ONE year coming up of moving in the house/curtains

and the freaking furnace was broke down again. We tried to turn it on last night, house was on the chilly side and I was sick (feel better today, think it was allergies and mix of meds) so Hubby wanted to take the chill off the house... pressure switch AGAIN. HVAC guy down here AGAIN. This time instead of blowing the hose out as the MFG suggested, he replaced the switch and said since it's only a year old it shouldn't be having hoses issues so he replaced the switch and the hose. AND thank me that we turned it on last night not the first frost which is what others do and he gets tons of calls...happens on the first hot day also for ACs. He had 4 calls in route to us (we are 45 min from his shop) and 5 calls while here for 20 min. I would hate to see what a bad day was.

the photo of the house when we started looking at it

Stove pipes gone from roof, skylight in, fence in front of house was on the side of house that you can just see to the left of the first pic

We love the house and are very happy with the first floor even with somethings left to do... basement has a few issues with the ramp that we are still trying to figure out.I would like better storage for dishes that I use but not often in the basement. I haven't really worked on the four rooms upstairs or the barn. A lot of thoughts and ideas but nothing really happening. We decided to maybe add ramp also to the front porch and not just the deck...not sure we can do one ADA code as of how tall the porch is and the driveway.

HVAC guy is also coming back to install the whole house surge protector and do a couple checks on things that showed up in the energy audit that came from work his company did. Thought middle of Sept.

Painting to fix the bad paint is going to be the week of the 16th or 23rd of Sept which means the 4 rooms of the house need to be cleared for painting SIGH

We want to have all the energy audit stuff done by the week before Thanksgiving.

I want to have all the deep freezers defrosted and organized by the week before Tday. BUT I first have to take the stuff we brought from Daddy's out of my coolers to do that.

Hubby wants to gather all the metal including broken appliances etc to haul to the junk yard in Sept.

I got all the curtains done except the winter curtain for the bedroom. All summer curtains are hung

bedroom ... Daddy loves roses and this reminded me of him. I have sunflowers in the laundry room that reminds me of Mother.

Hubby picked this fabric out when we lived on Church st.. 2005. He actually preferred the wrong side of the fabric which is blue (other side is fuchsia). When he went in during the evening it had turned purplish due to the sun setting (faces west) and he LOVED IT, the room is a light periwinkle so it turns shades during the day also.

I fixed the kitchen French door curtains... guess this also reminds me of Mother as she drank wine. We love the fabric, reminds us a bit of Biltmore estates and the kitchen on Church st.

Winter curtains will go up Oct or early Nov. I'll take pictures of those then. I still have to put some grommets in some of the curtains and finish tie backs.

We didn't have to have a summer fill on propane. in June saving $430 (same price as last year).. we also have by passed the winter fill in Aug... MIGHT not need it to Oct. unless we have to kick the furnace on more than just morning to take chill off as we are sitting at 48%. I prepaid for the YEAR getting us a 20 cent reduced fixed rate for 2000 gallons. That's $400 AND if the propane is CHEAPER per gallon they use the cheaper price. I ended up with a credit at the end of the heating season to pay for a full tank that only cost me $100 instead of the $400 that was the usual price.

We don't have the deck on...nor is the smoker put together , sore point between Hubby and me.

I showed Hubby my Aug to do list ...only thing not done was the winter curtains for the bedroom AND the energy audit things I am waiting on him to bring home the stuff I needed in the livestock trailer.

He did look at his Aug to do list that HE CHOSE TO DO ...zip, nada nothing done on the list. Decided he was taking on too much work when he needed to focus on getting stuff for me and doing his own work around the house so this month that is his focus. SO today he worked this morning and was going to Menard's 11% rebate time to pick up the stuff I asked him to pick up LAST month. SO that means I am getting the stuff to do MORE on my list.

We have bounced ideas for Sept .... haven't finished working that out.Figured it was something we could talk about on the 2 hr drive to my cousin's funeral and 2 hr drive back home.

Each day

 WEDNESDAY

We got the scam call about SS number being suspended . SS does not suspend anyone's number. I did notify both our local law and SS .

Primary doc said my diet was to eat real food (when I can actually stand eating again).... He felt with some talking other doctors and a surgeon that my diverticulitis was from slow digestive system (4 days documented by camera) and the Crohn's blockage. I can still have my pop corn AFTER this heals and not a lot at one time. He did ask if I could do the same routine, etc as I did in 2014 and 2015 which when I was in remission. Hubby and I talked about it last night... not real sure we can do that here as one ,Hubby retired and not working 3rd shift, two, was our grandson was living with us in 2014 and three, finding produce I can process that is organic is hard in this area due to flooding and drought. Everyone is in the same boat.

I went to Aldi's canned fruit and veggies are running from 89 cents to $1.29  I picked up 4 cases mandarin oranges, 1 case French style green beans,xxx sugar, dried apricots,and raisins.

I went to Walmart to get sugar, they were out of the 25 lbs bags, so I asked manager if I bought 100 lbs of the 10 lb bags would she sell it to me for the same price per pound of the 25 lbs since they had already given out rain checks for the next delivery. GOT IT. I got 5 lb of corn meal for less than $5, every where else is around $10 . The guy stocking told me that the next batch was up at least $1 if not 2 as he was told to not stock it until the other had cleared the shelves. The elderly lady behind me asked if I would put the last one in her cart as it was on the bottom shelf. She wasn't going to buy it until next month but since he said that she was getting it now.

Went to our local Kroger's and bought what I have now named the basic grocery list. $180.18... leaves enough for milk during the month. Did my Kroger's survey. Hubby uses the points if it lowers the diesel more than the other place otherwise I use it for the car.

