The Miting -- Book Review

I don't like to write book reviews in general. "It was a good book" or "Loved it" is mostly my comments and review. Sometimes I read a really good book (in my opinion) and its worthy of a review.  The Miting was one of those books. It didn't take me too long to read either. Yes I got bored and lost in the middle somewhere but I had to know what happened.

Most Amish fiction is meh to read. I do enjoy reading it but many of them seem to be about the same thing..... Love and the teen years.  The Miting was different though. Much different.

The Amish community appears to many to be a perfect society. They are far from perfect.  Their communities are much like our own Englisher communities, with the same problems we have. However the Amish communities tend not to "air their dirty laundry" like the Englisher society does.

This story is about 2 old order Amish girls, Leah and Martha, who are best friends.  Martha's older stepbrother abuses her. She has lost all faith in her community.  Leah questions different things about her Amish faith and the ordnung.

I highly recommend reading this story.

*clicking on the image will take you to Amazon via my affiliate account.

Reecie's Morning Catnip

When we were out in the backyard earlier this week we found a random catnip plant.  Of course since we have cats, we were rather excited, but not near as excited as out cats have been.  This morning hubby went and got a fresh leaf for my Reecie kitty.  She was a lot more into it that what I caught on video.  Towards the end, Fuzzy comes along to see what she has.......after I stopped the video, Reecie reached over and smacked Fuzzy a few times.  Guess she was too close to her "stash".  LOL!

Birds and Blooms in my Yard

I have some new blooms.....The peonies are beautiful and smell amazing!

Welcome to my jungle!

Roses.  Do you see the poison ivy next to them?  The big leaf with the brown spot on the left.  I didn't even know it was there until hubby pointed it out.  The I was the one who got to pull it up, with a grocery bag over my hand of course, since I seem to be the only one not affected by it.

MMMmmmm Honeysuckle!

More roses

The yucca plant will be blooming soon.  I can't wait!

Not in my yard, but in the vacant lot next door.  These irises are at least 3 feet tall, maybe a little taller.

Monday night we had some birds visit.  I posted on facebook because I didn't know what the one on the right was.  My friends decided it was a brown thrasher.  Of course that is Mr. Cardinal on the left.

Here is a pair of those thrashers.  My friends said they are "low-lifes" and have nests in bushes and close to the ground.  Yep....I got a jungle and lote of bushy places for them. 

and last but not least, here is Mrs. Cardinal and the thrasher.

It makes me happy having birds and flowers and a yard.  I so so so missed it when we lived in the apartment.

Mission Accomplished! Livingroom Presentable

5/19 10:25pm

Finally after about 3 months after moving back "home" (and out of that rediculas apartment) I finally got the living room presentable. The only thing not really in the picture is the table and chairs which is to the bottom right of the picture.  It no longer looks like a hoarder lives here when you come in.  There is still work to be done, especially in the bedroom, but this is way better.

I did get those litter boxes clean that I mentioned yesterday in my HHM post.  I tend to take them outside to clean later and just swap out with a clean one and put litter in.  They were bad, I mean BAD, REALLY BAD, REALLY REALLY BAD!  They had been on the porch and it had rained......Um yah.  Remember that hole in the back yard from the groundhog?  Well lets just say next time he comes out of that hole, if it's an exit, or he goes in if it's an entrance, he's literally going to say "What the crap! Yes, we did!  It's at the back of the yard and scoopable litter becomes concrete like after a while.  We will show him!

I also washed and dried 3 loads of laundry and finally folded the remaining 2 towels and several washcloths from the towels I washed and hung out to dry 2 weeks ago.  They have been piled on the table since  I brought them in.

Happy Homemaker Monday ~~ 5/19/2014

Start: 10:40am

Sorry about not posting at all last week after HHM.  It was a crazy busy week, or so it seemed.  I'm sure it wasn't as crazy as I made it out to be.  I have a habit of just being plain lazy too, but isn't that acceptable when you work 7 days a week, 9-14 hours a day?

The weather..... It's beautiful today!  The sun is shining, the wind is blowing and the temperature is perfect!  The temps are to be in the mid to upper 80's during the day and mid to upper 60's at night. Cloudy but no rain in the forecast until Friday, when we have a 70% chance later at night.

Right now I am.... sitting at the shop.  Hubby is out doing a lock installation job for one of the lakes near here.  I have been texting with my sister, an uncle and my mom.

On my Kindle...

I never said what book I was reading last week....I got distracted obviously.  I was reading last week, and finished All Different Kinds Of Free.  That was a good book!  Now I am reading Damaged: A Violated Trust (Secrets).  This story sounds similar to another one I read a while back too, or maybe I've read it before.  LOL!  anyway I just got started on it late last night.

