A Really Weird "Fangirl" Moment

Just in case you needed any confirmation that I'm a few degrees off true North ....

I follow "a great leap in the dark" and "the tiny house blog" and while I'm not entirely sold on the "tiny house" concept for myself (I love my fabric stash), I really admire the ingenuity of tiny house builders and the underlying reasons for which they build that way. To that end, when my hubby and I saw a mobile "tiny house" on our drive home today I simply had to follow and get a picture or two (and a really weird look from the man in the truck hauling it).

http://agreatleapinthedark.blogspot.com/

http://tinyhouseblog.com/

Coming up on the tiny house. You can see its sister house up ahead.

A closer view as we pass. I love the sign over the door

"Motel 3 - no phones - no cable - no room tax - no vacancy"

Pay-It-Forward ... Soon

On the off chance I actually have any readers :)


Sara, the owner of the wonderful blog "Blessed Simplicity," has allowed me to enter her pay-it-forward giveaway. I am very excited about this whole concept. I had read about the giveaways in other blogs but I was always reading about them months after the fact or just to chicken to ask to be included. I am planning and plotting the project I will do for my pay-it-forward giveaway once Sara is done with hers. I've got the fabric all picked out and several ideas of things to make (I guess it says something about me that the fabric determines the project and not the other way around). Keep your eyes open and I'll post for victi... um I mean ...volunteers when it's my turn to pay-it-forward.

Blogs - A Window Into Someone Elses World

Ok, I have to admit to a very serious psychological problem ... insatiable curiosity and an inability to blindly believe what the news media tells me. I can't help but think that most news stories are pushed that little bit extra to make the issues or events seem a little bit more interesting. So, when I hear a news story about a polygamous family or niqab wearing french women, I try to find several blogs written by people who are in the culture or situation to try and get a better, more complete, perspective. Often times I don't completely agree with the belief systems I encounter, but I always appreciate a well thought out point of view and I always appreciate having a better understanding of the people I share this world with.


So, if you think the blogs I follow are a little disjointed, this is why. And thanks to everyone who lets it all hang out (even if you sometimes have to put up with ignorant comments left by idiots who probably haven't read more than three words of your actual blogs). I appreciate your courage and I want to grow up to be just like you.

Tearing the Place Apart - No, Literally

This weekend my parents, honey and I did demo work in the MIL apartment attached to our house. The MIL apartment is the oldest part of the house and the previous owner didn't really take care of it. It was a sad collection of patch-job repairs and unupdated electrical work. We decided that rather than adding our own layer of just-make-it-work repairs, we would gut it down to the frame and start from the beginning. We found a few surprises along the way - random places where the wall had plywood instead of Sheetrock, an old door that had been turned into a counter top in the kitchen, a weird wall made of 2X2s and hard board.

(honey, mom and dad at the scene of the disaster)

(loading all the unsalvagable debris to go to the dump)

(Part of where the kitchen used to be. I'm standing where the cut up old door/counter top used to be)

(Where the bedroom used to be taken from the living room. The weird gap in the flooring is where the 2X2 and hardboard wall was)


(Where the living room used to be. Taken from the bedroom. Honestly, this is a good thing)

At the end of the day it was so wonderful to be able to look and see the progress we'd made in turning our house into the home we want it to be.

Loot !!!!

My loot from the "case lot" sale on base (kinda like Sam's Club meets the Commisary).

Yes, I know my kitchen is a little messy. Live with it.

Are You Happy?

ARE YOU HAPPY by Headup.

I'm Pretty Sure My Dog Thinks I'm Crazy

This afternoon I needed to get some work done around the house, and in the spirit of my new git fit goal, I decided to put on some music that I can't help but dance too. So, here I am, cleaning my living room and putting away clutter in between spins, shakes, and hip bumps and I look over and see my dog watching me with his head cocked to the side and I realized two things at once. 1) I'm pretty sure my dog thinks I'm crazy. 2) Since I was doing this cleaning dance in front of a huge picture window and it was just dark enough to make me clearly visible to the whole neighborhood, I'm pretty sure my neighbors think I'm crazy too. (All things considered, they mights as well realize I'm a little off now and not when I'm leaving the house in belly dance or SCA garb)

I didn't spend my entire day dancing around my living room though. This morning I went for a long walk to the local library. On the way back from the library all the muscles that have been accustomed to the easy life and aren't very appreciative of the new and interesting ways I'm finding to make them work in my new dance class decided to start complaining at once. I was dying. A walk of less than half the distance I walked on Tuesday seemed twice as hard. I was pretty sure I looked quite pitiful but having someone stop and offer me a ride was a confirmation I didn't need.

Back to Happy Thoughts

While I was at the library, I found this wonderful book on canning. A few weeks ago my MIL taught me how to make and preserve my own jam with the raspberries I had picked. I'm in love. Homemade jam is so much better. You have more control over the ingredients that are going into your food and it allows you to preserve what you've grown or picked yourself. Since then, I've been on a canning kick. I've made Raspberry Jam, Strawberry/Raspberry Jam (although I didn't know to agitate the jars so all my strawberries ended up on top), Blueberry Syrup, and Raspberry/Chipolte Sauce (a great sweet/spicy BBQ sauce substitute). I'm excited about the recipes in this book and can't wait to find a great deal on some produce so I can try them out.

My pretties -
Raspberry/Chipolte Sauce, Blueberry Syrup, Raspberry/Strawberry Jam, Raspberry Jam