Independence Days Challenge

 

Independence Days Challenge-

Here's what's been going on! It's finally warming up, grass is getting a bit green. Hopefully no more snow!!!

 

1. Plant Something- Getting ready to plant some lettuce starts in a little pot inside just to get something green growing. We've relocated a few things, trying to find room to put up our grow light rack to start some early vegetables. Otherwise too cold outside! After multiple mini snow storms we finally got into the 50s. Happy dance!

 

2. Harvest Something- Chives are up in the garden. So happy the girls have started laying! We have almost two and a half dozen eggs so far. It appears only two out of the three but that is another story listed below. I could be wrong on that, with two laying brown eggs and one white. Once we get three eggs a day we're good!

3. Preserve/Store Something- Bought some deeply discounted artisan breads and stashed those in the freezer. Keeping an eye on canned goods, etc. and stockpiling those. Found some good deals on some Augason Farms Butter powder on Amazon. Got a #10 can for $19.00 on sale. Got three freeze-dried entrees from Mountain House, nice to have on hand.

 
4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- Clearance priced wild bird food, clearance price winter clothes, and  several used Dvds and books from eBay. My food processor died, found a good deal online. My most recent read, highly recommended, this would make a GREAT movie!!!

 5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe- Working on trying some new Mediterranean diet recipes with some new and used cookbooks I was able to find. Another used book, while very heavy on the dairy (for us) great recipes!-

 

6. Build Community Food Systems- Not at this time. 
 
7. Recycle/Re-Use- Dave has been cleaning up and reorganizing our garage. He needed to reorganize some specific areas. We were able to donate quite a few things and get them out of the garage. We're trying to create more workspace, with two cars and limited storage. It's much better, but a work in progress. I have the new kitchen "buffet area" (previous computer desk) done, with mostly thrifted items! I went for a Mediterranean feel, just waiting on buying some butcher block for the new top!

8. Skill Up- I got a new job. Much higher pay, better benefits. My old job was a sinking ship and no one seemed to care. That gets really frustrating when you're trying to do the job right! I will be working part-time in the office and part-time at home, which is a nice bonus. Originally it was supposed to be fulltime in the office. Saves gas and the commute time! Kitty Bonnie will be happy.

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- Saved the life of our hen Debbie. I looked at one day a couple months ago, when it was really bitter cold, and she was standing there with her tail down looking pretty sad. Didn't know what was going on so I brought her in right away, got her warmed up. When I was handling her I realized she was really, really thin. I thought maybe she was egg-bound since the other two had started laying. I gave her a warm bath and blew her dry. 

 

She almost fell asleep! I waited a day or so nothing happened. So I did my first vent inspection and found no egg. She did have a hard little rubbery yellow thing attached to her tail feathers. I don't remember now what it was called, but it sounded like she might have a bacterial infection. Luckily I had some poultry antibiotics on hand and gave her several doses over the course of a couple of days. I also gave her food that she would eat, loves cat food apparently! So I tried to get her hydrated and eating, inside where it was wzrm. A double laundry basket worked great! With my work schedule I finally decided to put her back out with her flock. I would go out three times a day and give her some canned chicken, tuna, with water and oats, etc. She seemed like she got her appetite back. Within a week or two she started perking up and moving around more. She seems to have recovered completely, from what I can tell. She's eating, looks normal but not sure if laying yet? I'm really happy she pulled through and we'll see how things go from here. She's only two or three years old so she should have a long life ahead of her. Long live Debbie, named after Debbie the Space Chicken from Lost in Space-

 

Best Thrifting Scores! Installing A New Microwave, Kitchen Project- Turning A Desk Into A Buffet !

 

Best Thrifting Scores! 

We had some donations to make and I had the thrift store bug. I am redoing an area in the kitchen and wanted to add a little bit more French Mediterranean decor items . We decided to go out New Year's Eve day and dropped off some donations at our local Idaho Youth Ranch. We went inside and there just wasn't much in the store. They had a fire sometime in the summer at their warehouse and had asked people to stop donating. I don't know if they just never recovered or what happened but I've never seen their store that empty except for tons of clothing. We decided to go to Goodwill up the street. Oh wow wow wow were they ever stocked up!!! 

I started going through the home decor section and first found this really pretty pitcher made in Mexico for water for our dining table. Really nice size, $4.00-

Next I found a Ziploc plastic bag section of the store where they put all kinds of random things together. I found a brand new Teavana brand steeping tea brewer. Basically you put your loose tea in, fill with water let it steep. It comes with its own little coaster. After it's steeps when you set it on top of a mug and the weight of the liquid releases the tea through the stainless steel filter in the bottom. Pretty ingenious! It was brand new along with a few other crafting goodies, $3.00! New it is $20.00. The really nice thing about it is it's small and solves the problem of bulk teas that I like to brew. When I use a tea ball or tea spoon filter it seems like something always leaks through with chunks of tea in the bottom of the cup. The filter worked great!

