One of our Saturday evening guests said she uses Pepper Jack cheese instead of mozzarella cheese. If you do this you could eliminate handling and chopping the jalapeños. By the way, I used two large red jalapeño peppers to keep it a bit milder for the not-so-spicy-eaters in my house. I will probably make the next batch with the Pepper Jack cheese and skip the jalapeño for comparison. I will report back with the results.

I had heard a small ruckus on the back porch about midnight and at first thought one of the dogs (who had misbehaved) had been banished to sleep outside on the porch instead of in the game room. The I heard her bark at the noise, realized she was inside and assumed the cat (who refused to come inside last night) was chasing something; I rolled over and went to sleep.

This morning I put two and two together and came up with the ruckus and the cat being out meant a for sure present from his new domain. I went out to double check what the present was before I disposed of it in a plastic bag and low and behold it was bat! I got a bit excited for many reasons: in the “fight” did it bite the cat? Did it bite the dog who had been banished (but was reluctantly let in late) to the porch earlier in the evening? And a host of other things running through my head.

Bairno was up so I tole him there was bat on the porch that was dead, but did he want to see it first before we picked it up (it was gross or nasty). He was also excited and wanted to see. Bairno’s excitement awoke Lottie and Flynt who also wanted to see it. Being the strange homeschoolers that we are I woke the teens to tell them if they wanted to see a bat up close this was an opportunity they shouldn’t let pass. They bolted up even though they knew it was dead.

RevMrKnowTea came out with a plastic bag around his hand to pick it up and it squealed, LOUDLY! We left it alone and called a friend we knew would know who to call about wildlife rehab and such. I put it in a cat carrier and she came to get it and take it to the right people.

Poor little guy was so scared; his left wing was injured:

I love bats. I really do. They are terribly misunderstood little creatures that benefit us so much. Yes, one must be careful handling them, but I love having them around in our woods! I am quite certain this will not be our only adventure with the bats.

My first order of business after unpacking the boxes was creating a quilt design wall. The original plan was to use foam insulation board, cover it, and hang it. Then I decided on a “home made” method I saw on a quilt blog (can’t find the link now) that rolled up the flannel and tied it off with ribbon to keep it out of the way when not in use. After being here I really couldn’t decide. I tend to be a multi-project-at-once seamstress so I wanted a solution that would allow me to design in the multiple as well.

My best brainstorm thoughts:
multi-project -> therefore, layered -> not stiff covered foam board, but flexible fabric for rolling up

I like the idea and basic look/use of the Vanishing Design Wall but it was more limiting than I wanted. It was not as wide as I wanted and really doesn’t allow for multiple layers.

Then I found the Design-A-Way which I really want. It is the same basic idea as the Vanishing Design Wall, but can be ordered in three widths (I like the 72″) or a custom width and is available in 1, 2, or 3 layers for designing. Sadly it is out of budget right now. I will be saving for a 72″ 3 layer Design-A-Way. I know my son and I could make one, but I’d rather spend my time on an actual quilt and embroidery right now than another non-sewing, non-house project.

I needed something right now. So I opted for a bit of both.
5 yards of flannel on the cheap at $1.47 a yard = $7.35
1 1/2″ x 4′ x 8′ foam core board (home building supply store) = $5.68
Staple gun (already had)
Staples (already had)
duct tape (quack quack, already had)

I am not going to give a tutorial on how to do this as there are so many out there with great pics, but the idea is to cover the foam with the flannel, staple then tape for scure holding, hang on the wall. It is incredible lightweight and works well. I did use a spray adhesive to stick my flannel to the foam board though; I wanted it nice and tight and neat.

I hung it on the wall length wise (8′ wide x 4′ tall) right above the chair railing (which will come down in the future complete redo of the room). I then hung 2 furring strips ($.75 each) over the foam board for hanging another piece of flannel for a second or third project. I hammered some small tack nails every 11.5 inches across the furring strips for hanging other projects. I’ve added grommets to the top of a flat flannel sheet. I took two old, but still usable, cork boards and covered them with batting and flannel for smaller project boards and hung them under the chair railing. I am quite sure one, if not both, will become more of an inspiration section than a design area.

Another advantage of the furring strips is that I can toss up some hanger clips and hold up a completed project for photographing. (I can’t wait to have a good clothes line again.)

p.s.
while I was typing this I thought that since I had one more furring strip I ought to attach some wooden clothes pins to it, nail it up, and use that for my photo hanging strip. $.75 furring strip + $1.00 pack of wooden slothes pins (not even the whole bag) + hot glue/gun + nails = done

You can see the whole set at flickr and any changes along the way.

