Summer projects before and after

So today is the day the fisherman comes home. Yay! I've missed him. It sounds like they have had a fabulous two weeks. Great weather, lots of fish. Even had wifi in the cabin so we were able to FaceTime several times while he has been away.

Thought I'd do a summary post of all the projects I've done while he was gone. First up, and the biggest in my book....the garage. Dramatic difference.

I had already started tossing stuff before I made the top picture. Got rid of a lot, hired out the painting, purchased new storage containers. I love it. So clean. I am hoping I can keep it this clean. Next up the living room...

I've been wanting to replace the recliner and couch for a couple of years now, to something more neutral. I like change and I like to change out quilts and pillows for the seasons. I also painted the lamps black. The old furniture went to a pastor and his wife. They returned from Brazil as missionaries a few years ago and have had to start from scratch. No home, no car, no furniture. It blessed my heart to bless them with it.

...then the dining room. I'm very happy with the beadboard wallpaper.

It brightened up the dining room. Love that stuff. I'd like to put up more.

Then because the old, old fridge in the boat garage bit the dust, we replaced the refrigerator in the kitchen and moved the old one to the garage. I didn't think I wanted stainless but we got a great deal, only in stainless. Very happy with it now.

And, I believe this is the last project. I've been wanting to make a barn quilt for my front porch, but I just hadn't slowed down enough to do it. One of my friends from church makes these so I commissioned her to make us one. I designed the block and picked the colors. It is 20"x20". I like it on the front porch but I may end up putting it on the screened porch, where I can see it more often.

I'm very happy with it. My friend and I snagged the little antique table at a flea market yesterday.

And just in case you thought I hadn't been busy enough, I ran 6.2 miles this morning.....I did a virtual race sponsored by Skirt Sports.

All of this in two weeks, and I worked 55 hours in these two weeks. The Lord blessed me with boundless energy, or at least a goal oriented mind. I love lists and I always start my "stay at home while he is away fishing" time with a good long projects list.

Not sure I mentioned it here but I did go back to work part time. I'm really enjoying my new job.

 

A little this and a little that

Yesterday was not as productive as I had hoped but I made up for it today. I ran five miles in the horrendous heat and humidity this morning. Took my Nunn water with me, had a GU (salted caramel with caffiene, yum) at mile 3. Both helped me to complete the five.

As I ran over the little pedestrian bridge, I saw this duck taking a rest. After running I finished washing the windows in the garage and even mopped the garage floor. That was a first.

I am so pleased with how the garage update has gone.

After a rest, I took the paddle board out ...

I went a little past the bridge today. There were lots of boats out so it was pretty choppy, but still great to get out.

So I've had a very busy active day, just the way I like them. So thankful I can work hard at playing.

 

Paddle board

Last year I started a new hobby of paddle boarding. We just now figured out a way to hang it in the garage. The hubby and I bought some brackets to get the paddle board off the garage floor. We didn't raise it up but about 18". I was afraid if we put it higher, I wouldn't be able to put it up by myself.

It rests in front of a framed cut out in the wall that houses our hot water heater. I still want to put a couple of hooks in the wall above it to hang my roof rack bag and some straps.

But getting it off the floor is really good.
We worked around the house today, trying to clean up the garages. We still have a long way to go. Another thing we did today was hang a retractable clothes line. I've had it for over ten years (found it in the garage!). It extends at a diagonal across the screened porch, which is a little awkward, but I wanted a place to hang some things no matter what the weather is. I just pull the cord across the porch to a hook. When it isn't in use, it is hardly noticeable.

I've still got so much to do outside, besides getting the garage in shape --- power wash the pollen off the furniture and the porch floors, plant herbs and flowers, pull some weeds......I usually get a lot done when the husband goes on his annual fishing trip. I need to start making my list of to-do's.

Bored Silly

I am trying to stay productive but must admit I've been very bored this week.

Big boy and I saw the snow this morning and stayed in bed a while.....Later I tried to be productive by cutting some scraps into three piles of sizes. I'd like to really make a dent in scraps by organizing them this way.

