I'll be hiding ...

Have a great weekend!

It will be a busy one over here and we are going to try soak it all in.

If you're in Phoenix with us this weekend ....

I'm praying for sunshine!

what is poop?

 I recently was invited to, and attended, an online book party that I'd never heard of.

I found some serious treasures and picked up a few.

This one happens to be a book called

What is Poop?

Serious giggles while we read the book and lift the flaps on the pages.

I learned a few things myself!

So much fun that he is reading it to his littlest brother.

I'm booking a party soon.

Let me know if you're interested and I'll send you an invite.

So fun!

they're here!

I may not be really crazy about the idea of my parents traversing the country anymore,

but I am so very glad they are here safely.

They raced out of Minnesota ahead of a storm last week and safely arrived

at our home on Wednesday.

We get the pleasure of their company for two weeks.

Or longer if we can convince them.

Grandma has found her spot.

She and I love to create things. She has been a quilter for a long time and it became very difficult when eyesight started going. Now she's sporting these fancy specs that allow her to sew again! It may take a few attempts, but she can actually thread a needle! I can't imagine having to give up the things I enjoy. The very things that bring you pleasure and peace. I'm so very glad that she is able to enjoy fabric in her hands again. In fact, I am sending quilt pieces home with her. I took a quilt down with me several years ago and haven't even started to look at it. She is going to try get it done before the fair next summer. I'm guessing she will.

Sebastian and his great grandpa.

They're buddies.

It is cool weather for those of us who live here year round and
have systems that also need to tolerate 120 degrees.

For the visitors, who have been trying to keep warm in negative temps, it is a treat.

They arrived in time for dear hubby to do some Valentine shopping ...

for both of the women here.

He's a keeper.

For sure.

I didn't manage a photo, but Sunday we had Jane and Hazel for lunch after church.

So fun to have Jane in the home where parts of her heart still live.

Fun afternoon with friends.

Looking forward to a busy week with more family and friends in town!

dishwasher dysfunction

Friday evening, after a day of baking and creating, 

I loaded up the dishwasher and went to turn it on.

No power.

Nothing.

Dishwasher dead.

Whaaat???!!!

It is plugged into an outlet under the sink that proved to have no power to it at all.

Our breakers make no sense for now.

One breaker might turn off half a bedroom and half the dining room.

I ran around trying to see if anything else wasn't working.

Nope. Everything was good.

So I ran an extension cord into the house and hooked up the dishwasher.

Voila!

The miracle that is electricity flowed right through that cord and the dishwasher lit up.

So I ran the load of dishes with the cord stretched out the door.
Jari couldn't figure it out.
Maybe it was jumpered off another box on the wall?
Who knows.
This cord thing worked.
We have company coming to stay but I figured I'd just tuck that extension cord under the sink and pull it out to an outlet when I needed to.

Don't you just love a floor that needs a broom?!

I was in the other room and hubby called for me.
Said he figured it out!
Told me to stand and look at the area just above the dishwasher.
I did and didn't see anything except that I apparently sprayed paint all over the thing that holds my scrubbies while I was cleaning a paint brush. (Am I the only one that cleans their brushes in the kitchen sink?)

And then he pointed it out to me.
That little switch on the wall was flipped.
I had no clue what that little switch was for.
Had no idea why it would be taking up wall space when it did nothing.

Apparently, it has a very important job.
Unless you like washing dishes by hand ... it powers the outlet where the dishwasher plugs in!

Good to go bake some more!

be our valentine?

I will be the first to admit that my intentions are good.

Really, they are.

The following through with those intentions doesn't always work so good.

Valentine's is one of those.

My mom has always done such a tremendous job of sending cards and all that good stuff.

Me ... not so much.

I'm usually a day late and a dollar short.

This year ... I got it done.

First the fun part.

Selfies to try make some valentine cards.

Oh. My.

It would have been handy to have these a little smaller, but 4x6 they ended up.

I have finally figured out how to get decent pictures out of my printer.

It helps to adjust both the computer and the printer to know that I am printing photos.

Then I went to work creating cards with some papers that have been sitting here for much too long.

Next stop ... a bag of suckers. 

I sat in the car in the parking lot of the grocery store and punched holes and added suckers.

Oops! 

Our hands are holding the suckers and I guess it's a game of  Guess Who is Behind the Sucker.

I have a roll of bubble wrap that has proven to be ever handy.

Wrapped each card in bubble wrap, tucked them into a small manila envelope ...

drove over to the post office and off they went!

Have a Happy Valentine's Day friends!

ice sculpture

Elliott Jari

Welcome baby love!

We proudly announce the birth of another boy grandchild.

In case you're wondering ... this makes 7 little boys and 2 girls.

Wish we were there to love him up but then again ...

it is the coldest weather North Dakota has seen in years.

Soon ....

A captured Snapchat shot ...doesn't he just look ready to take on this world?

Love that hair!

And I think he got his namesakes forehead.

Just sayin'.

Welcome little luv.

