I Like Thursday #213

Welcome to my 213th I Like Thursday post.  Each week a group of bloggers, encouraged by the talented and lovely LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color, post a list of things that they have done, seen, read, heard that they like or love.  

I went to visit the kid's new home Sunday and Monday, and took a load of their belongings to them.  With 6 people in their family, they ended up with 2 big uhauls full of belongings, a truck load, a trailer load, and there is still stuff remaining.  While it may not seem like a thing to like, I am very happy for them, and while it is summer I do love their new property.

They live in a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom manufactured home which has been updated with a metal roof, a sliding door with a pergola off the kitchen, a mud room, and a set of french doors to a deck with a hot tub which is covered with a gazebo like structure.  There is a river that meanders through the property that the kids, and I went wading for a bit, the bottom all sand.  Then much to my surprise Bobbin dove right in and waded and swam right along with the rest of us.  

I like that they are off the road a bit, but not far, but it is very private.  I like their cabins.

This is the original cabin.  It needs a new floor, but overall it is in pretty good condition.  But the add on is fabulous!

There are 10 bunks, a table, couches, and refrigerators as well as years worth of hunting trophies on the wall.  

I like that they are only about 10 miles from Lake Huron and the nearby town has a real beachy vibe.  I will say that what little I saw, I loved.  I liked how quiet and peaceful it was, and of course getting away from the 90 degree plus weather was nice.  I scoped out some homes around there, some in town, and some nearby.  There are so many possibilities.

LeeAnna has asked us to share something in our kitchen that we like/love this week.  Since I love to bake, and cook, even if it is just for me, it was a very hard deciding what my favorite tool would be.  I have 2 which I use a lot.

 I spotted this drying rack in a little store and snapped it up for $1.00 years ago.  My grandmother used one like it to hang dishclothes and dish towels on over the sink. I use it to hold strainers, canning jar lids, since it is a great place for those items to dry.  

My other favorite is an old egg beater.  I have a whole drawer full, but this is the one that is in current use.

There have been some fun things at the store lately.  I love this trash can for a bathroom.

But I am sure it could be used in other places.  

I am still working at packing, but also have been trying to get rid of things.  Our local Salvation Army closed so I went to the next one and would you believe they would not take 2 leather coats which I had outgrew?  (Can you outgrow if they are now way too big?)  I was told they no longer take clothes, even baby clothes unless they are current fashion or new.  

I also rented a small heated storage unit.  I decided I would store my sewing stuff and sewing machines there while I am prepping the house to sell.  I will probably also store Christmas decorations trees, etc in there.  

I have done a little reading, but not much else.  I am sorry if I didn't comment on other people's blogs.  Sometimes I read them, but forget to comment, and life has been so busy.  

Thanks for stopping by, please visit the other I Like Thursday bloggers at Not Afraid of Color.

I Like Thursday #212

 Just dropping in to make a short post. Welcome to my 212th I like Thursday post.  

Today is the big moving day.  My days off I have been packing so not much going on here.

I sold the plow truck this week.  I was sad to see it go.  Jeff had built it from parts he found at junk yards.  I will say that I shed a tear as I saw the men pull out of the driveway with it on the back of a trailer.  But the good thing is that is will be used and not be disintegrating into a rust blob.  

I have been trying to get flower beds cleaned up.  A lot of work when you only have a couple of hours a day at the most.  What I do like though is that I have Anise Hyssop which spreads and while it moved from the flower bed, it self seeded in nearby containers.

Anise Hyssop has antibacterial properties, and smells almost like licorice.  I think one of the reasons why I love this plant is that while different from the old world Hyssop it is mentioned several times in the Bible.

Psalms 51:7-8

⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

In fact Hyssop is mentioned multiple times throughout the Bible. 

 

While Bobbin and I were walking today we spied a Cutleaf Teasel, and yes I should be getting rid of them.  They are an invasive plant species that will choke out other plants.  Sigh.  But what was interesting was this one actually had a lot of water stored in the leaves after the rain yesterday. 

I have been busy packing boxes.  I have many open boxes throughout the house.  A box with electrical parts, a box with plumbing parts, a box with gift wrap, a box with indoor plant supplies, a box with art supplies....you get the picture.  

I grabbed the out of control 2 1/2 inch Batik Strip boxes. 

 

 It only took me a couple of hours but I managed to get it tamed.  Everything sorted by basic colors, blue, red, green, they could probably be further sorted but for now it is done.

I have done a couple of strip swaps and I didn't realize I had this super cute pink pig batik in my stash.

The three boxes also hold a quilt I began a while back.  I figured that all the fabric together was the best way to go.

I have 6 blocks made so far, then it was set aside.  Pre Covid.  So I will get it set up so I know where it is.  

As I am packing, I have Kits packed, labeled and cataloged on my spreadsheet too.  On cardboard boxes I use a sharpie and put a general description on what is in the box, but plastic bins since most of them have quilts in progress I used my label maker.