On the menu this week...... Never know until I get asked to cook something.  LOL!  I do know I need to restock on the quick to fix things like cereal and milk, bread (for egg sandwiches), etc.

On the Radio.... listening to the local scanner because I heard sirens a while back and never did hear where they went  LOL!

TV on my Computer..... I haven't watched much lately.  I did watch a couple Dr. Phil shows on YouTube last week.

What I found while surfing the net.... We, well I, have been looking into possible places to move/move our businesses.  We need to do something, as the economy in this town is severely depressed, and has gotten worse in the past couple years.  We won't be moving anytime soon, but we do need to start exploring options and praying about it.

On my to do list today....
Must clean cat boxes tonight.  

Looking forward to this week.... not real sure.  It is a holiday weekend.  We could be busy Friday and Saturday.  Only get next Monday off, so...it's not really a holiday for us.

As I look outside the window..... the sun is shining, the wind is blowing, there are cars parked out front [of the shop] but no one in here right now, there is traffic on Main Street, I hear a lawnmower.

Looking around the house.... Looks a mess and it's stinky!

From the camera.......  

My Peonies bloomed!  Well....just 1 was open Sunday morning.  I will be posting a flower post, which will probably be ready to look at tomorrow, of the newest blooms in my yard. 

On my prayer list.....

• My grandpa (he's almost 95 years old)
• My sister
• My Uncle T
• Business decisions
• My Reecie Kitty

  This post linked to Happy Homemaker Monday over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Finish: 11:51am

Happy Homemaker Monday ~~ 5/12/14

3:26pm

The weather.....  rain, rain, rain.  may have storms later today/tonight.  Looks like upper 60's all week and another chance for rain on Thursday and Saturday.

Right now I am.... taking a quick blog break since hubby is out on a job.  Gonna try to finish before he gets back.

On my Kindle...

Amazon finally got their act together and the Android app seems to be fixed now after about  months.  I have  actually been reading this on my kindle, but have it on my little [phone] tablet as well via the app.  This is similar to Twelve Years a Slave I was reading recently.


On the menu this week...... Not a clue.  Still the same things in the freezer as last week.

On the Radio.... listening to  People of Earth steampunk music by Dr. Steele

TV on my Computer..... I have watched a little of the Donner Party documentary.  Need to finish watching that sometime.

What I found while surfing the net.... Looking for and pinning rainbow and tye dye things on Pinterest

On my to do list today....
Work on more bags/boxes to unpack (this never seems to get done)
General cleaning
clean kitchen

Looking forward to this week.... tonight!

As I look outside the window.....it's gray, cloudy, raining and Main Street is DEAD!

Looking around the house.... looks normal.  cluttered with unpacked boxes and bags.  floors need swept, towels, that I dried outside yesterday, in a basket on the table need folded and put away.

From the camera.......  

On my prayer list.....

• My grandpa (he's almost 95 years old)
• My sister
• My Uncle T is back in the hospital
• Business decisions
• My Reecie Kitty

  This post linked to Happy Homemaker Monday over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

\

My thoughts today

Worst mothers day I've had.

Prayer Request

Pleas pray for my Reecie kitty. She hasn't been herself lately.

Friday

9:00am

The night started out good. No storms really in the forecast, it had all either gone around or fizzled out. Went to bed.....went to sleep.....about 4:30am it started to rain.  No storming, just rain with some lightening and thunder. Had to close windows, which wasn't a problem the house had cooled way down. About 5:00am the rain had stopped and all was calm. About that same time the weather alert went off.  We were issued a significant weather advisory for the next 15 minutes. For what??????? The rain, lightening, and thunder had stopped. Fast forward about 30 minutes......we must have a mouse in our bedroom wall. *sigh* The cats were right there watching and waiting for it to gnaw its way through.  I spent about 15 minutes trying to get it to leave.  Finally about 6:00am its quiet, and I try to go back to sleep..... but the sun is trying to come up.  No worries I did manage to get a few more minutes of sleep.

11:27pm
I'm just going to say today was not a good day. This is one of those days I just want to walk away and give up.   Life isn't fair anymore. It seems that those who try hard to actually make something of themselves are the ones treated like crap.

Another Short Night and Long Day

9:29am
It was a short night last night. About 3:00am my weather alert went off.  The wind was blowing really hard. We were issued a wind advisory warning. Then my Facebook messenger badinged. A good friend had been woke up by the wind as well and was concerned. We chatted a bit and the wind died down leaving us with a nice cool breeze.  I did notice a few branches and limbs down when I got up. I also found a robin egg laying in the back yard. I bet it got blown out of the nest. It was broke.....just a small crack where it hit the hard dirt.  The national weather service says strong severe storms this afternoon and evening.

