I Like Thursday 218th Edition

 Welcome to my 218th post of I Like Thursday.  Join the group at LeeAnne's at Not Afraid of Color that share the things that they have found that they like/love during the previous week.  Throw a little happiness at the universe!

Is it just me of do you have things, that you use, you put them away, and can't find them?  Now in my defense I have slowly been moving into my new home, but I had a ziploc bag full of those little shelf pegs that go in book cases.  When I first found it, I set it on my dresser.  When I put my nice bookcase together, and unpacked a box of books the other day I ran grabbed it, fished out the pegs and set the bag somewhere. Today though,  as I was doing some housework (cleaning spiderwebs, window tracks, sweeping, dust mopping, vacuuming) I decided to move a small bookcase over to near where I sit, and put some quilt books and patterns away that I have been unpacking.  Problem....I can't find the pegs.  I just had them a couple of days ago, they cannot have went far, but I cannot locate them.  To top it off the Ikea bookcases have a specialty shelf peg and a lot of my pegs were in there for those too.  Also for some reason I think my shelves may be in a POD, and our truck is currently in the shop with a transmission problem.  Urgh.  

My bedroom is looking a lot better, still trying to figure out how to fix the chest of drawers, but almost everything is hung up or folded and put away.  I did find these in my stuff I took from the Michigan house.

Yep I unscrewed them from some closets in the Michigan house and brought them here.  This closet is kind of deep and the clothes pole is closer to the front so I can put these in and hang stuff behind.  Don't judge, but I have Jeff's old work coat and one of his favorite sweatshirts that I have hanging back there.  I had room in the front to hang one that I through my sweatshirts that I wear the most often.  I actually went on a search and found some on Etsy and ordered them so I can hang bags and stuff from them behind the hanging clothes.  

OK on with the house tour.   The laundry room is under the house but it is a daylight room, for lack of a better way to describe it.  I can't call it a basement because we cannot access it from inside the house.  We can go out the side door and down some steps, or I can go out my slider, and down some steep steps to the walkway to the laundry room.

My living area is above this.  To the left you see the big glass windows to the potting room.

The potting room.

This is the door to the laundry room.  It looks kind of yucky, but it is much better than it was.  The previous owners insulated, but didn't put any type of wood barrier over it.  Just lots of pink insulation.  Well I walked down one day and thought, oh there is a lot of bird poop down here.  The son in law went to check it out, and it was bats!  Not birds, in the insulation.  The two son in laws tore the insulation out, put new up and then put fire treated plywood up, then put expanding foam in to seal any cracks.  No more bats, um they just moved to the attic....but that is a story for another day.

 OK back to the laundry room.  The door to the right is the potting room, the door to the left goes to a canning room, I don't even want to consider those rooms yet, they both have dirt floors that need to be leveled, and possibly have some sort of drain put in, and concrete or some sort of hard floor.

 

Here is a peek in the canning room, oh they left garbage and canned food in there that we will need to clean out.

Straight ahead is the laundry room.  

The dryer vents into the potting shed, and there are huge windows from the laundry room looking into it, and the potting room.
 

The washer and utility sink.  I am going to say that I bought an LG washer and dryer with the drawers and I love them.  They are hooked up to an app on my phone so it tells me when the load is done, and you do personalized settings for the washer.  Probably the dryer too, but I haven't gotten that sophisticated yet.  But it keeps laundry moving, which is really helpful when it is in the daylight basement.  I really like that most of the settings only take about 25 minutes for the washer.

The laundry room as loads of cupboards which is awesome.  There is a table, which is a mess, but we couldn't take it out, because they have electrical outlets wired to it.  So I bought some oil cloth off of Amazon and just covered it, so bright and happy.  

More cupboards, and to a workbench too!

Here you can see what the underside of my bathroom and bedroom look like.  We have more plywood to put up, but it is a 2 son in law job, and one son in law is not able to come back until mid August.

Some days I have to argue with the local denizens.

He seems to think that my deck is a great place to play.  If not there then the walkway, and I tried to explain to him, I needed him to move so I could do laundry.  He finally skedaddled away.

We now have 4 feeders and I fill the one on my back deck almost daily.  But as the daylight wanes this feeder in the front was really busy!  At one time before I started recording there were 20 of them zipping around, sitting on the chainlink, and chittering away. 

I love these yard lights.  They are solar and are so whimsical.

We have a small garden, just a few tomatoes and zucchini, but things are not always safe from the deer.  Lettuce, romaine, and radishes are bring grown on my deck.  

