Tuesday

I've been really tired all day.  Things are slow right now at work, a little respite before the busyness of getting ready for session and the holidays.  I need to take advantage of the down time and do some knitting.  Instead I read a book and did the tasks and answered the calls that came my way.  Tomorrow I'll do better!  I decided to work on a new project tonight, this cute pincushion/scrap bag combo (Pincushion Tutorial).  I picked up a bundle of fat quarters at Joann's on sale Sunday and wanted to use them.  I really like the way it turned out and I like the vintage button I found from the old button box, but I'm not excited about the colors after all.  Brown doesn't really do anything for me, so I think I'll save it for a co-worker's Christmas present.  I have lots more fabric, so I think I'll try another one tomorrow night.  Maybe the next one will be for me.  :)

~Jane

Monday

I think I'm still recuperating from the weekend, but I did manage to get a project finished tonight.  I was going to work on a pincushion, but instead made one more sandwich wrap, this time using a plastic freezer bag to supply the plastic for the lining.  It worked, but I'm not sure how durable it will turn out.  It didn't come out quite as crisp when finished as the others as I couldn't press anything for fear of melting the plastic.  This one is made from a fabric scrap I had left over from a quilt.  I also managed to find the entry valance and resewed the part of the hem that had come out the last time I washed it and got it back on the curtain rod.  Glad to have things coming together a little around here.  I also folded and ran a bunch more of laundry.

~Jane

Projects

My daughter showed me some reuseable sandwich wraps on the internet the other day.  I immediately did some research on them and decided I could make some.  I used this Reusable sandwich wrap tutorial..  So my project this evening was making a couple of them for my daughter and son-in-law.  They are cotton, lined with nylon, closed with a plastic snap.  I'll give them to them later this week and they can test them out.  I'm not sure I'd put the sandwich directly on the wrap.  I think I'd use waxed paper.  :)

I woke up this morning with my right arm so sore jt hurt to move it.  Guess it serves me right for doing so much cleaning in such a short period of time.  But the house looks so nice and hopefully I'll be able to keep it up using the Flylady zones.  This week's zone is the Bathroom and one other room.  I'll do some deep cleaning in the bathroom and do some organizing on the upstairs landing.  I need to look for some toddler toys to entertain the little guy when he visits.

~Jane

Saturday October Challenge Update

Knowing I had company coming on Saturday for dinner, I've been scurrying around the house this week trying to catch up on some of the neglected housework.  I guess its developed into fall house cleaning.  So, in addition to what I'd accomplished earlier, today I:

• Dusted, vacuumed, washed the windows, and rehung the clean curtains in the living room.
• Replaced some dead-looking plants in the living room.
• Touched up the top of an end table with some scratch cover liquid to make it look better (it needs to be refinished, but that's another project).
• Sorted out a pile of papers and stuff that's been sitting on the dining room to kitchen pass through.
• Washed out several pairs of salt/pepper shakers so they can be refilled.
• Collected and recycled the stacks of newspapers sitting around.
• Cleaned off my kitchen counters, did all the dishes, and bleached the sinks.
• Ran the dishwasher.
• Folded all the laundry already washed in the laundry room.
• Ran three loads of laundry.
• Vacuumed the entry, bathroom and dining room floors.
• Mopped all the floors - entry, bathroom, kitchen and dining room.
• Scrubbed the shower and tub and hung a clean shower curtain liner.
• Cleaned the bathroom and the bathroom counter and hung fresh towels.
• Prepared 10 lbs. of pork ribs and put them in the oven with my mom's special sauce, along with 7 scrubbed baking potatoes.  Prepared the broccoli.
• Dusted the dining room.
• Put an extra leaf in the table and set it.

Ta Da!  Cleaning finished.

Dinner turned out okay (I would have preferred the ribs to be done a little more).  Our company was fun.  We all talked and had a nice time.  

