I Saved The Worst for Last

The worst room, that is...Now, don't get me wrong...I appreciate having a laundry room in my home, but...this is a very small room...with some very large appliances...

I have tried to make this room as pleasant as possible with some laundry room art(?) You need to take a closer look at the B&W photo. That little girl is actually me...50 years ago. I was hanging my doll clothes on the barbed wire fence while my mom was hanging the wash out on her clothes line. My facial expression looks like I take my work very seriously. And the dried grass...it appears to be one of the hot, hot days of summer. And no...no such thing as AC in an old farmhouse in the 1950s.

So, here is the dreaded laundry room. Starting on the right, going counter clockwise, the deep freezer, followed by the dryer, then the washer, a clothes drying rack, some storage shelves, the water heater, the furnace, more storage shelves, the chimney and hidden from view on the left...the cats' litter box.

Here she is...all done up...

I forgot to mention that this is where the cats eat, as well. There are two cat dishes in front of the freezer. (See their little night light?) We buy their special food at the clinic...20 lb. bags at a time. The bag needs to be stored on the highest shelf, or else...

Wait...how did this happen? When did this happen? And if you look a little closer...what is keeping the cat food from streaming out of the bag onto my clean laundry room floor?

Things in my House Thursday

We cleaned some closets...Is anyone else thinking TShirt Yarn?

Whatcha Workin on Wednesday~Even Later?

Still cleaning our house! This is the family room on the lower level of our split foyer home. Line, this is where you will watch TV with your family and friends. Line attends a Media and Communications school at home. I'm pretty sure I will gain a new appreciation for all kinds of movies during the next year.

On the other end of this room is our desktop computer. Line, you will be welcome to use this whenever you need to. We also have a wireless router, so hopefully can get your laptop working very soon.

I also got my upstairs living room back! Remember just a few days ago, I showed pictures and this area was filled with everything from my dining room and kitchen. Even the range and refrigerator were in here. These were the easiest rooms, because all I had to do was dust...and big dust bunnies don't scare me...

Whatcha Workin on Wednesday~Later in the Day?

Still working on the house. Line will have her own bathroom downstairs. She will probably need a little space for her personal items. These are the products that were left behind when my girls moved to their own apartments.

So, I rearranged to make a shelf for her and cleaned the fixtures...then keeping this clean will be her responsibility for the next 10 months. Fair?

I decided I should clean the blinds in Line's bedroom. Yikes! I apologize to the boyfriends (no, I don't have boyfriends, but my mom, Amy and Emily have had boyfriends stay in here). I didn't realize it was so dusty.

Across the hall...another bedroom...which is still very much lived in. Emily has only one more week of class, finals, and then will be home for a couple of weeks before the fall term starts.

Because I am a teacher, these are all household chores that I typically accomplish during the summer. Having a deadline has really helped me stay on task.

Whatcha Workin on Wednesday?

Our house. Last evening, I finished getting things back in place in our dining room and kitchen. The dishes in the hutch, the cookbooks on the bookshelf, the other dishes in the gourmet stand...

Well...what do you think of our new floor? We are liking it right now. It even makes our old furniture look better!

I usually have a rug by the sink and by the stove, but I kinda hate to cover it up.

So now, the kitchen and dining room seems like one big area. Before, it was carpet, like the living room, under the table in front of the patio doors.

Line's Room Update...

I took 7 more big bags to the Nearly New Store. My daughters and I have this self imposed rule. You have to donate more bags than you can buy. So...I dropped my bags off in the back door...then went around in the front door to look around. After all, I have taken 29 bags there just this month. I found this adorable little antique chair for an awesome price. It is perfect for Line's room...if she wants to sit at her desk, or even as a clothes catcher!

Putting it Together Tuesday

Line's room is ready. (I'm not sure if she sees my blog. She is at a camp in Vermont that is just for foreign exchange students.) But just in case...Line, here is a little peak at your new room! You will have Amy's room.

The bed is made, complete with hospital corners. Thanks to Suzanne for reminding me that not everyone does this.
Line, here is your American closet and dresser, empty and ready to fill with your new American clothes.

Here is your other dresser and desk all empty waiting for more new clothes and your American school books. The walls are bare so you can hang posters and pictures of your choice. That is Callie, your American cat, checking things out and waiting for you to arrive!

Amy graduated in '03 and hasn't lived here since '05 so her room was the logical choice for our foreign exchange student. Each time she came home on break she cleaned out and disposed of more of her things...so her room seemed pretty empty...until I started boxing up what was left. There were 17 boxes...which prompted me to clean in the attic to make room to store these...which added even more to the garage, which was already a disaster. This story will be continued...

Another Send-Off and More Kitchen Craziness

It came time for Mom to go home. She had been here for nearly two weeks. She was ready to sleep in her own bed, to refill her medications, retrieve her mail, return to her daily routine.

Her gentleman friend, Ken, had been to see his family in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. He was delayed due to road construction and detours...typical summer travels. But now they are back, safely in their own homes...and it is so quiet around here.

