FLYLADY - The Office Continues

 Good morning, everyone!

I'm getting closer.

Here is a picture of what the Scrapbooking/ Etsy corner looked like before:

And here's the after:

I had to get this corner done for two reasons. One, the Etsy cart was buried and I needed to be able to set up my scale and get to the drawers for packaging orders.  Two - there are two 5-drawer carts to the left. One holds Halloween and one holds Christmas items for junk journals. I needed access to the one for Halloween to do the August Junk Journal Challenge as well as prepping items for my shop.

This week, I'm headed here:

This is mostly done on top. What I have to focus on are the mixed media items below that need filed. I also have this tub (on the bottom of stack) to go through and put stuff away:

As I said, it is a work in progress but I am ...

Enjoyoing the Journey!

~Kelly

PREPPER FRIDAY - Zucchini!

 

Courtesy of Pixabay

Good morning, friends!

While the above picture did come from Pixabay, those could have easily come from my garden. I've been picking an average of six zucchini about every other day. 

One of my favorite ways to enjoy zucchini is sliced thin, tossed in seasoned flour and fried in butter Crisco. I do my green tomatoes the same way... nice and thin so they come out of the oil like a veggie chip. YUM!!!

I can only eat so many fried zucchini. I also love shredded zucchini in Morning Glory muffins. I didn't want to take up freezer room so I went in search of whether or not they could be dehydrated.

Yes!  Those thin slices will dehydrate nicely. Not sure how they'd reconstitute and fry but I'm going to try.  I'll keep you posted.

However, the ones that have become quite large, I'm going to shred and dehydrate. From there I can either reconstitute the shredded for those muffins or grind up to a flour for all sorts of fabulousness!  Might even be able to sneak some in to things so Bob will get more green veggies. :-D

Here's the video I found. I'll also link Victoria at A Modern Homestead blog. Mind you, this is not her video.

Now if the tomatoes would just start coming in. 

Do you have a favorite zucchini recipe. Please let me  know in the comments below.

Enjoy the Journey!

~Kelly

FLYLADY - Still in the Office

Good morning, everyone!

I've had a productive week of sorts. To be honest, I can't remember much of last week  I did get the work table cleaned off. I also worked on my novel almost every night for a couple of hours.  

Before the clean up

Almost there!

The boxes in the far upper right are kits I need to finish. The teal is a planner organizer that will go on top of the planner shelf when that's finished this aftermoom. Stuff in the foreground most just needs sorted and filed into the ScrapRack. This should be completely finished by this afternoon.

There is still a lot to be done in the office but I'm taking each area one phase at a time. 

Taking one area at a time helps prevent over-whelm... which then prevents anything from being accomplished. It's the age old story of taking things One Bite At A Time.

The work table (which is worse than in the picture above because items were added to that empty space on the left during sorting of the filming corner a couple of weeks ago) is my main focus this week... and the surrounding floor area. I want to get back to my junk journals this week and I have deadlines for getting stuff in the shop.  A lot of fall-colored items go up this week and I hope to have at least 1 more journal and coordinating kit by the end of the week. 

I know from exeprience that my items sell once I put them in the shop so that has to be something I focus on. 75% of everything I make in the store goes towards paying off the house over the next two years. My greatest wish would be to get our loan away from PNC bank but that isn't going to happen. Interest rates are much higher now than when we refinanced five years ago, so I'll just have to work with them for as short of a time as possible.

That's my story for this week. I have to say I am enjoying the process and being able to have space to create again. 

My wish for you this week is to...

Enjoy the Journey

~Kelly

 

PREPPER FRIDAY RETURNS! Making A Plan

 Good morning!

I dropped the ball on this last fall. For some reason, the fall season just ceased to exist for me. I couldn't seem to get footing. I just wanted to sit and veg.

Not so this year. 

