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Fresh walls and floors

In preparation for Spring cleaning, I’ve decided to get new flooring for the kitchen and also paint for the walls. I’m actually kicking around the idea of painting though. I just painted two years ago, and also put up the boarder it took me months to find. It all matches…except the floor.

My son has volunteered to help with all the cleaning, since I am due for surgery next month and I’m not allowed to do a lot of things, which of course I’m still doing, but am careful about it. My husband has forbidden me to get up on a ladder though. I can see his point, since my doctor told me (in front of my husband) that I am to be very careful not to fall. My husband knows me. Pure and simple I am a klutz. I can trip and fall, just walking across the floor. My son is a godsend as far as I am concerned. He loves to clean and do home improvement things.

We are going shopping for either tile for the kitchen floor tonight. I’ve got to admit, I’m pretty excited about it. I hate what is down now. Even just with new tile it will make it look like a new kitchen.

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Using lockers for the home

My boys have decided to turn one of the bigger rooms in the basement into a partial gym and have asked for lockers. I thought it would be a great idea to have them down there, as I already have went to sales and have gotten some in the past at a sale when they wanted them in their bedrooms. I figure it would make great storage for their gym outfits, and other things that they would want to store in them.

The school had some lockers for sale, but I know from experience that they are way too small to store much in at all. My kids don’t even wear heavy coats to school because there is no room in the lockers for them. They can’t even fit all of the books they have into them, which is kind of upsetting since what are we tax payers paying for exactly? And who has to pay the doctor bills if the kids get sick from not wearing coats? But, that is another story. I have however, while browsing found school lockers that were much bigger, unfortunately the school the kids go to, didn’t use these.

Employee lockers that I found are great for what my boys wanted to use them for. They also were not as expensive as what I thought they would be. This is a great help with money matters, since I’m on a budget with home improvement. Maybe these will keep the basement a bit neat and even nearly non, “guy cluttered!”

 

 

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More seed catalogs and strange weather

This winter has been very non typical to this area. I’ve also been getting my garden magazines and seed catalogs much earlier than usual. I’m not complaining about that, because I can do garden planning now.

The animals have been acting odd too. My husband and I noticed that the skunks didn’t hibernate this winter, the geese in the wetlands behind my house never left like normal. In fact there are more going into the sanctuary.

My son saw a honey bee yesterday. For quite a few years there were no honey bees seen at all. Every one of our boxes out in the field were empty, which didn’t help our financial situation. This makes me wonder what this summer is going to bring.

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Spring cleaning in February

Getting a jump on doing my spring cleaning the last few days. I can’t believe how dusty this house can get. It seems that I dust in the morning and by night time, there is dust again. I’ve changed the furnace filters, so it can’t be that. However we do live on the same road that the grain mill is, and they are always running, even in the winter. That fine dust can get into every crack or opening in the house. Not that we have anything major. Just going in and out of the front door if the wind is blowing, is enough to bring in the dust.
Last year a lot of the farmers took in what we call around here, “Blood Corn”. When it is taken to the mill and ground up, the red dust get over everything, including me when I’m in my garden. The first year we lived here, I sort of freaked out, since I actually had never heard of blood corn, even though I grew up on a farm. I couldn’t figure out where tall the red dust was coming from, and why by arms and face were red.

Now, it’s just something one has to deal with. I give farmers every credit in the world. There are so many responsibilities. I just have to use more Swiffers.

 

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Mom and Me

Guest post of the week by Brittany Booker

Mom and I haven’t always had the easiest relationship but things are getting better. After dad died I think we both realized we didn’t want things to end that way between us and I think we were both just pretty tired of butting heads. Now that she finally moved into a new house I’m trying to become a bigger part of her life and be the supported daughter if she wants me to be. I helped her find a good moving company in town and I went to www.satellitestarinternet.com/ before she even moved in to make sure she would have Internet access at the new house. She even called me last week to go furniture shopping with her which I thought was a huge improvement for us! I’m really excited about how things are going with mom and I hope in just a couple more months we will have the kind of relationship that a lot of my friends have their mothers. I’ve always been jealous of that and now I can have it myself.

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Ordering my seeds

I’ve been pouring over the seed catalogs that are now coming in the mail, trying to find exactly the seeds I want to plant in the front herb and flower gardens. Such a hard decision for me. I want the all, it seems. I found though, if I buy bulk from a few of the catalogs, I’ll save a lot of money.

In the back yard is where my son and I have decided to get serious about bale gardening and also a plot for veggies that I can take to farmers market and sell, plus have enough for the family to eat.

