What I've Been Up To

As most of you know, I was laid off my job in June. And there are no jobs out there. Our small city has really laid off administrative staff in all fields, the university has a hiring freeze. Therefore, there are a LOT of applicants for the various positions. So I've been piddling around the house, helping out Cabinet Man, etc.

This is what he's been working on in Denver since June. These are not the portfolio pics, but just ones that I have taken. Over the next little bit I'll also be posting stuff from another job that he did. I mostly tag along to tote and fetch, hold things, vacuum, sand, prime. I have gotten to install hardware, sweep, take pictures, etc. Just be entertaining self for the most part. Unless he's grouchy...in which case I retreat into whichever books I brought along until I am needed.

Without further ado. Here are some pics.Obviously, Cabinet Man did not build the house itself. So this is a shot from the street, late afternoon...standing in the middle of the street while a neighbor waited patiently ;D. Landscaping will be in the spring.

Whole view of the kitchen and island. Eventually there will be a panorama' view of it. See all that hardware? Yep, I put on every single piece.

Other side of the island. I ADORE the sink and have wanted one for years. There should be a pic of one in a file I've had for years. There is a bookcase on the far end.

Double ovens. The cabinet above is for cookie sheets. I am not sure what is in the drawer below.

The lower corner cabinet is a lazy me. I didn't like the one I had years ago, but this one has good hardware so I do like it. Deep drawers under that amazing stovetop. The uppermost one is just a fake drawer front. And the organization of those utensils? Great!

Other cabinets and fridge. There is a door on the other side of the fridge that I believe will be used for mops, brooms, trash, etc. Not sure though.

The kitchen computer station. To left side is the pantry and the right side is storage, the printer and tower, etc.

Details on the island end and the bar.

Molding on all pieces to look like furniture feet. Routed doors and bar to resemble beadboard, but better. Vintage hardware and feel to the whole thing. I do love this kitchen. The owner has mentioned living here a couple of years, then selling and building another one together.

Later this week I'll be showing off the stairs, laundry room (upstairs...brilliant!) and vanities that we (Cabinet Man) did.

Hugs til later,

Susie Q

My (temporary) co-workers

I'm so sorry for the lack of postings...very unexpected blogiday...Cabinet Man has been busy finishing a job and guess who has been getting to 'help' him by doing things like sanding and priming (not nearly as much fun when you don't get to keep any of it). Then more sanding. My nails are shot (and they looked so good this summer in spite of all the painting I did at home).

But the finished job is spectacular and I'll post pictures in the next few days.

On to the 'job'.Wednesday I received a call from an agency I had re-registered with in June when I was laid off. About 15 seconds into her 'spiel', I asked her if "Mac" had chased off another employee, and Tiffany realized that I'd worked for Mac before. Relief in her voice. I said that I would be happy to fill in while they looked for someone permanent, but I would not take a permanent job out with him. I worked for him two years ago for two very long months. He is a jerk. Pure and simple. He SHOULD just retire (he's 69), plenty of money, and just fish or travel. However, he is single. He is a developer who refuses to recognize that the market is down, won't reduce the prices on things to get them sold & pay back the loan, etc. He can be quite crude and vulgar (I ignore it). And, of course, they don't pay as well as they did 2 years ago. They tried to get me to take less but I wouldn't go that low. It is just not worth it. Too much potential aggravation, etc.

So, I have crazy Mac. He had a stroke in 2000 & I see a deterioration in 2 years. Between stroke damage, age, dead brain cells from alcohol...sheesh. His family is suspecting Alzheimer's but it will not be easy to get him to considered testing. But he can be VERY charming and funny.

Next we have the accountant, Mark. He's in his 60s also. Single. Apparently can't find a date so he has recently signed up on several websites for women from the former Eastern bloc. Russia, Romania, Latvia, Bulgaria. Professional women, attractive...what is it with that part of the world where so many of them have such striking cheekbones? They are regular photos, some 'cheesecake' (as in 1950s and 40s styles really), so not too bad. They appear to be very well 'vetted' for lack of a better word.

Then there is the engineer, Jim. Seems to be a nice kid. Probably the most 'unconnected' person of his age I've met. No IPod, very basic phone that he uses as a phone (imagine that!). He's been there 2 years, but I don't know him either.

Jody. NO idea what she does. Supposedly something with minerals, water, something or other. Never see her really doing anything. I was to her office and she's got FB open on her laptop, and playing games or something like that on her computer. But Mac likes her, which is why she still has a job.

Jack is the final one. Sales. 'Nuff said. He's seldom there & while he is supposed to be doing sales, not sure.

Back to Mac. He has a blackberry now. Apparently he doesn't know how to text and no one there will show him. Terrible driver and probably close to losing his license and insurance. Better for all of us if he does ;D He got a new Bluetooth for it the other day and bought one also for Jim. It has an extra set of earphones that plug into the Bluetooth so he can listen to music. Mac honestly thought he was doing a cool thing, but $150 for the pair? So I talked to Jim and he doesn't want to be able to...he listens to his car radio. So does Mac. So I convinced him to take them back and I'll get both of them hands-free devices that are exactly that and no more. Whew.

Monday I have to start researching a trip to Israel for him over Christmas. That should be interesting. Does this guy really need to be traveling around the world. Alone? This will probably continue to get interesting as I really have no idea what I am supposed to do there besides answer the phones, go thru mail, write checks for his personal bills. Oh, and I can watch the news on that fabulous big screen plasma TV in the office that no one else watches. Have to find out how to turn on the closed captioning so I can just read it instead of listen to it. Wonder if there are any good movies on tomorrow? ;D He likes it being turned on.