There was a volunteer artichoke that is almost electric blue.  We will Let it go to seed.  We have it surrounded with a small fence to protect it from the deer. 

There is a lot of sweet pea, these caught my eye as I was walking outside of the garden area.

Hope your summer is going well, it seems to be flying by.  Hopefully I will get a bit more put away, and I can make Bobbin a new collar, hers is looking a wee bit disreputable.  

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Morning Smile

 I took this video the other morning while I was talking to my mother on the phone.  She has been in and out of the hospital this year with GI bleeds.  Each time is at least a week in the hospital, and she gets bored so she calls me. I sent the video to her in hopes of perking her up.   The video is  is out my slider onto my wonky deck.  

We currently have 3 feeders and make about three batches of nectar a week, each batch is 12 cups.  

My favorites are the Rufous hummingbirds that are orange.  They are small and feisty.  The feeders stay busy all day long, and the little chirps that the hummingbirds make is sure to make you smile. 

I Like Thursday 217

And just like that over a month went by and I did not make a post.  I enjoy my new home, but there are some challenges still:  Such as I moved from a 5 bedroom house with over 2500 square feet to a home with a little under 1800 square feet.  Which I technically halved because my middle daughter and her family are living with me.  But we are adjusting, and I am planning.  Please be kind, my area is still pretty much a mess.  

The kitchen is clean and functional but it took a lot of work!

I bought this slide out pot and pan rack, the top portion holds the lids.  It is a favorite of mine!

My daughter had an old butcher block that had been in my parents house for years until they remodeled about 10 years ago.  We have it set up as a coffee station, with an ice maker, coffee maker, Keurig, and an Espresso Maker.  All the syrups and stuff with on the bottom shelf. 

We got the Hoosier out of storage, currently it has all our plates and bowls in the tambour, and most of the baking supplies in the cabinets.  Next too the Hoosier is our mini fridge where we keep coffee creamer, and sodas, and the microwave with its accoutrements-- bowl cozies, microwave covers.  

And the tiny pantry is all scrubbed, with new racks, and we have tons of space and it is organized!  It is nice to have.  

OK Last post I showed the door to my area....be kind I am working on it, but there are days I work in the garden, and a trip to town is an all day event.

This will be my sewing area once I get things organized a bit.  There is a weird room in the basement with a dirt floor.  I am going to put in a vapor barrier, and then get some pallets, and my sewing totes will be in there.  Oh and lesson learned, Ikea shelves do not travel well.  I am not even bothering to paint yet, too many other things need to be done.  Behind the wall of shelves is an old glass and steel picture window, that someone painted partially over.  Hidden behind the shelves I don't really mind.  I do need to get some straps to strap my shelves to the wall, I was concerned because I didn't want to drill holes in the masonry, but I learned that you can just glue them to the masonry, and then attach to your bookcases.  

My sitting area I created, and the door to my back deck.  I have a new sliding door ordered and am waiting on the window guy.  This one was installed wrong and would lead to major leaking if not fixed.  

The wonky bathroom.  The vanity is tiny, I can't even get my hair dryer or curling iron in the drawers, the medicine cabinet is on the wall to the right, the shower which is walk in, and tiny with sliding doors is to the left.  There is basically no storage for anything in here, so there will be some reconfiguration soon, and painting.  Oh and the door closes, but there is a huge area above the door which is open, and there is no fan in the bathroom!

This short hallway goes to my bedroom.  There is no door, just the doorway and it is narrow.  To the left is a big closet which we have set up with all our cleaning supplies, vacuum, mops, and other household supplies.  To the right is a wall of cabinets and a few drawers.  I have been putting some sewing supplies, sheets, towels, all the stuff you accumulate that was in a junk drawer at one time is now in a junk bin.  Spare parts etc.

 My bedroom, yes it has wood on the walls, and Rebecca and I after really looking at it decided that it was not paneling, but laminate flooring.  My bed which was getting stripped for laundry day. 

The closet that the doors do not really slide, and there are outlets in the closet, and a huge hole where they had TV cables.  But I have almost all my clothes in there, summer, winter, too small, and shoes too.  I miss my over the door shoe rack but I don't have a door to my bedroom, nor is there a way to put one in.  I bought one from Amazon and it was perfect!

The bedroom is plenty big, and it has a swamp cooler for the summer, and a door to the outside.  Funny thing is I have only the one tiny window which looks out over the garden, and then this door to the outside.  There are outside lights, but in order to turn them on, I would have to unlock and open the door, the switch is out there.  😕I bought a screen to put on the outside but haven't got that far yet.  The dresser is a mess right now, because somehow the bottom drawer during the move had the bottom of it pulled out, and someone shoved the drawer back in, over the bottom so it is stuck, and I am trying to not destroy the antique dresser. 

