Have You Missed Me?

I have posted a couple video's to YouTube this week......Go check them out! Crochet Challenge Check - In and Update Crochet -- A Silent Short My Smelly Bug is Alive -- '74 VW Super Beetle Replacing the drivers side mirror '74 super beetle   I have another video in pieces that I need to edit together and post.  Hopefully I can get to that next week.   Thanks for stopping by!

HHM ~~ 6/19/17

  Good afternoon everyone!  I'm in one of those moods today.  Just can't get my mind off wanting to take off and go and go and go.  You know, be a nomad.  *sigh*  Well I'm trying, honest I am.  So here's a little about my day:   It's such a nice last day of spring.  Tomorrow is the first day of summer you know.  The weather is much cooler than they said it would be.  There is a slight breeze and the clouds are helping keep the sun from heating the concrete up. I'm not complaining.  It's fine with me that it's cool enough the AC doesn't have to be turned on at the shop and probably not at the castle tonight either.  Fans will do.  I left the curtains open upstairs to let the cool breeze in.  Hopefully we can "keep the cool in" for a few days after it warms up again. Today for lunch Hubby had a "deluxe" (lettuce tomato onion) bologna sandwich and a jalapeno sausage.  I had 2 "deluxe" bologna sandwiches but with cheese also.  We had unsweet iced tea to drink. I really need to decide what I want to fix for suppers this week.  Not much money from last week so I can't be lazy.  I also need to decide lunches.  Preferably crockpot meals for the evening, that way it's ready or nearly ready when we get home.  leftovers or bologna sandwiches will work for us for lunches.  Tonight I think we will have bacon sandwiches.  Hubby suggested it.  We did it last week and it was really good.  We got a bunch of bacon super cheap, so why not.  It's good bacon, but it's ends and pieces so they aren't thin uniform slices.  Some are thin some are almost a half an inch thick.  We also have a bunch of pasta samples, so I think I will get some spaghetti sauce and have a pasta sampler one evening.  That's two, just need another couple meals. Today I have a few things I nee to do after I get home.  I have already sent out a couple invoices and have taken a short walk to the post office to buy stamps and send those out.  While I was there I walked a bit farther and dropped the water bill payment into the drop box instead of taking it to the city building (which is across from the post office).  It was a nice walk.  Tonight I have a few more laundry items to wash and I need to put away the laundry I washed last night.  Probably grocery shopping as well. I haven't much been in the crochet or reading mood here lately.  I keep wanting to start a new crochet project but I have been able to refrain.  I really would like to get my uncle's camo blanket finished so I can give it to him the next time I see him.  I'm maybe 2-3 blocks into the row after the half way point.  It could be that it's been hot that I haven't wanted to crochet, I'm not sure.  Anyway, it's cooler so maybe tonight? Want to hear something funny?  Last week we ate at Mazzio's when we went to get lumber. They weren't very busy and the buffet pizza was cold.  I kept watching for new pizzas to come out.  Finally more customers started to show up and they pulled a pizza out of the oven and I told hubby "they are cutting one in the kitchen"  He busted up laughing. Oh yah, a kitchen tip.......Same as last week only sauces.  Pizza Sauce and diced tomatoes.  We don't always use a whole can.  We divide the #10 can up into 3 quart sized zippy bags and freeze what we don't need at the time.  We have found that the quart size bag is about the right portion for a week of sales etc. We really haven't done much to prepare for warm weather.  Not sure what else we can do right now.  We still need to fix the screen in the boy's room.  We weren't able to get all the boards we need last week.  I did get the metal shelfs we used last year and opened his window,  It has helped a lot, but it's a pain to open/close the window when it rains.  Also I need to figure out a way to cover the top windows to help keep the sun from coming in.  I'm thinking about putting up come colorful construction paper sheets and put some aluminum foil on the inside.  I'd love to put the foil directly on the window, but I don't want to blind the people across the street or create a glare for anyone driving down the street.  I may try and do that this week  I will have a little extra time I think.  I just have to find the construction paper. Well I hope you enjoyed your visit.  I hope to see you again soon. I'm linking up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom  today.

