Behind On Updating

I am behind on updating because of a little ball of fur that entered our lives. I walked out on my back porch after hearing some small meows, and found 3 little kittens that scurried away and hid. I had assumed they were brought here by their momma, since I had been feeding a stray that looked pregnant, then she didn't, and then she disappeared. Unfortunately, these little ones did not seem to belong to anyone and they were so small. We tried catching them with no luck. That night, one was killed by something, the next night the other just disappeared, and then only one was left. It took us a couple of days to finally catch her, but we got her, took her to the vet and had her tested to make sure we could bring her into our 2 cat home safely.

The vet tech said she looked like she was about 4 weeks old! She tested negative for everything so inside she came. We gave her kitten formula and then a two days later, she got to see our vet. The vet figured 4-5 weeks, gave her a probiotic since there was some blood showing up when she made a bowel movement and gave her a clean bill of health. No worms, no parasites, no mites, nothing! The conclusion was she was not a stray but a cast-off. It seems that she and her littermates were dumped off and left to fend for themselves. Sadly, only this one made it. How can people be so cruel? This little one was not even old enough to be weaned!

Well, she adapted well, has gotten fat and sassy and is due for her shots on Thursday. She has grown like a weed and is no longer the skinny baby we finally caught. She was on a 2 hour feeding schedule at first and then it spread out a little longer. Unfortunately with this schedule it changed our family plans. My daughter flew in from the other side of the country to spend a week and celebrate her father's birthday with him and we had small trips scheduled, reservations made, etc., that had to be modified. We did local trips and my son stayed home to feed the kitten while we traveled into the city. My daughter had purchased tickets that couldn't be refunded so he insisted I go while he babysat. 

Hubby has always said was never a cat person, but our vet said it was because he never had his own cat and this one will change him. He was right. Hubby fell in love with this little girl and tells everyone she was his birthday present. She has brought lots of joy into our lives and certainly keeps us on our toes!

Diamond Painting Crafts

 

I needed to order a case to hold my essential oils and after looking all over, I found a cheap case on Temu. I needed a couple more dollars added to my order to have it shipped, so I picked up some very inexpensive diamond painting kits to brighten up the house. I've never done shapes or anything like these before and with the price point, I thought, "Why not?!" 

The kit came with a plastic sign, more than enough drills and gems and a hanger. It finished up quickly and was ready to hang in no time! I couldn't decide how I wanted to seal this, as there were the large gems and the plastic sign itself, so I opted for a glossy spray on sealant. Big mistake! The large gems lost their sparkle and look very matted. Oh well. I'll know better for next time!

Another diamond painting type craft I purchased was a set of 10 patriotic star coasters that came complete with a holder. The stars are wooden but don't have any cork backing. I'm not going to complain, because these were also very inexpensive. I'll just add my own cork backing. I will need to cut the cork in the shape of the stars, but that won't be a problem. 

I really wondered about sealing these guys. I purchased a gloss waterproof sealant made especially for diamond painting and did the bottom star (red center) with that. It turned out ok and still sparkles but the sealant looks a little weird between the drills. I used Mod Podge Dishwasher safe gloss, and honestly, it looks about the same, but felt sticky for a few days and takes a month to cure. The other 2 starts have not been sealed yet. I won't know how I like the sealers until I used the coasters to see if they become cloudy or get "weird". At the price I paid for these, I figured they would be the perfect projects to experiment with sealers on.

Homemade Melt & Pour Soap

Cocoa Marble DIY Soap

In the past, I made my own lye soap. It was nice, but the batches were quite large and I could only make one or 2 batches a year with the amount that I got. It was great when I was busy with a family, but now, it just doesn't appeal to me having to store all that soap. 

Now, I do melt & pour using a natural base. It's not terribly cost effective by using the natural (some other M&P bases are much cheaper), but I know what is in my soap and can tailor it to my needs. I still get all the benefits of homemade soap and I can do one bar at a time, allowing me to experiment and have something different in the soap dish, plus they make lovely gifts. As you can see in the above photo of the Cocoa Marble DIY Soap, it is quite impressive when completed. With just a few ingredients using the recipe found here , you can end up with a lovely bar of soap that nourishes, smells amazing, and looks different every time you make it. Being marbled, the soap changes as it is being used. I've gotten many compliments on it!

