Quick and Easy?

My husband has gotten to the point where if I tell him that dinner will be ready in 30 minutes, he'll say something about it being in an hour.  He says this because it is what always happens.  The way I cook--there are no true "30 minute meals".  I rarely use canned soup as an ingredient or dry soup mix.  I don't use jar gravy or frozen foods.  I don't use sauces or salad dressings as the main ingredient in what I cook either.  If there's a sauce in a recipe, then it's to be made from scratch (most of the time)  This is definitely healthier for my family (less salt and preservatives), but boy does it take a lot more time!


Many of the "quick" cookbooks I see require ingredients like packaged onion soup or canned soup or teriyaki sauce or ranch dressing or other prepared foods.  So, I'm always on the lookout for a "quick" cookbook that really is from scratch.

Recently, I tried out a new one.  It's Don't Panic: Quick, Easy, and Delicious Meals for Your Family by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia.  Here's a super quick description of this cookbook:
- No pictures.
+ Simple directions--easy to read and understand
+ Mostly affordable ingredients (I hate when simple means every recipe is made with Phyllo Dough or pesto!)
There's only a few recipes in here that have more expensive ingredients like phyllo dough.
+ Great ingredient list for stocking your pantry (I keep everything they list except onion soup mix (all have MSG in them) and refried beans (I make my own)).
+ I agree with their basic tips (keep regular items on hand, shop the loss leaders, planning out meals...)


I tried several recipes from this cookbook.  The first I took to a church potluck.  It was the Cream Cheese Danish Recipe.  It does require crescent rolls, but it was still a great and quick brunch dish to take!  My dish came home with me empty.  We also tried the Orange Chicken recipe and were very pleased with it.  My mom commented that it was as good as going out for Chinese food.


I'm not much for cookbooks that advocate freezing dishes for use later.  That approach to quick cooking has never worked well for me because I'm horrible at remembering to thaw things out!  So, cookbooks like this one that try to make recipes simpler, but still taste great are good ones for me.


I did have a thought earlier that this cookbook is aimed at folks that would normally turn to the internet for a recipe for dinner (I found the same Cream Cheese Danish recipe online when I searched).  So, why buy or borrow a cookbook?


For me, I find it much easier to have the recipes I like in one place.  Last week, I was looking for my favorite chicken marsala recipe that I make.  I knew it was in my binders.  I couldn't find them.  I actually have a few places I put the loose recipes that I have.  Secretly, I think generations before me were smart when they fastidiously compiled their recipe boxes full of recipe cards!  I have a recipe accordian with pieces of paper of all sizes in it.  Then, I have a ziploc bag that contains the manuals for all the little cooking appliances we have and a few recipes.  I also have 2 large 3-4" binders full of recipes in sheet protectors.  A few years ago, I subscribed to Cooking Light.  I tore out the recipes that I wanted to keep and organized them by type of food.  How often do I look at them?  Once in a blue moon.  The point of all of this is that I have always shied away from recipes on the internet because I would have to organize them after I make them!  And as you can see, my recipe organization is already quite complicated!  I do much better with cookbooks.  I like to find cookbooks that have several recipes in it that I like.  I like to write all over my cookbooks and record what I change and whether or not my family likes the recipe.  For all the speed of the internet, the selection of recipes overwhelms me and it's much easier for me to navigate a cookbook.  


So, when it comes right down to it, I have realized that I love tangible books.  It may be irrational, but I simply do.  I enjoyed flipping through this cookbook and finding recipes my family would enjoy trying.  I know the orange chicken and danish are going to be regular additions to our family fare.  I liked this cookbook and I'll flip through it again when I'm planning our family menus.


Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this cookbook for review from Revell Publishing.

Air Duct Cleaning

When we moved into our house back in December, one of the things I knew we'd need to do before we turned on the A/C was have the air ducts cleaned out.  I finally had that done yesterday.  I really liked the husband/wife team who came and cleaned them out.  I am very thankful to have this done and off my mind.  The lady who owned the house before us had cats for several years and I was certain it was bad.  It took about 2 hours to clean out the ducts.  


We live in Harford County, Maryland, and I wasn't sure who to call to clean them out, so I called our heating and a/c man (who does a great job!--Lighthouse Heating and Air).  He referred me to Mercerons Cleaning Service.  They came yesterday and did a great job.  I do recommend them if you need to have this done.  It took about 2 hours and the kids and I sat on the porch because the noise inside was loud at times.  They were very efficient and clean.  They did obviously clean out a lot and I am glad.  I hope that friends who visit our home will have less of an allergic reaction now when they visit!  (PS there is a coupon on their website that I wish I'd found before they came to do the job, so definitely go to the website!)  They also clean services and I have heard good things about this as well, but our carpet was well past the cleanable point because it's the pad underneath that I believe is the problem in our den.


Now, I just need to get the carpet replaced in the den and we'll be good to go!

Garage Saling Begins!

Yippee!  Garage Saling began last Saturday where I live.  I only found a few--but enough to make it worthwhile.  I found brand new art supplies I needed for art next year, books for the kids that I'd considered buying for Eli's homeschooling next year, a cake decorator and treats for the girls birthday party in the fall.  I always look forward to the hunt!

Lowe's and Home Depot Ads

At our old house, I used to get these great coupons periodically from Lowe's in the mail, like "save $10 off $50 purchase".  Honestly, I'd save up my optional purchases for when I got one of these coupons.  I wondered this morning if I could get signed up at our new house, so I scoured their website. It took me a little bit of searching, but I did find it.   I found that you can sign up for their mailings here:
https://www.lowes.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/UserRegistrationForm?langId=-1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&new=Y
This will create an online account for you to get emails and then once you're in that account, you can add your home information for mailings.