Doorway to the hall.  

 I have met a few neighbors.  Our scheduling seems to be off, we keep having appointments for days that there are community events, like Bingo, and the Ducky Derby.

The weather has been hot, but not as hot as in the rest of the country, and we cool down to the low 50's at night.  We were checking directions and discovered that my phone not only has a compass but also tells me elevation.  My house sits at 2,000 feet above sea level.  I have been trying to get back into my fitness, and eating routine, but have struggled since hurting my knee last year.  I did go for a walk the other day, it was too hot for Bobbin to go, I didn't want her to burn her feet.  

I took this picture from the road, which is narrow, twisty, and turny, and barely one lane.  You can see how far above the river I was, and I didn't realize what a climb I had done until I drove it the other day.  I walked about 1 1/2 miles up the road, and back.  No wonder I was hurting afterwards.  

I have more to share, but I think that is enough for today.  Keep cool! I forgot how much work it is to move.  It took me several hours to set up my wireless printer today, then I had to make an appointment for a smog check so I can get my vehicle registered.  I read the driver's manual and took several practice tests I think I can pass.  So that is next on my agenda, hopefully next week.  I can't wait to really settle in and have time to sew.  What project do i want to work on first! 

Have a fabulous week!

I Am Back I Like Thursday 216

 A lot has happened in life since my last I like Thursday post in October.  I lived with my parents, younger sister(funny story we were never close due to the age difference, but now we are close...it is now us against them [the parents], and her twenty something son through the holidays, sold my farm and homes in Michigan and finally settled down.

Welcome to my new home near Scott Bar, California!

 My house is about 3 miles from the post office.  We are about 6 miles from California highway 96, and about 1 hour from Yreka.  The closest towns that have at least a small grocery store are Fort Jones which is only about 25 miles, but 40 minutes due to the road, and Happy Camp, which is about 45 miles away.  There is Seiad Valley,  which is only about 15 miles but they call it the inconvenience store and that is still about 30 minutes away. If you ever read about people walking the Pacific Crest Trail, Seiad Valley is a frequent stop.  Oh and my nearest human neighbors are about 1/2 a mile away.

Post Office

I actually have to go to the post office, there is no mail delivery here, but there is Amazon, and UPS!

I stole the pictures from my real estate agent.  This was early spring.  The Wisteria entrance to the yard.  For a couple of weeks it was full of happy bees, and hummingbirds.   It is an older home and it is made of cinder blocks.....which is really funny considering the farmhouse was made of Michigan block which were cement blocks made in a form. 

As a family we all talked about the fact that we aren't getting any younger, and that it is important to have family nearby.  My oldest daughter, her husband and mother in law just purchase a beautiful new home that is to be multi-generational home.  

I thought about it and asked if I could find and afford a big enough house if the middle daughter Rebecca would like to move her family in with me.  Since her husband can work remotely it was a resounding yes after living over a decade in a high rise in downtown Portland.  This house fit the bill.  While I am downsizing considerably it has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large living room, and separate living area with a sewing/sitting room for me.  There is a tiny home which needs some work, as well as a large shed that was at one time used as a bedroom, Chris my daughter's husband will use it as an office when he is working.  A barn, huge woodshed with a sawmill, 3 more small sheds, a bunch of fruit trees, and a very large garden area.  Also I now own over 6 acres once again.

This will be a multi part showing.  Excuse the boxes and stuff sitting all over.  Moving in has been very slow.  Main reason is how very dirty the inside of the house was, it is getting there slowly, but on a daily I clean something that is so nasty and disgusting that it grosses me out completely.  

The kitchen, downside, only a couple of upper cabinets, and neither of them are in a good place to be accessible.  I have been lining all the cabinets, and have went through many rolls. 

The window straight ahead looks out to an enclosed entryway.  

Huge kitchen island, but it is all drawers, and the drawers have no support, also there is no way to pull the drawers out to clean, and on the far end is a pull out garbage can that is so disgusting I haven't even touched it yet.  Imagine a kitchen with 12 drawers, but only 2 lower cabinets, 2 lower that are very slim, and one lower corner cabinet.

The kitchen pantry.  I have cleaned it several times, and am currently lining the shelves and cleaning the shelves one more time.  I did buy a new fridge.  Rebecca and I moved it into the house, and I encouraged Becca to unpack it, oh the smiles of unpacking a brand new fridge that was hers!

