It's not hoarding if it's books....

I am not a minimalist.  There it is, I've said it out loud now for all the world to see.  In a world where people are making fortunes on books detailing how to fold your clothes and 'spark joy', whole websites are devoted to de-cluttering ones home and living with no excess 'stuff' laying around, I am the equivalent of the neanderthal!!  I have collections of everything from glass animals to stuffed animals, yardage and fabric scraps, everyday dishes and Christmas dishes, 2 sets of China handed down from grandmothers, enough yarn to carpet my house with crocheted rugs, files and notebooks of family history and census reports and birth certificates, beads new and vintage, and literally hundreds of books of all genres....well you get the picture.  The really horrible thing is I am not even sorry for being a packrat - I love it!  I love having stuff to make a project that pops into my head on hand, love having things that remind me of my family members who are no longer here - I guess my 'stuff' meets the 'spark joy' test!  Anyway let's be real honest, the reason Marie Kondo's clothes fold up into little packets that spark joy is because she is a little person.  Try getting the 3X sweatshirt to fold into a little stand alone packet!  I dare you!  This post was originally going to be my ode to 'clutter', but I looked up the word and it really means things that are disorganized, or disorderly. No, I don't like that.   I guess I will just share my craft room/office organizing project that has just been completed.

Understand, when I start the project and am visualizing how it will end up I see this in my head!

I go to the store and look at the prices of all of those little baskets etc. and then I come home and cover shoe boxes with contact paper!

Sigh...organizing with a cheapskate!

I took everything out of the room including the stuff in the closet, Hubby was looking a little amazed that "all that fit in the room" and then "do you think you can get it back in?"

The living room was full of my treasures and I did throw away quite a bit of trash.  The only expense was the black rack that was on sale at Lowe's for $29.00.

The rack in the corner has genealogy binders and boxes, photo albums and boxes of photos that still need to be scanned.  I have all of hubby's parents older photo albums circa 1950's that I am scanning as well as our own photos before digital cameras.

My craft table is a big metal table we bought at the company garage sale from hubby's work.  They built rocket engine parts on them!

Craft books and patterns and boxes of fabric. 

Gotta love the shoe boxes!

The other half of the closet looks the same, at least it is all organized and labeled...so it is not technically clutter.   It could still be junk...eye of the beholder and all that.  ;)

And everything did fit back in the room!

 Spring is here outside as well as inside.  The grass is greening up and the willows have that little hint of green in their branches when you look at them from here....

I am so excited about my garlic crop!  I made a map of all the bulbs so I would know what kind were where and all but one of the cloves I planted came up.  There are over 40 plants and 3 different types.....

The chives are coming up as well....

The corkscrew willow has leaves too.  The willows seem to be the first to put their leaves out...

Another exciting moment as 2 of the peonies that I planted last fall have started to come up...

 A group of us 'girls' (more like golden girls!) took a day trip to Twin Falls to see the Shoshone Falls. With all the snow and rain we are at flood stage and above on all of our rivers but it sure makes a gorgeous waterfall.  They say it is half again as much water coming over as usual. 

We had lunch and stopped at historical markers and had an altogether lovely time.  Nice after a rough winter to get out and do something again!

Hope you are enjoying the seasons changing wherever you are...

Catching up ......

It has been amazing to me how this little part time job has come to take up so much of my time.  I was feeling pretty bad, as I was tired and not accomplishing things around the house.  I decided to sit down and figure out if I was really having a problem, thought maybe I was just being disorganized.  The first change had come when I was asked to work 4 days (5hrs) a week instead of 3.  So 20 hours a week shouldn't be taking such a chunk of my time and energy right?  I started adding up the 40 minute round trip each day, plus the hour to get ready in the am, and the hour to iron and make my lunch in the pm.  My 5 hour job is now taking 8 hours of my time.  OK that kind of makes sense, sleeping and eating are a must and I'm feeling better about my organizational skills and my energy level!  I also have hit that spot where I used to be when I worked full time and was just able to organize my time better.  My mother and I have discussed this and we both agreed when you work outside the home you just get more organized because your mind 'knows' you have less time!  Once we retired I had that idea that if I didn't get it done today there was always tomorrow.  There is nothing wrong with that but my organization of tasks was "fluid"!  Things could be moved around more easily!  That it took this long to get back into the habits of the 'before times'  may speak more to the impending 60th birthday (this fall) than anything else!!  ;)  Having gotten that off my mind we have made lists of projects that we are going to do while the money is coming in, and prioritized them.  It is nice to have the little extra and be able to get a couple of the big items done this year we hope now instead of waiting till next.

