Thrifty Tuesday

Homemade fly catcher
If you have flies you will appreciate these. When I went to the feed store to look at flycatchers we were surprised at the price. 8.99 and up. I bought two. They are half-gallon plastic jars with screw on lids that have holes in them. A terrible smelling liquid comes with it. You fill the jar up half full with water add the liquid and hang. They worked wonderfully. My husband wanted me to buy more. When I told him how much they were he looked for alternatives. We goggled and found a 2-liter soda bottle version. I will show you step by step how to make one.

Fly Catcher

You will need:
1 cup water
¼ cup sugar
2 liter soda bottle
Pair of scissors
Sharp knife
Black electrical tape
String

Step 1
Cut top off bottle, just over label making a nice funnel using scissors

Step 2
Remove label and lid

Step3
Place created funnel in soda bottle and tape all around the sharp edges

Step 4
Punch 2 holes on opposite sides thru black tape using sharp knife

Step 5
Push string thru holes and tie

Step 6
Mix ¼ cup sugar with 1-cup water and pour in new flycatcher
You are finish now go and hang it up and watch the sorry little pests get stuck in your free flycatcher.
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

Menu Monday

I think I will start writing down a menu to help with food costs. I usually try to buy a little extra to help on those weeks when money is tight. So this week with purchasing school supplies I will need to shop from the pantry and freezer. Keep in mind I also Bake several loaves of bread, muffins, waffles, cookies, and snack bars each week. I also try to boil a dozen eggs, prepare potato salad, puddings, and jellos. I find Jell-O extremely difficult. It is hard for me to leave it alone. I can not help myself from looking at it and touching it. I also make flavored yogurt and chevre, which I eat with crackers or on raisin bread.

Monday
Breakfast
sausage links/ eggs/ toast

Lunch
tomato soup/ grilled cheese

Dinner
Italian stuffed peppers

Tuesday
Breakfast
rice breakfast casserole

Lunch
egg salad sandwich/ cantaloupe

Dinner
chicken alfredo/ garlic bread

Wednesday
Breakfast
waffles

Lunch
tuna fish sandwich/ cottage cheese

Dinner
potato soup

Thursday
Breakfast
oatmeal

Lunch
fish tacos

Dinner
sloppy joes/ tatter tots/ baked beans

Friday
Breakfast
bagel

Lunch
bean and cheese burrito

Dinner
homemade pizza

Saturday
Breakfast
breakfast burritos

Lunch
mac and cheese/ hot dogs

Dinner
crescent roll dinner

SundayBreakfast
Cereal

Lunch
Leftovers

Dinner
Breakfast For Dinner
　
　
　
　
　

Sunday Surprise

When I came home from work Sunday there was a nice surprise. When I arrive home I usually do a drive by. This is when I drive through the rows of pens to check on the animals. I check to make sure everyone is where they belong. That they have water and food. And that nobody is hurting any body else. So the first pen I drive up to is the duck pen. I see three white heads right off the bat. I should only have two white ducks. Surprise. I now have eight ducks. Two new ducks. One large Pekin and one normal size runner duck. It seems the neighbor has a friend who could no longer give water to these two ducks. The neighbor did not want them. He said they were too messy. I suppose if all you had were two ducks and lots and lots of chickens they would be considered messy. But what is two more ducks if you already have six. They seem to fit right in. A lot of butt sniffing if you know what I mean. I am unsure which sex they are yet. This morning I got 4 eggs still like always. We had one male Pekin duck for sure. One female Pekin duck and one female gray Swedish duck, who is Uno’s mother, and two female runner ducks. Uno is to young to lay eggs or Uno might be a male. I hope Uno is a girl. We have no reason to have more than one male duck. Unfortunately we will be getting rid of any females that do not lay eggs. Feed is to expensive to keep them as pets. So I hope that these two ducks are females also.

reviews

I go to the library almost every week.  I usually get several books and 4 movies.  4 is the limit.  I would probably get more if I were allowed.  Any way I thought I would write about these.

Ten Inch Hero

Four friends deal with their love lives and learn about themselves while working in a funky sandwich shop in Santa Cruz, California. Sex, love, ten-inch heroes, and laughs are part of the everyday life in this hip little shop.     
A little unusual.  The roles played were so different.  First this movie takes place in a sandwich shopped owned by an older hippie who is in love with the across the street self proclaimed witch.  He does every thing he can for his employees.  The rest of the characters are in their twenties.  There is a young man who acts like the naughty punkster who is misunderstood.  Then a promiscuous beautiful girl  who is looking for a good fling.  And a Nerdy, computer geek who just wants a loving relationship but is concerned with her looks. Finally a mother who was forced to give her baby girl up for adoption over 8 yrs ago.  She is stalking the family that she thinks her little girl is with. 

