A little sunday recap

After mass yesterday, Harper and Saige helped me clean up the house, and we worked on laundry.  The laundry is not easy, as I believe the drain pump is going bad in my washer.  I figured out, if I do very small loads, and if I cross my fingers and do a little tap dancing, it will drain out and we can do laundry, albeit slower than normal.  Jim is going to be checking on the warranty, and calling the local repair dude this week.  Jim is also applying for jobs, and I got a huge kick out of the test he had to take for one of them.  Are you more likely or less likely to speak to your supervisor if things go wrong?  Are you more likely or less likely to tell a coworker when they are doing things wrong?  Are you more likely or less likely to be self starting, willing to work long hours without compensation, never complain, compliment the boss, and basically be a sell out?  (*Just kidding on that last one).  Jim was reading the questions to me, and I was making fun of the ridiculousness of them.  This is where we find ourselves currently).  

One thing that I am doing that is of importance, is cleaning out our freezers.  I will be getting my Christmas beef soon, and I have to have room to store it.  So yesterday, I moved some things and I used up all the tomatoes I had stored in there from the garden to make spaghetti sauce.  I am very proud to say that most of the spices that I used, I grew myself.  I think it turned out good, and all my jars sealed up, so that is always a good day!  I will definitely be making more canned items to purge them from my freezer space!  

Nobody wakes up on Sunday morning and thinks "I better spend the whole day in the kitchen" but somehow that is exactly what happened.  I canned stuff, and then I had these random ideas of things I wanted to make for Sunday dinner.  And it was definitely a hodge podge of stuff.  Broccoli soup, with cornbread, chicken thighs (to get them out of the freezer because they were taking up a huge amount of space), and hot wings just because.  We also had to utilize the fire pit to make smores, because if you finally get the fire pit table up and running, then you just must.  

Patio oasis is quickly becoming my favorite place.

Cameron made brownies down for Sunday dinner.  They were commemorative brownies for the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  Now this might come as a shock to some people, that we celebrate randomness around here, but I am used to it.  I think the fact that Jim proposed to me on Dow Finsterwald day, at his Dow Fitnsterwald  party should probably explain how this works.  As a matter of fact, after learning about Dow Finsterwald, I stopped asking and just eat the brownies.    

Cameron also brought a haunted house kit.  I am on record with the facts here - haunted houses don't work out any better than gingerbread houses.  The girls still ate it!  

When everyone went home, and I got the last of the dishes done, I sat down for the first time all day.  I was happily exhausted.  I love my family and am thankful for them.  

 

Weekends. -what we like

The hogh school football team has made the playoffs.  They had a game Friday night.  After last week, when we all almost froze and were wet, we were happy for a drier, warmer forecast!   Of course, it has been a while since Trail had a good team or made it this far into the season.  It also means for Harper and Clayton, marching band season continues on!   I can’t speak for how Clayton feels about this, as he didn’t really say, but Harper was not feeling it.  She is apparently not a huge fan of the football team forcing her to continue to have to leave her lair on Friday evenings!   

One person who was excited, was Jim.  They were scheduled to play Girard.  Jim’s friend Breeze coaches the junior high football team there, and was planning to come up for the game.  We had a nice time visiting with Breeze, and catching up.  

A family donated a pretty large amount of fireworks. They had fireworks before the game, huge fire balls during the National Anthem, and a pretty big show after the game as well.  I didn’t really take pictures of the fireworks, but I did “borrow” the fireball photo from the school’s Facebook page.  

The band did a good job.  The football team won and Harper was a little sad, she was definitly ready to hang up her marching band jacket. 

Today I thought I had nothing going on.  And for the most part, aside from cleaning the church, I didn’t.  I did get a few things done. Like lining my new raised bed, and getting started on filling it. This one will be a new spot for my blackberries.  

I also got our prescriptions picked up, and made it over to the lady’s house who I was buying sweet potatoes from.  I got 20 pounds worth of sweet potatoes and big plans.  

After lunch, Harper and I did get the church cleaned, stopped in and talked to papa Larry for a minute, and ran to Lawrence.  We had to run  up the fish store for some chemicals. I somehow made a crisis situation in my new tank.  I have dead cichlids, shed a ton of tears over it, and have  a desperate need to correct it and try to save my birchirs.  Fingers crossed because I truly am heartbroken over this. I don’t even know for sure what happened.  I added some water.  I tested the water before I added it.  Parameters were correct.   I fed the fish afterward and everything seemed fine.  Went to bed and woke up to a gray water bacterial mess of some sort.   I have done all that I know how to do and I had to reach out to some professionals.  Hoping they lead me down a good path to recovery!  

Harper and I also ran a couple of other errands that I wanted to do. I have already admitted that I have a craft supply hoarding problem. This problem has not been made better by my discovery of a series of posts called dollar tree crafts and dollar tree gifts.  I went there today searching for a pizza or pie container - because the use I saw for it was genius. I didn’t find one, but I did find collapsible storage bins for 1.75 and a few things to finish other things I had started.  I will say I liked dollar tree more when everything was $1 or even 1.25.  This thing where you have to watch prices in there is for the birds!   

