Life in Tee Harbor, Alaska

Steps for Successful Boiling-Water Canning..You have to check out this gal's blog

Steps for Successful Boiling-Water Canning

Fire Cleaning has begun...

Today the cleaners arrived.  And Oh, my!  They set out their plan and we either agreed or didn't agree. And for the most part, I think we got on the same page. 

We did agree to wash the kitchen items inside the cupboards, which we had originally asked them... they said they figured 12 hours to clean the contents and today Dh and I spent nearly 15 hours (our hours together) cleaning and only got the upper cupboards done inside.  I have twice as many lower cupboards, so I am like... 12 HOURS??? what were they thinking??? 

Today they got the upstairs walls and ceilings done and they cleaned a few things that was nice to see... they cleaned off the girls' bathroom sink and the toilet and really the entire bathroom... it just sparkles.  The girls' rooms don't really look all that different... they basically cleaned walls and worked around the mess that the girls had left... I don't think they did the upstairs screens however... and I will maybe ask them to do that... as I got soot on the back of my hand checking...(Will I be brave enough to ask???  LOL).  They did wash the downstairs screens which was SOOO nice!  The big deal about the  screens is that for several days, my daughter Chelsea, 16yo, would come up with soot smeared on her face and we couldn't figure out where she got it... well she loves to look out windows and see as much as she can see and often she hits her nose on the screen... and so the nose smudge began and continued until just the day before she left for camp.  We figured it out that she was too "nosey" about what was going on outside.

Anyways, upstairs I wasn't super impressed... There are two rooms done real nice and two rooms done OK.  The one gal was very particular about her cleaning and she did the two nice rooms.  One was just learning and was working with the man who was the boss of the project, I guess you call him??  He says he likes cleaning walls and ceilings, but isn't interested in the details... and it kinda showed.  Not that it was horrible, it just didn't sparkle like the other two rooms.  And the one room my girls bunk bed in... that room just didn't shine... I offered to move stuff, but they just cleaned around it... so as soon as I pick up the stuff off the dresser, I'll have to clean it again... that kinda clean.  Why clean???   Oh well.  At least the ceiling is done... I hate doing ceilings!  

Downstairs they had a guy working solo in our front room... absolutely love that guy!  And he's not coming back!!!  He has other work to do the rest of the week... but he was so thorough and that room really shines as well.  I still have to clean inside the cupboards and clean the stuff ON the cupboards, but the doors and walls and everything shines!  He knows his stuff!  One thing we learned is this cleaner just sucks the life out of the wood and he says you have to follow it with murphy's soap to add some oil back into the wood to give it shine.  I would have to say that wasn't done upstairs on our railing as it is rather dull... but downstairs, our pantry doors just glow... love it!  

Here's the plan for the rest of the week as far as the cleaners go... Wednesday, they will finish the kitchen (walls, ceilings), dining room (walls, ceilings) and the master bedroom (walls and ceilings).  Thursday they will clean the carpets and the floors... which he said they'd clean the wood floors, but I'm guessing they are going to leave that to me, because we have so many items that need to be inside because of the outside dog... that he suggested moving those items to our dining room and kitchen area... well, we are moving the stuff and moving it back... so they aren't going to be able to clean under them... so that's another thing added to my to-do list.  

Thursday when they clean the carpet, they do not want us in the house at all... especially with Paige... as she will run on the wet carpet, get it dirty and it would just be best if we weren't in the house... he even suggested we sleep in the camper on Thursday night... too bad that is plum packed FULL of blankets and laundry that I have been doing for the last week!   Maybe I can find one of the beds... what an ordeal!  So after 3 days they will be gone!  GONE.  