While the Northeast is having a rough spring we are having a lovely one and the garden is hard to resist!  Tonight's predicted frost is proof we were wise not to give in to the urge to plant too many things. We will put a tarp over the tomatoes and the rest should be fine. I finally got the red mulch I wanted last fall and couldn't find any more. The herb garden looks very nice I think and hopefully this will make a big difference with the weeds.  Do you see all the blooms on the strawberries?!

This is looking up at the apple tree, Hubby and Number 2 son trimmed this big time last fall and it is loaded with blossoms, would be nice to have a bumper crop of our own apples this year for pies and applesauce.

I am loving this brave little lettuce plant that came up from last year before we started planting new this year.  I have been picking a leaf or two here and there and dipping in dressing for a snack.  It is keeping my craving for fresh veg under control!  By the way, that is technically called 'chicken wire' in the store.  We call it 'cat wire' because it is used here to keep the cats from using the freshly worked beds as litter boxes - just one step too 'organic' for my comfort level!  (smile)









From the back porch looking back to the garden.  Hubby has since cut the grass once and we have irrigated once.

Looking from the garden to the back porch.  It has been nice to have a lot of rain this spring and our snowpacks are still looking good.  After low water years it is always nice to have a green spring!  The trees are leafing and the hillsides out and about are green.  It really is a nice time of year.

The cherry tree got topped by about 20 feet last year and has quite a few blooms on it, we are holding our breathe to see if it weathers the frosts and cooler nights this week or if we will go another year with no cherries!

We will be going to see this little one in a couple of weeks - I love this picture - you can almost hear the laugh can't you!?

Think I am caught up again for a little while, maybe get back to a regular rhythm here too!

Little signs of spring

Took the camera out today and walked around the yard.  There are little signs of spring here and there.  The grass is starting to have a green tint, the birds are going crazy picking up twigs and building nests.  Oh we will probably have some more cold before it warms up for the season but we are enjoying the little signs that a change is on it's way.

Some very brave volunteer lettuce from last years crop!

The chives are peeking out.

My new strawberry planter is almost ready to go...

Hubby has rototilled the first round to try to keep ahead of the weeds......

This is a blurry photo of the aspen trees, they do a little pussy-willow type of thing in the spring.  (can you see it?)

Now we start praying that the cherry and apple trees don't start blooming before the last frost!!  It is very satisfying to feel the seasons change and enjoy the transition from one to another.  I must admit they do seem to get shorter each year!!  That may have more to do with me though I suppose.....

Remember it is leap year, we get an extra day!  My computer at the office reminded me that for writing policies and making changes 2/29 is not a valid effective date!  Will have to see how that goes!

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Monthly Nine

It is time again for the monthly nine link up over at  Greenhaven, be sure to check out the other bloggers and add your own or just read, it is always interesting I think.  I did not do a post for the March link up so will try to be thorough on this one.  The weather has settled into spring now so most of what we do is out in the garden. 

View from the back porch

Nourish - Salads, fresh berries with yogurt, eating out on the porch and enjoying the view.  We always eat lighter the minute the temperature settles in to the 'warm' mode!









