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Snowdays and Forts

Last Wednesday was a snow day, Drew was sick and we kept him home on Thursday, another snow day on Friday, and no school again today due to ice and cold. We went from warm, almost springlike days, to frigid cold, wind, snow and ice overnight. That darn wind even blew some siding off of the house. And so much ice. I love snow, but the ice is just plain hazardous.

I think it was Friday when Drew said he wanted to build a fort. I am all for fort building but he builds them in the living room, doesn’t want to take them down for days and I get sooo tired of them. So, I told him to build one in his bedroom. When you have a bunkbed and no actual bed on the bottom you have the perfect spot to build a fort! The only problem with that as far as Drew is concered is it will mess up his bedroom. When Eric moved out Drew asked to move into Eric’s old room. Which I was fine with but it has also brought on an interesting issue.

Drew has never been one to keep a clean room. He could destroy a clean room in seconds flat. No joke! So, when we started moving things into his “new” room, he surprised us when he decided to be very selective in what was moved and what was not. And he now keeps his room picked up at all times. He even goes in and cleans and vacuums it on his own. It is wonderful! But, the issue is, all of the things he didn’t bring into his “new” room are still piled up in the old room. He’s not ready to get rid of them yet but he doesn’t want them making a mess in his room either. So, after 30 years, I finally get a spare room and it’s full of Drew’s stuff. We did get a bed set up in there so we do have a place for Aaron or Eric to sleep if/when they stay. But the room is a disaster that needs to be tackled.

Back to the fort. Drew spent time building it and making it just the way he wanted it. It had room for him, his dad and me to sit in it comfortably. He built little cubbies for each of us to hold our things, phones, slippers, whatever we wanted to bring into the fort. We played games and took a nap in there and I thought yeah, he can play in this all weekend. It will give him something to do. And, I was wrong. It was fun while it lasted but it was messing up his bedroom and he just couldn’t take it. I went to fix supper, Joe headed out to do chores and down came the fort. Every single thing was picked up and put away so his room would be nice and tidy. I do wish this desire would manifest itself to the rest of the house as he really doesn’t care how messy he is everywhere else. I do love that he wants a nice clean cozy bedroom. And yet, I wish he could have left that fort up for a couple of days at least. It really was fun!

Drew had been begging to get the oil lamps down so he could see what it was like to use them like they did in the old days! He’s such a funny kid. Right now he’s obessed with anything vintage. It might have something to do with the vintage camper, all the old vintage stuff in the house that he has to live with, my love of all things old. None of the other kids caught the bug so who knows. And knowing Drew, this too shall pass. But what better time to try them out than over the weekend during an ice storm!

So two nights in a row we’ve eaten supper by lamp oil light. The first night it was still somewhat light outside. Last night it was dark. Drew made sure all other lights in the house were off, all electronics were off, he even closed the blinds in the dining room so the security light outside didn’t shine in. It was cozy! And while his dad told him it wasn’t something we would be doing on a daily basis, it was something we could do once in awhile. He must have enjoyed it just a little bit too although he didn’t say so. He just complained that he couldn’t see his food!

A Productive Day

We were supposed to wake up to 6″ to 8″ of snow on Saturday. Instead we woke up to ice. Ice everywhere. I was so thankful Eric came home Friday night before the nasty weather started. He needed an oil change, he had two tires leaking and his door handles weren’t working right. Well, his dad changed the oil and replaced two leaky valve stems but the door handles we picked up at the salvage yard awile back were the front handles and not back handles so that means Eric will have to come home again some other time. Yeah!!!! So what to do on a cold and icy day? Well, I had started the process of mustard making and that was ready to be finished.

Gotta let these sit for two days to absorb all the moisture.

Oh my goodness – the beautiful colors, smells and taste of Homemade Lavendar Mustard. And it was so very easy. I’m positive I’ll be making this again and I’m thinking it will be a perfect Father’s Day gift for my dad as he loves mustard.

Then Joe helped me pull Drew’s bed out so I could finish painting his room. This kid and all his treasures. After getting the room done and everything moved back the way he wanted it, he went through the house, through cupboards and drawers, all the nooks and crannys and he “shopped” for things to decorate with. It’s funny what he chose to use from around the house. My old roller skates, some of Grandma Houseal’s dishes, old Sucrets tins, whatever he could get his hands on. Gotta love him!

Then sweet Humphrey got a nice clean rearranged home. Drew decided on a camping theme this time around. With white bedding so he’s camping in the snow! We found some timothy hay and something called Nature’s Salad for him and also scattered some carrot and celery pieces around the cage for him to find. He was one happy camper when we put him back in the cage and he explored for ages. Then he knocked his camper over, decided not to bed down in the timothy hay and instead made a new nesting area and promptly fell asleep!

Not a good picture but this little guy is constantly on the move. I have yet to get a decent picture of him!

