Tuesday - Cleaning and Organizing....still!

I bet you wondered what happened to me...well...I was either glued to the t.v. trying to keep tabs on Irma or I was getting ready for my garage sale which was Saturday.  It was a big disappointment...maybe $20 tops.  But the good side is I spent a lot of time and energy cleaning and clearing out the garage.  There's still more to do but Golly Miss Molly....I got rid of so much stuff!!!  Granted, it is still in the garage as garbage day was today but 80% rain and wind leftover from Irma.....needless to say it has not been windy nor has it rained a drop!  They are so bad here about predicting weather!  I could have taken lots more out to the street but I have cardboard boxes full of stuff and if it was going to rain it would have been a real mess.....so I declined.
The garage is looking better despite the fact that the sale stuff is still in there and the garbage....but you be the judge..........

 below is a before picture........

 here is an after picture with sale stuff on table and freezer........whatever didn't sell is either going to Thrift, metal collector man or garbage...it is NOT coming back...lol!

I got most of that shelf cleaned and cleared off and now it holds my gardening supplies but there is a piano in front of it that I couldn't get all the way behind.....the movers left several pieces of furniture in my garage instead of putting them in the house and there they sit!  As soon as I get it cleaned out I am going to hire some local movers to move them into the house where they belong!

The ladders (tall extension ones are going) and so much more!  The screens are from the porch where the roofers were working so I took them out to the garage but back they went to the porch now!

This was part of the sale..............

and this.............

and this............

This is all the garbage except for the 2 tables which will go to the Thrift Store..........

more sale stuff on my new shelf..........

I got all around the garage except for the back wall which is mostly hardware that will go with the metal man when he comes...........those shelves will come down and I will have a work bench back there with my tools..........

I just got to the corner there when I quit and I didn't do the shelf yet....I was exhausted and filthy!  But the whisk broom was my friend for getting cobwebs etc. off of the wood and items.  I have quarter round and some wood pieces that I will save and I whisked each and every one of them and got them off the floor. 

I have my old wagon wheel pot rack my son made for me and my old screen door...now those are precious items!  I unearthed some other items I've wanted to use but they were buried amongst the junk! LOL!  So, that's what I've been up to and Sunday was recoup and then yesterday was laundry and make a dinner so who knows where the time goes but I know a lot was spent checking on Irma!

I hope you are all fine and dandy.  Oh, Irma has finally arrived here.....it's sprinkling! LOL!

Happy Trails!!!

Tuesday - Cleaning and Organizing!

Well....I had some interruptions today so not much got done but I have been cleaning and organizing during the week too and I will post what I got done.  These are not pretty pictures as it is cleaning and organizing my messes but it is what it is and progress has been made!  I also get motivated when I see other people's posts about organizing or cleaning so I hope it does the same for some of you.
 This was at the beginning of 'the project'............when I had only cleaned the top shelf............

Then it got washed and cleaned and reorganized...........this was when it was all clean and I was starting to organize it..........

there were things that got thrown out and there were things that would go in the sale..........

then I cleaned out my pantry and put the canned goods and my cleaning things on the big shelf...........

The round piece of furniture is a plant stand that is going in the sale and a few other items...........I also picked up this metal shelf unit at Walmart the other day.  It is heavy duty and holds 150 pounds per shelf!  It was on sale for $20 so I grabbed one.  If I like it I might get a few more but for now it will help with placing items on it for the sale................

This is   my real pantry right outside the kitchen door and I emptied it and washed all the shelves....I also got rid of a bunch of outdated goods................

It left me with 3 empty shelves!  I am really liking this cleaning and organizing!  I want so badly to paint these shelves and shelving units but now is not the time...................

It has doors too that close but no latch...............I'm sure my dad built these............

I also used my new mop and washed part of the ceiling and walls in the laundry room....I love this mop....it is flat and I got the advice and tips from Debbi at Nobody Needs to Know videos on You Tube. She is a professional house cleaner and uses natural cleaning solutions.  She's been cleaning for 26 years so she knows what she's talking about!  I highly recommend her videos!   This made wall washing and ceiling washing so much easier than rags and buckets and dripping!  You can use it dry to dust your walls too.  You can learn more about this mop in her videos and see it in action.