So boys and girls, that is my fun life for now. Still need to bathe Duncan.

Hugs,

Susie Q

Homemade Laundry Soap

This is a crossover post from one that I did at Facebook. I got a lot of interest in it, so I thought I might do it here too.

I ran across this while browsing the TipNut.com site. http://tipnut.com/Love the site. One of the first books I got after getting married was  Hints from Heloise. Mom used to get Good Housekeeping and I'd pick it up sometimes to read and was captivated by Heloise. So I looked for her every month in the magazine, and when we moved back to the Atlanta area, she was in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution every Sunday. So I read that one too and clipped columns...while I was in 8-10th grades. When we moved to the Houston area, my only source was GH. After we got married, I found a book. YAY! I've always loved the tips in them, and have run across some others at times...oddly enough, Erma Bombeck had some good ones (when you have to iron a kid's pants for a school play or performance, find out which leg faces the audience, then iron that one ;D) When I was working in the corporate world, there were other tricks I learned...if I had a sweater or jacket that I wore all day over a dress shirt, cuffs, collar and front placket are all that need to be ironed. Cheap shampoo works great on dirty collars and cuffs. Little things that made life a lot easier.

I've collected a number of home books over the years, from Heloise, http://www.heloise.com/ to Annie Berthold-Bond http://www.anniebbond.com/ to Debra Lynn Dadd http://www.dld123.com/. Bond and Dadd have gone on to internet sites and other books, but I like their originals. Bond has a political agenda I don't care for, but I do still use a couple of her books for reference.

Once we started having kids, yeah, I started treating stains when they happened. As I seldom was washing them at stain time, I'd tie the sleeves or legs of the piece of clothing together and toss it in the dirty clothes. That reminded me to treat the stain again before it got tossed in the wash. I bought nothing but white socks for the boys when they were little. They just had a different colored stripe around the top and I taught them to pin them together to toss into the dirty clothes. Then they were already paired off. Folded their clothes in outfits for the drawers so they had a complete (matching--College Dude was color blind & we didn't know) outfit on. Saved us time and aggravation in the morning.

When we moved into a house in 1990, the boys started developing allergy symptoms, which they had not had before. We did some investigating and found out the house had been flooded a few years before from the creek behind it...the landlord cleaned the carpet and pocketed the insurance money. We had a cleaning business so we did the carpet also and pulled roughly 15 gallons of mud out of the carpet...they'd done a terrible job cleaning. But it was all covered up so well that we didn't know until too late. Absentee landlord, hapless agent and no real recourse at the time. (Then he was mad when we didn't want to buy the house when the lease was up!) That was when I started making my own cleaners. I didn't want to add to the boys' problems with more chemicals, couldn't find the one that I could get at Mom's in Houston and there was a limit to my stocking up when I went to visit so, I bought a few books and a few ingredients and starting making my own. Did it for years. When I went back to work outside the home, the kids started taking on more cleaning and Cabinet Man didn't really want to mess with it so, we started buying it again. Plus, by making my own cleaners, the boys could clean up part of the bathroom and I didn't worry about what they were being exposed to (or if they were wasting it)

Fast forward and I'm home again and I'm starting to get back into the groove of being a SAHM (and I like it) Sunshine is 10 and this is really the first time that I've been able to be home. Back to doing more from scratch and looking up old interests. I keep baking soda and borax around anyway for cleaning, and I already had ivory soap. And I can't find washing soda in the Wal-Mart's...maybe at the farm and ranch place...Also, I have a regular washer/dryer, not front loading (cobalt blue ones are on my Wish List) for someday, so I've not tested the detergents on them. Not even sure where to begin testing that, but as I plan to have a pair someday, I might need to start researching and looking up, especially since there seems to be a problem with mold in many front loading washers...which is odd that the new ones do, when the ones from many years ago don't)

Here's the link to the site: http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/

Recipe #8

2 gallons Water (hot)
1 bar Soap (grated)
2 cups Baking soda

    * Melt grated soap in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently until soap is melted.
    * In a large pail, pour 2 gallons hot water. Add melted soap, stir well.
    * Then add the baking soda, stir well again.
    * Use 1/2 cup per full load, 1 cup per very soiled load.

I also used about 20 drops of sweet orange essential oil. Smells nice. I'll use lemon or lavender next time...it's really faint. Maybe I'll use more too. If your soap is "fresh" it will grate into little curls, like chocolate. If it has been out a bit and dried, it is more powdery. Don't use 'beauty bars' like Dover or something like that. The oils/creams they add to it might stain.

I use recipe #8...grated Ivory soap, baking soda and borax. I have to get the melting the grated soap down really well, but even when it is 'flakey', it works well. I've gotten comments from the kids on the scent (who doesn't like Ivory?), and it seems like the clothes are softer. I don't use fabric softener or dryer sheets (did you know that it leaves a residue on the inside of your dryer--you can get it off with cloth soaked in vinegar), but even the towels seem softer. I have used vinegar on occasion as fabric softener and no, it doesn't smell like vinegar after they dry. I use powder detergent in the summer and liquid in the fall/winter/spring. I use cold water for everything but towels and the water is too cold up here most of the year to dissolve powder. Learned that one the hard way.

I've also used the powdered detergent for the dishwasher. I didn't always keep good track of stuff while I had an outside job, so I would run out when doing laundry late at night or when I just didn't feel like going out in the snow.

http://tipnut.com/homemade-dishwasher-detergent-recipes/

We've got reasonably soft water here, so I have not had the problems that other posters on the site might have. Your Mileage May Vary according to your part of the country, water hardness or softness or minerals, etc.