Next I found a shadow box that was going to go perfect for a little vintage World War II French hen print that I found online. I inserted the photo, I'm going to add things like wheat sprigs, seeds and broken eggshells. So far it's really cute! In French at the top of the photo it says solve your barnyard problems. Then down in the middle it says something about a girl's school. At the bottom it says I Am A Brave Little Hen I don't eat much but I produce a lot. I stumbled on this print and loved it! We'll play around with the frame, which was $1.50.

As far as Mediterranean/French I found a cabbage leaf serving platter, $4.99. Many of these kinds of ceramics are made in Majorca, Spain-

Found a really cute whitewashed flower with galvanized metal and a jute center, $3.00. Really reminds me of a bakery we go to in McCall (Stacy's Cake's). They have lots vintage baking tins and make flowers out of them for decorations. It's up in the dining room now-

I found a faux lavender pot for $1.99-

 

And then a Fleur delis-style statue/baluster for $3.00. I wasn't sure about the green but it's growing on me. I had planned of painting it white but I think I like the green. Time will tell...

Next I found a serving platter, about 11 inches across that I will hang in my wall once I get a plate holder. It's a really nice brand, lots of available online, for $4 it was a bargain. At Home Depot a while back I bought a faux miniature olive tree that will also dress up the space this will be going-

Last for a couple dollars I found a Rachael Ray olive oil picture, like new and my favorite color! Washed really well with very hot soapy water and just like new, is $20.00 new! 

 

On the actual free side of things I found this nice free printable online. It's for my frame I already had for the holidays. I had originally put one with the same French wording but it just didn't print out right. I finally found one I like and it was free! Will save that for next year-

I was looking for a greenery swag for my living room but all of the Christmas items were completely gone. Will have to wait for next year. My entire haul (small items not shown) was $30.00!

 

 

Installing A New Microwave- 

Dave and I were relaxing nicely, about ready to eat on New Year's Eve, when suddenly our microwave arced and that was the end of that. I was cooking some veggies. We had it for about 13 years so we got our money out of it, for sure. So New Year's Day we spent shopping for a new microwave. I had pulled up a few models on YouTube and did a little research the night before. All our appliances are white so we were sticking with that. I noticed that a lot of the newer microwaves have recessed handles which I really like. Lower profile is always good for me. We stopped at Lowe's to look and see what they had and we lucked out. We found one in stock for $279 with the recessed handle! Dave and I installed it New Year's Day and it works great, and much quieter. Also made me finally really deep, deep clean my range top and stove. I took all the knobs off and scrubbed with really hot soapy water and a toothbrush. Scrubbed down the upper section really well, the bottom drawer and door. Looks much much better. All in all Santa came a bit late with that, but we got a good deal and got what we wanted. There is a series called Profile that we really liked with all of the digital keypads down along the bottom in a thin strip but they are much more expensive and it wasn't that important to us. Happy that we have one installed and it works!

 

 

Old dead one

 

We pulled the old one and proteced the glass top stove

 

New one out of box, Whirlpool

 

Installed and we cleaned up!

 

 

 

My inspiration from Romantiskahem.blogspot

 

Kitchen Project- Turning A Desk Into A Buffet! 

I saw the photo at the top a while back. It gave me an idea and so here's the reveal! Here's the history first- When we bought our house we inherited a desk in the dining room which we decided to keep. For a long time it was good to have our computer there, work online, pay bills and be able to chat with each other-

 

Earlier this year we decided to move the computer into the home office that I used to work remotely. When I changed jobs and went to work in an office we decided we could really use that space in the kitchen for other things. I'd always wanted to put in a buffet there. The plan right now is to put a slab of butcher block type wood and replace the counter. Eventually I'd like Dave to remove the cabinet, pull out the rolling cart and add some finished shelves. I found the fabric at Joanne's and loved it! I bought a white tension rod and sewed it up! I wanted something sort of Mediterranean-ish.

 

 

Kind of reminds me of the ocean

 

 

Hides lots of stuff! Next sewing project will be re-upholstering my two dining chairs, they need some love! After winter decor is put away I will put out my French/coutry decor-

 

Flowers bloomed in time for New Year's!

It's Never To Late To Be Prepared, Thrifting/Costco Scores

 

It's Never To Late To Be Prepared-

As I'm going to press (so to speak) the situation in the Ukraine is looking very ugly. If you want more information I do highly recommend the Canadian Prepper on Youtube, as he does a really good job with a-political world news and other topics. This war may be a game changer on an international level. 

