Friday Fotos

 

 

Our family gnome is about to get some company.

This week, there was a deal on a local sell/trade site

and I couldn't resist.

Two more magical gnomes will be joining the homestead.

Unfortunately, I haven't yet gotten them to pose for a picture,

(they can be very elusive),

but I'll get one taken real soon.

One will watch over the front porch,

while this guy and another will patrol the garden.

I love me some gnomes!

 

 

 These dish rags were first discovered at a friend's house.

I do some dog sitting for her and her husband,

and after having used them in her kitchen, I fell in love!

They do such a great job, they dry quickly and they can be

washed in the washing machine or the dishwasher!

There are a variety of patterns to choose from,

but this bunch just called my name.

 

Some time was spent planning the spring garden.

This will be the first time growing spring veg in our new location.

As it is framed with mature trees,

it will be curious to see how well things grow.

The initial garden had full sun most of the day,

but it had to be moved due to septic issues.

You can read that story here.

 

The garden website where I usually make my plans to print out

is no longer available.

I was able to squeeze in just before the service ended,

but I may need to find something similar. 

 

Flower seeds are kept in old file drawers in a spare room.

Inside each drawer, seeds are alphabetized

(yes, I'm that kind of person),

and left in their original containers when possible.

There are some seeds that need to be  chilled before planting,

(milkweed is one that comes to mind),

so we save a little space in our garage fridge for those.

 

Veg seeds have their own set of file drawers,

and are sorted according to type of crop

and also arranged alphabetically.

Our herb and flower seeds are stashed in a different set of file drawers.

Far from being filled to capacity,

perhaps with a bit more seed saving this spring and summer

they will be bursting with goodies for the next season.

 With the extra eggs we had on hand,

a delicious rice-crusted quiche was made

and finished within two days.

The yellow rice was leftover from a batch I'd made,

and I simply added sauteed onions, potatoes, spinach

and a bit of vegan cheese into the eggs.

Maybe when our girls are laying more steadily,

I can make it on a monthly basis.

Be Blissed this weekend!

 

 

Clean Sweep

The last few weeks have been a bit of a challenge.

First, the boys got bad colds

with a cough that lingered for a couple of weeks.

Then I came down with some mystery tummy problem.

Still trying to figure that one out,

but I'm getting closer.

We've been sticking pretty close to home,

only venturing out for the bare necessities.

With all that nesting time,

it seemed like a great opportunity to do some tweaking around the ole' homestead.

The beginning of the year always gets me fired up

to reorganize and rethink what's working or not.

C's room needed an overhaul.

I can't even tell you how disgusted I was with it.

I couldn't bring myself to post pictures on here,

because I just want to forget it ever looked so bad.

The boy did not inherit his momma's organizing gene.

Or maybe it's just a teenage thing

(although I know my room never looked like a war zone).

He just gets so involved in his projects, 

that he loses focus on what's piling up around him.

It's mighty tough on a neatnik like me.

I tolerated it for a good while,

thinking that if he just kept the door closed,

I wouldn't have to look at it.

Well, I've come to my senses.

Last week, we took everything out of his room except for his furniture.

We cleaned it from top to bottom,

dusting, mopping, vacuuming.

Then, bit by bit, we went through every single item he owns,

cleaning it as we went, and made the decision about what would stay.

Here's what his closet looks like now,

with room left for a few more items he will be sorting.

 I also emptied his drawers in the closet

and replaced the items he recently washed

(thankfully, he now does his own laundry).

His clothes have been poorly treated,

becoming wrinkled because he would just stuff them in there.

He is a minimalist when it comes to clothing,

he does take after me in that way.

This week, after he does his wash,

I plan to show him how to properly fold everything

so that it can fit into his drawers neatly.

I will most likely post pictures in the closet,

as visual cues often help kids with autism in learning new tasks.

Everyday things need to be broken down to make them manageable.

 His bookcase is looking better,

although he needs to go through and see what books he no longer reads

so that they can be donated.

He is an avid reader and spends some time each day

engaging in this pastime.

Yes, a few of us still like turning real, paper pages.

 His fire alarm panel takes up part of one wall.

You might notice in the first picture

that he has bins full of this equipment.

It's something he's been interested in for years,

and he uses his knowledge of electronics

to make it work however he wants.

I love that his interests are so unique and intriguing.

He has yet to go through a few bins to see

what else he doesn't want anymore.

He knows it can't all fit in there,

the hard part for him is letting go.

My job is to help him understand

that items in his limited space need a purpose.

Easier said than done.

I have to admit, he did purge quite a bit more than I thought he would. 

The shocker came when he told me (more than once)

that it was fun to do this activity!

W-H-A-T???

While we worked on most of this project together,

he now has a few solo tasks to complete.

His desktop needs attention.

This is where he often works on his Lego creations.

The system is not working as well as we had hoped,

so we will probably come up with different storage underneath.

The desktop was actually a door we bought from a ReStore,

but it's no longer the best option.

We'll be looking for something with more height,

so that he can have more bins for brick sorting.

These black drawers work very well for Legos.

They are designed for nuts, bolts and screws in a garage application,

but they are ideal for housing all of his bricks

and he has even labeled the drawers. 

This shows me that the potential is there for organization

and maybe some of me rubbed off on him after all!

I've been helping sort these pieces so that he can put them where they belong.

I know it may sound crazy,

but I find sorting very relaxing.

Maybe because I know that eventually, 
things will end up in their proper place.

Our next task will be to come up with a plan

so that he can more easily keep things in order.

Feeling overwhelmed is not a pleasant state of mind,

and his room should be a place of rest and creativity.

Hopefully, he is now motivated to keep it up.

We'll see how it looks in six months!

Winter Weatherizing

Here in the Piedmont, we've already had a couple of "snow events".