Maybe sometime I'll give my experiences with making my own mixed for Bisquick, brownies, spices, etc....

And a new pic of Duncan, aka, the Duncanator, Duncster, Duncmeister....he's put on a little weight and the dreadful haircut has grown out a bit.

And did you know that Laura over at Decor To Adore is having a lovely Halloween giveaway? YES! Go, now! http://decortoadore.blogspot.com/2009/10/spooktacular-adornments-giveaway.html

Balloon Boy - Yep, that is my town (update)

After that title, I feel like I should insert the lyrics to Montgomery Gentry's song, 'This is My Town'...but I can't find anything that rhymes with 'flying saucer shaped weather balloon'. (sigh) Why I am not a songwriter.

I'm sure most of you have seen this as it was plastered all over the world news. I got a Facebook comment from a friend in the UK about it...

And now all the word is about a 'hoax' by a family desperate to remain in the media spotlight. They've appeared on 'Wife Swap' twice (I think twice). Oddly enough, I think it replayed sometime recently as I was channel surfing and vaguely remember seeing a comment about 'storm chasers', but I had no idea they were from here. And all the furor about their YouTube videos, Falcon's comment about it 'being for the show', etc.

Let's look at a few things. Yes, the family is unconventional. Yes, they have been in the media. Yes, they do things a bit differently. What's the problem? My gut instinct is that it is NOT a hoax. For starters, as a former 6 year old and having raised 4 of them...I have a really hard time believing that a kid that age is going to stay hidden for 4-5 hours upon the instructions of a parent. Maybe would have happened in Victorian times (maybe) but I don't see that happening these days (short of a severely abused child doing so out of fear and there is NO indication of that in this case). He stated that he came down because he got bored. That comment absolutely screams SIX YEAR OLD BOY! However, I can see a kid hiding out for fear of punishment or reprimand...especially if he thought (right or wrong) that he'd let the family weather balloon go! It was a family project, so there was some time and money tied up in it and he was aware of that. Shoot, I'd hide out for getting into my dad's tools and there was not that kind of time/money involved.

And the comments about the kids sleeping in their clothes at times so they could be gotten up in a hurry to chase a storm. I had friends in Austin that were storm chasers (not sure if they were certified, I didn't realize you could be). But it also made sense to me. They also had 3 kids and they'd rouse the kids, put them in the car and the kids would go back to sleep--I recall they were around the same ages as the Heene kids. First though took me aback, but I could see it. Besides, where are you going to find a sitter at 2AM? Although I did tell her that if she suspected chasing it would take them hours and hours, to call me and drop them at my house.

But I think the media and others are looking to demonize this family because they do not fit the 'mold', and they are trying to find a way to make the Heenes 'pay' for the fear and attention that was trumped up. This story was shown around the world (thank you 24 hour news cycle).

Bottom line, I don't think it was a hoax and I am quite sorry for the family. Good luck to them with the attacks from the media. And I like the press conference that Sheriff Aldersen held yesterday in which he really defended the family and told everyone that he was NOT jumping to any conclusions and they would investigate. Which I am sure they would have done anyway. Our sheriff has made some controversial statements himself, but I do think he's a good guy and a good sheriff.

So, that is my two cents folks. For what it's worth these days ;D (I was wrong!!!!!)
Have a great weekend and I am heading back to bed. The family has pretty much gone down like dominoes this week with a respiratory thing (not the flu), and I am worn out from pandering, err, taking care of them.

Hopefully I will be back next week with a couple of Duncan stories and pictures. It's also nice to know that all the odd, unconventional families are not limited to Texas (which is what I was beginning to think!)

My Very Best Free Recycling Find Ever!

As many of you know, our local landfill has a free chemical recycling program. This is my absolutely, positively VERY best find there....EVER.

Two new puppies. 'Nuff said. Until Rhoda resumes Monday Thrifty Treasures in the spring.

http://southernhospitalityblog.com/pretty-practical-and-pure-pleasure-all-for-11-35/

Thrifty Thursday (I think) And for Monday too!

Yeah, I've been a bit MIA for the last couple of weeks. It was tough helping Snickerdoodle deal with her loss...and I was at a loss. Thanks for all the sweet thoughts and prayers. We are over the first hurdle of it and she started her senior year Monday.

On to my thrifty finds. I picked up these goodies at GW a few weeks ago. The door sign is perfect for fall. The danglies were stretched out, but I grabbed a pencil and wrapped the wire around it again and they were good to go. The little herb pics went into the kitchen by the window.

I also got two big pictures that day, but since I can't figure out how to photograph them without glare so bad that you can't actually SEE the pic...I'll wait.

There is a bit of a dichotomy with my Welcome sign, then the little one by the doorbell that reads:

NO SALES

NO SURVEYS

NO PETITIONS

NO SOLICITING

NO PROSELYTIZING

NO COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT

SURVIVORS WILL BE SHOT AGAIN

THANKS YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

But the school fundraising, organizational soliciting season is upon us again. Our funds go to our school, church, charity and I get tired of answering the door and saying No. One of Snickerdoodle's friends freaked a little though (Honey, you've been playing over here for 3-4 years...you're okay)

And my final find. That's why the "I think" is in parens above. I've been looking for a dog for a while for me and, as usual, I found one for Cabinet Man. Again. This time though, I found one for me. Actually found a couple and am going with the 2nd one. He's an older puppy...5 months instead of 6 weeks. I think that is too young anyway to get a puppy, we prefer 10-12 weeks. Colorado law states that you cannot sell a puppy before 8 weeks. The two breeders we were talking to about puppies were adamant about 6 weeks. So when I found other dogs, I told the first ones we had talked to, "No thank you." They were great. We'd not put down a deposit and it was conditional so...no foul, no harm when we decided against them. And when someone selling puppies really is unfamiliar with the term 'alpha dog', back away.