That will leave me with alot of work!  I figured the kitchen will take me two more days, even with some help!  The entry room is like the kitchen as far as cupboard cleaning... so say 2-3 days in there.  The dining room... not so bad, maybe a day, the bathroom... likely a day, the living room... a day (want to polish that wood so it isn't dried out... and I think the piano is my job... they won't touch it... not sure how you clean soot out of a piano!).  My bedroom... likely two days.  Upstairs... 1-2 days in bedroom 1, 1 day in bedroom 2, 1day in bedroom 3.  Bathroom2 - 1/2 day.  And the storage areas they are not touching at all... and that will take me at least a week.  That's nearly 3 weeks of straight cleaning YET to be done!  I think we will make the deductible!  I will not be able to do much cleaning the next two days the cleaners are here... being banned from the house one day... and banned from downstairs tomorrow.   My girls also thought they might miss out on cleaning being at camp... well they didn't miss out on much!  LOL.  Perhaps with their help it can go a bit faster... I hope so!   

I am beginning to wonder about how the fire is helping me to get my house cleaned in one big swoop... because it isn't going to be one big swoop!  I will be cleaning the house until we are ready to start back up with school... no summer break for this MOM!  I am still plodding on... the house is getting decluttered.  I have one van full of items ready to go to the church garage sale.   I'm sure I will have more as I enter more rooms;  I've only gone through just the laundry room and part of the kitchen!   And the big storage area upstairs... which is the area I NEED to declutter... they aren't going to even try to clean... they even suggested I move everything into that area... now wouldn't that just make the area worse again???  CRAZY! 

Well, I better go work for another hour or so.  I hope to clean off the kitchen counters and the dining room furniture so that they can move items around and clean.  Tomorrow morning I will be emptying bookshelves to my bed so they can clean our bedroom.  I then will head upstairs to likely Paige's room to "finish the cleaning", doing the detail work.  I'm so tired and so very sore! 

Now... you know your house is big when the cleaners joke about hating to break into our house because it is so big and there are so many rooms... even a burglar would get lost!  One said that after a lady got lost trying to figure out where to go and she says... there's too many rooms in here!   Dh liked the comment... he loves his big house.

Warmly, ~Melissa

Doctor appt today...

Well I went to the doctor again today. They gave me my b12 and then sent me to the hospital for blood work, a test on my  urin, and a  ct on my kidneys, gal balder, balder, and tummy.. I have not got the test results back from the ct yet. It will be in the am. However i did get the results back from my blood work. ALL Numbers are down.. They are LOW... And the Urin test came back and I have a infection that came back to high to count....  So i am now on meds for the infection again, on pain pills, on tummy pills, and iron still... We are waiting on the ct result and the doctor said he will go from there.  I am wiped out...  Bless my doctors heart. He called me back to his office while i was at the hospital after i finished the ct to talk to me about my blood work and urin test... I thanked him to listening to me about how i was feeling and not treating me like I was crazy.. He smiled and said there was NO need to thank him.. And that there is something wrong and that we WILL find out what it is and get me back in shape...  For me I have never been one that went to a doctor unless i had to.. So for me to go to the doctor i have to be sick.. I  MEAN SICK.. But i will be honest  with you.. This doctor has given me a new vision of doctors.. HE is wonderful.. He listens to me. HE takes the time to answer my questions. I am so thankful to God for that..

I want to thank all my friends out there for praying for me.. God is working.. He is good.

god bless

glenda

2 weeks and counting...

If you've wondered where I've been lately, but perhaps you haven't, we've been crazy busy trying to get the tile done, and the house re-assembled... and I've been recovering (slowly) from being sick... and we're working on being ready to leave home for 3 weeks to go visit Al's family.  (you know who you are...) SOOOOOOOOOO....  My "homesteading" right now looks like this:  Laundry on the porch, bread from the store, trip over laundry baskets full of canned goods from the pantry that had to be moved, kittens every where (including reports from the girls of a NEW one under our porch last night, but no sighting yet, a chicken who is an escape artist, evidently the grass IS greener on our side of the fence... and dogs who smell, shall I say... FOUL!!!  Too many ealry trips to the lake for them, I think!  Our garden is suffering from lack of H2O as the hose that was watering it is now running the washer (gotta pick your battles) but I did get to eat a few small carrots from the garden yesterday that were great!!