As I approach 60 and Bob's retirement only a couple of years away, I've decided I need a two-year plan to lay in as much supply of non-perishables and paper products as possible. I'm also gradually adding home-canned/ preserved/ dehydrated to the pantry.

Courtesy of Pixabay User

With parts of I-70 still under clean-up as well as other natural disasters and a shortage of quality drivers, there is still the issue of getting product. I don't think this is something that is going to resolve any time soon. I don't like to be a fear-monger, but this has to make us think about supply and demand down the line. They are still touting variant strains of the virus as well as the potential for non-vaccinated people allowed in some public places. Seriously? This has to stop somewhere.

In the mean time, we have to take control of our own well-being.  That means taking stock of three areas:

1 - What we use on a regular basis

2 - How much of those items we have on hand

3 - How to break our purchases down into financially manageable chunks.

Take a note pad and pen and go through each room in your home. For me, that would be:

Bathroom

Kitchen

Laundry room

Living room

Dining room

Bedroom

Office

Basemement

I recommend at least one sheet per room.

List what you have on hand that you USE

Pitch everything that is out-dated or that you no longer use

Next, go back through your USE list and determine how many you have on hand AND how many you need to sustain you for 1 year. For now, I'm talking dry goods/ non-perishables. We'll get to the actual FOOD items in a future post. 

I'm working on a PDF that I can offer as a Beta test for a book. You're input would be invaluable.

For now, get reacquainted with your home and as always...

Enjoy the Journey!

~Kelly 

TRAVEL TUESDAY - The Mill Vintage Market

Good morning, friends!

A few months back I noticed those big flags announcing a business along Hwy 60 just west of Elsinore MO. Then I saw the sign shown above.  My curiosity was piqued but I didn't have the opportunity to stop in until a few weeks ago. 

I'm so glad I did! 

Cathy and her husband have set up a unique and classy place to shop. 

Here in the Ozarks most places that offer booth spaces to rent are full of whatever people just want to get rid of or have purchased at an estate auction the Sunday before. In most of those types of places the booths are not kept very well and the merchandise is not displayed to its advantage.

TOTALLY different scenario at THE MILL

Each booth is clean, and artfully arranged. You can tell the sellers take their time with their booths, showing off their items to the best advantage. They also rearrange their displays frequently. 

As I told Cathy, her place has an elegancy that is so inviting -  more like a 'high end market' without the high end price.

Case in point, One booth had a vintage Tupperwear measuring cup... the kind where you can measure one cup of liquid or flip it over for a dry ingredient measure.... and only $5!  Well, I held off on buying the cup.  A couple weeks later I went back to get it... couldn't find it... but found this gem instead...

A perfect find for this junk journal maker (incidently, there is a booth where I lady has junk journals for sale! Nice ones.)

Of course, Bob thought he needed to quiz me... LOL 

The measuring cup was still there, as was a Paper Doll set of Princess Diana with her most important gowns. I couldn't spend much, but the cards had to come home with me. If I'm to have either of those two items, they'll be there when I have a bit more to spend.

You will find The Mill on Facebook & Instagram  You'll also find their hours listed on the FB Page

I'll be making more trips to The Mill. I look forward to seeing how this place evolves with the holidays. I can't wait to stroll through there this fall and into the Christmas season, Maybe I'll find a gem... maybe I won't. But one thing I can assure you of... 

I will

Enjoy the Journey

~Kelly

FLYLADY Week 2 - Office

 

Good morning! Happy Monday!

Technically, this is supposed to be the week I dive into deep cleaning the Living Room, but I've been on a mission.

My office is a total disaster and I'm giving an Organizational Series for crafters on my crafting YouTube channel. If you are brave enough to check it out, the series starts with The Ugly Truth video.

If you watch, please know I've come a long way by the time you see this post. 

Except for an additional shelf I need Bob to put in the paper storage when he gets home, the filming corner is done.