I'm still trying to decide on a name. They call him Downy (who names a dog after a fabric softener?!) and that just Will Not Do. I have been considering Duncan (from Highlander:The Series), but I'm not sure if he is big enough to be a Duncan. Methos has been ruled out already also...bigger dog. Joe perhaps? Or Mac? I'll have to go thru the canon of the story and see. I missed out getting a female for free a few weeks ago...BUT, turns out she might be back there...the new owners had a house fire that destroyed their home and burned the father badly. He's looking at grafts for 30% of his body, so they just are not sure they can keep her. She would be great company for him as he has a lot of surgeries coming up, but being a puppy, she is also needier. So I might end up with her also :D Cabinet Man is not so sure...two dust mops running around. Since we are picking up a female cattle dog for him on Thursday, I'm not sure why he is allowed to have 2 dogs and I am not....we'll discuss that over the next few weeks I am sure.

Of course, if we get her, then it settles the names...Duncan and Amanda, Mandy for short)

The thrifty part actually comes in that I'm getting him for $100 less than she had him on the website for and $250 less than the price for her male puppies. We are getting the female cattle dog, Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird) for $50 less than he posted in the ad. Her parents are working dogs from a working ranch and he has been breeding them for years so we're happy with his knowledge...and he seems pleased that she is going to people who actually are familiar with the intelligent, weird, freakish ways of the cattle dog.

I've figured out a way to keep Caleb from killing me, by the way. http://susieqaworkinprogress.blogspot.com/2009/07/shhhhhh-he-trying-to-kill-me.html Turns out he hates the vacuum cleaner. He growls at it and darts in and snaps at it. Our female used to do the same thing. If the new puppy acts the same way, I will form the theory that all cattle dogs hate the vacuum cleaner. Now all I have to do is carry it around with me! It's a older Kirby. It weighs roughly a thousand pounds. Maybe I'll just record the noise to my phone and carry that..

I'll add this to my Monday post. I picked up this apothecary jar and lotion/soap dispenser at GW--$1.99 each!

Goodbye Bill. And thank you.

it has been a very sad weekend around our home. Sweet Snickerdoodle got a phone call on Saturday night that her BFF had died unexpectedly. He lived in Hawaii and they had never met in person but, as you all know, friendship is not limited by distance, especially in this day and age. She was planning to go out there after graduation next summer and spend some time. I wish I could afford for her to go to the funeral, but that is just not available. But we'll figure out a way for her to get out there next summer if I have to sell one of the other kids ;).

Bill had Crohn's Disease. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/crohns/ In and of itself, it is not fatal. But he had a flare-up this summer and was on several medications. The medications were masking the symptoms of a bacterial infection that was undetected until Friday. He had gone to his first two days of college, then was sick for 2 weeks. He thought he had the flu. Bill went to the doctor on Friday and that is when they found the infection. My guess is that by that time it had infiltrated his bloodstream and it caused cardiac arrest sometime later. They put him on life support and I am guessing that they disconnected it Saturday morning. As I said, those are guesses from what she has said.

Snickerdoodle is absolutely devastated. Today was her first day of school as a senior, and she couldn't enjoy it and came home at lunch. The pain in her heart and soul is visible and visceral. And we cannot do anything to make it better.

As parents, the time eventually comes when  you cannot make it better with a kiss, a hug and a Happy Meal. All you can do is stand by with a box or two of tissues and open arms.You can cry with them, ache for them, but in the end all you can do is be there for them. But she is grieving, and that is good. She's grieving for the future too...for the years of friendship that were taken from them. For herself since he is no longer on the other end of the phone line or the computer.

Bill, thank you for being my daughter's dearest friend. Thank you for being a virtual shoulder for her to cry on, talk to and laugh with.Thank you for 'getting' her. Thank you for being her joyful companion the last few years, in good times and in bad. Thank you for helping her along the way. I am so sorry that we'll never get to meet you, welcome you into our home and have another kid around. You will always have a special place in her heart and memories, and you will always have a place in my heart also...just for what you gave to her.

My Falling Down Story`

Inspired by HeathahLee's story, http://butterflygenes.blogspot.com/2009/08/falling-down-revisited.html I have to share mine.

May 2007. Cabinet Man, Specialist and I were going to the younger kids' charter school to hear College Dude (Chick Magnet was his moniker at the time) present his senior thesis. Yes, our high school makes the students present and defend a junior AND senior thesis. 18 page oral, 25 page written for junior year. 25 page oral and 35 page written (I think) for senior year. These grads can write like the wind by the time they get to college. Forgotten his question, but the theme was The Phantom Tollbooth http://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Tollbooth-Norton-Juster/dp/0394815009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251436030&sr=8-1 A book that my boys dearly loved.

Anyway, I was wearing a new pair of khaki slacks that I had just gotten. First wearing. Yeah, you know where this is going.

We were all talking and Cabinet Man and Specialist stepped up on the sidewalk and I am not sure what happened. I felt myself falling and did the usual reaching...and still went down...they were still walking and talking. A few steps later Cabinet Man looks back and says, "Susan? What are you doing down there?" (Duh, what do you think I am doing?)

I hit the ground and rolled over on my back...laughing. After THAT comment, I was laughing even harder. The expressions on their faces were ones that I wish I'd had a camera to capture. Priceless.

