Yes, I'm still here: New Bags

Yep, I get the award for sucking at blogging this year. In all fairness. It has been utter chaos around here. We had a family emergency, which lead to a family death. Which lead to me rushing to get new "fancy" clothes for the kids, I made new ties and had to go hunting for new pants and shirts because they have out-grown their old fancy clothes. Dang the prices at goodwill these days for clothes!

Hubby has a horrible work schedule. Right now finishing up a week of 10-7's so he isn't here to help with school and by the time he gets home he is just done. I have to make him dinner, put the kids to bed and then he crashes. Leaving me to do EVERYTHING.

I'm doing school, I'm trying to close down a garden, I'm still canning. And then things I have needed hubby to do, he isn't doing so I have to break down and do them. Goats needed a new hay bin. got to the point it couldn't wait a second longer. So I made a hay bin this week. I go all day long and that doesn't include the freaking neighbor.

Oh the neighbor lets talk about a neighbor. She hired these guys who do not speak English to add a room. Totally illegal, it's so illegal, that her insurance caught wind of it, came out to see it and then dropped her. So illegal that the county has been out, but so far no note from them???? So we pointed out some things, like not having a flat roof in WA state?  She finally had the guys stop and wants us to finish up the room. ARG. but we need the money right, We just don't have 5 minutes to rub together. So that has been all me. Now that I'm onto sheet rock you really see the mistakes that have been made. But because of their mistakes my job will look like crap, which pisses me off. You tell me you can't come off a square surface like a house and not make everything square? The 2 x 4's going up, they are all different sizes, the beam is so in the wrong spot. So it's taking us a long time to hang drywall because it takes like an hour to measure and cut out a board/section. Although should be done with drywall on Thursday, go into mudding and taping, Let that dry over the weekend and then I'm on my own again, painting and putting in the floor. And being done and telling her no more until well after the first of the year if that.

Seriously why do people think I do nothing but sit on my butt all day? By the time I finally get the garden closed it will be time to re-open it again. Carrots should have been canned months ago, but were finally pulled today. I still have pumpkin to can. Our stove is dying. One burner has burnt out, at the connection, so we are down to three burners. that is so very hard to work with when you are canning.

I have so much sewing and researching to do. The piles and piles of research, that doesn't include the binders that some of the piles have finally made it into.

Some of my sewing, we needed new grocery bags. So very badly. The straps are all broken off and holes and yeah I'm done and I'm not buying anymore. So I designed a bag, it was ok, re-designed it, and love it and has made it many times over. It's not an easy bag to make, as there are three layers to make it really study. But it's so worth it in the end.

And then you add in the stress of life? Ethan starts his appointments next week, they run for a few weeks, so a lot of running him back and fourth for the dentist and braces and such. I made those appointments for after the election because if someone wins I loose insurance and I will just cancel those appointments. Then we sit down and try and figure out how to save for two kids and braces?

I've been using the money from working next door to buy meat. I just picked up 80 pounds of chicken, and we got all that processed and into the freezer in one day. We've had a sick goat, must have just been a stomach ache because she is fine now, but the joy of chasing this thing down. And then I finally got pepto and tums and since I had her I wormed her. The next day she was fine and eating again. So ok then. Thought for sure it was her time, but I guess not? But they are all about 11 years old so it's a matter of time anyway.

The stove, I'm trying to drag it along, but how long before it's just toast. I think my dryer is going? It seems to run for a very long time these days. Need to look into that. Our toilet is still leaking need to find money to fix that. We have a list a mile long of stuff to fix and do and nothing is getting done.

Need to process onions, need to plant garlic. Need to do this and this and that. ARGGGGG

Yeah, so I suck at blogging right now.

Brickcon 2016

So the boys dragged me to Brickcon 2016 which is in Seattle. About a 90 minute drive for us. Considering it was Seattle, we basically got right in and right out and home, No big back ups, just crazy drivers.

Kids went around tables seeing everything and I took photos as I went. Then we spent time buying, Ethan saved a LOT of money for this, actually more then we did.

They are counting the days until they can go back. Sigh.

Updating

Yeah, it's been a while.

We started school last week. Just got through day 7 and actually doing pretty well. Although it's only day 7.

These two start math at night when mom is much calmer and awake. They finish up I the morning before I get up.

These two have to do drawing twice a week. That seems to be going well.