Years ago, when the kids were small, we bought a melt and pour soap kit that was on clearance at Walmart. The kids had fun with it, but that was the extent of our M&P soap making. Fast forward to 2020. I stumbled across a video of someone telling about a subscription to Simply Earth, a essential oil company that not only sold essential oils, but made a box that contained everything you would need to make projects using the oils, a big box of bottles and other supplies (sent every 6 subscription boxes) AND it came complete with a course on how to SAFELY use the oils. I looked into the company and it was owned and run by certified aromatherapists, had good oils and the price was very good, so I subscribed. I made many awesome products from the kits, but after my vaccination in 2021 and the bad reaction I had to it, I ended up suspending my subscription until I was able to function again. I'm finally back on the horse making things with the EO's and loving it! If you would like to look further into the Simply Earth Subscription box, you can get a total of $50 off by using my referral code: THERESAD504 You will receive $10 off each of the next 5 boxes totalling $50 of savings and I get a little for referring, too. Normally, I don't refer anyone to any product, but the savings and the product here are amazing and something I've used for a couple of years. Yes - this is a product I believe in, the course is great and the items are high quality. The subscription runs $45 a box at the time of this writing, but with 4 essential oils, recipe cards, lables, molds, bottles, diffusers, waxes, flowers, clays, oils,  bases, (and anything else you might need for that month's projects ), the cost is very reasonable, (you ALWAYS have leftovers!!) PLUS free shipping. This is the only subscriptioin I buy because it's worth every penny! 

Even if you aren't interested in subscribing, make sure to check out the recipes and the blog on their site. It's full of information and you don't have to subscribe to be able to make them! You can purchase the oils individually on the site (or elsewhere if you prefer) as well as all the other supplies needed. 

Life is Unpredictable

Our life went from quiet in 2022 to full of excitement in 2023. We were moving along quite well with the garden last year but for some reason I kept a close eye on my husband while he was outside doing things. It was odd of me to do that, but something just didn't seem right. Then the end of May came and I was out ready to work the front flower beds and I noticed him leaning over the wheelbarrow. I thought he was having issues with his back and I yelled up and asked him if he was ok. No answer. I walked up to him and asked again and he walked around to the side of the the wheelbarrow, said his chest and collapsed. He went into full cardiac arrest - but not from a heart attack but a birth defect that went undetected. My son has just gotten home from running errands and I yelled for him. He did CPR while I stayed on the phone with 911. Within minutes, EMS arrived and then transported him to our local hospital. A few days later he was transported to another hospital and had an aortic valve replacement. He is doing well now, but I look back and thank the good Lord that the niggle in my head that something was not right saved him. If I had gone on with my plans of working out in the front beds, he would have been alone and no longer with us.

Life has since settled back down. Hubby is now working in the garden again and seems to be doing quite well. God is good! 

This year is a year for change. We are close to retirement age and it's time to start thinking about purging things that aren't useful any longer. The kids have all grown up and have their own lives and they don't want all our treasures junk that is important only to us. It is time they need to be sorted, offered to the children and/or purged. I have stopped buying yarn and craft supplies and am now using what I have. I should have more than enough in my stash to last past this lifetime!! I had gotten into that "must buy now or it will be gone" mode. You know how crafting is - everything is a limited edition and if you don't buy it now, you're going to regret it in the future. I stopped all my subscriptions after hubby's operation and really haven't regretted it since. There are a few things I miss about them - mostly the excitement of opening the package and not knowing what is inside, but that excitement wears off quickly and the item ends up in the "someday" pile.

It is time to use what we have here. Over the past years, I've abandoned many of my make-it-from scratch ideals for the easier and more expensive prepared items. I really don't know why as the prepared items are of much lower quality. Food items taste less than delicious to absolutely unpalatable and are chemical/preservative laden plus so much is genetically modified. It was easy falling into that trap with only cooking for the two of us as it was so much easier to pull out something in a can or package instead of slaving over a hot stove! Oh how the lazies can easily creep into your life!

I'm back on the road of making from scratch. If I want it - I need to make it! Things are being cleaned off the pantry shelves and being replaced with staples that I preserved. Bread, crackers, cookies, etc. are no longer being purchased, but come fresh out of the oven. That is only the beginning. I'm pretty much making everything from the basics, including decorations, necessities, toilietries, cleaners, etc. I have found this is slowly removing the toxins, we are feeling better and saving money!

If you have made it through my long post, I thank you. I hope you will join us on our journey and I hope that you may find something useful from my journey back to being a traditional homemaker. It is amazing how much I have forgotten over the years!