They helped me up and we did an injury check. Ankles, fine. Knees? One, bloody and torn slacks. Damn. Slightly grazed hand. And all I can think is that I hope the assistant principal was at the presentation and NOT looking out his window at that particular time as he would NEVER let me live that one down.

We went on in (me limping slightly) and God bless the school for reinforcing etiquette, manners and chivalry in those students as a young man got up immediately and gave me his seat and he moved to the back row. Chick Magnet (aka College Dude) gave a terrific presentation, then came over to find out what his mother was up to now...

The End.

More Thrifty Thursday and Thrifty Treasures Monday

Okay, I had to add the button and toss this in for Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures. See? I finally managed to get the button done.

Made another run to Goodwill Thursday for a couple of candlestick lamps I had seen Wednesday. Someone else had bought my Lucy Vitavegamin metal sign though. Shoulda hidden the thing!

Filled a cart then wandered around adding and thinking and subtracting. Realized that since I have been seeing a number of the metal wall vases, I will probably see a few more. So I grabbed the lamps and will use them with shades I picked up free in Denver. The one on my side of the bed appears to need to be rewired...but it's a candlestick...how hard can that be? It's a 3 way so I plan to use the wiring from the lamp it is replacing and paint the part that shows white. I'll keep one shade I had used, then I will take the other lamp and shade to Savers or Goodwill. Funny, do my donations at Savers and money at Goodwill recently.

I am guessing Target had recently sent stuff over as I grabbed a skirt that I thought Target wanted too much for. It's white so I can only wear it a week or so, but I have it for next spring and summer so it's all good. Hmm..guess I need to be ready to put away the white flipflops too with the flower and get another pair for fall. Yes, I still adhere to 'don't wear white after Labor Day or before Easter'. I think that it is tattooed on my bum somewhere. ;D

So here are my goodies.

 

The pics with the small frames are for our bathroom as I redo it. They are on the wall now and I plan to replace the towel rod with a shelf made from a small shutter and put hooks to hang my t-shirt that I use to dry my hair. (naturally curly hair...hair doesn't snag on a t-shirt the way it does on towels...less frizz).

Once I decided to go with a sort of beachy feel to our family room, I've been looking for stuff...and I found these two shell  displays. I am removing the frames and painting them white, along with the frames on the ones I bought last week. My biggest problem will be deciding how to display them. I think I will use the two narrow ones on the outside and these two vertically between them...or maybe just in a row across the wall and use another long shutter for a shelf under them and figure out a display for there...it's a long wall and I had a bigger pic there. I also found two larger pics at GW that I am going to try to go back and get if they are there when my next unemployment check comes in. if not, oh well. I'll find something else. Wasn't sure where I'd have put them anyway...maybe youngest daughter's room.

Anyway, here is a close-up of one particular find. Bill, http://affordableaccoutrements.blogspot.com/it's for you. And your dad. ;D I'm not sure what her name is yet...it's hard to understand her through the muffling effect of the plastic.

Now to get this silliness posted before midnight Mountain Time...technically it is no longer Thursday in Bloggeritaville, but it still is in my world.

PS: I did work on the lamp on Friday morning. I took an old yucky lamp and broke it for the cord. The socket wouldn't come apart on it, so I took another one that was actually already kind of stoved in at the back, but still usable. Besides, it was in the bedroom and not visible. Grabbed the socket from it and replace the old one. The cord was not the problem. Now I have a length of white cord with plug and a length of black cord with plug for future replacements! guess I need to start me a little storage bucket for that stuff.

Thrifty Thursday

Well, I didn't manage to post for Monday at Rhoda's after all but since I have a few more things for Leigh's...yay! Here's to Bloggeritaville!

When I was in Denver a couple of weeks ago,  along with the Ball jars, I got THIS!

Look at the price(s). Each.

Well, I dug through my purse and pockets and came up with $12 so I offered her that for just the chair. She said okay and came to help me load the jars and chair in the car...and threw in the ottoman! I had taken a minute and called my BIL to see if I could stick it in the basement of the house they are building (I was driving a Prius that day and had room on the way home for either the chair and ottoman or the girls...it was a tough call ;D

My Goodwill run last week netted me these lovelies. Not pictured are the school supplies that I scored. The shell pics are numbered, but I can't find the artist info anywhere. Two metal lamps and my free shades from Denver fit...a white planter, the flowered plant pot.

Closeup of shell plants.

$3.00 lamp and one of my free shades from Denver.

And THIS is today's Goodwill find. I've found 3 VERY similar black metal lamps in 3 sizes over the summer at Goodwill and another pretty metal one that might be painted white or black, for around $16.00...including shades. I found this one today and did lamp rearranging. This one went over by Cabinet Man's reading chair, the first one I found went back in the entryway and the smallest one back out to the garage until I decide what to do with it. It might end up on my buffet....not sure. I have wanted one of the candle wall wreaths for ages but not willing to pay the price of $30-50! I do need to get little tea light holders, but I can find those really inexpensively. $4 for the candle wreath, $4 for the lamp/shade. The shade looks like leather and it is really pretty.

Please excuse the tape on the wall. I'm painting tomorrow and Friday as Cabinet Man and Snickerdoodle are going to Denver to a client's home to install a staircase railing, newels and spindles. Should be gorgeous. Here is what I helped with on Monday afternoon and Tuesday AM...upper cabinets, corner cabinet and SOLID maple butcher block countertops. Those suckers weigh a TON! I was secretly (okay, it was a secret!) proud of myself for being able to manhandle and lift them like I did. I had a chiropracticly induced stroke in 1994 and my right grip has never been as strong as before. So I was pretty excited that I didn't drop anything, was able to hold things up, etc.