Up In The Air

I'm really up in the air about things.....I'm not sure what to do. 2 of the 3 companies I applied as an affiliate with to sell yarn/craft supplies have denied me.  One their site was messed up and they never responded to my plea for help and the other it ha something to do with the tax laws in Kansas or something like that.  Still waiting on #3 but I have a feeling it will be a tax law thing too.  Those 3 reasons are why I moved my blog off blogger and to my own server.  I don't have time to go visit other blogs and read/comment like I should to build a "community" here.  Blog stats here are probably more real than they are on blogger, and sometimes the only day I have any views is Monday when I link to HHM.  Is blogging just past it's prime?  Are more people vlogging and watching/listening instead of reading?  I have several youtube videos and even without trying very hard I have generated some income (not enough to be paid yet) from monetizing most of my videos. BUT.........Videos take time if I want to edit multiple clips together. Video's need some mount of quietness without interruption if I just want to record and upload.  Then there is the issue of what do I record with?  only 2 of my mobile devices work where the volume is loud enough, and one is my cell phone, the other is an iPad.  The problem there is where/how do I hold them while I am recording something like a how to or showing a wip or finished project?  These are things I have thought about.  Another is content.  I can tell you now about something that happened way back, possibly share pictures.  Doing a video is a bit different.   What do you all think?  I can't decide.  That's why I always bounce back and forth between doing things, trying to get one or the other working.  If you want to visit my YouTube channel that'd be awesome.  HERE's THE LINK I'm thinking maybe trying videos again.  So if I disappear here for a while....go check there.

Crochet Star Garland

Here's a quick, cute weekend project for you.  Enjoy! I absolutely love this thing!  I'm thinking about making another one.  It took me about 4 hours with interruptions from customers, just having to get up and walk around, checking facebook, chatting, etc.  For sure an afternoon or evening project.  I used cotton yarn, but you could use any yarn,  I used this pattern for the stars.  I made 4 of each color. I chained 20 and slst in the 10th chain to make a loop at the end to hang it up with.  Chained 20 and SC in one of the top points of the star.  Chain 20 and SC in the top point of the star until I reached the last star.  I chained 30 and counted back 10 to join with a slst for the last loop to hang it up with. I really like it!  It is perfect for any "flag" holiday.  

Crockpot Gravy

Ok, so I didn't just make gravy, I cooked  some meat along with it.  I have finally mastered making crockpot gravy though.  This recipe is my stand by.  Any kind of meat that you want gravy with will work.  This time I used 4 cube steaks.  I salted and peppered them for seasoning.  I added 1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup to the bottom, added my meat (with a little soup in between to prevent them from sticking together).  I used a secon can of soup and mixed in a packet of onion soup mix and spread that on top of the meat.  I added 1 cup of beef broth and set it on low to cook for about 4 hours. When the meat is cooked, remove it and turn the slow cooker on high until the gravy starts to boil.  To thicken it I figured approximatly 3 cups of liquid (he cans are almost 16 ounces of concentrate and then 1 cup of broth) so I added 3 TBSP of corn starch and just enough water to make a paste in a measuring cup.  When the gravy started to boil I added in the cornstarch and stirred a little.  It didn't take long to get thick. I heated some water and mixed up some instant potatoes.   A very yummy meal indeed!

Thoughts on Homemade Laundry Soap - Part 3

Well another laundry soap post.....I like the dish soap one but hubby seems to be allergic to something in the mixture.   However when I was using just plain Zote and nothing else he seemed to be fine.  SO....Thought #3 back to just plain Zote Laundry bar.  This time instead of shaving it I am grating it.     The grater I have makes it into a powder.  I have done this a couple times and he seems to be itching less.  I think I am on to something.  One thing I do need to figure out though is smell. Not an after smell that smells good for the clothes, but something that helps remove the sometimes lingering smell in the clothes.  I may add some baking soda to my powder next time.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  I know Washing Soda, but it and borax are in the powder and liquid I have been using the past couple months. One of them may be causing the problem.  Baking soda is known for helping with odors.       I'm not sure how much this measurers out to be.....couple tablespoons probably.  This is the measurer from the oxy cleaner I bought. This amount seems to work well.           Here's my grated bar.  I grated just about enough for my last washing.  Looks like I will get several more washes out of this bar.         I'll keep you updated.......

Recap on Winter Upstairs

I'm not sure I have found everything, but here is a recap on preparing for and staying warm upstairs for 2016/2017 winter.  I will link each one to the post I talked about it.  Some will link to the same post some are just things we did and have no post that I have found......

• We put our coats across the foot of the bed
• We used a warm fuzzy blanket as a top sheet
• We put some trim and weather stripping on the inside to where the door only opens out
• We used space heaters, a kerosene heater and candles to help warm the room(s)
• We bought a few moving blankets from Harbour Freight to put over our bedroom doors that lead to the main hallway.
• Space Heater, kerosene heater and candles again
• We put plastic over the windows
• We kept stocked up on Kerosene for our heater.  I think we only ran out once
• We put lots of extra blankets on our bed
• We added a blanket between the mattress and the bottom sheet
• We heated homemade corn sacks in the microwave and took them to bed with us.