The Boys Next Door

Four mentally challenged men share a house and with the help of a social worker learn to cope with the ups and downs of daily life through laughter, love, & joy.
Good example of the life of a special group of men.   Each man has his own troubles.  The social worker has a hard time with his normal life at home when he leaves his work. Their is a man who has a hard time dealing with his family and goes into a scisopranic episode because of a visit from his father. Then the older man is taken advantage of at the grocery store and is pressured to buy a large number of cereal and lettuce.  He tries to take it back but is misunderstood.  A donut maker who has an attraction to the female persuasion.  He collects keys and has a terrible attachment to them.  Then there is a large  man who would have done great things in the agricultural world had he not had a mental handicap.  He is asked to appear in court so they can decide how the home is working. 

The Mighty Macs

In the early '70s, Cathy Rush became the head basketball coach at a tiny, all-girls Catholic college. Though her team had no gym or uniforms, and the school was in danger of being sold, Coach Rush steered her girls to their first national championship. 
This is a story about a new couch teach a struggling female college basketball team to the nationals.  She struggles with her home life because she is always away.  The nun who becomes the assistant couch is a surprise.  Who would know that a nun could drink and play basketball like that.  The girls each have their own issues from being part of a poor family to being expected to become a nurse, from breaking up with a boyfriend to getting good grades.  

In From the Night

 Vicki Miller (Marcia Gay Harden) is a writer who has cut herself off from her dysfunctional family. Her life drastically changes when one night, her 16-year-old nephew Bobby (Taylor Handley) shows up unannounced on her doorstep. He looks tired and depressed, and when Vicki realizes that he's run away, she takes him in. From that point on, Vicki is bound to Bobby. This story tells the tale of two people trying to find themselves and make their way in the world. It's a story of two people's paths to acceptance and healing, and they both benefit from this one child's need for love and a family.    
This story is about an abuse teenager who is trying to change to overcome what he feels about the past and all the disorders that it created.  The female adult puts her life on hold to help change him.

This is a great series by Debbie Macomber

The Shop On Blossom Street
Meet Lydia a twice cancer survivor who buys this little shop and apartment combo.  Her sister Margaret who does not think a yarn store is practical Her three very different students.  Alix a punk rocker who had a very hard life.  Jacqueline a wealth older new grandmother.  Carol a young women hoping for a child. 
A Good Yarn
Lydia meets Brad and his ex wife enters the picture.  Margaret's husband is out of work and they are about to loose their home.  Meet Elise who's ex husband is re entering her life.  Bethanne who is recently divorced and can't find a footing.  And Courtney who must live with her grandmother for her senior year after her mother dies.
Susannah's Garden 
Meet Susan wife and teacher she must go to put her older mother in a home and pack up her childhood home.  While she goes through painful memories she re meets old friends.  Her mother Vivian who lost her husband and is struggling with dementia.  Her daughter who is suffering from a broken heart and looking for new love.  And a twist on the story her dead brother who was never dead.  In the Susan changes her life.  Opening a floral shop.
Back On Blossom Street
Lydia has married Brad the ups man.  The apartment is rented by Colette a young business woman who we find out is pregnant and running from the father of the child.  She works at Susannnah's Garden.  Alix is going to be married and going thru that turmoil.  And Julia, Margaret's daughter, was car jacked and injured.  Both physically and mentally.
Twenty Wishes
Meet Anne Marie she owns the book store on Blossom Street.  She is a recent widow and holds a widows meeting on Valentines day where they make up the idea to list twenty wishes they would like.  Elise's Maverick passed away and she gives Anne Marie the idea to become a reading buddy at the local elementary school.  This is where we Meet Ellen.  She is from a broken home and her grandmother passes away and leaves Ellen to Anne Marie.  Ellen also makes her own list.  We meet Lillie and Barbie who are new widows their wealth husbands died in the same plane crash.  They start over with a new lives and their new male friendships. 
Summer On Blossom Street
Lydia wants to adopt a child. Meet Casey a foster teen who has a hard time fitting in.  Alix and her husband want to have a child but first she must stop smoking.  Phoebe who just left a bad relationship.  Bryan a CEO of a candy company who must lower his blood pressure.  Phoebe and Bryan start a relationship. 
The Twenty-First Wish
This book was different in the publisher added two other stories at the end.  These were not related and did not belong.  Anyway Anne Marie and Ellen bought a new house.  Ellen adds find my dad to her list making twenty one.  Ellen's dad comes along.  After a while Anne Marie and Tim, Ellen's dad, Get together.
A Turn in The Road
Bethanne, her ex mother in law, and her daughter take a trip across the country to Florida.  Her mother in law has a class reunion where she hopes to re unite with her high school boyfriend.  Her daughter Annie is going to forget a sweetheart who took a trip to Europe without her.  She tries to find romance on the trip meeting a couple two different men.  Bethanne  meets a biker who is really a CEO in disguise trying to forget about the death of his wife and daughter.  Mean while the ex husband is trying to get Bethanne back.

