Wow, it’s been a year to forget.
I last blogged on March 12, 2020. I completely forgot that I had posted at the beginning of the pandemic. Many of my family and friends have wondered where I’ve been since then. Well let me tell you that I feel like I’ve fallen down a black hole and landed upside-down in the “Twilight Zone” and I bet many of you have felt the same way. So let’s wrap up this past year and hopefully we can move forward.
We faced long lines. 
And empty shelves. (Sorry, no pic.) Grocery stores frown upon it and I like to follow the rules. Even though the lady in the dry goods aisle next to me said, “I’ve got to take a picture and send to my sister.”
We made masks. 
And more masks. 
We had stay at home orders and tried to find things to pass the time.
We cleaned our houses top to bottom. Scrubbing floors, walls, ceilings, doors, and more. A friend of mine took it a step further and decided to paint her kitchen, her bathroom, her bedroom, and the sewing room.
We planted gardens. 
I grew lentils for the first time. I planted a little over 100 plants and got just under a cup of lentils. LOL!
Heck, if you can’t find the food in the stores, you might as well grow your own. My nephew told me that if we had to rely on what we grew, we would starve before our first harvest.
We faced high prices and still are. Did you know that grocery stores raised all their prices when people started getting the extra $600 a week with their unemployment? It was on the news. Hello! Not all of us receive unemployment. Some of us are on a fixed income.
I cooked and baked. 
We didn’t do take out for two months!
Many of us spent a lot of time on the computer. I, myself, spent most of my time working on projects and working in the yard. It’s amazing what you can do with some old lumber, a hammer & nails, and a little paint
I’ve also done some more sewing. I made quilts and pillows for two of my sisters for Christmas. I crocheted slippers for two of my sons and myself. And I did some plastic canvas projects for a friend.
I know this is long, but it’s been a long time coming. I wanted to do this post at the end of 2020 but have done a lot of procrastinating. 2020 has come and gone, and it is time to say farewell. It is a year that we want to forget, but will always remember.
We are finally moving forward. Things are opening up. Kids are starting to get back to school. Vaccines are available. We are still wearing masks and keeping our distance. A new normal, they say.
What will you remember about 2020? What would you like to forget? Are there positives for you? Negatives?
How did you pass the time? Let me know in the comments.
And I will close this out with hugs till next time.
So, you’ve been put on quarantine.
Well, let’s hope not, but if you were… Watching the news and reading posts on Facebook about the coronavirus, it seems that toilet paper is the big item on everyone’s hoarder list, right after water and canned food, and it got me to thinking, is that really all we need?
When there is a crisis, whether it be a pandemic, an earthquake, flood, or even war, (Heaven forbid) the news tells you to have enough water, food, and medications to last you at least 2 weeks.
I racked my brain and even asked my sons, “What would you need on a daily basis if you were quarantined?” So we’ve come up with a list of things that you normally don’t think about or you take for granted on a daily basis.
- Toothpaste
- Bath soap
- Clothes soap
- Bleach
- Band-aids
- Peroxide
- Dish soap (Or at least enough paper plates, paper cups, plastic silverware, etc. to last 2 weeks for everyone in your family. Just a thought; It’s cheaper to wash the dishes.)
- Pain and fever reducer
- Anti-bacterial ointment
- Antihistamines
- Vitamins
- Dental floss (My youngest son said that he would go crazy if he couldn’t floss every day. But floss is good for other things too. Just google it.)
- Pet food! Your fur babies need to eat too!
So ask your family and yourself what would you need on a daily basis if you were quarantined and share in the comments.
I pray everyone stays safe and healthy and till next time, HUGS from me to you.
I just finished reading Stevie’s blog post about her essentials if she were to be put on quarantine and you can read it here, https://steviet3.wordpress.com/2020/03/14/quarantine-essentials/comment-page-1/#comment-23068
And I am going to the grocery store tomorrow and will update on my findings. Stay tuned and till then, hugs for a great weekend.
Fall Back!
Here in the United States most of us turn our clocks back an hour in the fall.
Get an extra hour of sleep, they say. Yeah, right! How many of you enjoyed that extra hour of sleep? Go ahead and chime in. Raise your hands. Admit it, you opened your eyes and looked at the clock and said, “Yay! I get to sleep another hour!” and sleep would not come.
I was awake at 4 a.m. I usually get up between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.
Another advantage to turning the clocks back an hour. You get another hour to accomplish more stuff, except you start struggling to keep your eyes open through the entire Simpsons episode. Then you wonder why this freaking day seems to go on forever.
Oh, and another thing, we get an extra hour and yet the days are getting shorter? Oxymoron? Go figure.
Oh well. Enjoy the extra hour no matter what you plan on doing with it. As for me, I am ready for lunch and…Oh my gosh! It’s only 9:15 a.m!
It’s going to be a long day.
Hugs till next time.
Karen
Faith, Effort, Persistence
I don’t know what I was reading yesterday. It might have been one of my horoscopes, but these three words came up; Faith, Effort, and Persistence. And they made perfect sense to me.
It doesn’t matter what we are going through in life or if we are struggling with problems, or maybe we are just trying to complete a project, these three words can help keep us balanced and moving forward.
When you look at the word faith, it can be the faith in a higher power, the faith in someone else, or faith in yourself.
And we have to put in the effort to keep moving forward. To accomplish our goals. To make things better. Without effort, you might as well give up. Because no one else can do what you do. You are unique in everything you do.
And last but not least, persistence. If it doesn’t work out the first time; Try, try again.
It makes sense, right? Life isn’t easy and sometimes we need guidance and a plan.
So, remember these three words; Faith, Effort, Persistence, today, tomorrow, every day.
Hugs till next time!
How do you blog?
