Category Archives: Family

Building

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I got out of my comfort zone on the weekend. I helped my dad make progress on his guest house project.

Duke appointed himself honorary foreman and I was in charge of climbing, fetching and toting. Thank goodness for electric staple guns.

We managed to fully insulate this shed and get over half of the tongue and groove flooring done. Boy oh howdy am I sore! That was a lot of lifting and bending. Not sure who was more sore me…or my dad. We just need a few cool days so we can finish the floor!

Happy Constructing!!

Laundry TikTok Hack

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It’s a hot and sweaty summer here in Kansas. And I got sucked in by the doom scrolling….I saw a laundry hack on Instragram/Tik Tok that I had to try. I put our master bedding (which I laundry regularly) and put it through a stripping process.

Boy howdy did it work! I used one part borax, one part washing soda and one part powdered tide. I made the soup and dunked my sheets and coverlet. After and hour the water was gunky and I washed the set in my machine to remove the rest of the cleaning agents.

What came out was less oily, especially on the husbands side, and much softer. I think this process is supposed to lift stuck in oil and soap reside for a cleaner feel. I will definitely be going this again!

Sorry if I traumatized anyone with my laundry photos!

Alpacas On Vacation

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Safely in DC and sweating my butt off at the National Zoo. The pandas are the main attraction but I spotted an Alpaca at the petting zoo. And I couldn’t resist a photo.

My Midwest self is a little puzzled how this is a zoo attraction when they are all over Kansas but I remembered that I am in a major metro….

I can tell these babies had their spring or early summer shear and are growing back their coats. I even got bonus points from my travel companion for knowing they were not llamas but actually alpaca. We were both befuddled by the cow exhibit next door. Again, our Midwest was showing!

Outdoor Crafting and Peace

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Now that the summer sweltering has eased, I finally kicked my patio project into high gear. And I am super happy with the results. I spend many of a pleasant morning drinking coffee and knitting in the cool shade.

Our fence posts had become loose during the wet summer so we pulled and reset those. And while we were there, we replaced some of the cross beams. Then we power washed and re-stained the fence. Followed by power washing the contract and some SUPER cheap amazon patio furniture. And the icing on the cake are some solar lights attached to the fence lining for soft glow.

I may only have a couple of months left to enjoy so I am going to soak up all the outside time!

Let’s Fence

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Our patio fence had started to lean last year so we had to pull the two panels and re-cement the post. And it was covered in algae. So we pulled out our power washer and got to work. Okay, I hired a college student to do it.

We still need to reseal the fence with some oil or finish. And then I have BIG plans: outdoor solar lights, hammock time, clean concrete, trimmed trees. Basically an outside oasis for mom since the family has taken over the rest of the house.

Honestly, it feels good to make some progress on long standing house projects!!

The Yarn Is Safe

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We woke up to this surprise this past week. Just about an inch to 1/2 inch of water in the laundry room and basement guest room. Many cuss words were said and we immediately set to emergency response. My yarn lives in the basement, but it is safe. Thanks the deities!

The sump pump died and chaos ensued. We moved all the items, installed new sump, and did ever so much cleaning. We are probably 18 hours of work in and the carpet is still drying and EVERYTHING smells bad. I did however lose an entire box of my knitting books, including all my yarn harlot books….

For now the silver lining is that plastic totes saved our butts and it gave me a chance to really purge in the storage area. I’m on two loads of donations and I have 5 totes of kids clothes identified as my next project.

I’m really excited to get back to knitting!!

Mom Skills

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PB reached 100 days of school and celebrated by dressing up as a granny. Per my usual MO, I went to Amazon to help this working momma out. But alas the kit came WAY to big and way to late to exchange.

So it was my sewing machine to the rescue. I had to take up 10 inches which meant a 5 inch hem. I did not cut off any fabric so as she grows I can just pick out the stitches and let the “dress” down to fit her.

She was EXCITED. She had her cane, purls, granny glasses and dress. We skipped the skull cap and wig because I don’t hate her teacher. And bonus, she can now play Grannies like they do in Bluey. IYKYK

Happy Sewing!

Dark Humor

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I was recently at a bakery and found the perfect gift for my former work bestie. She has moved to another company and I miss her dearly. She and I enjoy self deprecating humor and the occasional cocktail. This towel fits her PERFECTLY.

I think I am going for work up a little “new job” basket and add this towel, a bottle of wine, some chocolate and a fidget toy. We don’t really do birthdays or Christmas and prefer random acts of kindness.

Happy Tuesday!