Okay then

 Yes I have another skin cancer (malignant melanoma), but just the one spot on my shoulder and the margins were clear with the hunk that the dermatologist took out.  My mole is just a mole and the pearl removed from my chin is nothing to worry about.  Good thing that I see my dermatologist every three or four months so that the little spots don't become huge surgeries like last September when she removed a spot from my cheek.  That was no fun.  Yes the biologic Rheumatoid Arthritis meds can cause your already haywire immune system to go wonky....and skin cancer is the result.   FYI I take no biologic meds for RA anymore.  I take Tylenol (six a day) and THC gummies which are legal in Minnesota.   The joint damage won't be stopped but at my age does it really matter...the biologics did not stop my pain...they just gave me skin cancer as stated in the adverse reactions.  

In other happenings.  I am making progress in Spring Cleaning.  I have 15 out of 17 kitchen drawers done and a few of the other cupboards.  I should finish up next week ...maybe.   I have been listing and selling a few things on facebook marketplace.  In the evenings I am working on a notebook of family history. I have added what I can to Find A Grave and discovered an error...that I need to work through...if people kept better records there would be less errors...it will take a fair amount of unraveling to figure it all out. 

Far Guy and I share cooking duties this week was; Naan Bread Pizza, Steak and Salmon, fend for yourself and Pork Chops and Rice. 

Far Side

That yarn

 That yarn that showed up the other day is working up quite nicely.   I work on it in late afternoons and evenings.  

I had a few glitches with the repeating mosaic pattern but those seem to be behind me.  Knock on wood! 

It will eventually be a cover for the front seat of Far Guy's new/old car.   The browns and cream match his interior, the green is a nod to his previous Desoto color and the turquoise just because we though it needed a pop of color.   It is a work in progress.   There is no set pattern to the repeat of the colors...I know kind of crazy for me:)

The yarn is Scheepjes Sport Weight Yarn a blend of Cotton and Acrylic.

Far Guy worked on his new /old car.  Our weather is nice enough to be out in the garage and not freeze to death.  Something about a heat riser that is either stuck open or closed.  We took out the back seat and put a new seat cover on the bottom part of the seat.

   I began spring cleaning the bathroom...I took all the drawer liners out of the drawers and washed them... the rest of the room is deep cleaned...just the linen closet and drawers left to do...and I should wash the shower curtain.  It will take me a few days to complete that room...I may have missed that room last Spring Cleaning. 

By afternoon I was tired so I went to my office (the couch) and watched The Dig on Netflix...I give it a 7 out of 10 stars ...it is based on a true story that takes place in 1939. 

Far Side

Two projects finished

 Remember all those ends from the Mosaic Crochet I was working on.  They have all been encased in the border stitch.  It was a little putzy but worth the effort!

This is an Apache Tears stitch worked one row at a time.  As you can see the reverse side is almost as pretty as the front.

The scarf will be put away until a special little girl grows up and needs a scarf. 

All the grey yarn has been used up...many wasp nests were made. 

They are all shapes and sizes.  I will mod podge them in the Spring when I can let them drip outside for an entire day.  I have a number of them that are complete and will be stored flat until a need arises.

I started Spring cleaning the Living Room...one corner is now done.  Spring cleaning will be a work in progress for some time.

Goodbye February Hello March!

Far Side

Pussy Willows and Spring Cleaning

The Pussy Willows are at the pollen stage.

They are done being cute individually.

However they still look good en masse.

The lake on Monday.

It was supposed to rain yesterday, it was cloudy but it didn't rain.

I worked on spring cleaning in the living room and I am a third done!  It will be slow going for a day or two...we have lots of woodcarvings on display that need to be cleaned.

 I broke a mirror so seven years of bad luck will follow me around unless I throw salt over my left shoulder. 

Far Side

Wood

Far Guy finished his carving.

What began like this...

Progressed...

It is a black walnut yarn bowl!  It works to hold my yarn so it doesn't roll all over.

This is the wood on the back...I love the color variations in some of the black walnut.

In other wood news both levels of log stairs have been spring cleaned!

Yesterday I made it off of the stairs and around the corner headed for the living room.  Pictures were taken down and cleaned...the wall washed and the floor scrubbed...section by section the living room  will be my project this week.

Far Side

Yarn, snow and busy work

My new yarn arrived, the walk to the mail box was worth it!