Last week I spent most of my time cataloging and repackaging all of my stamps and putting them away. As you'll see in the video, the sofa was covered in rubber and photo polymer stamp sets. They now all have a home and I can sit on the sofa!!!!!

I've also almost completely cleared off the work table. I had to so I could work on the stamps. By Friday I should be able to start making junk journals again. I hope so because I have a self-imposed deadline to get fall items in my Etsy shop. 

I didn't accomplish much on the kitchen last week. I spent two days with a pinched nerve and muscle spasms in my back. Isn't that usually the way when you have plans to accomplish. Bob left on Monday instead of Tuesday so I had an extra day to dive in. By Monday afternoon my back was starting to send signals and by Tuesday I hurt to walk, sit or stand. movement made me nasueous. Instead, I stretched out in bed on the Sert massager mattress and watched the Olympics. 

The thing to remember is, you can have any kind of schedule you want, but life is going to send you twists and turns along the way. Learn to breathe and ...

Enjoy the Journey!

~Kelly

WELCOME TO MY GARDEN

 

Well, such as it is for now. This is my 32' Roma tomato bed. There are 32 plants here as well as 2 vermaculture worm towers. 

Hi everyone!

I know I've been absent. I just don't blog when Bob is home. This time I didn't get my usual Sunday to schedule posts since he was leaving out a day early. I wasn't spending his last day home with my fingers connected to a keyboard.

So after getting the business stuff rolling then dealing with a back issue, I'm here. Of course, you know those two things set me off track so I'm here tonight (Thursday) seeing how many posts I can get written and scheduled for the entire month. I do have a book to write, after all.

Let me show you where we started.

I got the idea for galvanized tin beds from Homestead Heart. Click on her name to be taken to her YouTube channel.

Unlike wood-sided beds, they won't fall apart any time soon. Granted, they'll rust and deteriorate but hopefully they'll last until I'm done gardening. I did get lucky. A guy I know who owns a restaurant built a patio off his cafe when the pandemic hit. Unfortunately, the tin leaked so they stripped it all off and started over. Leaking wasn't a problem for  me so he sold me the stack of 4x12 sheets for $10 each. We had all of the 2x4s Bob needed to make the corner pieces and I'd purchase stakes a couple of years ago I never used. Bob used them to seam the sides and for supports about mid-wau down the 8' and 10' beds. 

I mowed down to about a #2 on my mower then we mulched everything in with cardboard. I got most of it from two furniture stores - so they were big boxes. When I got ready to do that second bed to the right, I acquired a bunch of heavy boxes from (of all places) a fireworks stand! Sara had her oldest boy load all that I wanted.

That second bed is built but won't be filled til this fall when I'll layer it with mulched leaves and tree shredding to compost down over the winter.

Here is the 16' zucchini bed:

I believe there are 12-14 plants in there and they are going gangbusters! I'll have plenty of dehydrated zucchini for muffins and zucchini flour to last the winter for sure. There may be a few turned in to slices for fried zucchini chips.  This bed was planted around the decomposed straw bales that held tomatoes last year.

Across from this bed I have a double bed (one on each side of a swing set frame sorry - no picture) that holds cantaloupe. They seem to grow well in that spot so I figured why not. This fall, I'll strip off the chicken wire and we'll cover it with Pig fence panel so I'll have a more sturdy wire and all one piece.

Then there is this bed:

A couple of weeks ago we had to make an unexpected 4-day trip to OK. And honestly, the temperatures and heat indexes were killer so Bob and I hadn't been out to fill the remaining beds so we could move plants. I needed to keep everything watered while we were gone.

What you see is a kiddie wading pool filled with about 125 Roma tomato plants... and all are producing!!!!

You know, when I planted seeds last spring I never imagined I'd have 100% germination. That never happens!!

I'm just counting this as our settling in year and we'll be ready to go for 2022.

