My goal this summer is to get the shed cleaned out. The weather forecast called for rain, but of course, it didn’t look at all like rain was anywhere to be seen. I decided that I’d just do what I could get done and then eventually the shed would be more organized. I noticed that when I was looking for tools when we were changing the spark plugs we had stuff everywhere. We have 2 tool boxes and they were a mess. I thought that would be good place to start so I lugged the two boxes onto the patio.
I took everything out of both of the tool boxes.
I washed them both out and let them dry in the sun while I sorted everything out.
Now we won’t have trouble finding what we need when we need it.
I also keep boxes in our laundry closet that hold the things that I use more frequently so that I don’t have to walk all the way to the shed.
And just as I was finishing up washing Hannah’s laundry from her trip, the sky opened up. It was such a happy rain, the kind I love best, where the sun was still peeking through and their was no wind. It was just the rain falling straight down with distant claps of thunder off in the distance.
If you have read here for long, you know about our neighbors dog Wrigley. I buy him treats, brush his coat (well, at least I try to over the fence) and I used to take him for walks. The neighbors ignore him. Once a day they throw food into an old cooking pot for him. He gets his water from the condensation drip from their AC unit. He barks for attention when they drive up, but they just ignore him. When we were hours away from the blizzard a few years ago, they were refusing to bring him in. I offered to bring him into our home and they scoffed at me. I told them that if they didn’t bring him in I was going to call the cops. They ended up bringing him in, but crated, in a too small crate, with limited outside time. When it was below freezing, we put hay in his lean to house and got a heat lamp for it. He always wants to play when I go into the backyard and I will give him scratches and run the fence line with him.
A few weeks ago I noticed that he wasn’t getting up when I went outside. They have no trees so he normally stays in the dirt against the house. I called him over and noticed that his eyes looked like he wasn’t feeling well. He jumped on the fence and I saw that his chest area had lost all of his hair and it looked like elephant skin. When I got close he looked so bad. I had seen an animal control truck parked in our neighborhood last week and pulled over to tell her the situation. She gave me her card so I could call. I was on the fence, but when I was petting him on Saturday and he was so lethargic I decided that someone had to do something. Today I called and asked for a welfare check. I didn’t think they had come, but when we were headed to the grocery tonight I saw something taped to their door. It was a citation.
I hope he can get the medical attention he needs because he is such a sweet boy. I took this picture of him today. Just a warning, he looks rough.
The morning started off a bit rocky. I went outside to get the cat bowls to wash. A skunk had sprayed the day before and I couldn’t exactly figure out where it had sprayed. Oh, I found out, it had sprayed the bowls. So that was fun. My hands and the bowls had to get a good scrubbing.
I had to bathe the kitten because she is too young for flea medication. I had run her bath in a bowl and was putting her in when I got a call from my daughter who lives in the Hill Country. It scared the kitten so she scratched me trying to get away when I answered the phone. My daughter told me, “our house is flooded”. I immediately think it’s from the flooding in Kerr County. Nope. Her husband had hung up a heavy wood Astros sign on their house. It fell off and knocked the spigot off and water was shooting out like a fire hydrant. The water got into their living room. Luckily it wasn’t too bad.
Then I heard something that resonated with me. Polishing the present. It’s doing little things in the moment to make life better for you. This is what my 100 days is about and today I did just that. After tidying up the house I steam cleaned the carpets, which always make me feel better.
The bottom rug is woven leather and takes a while to dry but they look so much better even damp.
Then I lit my incense and read a book.
There is just something about incense that is so calming to me.
I have been wanting to read this book since I picked it up at the nickel book sale a few months ago. I decided that today was the perfect day. I’m almost finished and it’s so good. I highly recommend this author.
Oh and I had forgotten that I glued my Cole Haans soles back on. I could have taken them to a cobbler, but I had to glue so I thought I’d just give it a shot. The soles weren’t all the way off but were coming loose and this glue is amazing.
Hannah is coming home tomorrow and I cannot wait to see her. It seems like she’s been gone for months.
I love a hard day’s work. I sleep better. I feel like I have accomplished what I set out to do. It’s just a good feeling. This morning I got back to work on the windows. I had to sand them to make sure I didn’t have a lot of loose paint. I don’t love painting, but I do love the results.
I didn’t tape off the other windows. This was my last one and my hand was so tired I didn’t think I could free hand it as well.
It’s amazing what a difference a little paint can make. I still need to scrape off the old paint on part of the window, but the new paint hadn’t dried yet.
While I was outside painting Donny was cutting back the Morning Glory and he also cut the giant sunflower off.
Once you remove the outer cover you will find all of the sunflower seeds.
I’ll use them to plant more next year.
By this time I was a sweaty mess so I went inside to cut up a watermelon. The chickens love when I do this because they also get a treat.
I didn’t want to stay inside because I was already sweaty. I cleaned out the grill and started weeding the garden. I found aphids. I cannot stand those bugs so I sprayed them with Thieves and dumped out morning coffee grounds where I saw the little rascals. I don’t know if that will work, but they didn’t seem to like it at all.
