Here's a quilt I was working on many moons ago. Amazing what you find when cleaning up!
Yay! I'm glad to get rid of a lot of the clutter, and all thanks to some cupboards I recently got from a friend. Yay!
Showing posts with label real life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label real life. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Clean Up!
I finally decided to spend about an hour clearing off some very cluttered spaces. Lots of stuff got piled up and buried here.
The after picture may not look like I did much, but I did. I made it more organized, even using one of my rag quilt bags to hold some craft supplies.
The garbage bag full of fabric scraps on the right serves a purpose, so I kept it there. It's helping to cover up a homemade loom (with nails) that my son made me. I like to keep it covered and protected from the pets.
Here's a quilt I was working on many moons ago. Amazing what you find when cleaning up!
Here's a cluttered dresser full of some finished craft projects. Couldn't really see them since they were piled here and there.
Voila! Now you can see them, though they're quite the eclectic mix. My son called it my "craft shrine" - lol!
I figured I might as well fill my decorated paper mache boxes with craft supplies. This one contains most of my buttons. I LOVE BUTTONS!! If I were to say those words out loud, I'd be yelling them because I LOVE BUTTONS!!!!
My kitchen table is my craft area. Yeeks!
Still needs work, but at least I got half of it cleared off! (The other half has the sewing machine).
Yay! I'm glad to get rid of a lot of the clutter, and all thanks to some cupboards I recently got from a friend. Yay!
Here's a quilt I was working on many moons ago. Amazing what you find when cleaning up!
Yay! I'm glad to get rid of a lot of the clutter, and all thanks to some cupboards I recently got from a friend. Yay!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The Worst Blizzard and the Best Lasagna
Ironically last week I wrote on twitter: "What a beautiful day here on the NoDak prairie. Sunny and in the 60s. Hopefully this isn't a teaser, and we get a blizzard next week."
Starting Friday night, the blizzard came sweeping in. It was the worst one I've seen - not snow-wise, but wind-wise. It had sustained gusts of wind that were so strong that it sounded like a train was outside the door. I could hear it over the sound of my little portable clangety clang heater in the bedroom. The electrical lines couldn't take all that pounding, and they finally fell - all up and down this part of the state. Before the power went down, I know they were predicting gusts of 45 mph, but I laugh at that. It was waaaaaay more than that, and they were sustained winds, not gusts. We even had waves in our stream out back - white caps and ducks who refused to be on it because it was so choppy.
My fingers are still cold typing this. The power just came on - about 48 hours later.
We had semis in the ditches, railroad crossing guards blown off, big ol' pine trees toppled, sheds blown over.
It could've been much worse.
It's still cold in this house. It got below 50 - which is the lowest the thermostat registers here. It was so cold even biting into crackers was cold. If you had sensitive teeth, your toofers fer sure wouldn't have liked even the crackers.
It's been difficult but, like I said, it could've been worse - a lot worse. We still have our fingers and toes. No one, to my knowledge, lost their life.
I have to give a shout out to Montana-Dakota Utilities. I know the poor agents who answered the phones got a lot of crap. I just asked if they had an estimated time. From what I and others were told about the situation, the electricity probably should've been out a lot longer. I've read of places on the East coast where they were out for weeks and months, with less problems than what we had here. MDU is amazing in its ability to fix things in a timely manner, and this was a LONG time for them. They know that it gets horrifically cold here and they can't have people be without heat for too long. I know it was below zero with the wind chill overnight Friday and into Saturday.
So I just want to thank them - in case anyone who works for them happens to see this. I also called them up within minutes of the electric being restored and thanked the customer service rep who answered. She literally sounded like she was going to cry because she had been through the wringer and to have someone say thank you was so appreciated. You just never know...so always take time to say thank you. They may need it far more than you will EVER know.
Anyway, now you know the "Worst Blizzard" part of my title. :) As to the "Best Lasagna," well...I tasted the best. It was the best because there was no electric to warm anything up to help us warm up. Eating cold food only made me colder. But I have some friends a couple doors down who have a propane stove. These are the people who have had their kittens brutally and deliberately run over because the husband tried to go by the state laws in this town in order to protect the water and sewer infrastructure. The mayor and her cronies didn't like that, so they got a posse together to finally get him fired so that the mayor's grandson could be hired. I could write a book on what occurred during and after that time, but I won't.