Spreading paint

Last weekend Jari left on Friday to the sand dunes. I had all the goods lined up before he left and started moving furniture before he hit the freeway.

You know those fancy little coffee cup pictures you see people post?

This was my attempt at a paint version of the same.

I started with one wall in our bedroom. That bucket above may look white but I was spreading gray joy on walls. Back to that one wall in the bedroom. It was white and I have an off white antiqued mirror to hang on it. It sort of needed to go gray in my opinion. Hopefully it will be done this week and I can share with you next week!

The other gray was two walls of the laundry room. I really could have done all four walls, but it would require moving way too much stuff. Then there is the reach behind the hot water heater. Not happening. Two walls and some shelves were my goal. The shelf above the washing machine is to hold chargers. I don't really know why I have that charger in the laundry room, but apparently that is where it lives. It also charges the batteries for my favorite circular saw and cordless drill. The problem was that the charger sat on top of the trash can lid and I couldn't get into the trash can.

I know. I am a little over the top.

But I can get into the trash can now! Artwork will come some other day. This room is not air conditioned during the summer and gets a little toasty. No need to get all fancy in a room where I really don't want to spend a lot of time anyway.

Shelves. Do we ever have enough of those to house all of our junk? This is the case of light bulbs. They were hanging out in a place I didn't think was smart or safe ... considering the cost of light bulbs. So I added shelves above the door, around the corner and down the other wall. Sort of. My light bulbs are now in a secure place. I can find them which is a super duper bonus and .... things make more sense.

I spent a good deal of time messing around with this business over the weekend, but have to say that I didn't spend one measly penny on any of it. The boards for the shelves are cedar fencing left over from that sauna business. The metal brackets were used a while ago in a trailer of Jari's and removed when he sold it. The paint .... left over from when we moved in and painted.

I found a brand new 4x4 nice long hunk of wood in the cedar pile while I was digging on Saturday. My plan has been to build garden boxes, but they still aren't done. Should have been done weeks ago! I ran out of time this weekend and I ran out of juice.

Not that I'm going to stop but some days the end of the day is just a challenge.

Let's see what I can get done this weekend!
Pulla baking is high on the list.

Sunday rain day

Sunday morning in a wet world.

It would be so fun to wake up some morning and see mounds of fluffy white stuff.

Just once in this yard.

(Especially in July or August.)

On the job list: buy plants. dig holes. plunk plants into holes.

Even the chicken compound was getting wet.

Speaking of which .. I am going to figure out some kind of netting over the whole thing. 

I have birds (at least the pigeons haven't found us yet) eating chicken food nonstop.

I have the honor of driving an elderly gentleman to church on occasion.

Sunday was one of those days.

Sunday was also one of those days when diffusing a little peppermint oil 

('cuz it is in my purse ALL the time) was the order of the morning ..

along with cracking both back windows.

Last week in our world

Last Wednesday we watched as the midwest froze. Meanwhile on Wednesday .....

I was wearing flip flops for a minute. Usually it might really be socks and slippers at this time of year, but Wednesday was kind of nice.

A normal day over here looks like this. I ran errands on Thursday after working later than I ought to. Happened by the drive thru Panda on my way home and he was still at it. This is normal. Really. So is that Amazon box on the right side. Amazon loves our address.

I have googled what chickens eat so many times this week. Can they eat this? Can they eat that? Apparently, they can eat leftover rabbit food. They're to the point of eating pellets now so here goes.

I'm waiting for the bag to empty. Can you see reusable bags in my future? I might even start hauling them into the grocery store with me. Now wouldn't that be something?!

I really don't know what the world expects us to put dirty diapers in when they get rid of grocery bags, but I'm sure we will figure out something.

Until that happens ... have a fabulous week and make someone smile today.

chicken house

Free range chickens you say?

Free range no more.

The things took up residence on my patio when we weren't home and apparently take a poop with every step. You'd think they were old with no control, but they aren't even laying yet!

It isn't like they didn't have anywhere else to hang out.

Good gravy!

We have leftover cedar from that sauna project, so the chickens got a new residence. Rather stately, if I say so. The other one was quite darling, but made of the cheapest wood you can buy in China. We also needed laying boxes for four beauties. So we enclosed both houses with a fence. They have plenty of room to run around in there and if I'm feeling very generous .... I might just open the gate now and again. If we start having an ant problem again this summer ... protein for the girls on weekend days. It will be kind of like taking them out for dinner. Hopefully they themselves don't end up being dinner. The hawks are back up on the power poles in the neighborhood.

In the meantime ... they have lodgings. The roofs, and perhaps the trim, are getting paint on them. The painter person wasn't feeling well last weekend so she spent some time under blankets on the couch instead of wielding a paintbrush. Coming soon ... along with all those other things.

They have laying boxes with a cover that just lifts up for easy egg picking.

And ... they have light to welcome them home at night. My parents will be here in February as long as all goes well. Mom had a great time telling Alexa which lights to turn off and on last time they visited. Wait 'til she starts turning the chicken house lights off and on! Serious ... we can leave and remote control their night light for them.

Omelets anyone?