The Conclusion of the Holiday and a Cool New Shirt

Patriotic deck...love the view...we've been lucky that no one has built in
the field behind us the entire time we've lived here.  I know it is coming,
but for now, I remain oh so grateful for our amazing view.

I keep my patriotic decor up from Memorial Day through Independence Day...kind of a festive welcome to summer.  After July 4th, however, I'm definitely ready to put it all away.  So, in a little bit of productivity for the day, I got it taken down and put away for next year. 

Until next year...

Hmmm...I'm thinking pinwheels for the remainder of summer.  Wouldn't those be fun, festive, and inexpensive?  Here is a quick and easy DIY tutorial.  I love it.  What do you think?

Anyway, moving right along.  I should have been working in the yard today, but realistically, that is going to wait a week...there is nothing that needs to be done urgently enough that I'm going to brave 100 degree weather to do it.  Nope, just not doing it.  Instead, after a morning spent running errands like getting another package off to Superman, after Valiant headed off to work, Buttercup and I retreated to the basement where it was nice and cool, even without the air conditioner on.

Cleaned my desk, ironed some napkins, and watched "My Cat from Hell".  Love that show.  Jackson seems to really care.  I'm just astounded by how little common sense people have.  Then again, I'm a cat person, so maybe obvious to me isn't obvious to non-cat people.

In the meantime, I needed to keep busy in the basement.  I'm not good at sitting around doing nothing.  I had one more plain t-shirt in Valiant's size and I knew just the image that would bring a smile to his face.  So, I got out my Silhouette machine and some heat-transfer vinyl and got to work.

Heat transfer vinyl is so cool!  Just remember to cut the mirror image of your
final look...

Once I cleaned up the image, I flipped it so I had a mirror image and sent it through the Silhouette.  A few minutes weeding the excess vinyl and I was ready to iron it on.

Ironing it on takes 30 seconds...

A few minutes later, I had a finished product designed to appeal to a teen-aged boy. 

"Everyday, I'm Shufflin'"...

When he came in from work, the smile on his face told me that Valiant did, indeed, like his new shirt.

Day 117.  Another day closer to Superman coming home and I was successfully productive again!  Woot!

New Door Knob

The door from our garage to our backyard is in desperate need of replacing, but I haven't the foggiest idea how to make sure a door is true (and this one is definitely off-kilter).  That project will need to wait for Superman's return this fall.  In the meantime, though, I was more than willing to tackle the project of replacing the old door knob.  It turned out to be more complicated than an I anticipated, but still, I prevailed and the new door knob is working out beautifully.

New door knob with nifty patch job!

First, I took off the old door knob.  Easy peasy.  So easy, in fact, that I forgot to take a picture of it.  Once the door knob and locking mechanism were removed, I was left with this hole.

This hole is way to big for a standard door knob.

I quickly determined that part of the problem with the old door knob was that the hole was actually too big for a standard door knob.  I was stumped...how to "patch" a hole in a door.  Then inspiration hit.  Back to Home Depot I went to get these plastic wall guards that protect wall from the damage done by kids slamming the door knob into the drywall.  These things are so handy...if you haven't used them, you'll thank me after you do.  (Not that my angels have ever put a dent or a hole in a wall, you understand.  They've always been paragons of restraint...NOT!)  These come in two sizes and I bought two of the larger size.  Back home again, I needed to drill door knob-sized holes in them before sticking them to the door.  There is actually a bit to do that job.

I think this is the size the previous owners used when they installed the original
door knob.  At close to 3", it is far too large.

This is the correct bit, but the wrong size.  I couldn't find the correct size, so I had to improvise.

I think the bit I used is for making counter-sink holes...maybe to seat washer and screws,
but I really don't know.  All I know is that I was able to make it work for my project.

Got out a scrap board, grabbed my husband's drill (mine didn't like the job), lay my plastic disk down (after figuring out where the hole needed to be--off-centered to work on the door), stepped on the disk to hold it in place (high-tech, I know), and drilled the hole.