Home Depot's site only offers an email list sign up for their Garden club and ad (which is great if you don't have a newspaper subscription.  On the side of their site, there is a place where you can sign up for their emails.  I signed up a month or two ago and have already received 2 e-coupons for $5 off of $50.  It isn't much, but it is something and when it comes to equipment or plants everything seems to add up very quickly!

(Sort of) Homemade Cream Cheese Danish

I have this knack of taking things to church pot lucks that don't get eaten up.  But, I keep trying to find something that everyone will enjoy.  At our church, we have a breakfast pot luck after sunrise service.  I usually take muffins or coffee cake or the like.  This year I tried a new recipe from a cookbook that I'll soon be posting a review on.  I found the exact same recipe online so I thought I'd share it here (though I did think about keeping it to myself so that I'd have a standard recipe I could take and know everyone likes!).  The recipe is for cream cheese danish.  If you want to add some pie filling in to the recipe and layer it on the bottom on top of the first layer of crescent rolls, you can do that.  You'll notice that the recipe isn't exactly healthy, but then again--is cream cheese danish ever healthy?! (I was smiling and chuckling as I typed that thought.)


The recipe:   Cream Cheese Danish
link: http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1813,144186-241207,00.html

FILLING:

2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 (8 count) pkgs. crescent rolls

GLAZE:

1 c. confectioners sugar
1 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
Enough milk to make desired consistency (2-3 Tbsp.)

Line greased 9 x 13 inch pyrex pan with 1 package of rolls. Mix other ingredients (save the egg white)--beat really well till mixture is creamy; spread on rolls.  The mixture will be thick.  Top with other can of rolls. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Brush pastry with egg white and bake for 5-10 minutes more till deep brown (but not burnt).  Cool. Put in refrigerator overnight.  In the morning just, drizzle glaze on top.  Cut in small pieces for serving.  

I added words and modifications to their recipe, but this is what worked for me.

Kohl's: Is it really a deal or not?

If you ever wondered if you're getting a deal at Kohl's like I do, you've probably also done what I did on Tuesday.  I bought a pair of Asic tennis shoes.  They were 30% off on sale and I had a 30% off coupon.  So, that made them $49.  There was also one of those promotions that if you spend $50, then you'll get $10 Kohl's cash to spend a few days later.  I needed to get my husband a wallet, so I did get that $10 Kohl's cash (which I spent on socks I needed today).

I came home very curious about whether or not the shoes were actually a good deal, so I looked them up online.  The regular price on several different websites was $70--Kohl's sale price.  So, my theory theory I told my husband held true.  I think the only way to get a good deal at Kohl's is to buy something on sale and have an additional coupon.

Paint the walls? Or Paint the windows instead...

A friend of mine pointed out to me that instead of painting the walls in their house, they painted their window and door frames a color.  I hadn't noticed it until she pointed it out, but of course I did after she said something.  Indeed, they had painted all of the walls in their home white and the frames a nice, calming blue.  It fit perfectly with the character of her home.


I have always, always painted the frames white.  I have always figured that white is easy to touch up.  Our new house has wood frames on  almost all of the window and door frames.  But, in one of the bathrooms, the walls were peach (as well as the ceiling) and the window frame was black.  This week, I painted the walls white.  The bathroom is still old fashioned with all the original tile (peach and black) and blue tub and toilet, but the white paint makes me smile.  


Here's the old

and new:

The black against the white reminded me of my friend's house, so I decided to do the same in our bathroom.  I tried to find a picture of the walls and frame before, but I think I disliked it so much I couldn't bring myself to take one.  But, imagine walls the color of red burgundy wine and a white window frame--with blue and maroon tile on the walls.  This is a picture of the frame now surrounded by the white wall.  I think the blue frame complements the tile rather than overwhelming it.  I like it.  

So, I'm glad I did it.  But, I don't know if I would choose to paint all of the frames in a house one color.  I admire my friend and her husband for doing it.  I love the way it looks, but I think it can be a lot more difficult to paint a window frame and door frame than the walls.  I don't use tape so it was much trickier to paint the sides of the frame and cut in just right.  I was able to scrape paint off the glass with my finger nail, so that wasn't a problem.  But, it was much harder than I thought it would be.  

One of the things I love about fixing up a house is finding the projects you can do with materials you already have.  That's one reason I buy white paint.  It has so many purposes and can be used to paint trim, walls, furniture...  The blue paint that I used in the bathroom was one that I found in the basement left by the previous owner.  I think it's also what she used on the kitchen cabinets, but the rooms are far enough away from each other that they probably won't seem too similar.

So, that's what I was up to this week.  The last room has now been painted.  Yippee!  Now on to the basement walls and waterproofing masonry paint... 

Saving Electricity

My sweet 3 year old son is sleeping on the bathroom floor tonight.  He complained of a tummy ache and I asked him if it was a hungry tummy ache or a throw up kind of tummy ache.  He thought it was a throw up kind.  So I made a little bed of towels for him on the floor of the bathroom.  I asked him if he wanted to have the light on.  This was his reply:


"No, because I don't want to waste the electricity."


I smiled inwardly and outwardly.  I want my children to have the desire to not waste--whether electricity or water.  I don't want them to obsess about it, but I do want them to wise about what they consume.  It took me by surprise that Eli would say this, but it made me glad to know that he's on board.  


I have recycled newspapers and aluminum cans all of my life.  I can't remember a time when I didn't.  In my mind, the reason I do it is because my mom did it when I was growing up.  I'm glad she did.  I hope my kids will feel the same way about me some day.  

