Mrs Wilson on PBS

I really enjoyed it. So did my husband and mother.  True story. It is on pbs website for a short time and then it will be gone. Three parts.

Books with clean-out topic

Outer Order, Inner Calm (audio book)  by Gretchen Rubin came out a few weeks ago.

When a new season of a TV series comes out, especially if there is a long break between seasons, I often rewatch all the previous seasons before the newest one. So I get a lot of bang with a new season. BBC seasons for example might only be 4-8 shows long. Just watching the new season is a flash in the pan. Watching all of the seasons in order, refreshes my memory, gets me in the groove, creates anticipation, and makes it an event.

I did the same thing with Gretchen’s new book. I relistened to all the previous books from her happiness series first. When I finished all the old ones, I listened to the new one. I REALLY re-enjoyed all the old books. The new one too. It was short, but good. It was a bit like a longer podcast.

Then I listened  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō. I had watched the series on Netflix, but had not read the book. It was good, but I wondered about her childhood the whole time. OCD? I realize it is a different culture, but it seems like something was not quite right. There are good suggestions in both the TV series and the book. I disagree with a lot of things she says, but in a mild way.  Both (book and TV series)  are good, worth the time, but I spent most of my thought process (of the book) in the psychology rather than the tidying.

Then I listed to The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter Book by Margareta Magnusson. Also good. Written by an old lady whose has cleaned several family homes due to death or downsizing. I did not dwell on the psychological. I enjoyed the pace and the stories.

It might be an age thing, or the fact that I did not have to clean out either grandparent set. And I have no messes in my future. My husband and his brothers did their parents. My brother will do my father. My mother has already done as much as she can. Things that go to other people are already to them.




I listed to all these audio books as I walked dogs, cleaned the kitchen, sewed. Ear buds thru my phone.

The cleaning aspect of these books - I enjoyed all of them in a low key way.

BUT they all pitch way too much.

I wish they would have used the terms rehome or recycle or repurpose 100% of the time.

There is very little that actually needs pitched.

The post office cubbies, re-purposed.

I had forgotten this picture.

The cubbies were not big enough for most that I tried to do with it over the years.  If they had been wider, so useful for gaming stuff.






Now -

(My husband made a base with feet, for it, drawers from the $ store. So handy and functional.) 

Easter egg trees

Someone made me one as a child.

A small branch with many off shoots, painted white, stuck it in a cottage cheese container with plaster of Paris. And I have the idea/memory that the collage cheese container was somehow on Easter colors. So either the company had an annual tradition, or it was decorated.

That year, with the tree, I think somebidy blew out real eggs and dyed them. And hung them on the tree. I think the tree made it several years.

And I loved that tree. Probably this was when I was preschool age. We moved when I was in the middle of first grade, and I think it was long before that time.

And I may have made a tree when my kids were little, or maybe I just thought about doing it.

I sort of rediscovered my wire tree. It used to hold necklaces in my bathroom. Now it is on the island in the kitchen.

And I am looking for seasonal things to hang on it. Not every season, just some.

Clearly wanted to find small/lightweight eggs for an Easter tree.

(I found smaller type hanging eggs at JoAnn’s. I paid $17 for 36 eggs. They were on sale 50% off plus I had a 20% coupon. Shockingly high prices on their hanging plastic eggs. Nice colors.)


Very pleased with it.

I really like Easter egg trees. Very glad to have one again.

Gretchen and Elizabeth book club - Dani Shapiro's Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love.

https://gretchenrubin.com/podcast-episode/207-go-to-the-doctor

That link will take you to the podcast where this book selection was announced. And the show notes will also give you the dates for their activities including an author visit.

I listened to  Dani Shapiro's Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love on Audible.

It is non fiction. Read by the author. And very well written. Really enjoyed it.

In process, I have steadily been cleaning/sorting

The computer room, in the background, looks bad, maybe even worse, but it is not. A lot of what is sitting on the counter now is actually empty. I had to get nearly everything out, to see and to sort. I think I will be back to an empty counter shortly. It is moving along steadily.

Also in process is the DVD clean out.

We are all visual. If I put it all back in a cupboard, it will never get done.

The box on the left contains the DVD's that we are selling.

The piles on the right are the ones to watch. The big pile in the back are the ones middle has to watch. The little pile in the front is my husband's. If it were up to me, they would all go in the box and be out of here this afternoon. . .