...then I was just bored....I've never been fond of TV but today I found myself watching..ahem...Hoarders. I'm a bit ashamed to admit ;) I needed some activity, so I ran three miles on my little indoor track....around and around I go....it really is a decent workout. I'm sweating, my heart is pumping, and the garmin is keeping up with the distance based on my stride, my outside runs, and whatever other magic it uses.

I started off my retirement with a weekly list of things I wanted to get done. A couple weeks ago I let my list making slip and found that I am not nearly as productive or content. Sooooo, this afternoon I made a list of to-do's.

Empty central vacuum canister

Dust all the blinds and ceiling fans

Make label and sew it on toddler quilt

Research races

Just a few things but I did them all and felt better! ... it could have been those awesome runner endorphins...Now I've got to think of some things for tomorrow's list. Do you get cabin fever in this weather? What do you do when you get bored?

 

Pantry organization and homemade pudding mix

Worked on the pantry today.

I think we have enough pasta, beans, and rice....

Seeing all the rice let me know I need to be cooking more of it. Seriously, I was thrilled that I only had one bag full of expired stuff. Organising will help me know what I need to use before it expires. I see that I need new labels. On a different topic, I found a recipe for homemade instant vanilla pudding. I thought that was neat. I've been using a tablespoon of instant pudding in my protein shakes to give them a little more flavour. Might have to try this.

....although it doesn't sound like "instant" since you cook it.....And vanilla beans are expensive and a little difficult to find.

 

 

 

Small things

Sometimes it is the small things that make us happy, right? I spent the first half of the day doing the biweekly cleaning.....tubs, sinks, shower, toilets, vacuuming, mopping, dusting...then In the afternoon did the grocery shopping. I wanted to try to organize something today but didn't have a lot of time. I saw something on the internet I wanted to do....

I used command hooks (love those!) to hang my measuring spoons in my spice cabinet.

I love this little spice rack. It was only a two shelf unit, but a few years ago I found a small wire basket and wired it in the center to make a third shelf. We write the name of the spice on the lid so it is a bit easier to tell what we have except on the ones with black lids....

That little quick project of hanging the spoons, made me happy!

 

A little organization

I did a little bit of organization in the laundry room today. Just one cabinet but it is a big one.

During:

After:

This is where I store all my homemade cleaners. I'm thinking maybe I can tackle my organization needs like I am tackling the star blocks, just shoot for one or two cabinets a day. Sounds like a plan.

I also got in a good four mile run today. Kind of cold to start with but felt great. I am continuing with the 5/1 intervals and that seems to be working well. No soreness, no injuries. Trying to remember to stretch good afterwards. I'll continue that until after the 15k race in February. I'm kind of excited about my first 15k race.

 

 

Iron and blocks

Seriously, how does an iron get so gunked up? I used baking soda, vinegar, a magic eraser, then borax, and lots and lots of scrubbing.

I read on a blog where a quilter is doing a block a day strategy to try to get enough blocks for a quilt without getting burned out. I burned out on this one last year. Each block takes so long and they are small at 6" finished. But I made two today. Now I have 34, only......about 220 more to go for a queen quilt.

I also made another little zipper pouch.

 

 

 

Cabbage and cleaning grout

Cabbage first. I made some roasted cabbage tonight. It was good. A friend gave us a huge cabbage at the end of summer. We've eaten on it several times. I always wrapped it up in Press N' Seal afterwards.

Amazingly, it only needed trimmed up and IT WAS STILL FRESH INSIDE. There must be a world of difference in home grown cabbage and store bought.

Now to the grout. Although our grout didn't seem that bad, it bothered me seeing the discolouration from ground in dirt. Magic grout cleaner to the rescue.

Check out the difference in the cleaned grout and the "not cleaned yet" line in front. I bought it at Lowes's. You spray it on, leave it for 3-5 minutes, scrub it (I used an old toothbrush), wipe and rinse. I'll be scrubbing grout probably for the next week or two. Have two bathrooms, a laundry room, and a hallway to clean.

I love retirement!! Cleaning and organising are some of my favourite things to do.