I also came straight home and finished a craft I had started a few weeks ago, but now the thing I was going to do with it and the components that I thought I had planned out didn’t quite work, so I am going to have to ask Jim for some help with the display aspect.  I’ll get there! 

Harper and I also bought animal feed- and I found some mums at tractor supply for $1.  They seem alive.  Is it too late to plant them in the ground and have them come back?   I think it sort of depends on the weather. But for $1 I decided it was worth a try.  Besides, I had planted some purple mums between my yellow ones and somehow Quincy missed the driveway and ran just the purple one over with her car! We then ran to Checkers.  We all have a love/hate with that store. I love the prices. Although like everywhere, I only moderately like the prices.  It is cheaper than anywhere else.  But mostly I just stick with sale things and then build my menu around that. We hate having to sack our own groceries.  Also, Lawrence passed a plastic sack ban a couple years ago.  Now, I do think that we should try to help the environment as much as possible, and I am in favor of a plastic sack ban.  And my mom did make me some awesome reusable sacks, but I never know how much stuff I am getting and sometimes don’t have enough sacks. I hate paying for bags which they make you do !  And I hate how bad I am at sacking.  Hatper handled it like a professional though. 

And after spending hundreds of dollars at the grocery store what did I do?   I let Harper talk me into getting dinner at Whataburger.  Jim and Saige were happy about it!  As fast food goes, that place is new in this area, and has quickly become my favorite.  They have a great spicy chicken sandwich!  Harper told me she thinks it is weird to go to a burger place for a chicken sandwich.  I told her to sit quietly and not question momma’s choices.  

This summer, Jim bought me a Fire pit table.  Something I had really been wanting.  However, it was too hot for a fire pit, and I had been anxiously waiting to use it when it was cooler outside.   Then things kept happening and I help forgetting to stop and grab a tank of propane and last week, when I finally remembered and also got stuff for s’mores, it was raining and cold.  So tonight, Jim talked me into sitting outside, drinking a couple cold ones and sitting by the fire. Let’s just say, I hope that the weather stays nice so we  can do way more of that!  Best thing I put on the patio oasis.  

I’m glad that I got all the errands done.  Tomorrow will be catch up day at the house.  There’s always tomorrow for  cleaning right?  

Also- tomorrow I must cut Jim’s hair.  He looks like a madman.  

 

Windshield time

 

Madison and the girls are watching their friend’s little boys during the day. 

One of the  daycare providers is a little bit bossier than the others.  

Today, while I waited for my bus para, I snapped a couple of pictures of the fall leaves out the window.  Then I decided I wanted to take a few more as I go, because the countryside is full of fall colors, and beautiful scenery.  I waited until I was on my way home, with zero children on the bus with me.  

The down the road neighbors raise Dexter cattle.  They are a smaller breed cow from  Ireland I believe.  They are cute and it is a small herd and they are basically pets. If you stop, which I admit I sometimes do, they come right to the fence.  Why do I sometimes stop?  No reason other than I just really love cows.  Doesn’t everyone stop and talk to the cows for a minute?   I am also guilty of naming the neighbor’s cattle. Do they care?  I have not asked and  figure They don’t have to know!   I drive 115-120 miles a day. I actually enjoy that.  I see the same cows, same horses, same roads every single day.  It amuses me and it is harmless.  This bull I call Bad Bart.  I am sure you can see why.  Go ahead and call the men in white coats, but I feel like it is a harmless thing to do.  

My favorite sight of the day - the road home with empty seats behind me!  Daylight savings time means when I get home, there isn’t much time before it is dark now.  Have I mentioned my disdain for moving the clocks back to standard time?  

One thing I love, and it is ridiculous - is sumac in the fall.  Yes I know it is an invasive weed, but seriously it is beautiful!  If you have to be poisonous, at least be beautiful! 

The hedge apples (monkey brains, Osage orange balls - whatever you call them)  numbers are massive this year!   This isn’t even a big tree!   I wish I knew some useful thing to do with them.  I tried putting them in the basement a few years ago, to keep the spiders out.  Yea, that was a waste of time!  Ideas welcome I guess.  

Every single time I pull in, Maude comes running.  She is so happy to see me.  It is stupid though, and I legit worry she is going to be run over.  This is a source of mild contention between Jim and me.  He thinks by letting her come running and load up on the bus (don’t tell my boss) I am encouraging the bad behavior.  I understand what he is saying, but I’d rather load her and insure I don’t hit her.  Plus it makes me laugh when she jumps her short legs up the stairs.  She also runs around while I park and eats all the crackers, cereal and probably candy the kids drop.  It helps me! 

Such a good girl. 

Saige wasn’t feeling well after school today, so I went out to do her chores for her.  We went from 12-15 eggs a day down to 2-3.  The chickens and I had a discussion about soup tonight.  The pullets I got in June have not started laying yet either.  There was a lot of lecturing done this evening.  

Chickens don’t listen. But Zoey does!  

Blitz listens but doesn’t care what I say.  She is old and opinionated.  Like her owner I guess.  

Wednesday randomness for you.