'm glad I stuck with it.

 

Also watched The Christmas Chronicles 2, Virgin River Season 2 and something else that I can't for the life of me remember.  Goodness.

 

I will be watching the documentary on Netflix called, Diana in Her Own Words, later today.   And I'm sure I'll find some other period pieces to enjoy as well.

 

Right now though, I will finish off this post, then need to get dressed, have some breakfast and take Jasmine to work.

 

I hope you are all having a blessed weekend and I hope your Christmas was an amazing one.  I for one am very much looking forward to the new year, I think it's safe to say we are all ready to put 2020 behind us.