We always have a fire outside on Samhain. Celebrating the change of seasons.
It certainly is darker in the mornings and sunset is 6:04pm!!! We didn’t walk this morning because of taking my daughter to the airport for her early flight.
Today is a gym day and then to get Bonnie’s new pills for her incontinence. I hope they help.
After not knowing what happened to my posts and pictures I just gave up. But then when I did an edit it seemed to work but by then I wasn’t into it anymore. Plus I can’t remember the flow of the blog at that point.
But I was at the dentist to do the last 2 trays of Invisalign and will go back in 2 weeks for 2 fillings and the fitting of a temporary retainer. I think the dentist just wants to be done with it as at this point there’s no money in it for him.
Then I decided to go tour local bakery ,which is always pleasant, and write the blog. But that’s when the problems started and it may have been their Wifi connection. So after trying 3 x’s I gave up.
I also wanted to rant about Trump’s response to the Jewish Temple massacre and how insensitive he is. Saying it would have turned out different if there were armed guards in the temple. Come on, are you that out of touch with people who want to go to church and just pray or worship without it feeling like it’s a prison. Plus, I find it incredibly insensitive that he’s going to Pittsburg today when there are the funerals going on. Plus his rant about ‘the Fake News is the enemy of the people’ is so Orwellian that’s it’s enough to scare the bejesus right out of me. Well, since I’m an atheist I guess that’s not the case but still it is scary.
It is really upsetting what is going on in this country. The hate. The violence. The racism. It seems like we are going backwards. I just hope enough people vote Democrat so we can at least put some kind of controls on Trump. The way he talks IS inciting violence and encouraging right wing nut jobs to act in a violent manner. Something has to change.
Well, enough of my rant. Today I’m going to go to Trader Joe’s for some items. That means I’ll be skipping the gym so I’ll do that tomorrow.
My daughter leaves for a library conference tomorrow in Salt Lake City so she’ll be one the rest of the week.
Here’s a couple of pictures of the yard.
a red hollyhock!
some reddish chrysanthemums.
The back yard.
Well. that’s all for now.
Clearly, my wordpress site is not working.
I’ve tried to publish 4 posts now so I’ll try again later. 😦
Almost done!
A view from the sink!!
I think for now it’s done in the kitchen. I thought about some kinda of temporary back splash. I may go into HOme Depot and see what they have. I’ve seen on Pinterest some tile that is peel and go. Not sure if Home Depot has that but I might check.
Today is Friday.
Frugal Friday or this week? Yes and no. I haven’t bought too many groceries, just milk and cream. I did spend $100 at Target but that included cat food at $15 and some frozen Amy’s enchiladas on sale. Most of it was the bins.
I need to get gas in the VW and I’m going to go to the local bakery and get day old bagels if they have any. They’re organic and go quick. So we’ll see. Plus I need to get some multi vitamins at Grocery Outlet.
Other than that I have a load of laundry to do and just tidying up the house.
I’m working on the budget for November and it’s in good shape. I’m paying extra on our second and I’m going to make an extra car payment if I can pull it off.
I took everything off the shelves to the right of the sink and did the 2 coats of paint and then this morning did the final third.
I have the bins ready to go back tomorrow when it’s had 24 hrs to dry. My goal with all this redoing is to really only have what we use and get rid of the rest. On someones minimalist video, she said ” having open shelves keeps me accountable to what I have”. I really love that. And it’s quite true.
I have a vision of what want this funky old house to look like. There’s nothing really special about it. It was built in 1949 in at that time, a very rural community. There was no insulation in the walls and when we re -modeled ,we insulated what we took down but there are still walls without. All the window were replaced as they were just single pane. Now after 24 years almost some of the window need to be replaced as the dual pane has some degradation and they are slightly filmed. But we continue on. We don’t have any inclination to move so it’s making the best of what we have and I WANT that vision of a a clean, minimalist house. I think there’s really a ways to go as I am continually surprised, yes, genuinely, surprised when I declutter for the umpteenth time and still find I am releasing stuff.
Over the years, I’ve given away thousands of things, many valuable. And you know what, I hardly remember or care what they items were. By removing them, I have moved toward that goal.