Scoot over to Leigh's and check out other finds from wonderful bloggers (and non bloggers!)

http://lbratina.blogspot.com/2009/08/thrifty-thursday-31-and-tablescape.html

The Constitution and American Sovereignty

Slight drift into politics here. I receive this publication every couple of months and it is always thought provoking. Excerpts from speeches by David Limbaugh, Mark Steyn, Rush and others and there are many more in their archives. They lead to many conversations in our home and I often find my copy in my kids' rooms, or I send it to Specialist.

I think this one is particularly important to read and understand, then put in contrast to what has been happening in our nation in the past 20 years or so. Keep in mind the Texas court case mentioned, the Kyoto treaty, Law of the Sea proposed by the UN, etc. As a nation, we cannot submit our sovereignty to foreign countries. I've been reading British papers for a few years now, and I am sickened and astounded by the way they keep giving away their rights and sovereignty to the EU...which is nothing more than a huge bureaucracy. Amnesty International and the International Red Cross also sicken me. I refuse to donate to the Red Cross any more, and anyone who approaches me regarding anything like this gets one of two things...a question about their personal knowledge of the Constitution and how it expressly FORBIDS anything above it or why they are so stupid as to think that we need to do what Europe does. We left, remember?

Anyway, take a few minutes to read the article and ponder on it. Real food for thought. Any emphasis is mine.

"The Constitution and American Sovereignty

Jeremy Rabkin
George Mason University
"WOULD WE be far wrong," President Lincoln asked in a special message to Congress in 1861, "if we defined [sovereignty] as a political community without a political superior?" Maybe that’s not exhaustive, but it comes on good authority. And notice that for Lincoln, sovereignty is a political or legal concept. It’s not about power. Lincoln didn’t say that the sovereign is the one with the most troops. He was making a point about rightful authority.

By contrast, sovereignty wasn’t an issue in the ancient world. Cicero notes that the ancient Romans had the same word for "stranger" as for "enemy." In the ancient world, people didn’t interact with foreigners enough to think about their relation to them except insofar as it meant war. Nor was sovereignty an issue in medieval Europe, since the defining character of that period was overlapping authority and a lot of confusion about which authority had primary claims. No one had to think about defining national boundaries. This became an issue only in the modern era, when interaction between different peoples increased.

>snip<

The Constitution provides for treaties, and even specifies that treaties will be "the supreme Law of the Land"; that is, that they will be binding on the states. But from 1787 on, it has been recognized that for a treaty to be valid, it must be consistent with the Constitution—that <span style="font-weight:bold;">the Constitution is a higher authority than treaties.</span> And what is it that allows us to judge whether a treaty is consistent with the Constitution? Alexander Hamilton explained this in a pamphlet early on: "A treaty cannot change the frame of the government." And he gave a very logical reason: <span style="font-weight:bold;">It is the Constitution that authorizes us to make treaties. If a treaty violates the Constitution, it would be like an agent betraying his principal or authority.</span> And as I said, there has been a consensus on this in the past that few ever questioned.

Read the rest here please. Then comment if you please.

http://www.hillsdale.edu/news/imprimis.asp

Thrifty Monday and Met Monday

I'm joining Rhoda Southern Hospitality and Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Monday.

I went to a little consignment store here in town a few weeks ago. I had wanted to go in there for some time, but hadn't had the opportunity. I found a Christmas present there for Cabinet Man.

Back says Sweden, the front interprets to Father's Day 1971. Which leads me to wonder how it ended up in a small city in Northern Colorado! And since Cabinet Man is a cabinetmaker, how perfect is this? It is currently living in the top of Snickerdoodle's closet.

That was my available cash. I had to wait 2 weeks. She held the plate over a week for me. I have gone back in three times since and spotted this. Lovely, but seriously tarnished.Two sugar bowls, a creamer and a tray. Sugar, creamer are one pattern, second sugar bowl another pattern and a pretty tray. 4 piece set marked down from $25 to $10!

So, Saturday afternoon I sat down with my silver polish, soft cloths, sink of warm water, and paper towels (ala Bill at Affordable Accoutrements http://affordableaccoutrements.blogspot.com/2009/08/silver-for-your-table-from-goodwill.html). And my cable remote. Drop Dead Diva On Demand (http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/shows/drop-dead-diva) One of my new favorite shows but I have a hard time watching it in its slot. So I polished and buffed and ruined two fingernails in the process of getting to this. I already had the spoon and the Battenberg doilies were a gift from a friend's trip to Italy some years ago.

I'm not sure if it is silver or plated, the tray says Churchill on the bottom, one sugar bowl says FB Rogers Silver (it's plate) and I can't find markings on the other 2 pieces. I didn't find much on the F. B. Rogers. It was founded in 1883 and appears to still be around today.

Still have not finished the rattan patio set, but have a couple more projects to show you soon, including a score from the garage sale in Denver last weekend.

Bop on over to Rhoda's http://southernhospitalityblog.com/those-thrifty-finds/and Susan's http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ to see what else is up!

Thrifty Monday and Met Monday

I'm joining Rhoda Southern Hospitality and Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Monday. My Live Writer didn't want to publish my post so after fussing for a half hour, I said "Phooey" and just used Blogger. Hopefully it will work next time.

I went to a little consignment store here in town a few weeks ago. I had wanted to go in there for some time, but hadn't had the opportunity. I found a Christmas present there for Cabinet Man.