I was going to show you my clean (but still needs to be painted) wall but my camera ran out of batteries....need to put those on the list!
I found several great pins on Pinterest regarding garage sales...one was on pricing items and the other was a time table of when to do what prior to the sale....good information but I am way behind as usual!  But if I can just get rid of stuff before winter I will feel good.....anything is an improvement and I am motivated now to do even more!
I hope you had a great Labor Day and didn't labor too hard!  Happy Trails!

Emergency Post!!!!!

I can't believe I forgot to mention this yesterday!!!  Craftsy has ALL their classes for free today all day long!!!!  Isn't that amazing?  If you have the time take advantage of it as their classes are GREAT!  I'll be back later but I wanted to let everyone know first thing this morning!  Have a great Labor Day and let me know if you take any classes and how you liked them. 
Happy Trails!!!

YOP Week #10

Happy to be back knitting Magic Loop cuff down and my vanilla sock.........and I am loving this yarn!  It is Paton's Kroy 4-ply fingering weight sock yarn.  I wasn't sure about the color but I really like it now that I'm seeing it in the sock.  It is so much prettier worked up, I think.  I'm on the heel flap right now............

I also got the quilt 'sandwich' put together and pinned although I ran short of pins so I may have to quilt a bit and then remove some pins and reuse them in a different place....it's all about the 'logistics'! LOL! 

Can you see the pins?  I use those curved ones which are easier when 'sandwiching'.....

I worked on my 'Frosted Pumpkin' this week and the hat pattern is fun to watch take shape with the different colors.............

I didn't blog yesterday because I thought I had lost my wallet and I spent 2 hours looking for it....I found it PTL but then I had to go to Wally World and didn't get home until almost 4:00 p.m. and then had to unload and put everything away.....yada, yada..........today I'm feeling a bit under the weather so I may go and lay down for awhile....I'll catch up with you all later or tomorrow.
Happy Trails!!!   

Friday Fun and shopping (maybe)!

Since I haven't made out my budget for September I decided to wait about any shopping online ( I have a long list for it too!) but I have wanted to watch the new movie that came out, The Glass Castle. I had read the book a few years ago and it is one of my all time favorites!  But alas, it was not available to rent so since I have Amazon Prime I decided to see what they had for free......these were 3 that I chose in no particular order...........you can go through over 270 free movies and television shows and series and add them to your 'watch list' which I did.  So you see, I did go shopping in a way...it was just free! LOL!  Not really free as I pay monthly for Amazon Prime.  Anyway, here they are....now which one do I watch tonight?  Can you tell I like old movies?

 In 1880's China, a girl is sold into marriage by her father. Rather than becoming a bride, Lalu ends up in a gold-mining town where she forges a path for her own freedom and ultimately true love. 
Rated 4 stars by 733 viewers

In 1940, a struggling poor young man falls for a girl who must pay a terrible price to save her mentally disabled brother by marrying a powerful shrewd businessman. Then Rotterdam Blitz, a devastating German bombardment, begins.
Rated 4 stars by 3 people

 In 1945, "cigarette camps" were set up in Normandy to provide rest and recreation for American soldiers back from the front. They were hastily transformed into transit camps for the French wives of some of these soldiers, helping them with their administrative tasks and teaching them how to become perfect American wives.
4 1/2 stars by 6 people
Which one should I pick?  Maybe the first one?  It has the most viewers so far with a 4 star rating.  They all look interesting to me.
I've also been looking at Brit Box for $6.99/month which is all the British shows which I do tend to love their shows....most of them anyway.
They have a free month trial also and here are some of the ones I would watch if I had it.........

 

There are many more to chose from too.
Well, I have the Sprite and the popcorn ready and maybe some handwork....what are you doing for Friday Fun?
Happy Trails!!!

Thursday - Cooking, Baking & Candlestick Making!