I decided after looking at the pantry that if I am given green beans or beets I would can them as I would like to have more (want not need) but I NEED apples for applesauce (we eat chunky and can no longer find it around here) and apple butter and tomatoes for sauces.

I also realized I am back up to carrying 30 lbs without straining or anything... GO ME. I was down to 10 lbs and it hurting the right shoulder that I had surgery on a couple years ago. I also have full range of motion which I was told I would never have again.

E told Hubby the chickens have been corralled to an area that is easier to search for eggs and it seems they are not laying. Not molting so they don't understand what is going on, they had changed feed and they think that might be it. These laid through sub zero weather (not normal around here) and through the 100 plus heat (not normal around here) and now that the weather is decent they are not laying. They don't start laying soon M will be butchering and canning chicken.

Frugal items... both of us combined errands with what we were doing. Hubby even asked one of his deliveries if he could flip the time as it would save him time and gas and they were fine. Timing actually worked better for them also as their English neighbor brought over a fork lift to help unload as they knew Hubby can use a fork lift.

THURSDAY

I am taking this day as the day of rest as I am worn out from yesterday. Good day to rest as the rain that was suppose to come in yesterday (glad I didn't get rained on) came in  this morning. I have the AC off and the windows and doors open that the rain isn't coming in but its a good walk (which is good for me) to check to make sure the wind hasn't shifted the rain.

Told Hubby we was having soft tacos, green beans (M gave us a mess for dinner) and cantaloupe  for dinner tonight.

Tomorrow is grilled pork, salad, leftover green beans, and cantaloupe

Saturday is hamburger patties with the works, cantaloupe,and boiled purple gourmet potatoes we grew .

Maybe if I fix it , I might feel up to actually eating it?

Brother called and told me we lost a younger cousin that had heart failure and kidney failure.


FRIDAY

Hubby off and running again 6:30 am , got the pick up , drop off in a route to save gas, 3 of the things out of 4 is for E and his family. He "scheduled" Saturday off to mow and work on deck if he has time after mowing.

I am doing laundry. Washing the items I sewed at Son 2 as they probably have some cat smell. Wilbur doesn't care, he was raised with cats but Rascal won't go in the laundry room now and Charlotte always grows when she goes by it. SO everything will be washed.

Washing the cloth bags I use at the stores.

Then I will wash the laundry.

I will test the soil I dug from gardens at 4 inches to see it there is better nitrogen that deep. If not we have to decide on hauling dirt in or going to square foot gardens.

I will scrub crates for the regular potatoes and finish getting the dirt off the gourmet potatoes and box them.

I need to order mesh bags for the garlic and silver grommets for Hubby's summer curtains as he doesn't like the rod pocket as he can't pull the curtain as open as he likes.


SATURDAY

ordered everything we need that was also on sale.

garden soil tested better, not good enough to support growing but better... potash and nitrogen on the low side of medium.We can do stuff without a lot of money to fix that.

I did the laundry today using clothes line.

Feeling decent so hopefully we will go see our parents tomorrow.

Hubby mowed and trimmed. Finished straightening the fence line so it can now be painted (late Sept/ Oct) and he brought all the deck stuff for the base from other side of barn, sorted it out and put it on this side of barn so if he can only do one board a day , his time is spent working on the deck not running around the barn trying to sort through the boards to find the right ones.

He did have time in the evening to take E to go get some stuff he needed for making pallets.

SUNDAY

Day of rest... we sat and talked about Sept schedule as  the 4 rooms with bad paint are to get painted in Sept which means I have to clear the things on the walls and move furniture and washer and dryer. I guess the blessing of a bad harvest is that I am not trying to can and deal with paint jobs.

Hubby found out we lost a classmate which was also a good childhood friend of my last night in a car accident. OVI is suspected.

We went to Marion and saw Daddy. He is doing as well as expected for a 92 yrs old and dementia. He knew who I was, asked where Hubby was as he was signing us in and Daddy didn't see him walk by as he was napping in his chair in the lobby.  We only stayed a few minutes as he wanted to go to the church service at 1:30 as it was the son of the preacher who used to preach at Daddy's church before my step mom died (1990s). Told my brother we were there when he went in later...Good day for Daddy. We saw pictures the nursing home had taken when they took the residents to a local park for fishing.Daddy did a bit of fishing, even took off his jacket and long sleeve shirt. I haven't seen him in his muscle shirt in about 5 yrs. The man still has muscles.I mentioned it to the staff and they said Daddy was one of the few that would lift himself (155 lbs)to and from the chair. They just make sure he doesn't fall during the move. Also lifts hand weights in therapy twice a week.

We stopped to visit Hubby's parents as his dad has lung issues from chemicals he used while farming. Admitted it was on the side of the chemical to use mask and gloves and he felt it was a waste of his money to buy that and time to use that.  Made the comment his younger self didn't care much for his older self.. They are doing okay... definitely on a diet as both are over 50 lbs of weight if not more. They offered to feed us but we declined as what they were eating I couldn't eat.

We stopped at our local Chinese buffet , used coupon and only got water to drink, even though I really like their unsweetened tea and it was still lunch prices. Cost less than going across the street to Arby's and I had fried rice (made sure I didn't get peas,carrots or onions in the rice) meatballs in sauce, green beans and mushrooms. Tapioca pudding for my sweet. Didn't go back for seconds or thirds which is normal. Owner told me she hoped I got to feeling better as she knew I had been down again.

We came home, watched British bake off and I took my biologic.