So far my husband has watched one, The Usual Suspects, and then it went in the box.

The pile of VHS (farthest right) needs watched also. (I found a friend with a VHS. And we are going to borrow and then sort thru them.)

We suspect most/all of them are left from when we used to records TV shows to watch later. That was mostly at the old house I think.

One of the those tapes is labeled. It is the final of Voyager (Star Trek) which aired in 2001. That was a prized tape in its day.

The DVD's we are keeping, at this point in time, are all in these baskets (below).

That has been a process also. Because this is where it started - - -

It was not easy figuring out what to do with the hole where the TV used to be. It was a BIG hole. And I wanted the space to be useful.

It was not possible to get two more matching doors to close the top (like the cupboard on the bottom). 

Between lumber and baskets and paint, it was about a $200 project.

This is a list of kid skills. It is a good list. Great summer project. Great family time.

I am not sure how often this happens, but at least once this week

Middle is traveling with a friend. Flights were yesterday.

They did carry on only.

When they arrived at their final destination, and were getting their carry ons out of the overhead compartment, someone had taken middle’s friend’s Case.

They were both on wheels. They were both purple. But they were not identical.

Friend’s had a luggage tag on it. The one that was left, no tag.

So there are two lessons right there.

1. Put a luggage tag on everything, even if you are not checking it.
2. Tie something unique on the handle of everything. Ribbon, bandana.

I know they turned wrong case into airlines. I know they filed claim for missing bag.

I know that by the end of the day they had the correct bag. I don’t know how they connected with the other passenger.

This might happen all the time, but it was new to me.

We put bandanas and tags on checked luggage. But not always on carry on.

And this absolutely could happen to me because if I am flying by myself,  I usually stay in my seat until other passengers have unloaded and left. Then I get my case out of overhead.

I am assuming this is exactly what happened yesterday. The person who grabbed her case was probably one of the first off the plane.

And we are usually traveling with solid black pieces, like most everyone else. So if this happened with PURPLE, could absolutely happen with black.

Gentle Leader

This is for the neighbor's pup, who is a Golden. She will be ONE in March. About 65 pounds and very solid.

She likes to tug. Tug of war with a rope. Pulling anything with her chest. Urge to TUG is strong in her.

She would be an excellent service dog pulling someone in a wheel chair.

It has turned cold in Indiana. We have had snow on the ground. We have ice patches.

As you can imagine, after having a very bad brown lab knock me down (last fall) and having my knees come thru with no problems (miracle). And with all the arthritis diagnosis -  I am very afraid of falling.

Youngest lives with a dog that also is very strong and has an urge to tug.

That dog has a Gentle Leader.

It is a figure 8. Two loops. One around neck. One around snout. They are connected in middle under her chin and that is where the leash clips.

Pup is very fluffy. So the loops aren't as big as you would think.

Youngest walked our neighbor's pup one time and said - needs a gentle leader.

What the leader does is take away the tug feeling.

When they pull against the leader, it simply turns their head toward you.

They end up looking at you. And their head is pointed the wrong way for the walking forward feeling. They don't like it. They stop pulling. Actually they never really get started pulling. It is highly effective.

And we have noticed they LOOK at you more, looking for cues.

No, they are not a fan of having something on their face. And have to fit properly or they will rub their face against the ground and pull it off.

It does not interfere with their panting. They can drink with it.

We do not leave it on, we put it on with a leash for a walk. We take it off as soon as we get home.

We leave her regular harness on her. They are the same color.

Dolls

I think there are ten dolls all together.

As in - We have ten. American Girl of course has many more than ten. And most of ours are stamped Pleasant Company on the back of their neck. Original company. American girl is Mattel.

They all live at my mom's right now. Year round. She sews for them.

My mom makes each one a new outfit for Christmas.

Notice that they are in period appropriate clothes. The modern girls are in modern clothes. The historic girls are in clothes from their time-ish. Sometimes these are copies of clothes AG (American Girl) sold for them. Sometimes they are patterns (McCalls, Simplicity, Butterick, etc). Sometimes my mom drafts her own patterns.

So the dolls each have their own wardrobe. Felicity, Josefina and Samantha (who all belong to youngest) would NEVER wear clothes that belong to each other or to the modern girls (Lanie, Chrissa, Kailey).

And on Christmas day, she (my mom) and our two girls have a very good time playing with them. They all get dressed up in their new clothes. Shoes and underwear are admired as much as the outer layers.

