Quarantine Random

Still here. I may have just had Milk Duds for breakfast. Don't judge me. I'm coping with quarantine on a day by day basis. Some days I am highly motivated and some days I am not. And it's okay.

Years ago I bought a pasta maker from Goodwill and never used it. Hubby got it out and now he makes fresh pasta on Saturdays. Ravioli, fettuccine, spaghetti, lasagna, we've made it all. #pastanotherweek

It's been a fun and delicious way to mark another week of quarantine.

 Our windows in the Stone House originally had black grid, someone painted them white. I have been getting them all back to the black. The ground floor is finished and the sills and surrounds have been painted a pale gray.

 It is a ton of prep! Hubby is going to refinish the front door to charcoal gray.  He built our front door and it's impossible to keep it looking good with stain and sealer.

I'm focusing on windows and sewed curtains for the milk house/ back porch.

It was a milk house originally and now it is the cross I bear. It's unfinished. Friends and family know that an unfinished porch isn't grounds for divorce, so here I am. I love the guy but I do not like the back porch issue.  The whole ugly story isn't for publication but if you're curious ask my sisters or my guys. Oh, they'll tell you.

Hubby on his commute. He goes into the office one day a week and the other four he is upstairs. It's been great having him home. I now know how hard he works and he knows how little I do.

Hubby is a mixologist and it comes in handy during quarantine.  Life is too short for a bad cocktail.

He makes me a fancy drink for cocktail Zoom parties.

I cleaned a closet and found my honeymoon lingerie. Since it doesn't fit (obviously) I made us a cocktail as a nod to it.

I'm shopping from home. Aren't we all? Hubby has a new office chair, we have new camping chairs and our grand baby has a new wardrobe.  He's arriving in June. Sam lives in the US and mama Katie lives in Canada. It's a problem that needs prayers. I'll probably meet the little guy in a ditch on Boundary Road.

 In my humble opinion, the Covid-19 has stolen anticipation. My vacations, meeting our grandson, sub jobs, for others it's been their weddings, family reunions, graduation, the list goes on. While I am choosing joy, or at least attempting joy everyday, the virus has it's control some days. 

I'm keeping busy because I live in the Stone House and it takes a lot of maintenance. I'm thankful for Hubby's job and that our kids are working. There is always good in the bad and I hope and pray each one of you can find the good. 

I am also so thankful for my kindle. I use my local library card on the Libby App and have had some good reads. What have you been reading?

My list:

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (run, don't walk for this book)

Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid (it was free on Amazon)

A Beginners Guide to Free Fall by Andy Abramowitz

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain

The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

I enjoyed each book, genre is a mood thing for me.

Meanwhile., I'm not camping but I am hopeful that we'll be allowed to be outdoors in the forest, by the ocean, lakes and rivers soon. Annie is prepped and ready. Camping is how I social distance. I didn't realize that's what it was called but that's what this introvert was doing all along.

 Friends and family, I am praying for you. I'm thankful for my faith in our God who it unchanging.

This too shall pass. Please continue to give yourself grace and to give grace to others. 

Grace will get us to the other side.

And you can all start by giving me grace for eating milk duds for breakfast. I know I did. 

Thus Concludes January

Hubby and I had no plans to go anywhere in January, February or March.   Sort of the calm before the storm and a good time for projects.  The best laid plans and all that...

January turned into a fun and busy month.  Our friends, Jeremy and Rene' youngest daughter got married and we went to Winlock, WA for a weekend.  If you ever need a wedding within three weeks, call Jeremy and Rene' for tips.  They emptied a barn, made it beautiful, created guest housing, and cooked and baked for 60. It was so pretty and the food was delicious.  We had a good time with them and with their kids.

 The next weekend we went to Enumclaw, I had a Sisters on the Fly luncheon and we got time at Larry and Shelly's house. I don't know how Shelly did it but she had a full house for lunch, house guests and then her and Larry made dinner for eight. It's so good to see our camping peeps in the winter.

 The next weekend my brother, Ken and Carolyn got married.  It was a beautiful wedding, Carolyn wore my Mom's going away wool suit.  It was in Lynden and that was good since our crawl space flooded and we needed to take care of that issue.  Actually, Hubby and Max took care of it, who are we kidding. 

 A few of our guys and their girls came home for the wedding.  We love having them around and Max and Kassie brought Bo. We love their dog and hadn't seen him for a long time.  He's such a good dog!

#goodtoseehisownerstoo

 I've been painting a small cabinet for silverware storage. Why do projects look like they will take me two hours and end up taking days? And days. Ugh! I'm close and my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint expert is chiming in to get me to the finish line.  I'll share the finished picture in February or when it gets finished. June?

Hubby and I are hitting the oranges hard.  I had a sinus infection in January and it has settled in my ears. Does anyone else take elderberry syrup and chews? I have been but how does anyone know if anything really works? Would it be worse?