Saving Energy

Our electric and gas bill came this week.  I'd been waiting for this bill expectantly to see what it held.  We've had an extremely warm winter, but even so our January bill was very expensive--twice the bills of my friends who I asked.


I discovered something as I asked my friends.  Many people keep their daytime indoor temperatures at between 61 and 63 degrees.  I know that your body adjusts and you get used to wearing sweaters.  My mom being a Southern California transplant is adjusting to our mid-Atlantic winters.  She wears a second layer in our house with it at 67 degrees.  My family all prefers it at about 67 so that means I need to budget and expect a higher bill because of it--as long as the bill is affordable for our budget.  If we find it is too much, I will turn down the temperature on our thermostats.  


With that in mind, I wanted to reduce our bill without turning down the temperature in our house.  These are the problems I found in the past 2 months that we fixed.  I was very thankful to find that after fixing these things our bill this month was just a little over half of the month's previous bill.  Yahoo!


1) Air was pouring in around our back door.  I weatherstripped it.  It's not perfectly sealed, but it probably reduced about 80% of the air coming in. (cost: $5)  At first I tried a self-adhesive weatherstripping, but it didn't adhere very well.  So, I had to then nail in a different type of rubber weatherstripping in.


2) I just discovered this week that around the base of our front door, air was also pouring in where the hot water baseboard met the wall.  So, I went downstairs and got some foam weatherstripping that I stuck on the wall (It's not visible under the baseboard) and caulked around the rest of the door. (cost: $3 tube of caulk and a portion of a roll of weatherstripping foam $4)


3) Several windows were slightly cracked open and can't be closed, so I needed to stick weatherstripping foam in them. (previous roll)


4)  I caulked around the living room windows that had been installed and finished, but never caulked.  (cost: caulk tube $3)


5) We started teaching the kids to not turn on so many lights.


6) I painted our bathroom walls white.  This surprised me.  The white brightens up the bathroom so much that I almost never need to turn on the lights in the room.  (cost: the room needed to be painted and it took a portion of a gallon so probably cost about $15 because it needed several coats)


7) We upped the humidity setting on our dehumidifier in the basement so that it isn't constantly on.  I am going to paint the basement walls with drylok in the future to decrease the moisture, but for now the dehumidifier is there.  I think turning this up saved us a lot of money on our bill.  (cost:  drylok will cost $23-$27/gallon at Lowe's.  It will take several gallons to paint the basement walls.)


8) We found that there was electricity running to the extra water heater in the basement that hadn't been removed (and it was heating water!).  We had the water heater removed.


9) We replaced some of the specialty high wattage bulbs with LED bulbs.  These were very expensive, but they're safer because of their locations as well as more energy efficient. (cost: $60)


10) We discussed as a family which light fixtures consumed a lot of energy and make a concerted effort not to turn them on unless we need them.


11) I make sure I don't leave the stereo receiver on if it's not in use.


For the future, 


1) We're going to hopefully insulate the floor boards of our den down the road.


2) We're going to replace the back door this month and install a storm door on the front door.  (The kids leave it wide open when they're all entering or exiting and lose a lot of heat through it accidentally).  One friend of mine said that they saved $15/month on electricity when they replaced their front and back doors.


3) We're going to insulate some of the pipes in the basement (particularly the ones that run the water to the kitchen) when we have time.   It's on the future to do list.  Right now we're basically heating our entire basement and our main floor because all the pipes are exposed in the basement.  The best way to insulate them would be to get these long strips of foam that fit around the pipes.  


When I got the crazy bill in January, my mom and I looked over several energy usage lists.  The high use culprits for electricity in our house are the dryer, clothes washer, dishwasher, oven, stereo receiver, lights (there are some fixtures in this house that have a lot of bulbs!), the toaster oven, the dehumidifier.  One that was on many lists that doesn't get much usage in our house is a hair dryer.  Hair dryers use a surprising amount of energy.  


So, now I'm going to wait expectantly for next month's bill and see how we fare!  One friend told me yesterday that she loves to save money and consume less.  I feel the same way.  As much as these efforts are about saving money, I really want my family to consume less energy.  I want to be the best steward that I can be of the world God has given us to live in--and not waste energy.  

What a difference paint can make

The biggest reason I like painting is that I feel like I've done something when it's done.  

Hallway before painting
This was our hallway before painting.  The light blue paint made the ceiling look blue.  It was a long, blue cave.  I found a nice green and painted the hallway.  But, it turned out to look just like mint chocolate chip ice cream.  I couldn't actually bear to take a picture, so I didn't.  

Hallway after (2nd) painting
After having the green up for a week, my husband and I couldn't bear it.  So, I chalked the paint up as a  loss and went with a less expensive paint to go over it.  I had two different friends mention to me that friends of theirs had chosen greens that hadn't worked out.  Greens, I discovered, are tricky.  In some rooms, they can be great.  But, if the lighting isn't conducive, they can also be very unsettling.

Doorway Pre-Painting

Doorway after (2nd) Painting

Arch after painting
One friend passed on the advice that it's very important to consider how the paint colors of a room transition to the other rooms that can be seen from them.  The tan I chose had a similar tone to the blue of the dining room, so they go well together.

Now, on to the bathrooms (when I get well)!

When not to paint

I am sick.  Really sick.  I started getting sick on Sunday and by yesterday afternoon I knew I was really getting sick.  I couldn't get off the couch.  My husband is away, but my mom and girls are taking care of me.  


But, then there's me.  Sometimes I just get a bee in my bonnet.  


