Most Boring Post Ever....

Yesterday, I cleaned out the coffee pot with vinegar... Can I just say 🤮🤮🤮?  Some of it may have been coffee residue. But OMG. I have never seen it that bad before. Our water is rusty here. I want to start getting bottled water for the coffee pot, too! I drink water from the fridge (it has a filter, even though sometimes it is still yellow looking..) My husband went and (finally!! How long have we lived here???) got some water softener salt. Sheesh. I mean, we don't have to pay for water here, but...  😟 Maybe the salt will help.

I also made muffins yesterday, I didn't take a picture of them. 😱 The recipe is in the Muffins & Cupcakes by Larry Rosenberg cookbook.  He says to preheat the oven to 350*, but then bake at 325*. I used to always forget and bake them at 350*. 🤷 Well, there's less than half of the muffins (I made 15) left. 😒 And it's only three of us now... 

I need to declutter this house. I've been going through dresser drawers (because nothing fits me anymore, since my surgery and GAINING ten pounds after??? 😭😭😭) How depressing is it when your drawer is completely empty..  I have since gotten a few more pairs of shorts. But I have bags and bags of clothes that don't fit me any more. And I haven't even gone through my closet. Or sewing/craft room or the computer room. I also have way too many books. I took a big stack (9, I think?) to a used book store and I still have at least three times that many I don't want any more. I am so tempted to just get rid of everything. How did I get so much stuff???..    Sigh..

 

Plants, and Puppies..

 

In the interest of decorating my kitchen in strawberries (but not having the $$ to go out and buy everything I want), I turned to crochet (of course! 😁) to make some things. I googled "Crochet Strawberry Tea Cozy" on You Tube. And I used this pattern to make this adorable tea cozy! I think I should have made the base bigger, you can barely see it (I had to pull it over a little so you could see the little "leaves")...  Anyway I still think it is super cute. 

Another picture where it doesn't look so washed out. I was trying to think where I could put it to "display" it...  Because our counter space is limited. If I put it on top of the fridge you couldn't see the whole thing.  I've been thinking about getting one of these for my plants. Maybe that could work. I already know my husband would just complain about it though...  Maybe I could get something to put on top of the dishwasher... 

Anyway. I made some cookies for my new cookie jar. These are long gone and I need to make some more. But I have bananas waiting to be made into muffins today. These were cranberry white chocolate chip cookies (but I made them with regular chocolate chips). The recipe I have is typed out, no website or information where the recipe came from. You could google your own.

I have been potting and re-potting plants. I repotted the purple wandering jew plant I got at a garage sale a couple weekends ago. I will save you 20 pictures of plants. I want new pots for my plants. I just used what I have in the garage.  I also repotted a spider plant. I was going to plant a cutting I have been rooting forever, but I got wore out after two plants. And I can't do it now because I just mopped the kitchen yesterday.  

I seriously need help cleaning; and I want a house cleaning lady. Funny. I used to be the house cleaning lady. I cannot keep up since I got cancer and my surgery... 😒

I'm crocheting another strawberry tea cozy, too. I saw one on Instagram, and I went on Pinterest to try and find a pattern... This was all I could find.  I am totally winging it. I used the chart to get started but then I 1. Can't read the directions, 2. I hate charts and I was just getting totally confused. 3. Half of it is in Chinese or some other language. I actually started this one before the one I posted up above. Because I am trying to figure it out as I go and find flower and strawberry patterns to use.. 

Oh. The "Puppies" part of this post... (She is two years old though not a puppy... 😜) Update on the vet visit.... "Allegedly", Elsie has Lyme. 😕 (Why is there no eye rolling emoji on here, I need it!!) Which is ridiculous. I mean we do have ticks here. But, she has been on Nexguard all the summer months. The only month we missed was last month, and I have been using this, AND Fur Life dog collars since May. And they both have been getting a bath (with flea and tick shampoo). Elsie only got one in May. Jaxson got one in May (by me), and I gave him one last week.  And, my husbands boss said "They tell everyone that here".  All of which makes me think they are lying, just to get more money. That's why I say allegedly she has Lyme.  I know they don't actually care. Because they still have not called me back to let me know when I can give her her Nexguard and Heartguard meds.... They said "Wait until we get the results".   I think it's time for a new vet. I told our son, since it's "his dog".  Even though I take her...  