One picture I don't have... before we left, I took three big cattle feed tubs that I'd used previously for other things and filled with composted straw and potting soil. We planted a Slicer Tomato in each one with a sturdy cage from Menards.  I use THESE  They are much sturdier than traditional tomato cages. We had to trim the prongs down about 10" to fit in the tub and the wire was hard to cut with heavy duty wire cutters.

Incidently, here is the potting soil I have used for everything: Menards Master Garden  This soil is lightweight but has the same composition and time-release fertilizer as the higher priced stuff. I used this to top dress the beds as well as in my 1 qt pots when I transplanted my seedlings to their next stage of growth. It's what those kiddie pool tomatoes are thriving in!

As weather continues to cool down and we can work outside more, we'll get the other 4'x8' beds (5 of those) and the 4'x10' bed (1) positioned and start filling them with mulch, composted straw and all the leaves I can gather this fall. 

I will be back on Monday to get us back on track. Travel Tuesday, I'll take you to Elsinore MO and a special shopping find. 

Whatever you choose to do, Enjoy the Journey!

~Kelly

TUESDAY TRAVEL - Catch-up! - Farmington Missouri

 Good morning, everyone!

Before I go any farther I have to send a sincere apology to Charles at Sugarfire Smoke House! Charles and Levi were awesome when Bob and I visited.  Last fall just became a blur for me and I didn't blog much at all. Life is returning to normal.

I can not say enough good things about Sugarfire Smoke House. They are locally owned, Family operated and community driven (I'll get to that part in a minute)

SUGARFIRE SMOKE HOUSE

With so many places closed due to the pandemic, Bob and I were not sure what we'd find open as we drove along the main road. Then I saw this sign on the door and knew where we needed to eat!

Oh man!!! Was I right.

Here's a tip - a BIG TIP - If you want the smoked Turkey, get there first thing. Levi informed me that goes fast!

And I can see why! These folks know what they're doing, as is evident in their growth since winning awards in many competitions and features all the way back to 2016!  Here's a quick run down:

2016 

Burgers Brew & Cue (Travel Channel)

Beat Bobby Flay (Food Network) - Re-airing JUNE 10TH!

2017

Memphis In May

2018

Memphis In May (Yes, TWO YEARS IN A ROW!)

New York Times

Riverfront Times (Reader's Choice)

They've also won Best Sandwich in the World Food Championship

Keep this between us, but the best sandwich in the world is actually 4 sandwiches in one. Cubano. Reuben. Grilled Cheese. 

As you can tell, Sugarfire Smoke House has A LOT to be proud of.

You can see their complete menu by selecting your location then clicking on MENU

So let's take a look at the food:

Everything was AMAZING! The brisket melted in your mouth and had that stretch you look for when pulling the piece apart. I also had the Baked Beans and the Potato salad. Both were delicious but I'm all about the meat! LOL

The cups in the back each represent a sampling of 'some' of their sauces. Once you place your order and it's on your tray, then you visit this station:

I sampled them all ecept the Texas Hot and the Honey Badger . My favorite was the Coffee BBQ. I brought home a bottle that I'm using with restraint until I can visit again.

Once you have your food, you can choose where to sit. The decor is perfect for a 'non-Texas' BBQ location:

Aside from the booths along the paremeter, there are tables for 4 down through the center (out of shot - right)

As you'll see from the menu of a location nearest you, they offer Soda, Iced Tea and Canned Beer. Some Craft Beers may also be available. 

If you're desert minded, they have freshly made pie including pecan, keyline, apple, mississipi mud, sugarfire and seasonal. There's smoked chocolate chip cookie, Pie Shake, milkshakes, floats and Adult Shakes.

I sampled the pecan pie, detecting a secret ingredient that Levi would neither confirm nor deny... just smiled so I'll keep their secret to myself. You be the judge!

Remember that community driven comment I made earlier? They are all about helping out their local 'family'. When you go to their home page and scroll all the way to the bottom you'll see this:

Do Gooders-

Looking for a donation?