As to the books I have been reading I have been through several different genres this week.

A Brazen Curiosity by Lynn Messina--  Beatrice Hyde-Clare is a spinster that lives much to their dismay with her Uncle and Aunt.  As like all spinsters, she is drug to a house party at the Skeffingtons.  I find it amusing that this docile woman during dinner, daydreams of flinging food at the imperious Lord Kesgrave.  When Beatrice stumbles upon the body of Mr. Otley in the library in the middle of the night, and discovers Lord Kesgrave standing nearby.  Beatrice threatens to scream the house down, thereby causing a scandal and forcing Lord Kesgrave to make an honest woman of her per the propriety of the day.  Lord Kesgrave agrees to allow Bea to return to her room, and not tell anyone he saw her in the library.  Bea and Kesgrave become unlikely allies in discovering who is the real murderer.  Who though that society would be so scandalous?

Murder on the Edge is the 3rd installment of the Inspector Skelgill series.  

Also I read the next in the series of the Miss Fortune Series Gators and Garters by Jana DeLeon.

Thanks for stopping by and please go visit the rest of the I Like Thursday posts at Not Afraid of Color.

I Like Thursday #211

 It is Thursday so it is time for an I Like Thursday post!  Welcome to my 211th I Like Thursday post.  What is I Like Thursday?  It is a post sharing things that a group of bloggers have seen, done, read, heard, that we like, love.  LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color is the host weekly.  

The store seems to be carrying a lot of tin signs.  I like them, they remind me of the signs from back in the day. 

We have been hot, but we had a lot of rain today, but with the humidity starting out at 95% early this morning, I was surprised at how dry the chicken run is.

 

I am trying out a new vanilla that had a very high rating.  I love trying new things.

I don't know it if will every compare to the vanilla Jeff and I made one year.  I have a wee bit left, with the vanilla beans still in it.  

I like that the kids finally signed their paperwork for their home today.  Early this morning, they loaded the kids, dogs, building supplies and headed up to close, then go explore their property.  When they originally viewed the property and home, they only had 30 minutes due to the real estate agent having another appointment scheduled, and because of a tornado that went through a town just a few minutes before they arrived, they were late.  While it is going to be strange not having them right next door, I am thrilled for their new chapter on life. It will be a few weeks before they are completely moved.  

With that being said, I need to up my game and get things packed so I can get my home ready to sell.  I am kind of thinking if I cannot get both properties sold by October, perhaps I should rent the house next door.  So much to do when working full time.  That being said I managed to get 12 boxes packed on my day off between doing laundry, cooking, cleaning.  Mostly my stash.  All I can say is I have a long way to go.  :D 

I like that my little wisteria is blooming again.  The big one isn't so I looked up what could be the problem and was told to add phosphate to the soil.  So I will try that to see if I can get it to bloom.  

 Since I was not going to garden this year, I thought it was kind of serendipity to find some tomato plants on sale the other day, so I planted them in my porch pots.  

I got this notification this week and it made me smile.  I wasn't aware that Kindle gave out reader awards.  LOL 

Speaking of books....

The new series I have been reading is the Lady Fan series by Elizabeth Bailey.

The Gilded Shroud starts with Otillia Draycott taking a position at position as Lady's Companion to Sybillia, the Dowager Marchioness of Polbrook.  Emily Fanshawe, the Marchioness of Polbrook is found murdered in her bedchamber, her husband has mysteriously disappeared, and it is left to the younger son Lord Francis Fanshawe to sort things out.  Otillia, and Lord Fan work in tandem to unravel the secrets to the murder of the former Marchioness, and in doing so begin a budding relationship, much to the delight of the Dowager.

Otillia is married to Lord Fanshawe, and they are currently traveling when their carriage breaks down in the village of Witherley where the body of the local blacksmith has just be found in the ashes of the smithy.  There are rumors that a recent newcomer is a witch and she has foretold the death of the smith.  Lady Fan has to investigate further.  

Lady Fan is dealing with a difficult pregnancy, but her interest is piqued when a new neighbor Sir Joslin Cadel has recently arrived from his plantations in Barbados, along with some very interesting retainers. When Sir Joslin is discovered collapsed on his doorstep, his ward Tasmine Roy claims that she killed him.  But anyone talking to her sees that she is not quite right.  Why did Sir Joslin return to England, and what happened to Tasmine's parents, there are a lot of secrets to unwind.

A young woman's body has been discovered, laid out in a coffin in the cemetery surrounded by candles in the sea town of Weymouth.  The Colonel stationed in Weymouth is tasked with discovering who the killer is, and so reaches out to Lord Francis Fanshawe for assistance.  With the stillbirth of their child, and Ottillia's deep depression, Lord Francis thinks this is just the puzzle to bring her back to him, as well as a change of scenery.

Thanks for stopping, and please head over to LeeAnnas at Not Afraid of Color to check out the other I Like Thursday posts.