Well that's about all for now.

Dogs and Chickens..

Well, Elsie went to the vet yesterday. She is really good in the car. Doesn't try and jump up in the front, waits until you open the door to get out of the car. She kind of growled at a person who was going to come in the vet (he wouldn't come in the lobby, he waited- thank God. The vet tech said that dog was 90 lbs and I couldn't understand the rest of what she said..) Anyway. Elsie gained 3 lbs since last year and has to go on a diet. 😒 I was like, "Yeah don't we all?" Gimme a break. And one of her teeth has a little chip in it, try to tone down the frisbee play. OMG.... (Yeah, I can't even afford to go to the dentist?...)  And she had a tick on her. ??? Yeah, that's literally why I'm here? We have ticks all over our back yard, and I pulled three off her the day before. UGH...  All that (which was what? She looked at her, felt her looked in her ears and at her teeth, gave her three shots) cost almost $300 and I only got one flea and one heartworm pill each. SHEESH!!! This is why I can't take Jaxson...  I don't remember us EVER taking our animals to the vet when I was a kid. We couldn't even go to the doctor, ourselves. It's ridiculous. Who can even afford groceries now, let along take their animals to the vet.. I feel like, it's not enough to feed your dog, brush them, and love them, and play with them; you have to monitor their play and brush their teeth check them for ticks (I do that),  they need to have their blood tested, their poop[ tested, give them all these pills so they can be around other dogs, measure their food every day (do you know how hard it is to keep track of that with two dogs, and they keep going to each others food bowls and you have each one measured out different?)... It's just a crooked money making scheme. And now I'm irritated. LoL

Anyway, here's a recipe for doggie ice cream treats. Now that Elsie is on a diet, I'll have to use "fat free" yogurt and peanut butter.. (Where is the eye rolling emoji??)  I made some treats in the ice cube tray for them last summer. I think it was similar to this one. I know I used banana and peanut butter.

Why did the chickens cross the road? I don't know, but when I was coming home from the vet, a chicken ran across the road in front of me. I had to slam the brakes on. Then I noticed there was a bunch of them on the other side of the road. This is just a couple houses down from us. They shouldn't just let their chickens run free like that, someone is going to hit one. And if they come down to our yard, Elsie will kill one for sure. It's all clucking crazy. 🐔

Sunday Drive (And Strawberries, Of Course)

Yesterday we went grocery shopping early. We got home and I was just like "UGHHHH I need to just get out of this house!" I asked my husband if he wanted to do anything. "Long boring drive?"  "Let me get something to knit"  I couldn't think of anything I wanted to bring. (Sigh...) So I just grabbed this dishcloth I had started, I don't know when. Or who for. Sometimes you just need to go for a long boring drive and knit to clear your head.  Since we went on Sunday I guess that means we're Sunday drivers, and officially "old". 

We did stop at the gas station and got a latte. Coffee and knitting. "Road trip". I guess life is good.

Look, the state flowers are blooming...

I was (long story) thinking. LoL I have a pattern for a Chair Caddy? I don't remember what it's called. It's called "Camp Chair Cozy".  Did I ever post a picture of the one I crocheted? Well, I was thinking, "I should crochet one of my fruit can cozies, and do a caddy with it. Because one of the versions is for a pineapple. I have a grape and orange can cozy pattern (in an old issue of Crafting Traditions) that was published. Well, I was thinking, "I could use the grape pattern for a strawberry cozy!" I tweaked my pattern a little, because it doesn't work. Maybe I used to crochet really loose. It looks too short, too. Maybe I should add another round.  Okay, I didn't post the chair caddy I finished. I posted that I started one. 

I noticed that the phone part is "inside out". With the wrong side of the work showing. I was reading through the pattern and thought, "No that's how she said to do it".. I will have to look again. I got two skeins of red ILTC at Hobby Lobby, to do a strawberry one. The can cozy above was a trial run in acrylic. It still is super cute though and I will probably use it. I don't know what happened to the grape and orange ones I crocheted. Probably never used them. I was thinking about those orange drinks that came in an actual plastic orange. Did you ever have those when you were young?

Something like these? 