There's one spot in the living room behind the bookcase that needed painting.  So, crazy me, decided to move the books with the little energy I had and paint behind the bookcase.  Part of the reason I did it was because it has been intimidating to me.  When something is intimidating to me, I just make myself do it.  


I put the primer on last night and then in the middle of the night put the first coat of paint on.  I discovered that painting while you're sick is not a good idea.  I dropped a lot more on the floor and somehow my hands ended up covered in paint (which I discovered this morning).  It's quite funny really.  I have this dogged determination to get that room painted!  It's one of those moments when all I can do is laugh at myself.


My new advice to myself:  Don't paint when I'm sick.

Painting in Progress...

I am painting my way around my living room.  Each day I do a patch--prime, then paint the first coat, and then paint the second coat.  It's hard for my family to have things out of place so this way I only have to move part of the room at a time.  I'm hand brushing the walls because they're small sections and this lets pick up my painting quickly and set it down when my kids need me.  I'm also doing this because there are three large sets of curtains in the room and Only have room for 1 to hand dry at a time in our basement.  Which brings me to some random tricks I've figured out this time around to make this job doable.


1) HE washing machines wash drapes well on the delicate cycle.  I use Woolite.  They haven't shrunk.  I have never checked how much it costs to take drapes to a dry cleaners, but I'm sure it's quite expensive.  I've been very pleased with how my washing machine has done.  I do make sure to take all of the metal drapery hooks out before I wash the curtains.  


2) I have to take back what I said about Valspar.  It is now a THICK paint!  I painted with Valspar 5 years ago and it was quite a thin paint.  I talked to another friend who painted with it around the same time.  She agreed.  The Valspar I bought last week is a completely different paint.  I bought the lower of the Valspar paints.  (1 gallon of Eggshell was $26.97)  The next level up cost about $5 more per gallon.  


They (Lowe's) also now carry an allergy/asthma paint that is about $43/gallon.  The Lowe's employee told me that they say it has no smell, but it actually does have a slight ammonia smell.  If your house struggles with mold and mildew, then you'd want a paint like this which will resist it.  Home Depot does not have a similar paint.  Instead, they will add a small bottle of mildewcide to a gallon of paint to add the mold and mildew resistant properties to their BEHR paint.  The gal at Lowe's told me that if someone is sensitive to the smell of paint (I am learning that many people are), then the premium Olympic paint is actually better to use than the Valspar Asthma and Allergy paint.  Both do have 0-VOC and are supposed to not have any smell, but the Valspar has a slight ammonia smell.  The Olympic is going to be a thinner paint though, so you just have to be careful of splattering and not putting too much on your brush at one time.  


3) I can't wait to paint the bathrooms!  Finally-- flat walls.  Textured walls really are harder to paint!  It takes a lot more time to make sure you get paint in all the nooks and crannies.  The bathrooms and kitchen are the only rooms in this house with flat walls.  (The den has paneling which was also easier to paint than the textured walls.)  So, if your walls are all flat--lucky you!  I had no idea what a blessing this was at our other houses! (Sometimes I think it's good to be thankful that a room is easier to paint than it could be ;) ).  


4) I paint in a flurry.  I find that it's hard to get motivated once I stop.  Somehow starting a painting project can seem very daunting, but once I've started, it's much easier to press on.  So, I'm going to paint the living room and then press on to the bathrooms.  I will then go on to the basement, hopefully--which reminds me of one last financial tip I discovered!


5) Sherwin-Williams carries waterproofing UGL drylock (brand) paint for $40/gallon (with no price break on the 5 gallon).  They also carry their own waterproofing paint for a little less.  But, I was at Lowe's the other day buying paint and realized that they have two different UGL drylock paints--one is $23/gallon and the other is $27/gallon (the Extreme one).  Both are priced much lower than at Sherwin Williams.  I'm going to need some of this paint in the near future, so that was why I was comparing the prices.  You can't paint masonry walls that haven't been sealed with regular primer.  You need to paint them with a masonry paint--preferably one that is a waterproofing paint if the walls are basement walls or if the area is humid at all.


I'll post a picture when the painting is all done in the living room and a few of my work in progress so my painting approach will make more sense.  I'm sure it sounds pretty crazy the way I've described it!

A fun date suggestion: the Brandywine Valley

A few weeks ago, my husband and I headed up to the Brandywine Valley just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  We went to the Brandywine River Museum (http://www.brandywinemuseum.org/) and saw some beautiful art.  A few years ago, we saw an exhibit of Marc Brown's art (of Arthur fame) and was amazed to see the artwork that went into making his books.  So, this museum was another treat.  N.C. Wyeth illustrated classics such as Treasure Island and the Last of the Mohicans.  It was a neat museum and I suspect the grounds are much more beautiful in the spring and summer.  From there we went to lunch at Mushrooms in Chadds Ford, PA.  (http://www.brandywineriverantiques.com/mushrooms.html)  I highly recommend getting a bowl (not a cup or you'll regret it) of the mushroom soup.  Bread costs extra and it's not listed on the menu, but you'll want it and it's worth it.  I kept wishing I had bread as I ate the delicious soup and didn't learn until later that you had to order it.  If you want a sandwich, the Roast Beef (the "Mikewich") was excellent on a cold day.  


So, just a thought.  If you're looking for a day trip date, we enjoyed this one!

Choosing Paint: Sherwin Williams, Behr, or Valspar?

Painting can be a surprisingly expensive project.  I think paint is one of those things that you get what you pay for.  I've now painted with Glidden, Valspar (formerly American Signature), Olympic, Behr, and Sherwin Williams.  (I have not used the paints sold at Walmart which are also less expensive painting options.)