My poor hydrangea was not happy in the pot we had her in so I decided to try and save her by planting her in the ground. I hope she lives. She is getting new growth since we moved her out of the direct sunlight, but she still wasn’t thriving. We’ll see how she does in the front.
I have a plan for the planter she was in. It has a trellis because Jasmine was originally planted there but it died during the winter.
I finally hung up our flags. I think they are perfect for Summer.
We had to run to Walmart when Donny got home and although they did not have pumpkin seeds, I did find this poor unloved plant for $5. Let’s see if I can nurse it back to health.
Two completely random things that happened today. I found that Walmart makes gallon sized tea bags. I make tea almost everyday and these are going to make it so much easier.
I’ve also never had a cat that likes to watch TV. We had the soccer game on and as soon as she saw what it was she climbed her little butt right up to the screen and tried to get the ball.
My thoughts and prayers are still with the people affected by the floods in the Hill Country. I heard that Kerrville and Hunt are being evacuated due to more rain coming. It’s such a devastation situation.
Today was mowing day. That in itself is not a big deal, but after I finished I decided to get some things checked off my, always growing, to-do list. I have been needed to paint the window trim in the back of the house for so long. It’s just a task that isn’t my favorite. I washed down the house because it was dirty and then I got to scraping.
These are the original 1961 windows and they are a mess. I scraped off as much as I could. They were still wet from washing them. Tomorrow I’ll sand them and then give them a coat of paint so they’ll match the front of the house.
I had to caulk one window.
Trust me, they will look completely different when I’m finished.
I also went around with my vinyl tape and covered up all the holes in the siding. There were so many around this window.
I covered up 5 on this part and I swear, unless you knew where to look, you can’t see them.
Tomorrow we are going to have to cut down the Morning Glory vine because it has taken over the chicken coop.
I still cannot believe that the people behind us cut down these trees. Ours were not as big, but this is in my neighbors yard and I just love the flowers.
Another thing I got checked off was putting out the torch lights. I’m not sure if they are going to stay where they are, but they are off our patio table so that’s a plus.
I always said I’d be the crazy cat lady that wears weird clothes and walks on the beach. Ok, I don’t have a beach nearby, but the rest fits.
Let’s see how much I can get checked off tomorrow.
I am normally all ready to head out the the fairgrounds for the 4th of July celebration. It’s always extremely hot and crowded. We never really have the fun I think we should have in my imagination. You know the day that sounds better on paper. Today I decided that I was going to have a relaxing, do what I want, holiday. Donny had to work until 6. Jackson wandered out of his room from time to time and I dyed my roots, did the laundry, watched a movie and just basically had a really good day without any FOMO.
I think sometimes we FEEL like we should be doing a certain something because it’s the right, expected thing to do. Well, I feel like that anyway. We had already planned on the traditional hotdogs and watermelon and that was good enough.
Who says you need a hotdog bun? I also think on holidays it’s okay to eat a little processed wolf brand chili and a hotdog. Super 1 had their seedless (not my favorite) watermelons on sale and I have to say it was so good. I think I might have to pick up another one.
Yep, I ate it on my bed while I watched the movie Sinners. It was good, different, but good. I decided that eating on my bed while watching a movie made me happy so I did just that.
The neighborhood has turned the night into what sounds like a battle zone so I was out getting the last cat in. It looks like it’s about the storm.
The rain that the hill country is getting right now is awful. Please keep everyone who has been affected by the terrible flooding in your prayers. I know what they are going through and I’m praying that everyone is found safe and the flood waters recede quickly.
Well, it has been a day. My spark plugs changing tools were due to arrive, but I had an appointment to get my bangs trimmed. I would normally just trim them myself, but since I really, really love this hairstyle I didn’t want to mess it up.
My before pic. Excuse the wet hair but I had just gotten out of the shower.
On the way we finally got to see the water tower that is being painted. It’s going to look so good.
When we got home the tools had arrived. Donny decided to help me change the plugs. First problem: the rubber insert came out of the spark plugs ratchet and we couldn’t find it so he had to run to AutoZone and get the magnetic one. Second problem: I dropped one of the screws and it took about 20 minutes to find it. Well, we got them all replaced but my check engine light was still on and I was having the same problem accelerating. We were out in the heat for about 1 1/2 hours and I was sweating so badly. Good thing I took that shower and put on makeup earlier.
But at least I can see better now.
We think there might be a recall on my car so we called the Hyundai dealership to see if my car is one of the recalled ones. Even if it’s not I still have to see what in the heck is wrong with it. My appointment is on the 28th. Sigh.
So we are down to one car. Donny has a manual transmission. He doesn’t think I can drive a stick shift even though I’ve owned 4 cars with stick shifts. We needed to go the grocery to pick up some things so I told him I was driving. That man was gripping the door handle, sweating and at one point yelling. I swear it was not that bad. Who puts the reverse gear in the top left instead of the bottom right though? Anyway, we survived. He’s still not convinced.