These books go thru the lives of the customers, families, and owners of the shops.  I would love to walk down this street and meet all the characters.  I really enjoy Debbie Macombers way of writing.  everything is connected from one character to another.  Add a little bit of romance. 

Payday Friday

Today was payday Friday.  Usually we wake up feed the animals quickly.  Then head off to Walmart where we use the Money Center to cash my husbands check.  I pay all our bills using our Walmart pay as you go visa which my check is automatically deposited into.  After that we go to McDonald's to grab a quick bite before my husband goes off to work and I run around doing errands.  While I was ordering the young girl wanted me to combine my order into a meal.  I buy 1 sausage mcmuffin, 1 hash brown, 1 lrg soda.  It totals $3.00 the meal price is $4.99.  She could not understand that I did not want to get the meal.  I had to tell her if I buy the meal price I spend $1.99 more.  Then she got it.  Things that make you go hum.  Before I left Walmart I picked up a few things.  Yah right.  It is never a few things.  I can never leave without spending over a hundred dollars.  They have the best deli pizzas.  I picked one up for dinner for my husband and my oldest. 

Then I went to the Pet Smart to get crickets and gold fish.  The crickets are for the two tarantulas and the two leopard geckos.  The gold fish are for the turtle, stretch.  I go to Pet Smart every payday, I talk to the same person every payday.  Every time she asks me what I am feeding.  I tell her every payday.  You would think by now she would remember me.  Thats ok I like talking about my animals.   Funny story though.  I placed  the fish in with the turtle leaving them in the bag to float in the water until the temperature is the same.  Then I went to put the groceries away.  When I went back to open the bag the turtle had already riped open little holes and ate all the fish.  The little piggie

Then I stopped at the Pet Club to get chicken crumbles for the ducks.  They asked me if I wanted my usual order.  Funny how they know me.  I said no thanks but we are trying something different.  We have decided to only feed the ducks the chicken crumbles.  The chickens are going to get the pig mixture.  It is rolled corn, oats, barley and we will add crushed oyster shells.  They were getting the pig mixture as a treat and they gobble it up.  After doing much research I have come to the conclusion that this will be sufficient for the chickens.  The pig mixture is .18 cents a pound while the chicken crumble is .35 cents a pound.  In the long run it will be better.  The ducks do not like the pig mixture it will sit in their enclosure for ever.  So our order went from over a hundred dollars to seventeen dollars.  We didn't need anything else there.  We are finished with vaccines for now. 

Then I went to the dollar store.  This was good because my oldest needed plain composition notebooks.  Walmart only had bright vibrant colored ones that he did not like.  I picked up three.  I also get french fries at the dollar store.  French fries are the staple of my oldest's diet.  He can eat them like nobodies business.  I worry about all the frying he does but he is young, right?  I also bought some strawberry preserve.  I use jelly to flavor my yogurt.  I hope the preserves work just the same. 

I was unable to find Popsicle forms.  I have a craving to make my own.  Many years ago I had them with bears on the ends.  That was when the children were in grade school.  So today I looked at both stores.  I suppose I will have to order them on line.  I found a recipe for fudgecicles.  yummy.  I don't like cold things.  They hurt my teeth.  But occasionally I have a craving. 

Last night I did not sleep well.  Night mares of snakes under things.  With so many animals we have lots of containers for food and water.  So my dreams were of finding snakes in every enclosure.  Like it was a run on snakes.  I am silly.  This will not happen.  But still a sleepless night. 

