Young Adult Urban Fantasy – Reverse Harem
My husband ran across a Youtube Channel I thought you lovelies might like. *smile* Syrmor has a Youtube Channel where he hangs out in Virtual Reality chat and meets various people. It's totally wholesome goodness (so far as I've seen), kind of like a Humans of New York but in VR. You can find it … Continue reading Interesting Things Just for You: Syrmor Youtube Channel
I have my Outback back - it turned out to be just two leaking hoses, so it was an easy fix. This car has been so frustrating! I still have more repairs that need to be done on it, but we need to build up our emergency and repair funds more before I do them. … Continue reading Just a Leaking Hose!
I've mentioned that my Grandpa was in hospice, and that we went up suddenly to see him and drop off my mother to help with care. We left Sunday, and on Thursday, Valentine's Day, the hospice nurse told my mother 72 hours or less. Late Thursday night, my dad called my husband while I was … Continue reading Goodbye to My Grandpa
On the drive back from Minneapolis it was snowing and miserable. On the Minneapolis/St. Paul belt line, visibility was roughly 25-50 yards. And it was a long and miserable drive, even when we cleared the cities and the visibility improved: It was fairly cold, so the snow drifted a lot and the road was slippery. … Continue reading Outback in the Shop Again – Thank You to the Gentlemen at the Twin Bluffs Bar
We drove my mother up to Minneapolis this last weekend so that she could care for my Grandfather. He's in hospice and doing poorly. She stayed in his apartment, but they paid for my husband and I to stay in a nearby hotel as a 'thank you' and also possibly a 'stay out of my … Continue reading Our Hotel Might Have Been on Fire… Hard to Tell
I left work early on Friday so that we could drive my mother to Minneapolis to take care of her father. He's in hospice, and the local family is wiped from caring for him alone. So, I'm scooting home, a bright sunny day and a road trip ahead of me. A semi in oncoming traffic … Continue reading Thank You Semi, But I’ll Keep My Windows
After our snow day on Monday last week, we had a cold snap. And I mean COLD snap. Our offices were closed, and I got to take Wednesday and Thursday off as we all prepared for ridiculous temperatures. On Wednesday, it got down to -27, not counting wind chill. We drove over to my parents' … Continue reading Wisconsin, You’re Drunk
We found a new car! Here she is! She's a 2005 Subaru Outback... the L.L. Bean edition. She's showing her age in the interior, but there's only one spot of rust we could find on the outside! AND she literally checks every box I had on my wish list down to the paint and cladding … Continue reading New Car: 2005 Subaru Outback… L.L. Bean Edition
My 2001 Subaru Forester was struggling to start, so I brought it in to the shop. They initially found an intake problem and fixed that, and it improved. But then it started giving off blue smoke and struggling more. You Subaru fans know exactly what this is a sign of. Yes. The EZ30 head gasket … Continue reading The Forester Is Dead
I planted a bunch of herbs, and LOOK AT THE WEE LITTLE SPROUTS! They're not doing great, but I MADE LIVE PLANTS OH PLEASE DON'T DIE. A little leggy, but I moved the light down and it's helping! Advice for sprouting plants? Inquiring minds want to know!
I thought growing sprouts might be a good idea. I followed the directions exactly. Changed the water 4 or 5 times a day. They barely sprouted and then died and smelled like FEET. What am I doing wrong?!?
So the grow light set up in the basement looked very nice, but the light was so bright that it looked like we were either summoning aliens with our landing lights or have the largest grow operation East of the Mississippi. Neither of these are ideal. So, I moved it upstairs. Oddly enough, it stands … Continue reading Moved the Grow Light Upstairs So The Neighbors Don’t Think We’re Growing Pot
It snowed about 8 inches or so, and it was nasty driving for a few days, but today it's beautiful out. We went to my in-laws' during the storm and came back home for drinks. And then we drunkenly staggered around shoveling snow. It turned out surprisingly well considering my lack of interest in this … Continue reading It Snowed~!
This was another of my Christmas presents, from Sustainable Seed Company, although I got them through Amazon. This is the set I got. (Spoiler: affiliate link!) It was kiiiiind of one I picked out for myself... I did all of the Christmas shopping, so this is what my husband gave me. But I love that … Continue reading Herbs for my Grow Light!
I received a grow light for Christmas from my mother-in-law and it's WONDERFUL. I've wanted grow lights for years, and so this was super happy making! This was the sole reason we cleaned the basement! Here's what it looks like assembled: It was moderately easy to put together, but I wasn't able to push all … Continue reading Grow Light Huzzah!
My husband got this set of Mario magnets for Christmas! It's pretty obvious they're not officially licensed, but they are cute and kind of fun!
