Last night at work was a freaking nightmare. When I got there, I got the lovely news that EVERYTHING was broken, from rehang all the way through the end of my department, debone. First shift left us a lot of stuff to do that they couldn't finish because of the breakdowns, but we still got out at a reasonable time. It could have been a lot worse than it was, that is for sure. I wore my old rubber boots with the fuzzy liners last night, and while my feet are a bit sore as they don't have any real support or cushion in them, at least I came out of the night with dry, warmish feet.
I got a bit more needlework done and some writing done yesterday, which was nice, and today I'm going in a bit later than I have so I can get a bit more cleaning done around here. My bedroom trash can is overflowing again and the cat boxes need a deep cleaning, plus my desk in the living room has become a cat playpen for some reason, so sometime this week, I've got to get at that and redo it as well so it's neater. And apparently, my poor sneakers are cat toys. Raffles and Tink love to play with the laces and rub their faces all over them! Bouncer and Smudge just sprawl on the bed and snooze at my feet. Ah, the joys of winter homesteading.
I really, really need my more or less one-room cabin, lol. Someday, I'll have what I want, and I won't be retirement age when I get it, either. Plans are for it all to happen in the next ten years or less, and each day that goes by brings me a step closer to it. I'm blessed with reasonably okay health (I could have better heart health, but what can you do when it's enlarged and skips beats on a regular basis?), loving cats, good friends, a decent place to live, and a good job. I am often surprised, however, with everyone who tells me that I inspire them by the life I lead. I love y'all, but y'all are WEIRD. I get told frequently also how folks would love to life the kind of life I do, with the homesteading and all, and I want to ask them, so what's stopping you? You can homestead even in the city. Self-reliance is a way of life, and anybody can do it.
Don't believe me? Get a few ebooks on urban homesteading, or homesteading in the city, or microfarming. I know people who grow all their non-meat food in their backyard and they only have a quarter-acre of land. Check into vertical gardening and hydroponics as well. Heck, if you're in an apartment, see about putting some plants on the roof, or a few pots on your balcony. If you really can't grow anything anywhere, just stock up on non-perishables like crazy. You wouldn't believe the hidey holes you've got going to waste for food storage - corners of cupboards, behind the couch, under the TV stand, under the bed, in the closet (shelves and floors). Minimalize to what you really need and get rid of stuff that you never use to make more space for storing food. (This also negates the need to run to the store and fight crowds while dealing with empty store shelves in case of an emergency of some kind.) Seriously, homesteading is more a state of mind than anything else. If you're doing things to make yourself more self-reliant, you are homesteading. Go ahead. Jump on in! The water's just fine!
*****
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Yesterday was a disaster
Work was a nightmare. They decided it would be a good idea over Sunday to retool the tender lines, where I work. I can't talk about what they did exactly, because it's considered company confidential information. However, I can say it's a stupid thing to have done, because now the tender lines are way wet, unless you turn off the water, which means the line won't run right. That really wouldn't be a major issue, other than a lot of that water comes down the line WITH the meat, and drops off the line to the floor right where I have to stand. So I got drenched from the knees down last night. By the time we got off work, my sneakers were so soaked, I had basically been standing in shoes full of ice water for several hours, so I squelched when I walked! It's a good thing I was wearing my woolies, which helped a little bit, though not much.
The best part of wool socks is the way they wick moisture away from your body. Mind, when you're getting drenched, they don't do much because they're getting soaked, too. Mine were so wet when I got home that the whole foot was wringing wet. My jeans are still wet, so it's a different pair of pants for work today. My shoes had to be put upside down on the radiator heater for over an hour to get dried out at all. So, much as my feet will hate them because there's no cushion (and I have high arches), I'm going back to my rubber boots and fuzzy liners for waterproofed feet and some warmth from the liners, because those boots are darned cold otherwise.
Didn't get home till around 3AM from work, but I did have something on Hulu, so I watched/listened to that while I worked a bit more on Mom's lap quilt. That quilting is tiring. The thing is just puffy enough that I can't "rock" the needle, by instering it from the top through to the back, tilting it sideways and just pushing it back up for the stitch. I have to poke it through, shift my hand to pull it through a bit, and then push it back up through to finish the stitch. I have the diamond quilting around the center butterfly done, which was the hardest because it's in the middle, and I'm starting on another one. As long as I have something to watch on my computer, I can get a bit done every night. Well, that and as long as I don't have to work so late that it's 4AM or later when I get home, haha! I've done that a few too many times to find it fun any more, especially when I'm 46!
*****
The best part of wool socks is the way they wick moisture away from your body. Mind, when you're getting drenched, they don't do much because they're getting soaked, too. Mine were so wet when I got home that the whole foot was wringing wet. My jeans are still wet, so it's a different pair of pants for work today. My shoes had to be put upside down on the radiator heater for over an hour to get dried out at all. So, much as my feet will hate them because there's no cushion (and I have high arches), I'm going back to my rubber boots and fuzzy liners for waterproofed feet and some warmth from the liners, because those boots are darned cold otherwise.
Didn't get home till around 3AM from work, but I did have something on Hulu, so I watched/listened to that while I worked a bit more on Mom's lap quilt. That quilting is tiring. The thing is just puffy enough that I can't "rock" the needle, by instering it from the top through to the back, tilting it sideways and just pushing it back up for the stitch. I have to poke it through, shift my hand to pull it through a bit, and then push it back up through to finish the stitch. I have the diamond quilting around the center butterfly done, which was the hardest because it's in the middle, and I'm starting on another one. As long as I have something to watch on my computer, I can get a bit done every night. Well, that and as long as I don't have to work so late that it's 4AM or later when I get home, haha! I've done that a few too many times to find it fun any more, especially when I'm 46!
*****
Monday, January 12, 2015
Happy birthday!
All the best today to my wonderful daughter, on her 22nd birthday. I have the BEST daughter in the world. Amazing, smart, talented, gorgeous, yadda yadda. Yeah, I'm a proud momma. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
*****
*****
Sunday, January 11, 2015
My one day off ...
And I get sick. Well, not sick-sick, just not quite feeling the thing today. Got a lot done in bits and pieces. Laundry (still need to put it away), some staple groceries which are put up, cleaned litter boxes, took care of trash, got my shower in, had a nice lunch at Western Sizzlin' which is surprisingly staying down, and now I get to relax for a bit before putting the laundry away and having some dinner.
I also had a nice long chat with my Mom, and we talked for nearly 90 minutes. There's always so much to talk about over a week's time, and I love being able to connect with her. I do need to get her a magnifier light for all her stitchery. Her eyes aren't what they used to be and she could use something especially for helping her see to do her needlework. Her lap quilt is coming along on the final touches. I have a little bit of seaming to do to put the pieces of the backing together yet, then I can do the trimming to size and all the rest of it. I wish I could be there to see her face when she opens it!!! I will have to tell her she cannot open it until we are talking on the phone, so I can at least hear her comments, lol. Got a short load of wood delivered yesterday after work to a guy I know from work who needed some. He only lives about ten minutes away from the plant, so even with helping to unload the wood, I was still heading home at a reasonable hour.
While at the store, I picked up some ginger ale for my upset tummy. Trust me, even if you hate the stuff, if you have a tummy that is soured or a bit crampy from tummy flu, lots of tea (preferably mint) and ginger ale. They'll keep you from shouting groceries, keep you hydrated, and will naturally soothe the upset tummy and stop the spasming. A few swallows of ginger ale, and I got mine settled enough that I was able to take a nap for about as long as I also talked to Mom, so I'm feeling much better. Wishing I had a few more days off, though, just for the sake of staying home and goofing off. But it's back to work tomorrow and back to mucking about with the chickens! In the meantime, it's write a page or two a day on a book(let), and work on stuff for the webstore and my at-home job (eventually). It's so exciting!!
*****
I also had a nice long chat with my Mom, and we talked for nearly 90 minutes. There's always so much to talk about over a week's time, and I love being able to connect with her. I do need to get her a magnifier light for all her stitchery. Her eyes aren't what they used to be and she could use something especially for helping her see to do her needlework. Her lap quilt is coming along on the final touches. I have a little bit of seaming to do to put the pieces of the backing together yet, then I can do the trimming to size and all the rest of it. I wish I could be there to see her face when she opens it!!! I will have to tell her she cannot open it until we are talking on the phone, so I can at least hear her comments, lol. Got a short load of wood delivered yesterday after work to a guy I know from work who needed some. He only lives about ten minutes away from the plant, so even with helping to unload the wood, I was still heading home at a reasonable hour.
While at the store, I picked up some ginger ale for my upset tummy. Trust me, even if you hate the stuff, if you have a tummy that is soured or a bit crampy from tummy flu, lots of tea (preferably mint) and ginger ale. They'll keep you from shouting groceries, keep you hydrated, and will naturally soothe the upset tummy and stop the spasming. A few swallows of ginger ale, and I got mine settled enough that I was able to take a nap for about as long as I also talked to Mom, so I'm feeling much better. Wishing I had a few more days off, though, just for the sake of staying home and goofing off. But it's back to work tomorrow and back to mucking about with the chickens! In the meantime, it's write a page or two a day on a book(let), and work on stuff for the webstore and my at-home job (eventually). It's so exciting!!
*****
Saturday, January 10, 2015
WHY????
Why are we working on Saturday again? There's still two more at least after this! Ugh! I hate working weekends!!! The cats all decided the bed was really comfy last night, as I woke up this morning with really warm feet and no way to move. Even Raffles was even up here again, and for the first 7time, didn't scram away as soon as I started to move. She lay with the others and watched me pet the adults. She didn't leave until I got up to feed everybody, just relaxed and kittyloafed.
As to working today, mind, I really don't mind too much about working as far as the money goes, but I do like my rest and relaxation time. Of course, if plans go through for the retooling at the plant and a month or so, I'll have two to three weeks of rest and relaxation time. At that rate, I could get a lot of needlework done, including an extra afghan! My goal is to have six or seven afghans on the bed for winter warmth when it gets really chilly, so I might not be able to move around too well in bed, but I'd sure be awful toasty!
*****
As to working today, mind, I really don't mind too much about working as far as the money goes, but I do like my rest and relaxation time. Of course, if plans go through for the retooling at the plant and a month or so, I'll have two to three weeks of rest and relaxation time. At that rate, I could get a lot of needlework done, including an extra afghan! My goal is to have six or seven afghans on the bed for winter warmth when it gets really chilly, so I might not be able to move around too well in bed, but I'd sure be awful toasty!
*****
Friday, January 9, 2015
Funny kitties
The cats are so funny today. Smudge has finally gotten to where he doesn't get mad at the girls, particularly Tinkerbell, as much unless one of them startles him. Last night, they were all snuggled at my feet on the bed, doing the communal bathing thing. Then Bouncer wanted to play with Smudge, they rolled around into the laptop and Tink, and all four of them started in wresting at my feet, swatting at each other and beating the crap out of each other, all without any hissing and snarling, just general kitty play. It was hysterical, and I couldn't stop laughing.
Which kind of made it hard to do anything towards crocheting or knitting or working on finishing Mom's lap quilt. Seriously, the one night I get a chance to work on things while I feel good. heart lately has been acting up some - sucks having LVH and an irregular heartbeat, but not enough to get me on disability, even though I can barely move most days, between that and the fibro. How sick do I have to be? I like working, but geez, I'd rather not work and hurt so much. But since I am not "disabled enough" (whatever THAT is - dang near dead?) and "can work without medications" (because they're all narcotics I can't take while working anyhow under company policy), and because disability would be less than $1000 a month for me right now (and I make more than that by about $400 a month on average), I'm kind of stuck working till the business is booming and takes off. Oh well, soon, I think, it will be better, as I line up wholesale and dropship distributors for things I want to carry in the webstore. Mostly books and stuff for things I personally enjoy, particularly in the crafting and gardening department, for stuff I don't do myself.
As an example, if I make soaps and sell those, I can also carry the supplies others can use to make soaps themselves. Knitting and crocheting? Make and sell stuff, but also sell notions (needles, hooks, and the like) and yarns. Embroidery? Carry the kits and notions. Quilting? Mostly notions unless I can dropship things like quilting frames and such. Gardening? Tools and other supplies. And of course, books on everything. I don't intend on making it an all-encompassing store for everything homesteady, just for the kinds of things I will be making and selling myself, so it also makes sense to carry other people's stuff that fall into the same categories. It may be ambitious or stupid or whatever, to some, but to me, at least it will be some extra income coming in over time, and it can be built up to be a good business. Wondering if I should do a gofundme or indiegogo campaign to get the funds together and offering a lifetime discount to supporters of, say $5 and up. Whatcha think, FB and blogger peeps?
*****
Which kind of made it hard to do anything towards crocheting or knitting or working on finishing Mom's lap quilt. Seriously, the one night I get a chance to work on things while I feel good. heart lately has been acting up some - sucks having LVH and an irregular heartbeat, but not enough to get me on disability, even though I can barely move most days, between that and the fibro. How sick do I have to be? I like working, but geez, I'd rather not work and hurt so much. But since I am not "disabled enough" (whatever THAT is - dang near dead?) and "can work without medications" (because they're all narcotics I can't take while working anyhow under company policy), and because disability would be less than $1000 a month for me right now (and I make more than that by about $400 a month on average), I'm kind of stuck working till the business is booming and takes off. Oh well, soon, I think, it will be better, as I line up wholesale and dropship distributors for things I want to carry in the webstore. Mostly books and stuff for things I personally enjoy, particularly in the crafting and gardening department, for stuff I don't do myself.
As an example, if I make soaps and sell those, I can also carry the supplies others can use to make soaps themselves. Knitting and crocheting? Make and sell stuff, but also sell notions (needles, hooks, and the like) and yarns. Embroidery? Carry the kits and notions. Quilting? Mostly notions unless I can dropship things like quilting frames and such. Gardening? Tools and other supplies. And of course, books on everything. I don't intend on making it an all-encompassing store for everything homesteady, just for the kinds of things I will be making and selling myself, so it also makes sense to carry other people's stuff that fall into the same categories. It may be ambitious or stupid or whatever, to some, but to me, at least it will be some extra income coming in over time, and it can be built up to be a good business. Wondering if I should do a gofundme or indiegogo campaign to get the funds together and offering a lifetime discount to supporters of, say $5 and up. Whatcha think, FB and blogger peeps?
*****
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Tired of cold already
And we're going to have this mess for about a week. Ugh. It was miserable yesterday, with the low dropping to ONE degree. Despite heat in the house, the place isn't that well insulated, so it's a good thing we keep multiple water dishes around the house for the cats. The main one on the living room floor actually froze to where the cats can't break the ice to get at it. The canned cat food in the walk-in pantry has frozen as well. Kind of hard to whack it out of a can to feed them in the morning, but they don't care. They just gnaw on it anyhow.
I am really wishing business was going gung ho, but it's going to take about $600 to get going (website and hosting for a year, some inventory though most will be dropshipped stuff, wholesaler's merchant listing - the best one costs $300 lifetime membership, and SSL certificate). I can't wait, because having to leave home to work is ridiculous, and I know once things get rolling, I can make more from the webstore than from my current job, and be happier with it.
I did get an inventory listing of everything I've had up on Etsy done last night. It isn't much, but I have more to photograph and get listed in the file. So there's that going on, needlework, etc. I also managed, since I was having a sick day (ugh!) to get the totes of stuff to photograph from the front bedroom while it was still halfway warm, along with the big empty one to store my to-do projects in. All are in the closet, handy for when needed right now.
I'd love to head right back to bed, but I can't. Work calls. Someday, it won't, and I'm going to be happy about that, but for now, I have to. Ugh, ugh, ugh. But hey, at least I don't live in Barrow, Alaska!
I am really wishing business was going gung ho, but it's going to take about $600 to get going (website and hosting for a year, some inventory though most will be dropshipped stuff, wholesaler's merchant listing - the best one costs $300 lifetime membership, and SSL certificate). I can't wait, because having to leave home to work is ridiculous, and I know once things get rolling, I can make more from the webstore than from my current job, and be happier with it.
I did get an inventory listing of everything I've had up on Etsy done last night. It isn't much, but I have more to photograph and get listed in the file. So there's that going on, needlework, etc. I also managed, since I was having a sick day (ugh!) to get the totes of stuff to photograph from the front bedroom while it was still halfway warm, along with the big empty one to store my to-do projects in. All are in the closet, handy for when needed right now.
I'd love to head right back to bed, but I can't. Work calls. Someday, it won't, and I'm going to be happy about that, but for now, I have to. Ugh, ugh, ugh. But hey, at least I don't live in Barrow, Alaska!
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