Just kidding about the candlestick making but it is on my 'list'!  As for cooking and baking...I am sorry to say I did neither unless you call heating a hot dog in the microwave and putting a piece of cheese on a saltine cooking...no, I didn't think so but alas...I have cooked in the past and I am here to share a favorite recipe of 'the grands' when they visited this past Summer.
Be assured, I would never share a recipe that I myself have neither cooked or eaten unless I leave a disclaimer to that effect.  In fact, I did cook this week and once again , I fell for a Pinterest recipe by one of those 'flashy' bloggers that have ads and are always asking you to sign up for their newsletter.  How could I be so gullible...again?  I made pizza casserole in the crock pot and it made a lot which I have been eating all week long!  It was so bland and tasteless I had to cover it with blue cheese dressing and Parmesan cheese just to add some flavor!   Do these young women just make up this stuff?  Do they ever test or eat their own recipes?  Anyway....you will NOT see that recipe on here for sure!
So here is the recipe (not necessarily a healthy one) but one that got the approval of the grandchildren and their Mom and Grandma too.  It is definitely a comfort food and it did seem to take me a while prepping for it.  I think I would divide some of the tasks to the day before.   This recipe is by Lisa Fain of The Food Network and from her cookbook "The Homesick Texan's Family Table".   I think I made a similar recipe by Rhee Drummond  (The Pioneer Woman) that was also very good.  I should do a comparison and 'cookoff' between the two recipes and see which one I like better...........both are very good so it will be a tough decision!  If you do a search on "Cowgirl Spaghetti" here on my blog you will find the other recipe.

Chicken Spaghetti
____________________

Ingredients:
8 oz spaghetti
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and halved lengthwise ( I use green chili's in the 4 oz can chopped already and not so hot....2 cans)
4 cloves garlic left whole (or you could use the minced garlic in the jar that I use...such a time saver!)
1/2 yellow onion
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk, plus more as needed
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnishing
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
salt and black pepper
4 cups shredded cooked chicken

Directions:
__________________
Lightly grease a 9 X 13 inch pan or baking dish.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions in a large pot of boiling salted water.  Drain, rinse, and transfer the spaghetti to the baking dish.  Meanwhile, turn on the broiler and place a rack 6 inches away from the heating element.  Place the grape tomatoes and jalapenos (if you are using them) on the prepared baking sheet, skin side up, along with the whole garlic cloves (if you are using them) and onion.  Broil for 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables are softened and beginning to blacken.  Remove from the oven, and when cool enough to handle, chop it all up.
Turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees F.
To make the sauce for the spaghetti, in a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Whisk in the flour until well combined and slightly browned, about 30 seconds.  Slowly, pour in the milk and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens just a bit, 3-5 minutes. (You want to coat the back of your spoon, but not be too thick, like custard.  If it gets too thick, you can slowly add more milk, about a teaspoon at a time).
Once the sauce thickens, immediately turn off the heat and slowly stir in half of the cheeses, about 1/4 cup at a time, until melted and incorporated into the sauce.  Stir in the chopped vegetables, along with the cumin, cayenne, cilantro, and lime juice.  Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding salt and black pepper to taste.  Pour the sauce into the cooked spaghetti and then stir in the shredded cooked chicken,  Cover the spaghetti with the remaining cheeses.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until brown and bubbling.  Garnish with cilantro before serving.

Enjoy and Happy Trails!!!!

Wednesday - Decorating!!!

I'm still working on the garage and daily chores, of course, but I did manage to do a little decorating for Fall!  Here's my front door..........

 

even a little fall decor outside......... 

and in the garage..............

 my pumpkin meltie warmer that I got from my grandson,Sam's, Yankee Candle school sale last year........

a fall triptych that I got years ago at an art sale.............

an apple pumpkin candle on a Pioneer Woman plate...........

and an old metal lamp with a plaid shade that I got at a garage sale years ago..........

here's the bigger picture................

Happy trails and happy decorating...for Fall!!!!

Tuesday - Cleaning and Organizing!

It's the garage!  Getting ready for a garage sale and cleaning at the same time.  I forgot to take a before picture of this area but trust me..... it was full of leaves and dirt and there were items on the steps....a real mess!  The stairs need to be washed and painted but that's for another day!  White carpeting and now white stairs?  What were they nuts?

This is a shelving unit that my dad made to hold all that stuff...some of it is mine but much of it was already on there.  My dad was a contractor and trust me.....he had so much 'stuff'...building supplies and hardware....some of it I don't even know what it is! LOL!  I did go through a lot of the hardware items and cleaned them and put them in jars several years ago.  He had them in cardboard boxes that were falling apart and the mud wasps had built nests in....don't worry...the wasps were gone when I went through them but it was truly a filthy job!  Again, I forgot to take a before picture as I had cleaned off the very top shelf and the bottom on the floor there............but I have my work cut out for me!  Again, I would love to paint this unit but not now.............