They call them that here, 

because the cities around here are not equipped for snowy and icy conditions.

Literally, things just shut down and folks stay home from work or school 

if there's more than 1/2 inch of snow on the ground.

It's not such a bad thing.

It gives those of us who relish our time outdoors some fun in the snow,

and forces us gives us the opportunity to complete indoor tasks 

that otherwise might be put off.

But, in order to be able to savor those special times,

we need to be prepared.

For us, it's old hat, as we lived in Florida for over 40 years,

and each year had to prep for hurricane season.

The idea is the same,

just the conditions are a bit different.

So, here are some practices you might want to consider

before Ole Man Winter comes to stay for a while.

Outside Supplies

*Snow shovel 

*Kitty litter for de-icing sidewalks and driveways 

*Rubber mats for collecting wet footware

Indoor Provisions

*Non-perishable food like canned meats, soup, cereal, and snacks

*A manual can opener

*Reusable plastic plates and utensils

*Flashlights and batteries

*First aid kit

*Week's worth of prescription medication

*Blankets and cold-weather clothing for everyone

*Week's worth of pet food or medications

*Charged cell phone

*Battery-operated or crank radio

We stay off the roads if at all possible in snowy conditions,

but if travel is absolutely necessary, being prepared is vital.

Here is a checklist of some supplies that could come in handy: 

On the Road

Keep these things in your vehicle during winter:

*Bag of sand or kitty litter

(The sand helps to weigh down your car for better traction)

*Ice scraper

*Jumper cables

*Camping shovel

*Flares

*Blankets

*Flashlight and batteries

*At least a gallon of drinking water

*First aid kit

*Cash (in case ATMs are unavailable)

Living seasonally is one of the best things

about having moved up to North Carolina.

Our winter is mild compared to some,

but a whole lot different than living in the tropics of Florida.

It allows us to embrace all the gifts that nature has for us.

Winter, in all its glory,

is truly a wonder-filled season.

Stay safe out there, y'all!

 

Weekend Wallpaper Project

Sister lives near Charlotte in a cute lil' townhouse.

I have so many great memories of being here on vacation,

when we used to come up in summertime year after year.

 

She is not the original owner, and remnants of previous dwellers remain,

including this wallpaper and border in the kitchen.

She's been wanting to take it down for a number of years,

so last weekend we gave it a go.

Here are the tools we used including a roller, a scraper,

a scorer, painter's tape, a drop cloth  and hot water.

In the spray bottle is a mixture of fabric softener and water,

used to unleash the glue from behind the paper.

We found these steps helpful in removing the stubborn steadfast unwanted wallpaper:

1.  Place the drop cloth under the work area (tape it to the molding if desired).

2.  Score the paper using circular motions.

3.  Spray the mixture liberally onto the paper and let it set for 10-15 minutes.

You can also use the roller to apply the solution.

4.  Use the scraper to catch the corner or border and peel paper back.

5.  On extremely difficult areas (the border), hot water was sponged on.

It's a messy project, so the drop cloth really saves your floors.

The drop cloth can be used more than once

and it makes it easier to deposit the torn pieces into the trash.

I can't say it was the most fun I've had with Sister,
but we managed to keep ourselves amused while we worked.
After a few hours, this is what we accomplished.
Looks like this will be a project for a few more weekends.
Thankfully, her kitchen is fairly small.
Once all the paper is completely removed,
she will paint the room the same cool grey she has in the rest of the house.
One step closer to feathering her nest.

Independent Living Skills-Making Laundry Basic

Before we moved, our (then 16-year old) son, C, 
had recently started doing his own laundry,
as part of his training for independent living.
When we moved to a rental in North Carolina,
there were no laundry facilities,
so I was visiting the laundromat and C had  
Mom's Laundry Service 
doing the job.

After we moved in to our new home,
it took a good 6 months or so to feel settled,
and we were busy with projects that needed attention,
so we let the laundry issue slide.
In this smaller home,
we have a laundry closet in the main hallway to the bedrooms.
It's an adjustment,
but we're so grateful to have laundry facilities.
 (We have plans to renovate it to make it more efficient.)


Having accomplished a few of the bigger projects in the house,
it was time to get back to teaching living skills to C.
The decision was made that each person will do his/her own laundry.
It's been my sole responsibility for almost 2 decades (WHAT?)
and it feels a bit strange to let it go.
Knowing it's all in the best interest of our boy's future,
I relinquished the task.

The first thing we did was create these visual instructions.
Folks on the autism spectrum usually learn visually,
so the straightforward steps are accompanied by pictures
to help him assimilate the process.
We're still getting used to the idea of self-serve laundry,
but I think in a few weeks' time, it'll become routine.

The items for doing laundry are all in plain sight.
I'm using Soap Nuts instead of traditional detergent,
but C will most likely stick to store-bought, like his dad.
(The second photo shows our stash of liquid detergent for the boys.) 
The Soap Nuts are there if he wants to try them,
as we are always trying to expand his options,
so that he learns to deal with changes.

Homemade stain remover is fairly easy to make,
and with the ingredients right on the bottle,
he should be able to mix up his own whenever he needs it.
He uses A LOT of stain remover!

The wool dryer balls remain in the dryer,
so there is not much for him to remember when it comes to drying clothes.
We are happy with the results of these little orbs,
noticing that our drying time is decreased
and some of the static electricity is removed.
I do use my drying rack outside or in front of the fireplace when I can,
but C doesn't get the same charge out of hanging up his clothes to dry.
So, the dryer is what he needs to practice using.
Again, the option of line drying is there should he want to use it,
or if he needs an alternative
(if his dryer is on the fritz or the power goes out).

These simple steps will help him ease into 
doing one more thing for himself.
He is taking pride in being able to do things independently.
I'm proud of all the strides he has made.