Notice my foot holding the disk in place?  Necessity is the mother of weird techniques!
Thanks for letting me use your new drill, Honey.  It worked beautifully and had
a lot more power than mine.  You're too sweet!

After that, I fit the door knob in the new hole and then removed the covering from the adhesive tabs.  It was simple to fit the piece into the locking mechanism already in the door and then I just pressed firmly on the disk and the door was patched and my door knob was in the correct position.



By fitting the door knob mechanism in the hole before I put it through the door,
I had the opportunity to finesse it a bit to get it exactly the way I wanted it.

It was quick work to drill the hole in the other plastic disk and fit it properly. 



Felt pretty foolish when Valiant pointed out my error, but, hey, at least I knew
how to correct it!  Plus, I had canine supervision...they should have told me.

After that, I screwed it all together and was quite proud of myself...right up until Valiant asked me why I installed in backwards.  Sigh.

Now it is done correctly.  Even the dogs got bored by this point...

Pulled the door knob apart, turned the mechanism over, put it all back together, and we have a new door knob on our garage-to-backyard door.

Beautiful, isn't it?

 I confess, I felt pretty productive after I finished that little project.  Day 118 of Productivity can be considered successful!

118 Days of Productivity

As I mentioned at the end of this post, my husband Superman will finally be home for good in 118 days.  After almost three years of contracting overseas, I can't overstate how excited we all our that this part of our family's journey is concluding.  Still, we have "short-timers" in a big way.  You know about short-timers, right?  Short timers is that feeling you have after you've given your notice at a job and you're just waiting for the two weeks to be over so you can move on.  It doesn't mean you hated your old circumstances, it just means you're beyond eager to take that next step.  It is an exhilirating time.  Still, we have 118 days to get through.  Superman is tackling the challenge of short-timers by blogging each and every day of the end of his journey here.

When I posted the time on my FB, my friend Melissa (she wrote this awesome blog a few years ago and is a great one for meeting goals) said she was going to use that block of time to create a deadline for her own challenge.  I loved that idea.  So, I presented to the kids and to Superman that I was going to be productive every single day until he got home.  I don't just want to "wait" for him to come home.  I want to make the time fly.  I don't just want to kill time.  I still want this time to count.  I want each day to be productive.

productive

Definition

pro·duc·tive

[ prə dúktiv ]

ADJECTIVE

1.  producing much: producing something abundantly and efficiently

2.  worthwhile: producing satisfactory or useful results

3.  producing something: producing or able to produce something

Thus, I've challenged myself to be productive every single day for the next 118 days.  I especially like the second and third definitions of the word.  (I am not really worried about producing abundantly, but efficiently will definitely work for me!)  I want to cross things off lists, I want to meet my goals, I want no day to conclude with the thought "what did I do today?".

I'll be back later with a little bit of productivity for today.  In the meantime, I've got stuff to do!

Have a great day!

Only 119 Days...

My blog was interrupted by the happy arrival of my husband home for his first leave in six months and, honestly, I had no time to blog while he was home.  It was a whirlwind two and a half weeks.

Me and my boyfriend...

Superman's leave started with a car crash (thank goodness no one was hurt!).   Our beloved eldest crashed his car on the way to the airport...oops!   Charming was so lucky that Superman was home to fix the car...Superman is so handy to have around (and you thought he was strictly decorative!).  A jet-lagged day filled with elbow grease, axle grease, and some hours spent at the junkyard, and the car was ready for the road again.

Now everyone in this family know exactly what a "pickle fork" is and exactly
why you would use one.  Can your family say the same?

Two days later, the family got dirty again.  This time is was mud.  Yes, our second annual appearance at the Dirty Dash.  Again, dirty, muddy fun was had by all.

A dirty bunch, wouldn't you say?

After that, Father's Day was a joy to celebrate with Superman at home.  Don't I have a handsome family?

My family!

Then things slowed down a bit.  A lot of hanging around the house.  It felt good.  Both boys have jobs and Charming hasn't lived us for two years now, so we did a lot of the stuff we would normally take for granted...