I am happy with these earthy colors.

It snowed off and on all day....some were real flakes and some was graupel or snowy balls.

I worked in the kitchen again yesterday.  Progress is slow...I have 1 cupboard and 3 drawers left. I have an open cupboard above the microwave...Far Guy said he could skip his upper arm exercises because I took my sweet time cleaning under the microwave while he held it up in the air.

I finished up a shawl while watching Love Wedding Repeat on Netflix...I give it an 8 out of 10...it is a romantic comedy.

I made steak enchiladas for supper.  New York Strip Steak fried to perfection...sliced thin and dumped on a soft tortilla shell rolled up and covered with green enchilada sauce and some cheese...yummy.  Better than any restaurant. 

Far Guy helped me with the cupboards, ran his vacuum,  did dishes, worked on his woodcarving and walked inside.

This is day 37 of Isolation for us.

Far Side

Rainy Day Project

Seems like everyplace we look lately there is a project to be done.

Last winter we talked about a different place for our carvings…they were here and there and everywhere.  Our good friend from Oklahoma City had a design in mind for some shelves next to the fireplace. He made them and brought them by a few weeks ago!  He is a sweetheart!!  I sealed them and then they became a rainy day project.  Our fireplace has two heavy duty timbers on both sides of the fireplace.

Before

After

All the carvings were cleaned…I use a small dry paintbrush on most of them. 

There was one carving that just wouldn’t fit…and I have two other carvings a Trillium and a Loon that are elsewhere in the house.

Yes that fireplace surround is a one of a kind.  We went to Menards and picked out three different colors of tile and smashed them with a hammer and it took me three weeks to put the pieces in place. Then the whole thing was grouted and sealed. The gas fireplace is our backup heat source if the electricity goes out.

One more wall in the house was spring housecleaned!

Cleaning Ovens

This could be a new sport.  Yes I know my oven is self cleaning BUT the last time I cleaned it the darn thing locked and Mr Fixit had to come and unlock it for me and I think he charged well over 100 dollars to do so.  SO I clean it myself…and save 100 dollars.

I don’t use smelly caustic oven cleaners either…I use baking soda and a green 3 M scratch pad thingy and lots of elbow grease…and some super duper athletic moves.

I practically have to do an arabesque to get close enough to clean the sides of the oven.  I was wishing that my kitchen was a true galley kitchen that way I could have put one leg up on a cupboard for support! A modified yoga move called a Downward – facing dog will get me to the back wall of the oven.  At one point I got dizzy…too much blood up there in my head.  When I broke into a sweat Far Guy took over for a bit…it was nice to have a break.  Too bad they don’t design an oven with a removable door so you could get closer to scour…you have to be careful too…one false arabesque or doggie move will take out that oven door that you have been cussing. Luckily that did not happen.  The oven racks were scrubbed and scrubbed until they looked like new and I will be protective of them for a few weeks anyway.  I laid on the floor to clean under the stove…I was almost long armed enough to reach all the way to the wall…I had to use Far Guy’s Mom’s old picker upper with a rag on the end of it to reach the far wall. Everything that could be taken apart was taken apart.  I cleaned as far down in the downdraft vent as my hand would let me without getting stuck.

The first part of the day was spent moving the fridge out of it’s spot.  I had cleaned it inside a few weeks ago…yeah me!

Yes I know none of the appliances match…who wants to be all matchy matchy anyways.  Some day this 20 year old Amana refrigerator will bite the dust and I can get a black one…or one of those fancy smancy silver ones.  I hope my Jenn-Air never bites the dust as they are pretty expensive now …it was one thing that I splurged on when we built the house.

The kitchen has been holding me hostage this week.  I am happy to be almost done…so happy I am taking today off…the open cupboards above the sink is all that is left and I hear there is a snowstorm coming so I will clean all those dishes and shelves during the snowstorm.

It feels really good to be almost done with this spring cleaning project.  In case you were wondering, all the cabinets by the fridge were custom built by a local craftsman….when I needed the rest of the cabinets for the kitchen he was too busy to do them so he gave Far Guy lessons and Far Guy and I built them piece by piece.  We designed them and built them.  The drawers were the pits to make…but I love them.

Spring Cleaning

Does anyone Spring Clean anymore?  I mean the really old fashioned spring clean, where everything is removed out of every nook and cranny in a room?