Now to get some more quilts made and embroidery designs listed. I really hate I missed getting up new designs for Easter and early spring.

p.p.s.
borrowed youngest daughter’s quilt I made her last year for pic.

We have been so blessed. We arrived at this house with the trucks after 11pm on Saturday, March 17th (2012). We parked the trucks and got the cars unloaded. I ran to Walmart (yes, really. I KNOW! and don’t judge me it’s the only thing open that late) to grab two large dog crates. We had two, but we needed two more. See, the dogs got put on the porch with the doggie door to the back yard and the cats needed to be contained some way so they wouldn’t run away and needed more space than the small cat carriers. They were going to have to stay in them until the trucks were unpacked the next afternoon. Yes, they were angry, but they were so happy not to be in a car anymore or in the little cat carriers.

We walked in Saturday night to a sweet “Welcome” sign.

The ladies had put together a care basket (in a useful laundry basket) full of essentials like toilet paper, paper towels, styrofoam plates and cups, etc to make the first few days much easier.

What I didn’t get a picture of was the huge ice chest full of food and bottles of water. There was Peanut Butter, squeeze jelly (which the now 8 year old thinks is most awesome), loaves of bread, and some incredible fudge brownies!

What took over 9 hours to load on the trucks on Saturday took two and a half to unpack on Sunday strictly because of the sheer number of people who showed up to help us unpack. WOW! I was impressed. Still am, actually.

I still have so many pictures to go through I may have to skip posting about them and settle for descriptions at flickr and pick up with the right now parts of life.

Then we finalized the taking down and throwing away of the pool we used last year that did not survive the winter.

Followed by the second saddest of them all: the removal of the swing set. It has definitely seen better days and it was not a very good one anyway, but it did get used. When we moved here seven years ago we had the money set aside to buy a Cedarworks play-set. I had even talked to a salesperson and we had designed exactly what we wanted and the order was ready. All they needed was payment and a shipping address. When the real estate deal went sour and we lost the opportunity to buy the house and so many thousands of dollars we could not afford to get much of anything. Once the legal matters settled and it was obvious the title on the house was going to remain a problem and we were “stuck” renting we bought a cheapo set at the Stuff R Them. Today it came down and went to the street for the big claw truck of junk to come pick it up.

The saddest thing for me had to be done today too. I took down the fencing around my garden. It was the final step to not having a garden this year. I have no idea how I can manage to get one together at the new house with so much needing to get done. I am not going to give up, but my hopes are not too high. I will probably get some cheap disposable plastic planters for this year to at least get a few things going that I just can not do without like tomatoes and peppers and some herbs. We will spend this year clearing the area for a big garden next year. I am also hoping to get a fairly large green house built so maybe I can get some stuff going this winter. But for now Lola Granola can run and dig in the garden area all she wants. Oh how she hated that I would not let her in there with me when I was working. Photo evidence of her pleas for me to “PLEASE LET ME IN THERE WITH YOU!”

And hard.

But good.

Everything aches; I mean everything. My hair hurts. The tips of my toes are numb. Everything in between is ready to go to bed for three days, at least. Alas, not gonna happen.

Today we cleaned out our little rental unit that we got shortly after we moved here (seven years ago) because we do not have an attic. We frequent it about once every two months to swap out some seasonal items. I have also been storing a few boxes of items I knew were out there that I have never been able to use here in this house. (Not writing about that today.) It was situational, but they were things I had hoped we could use again some day. Right before Thanksgiving I told RevMrKnowTea that if the new job did not work out and we stayed here then I was ready to let go of those things and I wanted the rental unit cleaned out by Spring Break.

The new job did work out and we needed to clean it out anyway, but for different reasons. Today was the day. Yesterday we cleaned out the carport, let go of some things, and hauled off items that did not need to make the move. All in preparation for bringing the rental unit cargo to the carport for loading on the moving truck.

This really is happening!

I decided half of what was out there should go bye-bye anyway. I realized that even though I liked some of it that in the new house I already had a different vision of things and wouldn’t be able to use them anyway. So we donated it to the thrift store. I found a large cardboard box that had been hidden by the other boxes (some rubbermaid and such) whose contents had been mostly been ruined by bugs. Silverfish. Eww. I’m going to have nightmares tonight. Those things are creepy. Fortunately, they were fairly contained to that one area where the cardboard was.

It was hard to go through those things. It was a box that had gotten lost in the shuffle of our move here and all the depression and being chased out of town there and the forced situation. It was so much a sad time for our family. That box and a few others were reminders of that time. It hurt. It was sad. I found myself longing for the days before life broke us. I wanted to hold those days again. I wanted those days back for my older children. I wanted them not to have the memories of the sad days, the hard days, the days they saw their parents in such heartache. It made me so sad for what they have not had in their lives as a result of that painful time.