So back to these open shelves. What’s there is what I can see and the rest is gone. Some stuff is in other baskets on the restaurant stainless steel shelves, but most is gone.
I love this process of minimizing and and have learned so much.
So today was a gym day and then to I went into Target to get a water proof crib liner for Bonnie, the rescue dog, as she is peeing in her bed Every. Single. night. So in I go, get cat food, of course, cream, a bottle of wine and sale, one more bin for the pantry to hold my brush,Invisalign,stuff, etc and then left and promptly forgot the liner. My list was folded over and of course the one thing I went in for was on the other side.
I did call and got her an appt. Monday to check out the situation.
All this is open shelving now and ready to go tomorrow.
Well, the Bake and Book Sale for the library went well. It was a lot of work though and most of us, okay all of us are older although I’m the youngest(ha ha). Still, I was wiped out by Saturday night. But it’s over and done for a year. We made a little over $500 so that’s good for our little branch library. The FOAL gives $ quarterly to the branch to purchase books.
Then Sunday B took off the other side of the cabinet doors. I went to Target and got some more wire bins that I like quite a bit and then put the items I wanted in them. When I’m ready to paint the shelves I can just take down the bins and they are all sorted already. I probably will start that this week as B goes up to the north coast this week so I’ll have long days home alone. It’ll be a good time to finish this project a little at a time. I’m planning to do the first coat one day and then a 2nd the next and then a final 3rd coat.
Today or this week rather is the bedroom zone so I tackled the closet/pantry. I took EVERYTHING out, wiped shelves and rearranged. It was a lot of work but it looks way better and I have a good idea what’s in there. First, I was surprised I don’t have that much pantry stuff. I did a lot of canning this summer so there are a lot of jars of jams and tomatoes and pickles. But that will get eaten down this winter. So all in all, good.
I still need to do the windows and dust.
I’m not going out today at all. I will just finish up a few things and read or sit outside in the beautiful fall weather.
Then into the boiling water
Then into the food mill( the best invention ever).
Then into the pot as sauce.
2. I made a tomato soup out of this batch and it was yummy
I made a tomato soup out of this batch and it was yummy. Today, was the set up for the library book sale. Only 4 of us showed up. We got the books out on the tables and the raffle items out too. I brought 2 frozen zucchini bread for the bake sale. I’ll be there tomorrow for a few hours and that’s it.
3. I painted the open shelves yesterday(first coat) and then today after the books sale set up went and got more paint at Home
I painted the open shelves yesterday(first coat) and then today after the books sale set up went and got more paint at Home depot. I’m just using the Behr ultra white high gloss. So tomorrow I can put back the dishes and cups.
4.
Then I finished knitting my little pumpkin and my wool stuffing showed up from Amazon so I finished it and made a little stem. I have the second one ready to finish as well. I prefer felting wool for these projects but it was fun to re- learn knitting. I always need help remembering how to cast on.
5.
Dinner is homemade pizza.
This was the first coat of paint.
I needed a project and wanted to do something different in our kitchen. So I decided to have B take off the cabinet doors on one side and then I would paint them and put my OXO there and my jars.
Well to start, when he took them off I was appalled at the mess and then I freaked out thinking this will never work. But by morning( he did it the evening before, I felt ok with going ahead. So I removed everything and wiped it all down. I had leftover white gloss paint so I got right into a first coat. I knew I would need more paint so I would get that later for a second coat.
I think this is the second.
This is the third. Here’s the other side.
Next, I’m going to do those shelves you can barely see on the right. The pine is nice but stained.
I’m completely wiped out by the painting and the rearranging. I managed to pull together a large box of thrift store things though so that’s good.
Our big project next year will be to pull out the counter and sink and replace. The layout of the kitchen doesn’t really allow for a different configuration as there’s a door on the left wall and then the opening to the front room on the other. So basically we’re stuck with where things are unless we hired a contractor which we can’t afford to do so it’ll be upgraded but nothing moved.
I really love how it came out even though I am exhausted:(
I’m doing a lot of food prep work for the week.
In the oven, I have a chicken roasting which I will cool and then remove the meat for lunches and dinner tonight. Then I put on a large pot of organic Lundberg long grain rice and will use that again for the week plus tonight’s dinner. I also have the crock pot going with organic pinto beans. I will use this for burritos this week too or rice bowls.