MONDAY
Feels like a fall day without sunshine as the rain comes in bands with plenty of wind. I only washed the towels as that filled the drying rack plus had to put 3 things out on the kitchen porch line as I ran out of room. Doubt if they will dry at all.
Meds for diverticulitis is messing with my Crohn's and didn't do as well with my biologic so my GI pulled me off the meds a couple days early. I am grateful I have another script in for nausea meds that Hubby is picking for me as I am still in PJs resting. I didn't sleep at all during the night. I would have rather floated in and out of a light sleep than none at all. Nausea hit hard this morning again. BUT I am eating lightly, crackers, banana etc.

Hubby was suppose to be home for lunch, didn't happen as it rained and caused 2 of the hauls to be flipped. He carries homemade trail mix and granola bars all the time now along with a thermos of coffee as all he hauls for will offer him water when he stops at their places.  He also told me the one that is having him work during lunch gave me a gift certificate for a free pizza at the local place. So he was getting that on the way home to have for his supper for me to not worry about feeding him as there is salad already made in the frig and 2 slices of cantaloupe. I will probably do soup if still feeling like this.

I had a talk to my bank about them changing the rules of how to keep fees off. They did look back and see they hadn't sent me notice of the change so refunded me the fees and then offered to change the checking acct to one I wouldn't pay fees...Then came back and acknowledged that when we opened the 3rd acct it was noted to change my checking also because I don't have automatic payments put in it and it didn't get done. So that got changed. HOPEFULLY correctly this time. Hubby keeps enough money in his checking he doesn't pay fees, we have auto deposit to the joint and my credit card was suppose to keep mine free.

Our house ins wasn't going to give us the discount for paying in full since it is in escrow.... they changed their minds when our ins agent reminded them that an escrow acct is PAID BY US like if we were putting it in a checking out anyways with an auto with drawl. SO we got that $200 discount for the year payment. He then started checking ALL his customers and followed up on a few that had the same issue. Was glad I said something to him about it instead just silently fuming... I am not silent when I fume...that's Hubby until he goes into steam roller mode.

Hope you have a great week. Going back to bed to rest

Where does the time go?

Well for me the last week has been going from Crohn's attack that my biologic helped avoid hospital stay to going to the ER due to diverticulitis  attack, which I've never had before... exhaustion, dehydration and malnourished now. I definitely bit my tongue after GI pointed out that... DUH. I really hope my primary doc doesn't make the same comment as I know I won't bite my tongue with him tomorrow.

Yesterday I was up to doing some things after the GI appt.

 We stopped at Menards to get food grade buckets and gamma lids, ant traps and fly traps and found jeans for Hubby to use for work. He wasn't happy about the price but Rural King has been out of his size in carpenter pants for over a month and he is down to 2 pairs of work pants. He has ruined 4 pairs of pants in last 2 months. I feel like I'm lecturing a child about paying attention to what he is doing to not ruin clothes. The rebates covered the buckets and traps. Hubby paid for his pants out of his hauling money.

We went to Sam's club.I wanted to buy sugar but it was higher than at our local Walmart so that got by passed. M had told us what that price was when she went to buy sugar at the bulk store that her uncle owns and it was twice the price of Walmart as a friend from her church had just bought sugar. But I got several items especially oil and rice that was on the restock list. I bought 6 jars of pickled beets. If I don't find beets to can I have at least 1 jar per month to get through the winter.

We came home and looked over what was needed done on the punch list and where we needed to be in 12 wks. That's stuff from the energy audit done and the repainting from the bad paint done.

We talked about routines... if flying by the seat of your pants is a routine we have that down pat.

We talked about meals... example, he has a haul job at 7 am and it should only be 4 hrs.... he walks back in the door 10 hrs later because the haul job ended up being 3-4 haul jobs. If it's for E or his family , they makes sure Hubby gets a lunch in there and I get told he is going to be late, other's don't. The one has arranged it that if Hubby is delivering to him, that he brings a load back this way(paid to come home according to Hubby as it's within a mile of us and right on his way) but that makes Hubby getting in after our supper waiting for his trailer to be unloaded. We both don't like eating supper after 6 when we both go to bed by 9.

He finally this week started telling everyone he will not take loads anywhere after 3 pm because he is missing supper.He is now going to pack a lunch even when he thinks he is going to be home as he can always eat it if it is home. I will cook my meals as I did at Son 2's, fix the meal at lunch and warm it up for supper. I will fix enough for Hubby to warm up when he gets home. Not that we like not eating our meals together but we make sure we have morning coffee together even if it means I have to get up at 3:30 am because of when he is leaving.

I have a doctor's appt tomorrow and we still have a things on the restock list so I will pick up some of that while out. I need to stop at N's and find out his price on seconds of his tomatoes for canning and see if he knows anyone with beets to sell. I need green beans, beets, tomatoes,corn and onions. Butternut squash if I can find it. I can suck it up and buy frozen at the store if needed. Prefer not .

I ordered the fabric for my winter curtains for the bedroom, last set of curtains needing made, saved 50%.

The dirt for the gardens have been pulled to be tested. They asked for 3 inches deep and 6 inches deep. Hoping that there is nitrogen at the 3 inch level so it's more of a "apply this, do that" solution and not the land is going to take years to repair before you can use as garden" solution.  I would have to say even my square foot gardens didn't grow this year unless you want to count the weird weeds that popped up at out potting soil. E said it's an airborne weed but wasn't sure what it was just that he was fighting it in his hay and oats also.

Lunch time. Leftovers.

Yack at you later
Blessed be

Frugal crohn's attack

yeah, I know not really but really...

Had a great last week at Son 2's and finished curtains, table cloths , napkins and 1 apron.