We had bacon and eggs for breakfast so instead of crushing the eggs up this time around and giving them back to the girls, I let them dry all day and crushed them up and put them in a jar. Since then I’ve added egg shells two more times to the jar already. Those shells will go in the ground this spring along with the tomatoes we’re going to plant. It feels good to get started planning for spring even though we’re living in an ice covered world at the moment!

Taking the Day Off

Creativity and chaos go together in my world! This looks good today. Some days it’s sooo much worse! There will come a point where I can’t stand it any longer, I’ll put everything away, pull out only what I need for the project I’m working on and promise myself I’ll put each thread away as I go. And then before I know it – it’s right back to this. Creative chaos and a cup of coffee!

School is back in session today. Two full weeks is a long time off and Drew was so ready to go back and see his friends. Joe is gone until Wednesday. And I’m taking the day off. I’ve been to the grocery store, there’s laundry going, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is on the iPad and I’m stitching the day away. I still have a pillow to stuff, trim and post for sale, chicken feed to purchase after I pick up Drew from school, outside chores to do since Joe won’t be home tonight and supper to fix. I’m thinking Sweet and Sour Chicken since Joe won’t be here. I try to fix meals that I enjoy but he really doesn’t when he’s gone. Plus I’ll have leftovers for tomorrow night. That’s my day off. I’m not going to clean the bathroom or pick up the messes around the house or tackle the myriad other things that need my attention today. It will all wait until tomorrow. Do moms really ever get a day off when they’re home? I think not. But that’s okay. Having a bathroom to clean and supper to prepare, chicken feed to purchase and messes to pick up mean I’m needed. And that is a wonderful feeling – being needed!

Treasures

I’ve been doing some rearranging of my “junk” today and as I was fiddling with things in this corner of the dining room I realized most of this “junk” had a story to tell. The wooden recipe box was my mom’s that she recently gifted to me. I remember it sitting on the counter all the time. She used it frequently and when she mentioned she was looking for a new one I asked to please not throw this one out. It brings back so many memories. The pink recipe box was her mom’s. My Grandma Esther Houseal. She died when I was young and I have few memories of her but I love having this reminder. The teapot was Grandma Ward’s. I have so many of her things all around the house. Many that she gifted to me knowing how much I loved the old things. The doily under the plant was made by her too. She was so talented and crafty. After all these years I still miss her on a daily basis. The child’s apron came from my mother-in-law and the walnut swag reminds me of my father-in-law. We miss having the walnuts he gave us every year to cook with. The glass jar in back of the first shelf was found by my dad back in the timber and gifted to me. He knew I would love it! The praying ladies salt and pepper shakers remind me of Grandma Ward. I have another piece in my hutch of this praying lady that belonged to Grandma. The Miss Priss kitties salt and peppers shakers on the top shelf remind me of my Aunt Konnie Hartnell. She had the matching cookie jar in her kitchen for years. We lost her year and it’s still hard to know she’s gone. She was such a sweet, kind, caring woman. The glass jar in the back of the top shelf was one I found while junking with my dear friend Pam many years ago. Oh the fun we had! The blue bowls and pitcher came from Barb Hollingsworth’s antique store where I loved to visit and always felt so welcome! I would wander through that big old house full of antiques. I used that store as a getaway so many times. The blue toolbox on top came from another dear friend. She is a daycare provider and is so wonderful at her job. She has watched a couple of my kiddos throughout the years. She truly cares about the little ones that she is entrusted with. The books in the toolbox are the Bellingwood series written by our very own hometown author Diane Greenwood Muir. I don’t know what I’ll do when my toolbox is filled but I’m sure I can find another spot for more! Diane is a wonderfual writer and a wonderful person too. And that beautiful Hoosier cabinet that is holding all my “junk” – that came from our dear Tina who brought so much joy to my kids and to our family. I’ve never been one to decorate with what is in style. Whenever I would buy something that was “in”, some mass produced piece of junk I would soon tire of it and out it would go. But these old things, these gifted things, these things that have meaning in some way, I don’t look at these things as junk – I see treasures and I love that my treasures have stories to tell. I find joy in these things that remind me of those people in my life that have meant so much to me. I love my “junk”!

Sunshine

It sure hasn’t been a very nice spring so far. A day with sunshine has been few and far between. Yesterday was one of those sunshiney days. I made a quick run to the local greenhouse and bought some tomato and pepper plants and a few flowers too. Drew and I planted a few pots and walked around the yard to see what was blooming. It was still chilly even with the sun shining but we just had to get outside and enjoy the afternoon since rain is in the forecast again. It’s nice to see the bright beautiful blooms

Planning Ahead

I have not watched the show on organizing that’s on Netflix that everybody is raving about and yet I sure seem to want to get organized. This is a new endeavor for me! I’ve never really used a planner but I bought one a few months ago thinking it would be nice to have someplace to keep track of all that’s going on, or not going on, in our lives. I didn’t really like the one I bought so I did some searching on Pinterest and found these printable planner pages. I’m only a month late in printing it off and using it but that’s par for the course with me! I think I’m going to enjoy using it. I like the idea of using a binder so the pages will lie flat, I can flip back and forth easily and take pages out as needed. I’m wanting to keep track of different things and keeping it all together just might help me be more diligent on writing it all down. My memory just isn’t what it used to be and writing things down just seems to make sense to me now! (printables came from brandyshappyhome.com)

Winter

I’m going to try this whole blogging thing again. Only different. Here goes.