HHM ~~ 6/12/17

 

As I look outside my window::: The sun is shining hot and bright!  supposed to be like that all week.  I like sunshine :-) Right now I am::: 

At work, as usual, typing this up.  Been rather slow today.  I should be working on my entrelac blanket but it's a little too warm.

Something funny from this past week::: [caption id="attachment_759" align="alignleft" width="83"] Taken 12/24/2013[/caption] Last night we took my 74 VW Beetle to the "doctor" (mechanic).  It took is 3 1/2 tries to get her started.  The 1/2 time wasn't my fault.  She was going, I stopped to wait on hubby to put some tools and things away and she died.  Clutch was in and break was on.  I didn't think it was too bad for not being driven in nearly 2 years.  She runs pretty good, just won't start without pushing. Thankfully I haven't lost my touch in driving a [vintage] standard.  Got her clear across town without any mishaps.  Went down this morning and delivered her keys.  She is next in line after the motor install they had going.  I'm getting excited!     Currently Reading::: Nothing right now.  I haven't been in the reading mood. On my to do list today::: 1. Pay bills 2. Crochet. 3. have to go out of town and do some sopping for things we can't get locally. Today's Lunch::: deluxe ham sandwich (mayo, lettuce, onion, cheese ....wanted tomato but we were out of slices and I didn't want to slice one) and sweet tea Kitchen Tip:::   Well crumb!  My picture isn't here.  Oh well I can tell you.  We make our own chili that we serve at The Castle.  I make a double batch and we freeze part of it.  One of my batches fills 2 - 1 gallon sized zippey bags.  We go though a batch in about a month.  Might be sooner now that we are offering frito chili pies and deluxe frito chili pies.

 Preparing for Warm weather::: Today we are going out of town to get some boards.  We have 2 lumberyards in our town and neither have the size we want/need.  Some of those boards are going to be so we can partially fix the window in the boy's room so we can put a screen on it like we did for our window.  Fuzzy spends most of her time in his window now since it's on the alley side and is cooler overall than the front windows.

What I am crocheting:::

Well.....I want to get the entrelac blanket finished.  My uncle has been released from the hospital and is traveling this way to stay with his sister (my aunt) to continue to recover.  I am going to give it to him.  I have reached the half way point, which is 1 more row than pictured.  It will be lapghan size.  I'm hoping by next week.  That should give him plenty of time to get rested up and adjusted to being at Auntie's house.

Something I Recently Made:::  From the camera:::

The garland decorating one of the castle walls.  this one is cooler than the one that I put on the piano!

 

What I am wearing today:::

Same as last week.......Jean shorts, a tye dye t-shirt, and tennis shoes.

Praise/Prayer List:::

PRAISE the sun is shining today! PRAISE  It's still been cool enough we haven't had to run the AC *too much at the castle and not at all at the lockshop yet.

PRAISE  my  uncle is doing better, and has been released from the hospital.

Prayer business Prayer My Uncle. his continuing recovery Prayer Our friend Mike's continued recovery from the most recent stroke.  Praise that he is home and doing pretty good.  Prayer  One of the young mom's at our church, Rachel.  She is having some major health issues right now.  She and her husband have 3 little girls 5 and under. I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for HHM.  Go visit her and the rest of those who have joined in.  Thank you for stopping by and visiting.  P.S. don't forget to change your bookmarks to my new blog address ;-)

Entrelac Crochet Blanket WIP

So I have started another Tunisian Crochet blanket.  This one is an entrelac stitch blanket.  I had to watch Mikey's (from the Crochet Crowd) video tutorial a few times before I actually "got it".  These colors are some that I had no clue what to do with, but I think they go well together. I have way more of the orange, and it just happened that the orange is the one that will use a little more because it has the half square stitches on the ends and top/bottom.  I haven't decided yet, but I may fill in the bottom and top to make it square. I have a plan for this blanket now, and I need to hurry up and get it finished. I am giving it as a gift.  I need to hurry and get it finished.  I'll share a pic in another post, when it's done

New Concept Crochet Bracelet

I made this yellow bracelet​ with cotton yarn.  I'm not a fan of the crochet thread at all. The main difference is the [hole in the] beads actually go horizontal instead of vertical. I strung my beads on the yarn and used a G hook.  I chained about 50 and used the half double crochet stitch.  I skipped the chain where the bead is so it didn't look all bunched up.  Pretty simple.  I do plan on making more.  You can buy this bracelet (or other crochet things) HERE on my webstore.    