Got home Friday.

Saturday I reorganized the pantry and cleaned it (except for the floor). Made a list of what needed filled in .  Hubby washed his clothes and hung them on clothes line.

Saturday night we met with other classmates for a 60th bday party, we had a 59 yr old but we let the "baby" in anyways  😉. Mexican restaurant and it had food I could eat as it was not spicy.  Wonderful time,

Coming home I made the comment I must have ate too much. An hour later I was into a Crohn's attack...SIGH... decided to wait and see sometimes they calm down when triggered by over eating. 6 AM it's nope, now it's sever, BUT I want to take my biologic before going to the hospital since I would be in the hospital when my injection was due.... 15 min after taking the biologic I was like, nope don't need to go to hospital. Biologic kicked butt. Still hasn't been an easy ride but not as bad as it has been.

I did realize it wasn't from over eating , well it is but it's from over eating yeast dough and my system takes 4 days to process what I eat . Yeah really they were freaking out when I took the camera test and hadn't passed it in 8 hrs... took 4 days to pass it.  SO I looked back and realized I had pizza, 2 slices for lunch, 2 for dinner, 2 for bfast and last 2 for lunch BUT nothing with it. I thought by limiting the amount at a meal it would be okay ... 2 months ago I had a flare up from eating 4 slices and not the usual salad we eat with pizza. Last month I had 3 thick slices of M's homemade bread, had a flare up.

Lesson's learned... eat salad or fruit salad with 2 slices of pizza and not back to back meals. ONE slice of M's bread is plenty. AND don't miss injections like I did 2 wks ago.

Savings $7000 is what the hospital bill would have been not counting the stress on Hubby trying to be at the hospital and doing everything else. I have slept like a zombie for 2 days and could easily go back to sleep now. I didn't call my doctor to order any pain meds as I used what I already had on hand which is pretty mild compared to I usually take 2 shots of Morphine before it get kicked down. ALL AND ALL it was a good run as I now can say YES MY BIOLOGIC IS WORKING.

Hubby pulled a couple zucchini, a patty pan and a spaghetti squash from the garden with some cherry tomatoes. He is eating what ever he finds as leftovers in the freezer or eggs.M told Hubby chickens weren't laying, they think because they changed the feed so we didn't get eggs this week not a problem for us as I still have some.

Not much else has went on. Too tired to do anything

Frugal moments

when you don't want to cook, maybe don't want to eat and have cheese, Italian bread and olives for supper.

when E feels bad for your hubby because he has to cook for himself (Hubby does part of the cooking anyways LOL) while I am cat sitting and has his wife send over lunch every other day. M butchered chickens that weren't laying. They have had fried chicken almost daily. Hubby said there was enough each time he ate the"leftovers" for supper that night. M sent over a dozen eggs, some peaches and 2 cucumbers for Hubby. He sliced up the cucumbers with an onion and poured Italian salad dressing on it. Nice side dish or snack for him. As he is fighting a nasty bout that started with allergies.

I shut off the AC(90 with humidity make it feel like mid 90s) every morning and open Son 2 windows and curtains letting the morning sun come in for the kitties to sun bath. Close curtains an hour later before it starts cranking the heat back up. Don't turn AC until it's 85 , with a fan on I would be okay but kitties are old and don't do so well in the heat even laying in front of a fan on a tile floor.

I fixed my meals from what I brought here, decided to not buy produce this week since I am going home this weekend. I have enough milk to make it through.

Hubby said the only thing we will need when I get home is milk... if I remind him he will pick it up when he is in town towards the end of the week.

I'm not driving back and forth to home and back so have saved 1 tank of gas.

I am not running our electric up with the iron and sewing machine... that's on Son 2's bill, he said it's cheaper than a kennel for the 2 cats. So I guess he is still saving money.

Hubby said he has been mowing the 1 acre pasture (which is E's but we barter us mowing it for him up keeping the 3 acres and fence that is behind us that is ours) every other time when he mows the yard. He talked to the lady that lives next to that pasture and she was fine with that, said if it got to bothering her she would come over and say something. Not much is growing anyways... we have been without rain for over a week AGAIN.

NOT FRUGAL NOTE.

I finished tossing food from the pantry. I wrote down what we hadn't ate in YEARS.I know Hubby is like my Daddy and would eat anything no matter what year it was canned... I on the other hand can not figure out how I have food in my pantry from 2014.... that's the year we were raising our grandson. I think I canned too much as I thought we might end up finishing raising him. I also need to think about what we eat, what we should be eating and how much is needed. AGAIN... Mother in law suggested I go to the store and buy for each week and not go back until that is gone.... she lives in the city around the block from the store. I asked her if that was what she did when they lived in the country (same amt of miles from town like we do now) NO WAY she said... too much gas and if the weather took a nasty turn you could go hungry... then it was like, OH guess that would not work well for you to go weekly. She lived on a highway, we live on back country road that don't get plowed much during the winter.

Back to sewing... 5 sets left to sew (still have to figure something out for bedroom) and 4 aprons... Long days of sewing.

Sunday The day of Rest

and my day of planning.

There is a pot of meat sauce on simmering to go with the pasta this week.
Used up the last of the fresh hamburger, half zucchini and 3/4s of red bell pepper, most of the portabella mushrooms (leaving 4 to go with caramelized onions later this week) and some shredded carrot .

There is a small pot of chicken cacciatore soup that used up the other half of zucchini, 1/4th of the bell pepper, the last of the white mushrooms, leftover grilled chicken breast, diced up carrot and an onion.

I split a quart of homemade red sauce between the two adding a bit of water to the soup.