Snake

Today I killed a king snake.  I am very afraid of snakes.  When I was a teenager a friend put a snake around my neck when I was napping.  Not so fun to wake up to his pet.  My family is afraid of snakes also.  My sister in Maricopa even jumps when she sees a snake on TV or in a book.  When our children were younger she would make them skip those pages.  When we lived in Alabama a rattle snake curled up on our front porch.  We lived by a creek and there were water moccasins everywhere.  when my husband mowed the grass they would all slither away from the mower.  I am sure that is how my children learned to run.  From the snakes.  Just kidding. 

In my opinion all snakes are potential killers.  If I let one go it will be the one that bites someone, or something I love.  So today when I was watering the inside dogs, who must go out to the dog run when we are not home, I came across a black snake with yellow rings.  I filled the 5 gallon jug and then I was washing the container we leave out for the Chihuahua.  When I lifted it up to rinse it out there was the snake.  I was startled.  Thank goodness I left the dogs inside.  I dropped the container on the snake and ran to get a shovel  so I could cut off it's head.  I picked up the container and hit the snake with the shovel.  It did not want to die.  I have killed snakes before and it surprised me how much it fought.  Any way it finally died.  I threw it in the garbage and went inside to google what kind it was. 

The snake most likely was a king snake.  Not poisonous.  But as I said before all snakes are bad.  I could not have left it there and put the dogs out.  They would have found it most certainly.  I texted my husband and of course he was busy and said "K".   Not you are so brave, I am so proud of you, What a big girl.  Just "K".  Oh well.  I still feel like a big girl. 

I'm Back

I have returned. I have no reason to offer for my lack of writing. I just haven't wanted to do anything but go thru the motions of life. It was like everything was to much. You know getting up everyday to do the same thing. I couldn't do anything extra. I wasn't even crocheting. Anyway sorry.

Everything on the homestead is doing fine. The animals are growing and thriving. We are making it through the summer heat. Water, water, water is the key. Oh yes and shade. But for the life of me, I do not understand why the silly goats will not use their shade. Not any of them. The stand in the blazing 110 + heat and chew away. It is as if the heat doesn't faze them. I hurry to do the chores in and out so I can get back to our house. My shade. They seem content.

We put the female goats with the bucks at the beginning of this month and left them there for a week then separated them again. And like last year Ned got right to work. He is very ornery. So it is a good thing he produces such nice kids. With the mamas help of coarse. Many times my husband and sons have said just get rid of him and find a new buck. I think on it. But here he is still. He is a small goat so he tries to intimidate others. Be it the other goats or the humans. His method of scare is head butting which is the case for most bucks. I remember one time he got me thru the fence. He hit it so hard I landed on my butt. Not before I hit my knee on the milking stand. I hurt for a good two weeks. This is also the reason why he is housed alone. When we purchased our Heidi and Coco they had their bucks penned alone. Now I know why. They are bullies.

We have 3 bucks. Ned who we keep for Abby, Heidi, and Coco all smaller breeds. Sprinkles who we keep for DQ, Nubians. Chocolate who we keep for Oreo and Barbie our babies. Yesterday we put DQ in with Sprinkles again. I did not think she was breed the last time. Sprinkles is housed with Chocolate. We haven't had any problems with these two males together yet. I think it is an age thing. I know the day will come when we must separate them. Goats are herd animals. They do not like to be alone. So It is sad for me to put them in a pen without a companion. However, what choice do I have when they are so mean to each other they cause blood. We will need to create yet another pen for Chocolate. I am hoping it can wait until colder weather. Nobody should be working outside in Arizona in 110 + weather. That is a sad statement because my husband did for over ten years.

Back to goats. The babies are in the new pig pen. I was afraid to leave them with the females when we put the males in with them, for fear of mating. They are to young, not yet 3 months old. Oreo is blind and follows Barbie around. They have a communication system all their own. Kind of a beeping sound. Oreo will walk backwards to get around which is something I thought was strange. But if you think about it would you want to bump your head or your bottom when bumping into things. Humans would use their hands to feel for walls and things. She can not. Walking on all fours and all. The wooden pallets we get are sometimes flawed. I was worried about a large gap on the top of one. It is by the gate and will eventually be an internal wall for the next pen. but it is alone right now. The babies put there little heads over the gap to look out. Very cute to see two little heads poking out to see you. Even when I know Oreo can't see. She to puts her head there just like her sister.