But it was good because we are different people. We are older. We are wiser (I pray). We are stronger. We are happier. We are better. God has grown us in a great many ways. We are looking forward to what is to come and how we may be used. God has been preparing us for a purpose while He used us here as well. He is in control of of both ends of this move and these decisions. I have been watching something unfold in His hand and it is a mighty thing, a daunting thing, an exciting thing to see.

I found a few treasures I had forgotten.
I looked at items that are going to get used and loved again.

One more major to do got checked off the list today.

I am excited.

Well, there is so much to do and I can not find time on the calendar to do it. We war brutal to ourselves today. We spent nine (yes, 9!) hours in the carport cleaning, sorting, packing, hauling, organizing today. We also cleaned out the garden. WAH! We borrowed a friend’s truck and hauled off three truck loads of stuff. Some of that went to the dump and some of that went to the thrift store. It was sad getting rid of some of it. Bikes and lawn equipment that needed repairing we decided to go ahead and get rid of them. It was a mix of outgrown bikes, 2 needed small repairs, a weed eater that always put me on the edge of thrown a few choice words around. These things would have remained if we were not moving; we would do the necessary repairs. The thought of repairing them now made me stressed with time. The thought of taking them to repair them on the other end of the move made me ill to think about paying for the weight and space to move them. So bye-bye.

AACHOO! excuse me. the dust and wind were bad today.

A good bit of stuff we decided we simply did not need in the new house. We do not have an attic here so our seasonal things (Xmas, Easter, Etc.) boxes are in the carport for the whole world to see. I took the time to sort through those and pack them a bit better to condense them into fewer boxes. I also wrapped some items better; packing them for storage in a closet or attic is different than making sure they can handle a move on a big bumpy truck ride. We decided no to take our big metal shelving unit that has housed them in the carport for seven years. I forced the boys to make hard decisions about all the sports equipment outside. If it did not fit or is getting used RIGHT NOW then we were not keeping it for the next child. It goes to someone it fits and can get used RIGHT NOW. I bribed them to let how of some things by promising that if and when the time came for the need for that equipment again that I would get it for them. Score 1 (or more) for me; the two little boys do not like baseball so all that stuff is gone!

AAACHOOO!! excuse me again.

We took all the stakes out of the garden; I left them in the ground this past growing season. We left the boxes in the garden so the next occupants can use them if they want to. I made Iain clean the tool room out and pack away his tools. He is a sad Iain. There is still a bit to do in there but it is only minor things about which RevMrKnowTea and I need to make decisions. I still need to find where to haul off the paint and stain cans we have; I do not want to move those. Why do we still have those anyway?

AAAAACHOOOOO!! sorry ’bout that.

I will not bore you with anymore, but my, my, my, what work we did today. My children were troopers; they really were. We were doing nasty grubby work and not one single complaint. I know they are mostly looking forward to our new adventure and they know this has to be done, but it is still nasty grody work. When we opened the storage containers with the Halloween decorations in it we found a few cans of Silly String left over from this past year. For the sake of being safe I decided it would not be good to transport the aerosol cans in the heat of the moving truck. So I broke up the work and monotony of it all with an attack on my children. Muahahaha! Then I tossed them the cans and said, “Go for it!” It was fun. And there was much rejoicing.

AAAAAAACHOOOOOOO!!! apologies. did you feel the earth move under your feet?

Thanks to the dust, the confused-plants-spitting-pollen-thanks-to-this-confusing-non-winter-weather-we-are-having, and the blustery winds, we are all hacking, sneezing, and generally feeling plumb wore out!

Now if you will excuse me, I am going to go take a Benadryl and put my feet up. G’night.

I will start with the kitchen and dining rooms. In the layout of the new house they may not be connected but they do relate to each other, n’est-ce pas?

Disclaimer: We know full well what we want to do may not happen right away or even at all. It is simply part of the dream we will work toward achieving.

kitchen

kitchen

First things first: The stove top must be replaced. The current one is actually only six years old and in fine working order. Why replace it? It is a smooth glass top stove. That right there will tell some of you who know me why. We have ruled out the expense (therefore possibility) of converting to a gas stove top so give me the old fashioned coils. The main reason – I am too much of a cast iron cook to want to be anywhere near a glass stove. I would rather give up a smooth stove top than my cast iron. Besides, the only advantage I see to a smooth top is the ease of cleaning it. That is not enough for me.

psst. over here. what i really want is an induction cooktop. they work wonderfully well with cast iron. ahh, the dream. it’s ok to dream.