Nomad Thoughts Class A

Yes for real I’m a wannabe!  It all started about 5 or so years ago when I stumbled on the idea of living full time in a vehicle of some sort.  I have had a couple people tell me that I couldn't do it, or I wouldn't last very long.  Those are "fighting words" and make me want to do it even more just to prove them wrong.  Read my thoughts and ideas on the Nomadic Lifestyle tag.  

I know I don't talk much about this but I do want to give it a try some day. I still watch YouTube videos of nomads and am on several Facebook groups for nomads. I try to not obsess so much but it's hard sometimes. So Since we have to start somewhere, the first thing to decide is what kind of "rig" or "home on wheels" do I want? I know positively for sure I do not want anything big like a bus or fancy class A. (link to luxury Motorhomes, no affiliation, just for reference) Woo they are F.A.N.C.Y!  So fancy they don't offer pricing.  I'm pretty sure that's the manufacturer's page since it has a link to "find a dealer". Finding the closest dealer to me looks like they run about $258,000 and that's for a 2016 model.  I don't have that kind of money.  That is way fancier than my current home. That thing is HUGE!  It's 40' in length!  That's almost 8 of me long.  It does have air horns though LOL! I can't see myself driving that monster thing let alone living in it. My tastes aren't that refined I guess.  I can imagine the insurance on it wouldn't be too cheap (I haven't researched insurance). I bet filling up with fuel isn't cheap either. I feel uncomfortable going to visit people who have really nice houses, so I would probably feel uncomfortable in a Class A as well. Nope, a Class A motorhome isn't for me.  I plan on discussing other types of mobile dwellings, so don't to stop back by.

Crockpot Philly's

Crock-Pot Philly's​ are amazing!  So easily made too. The best part is having supper nearly ready when you get home.       I doubled the recipe and we actually got 2 meals out of it. 2# beef (I just use what is on sale) 1 envelope onion soup mix 1 can beef broth 6 (at least) hoagie rolls 6-12 Cheese slices (we used Swiss) I used fresh sliced onions, green and red bell peppers and sliced fresh mushrooms. I don't know quantity because we also cut them up for making stir fry at the same time. Put it all I. Your Crock-Pot on low for about 6 hours. The left over broth would be amazing made into vegetable beef soup.  I have not done this but I just might next time I make this. Hubby and I just dipped bread in it.  We have always called that "sop". I buttered and toasted our rolls in the oven then added the beef/veggie mixture and covered it with cheese. I stuck it back in the oven to melt the cheese. These are amazing!  Every time I make them there never seems to be enough. Linked with Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Cooking Thursday

HHM 6/5/17

Good Happy Monday  Morning!!!!!  If you think things look a little different, and you haven't been to the blogger blog since my last HHM post 2 weeks ago, well.....things are a bit different!  I am trying to get set up with a yarn company as an affiliate and I thought it would look better and more professional for things to be on a personal site than on a generic site. I imported all posts and comments here, as well as leaving all old ones back on blogger.  Now that you know that....on to Happy Homemaker Monday.  

As I look outside my window:::

It's been a bit humid.  They keep saying rain but it misses us every time.  Today is supposed to get pretty warm, up near 90.  the rest of the week looks about the same with evening temps in the 50's and 60's.

Right now I am::: 

At work, as usual, typing this up in between customers.  Have had a few in and out in addition to several friends chatting on messenger with me.

Something funny from this past week::: We watched a movie.  We bought and watched for the first time "American Graffiti".  It was a good show and made me laugh several times. Currently Reading::: well, nothing now because I finished it up Saturday night.  I read Reservations for Two by Anne Patrick.  Couldn't put it down.  Probably one I will read again, it's tat good! On my to do list today::: 1. Work on my Smelly Good Stuffs Page. 2. Crochet. 3. Son asked me to wash his laundry tonight Today's Lunch::: Burger King  I had an original chicken sandwich add tomato and onion and hubby and I shared an order of fries and onion rings Kitchen Tip::: We use a lot of #10 cans, and don't always need the whole can at a time.  I divide it up into quart zippy bags and freeze the extra until we do need it.  Sure saves wasting product.

 Preparing for Warm weather::: Today is going to be much warmer than it has been.  I left our window open but put all 3 curtains down.  I have a little curtain across the bottom window, a heavy cotton curtain then a room darkening curtain.  I have to leave a corner accessible for Fuzzy because she likes to nap in the sunshine and watch people and cars.  I also left our fan going for her and to help circulate the air.  
What I am crocheting:::

Well.....I have the 2 ten stitch blankets and yesterday I started an entrelac blanket.  All 3 projects are tunisian crochet.  I also had a dream how to finish a project that I just am not "in to" doing.  I like the finishing idea and can't wait to start working on it.  It of course is another tunisian project.