So lots of cooking going on here. But it will make the whole week easier. I plan to make up some bean chicken and rice bowls for my son to help him not spend money out on food.
Today is sheet day so they’re in the washer and I think I’ll line dry them.
I went to the gym and it was pretty empty so I had a nice work out without having to circle for machines. This morning we had a lovely walk in the park and that too was empty.
A FOAL friend gave me a knitting instruction of a mini pumpkin. So I went to Michaels and bought some orange yarn. Now to remember how to cast on and do it. Usually, it comes back to me but I knit only when the mood strikes. I post a picture if it comes out.
Dinner will be the pinto beans and rice with cheese, salsa, sour cream and lettuce.
I’ve been busy with stuff around the house and still dealing with the legal name change.
After calling lawyers here, it was recommended to call a NYC lawyer and so I did. I tried a few with no luck and then hit the jackpot with a lawyer who actually specializes in legal name changes. After voice mailing a few times I was able to speak with him. He never mentioned a fee just that he would try and answer my questions. So, the bottom line is that since 9/11 NY’s laws about name changes are extremely strict. Yes, since I have always used the alias” Christina “( which is my 3rd name but not my first hence “alias”), I do have to do a legal name change. There is no way around it if I want a certified birth certificate.
So, I also asked what do I put as my legal name now because that’s what was confusing, he said it is Aurora Roxana Christina which is how my BC is written. The proposed name is Christina Roxanne. So I was immensely grateful for his advice and he was so nice to talk with. The next day I sat down and filled in the pages for the court order. Yesterday, I went to the court records and submitted them and paid the fee of $435. I had not filled in 2 spots for petitioners name so I did that there. I already have a court date and then I had to go to the paper as it has to be published 4 consecutive weeks.
It was kinda funny as the clerk told me recently 2 of her co-workers had to do the same thing as one of them, the mother had actually spelled her name wrong and so legally she had to go in and correct it. Really a PITA, but this is only stage 1. I still have to do the NYC stuff and that’s just as confusing. It took me a month to get thru lawyers and legal help center and looking at the papers to get here. So I’m not sure how the NYC thing will play out or how long it will take.
On other news, I’m not walking this morning as I’ve walked every day this week and I need to let my foot rest. Yes, if I over do it I can feel the stress in my upper foot so I just back off for a day. It has been lovely though as all the summer walkers are gone and it’s been only us in the darkish morning.
I’ve been wanting to buy Turkish Towels as they supposedly dry quickly after use so I got these lovely dark grey ones.
They are supposed to get softer and more absorbent with consecutive washes. I love the color. The first time B used his, I thought it didn’t dry as quick as I thought it would. But the 2nd time I used mine it did dry quicker. I may wash them again today as it says after the 3rd initial wash is when you can tell.
I bought 2 and if they are what I hope I’ll buy 2 more at Christmas. I love how small they fold up too which is a big reason people buy them.
Then I also bought some Corelle cereal bowls since I only had 2 Crate and Barrel ones left. I am so enjoying using the Corelle and I love how they have such a small imprint.
I’m slowly replacing the Crate and Barrel white dishes with the Corelle. I love how they wash up so easily too.
Today is just some chores in town like Target and then home to finish home stuff.
Tonight is Friday night pizza.
Day-to- Day
One woman's meanderings around gorgeousness, health and organised living.
- crafting a simple, sustainable and organised life -
Bloggy thoughts about life after work
Fearless cooking from a tiny NYC kitchen.
Minimalism: The art of making life easier.
Choosing less
crafting a simple, sustainable and organised life
Supporting our library since 1982
To live is to battle with trolls in the vaults of heart and brain. To write; this is to sit in judgment over one's Self. Henrik Ibsen
A place for introverts to not meet, quietly, and in a well planned way
I've been married for nearly 15 years to a wonderful husband and I'm a mom to three great kids ages 12, 11 and 9. Oh, and I just happen to have cancer. Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of the blood that is currently incurable but IS considered highly treatable! My goal is to make people laugh, cry or feel a little less alone whether you are a mom, cancer patient or BOTH!
Living on less and enjoying life more
phenomenally indecisive since 1972
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On the Road Since 2010, Traveling Across USA & Europe With Pets
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