Scarf Holder

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Shower curtain rings.....I see them all the time at Goodwill new in package for approximately 49 cents.  

Then while reading the Better Homes and Gardens magazine, I saw an alternative use for these rings and I just had to try it to do something with this pile of scarves I have accumulated 

and well the pictures are pretty much self explanatory ......

Everything is now all nice and neat. I love, love, love it!!!  Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Being Organized

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I try, I really try to be as organized as I can but I am far from where I want to be.  I do have a regular routine that I follow with day to day chores but it is all the little extras....the household manual I want to create, crafts I want to try and the 'extra' cleaning that I always want to do but never seems to get done.

                                  

One chore that I have mastered for the warmer months is baking.  Although the days are beginning to cool down, some of them are still too warm to have the oven on for any length of time.  The muffins, cookies, pies and squares are largely put to the wayside and instead we enjoy blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, melons and all the other fresh fruit that are in abundance at the market during the summer.  

                                              

Occasionally however, I love those treats that fill the cookie jar in the winter and last night was one of those moments......so this is what I do.

                                           

I find the recipe I want to make and get all the ingredients ready in the evening.  All dry ingredients are added to the bowl and the wet are measured out and stored in the refrigerator.  I have my mixer, my muffin tin (in this instance), and utensils ready on my kitchen counter.  If the recipe calls for shortening at room temperature..I place in a bowl and store in the microwave overnight.  Now some of you might think that doesn't sound like a good idea but I keep my shortening in the freezer....by morning my shortening is thawed and still cool....so no worries.

                                           

Last night I had some bananas that were past their prime and banana muffins were calling my name so I 'set up' my baking station and early this morning when I rose for my morning hike, I quickly whipped the ingredients, spooned them into the muffin tin and popped them in the oven before I headed out the door.  By the time I returned, the muffins were baked, the house smelled divine (and was not overheated since I had all windows opened with the cool morning breezes blowing in), I pulled them out, spread some butter on one and enjoyed it for breakfast with my morning coffee.

This 'being organized' skill is one I wish would spread to the rest of my chores, but for now, I will enjoy my morning muffin while catching up with my favorite blogs.

Have a great day and remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Fabric Explosion

Pin It I have deemed the year 2012, the year of organization.  One of my New Year's Resolutions was to become organized with everything that caused me stress on a day to day basis.

So far I have tackled all the photographs.  I had them scattered everywhere .... in albums, in boxes, in baskets.  So I spent the better part of January organizing all my photographs.  Now they are safely in two photo boxes on a shelf, all together.  Some day .... probably well into retirement .... I will begin to put all those photographs into scrapbooks but for now I am very pleased they are all together.

Next I began to tackle paperwork.  That is an on-going process but I am pleased as punch to say that I have all paperwork organized and into binders up until the year 2009.  The years 2010 and 2011 are all together, I just haven't punch holes in them and put them in their respective binders but that will be done before the end of March.  Promise.

So this past weekend I decided to tackle my fabric stash.  We have two storage buildings on the property which is a whole other story but I had fabric stored EVERYWHERE!  I didn't even know what I had anymore.  Instead of hunting through junk to try and find some fabric to start a project, I would just head out to the local fabric store and picked up something I liked.  Well no more!

I went to all my storage spaces and dug through stuff, rearranged boxes, hunted in boxes, bags and trunks.  I gathered ALL of it.  Then I went through the process of tossing anything I didn't like, want or that had stains on it.  That helped to get rid of ALOT of fabric I knew I would never use .... so liberating!

After all that, then I washed ...... 6 loads of washing and drying ....then the ironing.  I ironed everything I wanted to keep, folding everything nicely and sorted it by color.

Everything is now put away and at a glance I know if I need replenish a color.  This way I can watch for sales ... or the remnant bin.  LOVE the remnant bin!

I did find something in all that mess that I just couldn't part with and didn't know what to do with it ... but that is for tomorrow's post.

Now off to do some sewing!

Remember to give your loved ones a hug!

Some Preparing for Winter and Planning for Hunting Season

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EEEK!! I saw this today!





See that little tiny tree in the middle of the picture? Do you see the colors of the leaves!!! Yellow!! They are yellow!!

Panic has set in....fall is officially here. So while working in the garden this afternoon and after seeing that little tree with the bright foliage, I began to think of what is to come.

Halloween, Thanksgiving, hunting season, and Christmas....but the snow is what I am most worried about.

I walked around the yard, picking up items and putting them away either in the storage trailer or in the sheds that are no longer needed for this year. When you start seeing leaves change in Northern Minnesota, you have to work fast at getting ready for colder temperatures...it can literally happen overnight.

I managed to clean up quite a bit and was satisfied with my accomplishments so I decided to take a meander over to the deer stand to see how it is holding up for another upcoming hunting season.



I noticed some of the tarp is falling down a little so I will have to make sure either Luke or Bob takes a hammer and nail to it before hunting season begins. Can't have those deer seeing you through the slits! That wouldn't work.




As you can see the stand is quite high up in a tree. Bob built it for Pasie a few years ago and it is used alot. In the winter it is fun to climb up and be able to see for miles once all the leaves have fallen and there is snow on the ground.

It is fun to climb up on a star filled night and feel that you can almost reach out and touch them... some nights it seems like you really could.

With the approach of hunting season comes lots of baking and cooking. We usually have alot of family here that I need to be prepared for. Now is the time that I begin to bake and cook so I can freeze everything. When the men arrive...all I have to do it pull something out and a nice, warm meal is ready for when then head in after night falls. It saves my sanity to be organized. :)

Well, off to make my list. I have already received requests for cabbage rolls, swedish meatballs, and taco dip. It will be a busy time once again but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Give all your loved ones a hug tonight. :)