 

 

Spring day

Love, love, love days like today. So beautiful outside, hubby gone fishing, so I got to sleep late and do "my thing" today. Funny, my thing is normally cleaning, cooking, and organizing. It's what I love. Today I made some homemade reuse able fabric softener cloths, some homemade stain cleaner, hung my pillows out to air in the sun, swept the pollen off the porch, did some general house cleaning, did a little cooking, and walked four miles with my walking buddy. Such a great day! Honestly, this is my favorite kind of day.

Everything is so green, I don't even mind the pollen....

 

 

Hanging out in the sewing room

I decided today to do a little cleaning in the sewing room. I usually do that after I finish a project, otherwise it can get really messy. Look at the dust I pulled out of the sewing machine!

Our quilt group is supposed to meet this week and I promised a member I'd piece her some batting from my scraps. I've done this before by zig zagging it together, but I found some iron on tape that works beautifully. I think I got it at Joanns.

Anyone else piece scraps of batting together?

 

Snow day

I left work early, 'cause I am a chicken when it comes to driving in the snow. Got home, did some laundry, tried to clean my iron, practiced photography, just enjoyed the afternoon.....while my husband was doing donuts in the empty parking lot close to his work. That is, until the police told him he was done. Haha, they even told him, "I'd expect this from a teenager..." Guess they didn't expect a 60 year old man to be out playing in the snow with his 4-wheel drive....oh my....

I read where the Magic Eraser is a good cleaning tool for an iron. I guess I had let my iron get too bad....

That is pretty bad. Don't judge. And after at least ten minutes of hard scrubbing with the eraser....

My arm wore out.

Below, Jesse modeled for me. I am preparing for some newborn photography. Used my 35mm lens set at Aperture setting on 1.8. No flash.

I meant to post earlier about my blog book. I've made three of these now and just love them. Because I use my blog to record all my quilts, projects, and events in our lives, they are priceless to me. I use Blog2Print.

What have you done on this snowy afternoon?

 

Organization tips

Most of my week off has been spent in organizing and cleaning. Two things I enjoy doing. I must not be that great at organizing because I find I have to take a day here and there to get myself organized. It is worth it to me. There is something about a clean organized home. It is peaceful and stress free.

There is a ton of info out there in blog land about organizing closets. I choose to keep my shoe boxes and mark them with a sharpie, stack them on the top shelf of my closet. The discipline is putting them back in their boxes after wearing. Simple, but it works and looks very organized.

I even have a box for running stuff. It holds my runners watch, foot powder, sport bag for carrying my clothes to the workout center, my running belt, race numbers and medals, and stretch bands. I don't put my running shoes in their box. I let them air out on the shelf.

When we built the house we had enough foresight to build in a spice rack. But I cook a lot. A lot. So I added a middle shelf and connected it to the existing rack with wire. The hubby had the bright idea of marking what each bottle was with a sharpie on the top.

One cleaning tip you've probably heard is to put your shower head in vinegar to dissolve the hard water deposits. Mine is dissolving as I type.

The hubby is traveling homeward from his big northern fishing trip. He has had a great time, and I have as well, cleaning, organizing, and NOT cooking. However, tonight I am cooking in preparation for his arrival tomorrow. I am making a favorite chocolate cake, to go with his welcome home meal of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans and slaw. I cooked my favorite creamed spinach and roasted veggies tonight for myself. I plan to make the homemade granola cereal he likes and I've even got him some Moose Tracks ice cream, another of his favorites. I've made sweet tea and the fridge is full. Think I've missed him? Just a bit! You know what they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!

 

Another day in paradise

Laughingly, I told a friend today was another day in paradise. I am the biggest homebody. There is nothing I love more than staying home and doing projects. I removed the old screened porch door and put up a new one. I thought of a clever way to measure the holes for the hinges....

Freezer paper folded on the corners and marked with a pencil for the screw holes. Worked great.

Does anybody do this anymore? I love the smell of laundry dried by the sunshine. I think using the vinegar fabric softener must help the towels not to be 'crunchy', they were pleasant and so fresh.

Spent almost two hours cleaning only two windows. I am amazed how nasty garage windows get.

And now, just enjoying my plants and the pleasant evening. Put in a mandevilla and a dipladenia today. Very similar plants. Love the heat. They are the only thing that thrives on our back deck throughout the summer. The mandevilla is in the background of the photo above. I love the red!