Happy Hallowe'en!

Happy Hallowe'en from my kitchen table!

Workiness, Busy-ness and Hurricaniness

Last week was crazy busy with the planning and staffing of the annual summit for two of the associations that my firm manages. But I lucked out - I got to stay at the Samoset Resort for free! Had a beautiful room with a small private deck and a view of the ocean. I got to watch the sun rise while eating breakfast and enjoy a vast array of top quality foods made with all Maine ingredients (these are food related associations). I came home with a big box of veggies from Lakeside Family Farms (carrots as big around as your wrist!!), granola from Lucy's Granola (one of my fav's) and bread from Lepage Bakeries!

It was an amazing time, but I was wiped! I took off early the next day to rest and relax...and ended up stacking wood at my parents. But it was the quintessential Autumn day, sunny but slightly windy, just perfect. I had dinner with my folks and headed for home around 8:00, forgetting that it was only Thursday and I still had to work the next day.

This past weekend, I battened down the hatches and either put away or secured everything that had the potential to be a projectile. And I'm glad I did! The wind howled all night, often sounding like a freight train.

Promptly at 9 PM, I heard a *pop* and that was it for power until nearly 10:00 this morning. The prepper in me was ready, though! The generator was full, with another 8 or so gallons of gas in reserve and a 100 ft extension cord had been purchased on Friday. The tub held 3 five gallon buckets of water for washing and flushing; 3 gallons of potable water sat in jugs in the basement for cooking and drinking; the cell phone, laptop and iPod were charged and ready; and flashlights, candles and matches were at hand. I went to bed after the power went out knowing that everything was going to be fine! And it was. Bucket bathing in cold water isn't my most favorite. Aside from the obvious that its cold water, I have hair down to mid-back and rinsing all that isn't easy, but I managed.

This was the first test of the generator and it worked slick! Fired up on the second pull, powered the microwave to make tea and oatmeal, powered the hair dryer to dry my hair and powered the fridge to cool everything down after 9 hours of being off.

Currently, its 65 degrees and we have thunder storms rolling through with torrential rain off and on, enough to cause street flooding! Crazy, crazy weather! I'll be happy when this day is done and I can head home for a hot shower.

Inspiration and End Results

So this picture on Pinterest intrigued  me. It kept me coming back with the thought, "I could do this." Mentally I was running through a laundry list of what I would need and what it would cost. The photo was inspiring! This was just what I needed in the living room to replace the piece of crap bookshelf that was starting to fall apart. Seriously, I had to place it in a corner where it could lean without breaking apart - I'm a little hard on my bookshelves...I pack them out with books and then keep adding. I think I need a library, but that will have to wait for another house, with more rooms!

I kept thinking that I could make this and it would be fairly easy. So finally, I just made it!

I picked up eight wooden crates at A.C. Moore, a can of Minwax "Early American" stain, along with short screws and metal braces.

I realized, after staining the crates that I needed two more. I took two old, painted ones that I've had forever (like since high school, forever ago) and grabbed a couple cans of black spray paint that I just happened to have in the basement (when did I buy those?) and sprayed them. It wasn't the best spray job, but they form the base of the shelves, so you don't notice the terrible job I did. Then all I did was stack and brace until they formed a fairly nifty looking shelving unit that I could anchor into the wall.

I really am pleased with the end result. I paid less than a traditional bookcase and got a more interesting look in the process, while experiencing the satisfaction of knowing that I made it myself!

Ugh...

I've been lapse in my posting lately due to pain. About a month or so ago, my right shoulder and arm started to hurt. It was a dull ache at first, but it got more intense, as it travelled to my elbow and down to my fingers.

My doctor checked for carpal tunnel, since my day job is fraught with repetitive computer work. But it wasn't that. She also worried about my hands going to sleep on me at night. So she suggested a change in pillow and carpal tunnel gloves at night to stop the hand numbness. It started to work, but my right arm and hand continued to ache.

You don't realize just how much you use your right hand until it hurts so bad that you can't use it for prolonged periods of time!