 Prepare - We have been preparing the garden and our raised beds.  This is our 3rd growing season (the

first summer we were working on making it liveable, the garden was weeds and we had 2 tomato plants in a pot!) and we are, I think, finally able to be a little more deliberate.  I am thrilled with the herb bed, what I am calling the permanent garden, as I only had to replant rosemary and basil, everything else over-wintered and has come up well.
We added a strawberry bed (in the front) and Hubby made rings for everything and we will try to conserve water and prevent weeds by putting out mulch round it all




Reduce - I had 2 sewing projects this month and ended up with a new skirt and a pair of PJ's.  Total cost was $1.69! Love that!

the hem is even - couldn't get it to hang on and hang even!

the panel from an old knit shirt in my scrap box!

The pj's were made out of fabric from my 'grandma' stash, that I brought home last fall, (pictures here) the thread also came from there and I purchased a package of bias tape for $1.69!  I was jazzed!










  The skirt was an old one that is such good quality I hated to give it up so I pulled the expando like I did with another skirt here, inserted a stretchy piece and it really was too easy! 

Used some old stuff to make new, hurrah!






Green - We are experimenting with various recipes of vinegar and sundry add ins to kill some of the weeds in areas we are not growing anything in, like the drive (dirt and rocks...oh and weeds!)  I am keeping records of what works the best and will try to remember to report back, the vinegar is very effective according to what I read.  We will see....

Grow - Other than what I've already shown, we have several plants waiting to be big enough to go in the garden, cucumbers and squash, and this year we even have flowers!

Create - I am still working on my 'slipper' pattern to crochet.  I had a pair done and didn't like the fit so I started another pair and am happier with the fit, but of course have run out of time and yarn is not as much fun when it is warm outside!  I will figure it out and post the pattern.  I will make one suggestion - if you ever decide to try to make a pattern and crochet along, use a solid color yarn, I cannot tell you how hard it was to keep track of stitches in the camo yarn!!

Aren't they cute?

Discover - Having fun getting to know my new daughter in law, they decided to do a civil ceremony in April and then repeat their vows in a formal ceremony/reception in the fall.  I am so glad I didn't have to raise girls- I now know what my Grandma K (mother of 2 boys) meant when she said she got better daughters than she could have raised!













Enhance - I have really been convicted about the plight of women in other countries who are treated poorly, who have no rights and are being beaten, stoned and killed.  The honor killings have even happened here in America.  I can't do much, but I have tried to speak out when I have a chance, write encouraging e-mails to groups and individuals who are making a difference, and post information on my facebook account when I find it.  I truly believe we will be held accountable for the things we turn our backs on or close our eyes to. 


Enjoy - The seasonal change is always fun to watch, I am enjoying watching the things starting to grow and green and bloom, we are beginning to see flowers and our own periwinkle are in full bloom!

plus the dandelion...sigh!

Enjoy the seasonal change wherever you are and have a wonderful May!!

Spring... and Odds and Ends

It is beginning to look like spring may be here after all.  There really was some doubt, although not as much as for those poor people in the eastern US!  We have had warmer temps during the day although still below or around freezing at night and things are starting to bud and bloom.  Todays client was ill and I ended up with a spare afternoon so I'm catching up on this 'n' that.

Several years ago, before my Mother in Law passed away, she asked me if I wanted her "Gardening made Easy" book and the few cards she had purchased.  She offered it to me because the binder was purple and she had never ordered many cards.  Two years ago while doing the yard sale thing I found an estate sale and two of the books almost complete for $2 apiece!  I was pretty chuffed and took them both, when I got to the lady taking the money she said since this is the last day of the sale we advertised everything for half off!  I got them both for $2!  Yippee!  The information is very good and they are handy to have around.  I used them now and then.

Since we have been in this house and trying so many different things in a new climate that we are unused to, they have been a real help.  I had 3 of the binders and put together all the cards so that I only had one of each and filled 2 binders.  





Then I took the extra dividers and made some new pages for myself, and pulled out all the cards for the stuff I was planting, the stuff I wanted to plant, and the helpful hint cards for the things I wanted to learn or revisit and put it in the 3rd binder.  In the front I have my grid sheets and list all the current planting, including the things that have been here all along and I learn the names for!

I keep the previous years pages so I can watch my crop rotations without relying on my not so reliable memory!  I also have gone on the internet and looked up information on things I don't have a card for and put it in the book so that everything in the yard has a card or page with information about watering, pruning, fertilizing and harvesting and then overwintering.