Sherwin Williams was a new one for me.  I couldn't find what color I wanted at Home Depot, so I thought about Sherwin Williams.  I remembered my sister in law buying some Sherwin Williams paint two years ago and several friends had given rave reviews to the paint.  There happened to be a 25% off coupon in the paper so I went to see their colors.  I picked two out that I liked and brought them home.  Cost wise--even with the coupon, the paint was about $12 more per gallon than Behr.  I took it home and started painting.


Verdict?  I loved the paint, but the color turned out to look just like the green from mint chocolate chip ice cream (the green kind) under the light.  It's been up for a week now and I cringe when I look at it.  It isn't soothing the way I had hoped.  That's the funny thing about paint.  You can look at it in one light and have it look very different in another.  


The great thing about paint is that you can change it!  


The great part about Sherwin Williams paint?  It paints amazingly well!  My sister in law made a great choice getting Sherwin Williams paint--it really is easier to paint with.   You definitely need two coats and not a smooth roller if you have textured walls like we do, but it paints much better than even Behr.  Do I think it's worth $25 more per gallon (regular price)?  No.  Part of the reason why is that it's a very expensive mistake if it turns out that you don't love the color (like me).  But, if you have the money to spend on it, it definitely is better paint and you'll be really happy with it.  The customer service at their stores is great.  The sales staff were very helpful at both of the stores I went to.  


My second favorite paint is Behr, but I've exhausted the color choices and not found one that I love for the hallway and living room.  So, I made a trip to Lowe's yesterday and loved the browns they had.  Seeing the green on the walls also made me realize I really wanted a brown or tan on the walls instead.  Valspar is good paint--not as good as Behr in my humble opinion, but good paint.  I took the paint cards home last night and held them up all along the hallway because we have this funky track lighting system in the hall that makes every wall look different.  I picked one out and I'm hopeful that it will be what we're looking for.  I also held it up next to the walls in all of the adjacent rooms to see if the color transition would be pleasing.  I like it.  


What makes a paint better than another? (in my very humble opinion)  One that doesn't splatter everywhere.  The best ones can cover in one coat if you need them to.  But, every paint I've used would be better with two.  One that stays on the brush.  One who's color stays even throughout the gallon when stirred.  I'm a painter who doesn't use drop cloths or tape, so I want to use a paint that stays on the walls and doesn't run.  When I use one of my less favorite paints, I am just more careful.  I always have a wet rag nearby to pick up any drops that land on the floor, door jams, or baseboards.  


So, today, I get to reprime the hallway and make another trip to Lowe's for paint.  I am hopeful that this time I will get it right!


PS If I haven't mentioned this before, but you are thinking about painting down the road...there are always rebates offered around Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day on paints.  I've noticed that they randomly offer them at other times of the year, but you have to keep an eye out for them!

Cutting Down Trees

A few years ago, we had 2 large trees cut down at our home.  When the men left, no one spoke with me about the work they'd done.  I remember having no idea if anyone was coming back to grind the stump or not.  An hour later, a man arrived.  He ground the stump and then drove away.  He also left me with a big mess of sawdust to dispose of.  The men who cut the tree in the back did the same.  I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the yard.  (If anyone's curious, it was Harford Tree Removal--which I wouldn't recommend.)  The interesting part of the experience for me was that I had gotten two estimates and gone with the higher one.  I thought the company would do a better job.  I learned a lot from that experience.  And yes, if you're wondering if my husband and I made the decision together--we did!  But, I happened to meet with the men who came out to estimate the job and so I presented to my husband the estimates from both and we discussed them.

At our new house, we needed to have two very large trees removed (and stumps/surface roots ground).  I remembered a discussion among some members of the homeschooling email network I'm a part of about tree trimmers.  I had logged one of the gal's names in my mind in case I ever needed it.  When I realized we needed to get these two trees taken down, she was the first person I emailed.  She recommended a company called Clear Tree.  She told me they weren't the cheapest, but they'd do a good job.  That was what I wanted.  I called them for an estimate and someone came over.  The estimator wrote out exactly what they would do.  I clarified several things with them--1) if anything happened to the water line, they would be responsible. 2) they would clean everything up and not leave me a mess! 3) I asked him to itemize what we were asking to be done, so my husband could have the option of what he wanted to have done and what he didn't.

The men arrived this morning around 11 am and are still working away as we approach 4 p.m. (They didn't finish until 6 p.m.) Two trees are down in the back and the one in the front is also down.  They're grinding the stump of the one in front as I type away.  My husband cut down two trees last night and they took care of mulching all that he'd cut down from them.  They also cut down the rest of the tree trunk that he hadn't gotten to last night (what a blessing!).  I've watched as they've raked up the debris throughout the process.  I've had the doorbell ring 3 or 4 times each time they've had a question about where to put the wood.  The man who heads up the team talked with me about each tree and the yard before the team got started.  It's actually a blessing to be bothered sometimes!

I was very apprehensive about this endeavor before it got started.  Trimming trees and having them removed is a surprisingly expensive home repair project!  It's not unusual for several large trees to cost a few thousand dollars to remove.  Of course there's extenuating factors--being over power and utility lines, being near water lines, the difficulty of getting to the trees, etc.  Those factors all can make a tree cost more or less to get trimmed or removed.  There's also two ways of trimming trees.  You can have them topped off or thinned out.  Thinning out does less damage to the tree, but  topping off is the cheaper way of getting the job done.

