Day 6

Today was a day that would have been better if I hadn't had plans. I didn't get anything done that I wanted to. Oh, I did start a couple of things, but getting them finished was another matter. I washed my comforter today and was so looking forward to sleeping under a yummy-smelling blanket. But, while I was cooking supper, I looked out and it was raining! Aaaargh! The comforter is now drying on the rack by the stove. It just won't be the same.

I think most of the reason I was out of sorts and cranky today is that I stayed up until midnight last night and got up at 5 this morning. Five hours of sleep just isn't enough to have to function properly all day. I don't know how I did it when Henry was a baby. Of course, I don't remember most of his first year, either!

He was cranky and irritable today, too. He looked like he could have gone to sleep at any point all afternoon, but then put up a horrible fight at bedtime. First, his jammies had a hole in the toe, and it was making him crazy. Then, he wanted to brush his teeth. Then, he wanted some water. He got the water, but I know he's going to wake up (and wake me up) soaking wet at about 12:30 or 1. I'll just have a new pull-up and jammies ready for him. The less disruption I have the better it is.

So, for now, I am going to clean up the kitchen and get the coffee pot set up for tomorrow. Hopefully I will get a few things accomplished!

Days 4 and 5

I missed writing yesterday because I was thoroughly exhausted from cleaning, cooking, etc. I did manage to get the school bookshelf cleaned and organized. I did not do the portfolios, but the papers are organized and can be put into the sleeves at another time. I threw away two wastebaskets full of junk! I thought the best bit of stuff that I threw away were the two year old magazines. For God's sake, why do I keep this stuff?

I also made a fantastic (if I do say so myself) turkey dinner. Home grown turkeys are just the bomb. I can't even imagine eating a store-bought turkey again;, with all the injected solution and junk? Ick! Since it was an absolutely enormous bird, there are plenty of leftovers. We had turkey salad for lunch, and I will be making white bean and turkey chili later in the week. I may even make enchiladas!

I got school stuff all printed out and ready to go, too. Monday mornings go so much better if everything is in order. This is probably why I conked out at 10 and slept like a stone until 6:30 a.m.!

Today, I bought a bin to put more yarn in. That should go a long way to getting the front porch organized. If we get the shelves put up, that will help a lot, too.

I also made a big pot of minestrone soup for supper. I have been craving it for the last couple of weeks. I used two quarts of tomatoes that were canned last August, beet greens and squash from the garden that I froze sometime last summer, and our garlic. I had to use store-bought onions, carrots and celery. It was very good. There is enough left to freeze some, and to have it for lunch for the rest of the week.

Tomorrow is vacuuming, dusting and bathroom day. The weather is supposed to be nice, so I will also do at least two loads of laundry. Slowly, slowly, it's coming together.

Day 3

I did get the kitchen counter mostly cleaned off today. That was nice. I really don't know why I let the mess creep up on me so much. I honestly don't know how people have perfectly neat and tidy houses all the time. I wonder what the chink in their armor is. One of my problems is that I don't have a lot of room for storage. I know there are people who have closets packed full of stuff so that no one sees their junk. We don't have closets in this house. Therefore, all of our junk is out for full view and assessment. I suppose it a way, it keeps us honest.

I also got the unique pleasure of cleaning up the mess after the toilet overflowed. I usually stand right there and make sure the five uses and subsequent TP go down without incident, but this time I got distracted. YUCK! Cleaning that mess led to another load of laundry, bringing today's total to 3 loads.

So, I didn't get to the school bookshelf, but that is on the list for tomorrow. We are having turkey and the works for supper, so I will have that delicious smell to work to tomorrow afternoon.

Day 2

I didn't do any cleaning or sorting today because I had to go grocery shopping. That was enough to wipe me out. Since my knee is still ouchie from tripping over the dog, it took me forever to limp all over Olean. I did buy plastic sleeves for the portfolios, though. I will be cleaning the school bookshelf this weekend, and getting quite a bit of the portfolios done at the same time.