My mother believes part of it is arthritis (in the hand) and my brother thinks the rest is tennis elbow. This kinda makes sense to me, as I've had tennis elbow before, but never with the hand aching. So rather than shell out more money for the doctor (who wants to prescribe pills), I'm trying the tennis elbow arm band (which I had from years ago) and will be trying a homeopathic arthritis pain reliever that a friend uses.

We'll see how it goes, but I can say that just using the band has started to help! That jaw-clenching ache has started to leave my arm. The hand is a different beast altogether though!

Warmth

Can't think of a better way to spend the evening than before the warmth of firelight.

I'm so thankful for this fire, burning the cold from this night...warming me, warming my home, warming my soul.

Yummy

Nothing like a chilly, windy day to make me put the onions, potatoes and carrots that I harvested the other day to good use.

Chicken soup made with homemade stock and home grown veggies, coupled with homemade wheat bread make for a great autumn lunch...and dinner!

Paying My Dues To The Dirt

This song has been my "go to" song for motivation lately.  It never ceases to get me singing and moving! Its been the first song on when I take a shower and then again when I leave work for home.

Today, it was going through my head as I was literally paying my dues to the dirt and weeding my garden with the help of my 9 piece McNuggets (the chickens), who thought ripping out weeds was awesome! The fact that they were actually allowed in the garden again was the best gift I could have given them today. Not only did they get a buffet of bugs and worms, they also got to munch the last of the tomatoes that were going by.  

Speaking of which, I have to go shut their door for the night!  Oops - a bit late on my part.

And off I go!

And Winner of Best Aunt Goes To...

Me! In my role as "Seamstress" in the epic horror "Broken Zippered Homecoming Dress...From HELL!"

My alternate title for this post was "How A $5 Goodwill Dress Saved Homecoming."

My niece bought a dress for homecoming online from a company in California, only to receive it with a broken zipper. Not having enough time to send it back and get a new one (as homecoming is this Saturday and SOMEBODY didn't plan ahead), guess who was given the task of ripping out the old zipper and finding a new one to stitch in?

White, 18" zippers are not as easy to find around here as one might think...so I turned to Goodwill. For $5, I found a cute little dress with the right zipper, that worked and the rest of the dress can easily be turned into an apron for me! Yay, win-win!

Taking the zipper out was easy. Stitching one side in, equally easy. Stitching in that other side turned out to be a different kettle of fish altogether! I stitched it once, ripped it out, stitched it again, only to see that the zipper - which I tested repeatedly - was starting to split! It took a little creative sewing, but I think it'll survive the night. She has been forewarned to go easy on it...just in case. I also told her that the alternative was to hand stitch her INTO it! She wasn't too keen on that.

This will be her last homecoming dance, so I doubt I will have to do this ever again. Unless I ever have a daughter of my own. Only time will tell with that one.

For now, though, homecoming has been saved, thanks to that cute little $5 Goodwill dress.

Welcome October

Every October 1st, as the sun rises across a quiet, mist-strewn stream in Central Maine and the variegated leaves silently fall, a yearly ritual is about to begin.

Waking late, I forget what day it is and think little of the time as I prep the dog for our morning walk...that is until the first rifle blast. And this, my friends, is the beginning of waterfowl season in Maine.

The next two months, from October 1st until deer season ends, is the time of year my poor dog HATES with a passion! She's terrified of gunshots, fireworks and dumptrucks. The minute that first shot rang out, she didn't care that she hadn't been out to pee since 9:00 last night...she'd hold it!

Thankfully there was a pause in the blasts, long enough for her to feel comfortable enough to do her business and then flat out run to the door, dragging me behind.

Now begins the predawn and post-dusk walking season for Sadie; when she begins hiding in the bedroom where she feels safe and secure from the noise. And with the predawn walks comes the earlier rising for me (ugh!) and skunk patrol (double ugh!), because skunks by flashlight beam look an awful lot like kitties and Sadie likes nothing better than chasing kitties!

So welcome October, in all your Autumn glory.