We cleaned our basement! Cleared out empty boxes and made sure that as much as possible was off the floor because we do have occasional trickles of water. Also made sure my emergency water supplies were on the BOTTOM instead of over things they could ruin! Here's a look: The basement came with the white … Continue reading Cleaning the Basement for the First Time
I received several AWESOME gifts for Christmas, including a grow light. There wasn't anyplace on the first floor where we could set it up, so I decided to put it in the basement. So my husband and I cleaned the basement, and I took some time to open boxes I hadn't open in years. And … Continue reading Memories of My Grammy
This is a little older, but I wasn't able to get the photos my family took from it until now. I had a close friend, who is military, drop by my parents around Thanksgiving. She has been having a hard time, and I remembered that she loved making Gingerbread Houses, so I picked one up … Continue reading Puzzling the Neighbors – Gingerbread House Edition
You would think that, since every other nursery waits to ship, that the Camellia Forest Nursery would also wait until reasonable weather to ship their plants. Nope. It was 25 degrees yesterday when I found the notification that my tea was being delivered. I was at work. 45 minutes away from home. Cue frantic call … Continue reading Oh, Beauteous Day, My Tea Plant Is Here!
So, as is usual on my last-day-before-work, I got my laundry together and waltzed over to the washing machine, set it up, and turned it on. Or not. It didn't turn on. The light was still on, so it couldn't be the breaker. Went downstairs and flipped the breaker anyway. No good. My husband peeled … Continue reading Our Washer Isn’t Dead But it Gave Us a Scare
Okay, so this is as much swearing as this blog's going to get! And only because it is the actual name of this business. We had our year-end work meeting in Dodgeville this year, and we ate at Bob's Bitchin' BBQ! This involved quite a hike for everyone, but we got to see our Janesville … Continue reading Bob’s Bitchin’ BBQ
We follow an Alaskan Malamute rescue, IAMRA, and we try to support them. My parents look there first when they're looking for a new dog, and they've been wonderful. I follow them in their private Facebook Group for prior adopters, and they put a call out for transport help this week. An elderly, blind and deaf, … Continue reading Floofer Transport!
My car has been violently starting lately... shaking and shuddering and sounding downright awful. It's especially bad since the cold weather started. So I finally brought it in to the shop, and my husband was wonderful and drove me to work Thursday and Friday. Turns out a gasket wasn't sealing, so it was tricking the … Continue reading My Car Has Been Violently Starting
The last of the presents I've ordered have arrived! Nothing big, but I did almost all of my shopping online during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and now everything is accounted for. *smile* We were within budget, and we were able to find gifts for everyone in our immediate family. I spent last night wrapping … Continue reading Wrapped and Ready To Go!
So, when I got my dental insurance for the first time since 2002, I got to go in and get my teeth checked. FOURTEEN YEARS of no dental care, just desperate brushing. At the time, they flagged a ridiculous number of problem areas but only focused on the badly cracked tooth and three large cavities … Continue reading How Many Cavities Did You Say?!?
There's a lot of unusual plants I would like to grow, or just ones that aren't usually carried by the seed companies that sell in stores in our area. I ran across the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed website when I was looking for my mom's favorite, Buttercup Squash. You can see their listing for it … Continue reading Rare Seeds Catalog Has Arrived!
I've mentioned it before, but my husband has huge gut issues. He appears to have Celiac's and almost certainly a corn allergy/intolerance, but no matter how careful we are with his food, he just keeps getting sicker. I mean, he's down to rice, peas, and eggs. It's that dire. And if he so much as … Continue reading All Meat Diet for My Husband?
What does that mean? It means if you go to Amazon from any affiliate link I provide, and you purchase anything (not just the item I link to), I'll receive a percentage of that sale. It doesn't cost you anything, but it helps me out! So, what this means is that anytime I link to … Continue reading I’m an Amazon Affiliate!
My first guest post from none other than my dad! I'm so excited to share his writing. We've been encouraging him to post publicly for years! *smile* Anyway, here he is! Originally written February 12th, 2015 but never shared with the public. Heading photo: the dogs involved. The laugh of the day came early. I … Continue reading The Grump: The Running of the Squirrels
This weekend, my father-in-law was going through the freezer, and he sent home some frozen salmon with us from one of his fishing trips. "Just cut off the not-pink parts," he said. It was a little freezer burned. Mistake #1: Assuming it would take some time to thaw. Mistake #2: Not putting it in a … Continue reading What is This New and Exciting Smell I’ve Discovered?
Last Sunday, I went to bed with nary a snowflake in sight. At 4:30am Monday morning, the text came in - our office was closed! Which prompted me dragging myself out of bed and canceling appointments. Meanwhile, I looked outside, and it didn't look particularly bad. Little did I know that they hadn't plowed the … Continue reading Had a Snow Day!