I stacked coupons on Loft and bought a soft jacket for under $12. The soft, yummy, lounge wear jacket is fantastic to wear with pj pants and a tank.  Sizes are disappearing so hurry!  And the coupons aren't as good now but keep watching and stack'em!

Y'all know I love snow and Tuesday the snow fell straight down. I had the day off and it was the stuff that winter dreams are made of.  Yes, I just ended a sentence with a preposition. 

I'm reading The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.  It's an easy, fun read and that's just what I needed.

Love Week is coming up and I am putting together a few special Valentines.

I'm dreaming of summer, camping, the rivers, the sunshine.  Until then I am making some changes in the living room and plan to deep clean the laundry room. Working now so I can play all summer!

This concludes January. It turned into a jam packed month with weddings, weekends away and weather events. Now for some February projects and Love Week. Enjoy!

More January Random

There is no school today, the teachers have a work day without students.  Last Monday was a holiday so I am enjoying having another Monday at home. The best part of not working on a Monday is the Sunday evening before, just chillin'. 

Just a random post today. I am still on my declutter, get organized and pare down the junk January kick.  I filled the back of the Jeep last week and brought a load of things to the thrift store. I have cleaned the laundry/work room.  I could get rid of more craft stuff, but just wasn't ready. I cleaned out the cabinets above the washer and dryer, wiped down all flat surfaces and mopped.

I sewed a new liner for our dirty clothes basket.  Remember, I am not a seamstress. I'm just a gal sewing seams with stress.  I am pretty proud of the fact that there are no open seams, my arrows are lined up and I didn't lose my salvation.

 All for dirty laundry.

 I refreshed my ribbon bar.

 Romans 12:12 is my Bible verse, I mutter it to myself a lot. I found it online and actually ordered it, hung it up and embellished it with faux greenery. We have lived in the Stone House for 17 years and there are bare walls.  I am not good at wall decor.

 For four years I left Christmas up on the wall at the top of the landing.  It was all I had. That has been fixed too.

 Some days I get more checked off the To Do list than others.   I do have a job, regular housework and a life.  Some days I pick one drawer and clean it out. On Saturday I just could not face the attic so I went through my pajamas.  It's baby steps.

The eat less, move more should progress at this point as Hubby and I have now finished the Costco package of Almond Roca. Yep, we did it! Ugh.

I am walking and I am looking through all of the exercise videos on Netflix.  No, not actually doing them yet but I am checking them out.

Which leads to my other goal of watching more television.  I started Longmire last night and I think I am going to enjoy it.  Any other suggestions?

It's not all work here, on Friday evening Hubby and I enjoyed a strawberry basil martini, appetizers for dinner and spun some Bobby Darin tunes. Good times in the sitting room at the Stone House.
NOTE: Blogspot and videos are not friends so this is just a snapshot.

In my last post I touched on the government shut down which resulted in me deactivating my face book account.  We are getting a break until February 15th, but I am not quite ready to return to FB.  I had enough stupid comments in real life.  It's better if I hibernate right now.

  

Enjoy your week!

August Random

Happy Friday friends!

August isn't my favorite month. Everything is so dry, it's too hot and Target has the back to school supplies in my face. Even though it's not my favorite, I have had some good stuff going on here.

One evening I offered to drive Hubby and friends to dinner in a cooler location. I didn't tell them where we were going and I was impressed that they trusted my judgment.

I drove them to the Lummi Island ferry where we made it just in time to walk on and walk off.  That's how it feels because it is a short trip.  A cool and beautiful trip.

We sat on the front porch of the Beach Store Cafe and we actually got chilly sitting in the shade.

Later that week we drove to Winthrop for lunch.  Yes, it's a long way to go for lunch but it is a beautiful drive and we enjoyed our day trip very much.

This week I have stuck around home because we had seven large trees taken down.  Ice storms and wind storms were becoming stressful.  We called in an expert and he agreed with our choices. There was only one tree of the seven that we are mourning but we do have a lot of trees.  It is Phase I of a much larger project.  Hubby and I are DIYers and we knew we needed the pros for this job. They were fantastic!

I also stayed home this week because a wasp flew up my pajama pants on Monday evening and stung me. I do have bad reactions and though I wanted to ignore it that wasn't possible. Stinging, itching, tightness, swelling and pain on the back of my calf.  And my eyes get puffy.  I'm pretty much shot when I get stung as the Benedryl knocks me out.  I'm better today but I do have a 3 inch bruise on the back of my leg. #ihatewasps  

Since the back to school supplies are at Target I am in a panic about not tackling enough projects this summer.  I cleaned out the linen closet, donated two garbage bags full of  linens to the thrift store and now I'm pretty much over it. 

I am still floating in my pool for one. It's pretty great, actually.

You will all be relieved that I got my sample of my old book to scrapbook finished. Yes, after making one I am prepared to show twenty other campers the how to's of this little project. Hahaha

Next up a two week vacation. I guess August isn't sooo bad.