In our case, it was important to get the trees removed.  One was blocking the drainage of water away from our house.  It also happened to be dying and has lost a lot of large limbs in recent years.  The second tree was a silver maple, which are notorious for burrowing holes through pipes (especially water lines).  Both the tree cutters and the water meter man have told me this.  The water meter man warned me of this four weeks ago when I interrogated him about the water meter on his most recent visit.  The meter man had encouraged me to put some root kill down the drain to go through the sewer pipes to clear out any roots that have started to grow.

As with all projects on this house, this project has pointed to another.  It turns out that the drainage pipes for the gutters had roots in them and were completely clogged.  This actually could explain a lot about why our sump pumps have been running so often.  I am relieved this project is done.  I miss the trees (I do love trees!).  But, I'm thankful to have a flat front yard that my kids won't trip over and that we can now use.  Our small backyard feels bigger and I look forward to working on it in the spring.

So that was our adventure yesterday!  As one last note, I think the biggest difference I now see in cutting trees is the aftermath of what happens once the tree is cut.  If you have to have a tree cut down, it isn't so bad to just get the tree cut down.  It's adding clean up, grinding roots up, and grinding up the stump (and whether they smooth the dirt down afterwards) that makes it a much more expensive project.

Why I've Been Busy

This is a post I started writing two weeks ago, but lost track of, so please forgive my dating in the entry...


Yesterday at dinner, I told my mom that I felt like I hadn't gotten much done yesterday.  She told me to make a list and see if I had or if I hadn't.  She's right.  Making lists is one of the things I've been doing to help me remember that I am getting things done.  Sometimes it feels like I'm just treading water and it's quite frustrating.


Yesterday this is what I got done:
+ My mother in law came over to make a fax (after several attempts and reprinting the document darker), it got done.
+ Old fireplace insert and gas line were removed by HVAC man.
+ Homeschooled all 3 kids
+ Made pork tacos for dinner.
+ Got refund completed for gas insert we'd ordered.
+ Rescheduled dishwasher repairman when they cancelled on me.
+ Fixed church's website.
+ Painted remaining strip of paneling in den.
+ Followed up with homeschooling umbrella for my mother in law.
+ Followed up on the gym membership we've been trying for 3 months to cancel.
+ Changed all sheets and towels in the house.
+ Did 3 loads of laundry (but my mom folded them).


It also feels like there's always been someone at my house to come fix something.  When we call someone it isn't because I don't think my husband can fix it.  A few of them were projects we could do, but then we had to weigh the cost of the project and the amount of time we have to work with, schedules, and priorities (both of our regular days and how quickly the project needed to be taken care of).  A few of them were projects we simply couldn't do (ie. tune the piano).  I am always impressed by my husband all the things that he can fix.  I am so thankful for him.  I try to do my share to and help as much as I can.


It makes me feel good to realize what we've already tackled:
+ Fireplace insert removed; screens and grate purchased and fixed (one had to be split)
+ Leaves in yard cleared (done by a good friend's sons)
+ Several rooms painted
+ Den carpet cleaned
+ Extra water heater full of water (and being heated!) removed
+ Kitchen sewer pipe connected to main sewer pipe instead of french drain
+ Main water turn off valve replaced and pressure release valve put in
+ Hot Water baseboard leak fixed
+ Piano tuned
+ Stove backsplash replaced
+ Patio doors finished and caulked (batten strips still to be afixed)
+ Bathroom vanity mirrors: Trim fitted and caulked (quite a big project for me)
+ Baseboards fitted, finished, and afixed in dining room
+ Removed several trash cans full of trash, including a crib left in the backyard!
+ Replaced light fixtures in two bedrooms
+ Replaced outlets in den (done by good friends)
+ Waterproof windows that are cracked open and can't be closed


Amidst getting all of this and other things done, my mother in law moved into our other home.  My husband helped his brothers move everything in.  We've been helping her find her way around and find the things that she needs.


And then there was Christmas, New Year's, and a visit from my brother and his wife.


Putting it all down on paper (so to speak) by listing what we've done makes what we have left to do seem to be much less.  The burden lightens and it helps me understand why I feel so tired and drained right now.


Here's our list for the spring and rest of this year...
+ Trim and remove trees
+ Rock in moat and regrade to help yard drainage
+ Paint hallway, living room, and bathrooms (including baseboard heaters and vanity)
+ Remodel master bathroom
+ Replace back door


The reality of owning a house is that there are always projects and things to do.  Taking care of a house is ongoing.  For people like me, who want to take of things and be done with them, this can be very hard.


I know a young couple who is considering purchasing a townhome rather than a single family home.  There are definitely pros and cons to both--both in the short term and long term.  There are so many things to consider.  I hope that watching us and all of the things we've had to deal with haven't deterred them.  I realize that these projects we have on our plates will eventually calm down.  Really, they already are.  Over the last month, I've felt stretched emotionally and physically.  But, I hope I've grown too.  I've grown in understanding for others who have a lot of home repair.  I'm learning, hopefully, to live with things undone and yet to be done.  This is a must in life.  We try to control our lives and have everything done and put away, but the reality
is that life is messy.  It may not look messy, but it isn't all neat and ordered.  Life is unpredictable and we (I) have to cope with what comes each day--with the help of the Lord.  It is the Lord that gives us hope and courage to put one foot in front of the other.


Last Sunday our pastor spoke about troubles and how David didn't respond to his troubles--he didn't respond by trying to fix it all himself out of pride.  So often I do try to fix things on my own.  This house has reminded me over and over that I can't do that.  I have to wait on Him, rely on Him for strength, and wait for Him to put the pieces together.  I do need to do my part and actively put one foot in front of the other, but there is a balance between working and waiting.  I can only work because the Lord gives me strength.