Let me see if this will work, this is more like what I remember:

 I was thinking about them one winter and came up with the idea to crochet a pop can cozy like it. Then I thought of the grape one.. To be a kid in the 70's again...  Look what showed up on my news feed... A strawberry one at Kohl's. Proof the internet is spying on you.

We got some strawberries when we went shopping (of course!). Look how big they are! 🍓

This morning I made a strawberry lassi. That isn't actually the recipe I used. The one I used was just (for one): 1/2 cup chopped strawberries (I might use more next time), 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt, 1/4 cup milk, some honey (I didn't measure it), a few ice cubes and blend. The recipe I originally used to use is no longer available online, it used honey instead of sugar.  

Elsie has an appointment today for the vet, to get all her flea and tick meds...  And a check up. Eon is paying for it. (She is "his" dog, so...) I am just taking her. She loves going to the vet, and everyone there loves her. I want to take Jaxson, too but... 😞💸  I got them some collars, from Getfurlife. They're natural essential oil collars? If you get them, make sure you go to the correct website. I don't know. I think it's get fur life dot com. No spaces, and an actual dot not the word..  I think there is a couple fake sites, from what I read online.  Well, I guess we will see if Elsie has fleas today when we go. LoL I did pull three ticks off her fur the other day. (That's why I want to take her, her fur is so thick and long, and it's black and you can't see any bugs in it...) I used the "flea" comb I have, and was feeling around everywhere that was how I found three ticks. Jaxsons fur is white and tan and short and you can see any big bugs. But when I gave him a bath a couple weeks ago, I still saw about three ticks in the bottom of the tub. Ughhhh... I need to give him another bath. I'm paranoid about fleas and ticks, I don't want them to get in the house. We have enough bugs that get in the house. 

Fleabag One

Fleabag Two 

😂 I love them, I just call them that for fun...

Kick Off To Summer

I went "Garage Sale-ing" yesterday with Eon. I think we went to 90% of the garage sales. Even I was like "Do you want to go home now?" But he didn't. Even after all the garage sales, we went to three stores. 😳 I created a monster! 😂 I just can't do as much as I used to be able to, it wears me out. I shopped until I dropped, then I still had to make dinner and do the dishes.. 🥱 When I wanted to just lay on the couch and take a long nap. I guess I got retail therapy and then some, yesterday.  Anyway, this is all the things I got. Two books, a plant (OMG!!! I don't need another stinking plant, why?....) It's a "Wandering Jew" and I have been wanting one, okay? I used to have one that my SIL gave me a cutting from one of her plants. (SHE had a lot of plants! Well, she had a lot of everything... I honestly think she borders on hoarding..) Anyway, I got the "Verity" book, and the plant at one garage sale. Then the Gibson Girl wrapping paper at another one. And "The Fiery Cross" book and yarn at another one.

Don't ask me why I got more yarn... I don't even like the green. But... 🤷 It's really good yarn, and it was only $3 for the yarn and the little bag. 

The books. I read the first four of the Outlander series, I didn't even know that, when I bought the book. I was thinking "I'll have to go look, and see which other ones I need to read before this one." I read them all, and this is the next one. 😱 How weird is that? It's been so long since I read them though, I don't know. And I am almost positive that Verity is in my "Want to Read" list. I already started reading it. I have three books going right now.  Ugh...  I'm trying to stay focused here and finish "The Mirror and the Light" book. I joined the "2025 Reading Challenge" on Goodreads. I only committed to 10 books. (Wow...) It might take me all year to finish The Mirror and the Light, though; it's so boring... This is the third time I started to read it. I am almost half way done. I even started watching it on TV, to try and get into it.. I liked the first two books. I don't know why this one is dragging for me.

After we went to all the garage sales, we were going to go to Hobby Lobby. But first we had to go to Blains'. I don't know why, I think Eon just wanted to shop.  I wanted to go back and get the strawberry cookie jar. I couldn't stop thinking about it. 🍓 I don't know if I am going to totally redo the whole kitchen: Towels, hot pads, pans, plates, rug.... Someone I saw somewhere (online), just does her kitchen strawberries for June-August. Maybe I'll do that? I decorate for Christmas, Halloween, etc... Maybe I will just have a summer strawberry kitchen.  I wish I could get a whole new kitchen, but.... (This house is 125 years old, so...)  