Tell us about your cause and we'll get back to you as soon as we pull these ribs off the smoker.

SUGARFIRE SMOKE HOUSE has several locations offering Dine In, Carry Out, Delivery. They are across the country...

Missouri - 

            Farmington, Springfield, St. Louis, St. Charles, Olivette, 

            Winghaven, Valley Park, Washington, Wentzville

Illinois

             Edwardsville, O'Fallon

Florida

             Jacksonville (opening soon!)

Texas

              Dallas

Iowa

              Cedar Rapids (also drive-thru)

Colorado

             Westminster  

Hours in most locations are 11 a.m. - SOLD OUT! As you can tell, you don't want to wait til the last minute. Plan your lunch break early or call ahead!

DAILY SPECIALS can be found on the Facebook page of your selected location.

I was thrilled to see they've opened a location in Springfield as (though 2 hrs away) that is closer for us than Farmington. (though I'll miss visiting with Charles and Levi). You can bet that's a stop we'll be making next time we're in town! (pst... their on Republic Road)

To learn more about Sugarfire Smoke House, follow the social medai links below. (links are for Farmington location. To find the ones for your area, click on your location first)

WEBSITE   FACEBOOK   TWITTER   INSTAGRAM

Thanks again to Charles and Levi at the Farmington location! We'll be back at some point but for now, Springfield location will be our go-to. I'm sure the people are just like family!

Enjoy the Journey

~ Kelly

CATCHING UP!

 Good morning, everyone! Welcome to another soggy day in southeast MO. 

I woke up to rain yesterday morning. By bedtime we had just under 1".

Woke up to rain this morning with just over 2" in the rain gauge (total of about the past 26 hours)

I'm tired of rain. 

Why blogger has decided to doublespace my posts, I have no clue. As I type this, I have 7 squirrels complaining their feeders (mind you the feeders are actually for the birds). Nuts, the alpha male of the group comes up on the deck and scratches at the metal feed can to get my attention... then sits on the railing and looks in the window to see if I've heard.  This is only a couple of my critters. Nuts is the one hanging from the woodpecker suet cage:

After my post last week, I had to jump full in to a 7-day creative collab for my day job. The project required working up multiple small art projects, filming and posting a video each day. I am currently uploading my last required creative video as I write this post. I'll have one more 'final' to do then this collaborative project can be put away... and the next one started. The next one won't be as intense. 

First week of the month means Laundry/ Kitchen detail. 

Laundry room includes, taking recyclables in, putting the shelf lines back in place, filling all the laundry cleaning items, sanitizing the cat counter as well as deep cleaning the floor and the litter box.

I still haven't put the summer liners back on the shelves nor hung the cafe curtains up. I'll get that done so the storage tub can go back out to the warehouse - out of the dining room.

The kitchen this week won't be as intense. I do want to get a set of glasses down off the soffit area to be washed then put in the donation box for the thrift store run this week. Everything else up there needs a serious cleaning but not this week. Next month when I can move more normally. While I can do stuff, I'm still having to be careful how I move so as not to re-injure the rib and muscles. 

Tuesday should have been the travel post I promised you. That is coming tomorrow. That 7-day collab just pushed a lot of things back. I have the pamphlets here and pictures handy to write that post as soon as I'm done with this one.

My approach to Fly Lady is proof I am a 1950s housewife at heart. Those women did specific deep cleaning tasks on certain days, as seen here by these recreations from PINTEREST   Do you have a cleaning schedule? 

Please share in the comments below. Maybe you do something that would work for me.

Whatever you choose to do today, Enjoy the Journey

~ Kelly 

FLY LADY - Week 5

 

Good afternoon!

While this is supposed to be the Basement week, there's too much going on in the studio for me to even think about cleaning the basement, thus the sign.