I finally finished spring cleaning the bathroom downstairs, I think I must have skipped last year…maybe even two years…shame on me.  Drawers were emptied out…new drawer liner was put in and everything put back in it’s proper place.  I should be able to find everything.  Expired medications were dropped off at the Sheriff’s Office for disposal.

A new bath rug was purchased and I may purchase another since it feels so good on our feet.  I did everything except deep clean the grout in the tile floor.

Not sure what room should be next?  Maybe the dining room, it has only one small drawer and a few bookshelves. Easily done in an afternoon if a peron puts her mind to it and isn’t distracted by a warm spring day or a bead project or day trips looking for more junk.

 

Snow

It snowed again, about an inch plus.  When Chance and I went to the Post Office is was a wintertime ground blizzard.  Our local Post Office is only open from 7-11 AM after that you have to drive all the way to a bigger town.  The wind howled…it spit snow most of the morning. 

Then the sun came out and nearly blinded us. 

We went for a ride after supper.

There was still some snow in the ditches.  We saw 17 Deer.  That is up from our 9 that we saw the other night.  No photo of them I was too busy counting or they were too far away.

My project for the afternoon was going through the medicine cupboard.  Everything out of date is getting tossed or taken in to the Sheriff’s Office.   I asked my husband why he had so much Stool Softener?  He claims that the last time he had diarrhea I bought him Stool Softener instead of the tablets that plug you up.  He said he thought it was weird at the time. ( Could it be that subconsciously I thought he should poop himself to death?  What kind of idiot would want a liquidy watery stool more soft?)

Cold tablets that are more than ten years old were tossed too…along with some Calamine Lotion that must be twenty years old. At least I now have some idea what we have on hand…and all pooping problems are well covered. 

Busy, Busy

I don’t know where the days go.  Time seems to fly right by and before you know it the day is over.

I managed to get the Living Room spring cleaned, it wasn’t on my list but it just needed to be done. Some days are like that around here.  I flit from project to project never finishing anything…but the Living Room is done!

Far Guy has a bad cold  AGAIN.  I think it is a secondary infection from the cold he had a few weeks ago. I  strongly suggested he go in to see his Doctor.  He probably needs a round of antibiotics to get over it.   But what do I know?  I guess if he wants to suffer along trying to get better all by himself then when he fails I will drag him to the ER.  A Doctors Office visit should be no big deal when you are sick… the ageing can go from just a little sick to really sick in a couple of hours.  I want him to get better so we can do fun stuff. 

We had a nice afternoon up at Itasca State Park.  I have been in the park over the past few years but not to the new Visitor’s Center.

This is quite an improvement over the old Visitor’s Center that one was in a  log building and always seemed dark inside. I am not certain when this new building was finished.

They have a couple of really nice gliders for relaxing!

They still have the afternoon cruises on Lake Itasca and I want to return for lunch someday.  We have a season pass and it is only about 30 miles from our home.  I want to see the Lady Slippers in bloom.   Sunrise at the Headwaters would be just perfect too.  Just a few things on my retirement list!

Stupid Stoves

Last week it was the outdoor wood furnace.  It has a busted underground water line..and you know with the snow we have a repair will not be happening anytime soon.  Last year in April we had mild spring type weather…not so much this year. We are staying warm..but it is not at all like our wood heat.  The cozy warm spot in front of the kitchen sink where the water pipes run..is now icy cold..even Chance was confused..he liked to lay there and melt after a romp in the snow.

Yesterday I turned the oven on to clean..it got really hot and beeped and displayed error codes..and beeped some more.  I am not sure if the inside of the oven is cleaned or not because we cannot open the door, the lock will not unlock, and the fan is on and will not shut off.  We finally just shut the breaker off.. the stove top still works..if I want to cook which I don’t I will have to turn the breaker on to use the stove top.

Far Guy says, “I suppose all our stuff is getting old and will fall apart.”  Both stoves are heading toward that 15 year mark…as is the fridge.  I am sure nothing will happen to that fridge..I dislike it so much that it will last forever.  The Jenn-air stove I love..and new ones cost an arm and two legs…so we will hope this one can be repaired.

I am still doing my “winter cleaning”  and I am in the kitchen now.  I am having a blast:)

March 13 2013

The gremlin in my computer reared his ugly hear again.  I finally surrendered and took him and my desk top to the repair shop.  It has been giving me fits when it had updates where it had to restart. System restore didn’t work this time from any of the recent restore points and system recovery was the pits.  So I gave up.