Speaking of old houses, one of the houses we went to yesterday (an "Estate Sale"- but it wasn't very much stuff...), it was a big impressive "Antebellum" looking house in town. But when we got inside, it was...  😳 How to describe it... The first room we walked into, there was a stove on the left and a sink/counter and some cupboards on the right. But, no refrigerator. It had pink and green wallpaper. And everything just looked crooked. Like one of those quirky upside down crooked houses you sometimes see for tourist things..  Then you walk through that room to another room. Then another "room" (but, it's all open). Then to your right, another room and stairs going up. Then to your right again, the living room. Then to your right again, there's another ("normal") kitchen.  It was a weird layout. It looked so big from the outside. But when you are in the house, it's not so nice. Old carpet, that wood paneling on the walls... Maybe it would have been if it was fixed up/ remodeled.  (Like this house.) I asked the woman, "So there's a kitchen there, and a bigger one here?" She said they made it into, and rented out an efficiency apartment out when her parents were there, but no one wanted to keep it up later on. So it's just there, still.  I just thought it was interesting. I would have liked to see the upstairs. But I didn't want to be weird. 😝  It looked so much bigger from the outside. Maybe there's a hidden staircase that leads to more rooms, that they don't know about.. 

Anyway, at Hobby Lobby... I got the soap dispenser, too. I filled it up with my $1.25 store liquid soap. 😝 I want to get some strawberry scented hand soap, that would be cool. But I already have the other kind in it. You can see the rooted plant I was going to pot yesterday (I couldn't find any pots I liked at any garage sales, I did look). 

I crocheted a "strawberry" Notepad Basket Fridgie. I still need to glue a magnet on the back. It didn't turn out as cute as I thought. The ribbon is crooked looking to me, and I probably should have fixed it before I sewed everything on, but oh well. I showed my husband and he kind of laughed, and said "You're going crazy with the strawberries". 

Our landlord asked my husband yesterday, if we would be interested in buying this house. (That is a loaded thought..)  I don't know what to do!!.... There's so many things to think about...   If we did buy it, we could remodel this kitchen. We could remodel a lot in this house...  Sigh....  I think I am just going crazy, period. 

School got out here Friday, and kids were everywhere yesterday. High schoolers at the gas station like it was a party in the parking lot. And the community garage sales. It feels like summer has begun. (Even though it's not technically the first day of summer yet.) 😉

Strawberry Summer

I can't stop thinking about strawberries. I think I need therapy. Retail therapy. 😁 LoL. I uploaded a picture of the display at Hobby Lobby that I was talking about a couple posts back. I keep thinking about that strawberry cookie jar. When I was a kid (12), my step-uncles' wife did her kitchen in strawberries. I went strawberry picking with her once, her mom and dad had a big field of strawberries. Realistically, the only things I would probably buy from this display are the hotpad, the cookie jar and the soap dispenser. I liked the towel until I saw it's that microfiber material and that stuff makes my skin crawl. I am thinking about doing my kitchen in strawberries. 😳 All my kitchen things were turqoise and grey for a few years. I don't know why... Probaby because our living room was grey and I was trying to come up with an accent color...   Well our kitchen and living room aren't all in one open area now. And, I can do what I want. I was looking at strawberry kitchen ideas this morning. Here are a few. I keep saying to my husband, "We need to paint this kitchen.."  Well maybe we could paint it red. 😀  I don't think that would go over too well with the landlord, though. I guess I could just keep looking for strawberry kitchen accessories. A lot my kitchen towels are turqoise. Dishcloths, too. Hmmm.... Well, they are old and stained and need to be replaced anyway. 😝 My kitchen used to be red, but apples and roosters. That was a while ago. I still have my apple tea cozy. I think I just did a post with it in the picture..

I found a couple places around here (searching online) that you can go pick your own strawberries. The only problem is, I don't think I could get down on the ground and pick any. Well, I probably could. But I would probably end up hurting myself in the end.. I can't do things like I used to, since my surgery.  My huband said he would pick some for me. 🍓

~Anyway~

I meant to post this yesterday/ But I was already rambling on about enough, anyway. I made a little mini pocket letter for someone. I did post about the little ??? things you put in the pockets. (The last four pictures.)

What I put in the pockets. K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid...  Tea and a "scripture" card, because she likes those things. The other pocket is for a letter.  