Flying without a cape...not for the faint of heart!

There were a few chiropractor visits (with Superman demonstrating his flying technique for his daughter).


The cat doesn't let Superman interrupt her meal.

Superman tackled a bathroom repair that intimidated me.  (Water damage is nothing to take lightly.)



I promise, despite the bad photo, I'm certain those are MY children.

We hit the local water park.  I got enough sun that I'm still peeling...

We Nagles are always well-behaved at meals...can you tell?

We took advantage of the mild weather by taking meals out on the deck.


The girl and a pig with a screwdriver vs. Superman and broadsword.
Doesn't seem like a fair fight, does it?

 There was an impromptu sword fight.

Life in the technology age...parallel play extends to all ages.

In between, it was pretty much normal life.  We hung around being super exciting.

Buttercup and Bunny putting on happy faces as they say farewell to
Superman one last time...next time he comes home for good!

 And, all too soon, his leave was over and we were back at the airport to send him off one LAST time.  (The boys had to work, so it was just Buttercup and me to fawn over him.  Still, I think we did pretty well.)

Did I mention there are only 119 days until he's home for good?  Not that we're counting, you understand!

Rain Gutter Planter

My beloved Superman was home on leave for two and a half weeks and we have some wonderful pictures of that time that I'll be sharing later this week.  In the meantime, I have a quick and easy garden project to share with you.

The flowers wish I had done this project last week.  They'll look better in a few days.

It is so easy.  All you need is a length of plastic/vinyl rain gutter (I got ours from Home Depot) with the anchors and endcaps. 

I guessed how many anchors I'd need, based on the length of the gutter and
the anticipated weight of the dirt and plants when wet.  (50" warranted 4 anchors.)

Put it all together and attach it to a flat, vertical surface.  I attached our to the deck railing with a screw in each anchor.  (Depending upon your plant selections, you will need to decide whether or not you will need to drill drainage holes.) 

The finished planter in place with a drip line ready to go.

Fill it with dirt and add your plants.  Ta da!

The finished project!  I love how it turned out.

That is it...you are done.  Now, at this point, I have to tell you that my children thought this was a stupid idea until it was actually done.  Then, in the high praise of the teen-aged language, they conceded:  "Mom, we kind of thought this was a stupid idea, but now that you finished it, it really looks good!"

So, if you're willing to face teen-aged scorn, I urge you to give this garden project a try.  You won't be disappointed.

Our spider seems to know what is going on...

Our spider has grown on us since it joined our household at Halloween. 

Not content to be a Halloween spider, he's become sort of a mascot.

Firstly, it convinced me to leave it up when all the other Halloween decorations came down.  Then, it joined in on the holiday decorating.

Nice Santa hat...right in the spirit of the season.

Then, it convinced me that it had thoughts to share.  Simple holiday thoughts.



Thoughts of love filling the air...

Love at Valentine's...

Spreading the luck o' the Irish...

Shamrock's at St. Patrick's Day...

Spring is in the air...

Then, the thoughts became seasonal...tulips in spring.   Honestly, I was expecting a beach ball or sunglasses for summer.  I was wrong...

But the family spider surprised me again.  It must have used its "spidey senses" and it knew...

Even fewer days now...we're all so excited!

Cloth Napkins, the cheap (um, frugal) way!

 Years and years ago, I decided a) we were spending way too much on paper napkins (I swear our family of five went through a few packs a week) and b) I shouldn't have stuff in my house I wasn't using, including the cloth napkins I'd somehow inherited from my mom.  (A whole different question was where those originally came from...I never remember them being used in my childhood home.)

Aren't these pretty?

Once the upfront cost of acquiring them is taken care of, cloth napkins are really inexpensive and easy to use.   After each use, the kids just throw the napkins in the washing machine and they get washed along with the normal load. 



My mom's old napkins...they're probably 25 years old, if not more.

Initially, I used the  mismatched napkins I'd inherited, but I eventually supplemented my stash.  I bought these napkins a little more than six years ago and they've served us well, but they're tired looking, wouldn't you say?

