The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Another warm day. Probably the last evening in the sunroom

2. Ran out of stick butter so I had to substitute vegetable oil in a cornbread recipe. A slight change in texture and taste, but not noticeable by the rest of the family 

3. Deep cleaned the living room in anticipation of The Young One's  visit.

4. Another sunny and warm day.

5. Another warm day. November weather has been unbelievable. Perfect day to spend with Teague as ladies who lunch and then afternoon in her sunroom. Ice cream was involved, too.

How was your week?

Monet and Me

 

The Young One may be coming home for a visit in November. Monet and I are Fall cleaning the living room and dining room starting with the flat file. First a cup of tea.

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week

1. I made a few and ate more than a few of the acorn treats

2. Under a pile in the office, I found something I had been looking for

3. My SIL texted me the date of the annual December family gathering.

4. I planted some bleeding heart seeds

5. Play day at Teague's, and we made plans for another runaway trip.

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I mailed a package of craft stuff to The Young One. The eyes arrived so she could finish a project

2. I did some cleaning and purging and switched the Summer and Winter wardrobe

3. The laundry was caught up for all of five minutes

4. I found a recipe for crockpot lasagna using frozen ravioli

5. A blast from the past, I got an email from a calligraphy classmate.

How was your week?

Monet and Me

decided to give the kitchen a much needed facelift. Monet poses at the kitchen sink showing off the valance from the curtain set that had been in the Young One's bedroom. The valance also had a set of swags, but I didn't like the way they looked in the kitchen window.

The real makeover was changing out the old cabinet and drawer pulls. I found these funky, mismatched, ceramic pulls on Amazon. They didn't have any sort of drawer pull to go with them but the knobs work just as easily for a drawer pull.

Monet and Me

 

We're loving the little dishwasher. There are 6 different modes. Heat, Normal, Speed (shorter time for lightly soiled dishes), Soft (for fragile items), Baby Care/Heavy (for baby bottles or really grimy dishes), Fruit.

We decided to play with the fruit cycle to wash apples. The container to hold the fruit in the dishwasher also doubles as a fruit bowl. Pretty cool.

Monet and Me

 Something new for the blog. I'm mashing Monday with Whatcha Doin on Wednesday for a new Monday theme called Monet and Me.

The kitchen in the Dollhouse is very small. There is no space for an under the counter dishwasher unless I lose one of the cabinets under the sink and 5 small drawers.

Fifteen or so years ago, we had a portable dishwasher that could be rolled from a spot near the microwave cart and hooked up to the kitchen sink. It didn't take long for it to become a pain in the butt to roll the dishwasher from the sink to its spot it in kitchen. The dishwasher soon lived in front of the sink where I sort of lost the cabinets underneath. To get to them, I had to push the dishwasher away.

Then the day came when a pressure gasket on the coupler for the hose to be attached to the dishwasher gave way, and then we couldn't find another adapter. The dishwasher was moved to the end of the driveway where someone took it for use or scrap.

We went back to handwashing dishes.  This became Himself's job as he can sit down in a chair as he washes the dishes. Then the lazies set in. Dishes, days at a time, piled up in the sink, counter, and stovetop. Chaos. I can live in chaos for a bit of time, but then it begins to bother me.

Before leaving for Ogunquit, I began researching portable, countertop dishwashers. I found this model by Novete. It sits on the countertop and can be connected to the faucet or there's a tank that you fill with warm water. It's perfect for a small kitchen, or for single cat ladies or gentlemen (married ones, too).  It will hold  a table service for four: 4 plates, silverware, and cups/glasses. Pots and pans don't fit and have to be washed by hand. 

I ordered the dishwasher the day I got back from Ogunquit and through the magic of 2 day Prime Delivery it was delivered Monday last week.

It's not as portable as it sounds. It took me some maneuvering to get the box into the house, the unit out of the box, and on the counter. All was going well until I went to slide the dishwasher under the cabinets. It's an inch or so too tall. I don't care, I am not sending this back! It was easy to set up by attaching a drain hose which sits in the sink. Filling the tank works well though I have to stand on a stool as I can't reach the top of the dishwasher. The dishwasher does a great job and is pretty quiet. Me and Monet didn't have any trouble loading up the dishwasher.

