Just a Picture of the Poor Sweet Puppy...

...who had a growth removed from his pinky toe today. Thanks for all of your thoughts.



He sure doesn't LOOK like a dog who just got out of surgery! What a happy dog. He's zonked on the floor now; he can't have his normal miles of walking for two weeks OR go outside to run and play, so here's hoping we can keep him happy and mentally entertained in our tiny house!

We will have the biopsy report next week; hopefully there is either no cancer or it was very localized and is now gone (due to the removal of the growth)!

Caught a mouse...

Last night my husband saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. It ran into our furnace closet quick as can be.

Useless Pest-a-Cator 2000. It is obviously NOT keeping the mice out of OUR house.

I thought I had been hearing mouse sounds for the last couple weeks, but I could never find any signs of them.

We took out the mousetraps from behind the bed and in the study, and they were clean as a whistle... and improperly set.

We set the traps properly.

This morning, there was a mouse.

(Update on my hand... it is healing well. Thanks for all your well wishes!)

On Tulips and Buds

Yesterday was a glorious 57º outside. I grabbed the rake and set to work on the winter debris buried in our lawn. I was pleasantly surprised to see that our fall seeding worked! There were lots of little "grasslings" growing in the formerly bare spots.

I saw signs of spring everywhere...


Tulips emerging from the earth


Buds against a cold morning sky

Spring is coming!

Trimming the Fat off of Your Life

Chile of Chile Chews has offered up another challenge- a spending freeze for the month of February. I'm in. We need to be in, even. My husband is hopefully starting grad school this summer, and we need a jump-start to tightening the proverbial bootstraps, both monetarily and time-wise. Time to create some new habits.

Items that don't "count" (i.e. are necessary): mortgage, bills, gasoline, car repairs, etc.

I will also allow myself to buy things for necessary (as opposed to cosmetic) home improvements... like weatherstripping, new doors to prevent heat loss out the back and front, etc. They, do have to be USED and CHEAP. Nothing new in February.

What won't I buy? Clothes, shoes, prepackaged foods, cd's, things for decorating a house, etc. (Not that I buy a lot of those anyway, because I don't.)

I will try to cut down my internet time (and electric bill) to spend MORE time working on my home and LESS time in front of my computer "researching" my home.

A Little Bit of Life in Winter

What a cold week it has been. BRRRR.

I tried to banish just a little bit of the cold with an herb kit my sister gave me for my birthday. Doesn't it look cute on the windowsill?



I can't wait for some fresh herbs to take away the winter blahs.

You Know It's Cold When...

you do the household chores you have been lazily putting off simply because doing them will heat the house!

So far I have washed 2 loads of white laundry on HOT, dried them using our electric dryer with the vent venting INSIDE, and started the dishwasher. I'm thinking I should also make some soup stock, too... just to have on hand. That will warm the house up.

Have I turned the head above 54? No... I'm too cheap. I'm not touching that thermostat!

New Years Resolutions 2008, Part 2- Lessening Our Consumption and Enriching our Lives

A few days ago I posted a list of New Year's Resolutions pertaining to our house and its remodeling. Though long and exhaustive, it is not a complete list of goals for the year.

My husband and I have become increasingly concerned with environmental concerns. Over the last year or two we have obtained reusable grocery bags, searched Habitat ReStores, Craigslist, and Freecycle for needed building supplies instead of buying new, made a concerted effort to buy from the farmer's market first, and more.

Here is what we want to do this year to lessen our impact and improve our life:

Build Efficient Compost Piles
We already compost by dumping organic matter into the space between the fence and the garage. It doesn't compost very fast, however. I want to build a series of two or three compost bins to rotate the material between in this space. I even have the material: pallets that I salvaged from the scrap wood pile at the city recycling center. Some decking screws and time, and I can have a great set of bins with lots of airflow.

Plant Buffalo Grass (or other native grass)
When we finish the backyard we hope to seed with drought tolerant grasses. Why grass at all? We have dogs. A pretty lame excuse. For the past 2 years I have watered our front lawn (which is fine fescue) about 3 or 4 times a year... hopefully after establishment a native backyard will need that or less.

Use My Human Powered Lawnmower
I received a great present this year: a Brill Luxus 38 Lawnmower. My goal is to NEVER use the old gas powered one in the garage.

Replace the Front and Back Doors
We lose a substantial amount of heat out of our backdoor. I recently discovered that it is actually a hollow core INTERIOR door. No wonder the laundry room (and our bedroom) is 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house! The front door is in better shape, but rotting and cracked.

Seal ALL Windows and Doors/Apply Weatherstripping
Much heat is lost through cracks around doors and windows. Adding weatherstripping will make a big difference.

Bed Warmers
We drop the heat by quite a bit at night. We use two fluffy down comforters to keep warm. While at my parent's house this Christmas, however, we were introduced to the delights of a bedwarmer, which might allow us to drop the heat even further. We are looking to either find an old metal one to fill with heated water (reused, of course) or make one out of cherry pits. Of course, I may keep an eye out for one of these...

Shop at the Farmer's Market FIRST
We made a valiant effort this past summer to make it to the farmer's market every week before grocery shopping. We forgot a few times. This summer, I want to make it EVERY week.

