The Homestead

Help I am chronically indecisive!

2010-09-19T20:38:00.003-06:00

My Living Room

I really want to decorate my living room. So it will feel a little more like me. I love the western vibe too but I feel it could use some color and a feminine touch. I can't move forward until I pick a main color. These are my little "design boards" to help me pick. Its really not helping.

Wedding Album

2009-06-21T20:54:00.003-06:00

Today was my sixth wedding anniversary. Six years folks! We have grown so much and learned so much more, but that is many other stories not to be told today. Today I wanted to show you something that means so very much to me.

A wedding album made for me by my grandmother out of the same material of my wedding dress.

It is embroidered with our wedding date and edged with a matching gold cord and best of all filled with all of our special memories from that day.

How cute was TJ as a little buckaroo. Also you can see our wedding announcement from the local paper which comes out only once a week.

Here's our invitations. We saved money and had a family member take our pictures. I was going for an antique feel. This is the one thing that I look back and wish I had done a little different. Especially when I see all the really great invitations that our friends send out now.

The rest will have to wait for another day.

But back to this. I am so grateful to have such an amazing gift that brings a smile to my face every time I see it. It reminds me of my grandma, her creativity, her love, my wedding day, that fabric...I searched everywhere for the perfect fabric and after I did she went back to the store and bought the very last piece. It makes me think of being young and in love, and how I felt as I attempted to plan every perfect detail of what I thought was the most important day of my life...but it was only the beginning.

The boots

2009-06-11T21:57:00.003-06:00

Aren't these boots adorable. I had to have them for my little Tyke.

Camo tops are the coolest thing right now for 2 years olds. The only problem, the tops wore his chubby little calf raw. So the best solution...

I removed the straps that were causing him pain and suffering. They're still cute right?

Bulbs

2009-06-03T18:52:00.006-06:00

On Sunday my very sweet grandma stopped by and brought me these bulbs.

Yard work has become a bad word at our house. We are in a constant battle with our yard. This year it seems to be winning. So I have had no time to really think about what to add, only to dream about a weed killer that kills everything I don't want and leaves everything I do. The Dyer's Wode really took its toll on me. I have had no desire to weed any other beds. Last year we threw down mulch and really didn't worry about it.

Our other battle, the water. We have a sprinkler system, but it doesn't reach all the areas. So we have to manually turn on each area and screw it to the garden hose. Not that tragic I know, but has been a challenge to keep these areas alive. We lost two shrubs that were planted right in front of the house. That is where I am going to plant these lovely bulbs. It will be so nice to have one beautiful clean area amidst all the chaos.

First I picked the spot...or it really picked itself when the trees died and my grandma said "What were you planning to plant there?"

First dig a trench about 5 inches deep and 3 feet across. These bulbs need to be planted 6 inches apart and about 4-5 inches deep.

Place the bulbs in their new little home.

Now cover the bulbs with about 3 inches of dirt. This will help speed the growth process. After the bulb sprouts then add more dirt to aid with support.

Water well.

I mean really good, but be careful to press down the dirt first so that your bulbs don't float up. Thats it. Now the package says it may be 6 weeks until you see growth, but I'm thinking it will be sooner. Now I will plant the other half of the bulbs in about two weeks, to keep the color around a bit longer. But since I have no flowers to show you, I'll give you an update on my strawberries.

They are suprisingly doing very well! Next year there will be jam, even if its just one jar.

Cloud up and rain all over

2009-06-01T21:31:00.003-06:00

When I was younger my grandma used to tell me "I'm going to cloud up and rain all over you." This is exaclty how I pictured that happening in my head.

This has been quite a year for storms. This one rolled in Sunday afternoon and I just had to get a picture.

Never Scrub a Tub Again

2009-05-18T22:27:00.001-06:00

I hate scrubbing the bathroom. The harsh cleaners burn my throat and lungs. And I honestly have better things to do with my life. So to solve my problem I have found the best miracle cleaner there is for a dirty bathroom...a tub.

After cleaning up the clutter and either vacuuming or sweeping the floor, partially fill your tub with very hot water.

You only need a few inches or so. More water won't make it cleaner, so no need to be wasteful.

And then close the door and forget about it for 20 min or so. Just until everything has really steamed up. Now if its the first time or your bathroom has had a rough week then you can spray it down with a homemade multi-purpose cleaner before closing the door.

After you've given it time to not only get nice and steamy, but pretty drippy, don't write on the mirror. I just makes one more mess to clean up. Take two rags, one for the tub and counter, the other for the floor and toilet. Then just wipe everything dry. You will be amazed at how easily everthing comes clean. If the ring around the tub doesn't wipe as easily, you can use a magic eraser, but it shouldn't need it once you start doing this easy trick once a week.

This same concept works with the microwave and a glass of water. Now go find something to do with all the free time you have, since you don't scrub tubs anymore either!

The White Shirt

2009-05-16T15:46:00.001-06:00

Last week, TJ helped the Palmer family brand calves. He wore this white shirt. He has worn this shirt for three years to almost all the brandings.

Its light weight, has two pockets, and does not attract heat from the sun. It's the perfect shirt for being out in the elements all day.

See that blood on the sleeve, and the spatters up the arm. That's how the whole shirt pretty much looked with dirt and cow manure added in to make it good-n-dirty. He does this same thing for our cows, and several other outfits throughout the year, and it always involves at least one of the three things that made this shirt dirty (blood, dirt, and cow manure). I needed to find a way to keep this shirt in business for a little while longer.

I rinsed the shirt well, and scrubbed the bad stains with Ivory bar soap. Then set it to soak in my special mixture of 4 tablespoons of my homemade laundry soap and 1/2 of a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Finishing it off with enough hot water to keep it emersed in liquid. (I had to weigh it down with a heavy candle after the bubbles started to form.)

It soaked for 24 hours, but it really only needed overnight. I then tossed it in the washer, and put it through a soak and heavy wash cycle with HOT water. I added vinegar to the softener cup because its a good laundry softener, and it couldn't hurt. Just use regular laundry soap and a healthy shake of washing soda for this load.

After letting it dry in the sunlight it came out pirty dang clean. Not even a ring around the collar. It might be a possibility that all of the above mentioned steps are not necessary, but don't ask me which ones. It seems to really do the trick and save a lot of money in new clothes. Hopefully you don't have the same nightmare in your laundry, but if you do this might help.