Back says Sweden, the front interprets to Father's Day 1971. Which leads me to wonder how it ended up in a small city in Northern Colorado! And since Cabinet Man is a cabinetmaker, how perfect is this? It is currently living in the top of Snickerdoodle's closet.

I have gone back in three times since and spotted this. Lovely, but seriously tarnished.Two sugar bowls, a creamer and a tray. One sugar and creamer are one pattern, second sugar bowl another pattern and a pretty tray. 4 piece set marked down from $25 to $10!



So, Saturday afternoon I sat down with my silver polish, soft cloths, sink of warm water, and paper towels (ala Bill at Affordable Accoutrements http://affordableaccoutrements.blogspot.com/2009/08/silver-for-your-table-from-goodwill.html). And my cable remote. And Drop Dead Diva On Demand (http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/shows/drop-dead-diva) One of my new favorite shows but I have a hard time watching it in its slot. So I polished and buffed and ruined two fingernails in the process of getting to this. I already had the spoon and the Battenberg doilies were a gift from a friend's trip to Italy some years ago.




I'm not sure if it is silver or plate,probably plate. The tray has Churchill on the bottom, one sugar bowl says FB Rogers Silver (it's plate) and I can't find markings on the other 2 pieces. I didn't find much on the F. B. Rogers. It was founded in 1883 and appears to still be around today.

Still have not finished the rattan patio set, but have a couple more projects to show you soon, including a score from the garage sale in Denver last weekend.

Bop on over to Rhoda's http://southernhospitalityblog.com/those-thrifty-finds/and Susan's http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ to see what else is up!

Thrifty Monday and Met Monday Sneak Peak

I went to Denver on Sunday for the day. Snickerdoodle won tickets, backstage passes AND private porta-potty passes to the Warped Tour this weekend. She's never been to an event like this and I told her those potty passes will be worth GOLD to her towards the end of the day ;D

Anyway, Sunshine and I were out on Friday to get school supplies so I had the truck. There is a senior housing place near us, cute LITTLE places...maybe 800 SF, but they are all single so I'm sure it's enough. Not much as they have already cleared out a lot of their things to move in. However, I found enough stuff ;D $10 so I was pleased.$3 VCR with remote (owned by a little old lady and only used on Sundays to view sermons taped by her son ;D) A very shallow bowl with a basket weave pattern around it for $1, the Christmas/Easter ornaments were $1.25. At the next one, a white glass wall lamp, hanging metal flower or greenery container that is being painted black as I type, and two cotton pillow cases with a crocheted blue trim and a Slip and Slide for $2!!! I offered her $5 for the 'box' and her daughter said YES! Sunshine did have to run back to get the kitty tin for a quarter.

I washed and starched the pillow cases.

Assembled the slip and slide (this is my Met Monday) This thing to the right actually goes over the slip and slide and when you use a hose splitter, it also pours water over you as you go under it.

This is the flower hanger that was in the first picture. I painted it black and hung it by the front door. I think I am going to have to painted the 'frame' for the doorbell black also.

I made my weekly trip to the landfill and grabbed several cans of black paint, a can of pink paint, various little things and a bottle of THIS!

I've never used it and not sure if I ever will. Maybe I'll make a laundry room vignette using that and the box of Faultless Starch I found a month or so ago. Of course, that would mean I would need to DO something with the laundry room in a rental where I am not allowed to redo the cabinets (or tear them out and put shelves and would be an absolute nightmare to paint as it has the furnace, hot water heater and washer/dryer in there...all on one wall. The cat's dish is on top of the dryer so the dog won't get into it, his litter box is in there as he refused to use it when I moved it to the garage and just went behind the door. He doesn't like change ;D Maybe when I get my own laundry room.

And here's the sneak peek for Met Monday...hopefully finished within the month. Unbelievably hideous fabric, but the batting wrapped foam is in excellent shape.

Sunday I drove down to Denver and oh my! I stopped at a yard sale that had gone to the FREE status. Charming little house that needed some TLC to be a great place. I got two dozen canning jars! FREE! I got 14 of the pint wide mouth jars (new drinking glasses!), 6 of the half pin ones for Sunshine to use, an odd size/shape on that I will use for a decorative thingie or storage. I also found TWO older aqua colored ones and one that is a pale green. I think the green one would be older, but I have to do some research.



I also scored NINE lampshades! I think I picked up around $60 worth of shades for FREE! This is all the free score in the chair. Sorry that the pic is awful.

So slide on over to Rhoda's Southern Hospitality at Home and Susan's Between Naps on the Porch and see what else was found!

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2009/08/welcome-to-30th-metamorphosis-monday.html

Nancy and the Astroturfers

A friend of mine on Facebook posted this today. I went to his website and read the entire thing. Wish I'd been in Denver yesterday. It would have been worth missing the garage sales I went to just to voice my opinion. Oh well, there is a rally here on August 22 that I'll be joining. Yes, I belong to a Tea Party group and I oppose the health care 'reform' that our president and Congress are pushing. (I told you there would be some politics here)

Here is an excerpt and a few pictures from El Marco's site. Please hop over and see more. Lookingattheleft.com



This was the scene when I arrived at Stout Street Clinic in downtown Denver. Nancy Pelosi is to pay a visit to the clinic within the hour. About 200 people opposed to Obama’s healthcare agenda braved the mile high Denver sun and high temperatures to show their opposition. Their signs indicate that they are well aware that they have been vilified and targeted in an Oval Office astroturfing campaign designed to discredit their opposition.