Join a CSA
In addition to the Farmer's Market, I want to investigate (and hopefully join) a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). I know there will be foods that we have no idea what to do with (thinking beets and squashes off the top of my head), so an additional goal is to learn to cook those foods.

Plant a Vegetable Garden
Our backyard is nearing completion. I want to finish the vegetable garden beds by April in the hopes of planting tomatoes and cucumbers and all sorts of yummy foods. I also want to more fully intersperse herbs into my flower beds.

Replace Old Plastic Tupperwares
We have a large drawer of plastic. Most of it is old yogurt and cheese containers that we repurposed for use as tupperware. We have become increasingly concerned with plastic leaching into our foods during storage and reheat, and so are looking to buy some glass containers. No worries... the old plastic will NOT be trashed. I have so many home improvement things such as nails, screws, tape, etc that would LOVE a home in a nice small container!

Find or Make Reusable Produce Bags
I found some great bags here, but the shipping from Canada is outrageous. I am hoping to make or find something similar to carry produce home in.

Buy Only Used (as much as possible)
Somewhat self explanatory. My resolution is to look at thrift stores, reuse stores, and the internet to find what I need used BEFORE I look for new. Especially clothes. Except underwear and socks.

ReThink It!

I am taking Chile of Chile Chews up on her challenge to Rethink It:

Reduce-Reuse-Recycle: Rethink it! The purpose of this challenge is to help you reduce your consumption, expenses, and garbage by getting you to think about every aspect of the recycling logo. Break out of old habits and find new ways to reduce your consumption, reuse what you can in creative ways, and recycle everything else.

How can I break the mold? What can I do better to reduce my consumption? What can I reuse instead of throwing away? More to follow.

Look What Was Under OUR Tree!

Our wonderful families gave us some great new tools for Christmas:

A Brill Luxus 38 Push Mower

I am very excited to mow our lawn this summer WITHOUT the use of gasoline! This should be just perfect for our little patch of front lawn, and for the small (and hard to reach) patches we plan to plant in the backyard. No toxic fumes, no fossil fuels. LOTS of exercise!

A Craftsman Toolbox

Finally, our tools have a home that is not an old shoebox! They are all organized, too. Any guesses on how long that will last?

A Black and Decker Crossfire Auto Level Laser

What fun! It "marks" a level and plumb line on the wall with a laser beam. Now we can easily check how far off our cabinets are. This will be awesome for building the wall in our bedroom/laundry room.

A Makita 18V 1/2" LXT Lithium-Ion Hammer Driver-Drill Kit

Energy Star rating and everything! I am SO excited to play with this. On first look, it has a light, an electric brake to stop the drill immediately when you release the trigger, a clutch, 3 speeds and 3 settings, and more! Plus, it makes a really great "vrt vrt" sound.

A Ryobi 10" Compound Miter Saw

Just what we need for the flooring and trim work! I've been drooling over one while watching all of the home improvement shows on TLC and HGTV on business trips.

Miscellaneous
A medley of other hand tools, including wood chisels, wrenches, screwdrivers, and pliers. We've been using a Leatherman multi-tool for most applications for the past year... and now we don't have to!

Thanks!

Mouse Update and Pest-a-Cator 2000 Review

Update: We STILL have mice.

We didn't catch any mice in our live traps in the 4 days we left them down before leaving for the holidays. Each night we were woken up by the tiny sound of tiny jaws grinding. I'm not sure that they can get into the actual living space yet; they may be trapped in the walls.

We left for 2 weeks of holiday traveling and visiting. We left the Pest-a-Cator 2000 plugged in but picked up the live traps. The packaging says that it may take 4 weeks to cause an effect in the mouse population, and recommends the use of traps in tandem with the device.

Last night, after leaving the house alone with no inhabitants for two weeks, there was NO sound of small grinding teeth! I'm thinking the Pest-a-Cator 2000 might have actually done some good. I have set the live traps again, just to be sure, but there are no signs of mice in our house. I am surprised, as I expected total infestation upon our return!

The Pest-a-Cator 2000 works by gently pulsing the electricity stream, which apparently drives mice batty. There seems to be no ill effects; the computer is working fine, as are the other appliances. The dogs are sleeping and unstressed, and us humans have noticed no effect on our mood. I believe I will leave it plugged in indefinitely.

UPDATE: We STILL have mice (and just caught one)

Eek! It's a Mouse in the House!

Last night, at the hour of midnight, we were awoken by the sound of chewing.

Gnaw Gnaw Gnaw,
Chew, Chew, Chew.

My husband rolled over and said, "Is that a mouse?"
We tapped on the wall, and the sound silenced.

Four hours later, we were again awoken to the sound of chewing.

Gnaw Gnaw Gnaw,
Chew, Chew, Chew.

Again, tapping on the wall silenced the interloper.

When I awoke at 6 am, there was that unmistakable sound again.

Gnaw Gnaw Gnaw,
Chew, Chew, Chew.

We have mice.

I took a trip to store and bought 2 live traps and a Pest-a-cator 2000. Hopefully, we will catch the mice in the walls in the live traps, and drive any we don't catch out with the Pest-a-cator.

First, a nice dollop of peanut butter in the bait tray.

Then, trap placed along wall.

Then, we wait. I hope we catch them. I plan on releasing them on the banks of the canal down the street, which is likely where they came from, looking for warmth and food. I bet they LOVED the peppermint bark!