I know it has been some time since I last posted a new blog post. My cousin Pam has been emailing me asking if I am okay. So for everyone out there, I am alive and still kicking. (And right now I am cursing the wind. I hate the wind.) We did have a beautiful rainbow on Tuesday so I guess it’s just nature balancing itself out.
I follow a lot of blogs and notice that they all seem to have a different approach to blogging. Some only promote whatever it is that they do. Writing, sharing recipes (cooking blogs), crafts, etc. While others (like me) like to share everything. Well, almost everything. 🙂 I like to keep my darkest secrets to myself. Bahahaha!
So when you blog, do you share those funny little moments, like the cat puked up a furball, or my kid used the toilet for the first time today?
Do you let people see the more human side of you or is your blog strictly business?
Do you blog every day? Once a week? Once a month? Or whenever you have time?
I’d love to hear how you blog. Let me know in the comments.
And till next time; HUGS!
Help! I’ve Got Fleas!
Not me actually, but my dogs do. And I’ve tried just about everything except… My son called me last night and I told him my dogs have fleas and he told me, “So get rid of them.”
“What, the dogs? Okay, I’ll send them down to you.”
And he laughed. He’s probably tired of me telling him every time he calls that I have fleas. A couple of months ago it was ticks but I got rid of those. The fleas are seeming to be a bit harder to eradicate. I don’t like to use chemicals on the dogs, in the house, or in the yard so I tried the natural ways. Flea shampoo and spray with lemongrass, cinnamon oil, and cedarwood oil. Didn’t work. I tried Dawn dish detergent. Works for a few hours and then they are back to itching, scratching, and chewing. 🙂
I’ve used white vinegar on the dogs as a rinse after their bath and apple cider vinegar in their drinking water. No go. Coconut oil, lavender. Nope. Diatomaceous earth in the yard, on the carpeting, under the couch cushions, and their beds. Nada. Even sprayed the yards with lemongrass.
I’m running out of natural options here.
Now you are going to tell me to go out and buy that chemical stuff. Works every time, you say. Nope. Tried that too. Spent $47 on Frontline Plus. Didn’t work. Spent $53 on K-9 Advantix. Still got fleas.
What irks me is that this is the first year in many, many years that I’ve had fleas.
Any ideas? I’m open to suggestions.
Have you ever?
Googled your book, that is. My nephew asked me that question yesterday. Then he asked, “Would it show up on Google?”
“It should.” I told him.
“Okay, give me a title to one of your books.”
And I told him, “Kiley’s Best Friend” and this is what he found!
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kiley-s-Best-Friend/695212619
(The photo is mine, not theirs.)
Interesting!
After I hung up from talking to him I decided to google “Kiley Wished for a Puppy”
And where I found it (and a few of my other books as well) was at Bokus.
That made me smile. Why you ask? Because my dad’s ancestors immigrated to the U.S. from Sweden!
That is soooo cool!
So, have you googled your books? Let me know what you found in the comments!
That’s it for now. Happy Saturday!
Hugs till next time!
Lets Cut Costs!
Okay, so I’ve decided to cut the cord. Actually, I cut it months ago. My phone, TV, and internet was up to $195.00 a month. That’s outrageous! So I canceled the TV and phone.
Yeah, right. Like I can get by with no TV. Ha!
I picked up a Roku and I got a free Roku by signing up with Sling TV for two months.
I was paying $25 a month for Sling and then another $15 for Tennis TV. And it was okay.
But last week I decided to try You Tube TV. I am paying $40 a month still, but I am now getting Espn, Disney, and the Tennis channel, plus a bunch more. (There’s a difference between the Tennis channel (Which is the one I had with my cable provider.) and Tennis TV. And I also get all my local channels. (Except for the CW which is channel 5 and I’ve got to have channel five so I can watch “Legends of Tomorrow! 🙂 )
I also get my local channels with an outdoor antenna. That thing has been there for about 30 years and yet it still picks up all the local channels in HD and even some extra channels.
Compare The different TV streaming services here.
As for a home phone, I am using Magic Jack and I kept my internet with my original provider. (If I can get it cheaper and just as reliable, then I’ll switch that too.)
So, overall I am saving about $80 a month.
Internet- $69.99 a month
You Tube TV- $40.00 a month
Magic Jack is $35.00 a year. Which makes it about $2.92 a month.
If you are looking to cut some costs, check out your options. It’s worth it!
These are just my opinions and I don’t get paid for them. Bummer! Haha!
Okay, till next time, HUGS!
I forgot to mention that if you are a sports fan, you’ll love You Tube TV!
Update! I was going through my You Tube TV and found that it doesn’t have the A&E channel. So just a heads up on that.
Also, if you don’t care about ESPN and the Disney channel, Sling Blue is the best value at $25.00 a month.
Back to Basics
I love to make things, create things, and grow things. Last week was a good week for doing everything.
First, I made two pints of yogurt. Love homemade yogurt.
I’ve been growing pickling cucumbers, so I’ve made a couple of quarts of refrigerator pickles. The recipe I used is here.
And I’ve got my radish seeds sprouting so I can have fresh sprouts on sandwiches. (Also great in salads!)
And then yesterday, I decided to try a recipe for Queso Blanco. Find it here. It was relatively easy. (I quartered the recipe, though and only used 4 cups of milk. and 1 1/2 T. vinegar.) My son said that it needed a little more salt. Next time. 🙂 It turned out good and I used it in the cheese enchiladas that I made for dinner. I’m going to make this recipe next! Check out their site for more great recipes!
Four cups of milk doesn’t make a lot of cheese. So next time I’ll use 1/2 a gallon.
Well, that’s it for today. Hope all of you have a great productive week.
I’ll see you soon and till then, HUGS!
karensdifferentcorners 