I can't stress enough if you haven't started prepping now better that are late than never

Go out and buy canned/ dried foods, fuel, batteries, water, whatever you can afford and start a pantry.  Also have extra cash and coins stashed in case of Cyber attack and ATMs go down . Also get seeds to grow some of your own food, anything you can to be a little bit more self-sufficient if it all possible. If you're thinking about going shopping for new fun stuff put food on the list first. It's amazing how many bags of dried beans/rice, etc. you can buy for pretty low costs even now. Prices are really skyrocketing,  I'm seeing other bloggers seeing some major shortages in large grocery stores chains. This is only going to get much worse in my opinion. Best to do what you can now before things get even worse. And take care of yourself! I recently went to the dentist and got my regular cleaning done. I'm following up with my regular doctor on miscellaneous non-urgent stuff. Get OTC meds, buy anything you can, make a plan. There's no downside to preparedness. 

Thrifting/Costco Scores!

It was 15 degrees this morning, not spring yet that's for sure. We'll start indoor seeds soon for the veggie garden. We'll have our huge maple tree trimmed and add on to our garden space soon, more news to come on that! Last weekend I finally hit a thrift store. I haven't been hitting them much last several months for a variety of reasons. I stopped at a local store, walked in and found two really great like-new items. The French Country vase with gorgeous pale cream, white and green flowers. I love the bee design, and only $4.00. Next I found this large resin chicken with a shovel! For $5.00 it will go on the deck when it warms up, both items were like-new! 

Next we went to Costco to stock up on a few things. I was really happy to see the their canned pulled pork back in stock! Multiple big cans, less the $10..00. I found a huge jar of mixed olives which we love! Somebody else had this on their blog, sorry, I don't remember who. Much cheaper than "olive bars", and a nice mix. I got two jars, they will last almost indefinitely in the fridge once opened, I consider this a "comfort food"- 

We also stocked up on some of our miscellaneous things that we use, like like cat litter. We bought two totes this time, since we've got two cats right now! We also got a huge bag of cat food. 

When we went to Winco I had noticed they really had a lot of their large preparedness foods out. A LOT there. They used to have a certain amount of large bags of foods like rolled oats, rice, beans. We bought some more black beans, and a few other things. Now they're also selling large 10 lb boxes of granolas, made in Canada, in bulk boxes. All whole grains, very little ingredients. We bought one box. We opened up the 10 lb box which was lined with a big plastic bag and the granola was amazingly fresh! We split them up in large canning jars to keep fresh-

Almond honey granola

I noticed they had a fairly decent supply of canning jars in stock, but absolutely zero lids.  Glad I stocked up on some last year. I'm hoping to see some back of the store is at some point.  A little spring in the entry way-

Dynamic Decorating & Beachy/ Camping Themes, First Tomatoes!

Dynamic Decorating & Beachy/ Camping Themes-

Years ago I read about the concept" dynamic decorating". The short versions is- move things around once in a while. Sometimes things can get stale around the house. I've always loved bringing nature inside- pumpkins and corn in Autumn, cozy winter decor with snowmen, green things or flowers for Spring, then Summer decor. Since a lot of my decorating goodies were thrifted I don't spend a lot of money. If I get tired of things after a few years I can also donate them. I've seen too many people who buy more and more stuff and it gets to be on the edge of hoarding. When I worked with high poverty families in my school there was a pattern of just buying stuff- the latest technology, more stuff on the walls, floors, ceiling and it all gathered dust. And bills went unpaid. Generational patterns can be hard to break. I tried to teach my kids that. Not too much stuff! 

Negative space, in art, is having something blank for you eyes to rest on. Great idea, and I try and not overdo it. One of the great things about having storage is being to take things down and put other things up for a while. There are things I don't take down, like my favorite antique print my Aunt gifted me with long ago, The Angelus by Millet, hangs over our couch in the living room- 

 

and a photo of my Grandfather Alva on top of Mt. Hood in Oregon doing military training for WW1. He was the one positive male relationship in my life growing up so he's honored there. It hangs in our main hallway. I re-used the frame from another family member, Dave got the print enlarged and curved with the curved glass frame to fit- 

I've blogged about my general decorating style here My French Scandinavian Country Decor for more photos. Today I got out my beachy themed decor and camping shelf items. I blogged about this idea before, link here DIY Upcycled Thrifted Camping Summer Decor- on my dining room shelves- 

Living room entertainment center- 

Beachy theme starting on kitchen windowsill- 

Love my thrifted seashell frame, glass on both sides, and you can rotate

Beach table in the living room-

I brought out this older print I hadn't used in years. We won in a raffle 20+ years ago, Dave made the frame for me-

 Beach table-

Added my new thrifted lobster! 

Also added two big seashells I got at Goodwill months ago- 

On our living room window I added our memory jar I made last fall from our family vacation to the Oregon coast. I made one for each of my girls as well. Everything was collected from the beach except the beach glass, I added for color- 

First Tomatoes!

I made a simple salad with our two first tomatoes! I added sliced cukes, red onion, our fresh organic Basil and creamy Trader Joe's Feta cheese. Yummy topped with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh ground pepper.  Goes great with anything! We had it with spicy chicken and watermelon. Lots more on the vine and TONS of Lemon Cucumbers, my favorite!!!