We're also talking big about our plans for AFTER the vacation... Paint colors for one.  All neutral.  It's like a decorating version of let's make a deal... or poker, I'm not sure which... I'll see you your white ceilings, if you raise me olive green walls in the loft, and paprika stair treads.  Wide trim, or stick with what we've got (stickin' by the way...) today we chose a cabinet finish (my super handy hubby is going to re-finish the functional, but ugly cabinets we have to give me the awesome but far too pricey look I love at Lowes...)  Countertops, backsplashes, floors, freezers, dishwashers, lighting.  I guess 6 months was as long as we could live somewhere without a re-modeling project.  BUT so far we're way keeping the cost down, so I feel pretty good about it.  Also we're discussing homeschool plans for the girls, and possible college plans for me.  There's talk of garden re-working, and adding more space for next year.  Rain barrels, and building Al's shop.  Terracing the hillside under the powerline, and creating an orchard...  A BILLION and ONE things.  If you want to check out how the floor is coming hit my Home to Gilead blog, I posted a Pic or two over there today...  Things are crazy as usual, and I really wouldn't have it any other way.  Gotta Run!  Peace~

Shari

I'm Going Bananas!!!!

I'm not kidding!  I am seriously going bananas!

I picked up a huge, huge, huge, (boy, do I wish I had a picture to show you), huge box of bananas at Save-a-Lots for $8.00.

I gave a bunch to my father, the kids have eaten bunches and bunches, and my oldest daughter made batches and batches of banana bread.

I am trying an experiment I heard about that said you could freeze bananas.  I wrapped 12 bunches of bananas in aluminum foil, then put them into freezer bags.  I read that the skins will turn black, but the bananas will stay good.

I still have many bunches left!!!!

Any banana recipes you would like to share?!?

Please!!!!

Long long gaps!

Oh dear Ikeep making resolutions to keep up with this and then I don't!

Let me see, what's been going on. Well, we are nearly done with school. Our garden is very overgrown, and we could do with spending more time out there. We are nearly done with girlguides, we have a sleepover, the village fete, and a party and then it's summer!

We had a visit from my friend Ali, and it was lovely to see her, and for her daughter to get to ride with ours, we look forward to having them back again soon.

And I am struggling with a lot of issues, which I will not go into here, but suffice it to say, anyone who feels like praying for me, I would be grateful!

oh yes and our sheep were sheared! I have photos, but photobucket is playing up, so I'll upload them another time.

Surgery Tomorrow...

Greeting friends,

I just wanted you to know that I am having some outpatient surgery tomorrow. I have a voice disorder that has been with me for the last 25 years. Periodically, I need to have the growths removed from my vocal cords. I will be on voice rest for 3 days which is much better than the 7 days it used to be when I was young. I have to be careful not to bend and lift for the next few weeks as I heal. I will have to get those children doing most of the garden work.

I will update you all as soon as I am able.

Blessings,
Jennie

What say you? Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace.......

More Than Meets The Eye

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  

                                                                ROMANS 8:28 NKJV

   God's plan for you to know him and to spend eternity with him is steadfast. In addition, God will use the pain and the disappointment in your life. He will use them to do something beautiful, to turn heartache into strength and sorrow into joy.

   When you are facing difficult circumstances, remember that God is at work transforming everything that happens, both good and bad, into something beneficial for you.

Truck Update

     The dealership called about an hour ago and told us the module was bad on the truck. He can have it ready by tomorrow late morning if the part comes in on time. It will cost 500$ for parts and labor. It is cheaper than I thought it would be, but it is still expensive to me.

    The good news is that if we get the truck by early afternoon tomorrow then we can still make our camping trip. DH called this afternoon and told the park what had happened and if we could still have our reservations for tomorrow and instead of today just add thursday. It wasn't a problem but we now miss out on today and lose that 20$.

    Money is going to be very, very tight now for a bit. Luckily I stocked up on meats and canned goods last time I grocery shopped. I also have a freezer full of desserts and a couple of meals. I'm not sure if I will be able to save up enough of this 500 to put back intop a savings for us. it is so hard to do that after it gets spent.

   I probably won't be on here for the rest of the week. I will only be on if for some reason we can't go on the trip. Hope y'all have a great rest of the week and once again thanks for the prayers!