Moving Stuff ... again

Since we discovered termites inside our garage when we moved some things out for the yard sale, our landlord has scheduled an appointment for termite treatment for tomorrow.  That meant that all the garage items I moved two weeks ago to check for yard sale items had to be moved again, this time to the center of the garage floor.

Since I pulled a muscle in my back last week just lifting one little box the wrong way, my husband got to spend part of his vacation time moving boxes and stuff.

So here it sits now in the middle of the floor

Holes have to be drilled all around the inside perimeter of the garage so everything except the work bench and freezer had to be pulled away from the walls.

And then -- we get to move it all back again so hubby's car can come back into the garage.

Does the fun ever end?  Since they're going to be pumping gallons of chemicals into the ground around the house for at least half a day, I've made plans to go shopping.  Isn't that  what we girls do when the going gets rough!

Blessings on your day ...

A Comedy of Mishaps

My husband and I did a little shopping Wednesday afternoon and then stopped for an early supper before heading home -- or so we planned.  As we backed out of our parking space we noticed a strong smell of gas and assumed it was the SUV passing behind us.  But as we moved  about 50 feet forward the fumes only became stronger -- so we stopped and hopped out of the car immediately.  A quick check under the front of the vehicle showed gas just pouring out onto the ground.  We we moved the car into the closest space and turned it off.  Looks like one of the fuel injectors disconnected from the rail and just let the gas pour through.   Fortunately we didn't blow up (now that's something to be grateful for!) and AAA towed us home.  Today my husband and son have their work cut out for them seeing if they can make the repair.

While I was baking my pies on Tuesday my crust did not want to come together nicely as it normally does and I have no idea why but it was a struggle to get the two apple pies made and baked.  They came out okay but not as pretty as they usually are.  Fortunately just family was coming so it would be ok.  However, as they were cooling I needed to get the sugar canister out of the cabinet above the cooling rack and wouldn't you know -- I dropped it right into the top of one of the pies!   Didn't affect the taste but certainly didn't do anything for its looks!

On Thanksgiving day the family had congregated outside on the patio while I was preparing desserts for the table so they all came rushing in when they heard my exclamation of woe.  The pumpkin chocolate cheesecake that I had just finished cutting into slices slid off the serving plate and onto the chair next to where I was standing!!  So it ended up not looking so good either.  Woe is me!

But we had a great Thanksgiving meal enjoyed by all and are looking forward to a year of blessings and leftovers tonight!

Make it a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving

May your heart be filled with gratefulness for every blessing; may your table be filled with family and friends; may the year bring you your heart's desire; and may you and your family prosper and be in health.

Blessings, 

What's on Your Thanksgiving Menu?

Both my boys are coming for Thanksgiving and one is bringing his girlfriend and her teenage boys. I got a large turkey so we'll have plenty of leftovers.  My husband loves to make turkey soup and he's much better at that than I am so I defer to him on that one.

On the Menu

Turkey (has to be Butterball according to son #2)
Homemade Stuffing (and lots of it per instructions from both boys)
Mashed Potatoes (son #2 is making those 'cause he has a "secret" way)
Gravy (a must!)
Butternut Squash loaded with butter and brown sugar
Cranberry sauce (jellied from the can for all the men in my family and homemade for me)
Cornbread

Eggnog, Sparkling Cider, and White Wine

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream and/or Cheddar Cheese Slices
Chocolate Mint Candies

Coffee, Tea, and perhaps an After-Dinner Drink as well


Tuesday is baking day for the cheesecake and pies.  Wednesday we'll do the squash and set the table and make the cornbread.  And early Thursday morning Mr. Turkey will hit the oven overflowing with stuffing.

Happy Cookin'!  And count your blessings!

 

United States Map

I found this in an old email file from a few years ago -- it's still timely.  I have no idea who the original author was but they "hit the nail on the head."

A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl, Shelby.  She wanted to know what the United States looked like.


Finally, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country.  Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to her and said, "Go into the other room and see if you can put this together.  This will show you our whole country today."

