Who said retirement would be fun??? lol

Half way through day two of retirement. I am beginning to think daycare was easier. A month or so ago, we had new kitchen windows put it. The carpenter messaged twice, told the lumber yard the brand and size of windows being replaced, but low and behold when the windows arrived they were too big for the openings. Now what?? Simple solution, make the opening bigger. If you have ever had work done on a 100 + year old house, you know that it is never simple. A job that should have taken a half a morning took a day and a half. I have a floor to ceiling pantry that sits right next to one of the windows. It was full of fine sawdust, leftover from the sawing the openings larger. At that same time I was having a lot of trouble with my knee and I took the lazy way out and vacuumed out what I could without moving things. Well, I decided the time had come to do the job right and re-organize at the same time. And the next thing I knew, I had cleaned out and re-organized all of the kitchen cupboards. 

Kitchen pantry

Before

After

Who said retirement would be relaxing. But I love the new windows that let in a lot more light and air and I am loving clean and organized cupboards. Now for a nap. LOL

Only a half day left.

Been a very busy summer. I keep hoping things will slow down but not yet. Maybe after Monday. Monday is my last day of daycare. At 1:00 p.m. that chapter of my life will be over. I gathered and cleaned all my daycare things that I have used for a lot of years. I had almost 400 kid books alone. Hubby would say,” Do you really need another book in the house?” Guess he was right. I had quite a library. But I love books, especially kid books. After I cleaned out the toy room, the toy pantry, a large shelf in the kitchen, baby furniture stored upstairs, high chairs, strollers, outside toys etc., I had one side of the garage full. Decided I didn't really want to sit out there a whole Saturday selling so I decided to sell all of it as a huge lot. I hoped someone starting out would want it all. Swap sites on Facebook are very popular right now. I spent one evening joining about 5 different sites. On Saturday, I took put similar items together, took pictures and posted. Within two hours I had everything sold as one huge lot. A young gal was opening a daycare and took it all. And I was only thirty dollars shy of my asking price. What a relief that was. Still have a crib to get rid of, needed it till Monday, but I am not concerned about that. Daughter no.4 and family came home last weekend and painted the toy room for us. Hubby had put Kilz on the blue but not the yellow. Well, I guess he should have because the whole room took two coats. Boy, are they good painters, even the two girls. Did a great job.

Check out the before and after pictures. 

Before

After

I always loved doing puzzles. Haven't done one in years, unless you count kid puzzles. Have done a few of those over the years. I had almost 50 box and wood kid puzzles. I bought myself a 1000 piece puzzle of a house on a lake with all the wildlife and nature that goes with it... A granddaughter came up with the idea to make it a puzzle room and hang the finished puzzles on the walls. So that is my plan, doing puzzles and filling the walls with them. My first one should be just right for above the table. Should be fun.

I am going to miss the daycare kids and parents but at the same time, I am really excited to have my days to myself for the first time since I was a kid. 

Have a relaxing weekend,

Rose

Straw Bale Garden Update

Our straw bale garden is growing right long. But it does require a lot of watering. I suppose if we didn't  live on the edge of town but more in the middle it wouldn't be so. We get so much more wind up here. I can walk down the street a couple of blocks and it will be almost calm. Add on the fact that it has been in up 80’s and lower 90’s and sunny and you have to water every day. We definitely could use a couple of rainy days. Forecast sounds like maybe Saturday night and most of Sunday will be rainy. Who would have thought that with the rainy, cold spring we had, that we would be praying for rain. But then again, we live in the Midwest.

This straw bale gardening has been an exciting experience for Macey.

Our first harvest was small. Macey was so excited about the green beans and wanted to pick them.

Tomatoes on this plant are getting bigger. The plant the rabbit ate off is growing back but slowly.

Cucumbers are being a bit pokie.

      

 What is a flower garden in rural Iowa without Holly Hocks. 

Rose

Crappie Fishing Fun in Iowa

Every summer friends of ours in North Carolina come home to Iowa to spend a week with their family. One of the highlights of the week is their annual fishing day at a local farm pond with my hubby. Every year they have stories to tell, but this year it was a  video story. What a fun time they have. Plus they always catch enough fish for fish fry. Fun weekend.

Enjoy,
Rose

Iowa Sunset on the Eve of the Fourth

This year we have a cornfield behind us. It blocks our view a bit, especially when it comes to sunsets. But I was pleasantly surprised how beautiful the sunset was last night. Love summertime in Iowa.

       Have a happy, fun and safe Independence Day.
                                       Rose