Our bathroom sprung a leak. I went to wash a kid and realized the floor was wet. no really wet. After looking under the house and realized it didn't go through the wood, we looked on top and realized the supply line is leaking. I had to pull up the floor and trim and such. Just Sigh.

So I'm freaking tired of my kitchen. I'm done. Want to remodel it but of course we have no money. So I have to do every thing myself. Which isn't too bad. After some paint samples we narrowed it down to three blues.

ok that isn't blue.

We picked a blue, I also sanded down the cabinets and stained them a dark walnut. It's taking time, weather and time is working against me. But I got half a wall of cabinets done.

I am making the trim myself and staining it. I am ripping down some cedar.

So far I have spent ten dollars out of pocket for the stain. The paint was a gift card we got back from painting the house. I still have another wall of cabinets to stain. I have two counters to figure out, and a back splash to do. But such an improvement.

A lot going on as usual, It's been a horrible year for the garden. I have only done two pots of tomato sauce. I'm starting to harvest the pumpkins. Basil sucked. Peppers are growing, but are not turning colors. I have gotten a whopping two cucumbers and 3 zucchini's.

Need to get out and start gutting the garden.

School is going and so far so good.

I am staining the cabinets. And I still have a laundry room to paint. We still have the outside of the house to finish painting.

Plus I'm knee deep in updating the family tree. That means contacting lots and lots and lots of cousins and finding cousins I didn't know I had and contacting them. It's crazy. But will be worth it when I'm done.

Ideas?

No clue what it is. I know it's not Chamomile, I grow Chamomile and it's not it. Ideas?

Lego Storage

So we went and got Cole this table. Surplus about ten bucks or so. He was in love. BUT he needed storage. So we designed something, but then the heat wave it. So yesterday we ran down to home depot found a cheap board of lp, had them cut it to size, although the guy was blind. Like seriously. But since it was for us I let it go and we just went with it. We had a board here of scrap to cut up, and off we went. Thanks to my lovely new nail gun.

Now to buy a few more plastic containers. Cole is in love with this storage system. Now to get the other boys thinking of what they may need?

I Spy

We thought this peach tree died. It was brown when all the others were green and growing and lush. But we left it because we didn't have the time to dig it up. Well then it started to grow, and turn green and really shoot up.

Then I'm out working under the peach trees taking care of my rose hips when I look up and started to sequel. We have a peach! One whole whopping peach.

We've had these trees for years. Like 5 plus years. We are getting pears and cherries, but no peaches. So hoping next year? although watch us not be here next year???? Sigh.

We've Painted

My arm is about to fall off, but three sides of our house is painted. We are taking a break and probably try and pick it back up this weekend? Here are some before and after's. I adore the blue. It's called Crater Lake. There are times you look at it and it's blue, and other times it's green. It's a great color and a BIG change. But we needed a BIG change.

The Wall

Remember these?

The Before.

The After

These are stained cedar boards. Took many, many stain colors before we settled on these. First project in the dining/kitchen make over Done.

6-16-16

Crazy busy weeks, of course what week isn't crazy busy right? Our water system is in. YEAH. Got the timer on the front yard and it works great. YEAH. Just put in the back yard timers so hopefully I wake up tomorrow to sprinklers going? Tell ya it will free up a ton of my time. I can actually leave the house during the day. I will still have some hand watering to do. But it should take me ten minutes, not hours on end. 

I often find these two like this. Nose to nose sleeping. 

So I FINALLY got my birthday present. So hubby missed the birthday, no happy birthday, no nothing. Just another day to him. It does hurt, but frankly after 15 years he won't ever remember. So the other day we run to Home Depot and checking out he picks up an ad. Told him not too, but he did. Well cooking dinner he looked at the ad. A lot of OMG what a great deal, and before we knew it we were heading back to Home Depot after dinner to pick up something I have been wanting for years. Granted I had to pay for half of it. Do you all know how much trouble I can get into with a nail gun? You all have no idea the amount of trouble I can get into now. 

 

This is a project I have planned after we return from camping in a few weeks. I have been buying samples of stain, trying to find the right ones for this project. I finally found the right mix of about 5 different colors. Just wait until you see what I'm doing with these samples. And I get to use the nail gun.....

Tomorrow we are building a picnic table for the neighbors, she is getting a picnic table and two side serving tables. Like buffet tables. After a stain/paint debate, I took over some samples of my light stains and she fell in love with Honey. SOOOO excited to finally be able to use Honey on something.