Well its 10:30 pm and still no rain or storms. I'm not complaining.  They have bumped the rain up all day long. Currently they are saying 11:45pm. Im still hoping for no rain, becsuse our roof leaks.

We got home early again tonight. Another slow day. *sigh*  I was able to finish reading my book about the Donner Party today. Quite interesting. I plan to watch a documentary on YouTube about the Donner Party.  

When I got home tonight I cooked a couple of the frozen hamburgers for hubby and made a peanut butter & honey sandwich for myself. Finally finished the dishes and cleaned the stove top and counter, and washed and dried the towels for the castle.

I hope I get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow will be a longer day than today.

When the Help Calls in Sick

Sure does make things a lot more challenging when you are a mulit-mom & pop business and your help calls in sick.  It just kind of turns the day upside down.  Today was one of those days for us. 

I had planned on going to the farm store and getting a couple more fans for the house. We wait as long as possible to turn the air on.  Of course I didn't get to go get fans.

By 5:00 I was dragging. I'm not used to being on my feet 6+ hours a day. Usually its mostly sitting and on my feet 4-5 hours.

By 9:00 I was ready to go home. We were home by 9:30, which is the time we usually leave. 

When we got home I started a load of laundry, folded clothes, put the winter things away, and found hubby's shorts. I have a couple denim skirts right now until I dig for more (I don't wear shorts).  I also opened a couple windows and put the only fan we have where it would pull air through.

I put the clothes in the dryer. I would have hung them out but by 7am, if not before, we are supposed to get rain.  We really don't have room for the drying rack I have to be set up *sigh*

Oh and I got hubby a bowl of cereal (I believe that's my reflection on the left LOL!) and a peanut butter & honey sandwich for myself.

Shoes

So last night I got some new shoes. Aren't they cool?  I hope they last me all summer and beyond.
They just don't make shoes like they used to. You used to be able to buy a good pair of tennis shoes, at a reasonable price, and you would out grow them, or get tired of them and they never wore out.  Now you pay big bucks for cheap junky plastic soled tennis shoes. 
We first went to shoe carnival. They always have had a good selection with reasonable prices. Not this time. Hubby also needed shoes but he couldn't find any less than $60 that didn't have that cheap plastic sole.  Not good at all when you do a lot of walking. The women's shoes there, similar style to what I got...... $40.  I can't afford that. 
We ended up going to Payless. Got 2 pair of shoes....with RUBBER SOLES for less than 1 cheaply made pair from the other place.  Payless had less of a selection but we both like our new shoes.
Hubby had totally worn his out, and mind were thrift store shoes that kind of fit but not really.

Happy Homemaker Monday ~~ 5/5/2014

1:21pm

If you want to REALLY see what my days can be like....read Saturday's post "A peek into my day".  I planned on writing that Friday night....and, well.....yah.....

The weather.....   Beautiful!  Absolutely beautiful! It's 71* right now.   Average high temps this week between 74* and 91*.  Storms coming in mid-week.

Right now I am.... taking a break.  all my paperwork is done. Thinking that today is going really slow.

On my Kindle...

I am almost finished reading The History of the Donner Party A Tragedy of the Sierras.   interesting for sure. They were much stronger people than I am.  I probably would have been one of the ones that didn't make it.


Will be looking for another one when I'm finished.  Any suggestions?  I have a lot on my Kindle Fire I haven't read, and I also have access to the e-books from Freading via the Kansas Library System.






On the menu this week...... Tonight we are going out of town, don't have chicken & noodles to make until fall.  Not sure the rest of the week.  There are frozen hamburgers and frozen pizzas in the fridge. Chips and homemade salsa too.

On the Radio.... some random channel on spotify

TV on my Computer..... I haven't watched anything this week :-(  Haven't had time.  Guess that's a good thing though right?

What I found while surfing the net.... I've been looking at duct tape crafts.  When I was in the dollar store the other day (Saturday when I suck out) I found a large variety of designer duct tape and bling tape.  Like I will actually make anything, but if I ever do......

On my to do list this week....
Work on more bags/boxes to unpack (this never seems to get done)
General cleaning
clean kitchen

Looking forward to this week.... tonight!  storms later this week

As I look outside the window..... busy. the parking spots in front of our shop are all full.  there is steady traffic on main street.

Looking around the house.... looks normal.  cluttered with unpacked boxes and bags.  floors need swept, towels, that I dried outside yesterday, in a basket on the table need folded and put away.

From the camera.......  