First let’s look at the messages and faces of these hardy dissenters. Take a close look so you can compare them to the community organizers who will soon enter the scene and harass them. These citizens have been described by the Democratic National Committee in an ad as “angry mobs organized by desperate Republicans and their well funded allies.

The Democrat party that funneled billions in the stimulus package to ACORN community organizers to organize, protest and agitate, this same party is now livid that private citizens attend townhall meetings.

These protesters told me that they pay their own way and question what the government is attempting to do to their health care.







I've talked to our representatives. They will not be taking the public option on healthcare. They will keep their gold-plated benefits for life. Including Bennet (D-CO) who is said to be a 'placeholder' for Gov. Ritter til he leaves office. Betsy Markey (D-CO) will not be taking it either, and neither will Mark Udall. They are all first termers and, I am hoping, single termers. But in a way, that doesn't matter. They will get hefty pensions and lifetime healthcare for two years or six years of service. Why is that right? Why do they get that?

I think Congress' benefits should be chosen and voted on by the people they represent. They should be allowed no say in what they receive. They get a raise every year, month long vacations and vacations that I pay for every year.

Thrifty Monday!

I was sitting here thinking, well, maybe I can do a post on being thrifty since I didn't find anything this week...oops, yes I did. ;D

I had to take Sunshine for her last day of summer school this week, so I did some "piddlin' around". Just me, the truck and a very small amount of cash. I wandered into a consignment shop that I'd seen for ages, but not be in to so this was my chance. She had some lovely stuff and we had a good talk also. Small business, banks and what this administration is trying to do to them. I picked up these two lovelies. A toile sewing....bag? Stand? What DO we call them? I think I paid $5 for it. I found a larger one at another shop that I'll try to get this week. I figured out how to change out the fabric on it. We're talking ugly 60s....but I love this one.

And I found this pretty little pic for our bedroom.....$3? I spent $8 so maybe they were both $4...

Just realized how bad that picture of the picture is ;D Sorry.

So cruise on over to Rhoda's and check out her goodies.  http://southernhospitalityblog.com/yardsaling-in-mountain-brook-jackpot/

Facebook

I think we either love it or hate it. It does drive me nuts that I know the minutae of the games/applications that my friends are using. I am SURE there is a way to turn it off, but I've not found it yet. But I will, 'cause I don't care. I want to know about their families, enjoy their pictures, etc., but the other I can do without.

And there are 'consequences' to it. The heartbreak that goes along with it.Finding out that the boy you had a crush on for ages did NOT age well. But I'm sure he's still the sweet man who married my friend. Secret satisfaction when you realize that you do look better than some of them, and the chagrin when you realize that some of them look better than you do ;D. And finding out that the sweet kid that had a major crush on you, the kid that had the guts to honor you when he first got his license and a car by asking you to be his first date in it. And that he didn't hold it against you when you had to turn him down as you had just met the man you were going to marry 2 years later. And the joy that he didn't hold it against you all those years and still held you affectionately in his memories, as you did him.

And the sorrow when you find that the parents of your friends have passed away. The ones who welcomed you into their homes (or not), the ones who teased you and worried over you. And the sorrow when you learn of teachers who have passed away, or the shock when the spouses of classmates or schoolmates pass away or are ill. Without FB, I wouldn't know that. But I also wouldn't have the privilege of praying for them and knowing that is one way of comforting them. And what a tremendous opportunity to also have them praying for you. And how cool is that? And what do people do when they don't have a 'connection' of some sort that they can call on prayer warriors when they need to and even when they don't?

Just a few thoughts on a sunny Saturday afternoon. When you are painting or sorting through paint at the landfill, you have a lot of time to think.

Happy Saturday everyone. And the rattan chairs are looking mighty fine!

Thrifty Thursday sucks!

Okay, so I am a little late in posting this. Things and life ya know. Anyway, I think I've mentioned that I needed a new vacuum cleaner. The Eureka we bought last year didn't last a year. Bagless. Bah. Even though it was only around $100, I expect it to last more than a year. Yeah, I've got pets, but why is it now necessary to buy a vacuum that specifically picks up pet hair? Vacuums in the past did, why do we suddenly need to buy a specific vacuum for that? Has pet hair evolved to the point where a regular ol' vacuum won't pick it up? Has hair gotten denser or more of it? Conspiracy I tell ya! It's a plot to convince us that global warming is real.

Anyway, I was complaining about it at work a few months ago (back when I actually had a job) and one of the guys mentioned that he just bought a Kirby from a guy he used to work with who rebuilds them. I jumped at that. We had a Kirby as few as 10 years ago (bought in a pawnshop) and I have NO idea why it didn't make the move to NC with us. I have my suspicions though. Anyway, this is the 4th vacuum that we have bought in the last 10 years. Seem excessive to anyone else? Planned obsolescence.

With no further ado, here is......hmmm, she doesn't have a name yet.

My 'new to me' Kirby AND tools....$40. We've been trying to get together for a couple of weeks, and he'd originally told me $70 for vacuum and  EIGHT tools. But $40! AND 3 bags! Got the first layer of pet hair up last night as soon as I got home and let me tell you whut! It's already looking better. I'll get to the furniture in the next few days, but I am THRILLED. It already looks better than it has in over a year.

New bristles on the beater, new hose, reinforced already where they usually break....I am so pitiful to be this excited by a new to me vacuum.

Also finished out my Albertson's stamps with a 5" knife that is like my other one. Again telling myself that it is NOT a $400 knife, we grocery shop there anyway so...

Head over to Leah's for more stuff.

http://lbratina.blogspot.com/2009/07/thrifty-thursday-28-and-tablescape.html