It seems when it comes to cleaning house I say this a lot!  Yesterday I had all the good intentions in the world to clean my house after taking Jay to Dr. Ross’ Office.  ( A trip that resulted in another injection into his left eye.)

But while I was out I picked up supplies at Davison Office Supplies, some good stuff to eat at Davison Bacon and Sausage, and I made two jam deliveries.  The first was to Whitey’s Restaurant to thank a very kind waitress named Vera  for calling to tell me that she hadn’t found my necklace.  This is something that seldom happens in life today and I wanted to acknowledge the act with some Dutch Apple Pie Jam.

The second stop was at the house where I buy any additional rhubarb I need  for canning my jams and chutneys.  My three plants, as yet, haven’t produced all that I need.   I had never met the woman who answered the door because I have dealt mostly with her family.  I told her I thought it was time to give her some Apple Rhubarb Chutney so she could taste one of the things I made with her rhubarb.  She thank me saying,  “I’ll see you in the  Spring.”

By the time I got home and  had a bit of lunch I decided I wasn’t going to clean house then.  I read a little, fed my birds, and headed to the bed for a siesta.  Roughly two hours later I rolled out of bed, put on the coffee, made SOS (sh** on a shingle or creamed chipped beef) and biscuits.  A side of Sugar Snap Peas and some left over Pork and Beans filled out the menu.  Not exactly balanced but it was good.

After supper was consumed, the dishes in the dishwasher, and Brandy fed I turned my attention to this.

Back to # 4!

No it is not done yet but closer than it was.  I must confess it was a heck of a lot more fun than sweeping and mopping!

When Brandy and I walked out this morning the big thermometer on the porch read 42 degrees but it is up to 49 right  now with sunshine peeking into the windows and the promise of another lovely day.

I don’t know if I will play or work today but rest assured I will have a great day doing it!    You do the same!

An Update:

It’s 64 degrees now and I have been busy –outside not in!

Christmas Lights still up

Five long strings on four sides of the dome.

On the eaves over doors and windows

With the roof coming down within four feet of the ground it isn’t all reach and strain.

All down and ready to pack!

Yes I got them down.  The arms are tired and I have a little headache brewing but it is done.  I wish I could put them up as well.

They are peeking out!

I mentioned raking out the flower beds.  Well they aren’t waiting for me to get out there.

Two of my first four Spring blooms!

Even if it snows tomorrow I know that Spring is on the way!    YESSSS!

Good Morning!  I actually saw a Red Winged Black Bird in the yard yesterday and the big thermometer was pushing 60.  Brandy and I walked the 200 feet down the driveway and pulled the garbage cart back up to the house.  Of course I stopped a couple of times to rest a moment but I made it.   As a reward we went to the other side of the driveway and sat in the swing for about 10 minutes. That was an enjoyable interlude.

Well the baby blanket is over half way but probably won’t be picked up today and the last snowman , which hasn’t been touched for two days, will stay status quo.   The appointment with Dr. Ross is this morning and the housework I said I would do the other day–well I didn’t!   So it will have to be  started today.

My first cup of coffee was warmed in the microwave this morning  so it is cooling off quickly but I do have a fresh pot on.   A shower is next on my agenda, then a bit of breakfast, gather up the CDs, my book, and a fresh cup of coffee to go and it is off the the appointment.

This plans to be a somewhat busy day so I will close for now.  Take care!

My visitors have been reduced to very few wandering the floors and getting smashed when I see them.  I haven’t heard from the pest control people about the bees yet but I have spoke to Cindy about bringing the whole crew down to her house for a day.

Soon Be Swing Time!

When I took Brandy out the morning I could see a lot of brown on the ground.  Yes the snow is melting and the mud is now the predominate feature of my yard.  But soon Brandy and I will be back sitting in our swing relaxing together for a few minutes each day.  I have missed this activity we share  in good weather.   The forecast is in the 50s over the next few days so it seems the sun may shed some much needed Vitamin D on us.

A look around outside tells me I should pull on my boots and rake the leaves out of my flower beds.  But I don’t want to uncover too much and have it snow again.  Because it will snow again–this is Michigan and that is an excuse to snow when Spring approaches.

This weekend was a do busy things that are not a priority so I cleaned out my business card folder and my address book discarding things no longer used since we moved up here.  It is a neater system now and will be more efficient.

On Saturday Jay spent a good part of the day making labels for our spice bottles.