My house should stay clean for Craft Night on Friday night.  Now to check and see what zone Flylady is doing next week.  Now that I'm kind of caught up, it should be easier to stay caught up using the zones.

~Jane

October Challenge Update

Today I did absolutely nothing on my October challenge.  I went to work, went to my Mom's and sorted junk for several hours to drop off at the Goodwill, and did the grocery shopping.  Then I came home, ate dinner, and curled up on the couch with a blanket over me because I'd managed to get myself chilled this afternoon.  I must have fallen asleep for a while, then I got up and logged on to the computer. :)  I have to admit, working at my mom's is really draining.  My daughter and I have been sorting for months.  We've had a couple of really good garage sales and sold a lot of stuff, but there seems to be an endless amount left.  We finally decided to start ruthlessly culling and our goal is six large garbage bags to the Goodwill every week.  Along the way, we have found some neat things, like these aprons and linens.  Check them out at our Etsy shop - http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlesproutbasics.

October Challenge Update

I have to admit that I'm not progressing very fast on my October Challenge goals, yet I am making progress on cleaning up my house.  I've basically cleaned around my living room and entry.  Culled through books and magazines, put new doilies down, and rescued the coffee table candle from the bashing my grandson gave it a couple weeks ago.  I've dusted, cleaned and straightened up the end tables, the TV cabinet, and the bookcases.  Washed all the windows and the curtains.  All I have left in the living room is to vacuum tomorrow.  I need a new plant for the table in front of the window, rehang the curtains, and buy a new 4-wick pumpkin spice candle for the coffee table.  But otherwise that room is done.  Next I need to tackle the bathroom.  I purposefully invited a couple over for dinner Saturday night to make me clean.  So I am earning lots of points with my hubby, I hope, by doing both - cleaning and inviting.  I also invited my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson over, since our friends adore our little guy. Here's a picture of the entry, minus the valance for the window which I can't find.

Here's an update on my sweater - attempt two.  It's coming along.  I haven't reknit all the yarn I had to unravel yet, but I'm getting close.  I hope it fits this time.



~Jane

New Kid in Town

For the last 29 years we've kept a small flock of chickens.  We inherited the original chickens with the house when we bought it, and have had them ever since, with the exception of a couple of years when it seemed like too much trouble.  After requests from my daughter and son-in-law for us to get chickens again, since "the eggs taste so much better," we bought some chicks and went back into the chicken-keeping business.  You notice, of course, that no mention was made of their helping with the chickens, but just wanting eggs.  :)

When we first inherited the chickens, they came with a very large, mean, gorgeous, attack rooster.  We kept him around for the first couple years even though I got to the point where I would have to take a rake in with me to collect the eggs or he would corner me in the hen house.  He would attack my husband's combat boots.  He had spurs several inches long and wanted to fight!  If he was out and I was weeding, it was not unexpected to get pecked unprovoked by him.  When my daughter became a toddler, wandering around the yard, I grew afraid that he would attack her also, so we got rid of him.  We haven't had any since.  Well, just one, who was a pretty good-natured roo, that we lost when dogs got into our chicken house and attacked the hens.  I think he died trying to protect them.  Our current flock consists of five hens, two barred rock and three buff orpington's.  They lay nice brown eggs.

Our neighbor across the street has LOTS of chickens.  Probably 150-200 of them and they roam pretty freely.  There seems to be a small group of them that like to scratch in  my flower beds, and I've given up trying to have anything nice in them.  Apparently I'm supposed to fence them out, rather than my neighbor fencing them in.  Oh, well, I'm used to it.  But one of his roosters has apparently discovered a ready-made harem in our yard.  He started by hanging around our chicken fence, talking to the hens.  Then I noticed he must have flown in over the fence and was visiting.  Now, when we let our hens out late each afternoon for a good run, he is staying with them and roosting with them at night.  He seems to be pretty wimpy though so I'm not too worried.  We just have to be sure to pick up the eggs every day!

~Jane