Finally Clean Carpets

 

I used to have a carpet shampooer that I used once or twice a year as well as anytime the dogs had an accident. At some point, it stopped sucking up the shampoo/water. Rather than take apart this old machine to figure out if I could clear the clog or fix whatever was broken, I decided to throw it out. Then, we used a small spot cleaner for any spots left by the dogs until the hose broke on it rendering it useless. That means that we have had to spot clean with all-purpose cleaner and towels/rags. I haven't been happy with this solution but it worked for the most part. I have been saying for about a year that I would just rent a Rug Doctor from the grocery store and maybe buy a new shampooer at some point. 

This week, we rented the Rug Doctor. The living room carpet was the worst it has ever been after one of my kids and their cats lived in there for a little over a month while looking for a new place. (I never knew cats could be so dirty. I will never trust another person who says dogs are messier than cats.) We pulled the couches out of the living room, and I vacuumed and shampooed them. I was so happy with the results! It was easier than the cleaner I had acquired from Chad's mom, and it cleaned a lot better than it ever had. It also took a lot less time! Later that night, Noel cleaned the carpet in her room, and the following morning, Chad cleaned the dining room and hallway. My house smells so much better, now! 

I'm sure there are carpet shampooers that work better than the old one I had been using, but until I can bring myself to put some real money into it to make sure I get a quality machine, I will be renting a Rug Doctor when it's needed. 

Exhausted but Happy

Working an internship part-time along with working my full-time job and trying to take care of the household along with my church responsibilities is exhausting! My regular job is a good job. I get paid fairly well, I have been working for the company for long enough that I can basically take off when I want (within reason of course), and I have a good boss that actually looks out for his employees. I love my internship. I get to work with people that actually need help. I have been saying for a long time that I wanted to do something that would make a difference, and this is my chance. I also love my family and want to take care of them to the best of my ability. Things have gotten hectic at home for a few weeks, but I'm sure it will calm down soon enough. I am the Relief Society secretary and work in the temple twice a month most months. I wouldn't want to walk away from anything I am doing. It is exhausting but fulfilling. I look forward to having less responsibilities, but I am also worried about life being boring when it happens. Who knows? Maybe, I will be one of those people that doesn't completely slow down. 

Curtain Project

I am working on curtains for my dining room. I bought two curtains that match but were different lengths from the thrift store a while ago and a lace table cloth to be put together to cover a large window. I got started on it today. So far, sewn the two panels together, measured the window to assure I make them the right length, and hemmed the bottom. Then, I stretched it out on the living room floor to plan how to place the table cloth on top. Unfortunately, I don't have the right color of thread to sew it on, but I will go to the fabric store on Monday to get it. The only other thing that I want to do is create a lining so the sun won't completely damage it. I got a sheet to try it, but it is the wrong shade of red. I will have to go back to the thrift store to find one a more suitable color. If it matches well enough and has enough material, I would also like to use it to make a curtain for the window on the front door. I hope that this will help cool down the house since it will create more shade inside. 

Once this project is done, I will be looking for something to make curtains that match well enough to go in the living room.

My Sunflowers

 The first year in this house, I planted sunflowers in front of the bay window not knowing how big they would be because I had never done this. They were huge and took over that flower bed as they grew taller than the windows.  I loved them and hoped to be able to grow them again in the future. 

I have tried several times since to grow a beautiful sunflower garden, but I have failed over and over. There were times that they didn’t get enough water, and there were times the bunnies ate them before they could grow. It has been frustrating, but I longed for those beautiful flowers again. 

I tried again this year after getting some advice from a friend about other flowers. I figured I would alter that advice for these flowers, and I threw out everything I had tried in the past. My flower bed that had previously had a few shrubs that had since died was looking sad, so I decided this was the perfect place. I took my envelope of seeds and randomly spread them around. Then, I put a layer of top soil over them and watered them like crazy. (The fact that we had a wet summer for a while helped.) This last week I finally got to start enjoying the fruits of my labor as they started to bloom. (I had a bit of a late start, so I got a late result.) I have loved walking out my front door to more flowers blooming every day! 

Saturday, someone vandalized my flowers. I don’t know who or why. All I know is that the Ring shows my biggest, most beautiful sunflowers swaying in the breeze when Eric picked up Sean to go to a wedding, and they were cut down but the time I left to pick up dinner about 45 minutes later. I honestly would have thought it was the bunnies if one of them had not been cut off at the head and thrown in the middle of the front yard. 

After I got home, I decided to make the best of the situation. I went out and got the flowers to bring in, got out a vase, and cut the stems down to a size that would fit in the vase. Now, I get to enjoy them each time I walk into the dining room which is quite often since it is in the front of the house 

I don’t know why someone chose to hurt my flowers, but I choose to continue to enjoy them. 

Downside of Work-from-Home

 I have come to like working from home most days. I can watch shows while I work, eat fresher foods, spend time with Sean or Noel when they want or need it, and set my schedule within reasonable parameters. There are times that I don’t get to choose when I take off in the middle of the day. 

A few days ago, I was in the middle of something when I suddenly lost my internet connection. The last time that happened, I  switched to WiFi instead of the hard line and just worked that way for the rest of the day. This time, that didn’t work. Apparently, a line in a nearby town was cut somehow putting a few towns in an outage. They estimated it would be repaired by 8pm. I had my boss clock me out and promised to make up the time. I ended up having to make up 3 hours at 6pm. It wasn’t ideal. Even though it rarely happens, I hate that I am at the mercy of such things. 

I won’t always work from home. My hope is to have a more hands on job after I get my degree. For now, I have to take these kind of days with the good of being available for my family. 

Woah…Cops

 I live in a small town where not much goes on, and my house backs up to one of the main roads in this town. This afternoon, Noel noticed something interesting when looking out my bedroom window. There were horses pulled over by the police. I have never seen this, but now I have. It took me back to the day goats were being being from our neighbor’s house down the street by the police. 

Laundry Woes

The good new is we have a new dryer. The bad news is we are being forced into a laundry room remodel. 

Last year, we had a small fire in our dryer and stopped using it. We bought a drying rack to use until we could buy a new one. Last week, Chad told me how much he had saved over the past few months and said he was going to buy a dryer. Once we had a delivery day and time, he took the old one out of the laundry room and I worked on cleaning where it had been. I quickly realized that the floor was wet next to the washer. I told Chad and we decided we should figure out that was leaking on the washer. 

After a few days, Chad had a chance to pull the washer out and realized there was more damage to the floor than we had expected. Now, we need to replace the floor and get a new washing machine. In the meantime, we will be going to the laundry mat at least once a week. It’s not going to be easy to fit this mini remodel and laundry mat trips into our schedule, but sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to. Wish us luck on our newest adventure!

Some Things Never Change

 

When she was little, she loved playing in the dirt and would help me in the garden on a regular basis. Today, I told her I got the things we need to grow flowers, and she started playing in the dirt and planning what would be planted in the front of the house. The good news is that I may mot have to take care of the garden this year. I may not even have to plant it.