Halloween Nor'Easter

Well, this weekend certainly was interesting. Between our flooring getting started to a Halloween snowstorm to my having a migraine for a couple of days,it was different!

Saturday as I mentioned,our friend Brian was here to begin our flooring.He had to lay down a primer then a floor leveler to help smooth out a slope we have.After he left,we kept the wood stove cranking to help dry it out,because we couldn't walk on it until it was whitish gray looking.So,while I could shower,I couldn't change my clothes,because I couldn't get into the bedroom,so I spent the day in my PJ's,which wasn't such a bad deal since I woke up with a headache.So I chilled in my recliner,and crocheted for a while.I had to stop because my eyes got tired,even with my bifocals,and it made my head feel real bad.So I curled up with a pillow.

You can see in the below photo the spots that started drying.It took over 12 hours to dry fully. Brian is coming back today to put some more down.It won't fully take out the slope but it will make it much better.

Saturday Rick was busy getting the snow blower ready,getting gas,making sure we had water,and putting things in the yard away.The snow started around 5:00 PM.By the time I awoke at 8:00 AM on Sunday,the storm was over.We were fortunate that we did not lose power,as many of my fellow NHer's did. We wound up getting over a foot of snow,which was a heavy,wet,snow. Because many of the trees still have leaves,it created more weight,causing many branches to break,which led to the power outages. Our yard was OK,though.

I snapped a few shots on Sunday Morning...through the kitchen window.....

....and off the deck...

It was amazing to see snow on leaves,and some are still green! I have never seen such a snow fall this early. I have seen flurries in early Sept,and maybe quick squall in Oct,but nothing like this.Hello,Climate Change! You may go now :)

I tried to eat breakfast,and did succeed,but my stomach felt funky all day because of my stupid achy head bone. I watched my "John Adams" DVD until noon,then I finally fell asleep until 7:00 PM. I felt better then.Stupid hormones.

I felt bad for Zach last night. Rick brought Zach down to Somersworth for Trick or Treat,but it had been changed to tonight.Tonight is our Boy Scout Troop party,so he won't be able to go,and this was going to be his last year,poor thing.Zach,Rick,and myself are all dressing up,so I will post of photo of us in the next couple of days.

Hope all is well with you where ever you are...hope everyone in New England without power gets it soon!!!

The Kitchen Redo Begins

We have finally started our kitchen redo. Our friend Brian,who owns Brian's Flooring,is here right now,putting down floor leveler.( We have a prominent slope in one area of the floor). This redo has been two years in the making,mainly because we have either had other things that had to be done,or because Rick's health was not cooperating. However,we are finally putting things into motion.

Our floor is in sad shape. The folks we bought the house from laid down stick tiles,and while it looked nice at first,eight years of wear and tear,heat from the wood stove,boots animals,etc., took their toll:

Lovely,isn't it? Time to go. We are replacing it with a heavy duty laminate wood,which has sticky tabs on each side so the boards are basically stuck together.  Normally,we could lay it down ourselves,but since we have never used this type of laminate before,Brian is installing it for us. It costs a bit more than regular laminate wood,but we figure it's worth the investment. We picked a laminate that has the appearance of worn wood. I will take photos of it when it's laid down.

The tiles weren't too bad to scrape off. Don't you love the spot on the door where the paint has been scraped off?That is where Moxie scratches at the door.That is one more spot we will need to repaint :)

Zach was a big help scraping up the tiles. Samson and Smokey made sure that he was doing a good job!

Being in a small house makes renovations more of a challenge. There is not alot of space to put things. We have some things in our bedroom and in our living room. Just part of the fun!!!!

P.U! That floor primer stinks!

My fellow New Englanders are gearing up for a snowstorm tonight. 6"-10" are on it's way. Yikes! Be careful driving,my friends!

Soap and Snow

Wow,it's already been a week since I posted! Whoops. Some of that was me,some of it was due to the fact that we lost phone and Internet service for a couple of days because the AC adapter that we plug in for the phone/Internet box had exposed wire and stopped working. Our friendly cable guy came and replaced it yesterday. :)

My strawberries,garlic,and carrots have a nice layer of straw on them,which is a good thing,because a few days ago,things looked like this:

This morning,they looked like this:

A bit of snow fell last night,but now that the sun is out,it's already melting. While snow at this time of year is not completely uncommon,it is unusual. It's too early for me!

Earlier this week,I made some hand soap. I wanted to try something different this time around. I did use the same basic ingredients:

You can't see the coconut oil container behind the canola oil,but it's there. The day before I made my soap,I took cinnamon sticks and whole cloves,heated them in the canola oil for while,then put the pan (covered) into the fridge overnight so the cinnamon and clove scent would seep into the oil.

It didn't make an overpowering scent,just a few light one,which was fine,since this was a first attempt. I heated the Crisco and coconut oil over low heat until melted,then strained the canola oil so the cinnamon and cloves were removed. I then poured the canola oil into the  Crisco/coconut oil and heated it. I added a few drops of Patchouli oil ( AKA "Dirty Hippie Scent"). The lye was dissolved in water in a separate bowl. When the temperatures of both the oil combo and the lye were around 80-100 degrees,I poured the lye into the oil,then using an old hand held mixer,mixed it until it came to trace,then poured it into my silicone 8x8 pan.

It has been resting now for a few days,so today I will cut it into squares,and let it cure in our bedroom,which is the coolest room in the house. It will cure for a few weeks.

I have the recipe in my Sept 2009 post,Homemade Lye Soap. I tried to put the link in,but it doesn't like me for some reason.

I have been working on my shawl,and it's getting there.Rick's truck is in the shop. He and Zach were out hunting last weekend on Youth Weekend (no adults are allowed to hunt,only kids under 16 with a licensed hunter) and he heard a CLUNK in the back of the truck. Come to find out,the U joints need to be replaced. Bummer. They didn't get anything either all weekend. Double bummer.Tonight Zach has a Halloween dance and he is going as the slasher from the Scream movies. Monday is our Troop Halloween party,and Rick and I have our costumes,but we aren't telling what we are going as yet. :)

Have a fabulous day where ever you might be!