Organizing Our Homes

This week I've been reading a book on organizing small spaces by Kathryn Bechen, titled Small Space Organizing.  I posted a quote from the book a week or two ago.  The introduction drew me in.  My mom picked it up the day it arrived and read several chapters.  My sister in law read the entire book while she was here visiting and enjoyed it.  It was very easy to read.  One key thing about books on organization, I think, is that they are intended to give you ideas.  How we organize our homes and what we keep in them is very personal.  This audience for this book is middle/upper middle class women who have disposable income that allows them a lot of freedom in their choice of furnishings and the ability to purchase storage containers.  Are there ideas for women with more limited financial means?  Yes, but this book is for people who choose small spaces and can afford to furnish them to their tastes more than for people who choose small spaces because that is the most they can afford.


Her ideas in the introduction, though, and the idea that we should strive to "dwell well" are ones that I think all women would be encouraged to hear.  If you live in an area that puts a lot of value on where people live and the homes they live in (and judge others by this criteria), then this chapter is worth reading and taking to heart.   


From there, Ms. Bechen covers topics such as the one room dwelling, the nursery, kids' rooms, and all other rooms of the home one by one.  I enjoyed her ideas for a one room dwelling.  My mom particularly enjoyed this chapter and took several ideas from it as she has settled into her room in our new home.  I think she is pleased with the outcome though it's not entirely done yet.  


I was especially curious about her chapter about the nursery and kids' rooms.  She says at the beginning of the chapter that she and her husband don't have children.  I have found your perspective on many things like this changes drastically when you have children yourself (even if you've been a teacher beforehand as both this author and I were).  Many of her suggestions were great ones that I would definitely give people in light of my experience living with children in 4 different homes.  But, many of the things she considers needs and what you "should" spend money on are ultimately optional.  You only really need a crib, a place to change the baby, and some storage.  In your living room or the nursery it is helpful to have a spot you are comfortable nursing or feeding a bottle in, but if your nursery is small, there may not be room.  We didn't have a changing table for our first two or a diaper pail.  I put a pad on the floor and changed my babies there--and never had to worry about them falling off.  Oh, and I've never seen a crib that was high enough to store boxes of diapers under.  But, for a mom who's able to design her nursery, these suggestions would be a great place to start.  We were just coming from a very different place financially when we had our first daughter.  (God did provide very graciously for us and I am very thankful that we had what we needed.)  


Her ideas for kids' rooms are very much in line with what we see families have on television.  For the most part, they're pretty good general suggestions.  I suspect they'll align with what most families have found on their own to be workable ideas.  All my friends will understand when I note, though, that I disagreed that kids rooms should be wired with extra outlets so that they can support more technology and media in their rooms.  Um.  Nope.  At least not in our house.  In my mind, computers are best out in the open where they can be seen.  Televisions in a child's room?  My opinion is that they're really not a good idea.  I've heard too many stories of children waking in the night or not going to bed until very late because they stay up watching television in their rooms.  I remember one story of a parent being so proud that her 3 year old stayed in her room for 3 hours watching Shrek.  I wouldn't mind my children spending 3 hours in their room--if they're playing or reading or napping.  


So, was this book useful to me?  Perhaps not to me, but it was enjoyable to my family members and it is well written.  We just moved into a new home a month ago and I have had to buy about 10 large Rubbermaid bins for storage in the basement.  I opted for the sharpie marker labeling technique instead of a label maker as Ms. Bechen suggests.  I know people love label makers, but it hasn't been a need for us.  It's a want.  We came in with all sorts of ideas of what we'd need to buy and spend money on for storage.  We did buy 4 dressers, a small wardrobe, a bed frame, and 2 night stands for our room--all from IKEA and a new larger dining room table and chairs that we are waiting on.  But, aside from that, we are using what we had before.  We had other ideas, but those have been put on my garage saling list for the spring.  That's the one aspect that she doesn't directly address--organizing frugally or on a limited budget.  


If you enjoy reading books about organizing spaces or are looking for some encouragement to pare down and simplify, this book will definitely tell you that.  She doesn't give specific directions of what to get rid of and what to keep in many ways or a lot of directions of how to do it, but she throws in a few comments about it here and there.  This book is primarily a book aimed at helping you see the big picture of how you want your home to look and how you're going to use the space in it.  What you keep and get rid of is up to you.  It will give you ideas and start you on the path.  And it will give you a lot of encouragement to keep going and press on as you organize your home and find contentment in the space in which you dwell!


Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Revell Publishing.

Planning Our Projects

I had this thought yesterday about my home and how burdened I've felt to fix everything right now.  It came after I looked through some old pictures of my family in our old house--before we'd fixed it.  I had forgotten what it looked like and we simply lived with until we had the finances to fix it.  In one instance we were compelled to take a loan out because it was such an enormous repair that had to be done right away.  But, we worked away at it to quickly pay that loan off.  What I realized as all of these memories came to me is that part of the reason we feel this burden to fix everything is that we are able to afford a lot of the fixes.  They aren't big fixes like the one we had to take a loan our for several years ago, though they do add up.  But, when we simply couldn't afford the fixes at the time, we had to wait until we could.


The second part of the reason we feel so burdened is a little different for my husband and I.  For him, he thought he was moving into a house that didn't need a lot of work, so it feels a bit like we got hijacked.  For me, I realize that my family does better when our home is settled and functioning--and not out of order.  So, I want things to be fixed and in place.  


So, last night we were feeling so burdened, we sat down and made a master list of those projects we want to do over the next year.  We broke it down for the winter (now-next 2 months), spring, and June-December.  We also made a list of projects for next year.  When we spread out the projects over time, it didn't look so bad.  I also made a list of the little projects I need to get done now and need to work through.  I took my calendar and spread the projects and phone calls out over the week.  My goal is to only tackle one day's jobs at a time, so that I can still get my regular work done and feel at ease that it is all going to get done.  