Suffice it to say, my friends are good people. They help one another out. They called me and offered a big ol' casserole dish of piping hot lasagna fresh out of the oven. It was the best lasagna I ever tasted! And the guy across the street lent us his generator as he drove about 40 miles one way to get more gas in an area where they got their electricity back on sooner than us. So we hooked up our frig and at least saved what was in the freezer. What's in the frig is shot. I was surprised at how quickly the food went, esp. when the house was so cold. But that freezer was packed full, so the food packages all kept each other cold. Plus, I had a couple big bottles of ice in there to help keep everything cold.
Then another friend went to the store (again 40 miles away) and asked if I needed anything. He was also going to come by and help us figure out how to work our kerosene heater. I was going to give him 5 gallons of kerosene for his troubles. Alas, as he was about to come over, the electricity came back on. Yay!
What I learned about this incident:
Be grateful for what you have.
Always say "thank you" because you may make someone's day - literally.
The above two I've known about and try to put into regular practice, but I will even more so now.
Other things I learned:
Going to the bathroom, it's hard to wipe when you're bundled up in dozens of layers. Your arm just can't reach around all those coats and robes - lol!
Keep all your emergency supplies in one place. I did not, but I will get better organized now.
Get more dehydrated food and bottled water for the dried food.
Put hand sanitizer in the bathroom and use it instead of washing your hands. When it's cold, that water is like ice, and it'll only make you colder.
Good people rise to the occasion. The inbreds didn't give a crap about anyone in this town but themselves. Have you ever noticed it's the ones who have the least who are the ones who are first to give?
The past 48 hours, I experienced the worst blizzard, but I also experienced the best lasagna - i.e., friends helping friends, even when they don't have much.
Edited to add: Just read an online article about the storm. One stretch had 55 power poles down in a row. Geez, that was some storm!
Starting Friday night, the blizzard came sweeping in. It was the worst one I've seen - not snow-wise, but wind-wise. It had sustained gusts of wind that were so strong that it sounded like a train was outside the door. I could hear it over the sound of my little portable clangety clang heater in the bedroom. The electrical lines couldn't take all that pounding, and they finally fell - all up and down this part of the state. Before the power went down, I know they were predicting gusts of 45 mph, but I laugh at that. It was waaaaaay more than that, and they were sustained winds, not gusts. We even had waves in our stream out back - white caps and ducks who refused to be on it because it was so choppy.
My fingers are still cold typing this. The power just came on - about 48 hours later.
We had semis in the ditches, railroad crossing guards blown off, big ol' pine trees toppled, sheds blown over.
It could've been much worse.
It's still cold in this house. It got below 50 - which is the lowest the thermostat registers here. It was so cold even biting into crackers was cold. If you had sensitive teeth, your toofers fer sure wouldn't have liked even the crackers.
It's been difficult but, like I said, it could've been worse - a lot worse. We still have our fingers and toes. No one, to my knowledge, lost their life.
I have to give a shout out to Montana-Dakota Utilities. I know the poor agents who answered the phones got a lot of crap. I just asked if they had an estimated time. From what I and others were told about the situation, the electricity probably should've been out a lot longer. I've read of places on the East coast where they were out for weeks and months, with less problems than what we had here. MDU is amazing in its ability to fix things in a timely manner, and this was a LONG time for them. They know that it gets horrifically cold here and they can't have people be without heat for too long. I know it was below zero with the wind chill overnight Friday and into Saturday.
So I just want to thank them - in case anyone who works for them happens to see this. I also called them up within minutes of the electric being restored and thanked the customer service rep who answered. She literally sounded like she was going to cry because she had been through the wringer and to have someone say thank you was so appreciated. You just never know...so always take time to say thank you. They may need it far more than you will EVER know.
Anyway, now you know the "Worst Blizzard" part of my title. :) As to the "Best Lasagna," well...I tasted the best. It was the best because there was no electric to warm anything up to help us warm up. Eating cold food only made me colder. But I have some friends a couple doors down who have a propane stove. These are the people who have had their kittens brutally and deliberately run over because the husband tried to go by the state laws in this town in order to protect the water and sewer infrastructure. The mayor and her cronies didn't like that, so they got a posse together to finally get him fired so that the mayor's grandson could be hired. I could write a book on what occurred during and after that time, but I won't.
Suffice it to say, my friends are good people. They help one another out. They called me and offered a big ol' casserole dish of piping hot lasagna fresh out of the oven. It was the best lasagna I ever tasted! And the guy across the street lent us his generator as he drove about 40 miles one way to get more gas in an area where they got their electricity back on sooner than us. So we hooked up our frig and at least saved what was in the freezer. What's in the frig is shot. I was surprised at how quickly the food went, esp. when the house was so cold. But that freezer was packed full, so the food packages all kept each other cold. Plus, I had a couple big bottles of ice in there to help keep everything cold.
