I'm Not Good At This.....

Goodness the weekend has been busy. That's a good thing. Here's a post I was going to share on Friday. Better late then never, right?  I'll see you tomorrow for HHM.  😊

Hubby had a t-shirt that the under arm was ripped out.  It's one of the few t-shirts that he wears at The Castle.

It's ripped pretty good, but thankfully just where the seams were.

Meh it's not pretty but it's working

All sewed up.  Don't look bad at all huh?

Looking at it from the outside of the shirt it looks pretty normal to me.   I don't know how ling my stitching will last, but at least the shirt will look decent to wear.

I FInished It!

Mission Accomplished!!!  Yesterday I finally finished the shawl I have been working on and off on since March.

I also wrapped a few gifts yesterday.  I am actually ahead of schedule this year.  Usually it's the week of Christmas at the very earliest.  LOL!

I even put them under the tree at the castle.  There will hopefully be 8 gifts in all under that tree by the time I am finished

Yesterday I also decorated the tree at the lock shop, and plugged in the lights.

I started another crochet project.  This one should be quick and easy.  I'm already over half way finished.  It too will be a gift.  Check back in a day or two if you want to see the finished product.

Thanks for stopping by!  I'm going to turn Land Girls back on and work more on that project i started yesterday.....in between customers.

Lazy Day

Its been a lazy day today.  I didn't sleep well last night. Not sure why. I think I seen every hour tick by until it was nearly time to get up.  It was hot and I wasn't getting much of a breeze from outside or the fan. Hopefully tonight I sleep better.

I can't tell yet if the ceiling tile insulation in the window helped. I still haven't done the other 2 windows and I've not been putting it in the one we open. The temperatures have been cooler the past week. Thank goodness!  I do believe it did make a difference though the few days I used it.

So here's my clever trick for today.

I have been wanting to be able to prop the bathroom door open without using a chair or the mop bucket. I looked and looked and couldn't find anything that was working so I grabbed this. It's a (quite stiff) toilet paper cardboard roll. I folded one side and stepped on it to flatten it a bit and pushed it under the door. Perfect!  It held the door nicely while I cleaned, making it much easier to mop the floor. It also allowed the floor to dry after mopping without having to leave the exhaust fan on for a few hours.  Mission Accomplished!  I tucked it safely away in the utility closet. I probably better write "DO NOT THROW AWAY" on it until I know I have a backup.


Ok the twiddle muff.......I've frogged it again. This time I'm liking it much better.   Here's some of what I hooked up tonight. Still Tunisian Crochet although it does look knit. It is the Tunisian Knit Stitch. 👍

Alright.....the last of my customers are leaving.  I'm looking forward to a good night sleep. There is a nice cool breeze and I've put a fan in the window hoping to pull in the cool air. 

 I may not be back until Sunday.  It depends on how busy the next two nights are.

Mission Accomplished.....and some Crochet

Last week I went to the grocery store.  Haven't done that for US in quite some time.  WE have been eating out nearly twice a day for the past 3 weeks.  That gets expensive.  Current situation though, it seemed logical.  Anyway I posted my "plan" last week.   I am happy to say we have NOT had any lunches, except last Sunday, out.  However, with running for supplies a couple nights this past week and being open Friday night we have eaten out several nights.  That is the next plan....keep having things to fix for lunches, and eat more evenings at home.  The roast & taters planned for last week, we will have tomorrow.  I need to devise another plan for next week so I can go to the store tomorrow afternoon.  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED this week!

Crochet Challenge Hat Complete

Most definitely a challenge for me, but I did it!  It took me 5 tries.  I finally ended up watching the video tutorial step by step and stopping it after each step to complete the current row.  I don't expect to win first place.  Just the satisfaction that I DID IT is enough for me.  The 2 kitty cats are for the two kitty cats we lost last year.  Yellow = Gwen and Black = Reecie.  I used leftover yarn to make it, thus why it's so colorful. :-)  I thought I was going to use the light blue, but after a few re-starts I decided not to.  Here's my Challenge post if you want to go look and maybe challenge yourself.  It goes all month.

Might not sound like much.....

but it was a major accomplishment for me.  Last night I made a pot of homemade tomato soup, which needs work, cleaned the cat cage and the tarps (we put underneath the cage to protect the floor) that had been sitting outside waiting to be hosed off, cleaned the bathroom (which for me is always a major chore), washed a load of laundry AND put the clean dishes away and washed the dirty ones, and did a little tidying in the kitchen.  I also wiped down the top of the washer and dryer and inside the lid area of the washer.   That took most of the awake time I had at home.  By the time I was finished I was ready to crash.  Tonight is the last early night until Sunday, and I would like to do more cleaning and a little rearranging in the kitchen before Monday night. I have been using the Cozi app on my kindle, the phone.