Right now Abby, Coco, and Heidi share a pen. Dq does not get along with these goats. When we are done mating her we will put the babies back in the pen with DQ. I am hoping the babies will not want to nurse after this separation. I milk my goats. That is there purpose. The milk stand is right outside the mamas pen. I open the gate and they jump right on. Sometimes they all want on at once. DQ is another thing. She is afraid of the milk stand Right now I walk her/ pull/ push/ drag her to move her outside the pen. She is named DQ for Drama Queen. When I finally get her out I have to hobble her foot to a pole. She gives close to a gallon but I have to work for every drop. When I made chevre last week I got three 8 oz containers from her one gallon of milk. When I use the other mamas one gallon of milk only yields one 8 oz container if I am lucky. I make yogurt once a week and chevre once a week. I put the yogurt on cheerios instead of milk, and use the chevre on my bagels instead of cream cheese. I have also made mozzarella which i eat with crackers. I am still using up all the grated cheese from the grocery store. To make Mozzarella the milk must be at least three days old or it doesn't work correctly, at least that is my experience. The pigs get whatever whey is left over and occasionally milk They slurp it up eagerly.

The pigs are growing. I think Dinner, the pig that was castrated, will be ready for the freezer before my November birthday. We feed them rolled corn and oats that my husband gets from the mill. They were getting whole corn but the mill didn't have that available last time. We soak it the night before. They also get any kitchen scraps and eggs that have cracked or are to soiled. After i wash them of coarse. What funny creatures, as soon as they see you walking out the door they begin to talk excitedly. I can imagine what they are saying to each other. They like to have their ears scratched and to be sprayed with the hose. Watering them is another story. We water them in barrel cut in half. As soon as you dump out the soiled water and scrub the barrels to refill they are standing in them talking happily. My husband has saved an old water heater that he is going to make a water device with a float in it so they can only put their snout in it. I think they will miss this morning ritual. However, making sure they always have clean water is very difficult.

The chickens are also thriving. That is if we can keep them inside their coops. We have one full grown rooster, four adult barred rocks, two adult black stars, five adult rhode island reds, and two adult red stars in the old coop. In the new coop we have three adult white leghorns, two teenage rhode island reds, two teenage americans, and two teenage welsummers. In this coop we also have placed the tractor that houses the remaining 24 barred rock roosters that we got on June 25th. I say remaining because we started out with 27. They kept getting out. The outside dogs like to eat chicken, as do I. They don't care how its prepared. I prefered mine to be cooked. He he. Oh I forgot we also have a teenage americana in the bunny house. Their was two but one got out and was dinner for the dogs this was after the other chickens tried to peck them to death. Occasionally a chicken will be brave an get out on its own. Flying out or running out the door, who knows. When we first built the new coop the dogs were stealing the chickens out from under the walls. They would lye and wait until a hen would go and sit in their favorite corner and grab them out. This was clever on the dogs part. We have since put blocks and boards in their way. One brave hen fought for her life which resulted in a broken wing. She still lays one egg a day. I didn't have the heart to cull her. She is thriving, this is months later. Her wing still hangs on her she roosts and eats and lays just like all the others. The chickens are at summer production. They will lay occasionally but not the whites. Every single day I get three nice white eggs, rain or shine. The teen age chickens have started to lay. It is so exciting to see their first egg. They are always so tiny. So far we get three different eggs a solid light brown an long oval light brown and a speckled brown. You wold think with 25 chickens we would be rolling in eggs, nope only about 10 to twelve a day. I bake alot and we eat eggs for breakfast. So I hope when it gets cooler they produce more. Some of the older chickens are getting up there in the years. I thought maybe I should wait and catch the ones who are laying and mark them and the ones that are not laying we should put in the freezer. In October the little roosters should be big enough to put in the freezer. So In September we should get 25 new egg layers and start a new flock. We shall see. I will get white leghorns for egg laying purposes.

Ducks
Well they are happy. Little Uno is as big as the other ducks. We had Uno and the gray female in the bunny house but all the water and no sun was causing a lot of flies. For the past two days we have left the gate open between the bunnies and the ducks and there haven't been any fights. No feather loses at least. Uno walks around cautious though. To fight the flies the feed store has canisters which you fill with water and put a terrible smelling goo in then screw on the top which has holes in and hang. The flies can't get enough of it. We got two. Placing one on our back porch and one in the bunny house above the duck water. Just a note it seems the one in the bunny house in the shaded areas does better than the one in direct sun. My husband has cleaned the one in the bunny house twice and we only got it ten days ago. As far as eggs go we get 3 to 4 a day. Uno is not laying eggs I don['t know if its an age thing or which sex uno is. I hope female. They have a duck house which I have never seen them in but they lay eggs there now. And each side still has a pool. They like to be sprayed with water. Their past time is drilling holes in whatever puddle is available. They love watermelon. I cut up the rinds and throw it in the pools and they dive bomb the rinds and gobble them up.