Later today I will make mashed potato patties from what is left of the mashed potatoes and sausage gravy and biscuits to help use up the milk plus have brunch meals for me that is just reheat.

I have 2 squares of cake, strawberries and some ice cream for snacks and dessert.

Monday I have to clean the frig, take some things in the garage to toss and take trash can to the curb for Tuesday pick up.

This is my pressing pile and re-pin so it can have the final sewing.

This is the pile that is ready to sew

I feel that is a good amount for Monday.

Tuesday after trash runs I will bring trash can back around.
AND work on what ever didn't get done Monday and this pile

Hopefully I will be able to work on the NOT TOUCHED pile

I don't think I will be finished with what I brought as I planned and hoped. BUT I do have to find fabric for winter curtains for the bedroom as the fleece blanket I ordered Hubby decided he wanted for a blanket for himself. So I just put the second one aside for when I move the chair that I used to always sit in at Daddy's in to the bedroom. The one I sat in at Mother's that is in the bedroom is going to the front room. My parents always made sure they had a chair I could sit in and have my feet touch the floor so not to strain my back. I sit on a wooden kitchen chair at my in laws.

Thursday I will mow the yard and go get the groceries off Son 2 list.

Friday I will clean the house and pack up and go home. Considering Hubby woke up sick this morning I am not sure I want to go home before he is over it. He thinks allergies due to being in barns 2 days in a row and not taking his allergy meds. I hope he caught it soon enough as the last time he didn't take anything (Doc chewed him out as we have the meds) and ended up with bronchitis and gave it to me. If he isn't better by Wed he is calling the doctor.

Here is to having a great week for ALL OF US.
Blessed Be

What a week.... .

First my eating (which is a focus for me to eat 3 times a day) is back down to 1 meal (at lunch instead of supper) and a snack at 2 pm usually fruit and a unhealthy snack at 7 pm... I now longer have any junk food in this house(Son 2's house) ...SIGH.

Hubby had a really busy week helping neighbors which are becoming friends and hauling.He did get started on the frame on the deck on the only morning he was home.

Every morning I send a couple pics of the kitties to Son 2... he has had them over 10 yrs and they are his "children". 

This is Bailey. She is 10. she weighs 16 lbs and is on a diet ... I chase her around the house (as she won't run from Son 2, just rolls over and wants her belly rubbed) several times a day. Keeps me up and moving so I don't get stiff from sewing.

This is Cuddles because he likes to cuddle. He is a weird cat. He is around 12 yrs old and is 3 feet LONG. He weighs 18 lbs and is on a diet. He ought to have lost weight this past month because he follows me from sewing machine in dining room to ironing board in farrowing room ... AKA spare bedroom that hold overflow of military stuff.

These two go up and down the hallway around 1-2 A.M. "talking" each night. I think they are talking about the bunny that sits in front of the house at that time of night.

They are house cats as they don't have front claws when Son 2 rescued them.

Every night Hubby sends me pics of my babies AKA dogs.

Last night was a little different

Charlotte took Hubby's recliner, she usually does this when she wants him to hold her. He let her have it and took the couch as both ends of the couch recline.

Rascal is laying in front of the front door but where he can see into the dining room. Pretty standard place for him

Wilbur is on the floor in front of Hubby. He is usually on the couch  but since Hubby is hurt he is staying close to Hubby

Hubby broke his little piggy ... nicely wrapped it after working all day mowing the yard...

He sent this pic and I immediately told him it was broke, he knew it as he is a EMT and has broke toes more than once..which is why he wears steel toes shoes 

I asked how he broke it. The last time he broke a toe it was stepping over a dog...

HUMMMM he isn't happy at the moment ,he broke it on this

Yep , the step he put in front of the washer for me. He didn't turn on the light and went to toss his "barn" clothes (he helped clean out the auction livestock barn in the next county) and caught the step. I told him to put the clothes basket on top of the step and it would help remind him it's there. Or turn on the light . 

I told Hubby I was looking for a new phone. I have Straight talk, love it and haven't found a place I couldn't use it at including driving through the mountains in KY and TN. Haven't decided because I hate paying that kind of price but my phone is almost out of memory due to updates and etc.

BUT this became an emergency...

MY SEWING MACHINE DIED. 

The computer part of it was half functioning but I was making it work. Then the tension part went out. I picked out stitches and redid the sewing. THEN it just died in the middle of sewing.... Died on me. 

My daily amount that didn't get done yesterday.... SO now I am a day behind which means I will probably be taking stuff home to sew. I am spending 8-10 hrs daily working on all these curtains, table cloths, napkins and aprons. I don't have that time free at home. SO definitely have to make sure what I take home is cut, pinned and ready to sew. Hubby did set up a table for me to put the sewing machine.I really need to put my sewing room together in this house.

So off I went to shop for a sewing machine at Joann Fabrics. I have friends that bought theirs at Walmart, they seem to be okay and as one put it a basic sewing machine. All have mentioned having problems with certain fabrics. I sew all sorts of fabrics and I am not buying separate machines for that (yes I know one that has a machine for fleece, quilting, silk/satin/ and regular. AND then has 3 sergers.    

Some day I will buy a serger... not sure which one. 

BUT with the advice of Joann assistant who's first question was what fabrics do you sew and are you a beginner, intermediate or professional. I'm intermediate and I sew all the fabric.  She gave me two options and then a 3rd that I would have had to order through their online. I am used to a computerized sewing machine so that didn't throw me though I noticed a lot of their machines in store where closer to the old manual, dial a stitch. Nice to see those available.