 I recently made a tablet out of, and the actual web site on the computer to keep track of appointments, to do's and to buy's.  Some appointments I have it set up to send me a text notification.  So far this has been working for me.  Do you use Cozi?

Mission Accomplished! Closet Part 1

One more mission accomplished.  I still have another mission to accomplish, like a part 2 of this, but that will have to be another post because right now I don't have the money to complete the task.

Hubby and I have a wardrobe like thing that I have been stuffing  attempting to fold and put our clothes in because I didn't have enough hangers to hang up all our [work] t-shirts and my skirts.  SO.....since we have an overabundance of hangers at the shop (since we don't have neat as many t-shirts for sale as we used to) we brought some home.  I have all the shirts and my skirts hung up in the closet.  Jeans, shorts and underthings are folded and put in the wardrobe thing.  Watch for part 2 of this mission when I am able to get rid of the wardrobe thing and get some of those plastic storage drawers.

Sorry, no picture.  I just can't make myself take a picture of my closet yet because it's not neat & tidy.  There are still things stacked in there.  Maybe when I complete part 2 of this mission.

Mission Accomplished! Another Duct Tape Craft

Some tine back I made a pouch for my old phone.....now mini tablet, and a pouch for my ear buds and etc.  I found another roll of the sparkly blue duct tape that wasn't used yet, and made a kindle pouch. My purse is starting to be a bit more organized now.   

I'm still no professional duct tape crafter, but so far things have worked and I LOVE the sparkly blue tape.  When I get some more money I'm going to get some more designer duct tape and make a few more things to organize my purse a little more.

This post linked up with 

Creativity Unleashed Link Party – No. 31

Mission Accomplished! Laundry

Probably not a big deal for you but last night I got Hubby's and my laundry washed, dried, and PUT AWAY!  We won't be living out of clothes baskets this week 😊

Mission Accomplished! Reducing Summer Heat

I think this is kind of a silly mission but it's what works now!  The kitchen window didn't have any curtain at all covering the top half.  It wasn't a big deal because it let in light and wasn't where anyone could see it, thanks to the air conditioner (which cools the whole house by the way) and the fact it's up higher on the house..  When the summer heat started making the house warm, I grabbed an older towel and nailed (yes nailed) it on the window frame.  It helps block the morning sun and keeps the house cooler.  It's thin enough that it also lets in some light in the morning, and usually turning on the light isn't necessary.

More recently I did a similar thing to one of the windows in the livingroom.  It also faces east.  My issue is that it IS lower to the ground and very easy to see in.  I don't like the idea of anyone being able to see into my house without my permission (like having the curtains open by choice), but the cats like sunshine and laying in the window with the curtains that were there, just left a gaping curtain after they were done, until we got home.  SO......I took down the curtain that was there and took down the blind, which was badly torn up.  I nailed (yes nailed again) another old towel, like the one in the kitchen, across the bottom of the window frame.  The cats can get in the window and look out and enjoy the sunshine, but when they are done, the curtain closes behind them.  I took the blind from the west window in the bedroom and put it in this window.  It can be opened or closed to cover he top of the window. It lets in more morning light and sunshine for the cats, but also will block some of that morning heat.

Now, in the bedroom, the west window I took the blind from.  I took the curtain from the livingroom  window and nailed (yes I did it one more time) it to the wall just above the window frame.  The curtains are a little long and I don't want to trip over them at night.  Also, to help block the heat and sun, I can lean the door (we can't hang it because the jam has been damaged *sigh*) up in the window and it helps block more sun and aftenoon/evening heat.

I know it's nothing fancy, but I am making do with what I have right now.

Mission Accomplished! Finally Cleaned House

Not that we are too happy about the situation, but Tuesday afternoon we had to close down the arcade/soda shop for a few days while the landlord fixes some plumbing issues.  Hopefully it gets fixed quickly. God is in control of the situation so I'm trying my best not to worry.  I think he knew we needed some time off so he created the situation.

We are so lost not having anything to do in the evening. We are so used to working and getting home late.  What to do? What to do? 

Tuesday night we watched "Mars Attacks! ".

Wednesday I cleaned house. Its no where near perfect, but it sure looked and smelled so much better.  I had that feeling of accomplishment I mentioned in the homemaking meme the other day.