I’m a vegetable freak. I love just about any kind. I do plan on having some different kinds of squash that a lot of people haven’t even heard of. My mom is making me a list of the ones she has tried and loved. Right now, I just can’t remember the names of them. I’m really looking forward to spring. Plus, I didn’t know it, but my gardens are considered home improvement projects. (The insurance guy told us this). Guess you learn something new every day!

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The dreaded grocery store

Having to make another trip to the grocery store is something I have to do today that I really dread. Everything has gotten so expensive, that I find myself looking in all my cookbooks for ideas of meals to make that are great, nutritious but the ingredients are inexpensive.

My mom did give me a big envelope of coupons that I’m going to go through. They may help. The problem with using the coupons, is that most of them are for things I don’t normally use. Or, I forget the ones I can, which is a major flaw of mine. I also tend to forget my lists unless someone in the family reminds me.

Today I’ve decided to go in armed though. I think when I went to the market on Sunday, I got flustered because the store was super crowded, a lot of the items that were on sale had not been restocked and I didn’t want to try and find a person to help me go in to where ever they go and get what I wanted. That is, IF I could have found someone to help. In that store it’s nearly impossible. I just wanted to get the heck out of there.

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A great Spring gardening magazines

I’m so excited. My son brought in the mail today and handed me not one, but two new Spring 2012  Native Gardener’s Companion magazines! This is like a catalog, but with tips on growing various flowers, potted plants, shrubs and trees, plus a whole lot more.

In the What’s New section, I see that they now offer a Pollinator Kit that I would like to try. It consists of a tray of 38 potted plants for moist soil situations, and from the sound of it, there are a variety of really pretty colors, and forms of plants that attract bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, all of which I love. Some people are afraid of bees and try to get rid of them. I’m not one of those people. I love bumbles and honey bees. The only kind I don’t like, are the ones that are long and yellow and up here, people call them yellow jackets. They like to attack and build nests under the eves, and actually anywhere they can. Those are scary and so very mean. Plus they do nothing for my gardens. I’m glad that I rarely see them anywhere near my plants.

I’ve noticed also that the Gardner’s companion has include a color coded diagrams for planting gardens in various way, including plants in pots and various flowers and grasses. This is a great idea. I like to get new ideas and ways of making my gardens look different each year. I’m so excited for Spring to get here. And getting this magazine in the mail today boosted my spirits.

 

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Looking at Mailboxes

While looking for just the right new mailbox for my house, I came across Auth Florence mailboxes, online. A friend of mine recommended that I take a look and see if there were any on the site that I might be interested in.

From what I have seen so far, there are a lot of mailboxes and other items that would be more suitable for businesses and apartment complexes, but I haven’t found anything I can put up by the road yet. I’m far from finished looking though. Another friend of mine who owns her own business, just bought a small building that she will be renting out office space and there are three small apartments on the bottom floor as well. They will all be receiving mail and needing something installed.

The friend who recommended looking at this site is buying an apartment complex and will be needing cluster mailboxes to install in his building. I honestly didn’t know there were so many to choose from. It’s pretty awesome, actually. There are also peep holes with a buzzer included, and slot mailboxes…just lots of great stuff.

Florence Mailboxes are indeed sturdy, and since my one friend will need extra sets of keys for all the apartments in the complex, he plans on getting a box to lock them up in after they have been labeled. I’m still looking for my perfect mailbox, but it’s great to look at all the various choices.

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Extreme body workout

I used to be able to do some extreme body workouts before I developed degenerative disk disease. I really liked the fact that I had a small gym in my spare room, that my oldest daughter and I could work out in. We also had a television and a lot of CD’s to learn new kinds of exercises and even dance moves that worked out nearly every muscle in our bodies. Now I can no longer do any lifting over two lbs, and have to be very careful about how I move, because of the disks in my neck and lower back are shot.

Both of my daughters told me that they want a Beach Body this summer. Since I have a few upcoming surgeries on my disks in a month, and have been told that I will no longer be able to work out the way I used to, I’ve decided to keep my treadmill and give all of my other equipment to my oldest daughter, so she and her sister will have more space to do their work outs and get into the shape that they want to be in.

I’ve heard of a program that I would like to get for my girls also. And so if they wish to try it, I’ll be willing to give it to them as a early birthday gift. The great thing about this, is there a 90 Day Review, to see if it is what they would like to get into. It’s good to have that choice!

This is a guest post provided by Fitness Alliance.