Sunday Laundry

Temperature at 10:00 pm Sunday night

On my prayer list.....

• My grandpa (he's almost 95 years old)
• My sister
• My Uncle T is back in the hospital
• Business decisions
• My Reecie Kitty

  This post linked to Happy Homemaker Monday over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

\

How I Have Missed Thee

7:50pm

Sitting here at work with everything done I can do for now. We close in about an hour. I'm looking forward to going home and relaxing. I really should clean the kitchen and vacuum the floor though. I probably will, it's not like its going to be a late night.  Now on to more exciting things.......

Oh my dear clothesline how I have missed thee!  Those towels I put in the washer before bed last night.....I hung them outside on the clothesline before going to church today. I have so missed doing this!  I can't wait to take them down tonight and smell them.

A Peek into My Day -- My Eyes Are Sticky!

I like to read about other people's day.  All of them I read sound exciting to me, probably because it's different than my day.  I think what I do every day is boring.....because I do it every day.  Sometimes there is something out of the ordinary, but not very often.  Most days it's the same thing up, go to work, eat every so often (usually it's the same things almost every meal), go home, go to bed, repeat about 8 hours later.  I chose today, Saturday May 3, 2014, to give a peek into my day because I figured it would be just as uneventful as most other days, as nothing exciting was scheduled to make it be an eventful day.  Boy was I ever wrong.  Today didn't start out like the average day.  Read on.......

Let's start at midnight, since really 12 am is the beginning of the day, right?.  I was STILL UP (since 8am Friday morning)!  I think we finally went to bed about 12:30.  

At about 1:30 I woke up and texted  the boy to see when he would be home.  He had gone to a teen thing at the local youth center, which he does almost every Friday night.  He said "soon" and about 15 minutes or so later, he got home.

So far it's been pretty normal, but things are about to change.......

About 4:30am hubby's phone starts ringing.  We missed 2 calls.  I get up and check his phone.....the alarm is going off at one of our businesses.  I pulled on a skirt and t-shirt, grabbed my jacket and was out the door. Upon arriving, the alarm was still going off, but everything looked ok. I shut it off and checked the outside doors, and they were all secure.  So I decided to go in the front. (No police, the few times I HAVE called them early morning like this in the past, they have always made it seem like it wasn't important and a hassle to come out and assist.)  Everything was normal. I did have the video camera going on my phone, just in case.  LOL!  Must have been a false alarm.  I texted hubby, and headed home.

Want to Check with me?  Here's the video I took when I entered the building.  I could see much better than the camera could.  LOL!
 

About 5:00 I was back in bed WIDE AWAKE!  I'm sure I cat napped but It seemed like I layed there for ever.

About 6:45 I checked the time.....the alarm goes off in 30 minutes. I need to get some sleep.

7:16 the alarm went off. I hit the snooze every 10 minutes until I shut it off at 8:00.  THEN I FELL ASLEEP for 15 minutes.  I'm not really running late, but yet I kind of am.  I got dressed, combed my hair and brushed my teeth, and fed and watered the cats.  Really should have cleaned their boxes, but it can wait until tonight, or tomorrow, or Monday....No really I will most likely clean them tonight.  

About 8:30 we leave the house. 4 blocks away hubby stopped and got out of his van (we take separate vehicles)....."did you get the hamburger [for chili]?"  Nope I hadn't. I circled around and got the hamburger.

About 8:50 I finally got to the shop to get ready to open (at 9:00).

From 9:00am to about 10:30am I was at the shop.  First thing I did, after opening, was get a pot of coffee going.  I'm trying to like coffee.  Not doing too bad actually.  LOL!  We got a package ready to ship out to a customer, I copied some keys, edited the Cosmic Castle web page, promoted our businesses on Facebook and Twitter, started this blog so I didn't forget anything.  

About 10:30 I headed to the castle. I will be there until at least 10:30 tonight. While I was there.....I took orders, made food and desserts, swept floors, washed dishes, cleaned tables, stocked things,  ran between our 2 businesses a couple times, snuck away to the dollar store on an erand...the 84° weather is beautiful!....read my book a little, checked g+, checked Facebook, was bored because we were empty, washed dishes, took more orders, read some more, browsed pinterest, did more dishes, closed up and went home.

Got home about 10:30pm. Started laundry...have to wash and dry so we can have clean clothes tomorrow, cleaned those litter boxes, swept the front porch, porch steps, and sidewalk, forced myself to take a shower (I hate our shower),  put towels in to wash, and finally headed to bed about 12:30, and played a couple games of bingo on my phone.

Im hitting publish. Hopefully I get a good nights sleep.  Hope you enjoyed a look at my day.