The studio did not get the deep cleaning I was hoping for last week. I may or may not have mentioned that I popped a rip and really messed up some muscles in that area. I had thought a couple of days and I'd be good to go. Instead, I spent the first half of the week between binge watching tv, reading and pain med induced naps. I'm still having to be cautious when I bend over and I have to tell you, I'm dreading getting out on the lawn mower this evening but it has to be done. The yard looks close enough to bale now and we have rain moving in tomorrow and is to hang in the majority of the week. 

I've still not planted the garden. Folks I know south of me still haven't either and they sell a lot at Farmer's markets in the Ava MO area. Check out their videos at Living Traditions Homestead.

I'll try to have some pictures later in the week. I have tomato seedlings I need to up-plant as well as cantaloupe and zuccini that need in the ground, but bending over for that length of time isn't happening so I just keep them in the greenhouse at night and have been hardening them off during the day. I'm hoping once the rain passes this week I can do that.

So... no basement this week. Lifting, hauling just isn't in my wheelhouse at the moment. Maybe next week when Bob is home to help.

This week is all about creating in the studio. The end of the month brings three creative collaborations that I take part in as a way of networking with other artists. Then Julie, at DearJulieJulie (whom I'm on the design team for) is doing a collab with CaraBrandonCreations. They've each created a set of seven digital sheets. We will showcase a set each day from May 27 - June 2. I want to try and get as many of those up and done as I can Wednesday and Thursday to free up my weekend for other things.

If you'd like to check out my YouTube channel, you'll find me at KellysCreativeDreams 

Have you planted a garden? What have you planted and are you trying anything new? Inquiring minds want to know.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

I'M BACK! - Flylady Week 3 - All About the Office

 

That pretty much sums up what I've been up to the past several months. 

One thing is that I found out I'll be speaking at the Ozark Creative Writers Conference in October - on of all things - blogging LOL With that in mind, I've had to focus my attention on my two main 'business' blogs - Angela Drake (author blog) and KellysCountry (my music blog)  Even the music blog has slid a bit with the major focus being on the author blog since that IS my main business and this is a WRITERS conference.

I've also been focusing on my YouTube channel for the creative side as that pairs with my day job as an Etsy seller. 

Due to cold weather, I had to let the interview with Jared (Adventures with Purpose) slide for the time being. Hopefully, they'll do another central US trip this summer and I can hook up with them again. In the mean time, I will periodically share videos from their Ozark searches last winter.

I also need to bring you up to speed on some of the places I've visited. That starts back up on the 25th - just in time to kick off the summer travel season with some AWESOME BBQ!

Travel. Doesn't that word sound lovely? We've been cut off from our normal routine for over fifteen months. Let's start taking precautions when necessary and try to find a new normal.  

Okay... 

I also debated long and hard about continuing the FlyLady series. I watch a gal on YouTube that I dearly love. She terms herself the 'Secret Slob'. Stephanie is fun and straightforward about how she has taken the FlyLady system and made it her own. Pretty much what I've done but on a much more organized scale. hehe

I am almost caught up on blog posts this week so I'm planning to spend the majority of this week finishing (or at the very least making major headway) in the office. Yeah, that still isn't done!

* Catalog paper slabs

* Catalog new stamp/ die sets

* Clear Filming Table

* Get ready for new Washi Tape storage shelves

* Make sofa usable (my favorite writing space in the evening)

There you have it!

Now I need to get busy.

Be Safe, Be Prepared, Be Blessed

~ Kelly

ONE MORE WEEK!

 

Happy New Year, everyone!

After spending time over the holidays sorting everything in my office, while spending time with Bob, I am finally at a stage where I can just put things away. 

I am not going to try balancing that task with work. Instead, I'm dedicating one full week to that final task. 

I'm late on taking you to a couple of places here in the Ozarks. I also hope to bring you an interview with the Jared and Sam from Adventures With Purpose. Still working on that one so cross your fingers. They've been doing several dives in the Ozarks the past few months.

In the mean time...

Be warm, Be safe, Be prepared

~Kelly