So a couple of days ago I decided to see how much the set was worth.  Seems if you bought the cards in packs in the monthly order like they sold them you ended up spending over $375 for the whole set!  Okay now I'm really feeling like the yard sale queen for a little bit!

 A quick trip around the yard confirms springs arrival.  I am very pleased that after we cut off so much of the cherry tree we have blossoms!  We knew we had leaves but were not sure we would have fruit.  Now we just have to hope we don't get a hard freeze! 

They look like the spring background I'm using don't they?

 Also recovering from the butchering that I did with the electric hedge trimmer (so much fun!) are the honeysuckle near the house.  I haven't looked at the ones in the back yet as it is still muddy from the recent rains.

Hubby always has a big pot of wildflower mix that he grows near the front door.  It looks like he has a few volunteers this year!








It is time and we are getting ready for the onslaught that is coming.  However we will also be making time for a trip to see the kids and not just for Miss Lily's birthday now.  Our 'wild child' middle son has found a wonderful Christian girl who thinks he is awesome and they are in love and getting married.  Here is the happy couple...

Aren't they cute?!!  I'm thinking I may want to start baby blankets, do you think it's too soon?.....

Enjoy the changing of the season - whether you are winding down to winter or gearing up for summer!!

Slow Living Monthly 9

Fair warning - I am really excited about spring!  I also detest hot weather, so - just so we are all on the same page here I am behaving in a slightly nutso (it's a technical term) manner.  Totally jazzed about spring and the garden and sort of dreading the advent of the warm season, getting out my capris and complaining about having to paint the toenails.  Sort of a schizo kind of thing.  The good news is that when the heat really hits I just settle in to full time grousing and moaning so the multiple personality thing goes away and it's just full time Flying Monkeys! (that may not actually qualify as good news...)

Here goes the look back at March - (And yes I am late!)

Nourish - They opened a Trader Joe's in Boise (about 20 miles away)!  This was my favorite store in California and I told my Mom that the only things I missed about CA was the family and Trader Joe's.  I have been now twice and we are eating the lettuce and avocados and cucumbers that are so welcome in the warmer weather, and are so fresh and tasty and clean from TJ's.  (I do actually miss really good Mexican food and roadside fruit stands, but not enough to move back to 'Cali' as my kids call it) TJ's also has all kinds of different cheeses and a lot of the goods are organic and they do fair trade....it is just a wonderful store and my life is a little more...hmm...fun(?) because it is there.  (And that probably says something really sad about my quality of life!)

Rototilling Hubby

Prepare - We are continuing to ready the garden for planting and clean up the area so the detritus from the long winter is just about gone.  Garden is cultivated - the new electric rototiller is my new best friend - compost bucket is dumped into the area it is getting tilled into and the new part of the garden is completely dug out.  This summer we will plant 1000 square feet of garden in the back!  (be still my heart - this is a long time dream!)

Reduce  - I'm going for reuse this month or maybe just save from the trash bin.  I am now the proud owner of a whole pile of yarn from my Grandmothers closet that may be a much as 30 or 40 years old.  Grateful to my Mother for thinking of me and being willing to send it on.  I will have much fun with this largess and it will save quite a bit of money for me.  If you can get your hobby down in cost it is a win - win!

Green - We are now using a lot of those containers we rinsed and set aside over the winter months.  this year we will not buy any containers for seed growing and we will set back the ones that are still in good condition to use again.  Old milk cartons become scoops and creamer bottles are great for taking liquids (dressings) to potlucks.  I think this year we have finally begun to really use the things we've been saving (and then tossing) for years.

Grow - I have peas!!!  This is not as disgusting as it may sound.  My peas (plant when it is still cold) are here and there peeking through the dirt and I am thrilled.  The first sprouts of the season always send me into paroxysms of excitement.  (around September - I start grumbling about how many  zucchini are still there!)  Hubby is going to try iceberg lettuce this year and his seedlings are coming up as well.