The bottom cabinets will be taken out and the Hoosier will fit there perfectly as well as possibly the mini fridge we will use for drinks.  

This is going to be the living room, it is large enough we think we can put a small dining table near the window and still have room for a couple of couches.

The huge picture hides an old metal window that at one time looked at the back.  Because the house is block, the window would have to be chiseled out.  Instead they just covered it up, as well as some others. 

The door goes to my sitting/sewing room, bathroom, and bedroom.  There is another doorway to the left that goes to Becca's family's rooms and bathroom.

We have had some visitors, but the current one with the best picture is this guy.

He came into the entry way while we were moving appliances.  He is just a western gopher snake, he slithered out and into a small side garden.

I have a gorgeous Catalpa tree in the side yard full of bees now, a bunch of hummingbirds, some are even orange, I have one that follows me around the property when I go for a walk. I have named him Crush.  I found this beautiful cactus flower, it bloomed after I weed whipped and mowed all the grass around it. 

Bobbin is loving life in the woods.

This weekend is father's day, unfortunately the girls scheduled the "big" move so I won't see my dad.  My mom and he came to visit last week.  At 82 he came, cut down a huge grape arbor which was growing against the house, a few dead fruit trees, and we both weed whacked a lot of tall grass down.  He is my step dad, and when he was dating my mom when I was little he would come by early in the morning and get me up, dressed, fed, and do my hair in ringlets.  Ladies, in my mind that made him a keeper. I got a chuckle recently he was trying to talk their dog Molly into getting up on his lap.   It was so cute he said, come here Molly, let me brush your hair and make you all pretty.  

💓💓💓

The other awesome dad in my life was Jeff my dear sweet husband.  My daughters call him dad, and they miss him all the time, even though he was only part of their life for a few short years, he filled a huge chunk of their hearts, as well as all the grand kids.  One big seller for this home is that it is only about 2 hours from Jeff's grave, so I can go visit ,ore often.  I have been up there once since all this started.  Recently I saw this and thought I had hit that point in life.....

It feels good to be able to sit and blog, and I look forward to taking the time to start reading blogs again.  I have missed all you lovely ladies!

I Like Thursday #215

 Oh surprise I am writing an I Like Thursday post.  When life feels more in control it is amazing how at peace you can become.  

I managed to get the last burn pile broke down and partially burned.  It started like this:

You can see part of the big burn pile to the left.  I kept working at it and finally got it down to a manageable level.

And I finally got it done.  The pile was about 10 feet tall.  It feels so nice to have it done. 

Life is moving along.  I decided to hire an auction company to take care of the barn.  While there were some things I really wanted to keep, but decided that the best bet was to let it go.  An example was the greenhouse that Jeff had bought me right before he died, but I had to consider how much space it would take up on a truck to move.  I can always buy another one.  Watching some things get loaded up were very bittersweet, but hopefully someone will buy it and love it once again.

These were the two tractors that Jeff was working on.  A John Deere AO, and a John Deere Unstyled A.  

It was amazing watching the auction company go through the barn.  They were very quick and efficient.  They only took what they knew they could sell.  When it was all said and done they took out 3 flat beds of mowers, tractors, 3 full trailers, and 5 what they termed totes which were about 4 foot by 6 foot by 4 foot, heaped full.  

All that remained was a lot of dust and debris.  Now that it is done, I feel very peaceful.  

Before the auctioneers got here I went through Jeff's collectibles.  Toys, knives, hats, puzzles, and pocket watches.

I kept a couple of the tractors, I kept one of the hats for all of the grand kids, they chose via a chat.  

While I am not ready for the upcoming holiday season I did like some of the things I saw at the store.

I thought these skull cupcake pans were kind of cool.  No I didn't buy them, but I did consider it.  

I also thought these buffalo plaid lights were cute.  

LeeAnna's prompt for the week was apples.  I was never much for apple pie, but I found a recipe that made something similar to a Dutch Apple pie, I usually use 3-4 different apples in my pie.  

Every year Jeff and I went to a local apple orchard and bought a variety of apples called Mutsu.  They are not a commercial variety because they are not "pretty" but they are a very good tasting apple.  They are firm and slightly tart like a Granny Smith.  

Life is moving along, and it seems like it is settling into a routine, and also that things are moving forward.  I am grateful that I have a peace and feel like life is not spinning out of control.  

Now head over to LeeAnna's and check out the other I Like Thursday Posts.