Now to stick to that plan...

What we need and what we don't

It's hard to believe that it's been almost 1 month since we moved.  My oldest daughter has been asking all week to go back to our old house.  She keeps telling me that our house doesn't feel like "home".  Her biggest reason when I ask is because we're so busy.  She's right.  We've been working a lot on our house and I've honestly had less patience to sit with them.  My mom's made up for it, but really, she's not me.  I'm their mom.  So, as I was going to bed last night I realized this.  I need to fully do my job again.  I made a goal to work harder at doing things little by little rather than all at once.


Goal #1:  Bag 1 bag of leaves in the yard a day.  The former owner of this house had her yard mowed, but didn't do anything else.  There were sticks buried in the yard because they were never picked up.  It's overwhelming to me, but I need to just bag bit by bit.  It will eventually all get done, right?  Yup.  It will.


Besides feeling like we have to do the work at once this house has made us feel like it needs to be fixed all at once.  Sometimes that's been because it really needs to be, but sometimes it's been because of our own anxiety. This is why I titled this entry "what we need and what we don't".  


I don't need to rake the leaves all at once, but I feel like I do!  What I really need to do is not burn myself or my kids out but working too much all at once and not having time for them.


Our fireplace is the case of something we felt needed to be fixed right away because it didn't work properly, but really we made a mistake.  We didn't step back and think about the wisest way economically to fix it.  I'm thankful the Lord threw in a snag on Friday to help us see a better fix.  On Friday, as I've come to expect, the fireplace log set installer told me he couldn't do it.  He explained 2 snags to me.  1) the damper had to stay open 24/7 (which we didn't know) and we had no doors to keep our house from losing heat constantly up our chimney and 2) we had no screen or doors in front of the fireplace.  Ugh.


We were very upset because we can't get all of the money back that we spent on the log set--but we can get most of it.  We realized that we would rather put a grate for wood in the fireplace with a screen in front of the fireplace and on the side.  We've called someone to come disconnect the gas line that runs up into the fireplace this week.  In the end, we will lose a little money, but we'll also save a lot of money and feel better about the whole thing.


We thought we needed a gas insert, but really we don't.  We could have saved ourselves the loss and the weeks of waiting for something to be fixed that didn't end up being fixed.


Many people buy new houses and so everything is fixed to begin with.  But, when you buy an older home, there's many things that need to be fixed right from the beginning.  The hard, but important, part is to fix them as you go and figure out what really needs to be fixed when.  That's what we're working on... 

Small Houses, Big Houses

Two weeks ago, a book arrived for me to review.  My mom picked it up that very day and began thumbing through it.  She enjoyed it right off the bat.  This weekend my sister in law was here visiting and she read the whole book.  So, I picked it up yesterday.  My full review of the book will be posted in a few weeks, but several of the quotes were very relevant to what we've been going through.  


Our new, old home has had a lot of issues.  We've been working hard on fixing them and getting it in shape.  There have been so many things that have run through my mind as I've been working on them.  One of the things I've pondered is that I need to seek daily to be content with my home and in my home.  


The book I'm reading put it this way:  that we should seek to "dwell well".  The author talked of how large houses cost people--personally, economically,professionally.  Houses can restrict people, rather than free them.  


So, here's a quote by Kathryn Bechen to consider:
"Small spaces give us the opportunity to live sincerely, forcing us to choose which of our possessions make our hearts sing."  

from pg. 15 of her book Small Space Organizing

Last week, when I was at a friend's house discussing houses and possessions, the idea was brought up and discussed that the more possessions one has a) the more one has to take care of and clean and b) that more choices lead to greater unhappiness.  If we only have 1 platter, then we use the 1 platter and are thankful.  If we have 3, we want to make sure we choose the right one and spend more time making that choice.  I use the platter example because up until last week, I had no platters.  My mom was sifting through her things and figuring out what we should keep.  We decided to keep 2 oval platters and 2 round trays that she had.  On Saturday, one of our guests brought some food and asked for a platter to put it on.  I brought the larger one out and our friend wasn't sure it was big enough.  After a moment, it was decided that it would work after all and it looked great with food on it!  For me, that platter was the only choice I had.  I was thankful to have it!  I knew that the person's request wasn't unreasonable at all, but that she must have several platters and be used to having them available to use.  We were coming from different perspectives and have different things in our homes.  


But, that tiny moment brought to my mind what happens when we have choices.  I want get a new camera case that will make it easier for me to carry my camera and lenses.  The internet has a myriad of choices.  I want to make sure I make the "right" choice--or else what?  Well, the fear is that I'll be unhappy with it.  


Having a home that is just right for our families and even perhaps, smaller than we'd like compels us to not hold too tightly to our possessions.  There simply isn't enough room to keep a lot of extra stuff.  But, sometimes it can go the other way.  I've seen how only having a few possessions has made me become overly concerned with making the "right" choice of possessions instead of letting go of those possessions.  Something that someone gives another may not be received because it wasn't exactly what was wanted.  I don't want to get caught in that trap either.  Having possessions comes with many traps and we have to be careful not to make them our homes into idols.  


What really matters?  Our houses?  No.  Our stuff?  No.  Rather, we should desire to dwell well--to seek to love others well with our home and in our home.  Ideally, I think it should be a comfortable place to all who come and go.  


I think I have some more purging ahead of me this week as I finish storing my homeschool books in our basement...  and some more time to think about what I really keep.