I take pictures.

My mom especially gets a kick out of the fact that the girls are 20 and 24. When she talks about this with friends and acquaintances, she is quick to point out - these are not little girls.


The retired dolls are here
https://www.americangirl.com/shop/ag/archives


The current historic dolls are here
https://www.americangirl.com/shop/ag/historical-characters-brand




Addy

Josefina

Felicity

Jacket and hat are AG (ebay), my mom made the skirt. 

 Kit

Kailey

Molly

Kirsten

Spoon and bag are AG (ebay), mom made rest. And we are still looking for the right red stripe for an apron. 

Samantha

Lanie

Chrissa

2018

Added a plate rail

This is a civil war era cabinet made by one of my relatives, paternal grandmother's side.

It has been sitting in the same spot in the kitchen for many years.

I took this picture today, but it looks just like previous pictures.

The three little chairs are always on top. The three little trees are always to the side. (And at Christmas the three little penguins are added on the chairs.)

When I was getting ready to graduate from college, I asked for it. So very glad I did. This piece has always meant a lot to me.

Previously, it was in my grandmother's basement with about 14 coats of paint on it. Probably from the days when spring "cleaning" meant putting a new coat of paint or varnish on walls and floors. This would have been a kitchen cupboard, so it would have been in the same category. Scrub it down with a brush, and put another layer of paint on it.

My grandmother had it stripped for me. 1983. And I refinished it.

I am not sure anyone but the antique's roadshow would argue with redoing it. In its painted state, it was really dreadful.

And honestly, in its refinished state for 35 years now, it looks old.

The antique's roadshow would also be horrified to know I had the wooden panels taken out of the top doors and glass replaced. Also 35 years ago. And I am not sorry about that either.

The plate rail groove cut into each shelf, is very far from the back wall of the cabinet.

Yesterday my husband added a second rail to each shelf by going up, not down. He added a trim piece, painted to match the stain (I had the paint) and held in place by 5 tack nails. This allows me to put a second row of plates in the cabinet.

And absolutely you cannot tell this is a new addition. It looks like the second rail is original to the cabinet.

The original rail is cut fairly deep and on an angle. So there is a slope. The added piece sets right at the top of that slope.

This need to store more plates originated when I sent my husband up to the attic for what I thought was three boxes of china. This tea set, my mom's old china, and my grandmother's old china.

He came back with ten boxes. Glassware, serving pieces, ice buckets. ALL kinds of things packed at the old house and put directly  in the attic at this house.



 It took me several weeks to get thru it all.

Nothing went back in the attic.

It was sold, given away, put away in my pantry, or put in this cupboard.

Marvelous Mrs Maisel

Series included on Amazon Prime.

I was first attracted by Barbra Streisand music. 

Enjoying it hugely. 

The Romanoff’s

Amazon Prime.

Each story is independent, loosely related theme. Characters and story line do not repeat between episodes.

We really liked most of them. Very well written, in our opinion.

Veggie casserole - this is a breakfast egg casserole with NO bread and a lot of veggies.

Here is the original recipe

https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-veggie-supreme-egg-bake-242506

 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for the baking dish
 8 ounces sliced white or brown mushrooms
 2 cups shredded carrots
 5 ounces baby spinach (about 5 packed cups)
 2 cups frozen diced potatoes (do not thaw)
 1 cup roasted red pepper strips
 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
 12 large eggs
 2 cups half-and-half
 2 teaspoons kosher salt
 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


 I do this -
Spray the pans instead of olive oil.

Use fresh organic (except for the spinach where I use a whole package of frozen organic loose leaf).

I use small amount of chopped red skinned potato (not peeled) instead of frozen Potatoes.

I use skim milk instead of half and half.

I sometimes use half eggs and half egg whites depending on who I am feeding (if it is going to be gone immediately, and I am only eating one piece, I use all eggs. If I might be eating a lot of leftovers, I use half egg whites).

I use lower fat Colby cheese instead of sharp cheddar.

I add asparagus or broccoli or both.

I add a lot more mushrooms.

I add a whole chopped onion.


This is a beautiful, colorful breakfast casserole with lots of veggies and NO bread.

Refrigerator make over

Clean slate.

Dingless

I can no longer hear the buzzer/bell on the microwave unless I am in the same room (with it).

Neither can my husband.

The kids (when they are home) however, can hear it all over the house.