Then another friend went to the store (again 40 miles away) and asked if I needed anything. He was also going to come by and help us figure out how to work our kerosene heater. I was going to give him 5 gallons of kerosene for his troubles. Alas, as he was about to come over, the electricity came back on. Yay!
What I learned about this incident:
Be grateful for what you have.
Always say "thank you" because you may make someone's day - literally.
The above two I've known about and try to put into regular practice, but I will even more so now.
Other things I learned:
Going to the bathroom, it's hard to wipe when you're bundled up in dozens of layers. Your arm just can't reach around all those coats and robes - lol!
Keep all your emergency supplies in one place. I did not, but I will get better organized now.
Get more dehydrated food and bottled water for the dried food.
Put hand sanitizer in the bathroom and use it instead of washing your hands. When it's cold, that water is like ice, and it'll only make you colder.
Good people rise to the occasion. The inbreds didn't give a crap about anyone in this town but themselves. Have you ever noticed it's the ones who have the least who are the ones who are first to give?
The past 48 hours, I experienced the worst blizzard, but I also experienced the best lasagna - i.e., friends helping friends, even when they don't have much.
Edited to add: Just read an online article about the storm. One stretch had 55 power poles down in a row. Geez, that was some storm!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Get Real
Not Just a Housewife is having a link party about being real - as in showing the messy side of life. When I read her post, I wondered if I was brave enough to show what the messy parts of my house look like. Hmmm...uh...suurreeee....but don't hate me in the morning - lol!
Okay, this is where I craft: my kitchen...
Yes, it's a total mess, and yes, I very much hate it this way. I can't stand clutter, yet here I am with a couple areas that have clutter. Needless to say, we don't eat at the kitchen table - lol!
There's the little portable heater on the floor in the lower left because our furnace quit working due to the flooding in the basement. (All fixed now)! Then there are the long johns next to it, draped over the chair. I don't have a washer or dryer, and since my furnace wasn't working, I couldn't hang them on the rack that I have near one of the furnace vents. All the boxes under the table and around are crafts supplies and some food stuff I had ordered in bulk when I briefly ran a cafe. The food isn't my favorite, so we're kind of going through it slowly. Still have a lot, despite giving some of it away.
The table has a lot of craft projects, with the sewing machine underneath that big rubbermaid container used as a cover. It doubles great as my craft work space. On the far left is my big wash tub I use in the summer. Now that winter is over, I'll be able to do bigger loads of clothes and hang them out...soon, I hope. Soooo, I guess that means all the stuff that I threw in there will have to be put away. Yyyyyepppppp, it's a mess. I hate it!
Then here's my dresser. It used to be a nice dresser with pretty decor on it. Then it started getting cluttered with craft projects and stuff I wanted to quickly grab. These two areas are going to seriously be organized very soon. I soooo can't stand the clutter. (What's also real is that I so hate the paneling in this room. It was here when I purchased the house. It needs to be in a hunting cabin).
So there, that's real...gulp.
This past week I also wrote a very real post on my other blog, The Prairie Patch, and why I Bid the Prim Community Adieu.
Okay, this is where I craft: my kitchen...
There's the little portable heater on the floor in the lower left because our furnace quit working due to the flooding in the basement. (All fixed now)! Then there are the long johns next to it, draped over the chair. I don't have a washer or dryer, and since my furnace wasn't working, I couldn't hang them on the rack that I have near one of the furnace vents. All the boxes under the table and around are crafts supplies and some food stuff I had ordered in bulk when I briefly ran a cafe. The food isn't my favorite, so we're kind of going through it slowly. Still have a lot, despite giving some of it away.
The table has a lot of craft projects, with the sewing machine underneath that big rubbermaid container used as a cover. It doubles great as my craft work space. On the far left is my big wash tub I use in the summer. Now that winter is over, I'll be able to do bigger loads of clothes and hang them out...soon, I hope. Soooo, I guess that means all the stuff that I threw in there will have to be put away. Yyyyyepppppp, it's a mess. I hate it!
Then here's my dresser. It used to be a nice dresser with pretty decor on it. Then it started getting cluttered with craft projects and stuff I wanted to quickly grab. These two areas are going to seriously be organized very soon. I soooo can't stand the clutter. (What's also real is that I so hate the paneling in this room. It was here when I purchased the house. It needs to be in a hunting cabin).
So there, that's real...gulp.
This past week I also wrote a very real post on my other blog, The Prairie Patch, and why I Bid the Prim Community Adieu.
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