I do believe the stove top currently installed is a 30 inch, but I hope to be having a 36 inch installed. The advantages are that the old style coil stove tops are much less expensive. Maybe we can sell the glass top stove on craigslist to recoup or even pay for a new stove top. While I would love this cooktop that is not in the budget, I will probably be going with something much more affordable like this.

The double oven is old, but works. A kitchen without a place for a double oven was almost a deal breaker when we were house hunting. Seriously. I love my double oven! We have set a goal to get a bigger, newer one installed. By Thanksgiving. You guys remember what big birds I cook, right? I’m pretty sure we can get one a couple of inches bigger. I will know better once we get moved in and get the space properly measured. If we can’t, we can’t. As long as it works it will be fine.

I will eventually be stripping the wallpaper and bringing that a little more into this century. Paint as well. Cosmetics. In due time, in due time. I am still not sure what color(s) I want to go with in here. It will be white and something. I am thinking yellow with blue. I am quite open to suggestions. Although if truth be told I adore a white kitchen! When shown pictures, my eyes always go to the white kitchen. See what I mean? If you seen some images or designs that you would like to share I would love to see them. Link me up in the comments. Pinterest here I come!

If I can ever save enough I want new countertops. I will research that at a much later date. But I am seriously leaning towards granite and the silver/grey family. Probably a soft neutral color though not opposed to a contrasting dark counter with a pale color where the current wallpaper is.

eating area

dining room

The problem with starting over is the money to start over, especially enough to supply a family of eight. Simply because my mind is wrapped up in it right now and I can not seem to chase it away I am going to dream a bit right now. Indulge me. Maybe when I go to the thrift store this weekend I will buy a pair of pants that has a winning lottery ticket in it. I still live in Louisiana after all. HA!

boxes, boxes everywhere

Here is a room by room list:
the den/my bedroom
Keep: a rocking chair that came over from Scotland with ancestors, my husband’s dresser, my dresser, the oak quilt trunk (bought at a garage sale), the TV, Wii, computer
Toss: the lingerie chest (don’t need it in new house anyway), the love seat (stinks, stained, too small), the pink rocking chair (broken anyway), the nightstand the TV is on, our bed (really) is being held together by duct tape and propped by boxes and bricks; the mattress is old and not worth moving

the kitchen/eating area
Keep: the china shelves/cabinet thing that was my grandmother’s (needs refinishing), pretty much all my cookware and small appliances, my pewter serving pieces, favorite coffee cups, the stemware, some of the silverware (the good stuff, not the walmart additions to have enough)
Toss: the dishes (yes, really) are all chipped or cracked, glasses (also chipped),
Questionable: We will need a new table soon; ours is not very stable with the leaf in it and it has a major sag in the middle with the leaf as well. Without the leaf it is not large enough for guests. Not big enough for the dining room and too big for the eat-in area.

the girls’ room
Keep: most of their clothes and their books and things
Toss: the wobbly cheap bunk beds, the mattresses they have each had since sans crib and they say are very uncomfortable, the dresser with broken drawers that will not close; the particle board bookcase that will not survive a move anyway, the two small folding tables they use as desks

the boys’ room
Keep: Iain’s captain’s bed and his dresser are good (they are both broken and need work but they are nice pieces of furniture that simply need some love), Iain’s writing desk
Toss: The double bed was mine, was someone else’s for years before that and it is finally showing its age, the mattresses to the double have springs poking through, the dresser Bairno uses is very nice, but it needs to go back to its original owner (Bairno has never been able to open the drawers by himself and I need him to have some independence with getting dressed and putting away his clothes)

Lottie’s room
Keep: her bed and mattresses, her dresser, the wooden doll cradle
Toss: the wooden dress up box is broken (discovered yesterday), probably fixable but not do able before we leave.

sewing room/biz stuff
Keep: cutting table, sewing machine desk, two sewing machine cabinets, my sewing machines, fabric and supplies
Toss: plastic containers, cheapo plastic and wire shelves
Questionable: the lare rolltop computer desk; it is solid oak and HEAVY!!! Must be moved in three parts and it is still HEAVY in three parts!!!

Around and elsewhere
Keep: the books, the 4 wooden bookshelves, the games, the tools, the lawn stuff, very little of our clothes (we all need some presentable clothes – most of ours are hole-y or extremely well worn looking)

We are making hard decisions around here, getting rid of things left and right, and doing without. Stayed tuned tomorrow to read some of what we really are doing and other decisions we have made.

So tell me, whether you are moving or not, if you had the opportunity what would you really toss or do over in the decorating and furnishing department? These could be items you decide you really do not need or items you need the function but wish you could replace with something better or more your style. Have you ever actually tossed most of it and started over? Come on, ‘fess up. I know I am not the only one that dreams a little. Leave me a comment or write your own blog post and link it here.