I have most everything backed up.  My photos are on the Simple Saves.  Some of the files on the Simple Saves are duplicates..I will get it all straightened out sooner or later. It is discouraging..but not devastating.

I will struggle along with the laptop until my desk top is fixed. Some people like laptops..not me. I have one for it’s portability when we travel and as a backup.

I am still exhausted from the time change.

We finished with the cleaning of the grout..yeah!  Cross something off the list!!

It is supposed to snow again…bet you wish you lived in Minnesnowda!

This is my flag for March..my other little garden flag is totally buried by the snow:)

Spring Cleaning

It is that time of year…clean some things out and straighten them up so your obsessive compulsive self can have a few weeks off before returning to work on May 1st. 

I am slowly making headway on “the list.”  I have lots of unfinished projects..too many. I should learn to say no.  Some things will not get done… they will wait until Fall and go back on the “list.”

One of the projects in the works is super cleaning the grout in-between the tiles on the lower level of our home.  Far Guy has been helping..you use a toothbrush…need I say more?  It is tedious.  The grout after it is dry is resealed for another 4 or 5 years.  The next time it needs to be done I will be older..I hope I can still crawl around on the floor then.  The grout is beige..originally it was supposed to be Hershey Bar Chocolate brown, but that color was backordered.  So beige it is and it is beautiful when it is clean.  We have about 800 square feet of tile and we are half done..and my arms are getting sore. I love my tile except when it comes to cleaning the grout.  The house in Harwood North Dakota had beige tile with Hershey Bar Chocolate colored grout..sometimes I miss the floors in that house…and the lake when it isn’t flooding and the fenced in dog yard and doggie doors…and the neighbors..but I digress.

Betcha didn’t know that I laid all the tile here in the house.  Far Guy and Chance were the tile layer’s assistants.  I read a bunch of books..and figured I could do it..and so I did. The proper tools are essential, a couple of levels, a great trowel and a good mud maker/tile cutter (Far Guy).  It took us the better part of a month from start to finish..because you have to wait for things to dry out before you can grout..and then that grout has to cure a bit before it is sealed. It was a huge project, but well worth the time invested versus hiring a professional.

We are supposed to get some weather again..a wintery mix..which could mean freezing rain or snow Friday night and Saturday..lately these storms seem to be an every weekend kind of occurrence.

A beautiful yellow Pansy will chase the winter doldrums away:)

Spring Cleaning

I have been doing some spring cleaning. Mindless, boring work. Presently I am working in the kitchen..one of my not so favorite rooms in the house. Yesterday it was nice enough to open the kitchen window and let in some fresh air. It was 43 degrees.. Far Guy swears it was up to 55 degrees..I am not so sure about that..he may have been seeing things. Usually I crank up the tunes on my computer and sing and clean...somehow yesterday just did not seem like a singing kind of day. So I indulged in some quiet cleaning and reflection..

How in the world do these cobwebs just appear out of no where..one day there are none..the next day there are a whole colony of them.

How does the top of the Fridge get so dusty..and why aren't my arms longer so I can reach all the way to the back..this goes along with why couldn't I have been just a couple of inches taller as I am cleaning the light fixtures and stretching on my tippy toes on a chair. Did my knees feel this wobbly going up and down on this chair the last time I needed to be taller? So I want to be taller with really long arms..just so I can clean more efficiently.

I need to sew a new set of kitchen curtains..I have the design in my head.. I purchased a new decorative rod..I have material..I could sew..not today..I need all my fingers to keep cleaning. I hinted to my Mom a while ago..that I had a new rod..and wouldn't a new valence look smashing..she took the measurements and everything. I even told her about the design in my head, with the loops and cute buttons. She has material too..

Why do I have so many decorative things on the shelves that are nothing but dust catchers. What should I pack away..or sell..or recycle..or eat. I have a small box of Harry Potter Bertie Bott's Beans.. the flavors..Grass, Booger, Ear Wax, Soap, Vomit, Sardine, Earthworm, Dirt and Black Pepper are what keep me from taste testing those little treasures.

Then I needed a break..and a nap..no sense in knocking myself out, I could croak overnight and all this cleaning will have been for nothing. The remaining dust will wait, my spring cleaning may take all spring:)