Tag: friends

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Great cloth diapers and diaper covers for gifts

It seems that all of my oldest daughter’s friends, have decided this summer is the time to have their second and third child, which means my gift of  cloth diapers and even diapers services are now to be thought about. At last count, there are four of the girls who have been best friends for years, that are expecting little ones in the next five months. They, I noticed spaced their children out in age, so they didn’t have two little babies in the home at the same time. In this period of time, things have change a lot for all of them.

When my daughter first got pregnant, I asked her to consider using cloth diapers and saving some money while doing so. She wasn’t too keen on the subject, since she was 13 when I had her first little brother. She saw me washing diapers and at that point in her life, she wasn’t into doing her own laundry, though she would help fold the diapers and diaper covers for me.

While my daughter and I were together last week, planning on big baby shower for all four girls together, such as tradition I showed my daughter the site I had found online shopping, that carries every type of diaper one could possibly imagine. The little covers are so awesome and cute now. It’s changed so much since I had to diaper my baby in plain white. Now it’s might be fun to change a baby’s diapers!

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Envy Zinnias

Last summer I saved the zinnia seeds that are now three generations strong. 🙂 I planted green zinnias, that some seed company’s call “Envy” and others don’t even carry. Around here, or at least in the garden departments of the stores around here, the stores don’t carry them, that I have ever seen.

My seeds came from a friend who first found them in Ohio. I’m sure that there are places that readers will be able to go out right now and find, but to me, it’s all in the “seed seeking” and finding of these little green gems. I always dead head my zinnias and save the seeds, but I put the each color and size of the seeds into packets (easy to make one’s self and a great gardening tool) and mark them, so I know which I’m going to be growing, or relatively close to growing,what I marked on the package, since one never really knows for sure. To me, the seeds are more organized and I’m somewhat prepared. I think I’m going to be pretty sure what color and seed are going where. The green zinnias make an lovely contrast, also a great conversation piece in the gardens.

 

 

 

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An over abundance of chives

Looking out at my garden, I have noticed that I have a big time over abundance of chives. I must have at least 12 patches of them that I have counted just now, as it’s a far as I can see out the front door. I’m going to have to dig up clumps and give a lot away. I’ll also be saving space for other compatible plants.

I know that one of my long time friends is going to take some this weekend, and bring me some of her geraniums in exchange, but I have plenty more to share. I do plan on drying a lot of them, and lately my son likes his (as I do) mixed in with his mashed potatoes, so he’ll grab some and chop them up.

After the chives, I have to definitely thin out all of my various mints and cooking herbs. A great deal of them are all volunteer plants. Maybe I’ll just start another few gardens in the back yard. It’s closer to the kitchen and would be much handier.

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Musical kids

My sons are very musically inclined. It seems they have teamed up with my friend and blogging buddy Lindsay’s sons to form not one, but two bands. Her sons are nearly the same age as mine, and actually that is how we started being friends. We met through our kids since they all were and are interested in the same things. It was sort of uncanny at first, but now we are both used to.

Today was sort of a blessing for me, for awhile anyway, but my poor friend is about to experience the wonders of music through a whole complete drum set. 🙂 Oh the joys of kids swapping musical instruments.

I think now in this house at least, we are down to 11 various kinds and makes of guitars, a flute, a mandolin, a dulcimer, an electric piano and I know there are a few I’m missing, but you all get the idea. I feel sort of sorry for Linds, but I’m sure there will be another drum set in the house, and I’m going to want to do some home improvement and get the room they play in, sound proofed. It will help a lot with to save the family’s hearing and relaxation.

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Improper venting

After the storm we had yesterday, I went up into the attic since I thought I had heard water dripping on the attic beams. I was a bit leery to go up there since I actually was afraid of what kind of damage I would find. To be quite frank, my husband is not one to do home improvement or home maintenance well at all. If he isn’t interested in a certain project or a “need to be done” chore, he won’t do it, and if he does, it is rigged. Some guys are like that, but it ticks me off when I have to hire someone to follow simple instructions on home fix it things that I can’t do and he won’t do right.

I’ve always been a jack of all trades. A lot of trades. Meaning with me, I know a little about a lot and what I don’t know, I find out. So onto the attic…I ventured upstairs to see that the vent for the bathroom was vented into the attic and that is it. No where except the attic for the moisture to escape. In other words, the husband did a really improper vent job, to say the least. I wasn’t impressed and ticked off great to lots more.

While upstairs, I also notices that the roof is leaking. This is not good. I have to call someone to help me get this fixed a what I am hoping is a reasonable price. I am going to ask a friend of mine who has and will help with the vent for a home cooked meal. Not a problem at all. This is how we barter back and forth.

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Tile cleaning for round rock

When my friend called me to tell me all of the things she was doing to her house, including tile cleaning round rock, (on that one, I’ll admit she stumped me) I had no idea what round rock was. This coming from a person who is a big rock collector. When I say big, I mean big in size of rocks. I collect small rocks and stones also, but I actually had no idea what my friend Amy was talking about.