I began looking for a heavy-duty, kitchen cart with locking wheels. I found one that I think will work, but I haven't ordered it yet. For now, Novete is living on the counter and I'm in love.

Whatcha Doin?

I'm sorting and organizing

birthday cards, note cards, thank you cards, etc. and stray envelopes into this card organizer box I got from Current Catalog.

Whatcha doin?

Whatcha Doin?

 

Whatcha doin?

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. More storage boxes arrived. I made good headway in the studio cleaning/organizing

2. The Little Princess didn't feel like cooking so Himself went and bought a rotisserie chicken, potato salad, and macaroni salad.

3. I made the pizza dough. Waited for it to rise. Preheated the oven. Hand-stretched the dough on the pizza stone. Spread the sauce, mozzarella, and peppers on top. Was waiting for the oven to get to 400 degrees and we lost electricity!

The outage was small and didn't effect the whole town. Himself went to the grocery store and brought home dinner. Cold rotisserie chicken, potato salad with egg, pasta salad. He also bought Hershey Kisses so we'd be able to make it through. The electricity came back on about two hours later.

4. After two weeks, a play day at Teague's. We talked about another trip away. Maybe the first week of August. Not sure if we're going back to Ogunquit or maybe trying a place on Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfsboro, New Hampshire

5. Calli was very excited when a new friend came into the yard to play. The baby looked a little lost and started walking down the side yard toward the road. I called to him/her, "No, Baby, not that way." S/he froze. "Where's your mama?" The baby turned and walked back into the woods. I hope the Little One was okay and met up with his mama.

How was your week?

Whatcha Doin?

 

I bought stackable storage boxes that open from the front as well as the top. A major clean an organizing in the studio.

Whatcha doin?

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I went with Himself to pick up the rental car so Moose could go into the shop. I was going to drive Moose home. I caught Himself in time just as he was pulling out of the parking lot to give me the keys to Moose.

2. I finished organizing the pantry

3. I think I saw a bluebird at the feeder

4. Play day with Teague started with breakfast at Beyond Full in Hopedale. The Cinnamon French Toast was amazing.

5. An urgent care visit turned out to be a mini Holy Cross reunion for Himself. The doctor who treated him recognized Himself. Had asked where he went to school. And then asked Himself if he knew 2 of his classmates. They lived across the hall from Himself and his roommate. The doctor was a year behind Himself's class and lives in the same town as us. Small world. 

How was your week?

Whatcha Doin?

 

It took me a while to paw through the pantry looking for the Tim Tams. Today, I'll organize the pantry so I can find the treats easily.

Whatcha doin?

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1.  I put Easter candy away for the Girlies, but couldn't remember where I put it for safe keeping. While doing some cleaning, I found it!

2. Started a purge and cleaning of the bedroom

3. The tornado warning delayed me getting to Teague's for our weekly play day. Fortunately for us no damage in our area though 2 confirmed tornadoes were reported in 2 Massachusetts communities on the Cape.

4. Had a fun night out to dinner with the Brother and his wife.

5. A seat for a Sacred Art Retreat on Enders Island in September opened up so I signed up.

How was your week?

Whatcha Doin?

 

I'm slowly cleaning the studio as it's too cluttered to allow creativity. I can work in chaos, but only up to a certain point.

Whatcha doin?

Whatcha Doin?

 

This weekend is reunion weekend at The College of the Holy Cross. Himself will be celebrating his 45th anniversary. His roommate M and wife D will be arriving for the festivities. Let the cleaning frenzy begin!

Whatcha doin?

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week

1. We were without Internet access for 24 hours. A call to Verizon. The tech worked for 3 hours and got us up and running again.

2. Lunch at Point Breeze with the teaching assistants. Fun group of girls.

3. First Day of Spring

4. Nice day. I washed windows and changed curtains

5. Thursday with Teague

How was your week?

Whatcha Doin?

 

Whatcha doin?

Whatcha Doin?

 

I'm cleaning and organizing the pantry.

Whatcha doin?

Whatcha Doin?

 

I'll be cleaning the living room/dining room, rearranging furniture so we can start decorating for Christmas. 

Whatcha doin?