The bunnies or as my husband said I should call them rabbits. To each his own. We struggle to keep them cool. They get water in bottles to drink, water in bowls to throw around and frozen bottles of water to lay on. I also spray them down, which they do not like. They have a fan which blows on them. Out of all the animals they have the most shade. They are covered on the ceiling, and all sides. We feed them pellets, hay and vegetables. The females are still young they snuggle with each other. When I first got them we separated them. No eating, no drinking, just pacing. We tried this for a couple of days. I was so worried. I did not want to lose anymore bunnies. So I put two in each cage. Now I am worried that they will get to hot because they lay on each other. It is so hot. The two males seem content. I hope to breed them at the end of August. Again we will see.

We have 5 dogs. Dogs are like children. You must watch them all the time. I feel that my husband and I are fairly good at this. The boys do not do this very well. So needless to say the dogs do potty in the house on occasion. We have carpet. My husband cleans carpets for a living. You know the saying the plumber has leaky pipes, the electrician has bad wires, well the carpet tech has bad floors. We have riped our carpet out it is wonderful to have them gone. How yucky is that. We are hoping to replace it with wood floors. any way. The dogs have those automatic 5 gallon water canisters. They are so smart. The water that pools in the outside bowl gets dirty probably because they step in it. They will tip the 5 gallon jug over to get at the inside water. This is fine for that drink and maybe the next. But then when that water dries up they have none. So they roll the jug around to get more. We have placed blocks on top of the jugs to stop this but they still nock it over. We would use a 5 gallon bucket like the other animals but poor memee the chihuahua can not reach. We have been giving shots to the dogs. This Friday will be the last. At the end of August Taco and Puppy have appointments to be fixed. We will get the rabies shot then for them. This will be nice. It is so yucky when a dog goes thru the menstrual cycle. They do sell cute little diapers for them. But it is yucky still the same. We will have to continue with diapers for Memee. She is to old to get fixed, or so they say. She was a rescue. They do not now how old she is but the vets do not want to fix her.

The children start school today. My youngest lives in Maricopa with my sister during the week and comes home on the weekend. My oldest attends the night classes at a local high school. He is also wanting to attend an online school to play catch up. He has made some poor choices and is now very far behind. In the past we swapped kids every weekend. We have had them both at home a couple of times and no blood was drawn. It is hard to keep them busy all the time. They have video games, computers to surf, tv to watch, telephones to text, you know. Then of coarse theres the animals an house hold chores. Yet still they have issues when it is down time. We purchased model cars and the put them together and painted them. I thought that would take forever. Nope. We went to the library too. Anyway this school year I hope to have them both home during the weekend. They are getting older.

I continue to bake on a weekly basis. This helps with our grocery budget. I don't have alot of time so I created mixes in a bag. I was buying the jiffy corn bread mix and was shocked when it went to 67 cents a box. So I googled and found a recipe and made pre mixed bags now I can just grab a bag and go. I also did this for oatmeal cookies, chocolate cookies, blueberry muffins, and oatmeal honey bread. I just have to mix the wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil, etc) then mix in the dry and bake. This cuts down on my baking time. Right now I have bags labeled and placed in the cabinet. But I think I will cover a shoes box and pt them in the box to keep them contained. The bags are kind of messy looking. I know who looks in your cabinets.

I went bowling with my youngest, my husband, and my husband's friend this Monday. I had such fun. When the children were young I went bowling once a week with my husbands grandmother. I have my own ball and shoes. Of coarse it has been years and I was a bit rusty. Monday night is dollar night. I will try to convince my husband to take me again tonight. He does not like to bowl. It hurts his shoulder and knees. Block laying put a lot of stress on his body.
But I had such fun.

My husbands company has hired another worker for Casa Grande. Which means my husband is a manager. He ran Casa Grande alone for several months but was very busy and has asked for help many times. This is a wonderful turn of events. They are both staying busy. This new employee is a friend of the man who changes our tires. So far all is going well. My husband has a new van it is so pretty. He is like a little boy buying all the supplies, tools and business materials for inside. Nothing feels better than buying whatever you want without having to pay for it. No decals yet. He had an appointment for this last week. after he drove 45 min they called to cancel after the appointment time. He set up another appointment for this week. Talk about frustrating.