But one thing I did learn today is that I am very capable of changing out spark plugs and I already know I can change a tire. (when I was a flight attendant I had a late flight, went to the very far away parking lot where we had to park and had a flat on my Jeep. I changed that sucker by myself)
I have a project that I was hoping to get started on today. Yesterday when Jackson and I were coming back from 5 Below my car started not wanting to accelerate. It would go 35/40 max. Luckily the loop that we take on our way home had a lot of downhill parts to it. I googled the symptoms and one of the main issues with deceleration was bad spark plugs. Donny wanted me to call around to get quotes, but quite frankly, I don’t trust mechanics. I did a YouTube search and found a great video on how to change out spark plugs yourself.
Donny followed me to AutoZone so we could get a scan run before I bought spark plugs. Nothing showed up on the scan. We bought the spark plugs and I just assumed that we would have the correct tools at home. We didn’t so I hopped on Amazon and got them all ordered and they will be here tomorrow. It really doesn’t look that difficult. I only spend a little over $70 for spark plugs and tools which is a fraction of what the mechanic shops charge. When I got my oil changed the man who checked me out has a car like mine but with an older different body style. He’s been restoring it for a year and told me everything he’s done. I’m sure that if I get in over my head I could get him to help me out. Also there was a guy at Autozone who was extremely helpful and he wasn’t even the one running the scan for us. Fingers crossed I can do it and it fixes the problem. It’s nice to know I could possibly have back up though.
So since my plans for today were thwarted and I was home bound I decided to go through my cleaning products. We have been trying so hard to go green with almost everything in our home. I have really been loving the Dr. Bronner’s Castile soaps. I also made a vinegar cleaner with vinegar, water and essential oils that cuts through grease.
I am almost out of the soap and am contemplating trying the Sal Suds. The reviews were good and it’s eco friendly. I’m not going to buy any until I’m out of my peppermint though.
The other cleaner I use is Thieves. I do like it. It smells really good, but it’s over 30 dollars a bottle. It does make 30 16 oz bottles, but Dr. Bronner’s is about the same dilution and it’s so much cheaper. I still have about 1/4 of the Thieves left so I’ll decide if I want to repurchase when I’m out.
I am so tired and sore I’m going to take a shower and crash out. I couldn’t figure out why my whole body was so sore until I remembered a couple of days ago Donny and I saw a couple pushing an suv that had stalled. We helped them push it into our subdivision that happened to be on an incline and that sucker was heavy. We got it where it was out of the way, thankfully.
Jackson had an appointment at the DMV today. Afterward we decided to take the drive to 5 Below to see if I could find this candy that has been all over my Tiktok. I try not to eat candy, but I have been seeing these videos of people trying them and they look so good. I actually found it.
It’s made in Australia. It’s so hard to describe, but the inside shatters in your mouth like the package says. It’s very light and melts in your mouth. It was really good, but too sweet for me.
Normally I wouldn’t drive all the way to 5 Below, but I really wanted to see what the hype was about and I’m glad I did.
I use the reusable baggies. My only gripe with them is where to dry them once I wash them. I was just using glasses or bottles but I really wanted to find something that worked better. I looked online to see what my options were. I really didn’t want to spend any money when using glasses worked okay. Then I remembered that we had bought Jackson these stands for his record albums. He changed up how he displayed the albums so these were just sitting in a drawer.
They work so well and I didn’t have to go buy anything. Always try to use what you already have and just make it work.
And a shout out to Mr. Whiskers. He is the oldest stray that we have on our street. He’s been in so many fights. I’ve treated so many wounds. Someone else is also taking care of him because he is sporting a flea collar. He loves head scratches and is finally looking like a healthy gentleman. He’s such a cool guy.
Hannah left this morning for 9 days with her boyfriend’s family in Arkansas. Since I hang out with her so much I already miss her, but this gave me the opportunity to go in a REALLY clean her room. It wasn’t a complete disaster, but behind the bed, the closet and her art drawers were getting a little out of hand. I know, I know, she’s old enough to do it herself and she is, but if I get overwhelmed I know she gets VERY overwhelmed. I have no before pictures because that’s not important. I’m just happy that I know coming home to a nice restful space will make it that much sweeter.
I found 7 missing brushes. I found another one after I took this.
I organized her closet so that she can find what she is looking for much easier.
When we took the kids to the concert in Dallas Hannah picked up some clothes and jewelry. I found these earrings in the shopping bag that she had forgotten about. I know she’ll be excited to see them.
She had way too many stuffies so I bagged the older ones up in the sucker bags.
We still have the gigantic teddy bear in the corner.
Gavin is forbidden to buy her anymore.
She has the smallest bedroom but she loves it because she is the queen of cozy.
I also snagged this cute top for myself because she has never worn it. We can share it if she decides she finally likes it.
Doesn’t it just feel good to do something for someone else that they don’t expect? These 9 days are going to be long.
The Funky Frugalista 