Peas!

those little leaves are lettuce!

Create - I decided to move out of my comfort zone with my crochet patterns this month and I am very pleased with the results so far.  I am doing a throw that is very textured, the picture is just once through the pattern and that will be done 9 more times.  All but two of the rows in the pattern are new stitches for me so I feel like I really stretched  on this project.

crocheted panel

Discover - I have an obsession with genealogy and this month I have worked on a branch of the family tree that could, I suppose, be called a 'side' branch, but is in actuality one of those wonderful loops that we find in the people that live in pioneering times.  I have had such a good time discovering the connection between the relative I knew in my family and the relative in a cousins family.  I was able to get back to the 1600's in America and find the ancestor who started the family and then the place where the family branched and they lost track of how they were related.  What fun!!!  (really, you have no idea - it makes me feel like Sherlock Holmes or something!)

Enhance - I am once again taking photos for a website called "Find a Grave.com".  This is an awesome tool for family historians and I have gotten some new photo requests for my area and will be taking more cemetery/headstone photos and posting them online.  The public can then look for a headstone of a relative or ancestor and it is just really fun.  Spring and newly dry roads have me planning trips to some pioneer cemeteries.

Enjoy - I am enjoying open windows! After a long winter of closed up house it is so nice to smell fresh air and cut grass and damp dirt!  There simply isn't an air freshener that can beat them.  I may even lemon oil the furniture and get another good smell in the mix.

Happy April!

Almost Spring! - I can't Move!!

I have been neglectful of the space here.  My time has been getting away from me and moving even faster than usual!  

We are in that time of year when you dress in layers  :)  if you want to go out you have to take a coat if it is warm and make sure you can remove a layer soon if it is currently cold!  Sunday we ate out on our friend's patio and Monday we had a fire in the wood stove it was so cold!  Thursday is the first day of spring and it looks to be pleasant.  I have been reliably informed by old-timers that I should have my peas planted by St. Patrick's day and I did - which is how I ended up being unable to move without great physical discomfort!  This is a yearly event for me, you would think I would learn but I don't.  Each year the first really lovely day that doesn't require even a jacket I go outside and work in the yard.  I always plan to stop before too long, I never plan to keep working past the point when common sense says "stop".  I even warn Hubby of the pitfalls of doing too much on the first day.  Then like a woman without a brain I soak up the sun and forget all my good intentions, smell the fresh air, listen to the birds and spend hours pulling weeds!  I currently make the most horrible groaning noises whenever I stand up, sit down or try to move one of my thighs!  The backs of my thighs are letting me know that I am no longer 20 (I knew that!), should have exercised more during the winter, (I knew that too!) and should probably set a timer or something for the first few days! (sigh)  The good news is that since I can barely move I can catch up on what has been going on around here in the last 2 weeks. (I swear I thought it was only one)

Our quilting group has been working madly on the quilt that is being raffled for the school fundraiser, every Thursday afternoon is workday and some Saturdays.  This is so much fun and I think I finally got the hang of the multi-stitch 'rocking' technique!  Much quicker!  It is going to be really pretty I think!  We are selling tickets for $1 per and hoping to sell 1000 tickets - We can do this!  :)

I got sidetracked in my genealogy work and went down the proverbial rabbit hole, lots of fun to do but just eats up the time.  I ended up with a genealogy website for the static information and a new genealogy blog.  I think I need more projects.  Not!!!!

Signs of spring are here, leaves and some of the herbs coming back, the leaves are the corkscrew willow tree.  I am so hoping we don't see blossoms on the fruit trees for a little more, last year we had early flowers, late frost and no fruit - I would sure like to have some cherries and apples this year!

The chives think it's spring!

And here is the progress on the addition of 300 sq ft of garden space, hubby has been digging out the grass and making real progress, he makes funny noises these days too!  :)







Hubby and a friend went fishing today and he has just come home with fresh fish, however I must clean them.  He can clean them but does not think they need to be as clean as I do - so I do it and it just saves time and arguments!  Fresh fish for supper, hooray!