Last night we played a new (to us) card game called Panjandrum  (slow loading page.....scroll down to page 18/19 for the rules for the game we played).  It is kind of a cross between solitare and war.  I also did some more cleaning, and actually have a clean kitchen for Friday.

Wonder what we will do tonight.....it is Friday night. 

Mission Accomplished! Everyone Needs A Little Time Away

Sometimes you just have to get away.  We did exactly that.  We took 3 days and just did what we wanted to do!  Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, our slowest days.  Sunday being Fathers Day, we met the oldest and his finance for lunch and then we (hubby, the youngest boy and me) headed out of town.  Monday it was just hubby and me, and we scoped out neighboring towns for possible moving the business(es) to.  After spending the day driving and looking and talking, we think our current plan is the best.  On our way home hubby says he wants to go to Branson, Mo.  SO.....I arranged for a friend to check on the cats, packed quickly and we were OFF!  About 4 hours later (we stopped for supper) we arrived at our destination.  I must say the shower at the motel was AMAZING!  Much larger than mine at home.  You could actually drop the soap (which I did once, but not on purpose) and bend over to pick it up without touching the sides!  The bed and pillows were the most comfortable I think I've ever slept on.  The room was perfect temperature, and the free breakfast was pretty good.

After eating a quick breakfast, courtesy of the motel, we headed to Silver Dollar City.  We haven't been there in about 5 years.  It was rather nice going back.  Hubby and I wanted to sit by the water and relax, but they have made so many new changes that there wasn't much water to sit by and enjoy.  We still enjoyed ourselves though.

Here are some highlights of the trip to SDC:

There was a swan on one of the beds in the motel room.  

Boys will be boys......playing with guns in the toy shop

This huge marble ball was spinning on water.  They made it spin vertical, which was a challenge.

Almost finished riding the Lucky Silver Mine ride.  Those prisoners were shooting water at us.  Luckily they always miss.

Thank you to the SDC Employee who was kind enough to take this picture.  We were relaxing outside the Ice Cream shop, which is in front of the Jail, and across from the Blacksmith's Shop.

The Blacksmiths Shop

The Jail.....Lookin in

We went during their "Star Spangled Summer" Festival.  The City was all decorated with red white and blue.  There were flags everywhere and patriotic music playing up on the town square.

We ate lunch by the waterfall

And made a pirate ship out of our dishes

We rode the Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train, and got held up by Alfie and Ralphie.

We stopped by the Mill and watched the waterwheel 

And we saw......standing out in front of Ripley's Believe it or Not........

a Giant Optimus Prime!

I was a much needed mini vacation.  We needed the days off, and we enjoyed our trip to Branson, and just driving around with no place to go or anything we had to do.

We got season passes....so you can bet we will be back to SDC at least once, maybe more before the end of 2014.

Mission Accomplished! Sunshine & Sparkles

 I don't know where the week goes.  I post HHM, and then  POOF!  before I know it it's time, or almost time to post it again.  I'm looking forward to the upcoming days off we are taking.  It's been way too long since we had more than a holiday day off.

The morning sun has a habit of warming the kitchen and the whole house up by early morning, before the late afternoon sun starts heating from the other side. Last week we actually had a few hot days (90* temps) before the rain came again and cooled things off for a few days.  The morning sun was already making the kitchen feel stuffy at 8 am when I got up.  My solution.....I nailed an older towel up in the window.  I still get enough light to do most of what I do in the morning, but it also blocks a majority of the heat that comes in,  Here is a before and after of the kitchen window.

Last week I attempted a cool metallic duct tape phone pouch for hubby since his regular one finally broke.  It wasn't as successful as I had hoped.  *sigh*  The belt loop on it broke within a few hours.  So I cut that part off and took it to put my old phone.....now a mini tablet..... in (not the phone pictured).  Today I made the pouch on the left for my ear buds and a few other items that get lost in my purse.

I'm thinking I want to get some more duct tape to make more pouches for those items that often get lost in my purse.  

Have you made any duct tape crafts?  Share your link in a comment I'd love to see what you've done.  It might even give me more ideas.

Mission Accomplished! Cleaned the Bathroom

I'm not sure why its such a big deal for me, but cleaning the bathroom is my least favorite thing to do. I really need to make a point to clean it weekly instead of waiting until.....well way too long.  My June goal is to clean it weekly. Sunday night preferably. 

On a better note my dishes are done one load of laundry in the dryer and another in the washer.

My reward.....less to do tomorrow, and a few minutes to read before bed.

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.