Meet Watson everyone! My new urban homestead guard dog! Watch out or he'll lick you to death!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Aw Puppy!
Meet Watson everyone! My new urban homestead guard dog! Watch out or he'll lick you to death!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Two Dog Beds for 5 Bucks!
Yesterday I made two sizeable dog beds for only $5. Why do I have a need for a two dog beds when I only have one dog, you ask? Well because tomorrow the family and I go to pick up our new PUPPY! It is all very exciting. We haven't had a puppy in the house since my son was 1 year old (he's turning 9 in a few months). It will be a playmate for our dog Katie and a late Christmas present for me who is the "dog person" of this family. My husband is more of a cat man.
In preparation for the puppy the kids and I hit the shops, in that standard "let's go to the pet store and get supplies" kind of way. Right now our dog Katie eats her morning meal off an old, chipped plate and the cats all have matching glass plates. She has a plastic bowl for kibble and our plastic ice cream tub turned water dish was in need of replacing. But the prices are astronimical! I couldn't get over it. If I had bought a new dish for the puppy, one for Katie, and a water bowl it would have cost nearly $30. I am sad to say, I was seriously thinking about it. I even had the dishes in my hand but I just couldn't do it. I put them back, bought just the puppy food and decided to go to Goodwill around the corner.
Goodwill didn't have any "dog" dishes but they did have a nice, small ceramic dish that would be perfect for the puppy, and it was 99 cents. I found an old casserole dish, with a flat bottom for $3 and got it for a water dish. I also found a nice, fleecy blanket for $4 and instantly thought, Dog Bed.
As soon as I got home I went to work. I cut the fringe off and decided to use it. I cut the blanket into four pieces, pinned the fringe to the inside, right sides together and sewed all around the rectangle, leaving a space to put it right side out and to stuff.
Using left over stuffing from another project and quilt batting ends, I stuffed the beds and sewed the hole. Done. One hour of work and $5 of materials. And it matches my decor, looks like I spent $24 a piece and no one will ever know.
Yes!
In preparation for the puppy the kids and I hit the shops, in that standard "let's go to the pet store and get supplies" kind of way. Right now our dog Katie eats her morning meal off an old, chipped plate and the cats all have matching glass plates. She has a plastic bowl for kibble and our plastic ice cream tub turned water dish was in need of replacing. But the prices are astronimical! I couldn't get over it. If I had bought a new dish for the puppy, one for Katie, and a water bowl it would have cost nearly $30. I am sad to say, I was seriously thinking about it. I even had the dishes in my hand but I just couldn't do it. I put them back, bought just the puppy food and decided to go to Goodwill around the corner.
Goodwill didn't have any "dog" dishes but they did have a nice, small ceramic dish that would be perfect for the puppy, and it was 99 cents. I found an old casserole dish, with a flat bottom for $3 and got it for a water dish. I also found a nice, fleecy blanket for $4 and instantly thought, Dog Bed.
As soon as I got home I went to work. I cut the fringe off and decided to use it. I cut the blanket into four pieces, pinned the fringe to the inside, right sides together and sewed all around the rectangle, leaving a space to put it right side out and to stuff.
Using left over stuffing from another project and quilt batting ends, I stuffed the beds and sewed the hole. Done. One hour of work and $5 of materials. And it matches my decor, looks like I spent $24 a piece and no one will ever know.
Yes!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Basement Woes
We are under construction...actually we are over construction. Our unfinished basement will soon be finished and I am excited to watch the transformation. The renovations come with their own set of headaches though, the noise, the dust, and the bills, oy!
The bathroom is on the left, and a small storage closet on the right. We discovered that not only is our basement ready for a toilet and vanity sink, but we also have plumbing for a shower. This was a surprise to us but of course we want to maximize our value, so we are increasing our budget a bit to pay for added shower.