I got this one

I have to learn to push button 89 to lock stitches as my old one had a lock stitch button by the reverse button. This one is down with all the others. It has a nice button hole stitch which sucked on my old one. I hope this one is a lot better. I've already made a list of stitches I want to learn to use. But the one that is probably going to be learned first is the blind hem stitch to repair to screw up on the kitchen curtains. That might be one that goes back home not done.

Last night I sat and read the manual. I was told to make sure I read ALL of it. The care taking part was in the very back. I did as I was told... foot stool for my feet as my son is a foot taller than me and it's in his legs and I can't touch the floor in any of his furniture. 

I hide this box in the closet of my room AKA guest room so he doesn't toss it or I have to find something else and this is the perfect size. I'll probably find a foot stool and put it in the guess room as there is a chair in there that needs a foot stool also.

Negative on it is the light

I have had to use the flashlight on my cell phone to see things with this sewing machine. Son 2's lighting in his dining room is good for eating , but not sewing.

I also couldn't get the threader to work . I think that is the operator's issue LOL. I can get it to go down but not back. I will deal with that issue later as right now I just need to finish 66 items. 

Back to work for me, I already grilled a chicken breast and hamburger last night to reheat for today's meals. 

update on curtains

Old curtains

west side of dining room

east side of dining room

New curtains for all 3 windows

Old curtains in front room which are dark brown

new curtains for 4 windows. You can't tell it but this room is the crimson red room

Old curtain bathroom

new curtain for 1  window

Old curtain for office with rolled up towel at bottom

New curtain office

Old curtain for French doors

New curtains for French doors

We love the pattern even though Daughter 4 said it was grandma-ish (which I pointed out to her that 2 of her older sisters are both grandmas)

It looks close to the border I had in our kitchen when the kids were growing up...

But here it the DUH moment which is going to take a few hours to fix . I did tell the kids that it was so the dogs could lay and look out, which they do but that isn't what happened. I wrote the wrong measurement down 3 times.

Thankfully I do have more of the material and will have the lovely task of matching the print so the new seam won't show as much as it could. I plan to add to the top after I pick out all the seams bottom and top...

SIGH.

ANYWAYS today is not a sewing day unless I get around to it. I have 6 cases of canning jars that need cleaned and new lids and rings put on them along with Son 2 trash can to bring back in and hose down as he washes it every week so it don't stink from used cat litter and I promised to do so also. I have paper work to catch up on that shouldn't be put off any longer.  I will do ironing and pinning for tomorrow's sewing tonight.

stop and see the beauty and count your blessings...

Not a frugal weekend CLOTHES WASHER DIED

Of course it was when it was FULL of water, just kept adding water and more water. I am so glad I do not run the clothes washer, dryer or dishwasher while gone. This was Saturday morning at 6 am as Hubby was getting ready to go away with a couple of friends for the morning. I waved him off, wrung out the curtains I was washing by hand and hung them out on the line to DRIP.

I looked at a couple places we buy from , one was have a good sale. Saturday afternoon we were in the store and the young man that asked if we needed any help mouth dropped when I said yes, washer died that morning, what did he have in stock that I could haul home NOW in the larger machines. HE did say he was sorry my day started like that as it set the tone of the day.He had 2 I could chose from, same price, same space, etc.... I took the one with the better reviews.

Thing of having a large washer (I was thick comforters and king size blankets monthly) is I am SHORT... Hubby made this step for me a long time ago. It's solid, big enough I can turn around and not fall off but small enough that it's not in HIS way . It holds a bigger load so less loads for me to wash. (SAVINGS THERE ) I didn't care about what features it had but can tell you the delay start is wonderful as I have the habit of putting the first load of the day in the washer the night. Now I can actually add the soap and set it to come on.The wash cycles are a bit longer than the old one but there is a timer so you can see how long it takes and how long is left to finish. Hubby likes it plays a little tune instead of buzzing when it's done.

Since I wasn't washing curtains, bedding and clothes Saturday morning. I worked on decluttering and organizing areas that are way past due. The north loft has a new (Daddy's old ) metal stand for stock up of cleaning supplies. The grow cart is put back together and the extra stuff for it is in the garden shed. I straightened up some of my baking supplies and realized I have some of the "lesser used" items on the low side.

While getting the washer I got some odds and ends that was on the buy list AND I insisted we get a new microwave. The old one floats how much it heats. I've boiled room temp coffee in 30 seconds and other times it takes it 2 min to heat up.

Electrician is going to install whole house surge protector. Just told us to order it and when he is down to work on the drain to the wheel chair shower and a torn heat duct, he will install it also.

We ate from the pantry. Daughter 2 was suppose to come up to visit with her son 4 , that got changed due to her job an hour before they left to come up so I was glad I didn't fix anything extra for them besides the lemonade.

Since I have nothing that I have to be back for I will finish the next 2 weeks at Son 2 cat sitting until he is home. Nice to not have that 3 hr round trip or spend the money on gas. I did bring a few more things from the pantry to help with the costs of food . I did coupons with the local store sales and got a third off the grocery bill for the fresh produce and dairy.

Hubby did his laundry while I was gone. E stopped over while I was harvesting the last of the gourmet potatoes (grown in grow bags , about 125 lbs total, one of the few things that grew)  and let me know the talk of the area was Hubby hanging clothes on the clothes line while I was gone. Amish men will do laundry and will hang clothes ENGLISHERS are not know for it. One English neighbor had his wife pointing out that Hubby not only washed his clothes but put them on the line and all she was asking was him to wash his clothes and use the dryer.  😊. Guess Hubby took a picture of our wringer washer and took it over the gentleman. NO Hubby has not used my wringer washer. LOL

I pulled the shallots, didn't get very big but they did grow. I also got a couple onions, not very big also. They are curing where the garlic was which is now cured and ready to be prepared for storage.

