FLY LADY WEEK 2 - Living Room, Dining Room

 Good morning, everyone!

The ribs are still healing. Mostly just sore in one spot so I'm still taking it easy.

I'd love to get the tree down this week and do a deep vacuum. HoneyB's kennel is still at the far end of the sofa. That is Bob's end table. We've been looking around for a matching set but as yet haven't come up with anything we like in our price range. We are fine with a repurposed set. We don't need 'new' just 'new to us'.

Since I'm not pushing the ribs yet, there won't be any furniture moving and the weather has prevented us from getting to the storage unit in the back yard to get the containers needed to pack Christmas away but I can honestly say I'm ready. I just want to clean something. LOL

As to the dining room, there is a book case in serious need of decluttering but again, I can't push my body. I need the ribs to be completely healed come time to start the garden. Time is definitely a harsh speed bump when you want to do things you know you shouldn't. When I'm healed, look out!

At least I can work on the sorting. I also have a collection of books called Help Me Be Good. There are about twenty 6x6 books in the collection. My mom bought them for our daughter when she was about 5. Our daughter will be 43 this fall. The books have been read by daycare kids and our youngest granddaughter.  I've thought about the library but the last time I took them almost 'new' books for the children's department they were a bit rude. I miss our  original head librarian. She retired about four years ago and this one just doesn't have the personality you expect from someone who should love books and their patrons. The whole atmosphere of the library has changed and I don't go in there, often. As an author, that type of reception hurts my heart. Maybe it's just me. So I'm weighing options and will be 'testing' surrounding libraries to see if I can find an appreciative fit. 

So much I want to do that I'm not capable of doing at this point and it's hard to adjust. I'll get there, I'm just a Veruka - I want it done now! Mind you that doesn't mean I'm entitled like her character. I just like to get things done then move on. Life is short and I have so much to do.

Which Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character do you relate to?

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed

FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Laundry Room/ Kitchen

Good morning, friends!

I've had a rough couple of weeks. The ribs are continuing to heal. I still can't bend over very well or lift things of any weight.  Canuary got put on hold. I did get the chunky apple butter made before the accident but I've kept it in a plastic keeper in the fridge and we've been working from the container with fried bread, fresh bread, biscuits and Bob made an amazing Betty Crocker Spice Cake, replacing the oil with the apple butter and putting a layer in the middle. DELISH!

With all the baking, I've not gained a pound; holding at 156 since October!

Because I have limitations, Bob has been a huge help. So glad he's retired. I've been through this rib issue one time without him and that was enough. 

I've been working on laundry. I can put it in the washer but Bob has to move it to the dryer, then to the bed where I can fold everything. He's also been putting most everything away because I can't bend to put things in drawers.

While I am healing. I'm off the ice packs and can breathe or sneeze without pain, I'm still going to take my time. I want to be able to get to the greenhouse and start working on the garden by end of the month. 

With all the snow, all of the Christmas decor is still up in the laundry room and wouldn't normally come down until after Valentine's Day anyway so I'm okay with that. I think I can manage running the electric broom/ Swiffer but that's going to be the extent of my cleaning this week.

How much snow did you get? 

The day after my fall we got about 5". Thank Old Man Winter, none of the ice. I've not left the house since the 15th and I'm okay with that. Thanks to a very well stocked pantry, we've not needed to go anywhere.

Did you catch Canuary? I didn't win any of the prizes but got some great recipes I've added to my canning list, hopefully before weather gets too warm.  

Next up, FREEZE DRIED FEBRUARY!!

Angela, at The Inquisitive Farm Wife is hosting this event and Harvest Right is sponsoring the collaboration by giving away a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer!!!  Just visit Angela's channel HERE for all the details!

I have several things I want to share but in limited amounts of time for a couple more weeks, so be kind while I recuperate.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

 

FLY LADY WEEK 3 - Bedroom/ Bathroom

 Good morning, friends!

As I suspected, not a lot got done in the living room last week. My start to the new year is still a bit slow. 

I did get nine pints of Salisbury steak patties canned. I had quite a bit of syphoning but everything came out okay. I had one pint that lost more than half of the juice but it sealed. I'd already planned to pop one open and try for dinner. Very tasty! I'll do more of those next fall. Still lots of other items to can while the weather is cool.

The bathroom will get a serious scrub-down. This includes wiping down the ledge all the way around the soaking tub and deliming around the faucet at the sink. The rest is pretty easy. 

With more canning to do this week for #Canuary, I'm not expecting as much from the bedroom as I'd like.  My two big things for the bedroom are 1 - start jarring up the two cases of Town House Crackers sitting in the 'pantry' closet and to 2 - get the mattresses rotated.

I rotate the mattresses a half turn the beginning of every quarter. At some point, I want to totally dismantle the bed so I can clean underneath and the frame really. That won't be this week but maybe April at the beginning of the next quarter. Since this is the beginning of the week, I'll strip the bed and wash the bedding. 

If I want to add one more item, that would be to clean off my nightstand. 