We had record breaking cold weather last night. It was absolutely frigid. I had never heard the house groan and creak and pop like it did all night long. I’d read about that happening but had never experienced it myself. It was strange. Like the house was talking back to Mother Nature. But this 100+ year old house kept us safe and warm. The furnace kept up (thank goodness we had a full gas barrel), and the electric heater along with an old heavy quilt kept the back bedroom comfortable, the water pipes didn’t freeze. I’m so very thankful!

Joe was gone. He’s been in Pella this week. So it was up to me to hold the fort down. I stressed and worried about the poor chickens. I went out at dusk and gave them more bedding, stuffed some old sheets up and around them, then more bedding, told them good night and closed their door. And this morning – they were up and clucking and seemed to glad to see me. They got warm oatmeal and fresh water for breakfast and I opened their door in case they wanted to venture out. I was so happy to see them up and moving around!

It is so cold that everything in town is pretty much closed down or opened late and will close early. The postal service has shut down for the day. That has never happened before that I can remember but I was so glad to hear their decision yesterday. And Monday they announced that school would be canceled for yesterday and today. School was canceled four days last week due to snow, blowing wind and cold. Looks like we will be going to school longer this spring but that’s okay – better that than putting anybody’s life in danger trying to get to school. I have always loved winter. I find a good snowstorm to be exhilarating! There’s nothing prettier than a snow covered landscape! But these temps – I must say I’m not a fan. It’s been a winter to remember that’s for sure!

So after braving the temps this morning to take care of the girls I sat down with a couple of warm cranberry muffins, a cup of coffee and my new MaryJane’s farm magazine and enjoyed a few minutes of perusing. I ordered this magazine sight unseen when they sent me a flier and I am so glad I did. It is filled with fun, informative articles on everything farmgirl related. I can see I’m going to really enjoy it. I’m trying to get back to simple. Less electronics more hands on. Less time spent on blogs and Pinterest and Facebook, more time spent reading a book or magazine and just slowing down and enjoying my family and my home. As much as I enjoy having the internet at my fingertips, I enjoy a hot cup of coffee, a homemade treat and a good magazine so much more. It’s the little things for me!

Quiet Weekend

What a wonderfully quiet weekend we had! I hardly took any pictures – I just enjoyed the weekend. Saturday was a beautiful day. We fixed a brunch of fried eggs, bacon and toast then headed outside to get some much needed fall cleanup done. Joe mowed one last time and put the mower away for the season. I cleaned out flower beds. Then we did some odds and ends things that needed our attention, sat on the deck and watched Drew drive the 4-wheeler around and decided what we wanted for supper. Joe wanted to grill, I had a couple recipes from my book Autum by Susan Branch I wanted to try. So, off to the local grocery store for a few ingredients and back home for an appetizer of onion straws, pork chops, stuffed sweet peppers, baked beans, grapes and warm apple cranberry crisp. Joe and I ate the onion straws in the shop while he grilled the pork chops! They were soooo good and sooo unhealthy – definitley a treat and not an every day thing! Then cuddles on the couch with Drew and bed by 9:00. We are getting old – no staying up late around here if we don’t have to!

Sunday brought a little different weather. It was warm enough but the wind was something else! We had brunch again – this time scrambled eggs, sausage and grapes. (I have an over abundance of eggs right now! We had eggs twice and I gave five dozen away and I still have a fridge full of eggs!) Then off to Wellman to watch Braxton play his last soccer game of the season and to play with Bayah! Braxton had two sets of grandparents and a set of great grandparents there to watch – what a lucky little boy! Then back home to carve a pumpkin and mix up some Cranberry Apple Walnut Bread. Oh my was that delicious bread! I’ve never used cranberries before and I’ve decided apples and cranberries together are my new fall favorite! I threw a tuna casserole together for supper and that was our weekend. Simple, quiet, productive, perfect!

Light a Candle

I love candles – and I burn them a lot but especially this time of year. There’s nothing better than a wonderful scented candle burning on a crisp fall day. Especially something that smells of clove, cinnamon, tobacco, wood smoke, the list goes on!

I happened upon an oldWomen Living Well blog post while scrolling through Pinterest that was Week 1 on a segment titled Making Your Home a Haven. It really resonated with me. You light a candle every day and pray over your home whenever you see the flickering light of the candle. Praying for peace for your family and for peace within your soul. Such a simple concept. So easy to do. I want our home to be a haven, a place everyone wants to come to. And what better way to help make that happen than praying for my home and family and using a lighted candle as a reminder to pray throughout the day. Now I need to keep reading and see what is suggested for Week 2.