I got 3 zucchini not very big but made 6 cups of shredded zucchini for the freezer and a bit to toss in Hubby's hamburger helper he fixed for his meals of the day. Was a couple of small jalapenos that he chopped up and added to it also.

The local farm that sells fresh veggies that they grow for their income are buying from the produce auction. Their farm didn't do well.

Hubby was offered a permanent job at the produce auction. Two days a week, Tuesday afternoon and Friday afternoon of delivering stuff bought by a few stores that buy regularly from the auction during garden season. They don't do much during the winter but if one of the stores buys shipped in (what the auction has brought in during off garden season) then he would be hauling that also. The young man that's been doing it is having surgery and doesn't plan to come back to the position afterwards. Hubby asked for the locations so he would know mileage and the pay before he agrees to it. Would be nice if it pays enough. He asked why he was the one asked to replace the guy as we know there are others that haul in the area for years... he keeps the livestock trailer CLEAN ALWAYS. Doesn't matter what he hauls even when it was Daddy's furniture to our barn. He pressure washes the trailer ALWAYS.IF he hauls critters then he sprays it out and scrubs it down and then sprays it again. Just how he was raised.

How was your week?

sewing

I have been sewing off and on for 50 yrs...My sewing is simple. I've made my own clothes, curtains, bedding, tablecloths,napkins etc but when Daughter 2 needed her wedding dress let out I call for my foster sister to deal with it. She's far more professional than I am.

So deciding to make our curtains when we bought the house last year wasn't anything new. I didn't have time (or energy since I was sick) to make the cold weather curtains before we moved in, nor did I make the warm weather curtains during the winter as planned. Bought some material but didn't do anything else.

So when Son 2 told me he needed me to cat sit for a month while he was in school out of state... it was perfect for me to do the sewing.

16 summer curtains 16 winter curtains with liner if not heavy material. We decided to go with a blind in the mudroom as neither of us can reach the window very well (that will be the first window to be changed).

I gathered the fabric I ordered for  the front room and dining room warm weather curtains and then started going through my stash in the barn (yes still in the barn) for the rest of the house.

I found fabric Hubby had picked out for our home over 15 yrs ago and will make the summer curtain for his bathroom out of it. I already did his winter curtain last fall.

I found fabric that we used to drape front room window in the house we had in 2008. It's enough to make curtains for the front room, instead sewing a liner in them I ordered a sheer liner from Amazon that is also an insulator. The liner was half of the cost I was going to pay for fabric before I found what I did.

I found in my stash blue jean fabric that I will line with the stash flannel fabric to make the winter curtains for the dining room.

I found heavy fleece for the French doors and then fabric that I had bought 15 yrs ago to make curtains and didn't. So that fabric will be the summer curtains as the sheers we have now don't keep the west sun out and it heats up the kitchen.

I found fabric that I had bought to make throw pillows for my granddaughter and there is just enough to make a curtain for my bathroom and the office.

I found some fabric a quilter gave me that I am lining with more stash flannel to  be the winter curtain in my bath.

I had bought a summer curtain for the laundry room that had sunflowers, my mother's favorite flower. I found the fleece I had tossed over the curtain rod and used binder clips to hold it there and made it into a curtain.

I found fabric with roses (Daddy's favorite flower) that I will make into curtains for the bedroom. I did order fleece twin blankets  to make curtains (cheaper than buying fabric) for this coming winter.

I am using the scraps from the dining room curtains to make 2 sets of curtains for 2 of the lofts. I am using the scraps of jean fabric lined with scrap flannel for the winter curtains....these are really small windows.

I found another quilting fabric that I am lining with scrap flannel for the office winter window.

I found fabric to make 7 new table cloths (we have an odd size table) and 32 napkins.

I found fabric to make 4 new aprons ( I hope to do more later as I have more fabric).

I am not color coordinating the thread to the fabric. White,blue or black is all that I am using.

I had finished 4 sets. I cut the rest of the 28 sets, table cloths, napkins and aprons out yesterday. Today is sew and sew and sew.

Which I best get at it as I have found it takes me 2 hrs to do one set, hopefully I can cut that time.

heat warning frugal

 We still opened the house up when the temperature was below 80 and closed it up and turned AC on when it hit 85 (or higher if there was a breeze) AC is set on 78. Fan are sitting at vents to help move the cold air around.

We open curtains on side of house with NO sun , close the ones that the sun is coming in. between noon and 1 we close up the one side and open the other.

We cooked our meals in the morning and ate them cold or microwaved them to reheat. I got a few zucchini from the garden and a couple green tomatoes off a dying tomato plant.

We ate the lettuce that is now bolting. Hubby said he is feeding it to the horses next door as a bribe to let him pet them.

We have also figured out the light weight sheers on the French doors was not a good thought for the summer. Most of this summer I have had another set over them to keep the sun out. SO curtains for those doors is added to my curtain making list.

We decided on a blind for the mudroom window. Neither of us can reach this window very well as the counter (old sink and was the kitchen) that we do not want to tear out is wider than our standard Englisher counters.

We have watered the plants that are in pots using the cistern (has a hand pump in the mudroom sink)

We are drinking a lot of water, glad our well water tastes good even before we got the softener.

We are getting up early to get work done even in the house (21 items off punch list, 2 items off energy audit list).

The heat is suppose to break on Tuesday, I sure hope so because my AC needs a vacation.

frugal choices

It's Prime day at Amazon and pretty much everything on my watch list is now down to the price I would spend on it and had saved for... couple of them even less was the antenna Hubby wanted to install when we bought the house and and we didn't want to spend that much is less than half what it was .