One of the things I do every morning is to turn the bedding down, open the windows to allow the cold air in to freeze out any germs. When I remake the bed, I spray the mattress top with Lysol as well as the top edge of the sheet/ blankets where we breathe and both sides of each of the pillows. I think this daily sanitizing has a lot to do with why Bob and are are lucky if we are sick once a year. For me, that's usually sinus, not a head/ chest cold type of issue. This practice has served us well for almost twenty years.  If colds are a regularity in your home, give this a try and encourage hand washing. Let me know if you notice a difference.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 2 - Living Room/ Dining Room

 Good morning, friends.

Been a busy few days here. 

RIP HoneyB

March 2016 - January 2026

He would have been 12 years old in March

i got only what had to be done in the Laundry Room/ Kitchen last week. Mostly focusing on giving the kitchen a good clean ahead of a project for this week.

Last Thursday we sent our adorable, Beagle/ Bassett mix over the rainbow. We are not sure what happened but have our suspicions. He went from being an excited, rambunctious dog to a very quick decline over night and the course of about eight days. A vet check-up showed his vitals all good yet he didn't want food or move around. He also, suddenly, wanted to stay outside in the cold air. We'd bring him in after a chance to do his business only to want right back out a short time later.  I hated to see this sweet boy leave us. He showed up on my deck litter box trained and would bring me his food bowl when it was empty. The house is much quieter now.

I'll spend this week clearing out the remaining items of HoneyB like his toy bucket and figuring out if we're leaving his kennel up until we find an end table. Currently, the top of his kennel serves as an end table on Bob's end of the sofa. I also want to clean up as much hair as I can both around the rooms and in the couch crevices. For a tight-haired dog he could shed a ton! I'll focus mostly on the living room for the deep clean and start taking care of things just lying around in the dining room.

I mentioned last week I was taking part in the Pantry Challenge and Canuary. As I type this on Sunday afternoon, Bob and I canned 7 quarts of Beef Pot Pie filling. You'll find Leisa's video HERE. There's a link to the recipe she used in her description box of the video. Today we'll be canning Beef Tips & Mushrooms in wide mouth pints. We'll use them for stroganoff or just over rice. That recipe is HERE. If there's canner room, I'll add a couple pints of Salisbury Steak patties. That recipe is on Linda's Pantry channel HERE.

Wednesday, I'll b emptying jars of too-soft apple pie filling into the crock pot to cook down to apple butter as well as canning the apple cider I have yet to do. I also think I've found a recipe for powdered mulling spices but since that doesn't require heat, I'll come back to that this fall.

We're adjusting to the new normal around here but we're moving forward.

How are y'all doin? Drop a comment down below. Do you can foods?

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY WEEK 1 - Laundry Room, Dining Room

Happy New Year, friends!

Are you ready to make 2026 your best year? Have you packed away the Christmas decorations?

We haven't. The tree usually stays up until after the 8th. I love enjoying the lights.  My bathroom decor stays up until at least the end of January because it's still winter and the snowmen just belong. The laundry room and kitchen stay up until after Valentine's Day. My curtains have gingerbread people and hearts.  By By end of February, everything will be packed away. At some point in the spring, I want to pull all of the Christmas decor out, sort it by room everything will go in to then donate the rest.

I'm not diving in hard this month on these two rooms since Christmas decor is still up. I didn't do any decorating in the kitchen this year so my only plan is to detail the drains and the coffee counter. 

Laundry Room needs a serious clean. Bob got into a decluttering and finally got that junk drawer gone through!

My big focus for these two rooms is the floor - a continuous run between the two rooms.  But I have something a bit more important going on.

#Canuary2026 Details 

If you're not familiar with Canuary, this is my second year seriously participating (the challenge has been going on for 8!). The challenge is all about restocking the pantry before garden season starts and we're outside more than in.  The challenge is hosted by Leisa at SuttonsDaze and sponsored in part my 4JarsCanning. Check out the videos, subscribe to the channels, leave a positive comment to be entered to win some awesome prizes. I have my eye on the steam canner. 

I'll post a video later this week of what I plan to stock.

The other challenge, is the Pantry Challenge, hosted by Three Rivers Homestead. You'll find her Week 1 HERE.

The idea is to go through your pantry, freezer, fridge, etc an plan meals around what you have, to limit what you buy, for two months (January, February). It's easy for things to get pushed to the back as we bring in new shopping items. Very easy to forget what we have even, then go buy more of the same.

I'll be taking stock of what's downstairs in the pantry and the big freezer, as well as the upright freezer in the laundry room, and planning our meal around those. I plan to limit my spending to three categories:

1 - items I need to complete a recipe using items on hand

2 - fresh staples such as milk

3 - items I need for the Canuary challenge. I have a long list and so many of the things I want to put up are on sale so while I'm not spending money on the other items, I can devote that to the items I do need.

I'm prepared for these two challenges.   Are you going to  join either one? I'd love to hear from you.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a tradition with me since I was probably ten. The parade has changed over the years but I still enjoy the celebration.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly

FLY LADY - Week 4 - Office

 Good morning, friends!

The final push to get everything set up for Christmas. 

Thanksgiving was a big tradition during my teenaged years, thanks to my (step) mom. I use that term loosely and will always refer to her as Mom.  We always decorated the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving dinner... between dinner and desserts. That tradition slid downhill fast after we became empty-nesters then again when Bob took the line boat position and was gone twenty-one days at a time.

Since this is his first full year of retirement, I'm determined to pull that tradition back out. 

What tradition do you wish you still continued? Why not?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly