This and That

I thought I would share a few things and answer a few questions that I’ve received. I probably won’t be online much over the next few days, so I thought I would take this opportunity while I’m thinking of it! I have so much going through my brain these days that if I don’t do things when I’m thinking of it, poof! It’s gone forever. I sure hope there are others of you like that out there and that I’m not alone.😬💜

I was asked where we bought our living room furniture in my last post. It was from Nebraska Furniture Mart, which Connie guessed correctly. It is the biggest furniture store in the region now from what I’m told. We bought furniture from them over 43 years ago when they were just a normal little furniture store. My goodness it has grown! The rug was purchased from Costco and I bought the curtains from Amazon before we even chose the furniture. We have ordered a sofa for the family room from Nebraska Furniture Mart also, but isn’t supposed to be in until September.

First off, I finished Miss Piper’s blanket. Here it is all folded up on the bed in her room. Most of my quilts are coming in the POD so I just have a granny afghan as her bed cover right now. The teddy bear is mine from when I was a little girl. He’s pretty threadbare in places but I still love him. Those three gray furry pillows and the black one also came with the living room furniture. I have four pillows on the loveseat and sofa now which was more than enough. Who needs seven pillows?!!

A little bit closer look at the border. It’s just simple single and double crochet. The size should be big enough for her double bed.

When I mentioned the toilet in the basement that has no sink and no place to really put one, several of you suggested this handy little toilet tank lid that takes the water you wash your hands with and fills the tank for the next flush. Thank you so much! I don’t know why I didn’t think of this myself as many, many of the toilets in Japan use the same kind of tank lid. I have this one in my Amazon cart for Dennis to look at when we get back home. This would solve all of our issues wouldn’t it? And it’s under $100! It still wouldn’t be an actual bathroom but at least you could wash your hands.

A good friend at our church in Spokane sent me this picture of my handsome hubby speaking for the last time to the congregation there last week. It’s very sad to leave them all. This same friend was just diagnosed with a brain tumor late Sunday night. Her name is Marilyn and I would really appreciate prayers for her. She beat breast cancer a few years ago and it really saddens me to think of her going through even more illness.

I thought the picture below was beautiful. I love the colors of the flowers and the “Flutter-bys” as my mom always called them.

Wishing you all a lovely week. It’s very, very warm and humid here again today so I hope you are all finding a way to stay cool. 

Blessings and love, 

Betsy

Hot Sunday

Happy Sunday everyone. It’s been a good day. After Sunday school and church, my sister and I came back to the house and had lunch together and visited for a while. After Melanie left, I went out to Mandy & Brad’s house. We girls wanted to do a little bit of shopping and then Piper wanted me to watch a movie with her. We watched the new Disney movie “Raya and the last Dragon.” It was really good. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I enjoyed it. Probably the best part was lying on the couch with Piper cuddled up next to me and both of us covered with a blanket. The blanket sounds ridiculous since it was hot today, but it felt good with the air conditioning and sitting under the ceiling fan. Moments like this make the move worth it every time. Afterwards I came home and spent a couple of hours with Mom. I have two more days before I fly away to Spokane. I hope we don’t have any of those people you see on the news who get in fights with the flight attendants over masks!

I thought I would share a few photos of our new living room furniture. I finally remembered to take pictures during the daylight hours.

To my eyes it looks a bit crowded but then again, I was used to it with no furniture at all. My sister really likes the loveseats and might order two of them. Mandy says they’re the most comfortable couches she has ever sat on! I have to agree.

Dennis and I found the rug at Costco the day before he went back to Spokane. We had an electrician put the ceiling fan in before we got here. We know how important ceiling fans are in the summertime here. We’re going to replace the light on the far right by the front door.

The photos really don’t show just how well the colors all match. There’s a blue pattern in both of the chairs that matches the rug perfectly and the grays in the curtains match everything. Even though they weren’t bought together, it seems to work.  

This is the light that we’re thinking about getting to hang by the door.

Here’s a better picture of the shape on the box, however this photo makes it look like bronze and it’s really brushed nickel.
I finished two more pair of mittens in the last couple of days and I’m still working on the border of Piper‘s blanket.

I posted this on Facebook, but thought I would share it here too. I thought it was hilarious because it is so true.

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday and always remember who to thank for all of the many blessings that we have. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Love and blessings, 

Betsy

This and That and Some Travel Too!

I bet you can’t guess where I’m flying off to next week? If you guessed Spokane, you would be right. I’m flying in on Wednesday afternoon so I can drive back with Dennis on Saturday and Sunday. He’s done that drive too many times by himself and it will also give me a chance to say goodbye again to some friends. I want to make the drive with him, but I do not want to say goodbye again. Goodbyes are very hard!

Is anyone up for a tour of my utility room/pantry? Oh,it is so exciting! So elegant. Ha! First up is Kleenex, toilet paper and paper towels. Would you believe I had all of this long before Covid hit? I usually try to keep a stock of all three on hand and in the RV we could not use this kind of toilet paper. We kept it in storage and it’s coming in handy now. Apparently that bucket hanging from the handle is used when the sprinkler system is drained in the fall. Mustn’t misplace that.😀

On the opposite wall is where I keep the canned and dry goods. This is all that is left from what I had before we moved into the trailer. I have purchased a few things since we’ve been here like the boxes of Suddenly Salad on top along with a few other items, but the rest came from Washington with me and also in the U-Haul.

The house came with an extra refrigerator and freezer. The freezer is not turned on yet, but we’re making good use of the refrigerator. That rolled up paper on the top of the refrigerator is the original abstract of the house that we found way in the back of a cabinet. We thought it may be fun to look it over sometime when we have a few minutes or hours.

And a throne! Mind you, it is just the toilet. There is no sink and no place to wash your hands. Who puts a toilet somewhere with no place to clean your hands? Once Dennis is here, he’s going to try to figure out some thing, but with the furnace and water heater also in this tiny room, we’re not sure what we’ll do. Did you notice that the toilet paper holder on the floor is an overturned metal bucket? We are really fancy in this house! No plastic buckets for us!😂

I think I’ve already shown you the China cabinet the previous owners left us and I’ve probably already shown you my grandmothers China, but I just love this. I think it’s my favorite piece of furniture that they left behind. The table and chairs are nice too.

Remember my little $.25 dead ivy plant that I got from Walmart? That is it there in the center. It has just grown and grown and grown. I think it was a pretty good use of $.25!

I finished a pair of mittens while over at Mom’s house today. I also made the first one of another pair and have barely cast on for the second mitten.

The mittens are laying on the blanket that I’m making for Piper. It doesn’t look like it, but it is about the size of a double bed. I have just started the border. This color isn’t showing as the true color.

A close-up of the stitches. I’m using a size J crochet hook and Loops and Threads Soft and Shiny yarn, in the turquoise colorway.

This next picture shows the color as it truly is. It is also showing you the cool ties that I bought from Amazon. I was going to make my own, but by the time I bought the little beads that go inside I could have bought a dozen of these ties! I don’t think I need that many. I’m told I just have to soak them in water for about 20 minutes and they last around your neck for 4 1/2 to 5 hours. On the back of the package are the directions. They are all in a foreign language with not one word of English. I sent a picture of the directions to Alex, because although I knew it wasn’t Japanese, it did resemble Chinese to me. He wrote back to me this morning laughing and said it’s actually Korean!

I’ve spent some time with Mandy, Piper, Mom, my sister, niece and nephew this week. It has been wonderful being around family. I drove around my hometown for awhile Monday afternoon. I stopped for quite a while and looked at the house I grew up in.  It looks so small compared to what I remember! I remember the yard being huge and the driveway really long as we were shoveling it in the winter. The house itself even looks much smaller. Oh the memories that came flooding back as I drove up and down the streets. I remember walks to school and playing with friends on the siren house porch. We would cover our ears when the siren went off at 6:00 every night and everyone would run home because we knew it was dinner time. The innocent times of years ago. That same siren goes off when there’s a tornado warning.

It’s hard to believe that by next weekend all of our belongings will be here in Nebraska and Dennis and I will be on our way driving. The POD has been picked up and will be delivered here next week. We have a week to empty it before they retrieve it.

It’s been very warm here and it’s supposed to be even hotter and more humid by the weekend. Piper is in a parade with her 4H club on Saturday and I’m looking forward to going to see her. Tomorrow I will be going to buy some sunscreen!

I hope you are all having a good week and being thankful for the blessings that we have. I know I am thankful that Covid seems to be waning, at least in our area. I’m still praying for Teresa‘s family every day, as I can’t imagine what they’re going through this year. Teresa loved the summer months and enjoying all of her flowers and the farm yard. It has to be especially difficult for Dayle during this time of year. I miss her blog posts and her texts to me. Please remember Dayle, Travis, Shawn and Amy along with the rest of the family in your prayers.

Much love and blessings to you all,

Betsy