I also plan on tackling the kitchen counter to see if I can reduce the mess there. This coming week is supposed to be very nice, weatherwise, so I will be able to do a bunch of laundry to get the winter stuff put into proper bins, get my curtains and bedding all washed and sun bleach some garbage cans.

For now, it's bed! The dogs will be up in a few hours to go out. I wish I could just open the door and let them go, but I'm not sure they would come back. Past experience has made me very flinchy. Only a few more days of bundling up (I hope!).

Lent

I gave up on being a Catholic years ago. There are so many things that I just don't agree with regarding the Church, that I decided it was better to leave all together than to be a giant, raging hypocrite. So, here we are, another Lenten season upon us, and I have a strange lost sort of feeling about not giving anything up. The truth is, I don't want to give up anything. I am stressed out all the time, so having the added stress of a sacrifice that is supposed to make me stronger seems absurd. Years ago, the priest at my parent's church said that one doesn't necessarily have to give something up, one could instead do something that would make her or him stronger or better in some way. So, with that in mind, here is what I want to do over the next 38 days of Lent: I want to get my house straightened up. I want to have it clean and organized. I want it to not look like such a dump all the time. This is going to take A LOT of work, but it gives me a goal. I am going to get rid of all of the clothing that doesn't fit anyone, get rid of the garbage and just generally dig out of the mess. I'll keep you all posted on the progress.

I'm Baa-aaa-ck!

At least I hope I am. My life has been kind of crazy, but not so crazy at the same time. Mostly, I just keep my head down and keep my shoulder to the grindstone. Since I last wrote, a lot of crappy things have happened. On September 12, my beloved mother-in-law passed away very suddenly - while I was on the phone with her. Seriously. It was horrible, and the aftermath was stressful and ugly, but has since calmed down. Then, on September 18, my beloved dog, Darkside, walked out of my life. Literally. The dog we kept in the sheep barn got loose and he and Darkside left to do whatever it is dogs do. September was not a good month, to say the very least.

The holidays were stressful and completely unfun. I couldn't wait to get Christmas over with and get the new year started. This year couldn't possibly be as bad as the end of last year, right? The jury is still out. This winter has been very hard on all of us, especially Jim. I hope the weather gets better very soon so that we can put some food in the ground and get going on the things that make us happy.

I am knitting, though. That's a constant. I finished four projects last week! I started a new project today - a design by my friend Lobug of Lobug Designs. She is awesome and I can't wait to really get into this cowl. I also started a counted cross stitch project. It's (hopefully) going to be a Christmas gift for Elias. Therefore, it must remain a secret. Shhh!

Henry has become a completely crazy three year old. He loves dinosaurs, Little Critter and the marble run. He eats like a horse and is as big as a four year old. He's also my sweet little baby who just melts my heart. Thank God for little Henry.

Jacob and Elias are growing into fine young men. I can't believe that Jacob will be 15! Eeek! Time flies. For all of you with wee little ones, enjoy every single day with them. Time passes so quickly, and then their voices change and they have little mustaches and they are grown up. It's like the "Love You Forever" book that just makes me sob buckets thinking about it.

Anna is a sweet young lady who loves reading, horses and reading about horses. She also paints, writes and plays a mean game of Battleship. She's going to give boys a run for their money, for sure!

Then, there is Noah. He is amazing! He is doing such awesome work for school. He is doing late 3rd grade math, reads on a 4th grade level, is a really good speller and loves anything to do with animals. He's also very quick-witted and funny. I couldn't be happier that we are homeschooling him. I don't think he ever would have grown as much as he has if he had gone to school.

There. All caught up. Now, if I can remember to do this a little more often, we'll be in business.

Our New Garden

Another year of gardening has begun! We got the onions and the peas in today. Last year, Jim bought a seeder to make planting the beans, peas, corn, etc. quicker and easier. I will tell you that thing is worth its weight in gold! I got eight 25 ft. rows of peas planted in less than five minutes. Sweet!



Tomorrow, we will start planting the 250 strawberry plants that came two weeks ago. Here is the lovely plot where they will go.



We will put the potatoes in in a couple of weeks, and the rest of the garden at the end of the month. I am so excited and hopeful for this year's garden!