After a few minutes, Shelby returned and handed him the map, correctly fitted and taped together.  The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly.  "Oh," she said, "on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus.  When I got all of Jesus back where He belonged, then our country just came together."


So true ...


Blessings,

Ouch!

The yard sale was a success and there is some open space in the garage ... the sectional sofa was the first item to go ... yeah!

Before the yard sale I went out into the boat deep section of the garage and moved all these boxes and tools around to see if there was anything that I wanted to sell ... then I arranged them all in an order that makes sense to me (and probably only me but that's ok) and which takes up less space.  No problem.

Last winter I packed our entire house alone since my husband was working out of town -- 138 boxes ... no problem!

Then this Wednesday I noticed a collapsed box -- it wasn't full and taped up and I had put another box on top and so the bottom box fell in and everything on top fell over.  So I took a minute to pick up and re-arrange them so it wouldn't happen again.  When I turned and bent over to pick up the last box ... OUCH!  Pulled a muscle in my low back.  Yuck.

So I was "good" and immediately stopped what I was doing for the day, took some ibuprofen and sat with my heating pad and a good book, and next morning it did feel much better so I went to make the bed ... oh, oh ...

So today I'm feeling worse than I felt yesterday ... this going backwards stuff is for the birds.  Now I'm going to be really careful ... I've got Thanksgiving dinner to cook this week and the prep baking to do.  I've learned my lesson ... I will NOT be lifting the 18 lb. bird or anything else until this completely heals.

And the wonderful "PS" to all this moving of boxes ... we found termite tunnels going up the garage wall and so the landlord is having the termite company come and treat the house.  EVERYTHING in the garage has to be moved to the center of the floor so they can drill holes and treat the inside of the garage as well as the outside of the house.  It had not been treated before.  Oh dear ... all that work for nothing and now we get to do it again.  They're coming the Tuesday after Thanksgiving ... something to look forward to!

Hope your preparations go well and Thanksgiving is a blessed time for you.

Blessings,

Reality Thursday -- Yard Sale

I'm linking to Claudia's site at

www.mockingbirdhillcottage.com

for Reality Thursday.

Well, today and tomorrow are the days for my yard sale.  One vehicle has been consigned to the yard and the garage is full of "stuff" that we no longer have room for and needs a new home.  I've already taken carloads of stuff to the hospice thrift store before I decided to have this sale.  Yikes!  Where does it all come from?

We had a family room and a formal living room in our other home -- now we're down to just one so this sectional has to go.  Same thing with the dining table and chairs below -- it was in our kitchen nook; now it's homeless.

I wonder what my chances are for getting rid of everything!  Wish me luck ...

Blessings,

Food for the Spirit -- The Master's Hand

Just pictures today -- Havasu sunset -- from God's paintbrush

Blessings,

Reality Thursday -- Preparation

I'm linking to:   http://mockingbirdhillcottage.blogspot.com/2011/11/reality-shot-thursday-6.html

Well, I've been trying to sell some of my extra "stuff" for a while on Craigslist with no positive results except for selling a refrigerator so I've decided to have a garage sale.  Hmmm, first of all we have a 3 car boat deep garage (I've mentioned before how Havasu homes seem to be all about the garage to hide the toys) and it's full -- but not of toys.  We do have two cars there but the entire rest of the area is "stuff"!  So I moved everything around the other day and found that I have only about  10 medium sized boxes of items that will not be opened until we move into a permanent home (and maybe some never ... like a box of sea shells that we collected over the years that have good memories for us but now have no place to be displayed).

So this is the area I re-arranged and cleaned up:

Believe it or not, that's a lot better than it was when I started.  This is the "boat deep" part of the garage.

This is what's waiting for the garage sale next week:

 Oh, I do hope this stuff, especially the furniture that's taking up so much space, will magically disappear next week.  Wish me luck!

Blessings,

Vrrroooom

My Cadillac Eldorado has gone to my son's for a few days to be polished and shined.

And I get to play vrrroooom with his truck (minus the RV) ...

Ah,  between my two boys I'm getting to reap the benefits of being a Mom.  How nice!

Blessings,