And our microwave keeps dinging until someone attends to it.

So we turned off the microwave sounds. It is now dingless. No sounds as you push the buttons. No sounds to say it is finished.

And something interesting happened.

I now remember things in the microwave MUCH BETTER than when I counted on the ding (which I could not hear as soon as I left the kitchen).

The thing, I put in the microwave most often, are cherry pit bags. I put one in, hit 2 minutes, and then run to pee or brush my teeth or something. Except now I come right back and am usually there very close to the 2 minute mark. With the dinger operational, I would forget (until someone yelled - mom, the microwave is calling you).

I guess dingless made me more accountable or something. And it is very nice to have no dinging. Every kid agrees.

new winter boots

New boots. I bought them last spring when my very good shoe store was having clearance on winter boots. I did not compromise. I needed wide, water proof, warm, great tread, very good support. I got all of that. Plus there is no fuss. I simply step into them and go.

These are the pair being replaced. Oh how I loved them.

 I am not sure if you can tell fully from the picture - but the tread/traction was SHOT.

I can still wear them when there is no ice or snow.

I have support inserts in every pair of boots. Huge difference.

We learned - showers

Middle went to a baby shower given by mother of the soon to be new dad. So this was a young pregnant girl being given a baby shower by her mother in law.




We have seen this happen before, so it is a thing. And that is why I am making note.

The couple is young and does not have a lot of $$$ and she was upset with the gifts she received. She was counting on getting new baby staples. And she got mostly fluffy baby stuff. 

The baby is due in a month. They were counting on the shower.

Now, yes, there is the whole - maybe you should have waited a bit to have a baby - topic. But this couple has actually been married for several years and this is a planned baby.

But I am here to say, in these circumstances if you are the grandmother to be, giving a shower, sit down with the couple and help them make a very very good list of only the things they REALLY NEED. Then help them or have someone else help them get their gift registry set up right. And then contact all the family and friends you know well enough to call. And make sure they are only getting very practical things, on the list.

And introduce couple to garage sales if they are pregnant in the right months. Ore resale shops in the winter.  Help them make their list and teach them to barter and to be very picky on quality. And save the things that should only be bought new for the shower - like car seats, diapers, pacifiers, bottles, etc.




After the shower, helping the mother to me, middle heard  how worried and upset this girl was. 

Middle was able to tell them - my mother had the bare minimum of baby stuff - on purpose - three times. 

Because I did not have all the seats and pillows and stations and equipment stuff. At all. (I did not even have cradles or cribs, but I do not recommend co-sleeping even to my own kids). I had car seats, high chair, baby bath tub. That was about IT on furniture/equipment.

We learned - college move in and move out extensions

It is fairly inexpensive and sometimes free to move into college dorms early.

There are a variety of activities that sometimes have early move in as part of the benefit of the group. Like honors. The honors kids often can move in a day or two early. Or sometimes you can move in early if you volunteer to help everyone else on the regular move in date.




Many colleges the rule is you have 24 hours after your last final to move out of your dorm -  at the end of the school year.

Youngest college, which was also oldest’s College, NO.

So far, each year, youngest has had a 2:30 final and needed to be out by 6pm the same day. Which is really awful.

We are slow learners, but now we are paying for a one day extension, and moving her the next day, all the rest of her college move out days.

IN THE DARK

http://www.keepingthepoundsoff.com/2011/10/illumination-light-changes-things.html

Jane wrote about turning off the lights and looking for a missing object with a flashlight. Highly effective. I have done that. It works.

I found another effective one, over the weekend, vacuuming in the dark.

Of course your vacuum has to have a light on it for this to work. One of mine does. Usually that vacuum is upstairs, but middle was using the downstairs one and I brought the one with the light down to get the kitchen and hall rugs and the living room.

WARNING - you have to be sure all the charger cords and anything else that might come to harm is put away because you can only see a small area as you go.

But then if you turn off the lights and vacuum only by the light of the machine on the floor, you are going to see things you have never seen before, so much dirt.

WOW.

Very shocking.

This focused light method shows dust and hair and the like that cannot be seen normally. Like it is not enough to vacuum the rugs, the floor needs to be dust mopped extensively.

Evidently my laminate floors do not show dust, blond hair, or either of the dogs' hair. At all. All of that shows on the rugs. And I vacuum the rugs a lot. But the floor usually looks pretty good and does not get much attention.