Amy being from Texas and being a true Texan, tends to use words and sentences, or words for objects, that I (being from the North) have not a clue what she means. When she said she had hired a company who is experienced in tile cleaning round rock, I thought she meant the round rocks that line her driveway. I shake my head on this one, simply because I don’t know what her house looks like, since she just moved in and I’ve not visited, yet. I know she had hired various businesses who specialize in what she want’s done and needs help with, when it comes to the house, so it sometimes confuses my about that my friend is doing next.

After a lengthy phone call, from the Austin area, I found out about tile cleaning round rock, which led to garden talk, of course, since she laughed about what I had thought she was doing. With the money she saved, and help with the matters she needs done to the house, it sounds like I’m going to have to take a trip to Texas!

 

 

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Saving money by rain harvesting

Talking to a lot of farmers that live in my area, and I know personally, have been telling me about rain harvesting. I personally think it is an awesome idea. We pay a water bill here now, when before the township decided to pipe “city” water in, we had well water. I am a firm believer in having a well, and also I make sure my cistern is clean and it always fills up with water from the rain. I used to depend on it for my gardens.

Rain water barrels, I’ve decided will be one of the ways I’m going to start collecting rain water.  Sometimes, thinking about it and what is now in the atmosphere, it’s kind of scary what I’d be using, but memories of my Papa washing my hair in rain water, since he had harvested rain, won over thinking about what might be in my rain water. Besides, it serves at totally useful survival tips.

I have a feeling, like the farmers I’ve talked to, that we are going to be in for some rough dry weather around mid summer. This makes watering the livestock really costly. Plus with a large family and using so much water now, I’m going to start looking for rain barrels for sale, and get quite a few of them. Better to be safe than sorry. It would give me peace of mind to be able to have water if needed. I’m still remembering also, how soft and silky my hair was after washing and rinsing in rain water that was harvested!

 

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RIP Mr. Jonathon Frid

Having been one of those people who used to take short cuts and drive too fast on country roads, ( years ago )…Needless to say, I was really into Dark Shadows, and Barnabas Collins.

Of course, I saw it on the news when it hit the television. It made me feel nostalgic and actually, really old. I shook it off and gave it an, “It is what it is,” shrug. I am however going to order the whole series.  It’s pricy, but the way I figure it, I think it would be really great to have some old friends who I never lost touch with while growing up and growing older. We were all total fans of Dark Shadows. I’m sure that it would be an awesome girls night and slumber party.

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Considering personalized address plaques

My friend Amy is about to buy a very nice home, for the first time, and I’ve looked at a whole lot of personalized address plaques to consider as a housewarming gift. I really believe she would like that, considering after a really rough divorce, in which she changed back to her maiden name. Buying the house wasn’t from any proceeds from the divorce because there wasn’t any. Amy bought this house with all of her own money that she really worked hard and for a long time, to buy it out right. I’m proud of her.

While looking at all the plaques, I also saw some really nice bronze address plaques. I’m thinking that the bronze would match the bronze numbers on her mail box, since it is out by the road and where she lives, one must have address numbers on their mailbox and even the paper box. To me, this is a bit of over kill, but it is a must do, so perhaps I’ll go with the bronze.

I’ve decide to perhaps go with the whitehall products. I was checking out the whitehall address plaques, and I really like them. I believe the ones I was looking at were made of nickle, but I could be wrong. Still, no matter, I love the class of them and how the look. It’ll all come together, but in the mean time, I have a feeling Amy would love this kind of house warming and congratulations gift.

 

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Shepard’s pie

Shepard’s pie comes in so many variations that I couldn’t be able to count them. My daughters boy friend who is a guest here until Saturday, wanted to contribute to one of our evening meals. I told him to go for it, and my husband took him and our daughter on their first “grocery trip” together. When they got home, they had gotten the ingredients Keg (we will call him) needed to make his take on the Shepard’s pie.

I have to admit that I tried not to hover, but I absolutely hate to have someone messing around in my kitchen. I even have a problem with my kids and husband cooking something in my kitchen. I mean, it was nice the young man wanted to contribute and show off his cooking abilities, but it still felt odd for me. Instead of hovering, I gave him a bag of potatoes, which I had told him I already had, then left the room. One other truth be known, I was sort of hoping my daughter would learn a few tips on preparing and cooking a new dish. She can bake like hell wouldn’t have it, but to say she is handy in the kitchen, would be a lie.

Keg’s mean tuned out wonderful. Yes, I was surprised. My two son’s and grandson loved it, V loved it, and I liked it. V did learn how to mash potatoes, somewhat. And bless Keg’s heart…he doesn’t measure, and cooks similar to the way I do. I don’t measure and it’s all basically taste test. I’m going to send the recipe to my blogging buddy Lindsay. She is starting to collect recipes for her blog. Her blog  is comprised of a little of everything. She knows my family, as she has kids the same age as I do, which is why we hit it off so well, so it’s going to be a sort of  ” Family and extended Family Cookbook ,”  which will fit right into her blog, since she has many hobbies and life stuff happening… but that is all I’m going to tell you about her surprises. 😉