This weekend is our "Community Garage Sale".  I was thinking about going to a bunch. Maybe I'll find some strawberry stuff. I was thinking yesterday, about my little notepad basket fridge magnet on our fridge. I thought, "Oooo. I should crochet a red one, and put one of those strawberry buttons I got at HL on it". 😀  I am so glad I printed that pattern out. It's not available online any more. 

 

A Garrulous Speech

 

I don't even know what to make the title for this post..  I'm still in strawberry mode... I came up with this card. I don't know... It looks "okay". I kept adding to it. Then I added some of the paper I used, to the back flap of the envelope. 🤷I couldn't find any strawberry paper. With strawberries on it. So I bought the red and white polka dot paper.  

I started a little (??) I don't know what this is called. And Index Card book? Mini Journal? I have no idea. I saw it on Tik Tok. The only reason I got back on there is for junk journal/card making/paper stuff tutorials.  I used one of the strawberry stickers I bought for the front.

I still need to do more for the inside, and put more stuff in it. 

Here's another thing I did with index cards. I think I saw this one on YouTube. I've already sent this one in the mail. 

I sent it in this. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the inside!! I am really losing it lately. 

I did it like this one (I found the picture on Pinterest). I have been trying to use up some of the envelopes I got...  

And I used this idea to do the persons' name. And I did the little slot on the bottom left, too. I don't know if I will be doing that again, though. It cost over $5 to send in the mail. Don't get me started on the mail...  

This morning, I was thinking about potting a plant cutting that has been rooting in a pot on the windowsill (forever..). I was looking for a pot under the sink. The one I have down there (I bought it at DG) is too big. Then I remembered my Calla Lily that died but the pot was still on top of the cupboard... I got it down. Look what is growing in it. I don't even know how. I haven't watered this in months. I put the picture in to my Leaf Snap app and it says it's a wild onion. 😂 Okay..... Well, I watered the wild onion and we'll see. I guess I will have to get a different pot for my plant cutting. Ugh I have too many plants...

Guess what? We have another stray cat outside!  My husband the other night said "Tina come here". I went and looked out the window and there was a deer, but then this guy (or girl?) was under my husbands' work van! I went downstairs and stood by the door, waiting to see if it would come on the porch. Jaxson had been barking like crazy the previous night (maybe at this cat). So maybe it knew about the food. That's the third cat we've seen here. I don't think I posted about the other two. One is a grey tortioseshell, Eon opened the door and it ran away. The other one is a black one, it was getting in our garbage one morning when my husband was going to work. And I've seen it walking down our road. Now this kitty! 

It wasn't as afraid as the grey one. It just kept sitting there, and it would look through the window at me and just look at me. I wanted to let it in, but I know that would not go well.... Fleas, ticks, fight with our other animals...  I let a stray in one time when the boys were little and it peed on everything, our couch, our bed... We had to go get new stuff it was not good. I will just keep feeding it.

Our one cat Eri was looking at it in the window, here and it was looking back like "Why do you get to stay in a house?"... 😞  We think they are "staying" in the ?? outbuilding down at the bottom of the hill. (Long story...) It's like a big carport, but really long. It's not technically part of our property. Even though it is the landlords... (It's for his business-they put suppliles in there).  It's a pretty kitty! It's not a tuxedo, but it's black and white. I don't know if I ever posted about our tuxedo cat we had, Mercedes. 

This is Mercedes. Our middle son couldn't say Mercedes, and he called her "Mert". So that was her nickname. She was a cool kitty. She was one of my Mom's (actually my brothers') cats kittens, Heather. She was a mean Siamese. They kept letting her out (or, she kept getting out- knowing how some cats like to go outside), and she kept getting pregnant... Every time, my Mom would ask me if I wanted a kitten. We actually did take another one, after we had Mert. An orange male. He was INSANE!!! I think we named him Beemer. He would climb the curtains, I don't even remember what he did; but I couldn't handle him and I gave him back to my Mom. (I don't think Mert liked him, either. That was probably another thing why I gave him back.) Before Mert, I had a grey cat I named Paxton. I didn't have him very long, I had to give him to one of my Mom's friends when we moved.. I was mad about that fot a long time.

Sheesh this is a rambling post...  My brain never shut off, you're lucky you're not in my head. Lol If you've read this whole post and are still awake, you're a good listener. 😝