Catching Up

Its been awhile since I have posted anything. A lot has happened and yet, not much really. When you don't have kids time sort of stands still - each day like the next, and then one day you wonder where all the time has gone?

I turned the big 4-0 this year (while Daisy turned 10). So the dream of having a family is officially over for us. No more hormones and meds, etc. We needed some new hobbies and goals so Paul finally got his dream car - a 73 Mustang Mach 1. It needs a ton of work, but it runs and we take it cruising when the weather permits. So now we are also looking for a new house -- one with a garage.

Paul's Nan passed away. She was the head of the family and will be very much missed. I have one of her older watches, which the younger ladies in the family didn't seem too interested in. I love it and wear it every day to work. And I finally caved and for my birthday admitted I am huge and will probably be pretty big most of my life, so I went and got my wedding rings< sized. Now I can finally wear them again. Now I have rings and a watch I wear ever day --- geeze this is a lot for someone who doesn't wear much jewelery. LOL.

We also had the first family reunion at our house this year. It was the first without Nan. It was not the same without her, but it went well I think. Now that the kitchen and bathroom are renovated (well 98% done)I wasn't embarrassed to have people in my house for a change. It was nice. Soon after we had a storm and a tree fell on our shed while Daisy and Paul were in it. Thankfully it wasn't one of the big trees, which we are now working on getting taken down before they fall.

Paul's uncle had a very bad motorcycle accident with a SUV and thankfully will eventually recover, but no one knows how he is even alive. I think Nan was watching that day.

I really wanted to something a tad adventurous for me this year and go to Tree Go, where you climb around in the tree tops on ropes. Also was going to start horseback riding. But the universe had other plans for me. I had to have my gallbladder out suddenly and had some complications and ended up back in the hospital, so I was laid up for a month and then still had to take it easy for another. Now I am in the worst shape of my entire life. Oh well. So I took up knitting instead. I wish I had paid more attention when Nan tried to teach me 30 years or so ago. Made some dishcloths and now am working on a scarf.

The Paris trip is put on hold until spring. But if we buy a new house, that won't happen. Someday I will see you again Paris!

Etsy and Homesteading

I am so totally addicted to Etsy. What am I buying? Everything...that's the problem..haha! For those of you who have never heard of it, Etsy is a global website that sells all hand made items, vintage items or supplies to make hand made items.

Today I bought a vintage coffee percolator exactly like my grandparents used to have. I've been reading a lot of homesteading books lately, and when I read Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginrich (check out her awesome blog at http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.ca/) and she talked about her love of coffee in the percolator, I knew I just had to find one. And yes, just like everything else in life, coffee is indeed better with chocolate.

I just also finished reading Farm City by Novella Carpenter (http://ghosttownfarm.wordpress.com/). I really liked the parts about the gardening and community, but no so much about the animals for food parts. Cool fact - you can even see the exact corner of her garden and house on Google Maps. Yea, I'm a geek.

So back to shopping. I have been searching high and low for good mint soap. I bought many bars with no luck. Mint soaps should smell like mint, right? I guess not everyone agrees. Until I found this shop that sells the best mint soap in the world (in my humble opinion). I'm on my second batch now and the Rosemary Mint is soooo good (https://www.etsy.com/shop/lingerbathandbody). I also like the Spearmint Eucalyptus, which isn't as strong, but great for the laundry room sink. Bonus, its also pretty. :-)

Some other things I have ordered were cleaners to clean out my reusable straws for my travel cups, a set of beautiful wooden coffee spoons, a handmade canvass purse, many necklaces, seeds (I have my "travelers tomatoes" started in the sunroom now), bath melts and so on. I have looking at a spice rack that matches the dutch pattern on my Nan's recipe box perfectly, but it is $70. I can't bring myself to pay that for an one foot spice rack, no matter how much I like it. Oh well. I can still look at it and drool. They also have a matching tray. Danger danger! LOL.

And thanks to all the reading I have been doing about homesteading lately, I have developed a fetish for roosters. Another thing to drool over. And since my love of any and all things French, I actually found a set of rooster mugs from France. Just my luck. They are actually more in my budget, so I may have them ordered by the end of the week. Oh boy. Good thing I will be in Houston next week and will be too busy to shop ...well at least online. ;-)

Infinity Scarves - Daisy's Designs

If you are into infinity scarves, you may want to check this store out. You can click on the links on the top of the sidebar to the right, which are active URLs.

Daisy's Designs

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DaisysDesignsCo

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Daisys-Designs/569356636408300?ref=ts&fref=ts