Something I Recently Made:::  From the camera:::

The garland decorating the piano.  I'm still in awe that I made that!  It's one of the better things I have done I think.  I made it Saturday afternoon.

What I am wearing today:::

Jean shorts, a tye dye t-shirt, and tennis shoes.

Praise/Prayer List:::

PRAISE the sun is shining today! PRAISE  It's still been cool enough we haven't had to run the AC *too much at the castle and not at all at the lockshop yet.

PRAISE  my  uncle is doing a little better, but still needs prayer so I'm leaving him on that part too.

Prayer business Prayer My Uncle. He has not been feeling well Prayer Our friend Mike  He had another stroke over the weekend I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for HHM.  Go visit her and the rest of those who have joined in.  Thank you for stopping by and visiting.  P.S. don't forget to change your bookmarks to my new blog address ;-)

Memorial Day Finds

Monday we took the day off. We actually slept in for a change. Didn't really want to sleep the day away so we finally got up around 11 am. We took off towards the west because we usually go east or south and we know there isn't anything north. Not much west either but we were hopeful. We pulled into a little town called Fredonia Ks. Drove around downtown playing Pokemon Go. Not much open on the holiday.  We found this cool grandfather clock at the courthouse. As we headed out we stopped at Try-Mee for some lunch. I checked Google reviews, which were all good and positive. Sounded like a good place to get a bite. Let me tell you that it was AMAZING!  The burgers weren't huge, the fries weren't mounded, and they served Pepsi. Hubby and I were full but not overly full. The shocking part is it cost us a little under $12 to eat. 😊 After eating we drove around and "back home". Stopped for a Pepsi refill at the Castle and headed east to familiar areas. We stopped at one of out favorite flea markets, Burton Trading Co on the Mo/Ks state line.  Didn't buy anything but seen a lot of cool things as usual. See why I like to stop there?  This booth always had good price yarn. After leaving hubby let me drive. We headed to the Wildcat Glades and Conservation area south of Joplin. Neither of us had ever been there, which is surprising since hubby grew up in that area and we lived in that area for a few years after getting married. I was specifically looking for the waterfall. We walking both ways on the trail where we parked and didn't find it. Guess I needed to do a bit more research. It was a neat area and we definitely want to go back. (I know where the falls are now thanks to Google, and we were way off. LOL!) After we were done there we stopped at vintage stock and picked up a few movies then splurged and ate at Logan's Steak House before heading home. Much enjoyed the day. Looking forward to the next day we take off.     Try-Mee in Fredonia and the clock tower plus walking at the glades

Oh Goodness!

I have a bunch of "idea draft posts" but none are finished.  They just have a title and a little reminder snippet for me what I want to post about.  Those can get me in trouble if I let them sit too long because I forget what I wanted to say.  I will try and work on some of them this weekend.  Monday being a holiday and us taking the day off (which I will have a post about that) just kind of made my week go by a little quicker. Here's a few picture snippets from last week and earlier this week......   I love standing on the corner, soaking up the sunshine, and advertising for the Castle!  I love sunshine! Would you eat this?  IT was a strange random idea we had and honestly it's not bad at all!  It defiantly would be a gluten free option we could offer if we decide to put it on the menu. With the extra day of not working, I had a little extra time so I swept up the dust bunnies (some were quite large :-O ) and rearranged for summer.  Note Fuzzy who is loving the screen and having the window open.  The bed is to the right, you can just see the edge of it.  It's practically up against the wall, which allows us to open the window and hopefully not expose ourselves to anyone who may occupy the offices across the street.  I do have a  curtain that covers across the bottom window, but it also blocks a little of the breeze.  We keep it down during the day and open it at night when we are pretty sure no one is working.  I do like the extra room the new arrangements gives.  Guess it makes sense to put the bed long wise in the room instead of across it, since it's longer than it is wide.  We will see how this works.  We may have to make a change before to long. During the cleaning process I informed Mr. Bear that he was going to have to move.  He seems quite happy hanging out in our theater room.  It's blue, just like him.  Last night he watch American Graffiti with is.  It's the first time any of us has seen it.  It's pretty good, honestly.  Has a little language if it, and quite typical of teens in the 60's.  If you like Grease you'd probably like this one too.   Al righty you-all I have a few more errands to run.  Hope tonight is super busy at the Castle!