They are easier to see without having to lift the bottles.  I like the step shelf they are on and will pick up another one this week.  Again another thing that wasn’t a priority but does make for more efficiency.

I have started the baby blanket for Cindy’s friend using all the baby yarn I have in my baskets.  It plans to be very happy looking  and with no symmetry in the colors.

Snowman # 4 has been started and I will be working on it in between the crochet sessions.

We go to Dr. Ross’ office on Wednesday for another possible treatment on Jay’s left eye.  I will take Deaver’s Roadside Crosses with me because I’m only half way through it.

So with  the warmer temperatures, some much needed sunshine, and time to play with the projects I’m going to be one happy Momma the next few days!

Wednesday night while I was sitting at the dining room table I noticed ants, with and without wings, gathering on the overhead lights, the table, and the rug in front of the french doors.  As the light outside faded the amount of ants increased in the area until they were soon falling on my head and crawling all over my project.  I grabbed up the fly swatter and started hit them but it was turning out to be a losing battle. So after complaining to Jay and getting a commitment from him to call someone in the morning I turned off the lights and went to bed.

The next morning Jay’s first call brought no positive results about when they could help  us.  So I called Steve, my neighbor, for the number of a company we had used before and they said someone would be out between three and four in the afternoon.

After the man’s arrival he said that the birds would have to be removed from the house for six hours to protect them.  So a hurry up call to my friend Edna resulted in a place to go for that time. The man also said we should go after the bees in the wall now before they start moving outside.

So I sat with Edna for about 5 1/2 hours when Jay called to say it was alright to return.  He had vacuumed the dead ants up and wipe down the baseboard.  But that still left the cages to wipe down, the toys and dishes to wash, and the  cage covers to wash and dry.  So the birds stayed in the travel cages until that was accomplished and reassembled with food and water added.  When everything was in place and the birds were in place, we had a sandwich to eat Jay went off to bed.  I waited up until the cage covers dried and got them in place.  It was around 2:00am when I finally got to bed.

But I learned a couple of things for when they come back to take care of the bees.  One is that the bird cages will go outside.  The covers put away, the animal dishes washed and covered, cat box emptied, and all the animals toys bagged and put away.  All the birds, animals, and us will have to go to Cindy’s house for the day, if she will have us.  The only saving grace about this tentative move is that maybe I’ll be able to use my deck this summer.

This evening I notice there are a few visitor still flying around the dining room light but hopefully they will be gone soon.

Take care everyone!

This morning Jay and I worked on the new recipe of Carrot Cake Jam.  We came up with 16 cups but we think this, like the Blueberry Jam, will take a bit longer to set up.  The taste is good but it may improve with age!!!

I finished  Snow man #3 this evening with one more to go.

Cindy came up to spend some time with us this afternoon.  She posted on her blog, checked part of her 400 emails, and I believe visited Face Book.  We had a simple lunch and she left around 6:30 pm for home.

I think tomorrow will be a domestic goddess day.  I have floors to vacuum and bird cages to clean.  At least Jay took all the jam, canning supplies,  and leftover jars back to the basement.  I kept the kitchen in fairly decent shape these last two days  so there is little or no mopping needed.  That is a refreshing thought for a change.

We were above 40 degrees today and the snow is being replaced basically by mud.  Still ice patches to worry about but better than it has been.

I hope everyone is almost all better and looking forward to warmer weather.

A Little Bit Left For Tasting!

Well the results of today’s labor are 16 1/2 Cups of Apple Cider Jelly and 22 1/2 Cups of Dutch Apple Pie Jam.  Kitchen is cleaned up, two loads of laundry washed and dried, and three loads folded  and put away.  It was one of those days that went smoothly and every thing was under control as Jay came in from dialysis.

Tomorrow morning the two of us will work on the Carrot Cake Jam.  I kind of interested in how it will turn out.

Well that is all for this evening.  Take care and stay comfy!

Jars waiting to be filled!

Yes the canning kitchen opens again tomorrow morning.  We shopped today for fruit, carrots, sugar, cider, and pectin.  On the list of things to can are Dutch Apple Pie Jam (the stock is getting low), Apple Cider Jelly (we made only one batch of that originally), and something new–Carrot Cake Jam.

This evening I hauled 67 jelly jars up from the basement along with my jam cooking pot, my canning kettles, and all the utensils.  It plan on being a busy day or two but it is what I like to do.   Besides I should stay nice and warm for a couple of days.

I hope all my under the weather friends are starting to feel better.