The project is not going to be cheap and we knew this going into it. We worked out a payment schedule with our bank that has us paying off the entire 2000 sq foot project in three years. At the time I thought I was okay with this but then I saw the checks going out and the construction materials coming in and I realized I need it paid off NOW! My own personal psychology makes me hate any form of debt, even debt that increases our property value. To me an increase of property value is not realized until the property is sold, and I have no immediate desire to sell this place. So to me, the debt is the same as any other. I am beholden to someone and I hate it!
So I convinced my husband that we need to be aggressive with our budget. Utilizing my previous tightwaddery skills, I have reworked our budget and plan to put every last extra dime and penny toward this nagging debt. It will take work. It will take adjustment. It will be just like things were a few years ago when my husband went back to school and our income was reduced by 35 per cent. It will also be so very worth it.
The bathroom is on the left, and a small storage closet on the right. We discovered that not only is our basement ready for a toilet and vanity sink, but we also have plumbing for a shower. This was a surprise to us but of course we want to maximize our value, so we are increasing our budget a bit to pay for added shower.
The project is not going to be cheap and we knew this going into it. We worked out a payment schedule with our bank that has us paying off the entire 2000 sq foot project in three years. At the time I thought I was okay with this but then I saw the checks going out and the construction materials coming in and I realized I need it paid off NOW! My own personal psychology makes me hate any form of debt, even debt that increases our property value. To me an increase of property value is not realized until the property is sold, and I have no immediate desire to sell this place. So to me, the debt is the same as any other. I am beholden to someone and I hate it!
So I convinced my husband that we need to be aggressive with our budget. Utilizing my previous tightwaddery skills, I have reworked our budget and plan to put every last extra dime and penny toward this nagging debt. It will take work. It will take adjustment. It will be just like things were a few years ago when my husband went back to school and our income was reduced by 35 per cent. It will also be so very worth it.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Plant Project
I experienced some success last year with my indoor vegetable plants. We had yummy lettuces for ages from those plants. This fall I bought two potted herbs, Basil and Rosemary. I potted them and put them in my sunniest window. It faces south west so it gets about 5 hours of direct sun light during this time of year.
The middle plant is a Money Tree given to me as a birthday present by a friend.
Last night I found a parsley plant at my grocery store and bought it to expand my window garden. I also found some lettuce seeds in my stash and am going to start a potted lettuce bed.
I did plant radishes last year but they never did bulk up in the root but the greens looked good.
One day I would like to expand into some hydroponic growing and try tomatoes, or cucumber, maybe peppers. But ultimately I would like to use a system that runs on solar, storing the energy for use at night. Here in Canada, the northern hemisphere we are only getting 8 hours of sunlight, IF it's not overcast, which our winters usually are. Because of the location of my window I am lucky to get as much sunlight as I do for my herbs.
I use the herbs on chicken, in soups and the parsley is a must have for a gluten free Shepard's Pie recipe I use to make all the time. Maybe I will try drying some herbs for longer storage.
The middle plant is a Money Tree given to me as a birthday present by a friend.
Last night I found a parsley plant at my grocery store and bought it to expand my window garden. I also found some lettuce seeds in my stash and am going to start a potted lettuce bed.
I did plant radishes last year but they never did bulk up in the root but the greens looked good.
One day I would like to expand into some hydroponic growing and try tomatoes, or cucumber, maybe peppers. But ultimately I would like to use a system that runs on solar, storing the energy for use at night. Here in Canada, the northern hemisphere we are only getting 8 hours of sunlight, IF it's not overcast, which our winters usually are. Because of the location of my window I am lucky to get as much sunlight as I do for my herbs.
I use the herbs on chicken, in soups and the parsley is a must have for a gluten free Shepard's Pie recipe I use to make all the time. Maybe I will try drying some herbs for longer storage.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Big Publishing Announcement!
I just made a big announcement at my other blog, Corsets and Cadavers, regarding my novel. If you like mysteries or historicals I am sure you will find this interesting.
http://gothicmysterywriter.blogspot.com/2012/01/big-announcement.html
http://gothicmysterywriter.blogspot.com/2012/01/big-announcement.html
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)