I also found a plain jane iron as mine died this past week in the middle of sewing 24 curtains. Lucky for me I was cat sitting at Son 2's and he has an iron. Hubby did mention he could go over and find out where M got her iron and go buy me one. I can heat it up on our cook stove... I told him to clean the barn upstairs storage out as I think N and E left one she didn't want when they moved LOL.

I did check school supplies, not that we have any kids to buy for but I get my supplies, pens, paper etc during the days they have school supplies. I will get the notebook paper and spiral notebooks at the store.

Hubby started working on the repairs needed per energy audit results starting with the foundation of both the house and the pump house. We got a bid from a neighbor to do the work....$3000 plus supplies. I think we can do it on our own for that price.

I had to buy perishable for myself at Son 2's home. I was going to drive to the store that is 30 minutes away but he told me to go to the local store as their prices are pretty much the same after adding the cost of gas. I focused on their sales. I will have to buy more milk, fresh fruit etc but I bought enough meat for the whole time I am here and repacked it for the freezer. They had family packs of chicken breasts and pork chops  on sale.

Hubby ate from the freezer and didn't eat out.

Hot and humid and no rain here, went north and south of us.

Just going to bang my head on the wall

I have 28 curtains to make for home. 14 for warm weather and 14 for cold. My expensive iron I bought 2 years ago DIED, just up and DIED in the middle of doing the cotton curtains.

We found the trouble we have been having with our microwave and clothes washer is coming from power surges, we hadn't noticed any until the other night and we called the electric company. They are checking lines etc but did suggest power surge protectors for anything that has a computer chip in it. Now I need 8 of surge protectors. Regretfully that didn't cause my iron to die.

The AC was running and we heard an unusual sound coming from the furnace. Hubby said it was not getting enough air so we went checking cold air vents to see if something was blocked. We find 2 small filters in the cold air vent and hot air vent in the north loft...didn't even know there was filters there and apparently the HVAC company didn't realize they were there either as the things are about 20 yrs old from the first English owner that built the house... YEWWW.

Hubby called the HVAC company and they said those didn't need to be replaced LOL.

Hubby went to hook up the small trailer to the old truck to help E move the fertilizer tank to his parents, he cut the bolt off the hitch and then beat the ball part to get it off hitch of the truck so he could change the ball. Guess that's what happens when you drive 2 trucks and one is a bumper pull and the other a goose neck AKA 5th wheel. Took him 4 hrs of working on it to get it changed, E felt bad over it.

My car goes in for oil change and regular check up... I am almost afraid of what else will need done. Probably brakes and rotors, that I expect but just with the way things have been going .

Hope your weekend and this coming week go better than you hope

  

Energy audit results.

 We just keep reminding ourselves we knew there was going to be a lot of work, just didn't expect this part to be as much work.

There was a blower door test to mimic a 20 mph wind and thermal imaging to see where the air leaks was.

The audit through our electric company was $50. I have seen these audits run over $300... Even so I would have paid the price.

SIGH.  We really wished we could have had this done BEFORE we had all the work done so it could have work would have been done and the cost covered under the loan.

There is 120 things that need fixed. We have enough air leaking that should NOT be to match having a 16 inch by 16 inch hole in the wall 24/7 365 days a year. Costing around $700 in heating and AC.That is propane and electric bills AND that's just the house part. The pump house 6 ft wide by 8 ft long 12 ft tall is an additional $350 loss . So over $1000 in propane and electric is lost.

The 4 rooms (aka lofts) upstairs, every single seem of the walls need caulked.Which told us that there was no under wall under the paneling , just attached to the wall frame.

Four attics have the insulation installed BACKWARDS. Instead of taking it all out , we were advised to just add an air barrier.

The entire foundation needs insulated. Great Stuff is the answer to that. We will need to either crawl under porches to apply it or just put up boards on bottom of porches with insulation board on the back of what ever we use to enclose the porches. Deck will also have to be done when we get it built.The 18 yr old that built this house on his own just didn't know that you are to insulate the foundation footing. Believe me for an 18 yr old he did very well building. There are a few things not done right and you definitely understand it was his age and just not having the wisdom at that time.

This entire front room needs caulked along the baseboard and heater vents need caulked AND the crawl space under it needs the duct work repaired.

The vent to the wheelchair bathroom shower needs fixed

All 17 windows need caulked inside and out. One window need replaced or a storm window made for it. All windows need new seals. We thought all the windows were bad and would need replaced and they don't at this time so this was good news?

Two doors !!!NEW DOORS!!! need new seals.Funny thing was our French doors (French doors are well known for air leakage) wasn't leaking at all even with being out of alignment. The threshold that was installed under it was.

Outlets in some areas are leaking air. I had not done all of those, not sure if the insulators I used were old or if I missed some. I know I hadn't done the upstairs.

The old electric meter needs removed and sealed so it will no longer be leaking air along the electric wires.

The attic work will have to be done this fall as it is way too hot in them to be working. We were advised to do the pump house and the house foundation FIRST. Hubby is going to be on that. I get filling in the missing insulation in the basement and caulking everything  ( I hate caulking but Hubby makes such a mess with his tremors) and our GOAL is Oct 9th (Hubby's 61 st birthday) but if needed finish the attics by Thanksgiving.

THIS IN ON TOP
of the 160 items on the final punch list for finishing this house.

We would have to do 6 things off the audit list (priority) and 8 things off the punch list to be finished by Thanksgiving. We average 20/month on the punch list. Looks like another year of long days and very short nights like last year.