A Wedding, It's Hot, Many Projects and Random

Last week I saw two faded red, now pinkish, motel chairs on FB buy and sell.  I knew the seller and I told Cindy I'd take them. They aren't super portable but they are cute and Hubby and I kind of like them sitting next to Annie in the driveway.

It's hot and I am getting things done in the morning so I can float for an hour or two in the afternoon. I'd invite you over to my pool but it's a party of one due to space constraints.

Last weekend we had Jake and Kayla's wedding. Kayla is Kassie's sister. It was such a fun wedding.

Baby Jacob came home with us and spent the night. He is the sweetest baby ever.

Even at 2 a.m. 

I love seeing Max and Kassie so happy and having fun.  I brought Huaka'i Annie to the wedding for them to stay the night.  And y'all know I don't share Annie.

 Speaking of Annie, Hubby installed a faucet and plumbing yesterday.  I now have running water.
I'm giddy!
He also reinstalled the jacks.  Hubby did some research (in trailer parks) and put them at a different angle. Super steady now and easy to level.
He's giddy!

Everything had to come out of the kitchen lower cabinets so I plan to really minimize and organize as I put everything away.

Last night Hubby helped me with drilling through old books and then add eyelets to the holes.  I offered to teach a scrapbook workshop at the Nile Valley Rally.  What was I thinking? I'm an introvert.  Also, until last night I hadn't ever actually done this little old book to scrap book project. Hah!  

Hubby made us a new cocktail last night, it's called a White Lady and includes an egg white for the froth. It's delish!  After giving me a lesson in drilling Hubby deserved that cocktail. Not to brag but I've beat him playing cards two nights in a row. That never happens. On hot summer nights we are on the patio.

  Today is devoted to making a completed scrapbook sample. This class is brought to you by someone whose baby doesn't have a baby book. Don't worry Denise and Rita, I got this!

Yesterday I spent hours at Costco, returning an item, having an eye exam, picking up photos, getting groceries and shopping for my back to school wardrobe.  I found a vest and a raincoat.  Hello, my name is Tami and I have a raincoat addiction. My new one is a blackberry color. Don't judge me, this is a new color for my collection. Some day I'll share my raincoat collection on the blog. 

What's for dinner? 

I got to visit with Leslie and Marjean on Sunday afternoon and we always ask each other, what's for dinner?  I've been making salads and more salads for dinner. Last night we had a roasted Costco chicken with salad, we've had taco salad, and an Asian salad with teriyaki chicken.

Please share any good hot weather meals you've had this week. 

Keep cool my friends! Note, when I promise random, I deliver.

What I Did on my Spring Vacation

Spring vacation began with Easter.  Dinner was at our house so actually the break started with cleaning and cooking.  It felt good to get the house tidy. Everyone came after church for dinner.

We had beer hunt instead of an egg hunt, since the kids are all adults now and we are always looking for ways to keep their attention.

Hubby was on midnight shift and when he got home on Monday morning I drove us to George, WA to visit Max and Kassie.  It was really fun to see them so happy and to see all the projects they had done at their house. Building fences and painting have kept them busy.  Hubby set their new closet door. Kassie made us a delicious dinner using one her Pioneer Woman cookbooks for the recipe.

I went junking a morning to Franny's sale. 

Huaka'i Annie came out for the camping season.  I gave her a good spring cleaning.

It is amazing how much stuff accumulates in a small trailer.

It gets really messy, working in a small space with way too much junk.  I sorted, cleaned, made the bed and started to restock.

I think I will like having the big coffee pot for heating water when I wash dishes.  When I go alone, I sometimes use Starbucks Via.  I'm not going to make a fire and a big pot of cowboy coffee for myself.

A trip to Dollar Tree where I picked up drawer organizers, a mirror and sticky tabs for mounting, drawer liner, and some smaller perishables.  I like to buy their vegetable oil, small syrup and few other items, that are trailer size.

Then I start playing with vignettes.  I have a new tray and I wanted to try it.

New p.j.'s for camping, yes please!

I think I am really going to like my new to me Hudson Bay blanket.  It may not be an original but it is definitely good quality and warm. I think it's the Pendleton copy.

My train case was needing some work so I traded it for the one I'd made for Max and Kassie's wedding cards.  The drawer liner and some arrows stenciled on top finished it for me.

I also found the refillable travel size containers for my contact solutions at the dollar store.

I had sent for some natural skin care products from Amazon to leave in my train case for the season.
The Mad Hippie, hmmm, I don't consider myself to be a hippie but I'll give this a whirl.

Do you use the nail polish remover with foam in a jar?  I have for quite a long time and I just found a travel size.  Face wipes are essential for camping.

Annie and I are ready for camping!
Spring break already seems long ago.  It was a good time to see family, organize our house, and get ready for camping season.  That is all well and good but next year we are going someplace warm.  The rain is starting to get to me and to Hubby.
Good thing I got ready to camp because now I am camping!