Here are some of the containers full of nails, screws, etc. that will be going in the sale and there's more where they came from!

I also have an old clothes basket that I have been putting stuff in after I clean it to keep temporarily until I get a portion of the garage cleaned so I can set  up some tables.

I even found some of my old horse supplies!  Oh, how I miss my horses.....

Here's another shelf that I need to clean and I can already tell that most of that stuff is going in the garbage or the sale whichever is appropriate.   

I know this isn't a 'pretty' post and I didn't feel like I got a lot done today as I had some errands to run this morning but it's a start and it's better than it was before!

I hope you made some progress today in whatever area you wanted to!   

Happy Trails!!!

It's Monday...what are you reading, listening to and/or watching?

I have been so tired this week that not a lot of reading takes place before I start 'dozing off'! LOL!  But I did manage to finish this one.............it was an easy enjoyable read and I recommend it! 4**** for sure!

I'm still reading this one and so far it is very good..............

I finally finished the Pioneer Woman magazine I was reading and I definitely enjoyed it!  Now I am back to my old National Geographics............this one is from 1992!

I started a new non-fiction which is very interesting so far...............
" The dramatic first-person account of life inside an ultra-fundamentalist American religious sect, and one woman’s courageous flight to freedom with her eight children."

As for watching, I have been watching the catastrophe in Texas unfolding and praying hard for all of them.  Also, I have watched the first 12 episodes of Father Brown on Netflix......such a great mystery series!
 For those of you who know my cat, Grace, who is a long haired cat that I could not keep up with the matting and grooming..........here she is after her 'professional grooming' which included a bath, nails and a hair cut!  I love it and I think she does too!  She smells so good and looks so cute!

 Today, I also got a package in the mail...........my son sent me sweet corn and peppers from his garden!  I couldn't believe it!  He didn't want me to go without some Iowa garden produce!  He sent it Friday, priority mail, and I received it today!  I'll be having some real Iowa sweet corn tonight!  Plus, he and my grandson are at the Cub's game tonight in Chicago so I will be listening to the game .....they said they will be screaming "Grandma Sam" so I should keep my ears pealed! LOL!
Go Cubs!!!
Happy Trails and I am still praying for Texas and Louisiana too!

YOP Week # 9

Well.......I didn't get a lot done this week on the craft front as I was out of town a lot....day trips that took all day!  But I managed to get a few things done because all that traveling made me tired so I sat when I got home! LOL!
I met 2 of my 3 goals for this week concerning YOP..one was to finish my first toe-up sock and I did.....BUT...and it's a big BUT.......it does not fit well at all...the toe area is too big and the heel is too small.....I can get them on but the short rows leave gaps that I don't care for.  I had no trouble with the short rows or the sock pattern at all.  It went smoothly enough but to me it was more work than cuff down, didn't fit me as well and overall was very disappointed when so many 'rave' about them.  I doubt if I will make any more especially since it doesn't fit well.  I hate to be a quitter but unless someone can tell me of another pattern that may fit better.....I  will go back to my Susan B. Anderson and/or Cherry Heart patterns which fit like a dream and I have never had a problem with.  But I did learn German Short Rows and a stretchy bind off so all was not for naught!

I already started my next pair of 'cuff down' socks  using Cherry Heart's pattern and using Magic Loop which I love for socks............not much to see as there is only 2 rounds of the cuff done.  I am using Patton's Kroy sock yarn and my Addi turbo 2.75 needles with a 40" cord.  I love my Addi except for the twisting cable.  I want to order a Chiagu(?) which I've heard has a very non-twisting and pliable cable.

I made no progress on the I Spy Quilt this week but I did work on my Frosted Pumpkin cross stitch.  I reached that goal too which was to finish the bottom and start on the top.............The 6 little squares I left bare for now as they will require little snowflake buttons.

That's all for this week.  By next week I hope to have the sock farther along, more cross stitch done
and the giraffe put together.  Oh, and the quilt sandwich ready to be quilted.
I hope you are having a good Sunday and my thoughts and prayers go out to Texas! 
Happy Trails!!!