So, my handy hubby, with the assistance of our daughter can now do flooring. This is a product called DuraCeramic and one can actually apply adhesive, cut and lay the tiles and finish with grout...all on their own.


What does the rest of the house look like? Everything from the kitchen and dining room is now in the living room. See the stove there on the left?

And the refrigerator is there on the right...in the hallway...that leads to the bedrooms.


So what are we doing about meals. Well, Dominos Pizza on the deck...

Or dinner at Grandmas. She prepared fresh fish, zucchini from her garden and of course...her left-over birthday cake.

I love this zucchini recipe...

Harvest Zucchini

1 1/4 lbs. zucchini (about 5 small)

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp. milk

2 tsp. paprikia

2 tsp. poppy seed

1 tsp. salt

Wash and slice zucchini (I usually do not peel them). Melt butter in a 10" skillet. Saute onion, add zucchini, cover and cook, stirring occasionally until zucchini is tender. Mix in remaining ingredients, stir gently until heated through.

To the Wall

Hey, Blog friends, I just have to show someone...Hubby is at work, girls are away at college, and I'm not going to take my 89 year old mother up the ladder...but, his week I have been cleaning the garage and the attic. I know, it is the hottest week of the summer, but I am determined to get this done. Some of these boxes have been here since we moved to this house. I have found my wedding planning book, wedding cards and dried bridal bouquet. I found children's toys and toddler's clothing. I found my dad's old neckties, hubby's old golf shoes, my high school yearbooks, sewing and crafting supplies, my grandma's old dishes, books, photo albums and lots of keepsakes.
I have donated 22 bags of stuff to the second-hand store and hubby has taken 2 loads to the dump. But...today, I made it through the boxes to the back wall of the attic. I still have plenty to do...so back to work...

Things in my House Thursday

A Kitty Cat Bunk Bed

So Long for Now and What's Next?

I always sleep better when everyone is home...I noticed this after the girls had been away to college. That Christmas vacation, when they were both home...and my mom was here too...I went to bed that first night, with a feeling that our home was complete again...weird, huh? Maybe you mothers that are reading this will relate.

Anyway, it is easier to say good-bye when you can add, 'See you next month'.

It seems like everyone just got here...now the nest is nearly empty again...

Mom is still here for a few more days. The next step in our kitchen re-do is the flooring. Here is the dining area without the carpet.

Do I hear an echo in here?!

Wet Paint and Weekend Celebrations

We got the kitchen put back together just in time for our family company...first, Mom and Ken, then Emily, then Amy and Seth. It was his birthday the day before, so that called for a party...steak on the grill...chocolate cheesecake...birthday presents...

What do you think of the red wall? The white phone needs to go...and, I haven't hung anything up yet...I guess I need to look at it for a while before I commit to any nail holes.

Here are the Geffre women at the church...setting up for Grandma's big birthday Open House.

All the party pictures are on my sister-in-law's camera...so I will need to get them from her before you can see that affair...but I think everyone had a good time. All 120 of them!!

Eighty Years Strong

Today, Happy Birthday wishes go to my Mother-in-law, Elsie. Still still lives in her own home and is active in several organizations. She sells Avon and has over 80 regular customers.

We are hosting an Open House at our church. We expect 200 people. Well, we really have no idea...but have enough cake, punch, nuts, plates, cups and napkins for 200.

Later this evening we are hosting a family party in our home. The weather looks to be cooperating. It is calm and will be about 80 degrees today. Therefore, we can enjoy our deck. Hopefully, there will be pics of the event to share...

...Perhaps you will get a peak at our kitchen.

I'm Seeing Red

The 'Snowball Effect' and 'Your Parents are Here'

The 'nesting phase' (yesterday's post) can now, more appropriately, be referred to as a 'snowball' situation...Let's start early this spring...

If you recall, there were once large rectangular fluorescent light panels in the soffit in the kitchen...malfunctioning fluorescent lights, that is. Hubby removed the old light fixtures, inserted new sheet rock, rewired for new lights, installed new lights...

Next step, texturing the new sheet rock. That red hopper is filled with texture goop that shoots out of a nozzle to your new surface...a messy job, which explains the cave of newspaper protecting the cabinets. Assistant Emily directs the light so hubby can see what he is doing.
Despite the newspaper cave, there was sheet rock dust everywhere, and specks of texture goop nearly everywhere.

So, I was planning to clean thoroughly anyway, but this increased the urgency...
And, as long as we're at it...we should really scrape the old wall paper and paint that wall in the kitchen...as long as we're painting, we should take down that old tile and paint behind the stove too...but wait, there is even older wallpaper behind the tile...

The kitchen story...to be continued. We took a much needed break to entertain our parents. Hubby grilled the salmon...I was in charge of the parsley buttered steamed potatoes and green beans.

These are the guests of honor.

Elsie will be honored this weekend for her 80th birthday.

Ken, my mom's gentleman friend, will be honored this weekend for his 90th birthday.

Ruth will celebrate her 89th birthday in September.