My poor napkins...they've served us well for 6 years, but they're tired.

It was more than past time to get new napkins, but even knowing I'd most likely get five or more years out of my napkins, I just couldn't make my self pay anywhere from $2.50 (Target) to $5.00 (World Market) for any of the napkins I liked.  For 12 napkins, I was looking at anywhere from $30 to $60!   Not acceptable to me.  So, I came up with an alternative:  I bought a rectangular table cloth I liked and made my own napkins.  

Target tablecloth...busy enough to hide stains.

I found the tablecloth at Target for $15.99 (I think...maybe it was $16.99.)  At 60 x 80 inches, that allowed for 12 20-inch square napkins, bringing the cost of each napkin down to a much more acceptable $1.33 (or $1.42 if the tablecloth was $16.99). 

Not too shabby for one afternoon's work.

It took me one afternoon to make all twelve napkins.

Look at that mitred corner!  It is perfect!

I even practiced making mitred corners.  Some turned out really well. 

This mitre isn't so well done...still, I'm pleased.

Some didn't turn out so well.  Overall, this was a pretty successful exercise. 

I love this fabric on my dish towel.  Isn't it pretty?

And, if you did the math in your head, you know I ended up with a four inch strip of fabric leftover after making my 20-inch napkins.  I couldn't resist using some of that leftover fabric to embellish a kitchen towel.

Not bad for $16, wouldn't you say?

  

Pressure Cooker Artichokes

One night last week, Valiant was working and Buttercup and I took the opportunity to split an artichoke.  I am so grateful that at least one of my children is willing to enjoy the wonderfulness that is an artichoke.  The other thing I'm grateful for?  Just how easy it is to prepare an artichoke with a pressure cooker.

Ready to go...don't they look beautiful?

Seriously, it is that easy.  First thing you do is rinse your artichoke.  Pat it dry and trim the top.  Then you take your kitchen shears and cut off the pointy tips of all the leaves.  Then you cut it in half and cut out the choke (the "fur").

Lemon to keep the artichokes from turning too brown and garlic for, well, garlic flavor!

This is what you'll be left with.  Set both halves in your pressure cooker in a steamer basket.   Squirt with lemon and sprinkle with garlic.   Add two cups of water.   Close up your pressure cooker and turn on the heat!

My old-school pressure cooker.  I just turned the flame on high and waited for the
pressure valve to bobble!

Wait 10 to 12 minutes from the time the pressure valve starts bobbling.   I have an old-school pressure cooker.  The little top starts bouncing back and forth on little bursts of steam.  When it settles into a rhythm, that is when I set the timer. (Two artichokes takes roughly 12 minutes, one artichoke takes roughly 10 minutes.)  As soon as the timer goes off, take the pressure cooker off the flame and head over to the kitchen sink to do a quick water release.  (Some sites say use cold water; I was always taught to use hot water.)

Look at how beautiful!  Still steaming tenderness and ready to be plated!

One the steam is released, you an open your pressure cooker and view your perfect artichokes.  (Notice that I didn't have enough water and almost steamed it dry, thus the brown water in my pan...oops!)

Look at that Artichoke goodness.  Perfectly done, ready to be eaten!

After that, you can serve your artichoke warm or chill it.  It is your preference.  We like ours warm, with melted butter.  I remember my dad and grandpa liked it mayonnaise (ick!). 

If you use your homemade mayonnaise, this is purely Paleo!
(We used grass-fed butter, so it didn't make the cut!)

Sit down, peel off those leaves one by one, scraping your teeth across the meaty goodness, unlocking the heart.  Then, cut that heart into chunks and swirl it what is left of your butter (or mayo) and savor its sublime goodness!  Before you know it, you'll have nothing left but scraped leaves on your plate and a smile on your face.  Just remember:  Don't put those leaves in the garbage disposal...they will ruin it!!  Nope, artichoke parts are compost or trash only!

All that is left...leaves for the trash and the memory of a perfect artichoke!