Homemaking

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Finally, a Comfortable Place To Sit Outside

I’m been looking for outdoor furniture for Haven for ages, but it was only in the last month that I realised that I was looking for the wrong thing. I don’t like eating outside, so I don’t need a table and chairs. But I do like to lounge outside, especially after a long day indoors. So I needed some sort of lounger, preferably with shade. And it was at this point that I discovered patio swings and I knew that was exactly what I wanted for Haven.

Before buying new, I put an ad in the paper saying that I was looking for one and I got two responses! One was free, but didn’t have a canopy, which was a must. I did some research and couldn’t find the frame for a canopy, just new canopies as in the fabric bit only, so I knew this one would take work and money to get just right. But I didn’t turn it down.

The other one was $40 and had the canopy. I decided that I would get both so I’d have a place for a guest to sit (not that there is any socializing going on this summer; we’re all busy!) and I could also have spare parts.

A neighbour said he would help me pick them up, but he’s been super busy. The lady with the free one said there’s no rush, but the $40 had to be gone by this weekend. So I asked the seller if he thought it could be taken apart and put in my truck. He took some measurements and called back to say that he was pretty sure it could. We planned for me to drive to his property today. It is about as far northwest of Assiniboia as I am southeast.

I left early so I could hit the bank, the bottle/can return place, a restaurant for linner, the grocery store (I’d brought a cooler and ice), and the gas station for propane. I then had a really nice drive out among the rolling hills of canola, except for some really bad construction that made me take a detour on a very long gravel road for the trip home. SK gravel roads tend to be in better shape than the paved ones!

The swing wound up being exactly what I wanted, colour and all! The canopy is really ratty, so I will bring it to Mexico with me and see about having a new one made. The cushions are faded, but otherwise in good shape.

The seller, his wife, and I dismantled the whole thing. I got bitten by a spider for my troubles!!! I also got stung by a wasp his morning, so I have a swollen and sore right wrist and a swollen and sore left index finger. I’m glad I don’t have any typing for this weekend!

After a bit of trial and error, we finally got the swing more or less into my truck:

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The seller got some rope and made sure the hatch was tied up securely. Then, I paid and I had an extra $5 on me, so I gave it to him as a token gesture for the extra trouble

When I got home, I unloaded it on my own since the individual pieces weren’t heavy, not even the bench.

A neighbour heard me hammering the top piece into the sides (it wasn’t even 8PM yet so I really don’t think I was doing anything rude) and came over to see what was going on. I was just at the point of putting on the bench and canopy and was glad for the extra hands.

Ta-dah!

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I’m not sure if it will stay there, but it’s not heavy so I can move it until I’m happy with the position. I promptly collapsed on it lengthwise (adding a pillow to the side to hold my back) with a cold beer and my iPad for almost an hour. Mosquitoes notwithstanding (mosquitoes, really, here, in dry country!), it was just so lovely and peaceful. The cushions are super comfy!

The first summer at Haven, I just camped here. But now, with all these little luxuries coming in, it’s starting to feel like I’m building something permanent.

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Redundancy

Having had to run the furnace quite a bit when I first got here, I ran out of propane after just five weeks. I was really looking forward to a cooked dinner tonight, but I can’t get to town till tomorrow.

No problem, as it turns out. Cleaning the grainery earlier this week, I found a still useful small bottle of propane, the kind used for a camp stove.

And so, dinner was cooked on the porch. Don’t laugh. I didn’t want to run the risk of ruining my plastic table. 🙂

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A Much Needed Domestic Day

I’ve been back at Haven for just over a month now and today was the first day that I was able to just focus on home. Now is the time to confess that I wondered what it would like to return to teeny tiny Miranda after a winter of rattling around in my huge Mexican casita. Well, it’s been wonderful, so cozy and comfortable. I’m in no hurry to move!

Before beginning the domestic stuff this morning, I started some updates for my computer since I wouldn’t need it today. Unfortunately, I had to cancel them a few minutes ago after trying all day to get them downloaded and my connection repeatedly timing out. I called SaskTel yesterday and we determined that there actually is something going on with my account, but they can’t figure out what until my billing cycle resets in two weeks. *sighs*

While the computer was busy, I set to work in the kitchen. It’s been feeling very chaotic since I got back, mostly because of the under sink leak and not being able to put things away under there. So I spent some time cleaning the area well, making sure that there were no other leaks, and put things away.

Then, I decided to empty out and clean my pot cupboard since I found some weevils in my soup pot the other day. I’ll spare you a picture, but let’s just say I’m glad I’m not squeamish because I found weevil central. And by weevil, I mean little critters that look like tiny worms, not necessarily actual weevils.

Since I had to wash everything in that cupboard, I decided to do some much needed scrubbing of my pots and pans with Barkeepers Friend and some steel wool.

I’ve been using the same set of Meyer pots and pans since I moved out on my own in 1998 and I have made thousands of meals with them. Needless to say, they get pretty crusty and covered with grease and scorch marks, no matter how hard I scrub them after making a meal. So a couple of times a year, I do a big scrub and restore them to a mirror shine with the Barkeepers Friend and steel wool. It’s a process that’s really hard on my hands, even when wearing gloves (!), hence why I don’t pull out the BF after every meal.

I did this to the lid of my soup pot in just the last couple of weeks after using it as a lid for my cast iron pan:

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That black stuff is all under the lid, along the rim, and it goes right to the top of the lid:

And after a few minutes of scrubbing:

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Once my pots were all shiny, I put everything away again and took the time to reorganize the cupboard a bit as well as some of my overhead cabinets. Then, I washed all the cabinet doors.

By this time, I was beyond ready for lunch, so I finished up the zucchini and chicken I had for dinner last night. I still can’t believe that I have found a use for zucchini outside of chocolate cake. It is such a wonderful replacement for pasta.

After lunch, I started the dishwasher, collapsed in my chair, put my feet up for a bit, and read for a couple of hours!

Speaking of the dishwasher, it is amazing. 🙂 It is exactly the right size for my kitchen. It lives between the bookcase and the canned good cabinet, leaving me ample room to access both, and it’s not in the way to climb the ladder to the loft. I can pull it out, turn it, and bring it to the sink without having to move anything. I haven’t had any use for that space since I lost my cats, because that was where I stored their litter box, so the dishwasher doesn’t feel like it’s taking up any precious space.

It also gives me the little bit of extra counter space I needed for my food processor and tortilla press. I use both too often for it to be worth storing them between uses.

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I am really happy I bought the dishwasher. It is a huge improvement to my quality of life.

Late afternoon, after cleaning the dressing room, I went for a walk. It is very smoky and hazy out there. Saskatchewan is having a record breaking dry June and we are having tons of wildfires. I’m not sure where this smoke is coming from, but I know that the northern part of the province is burning, so I imagine that the smoke from there is drifting south. The conditions remind me of my first Klondike summer, when Yukon was plagued by wildfires.

When I came in, I made a giant pitcher of lemonade. All the recipes I found had the proportions as being 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water to 1 cup of lemon juice, and then dilute as needed. Since I don’t do much sugar anymore, I only used a half cup of sugar and it was still way too much. Next time, I’ll do just a quarter cup. I really like lemonade when it’s very hot out as it seems to quench thirst better than just plain water and I haven’t had it in eons. For some reason, there are no lemons in Mexico, so I do ‘limonada’ there, which is limeade. Tasty, but not the same!

And then, it was time for dinner and I didn’t feel like cooking. So I went to the grainery to get a quarter of Co-Op’s amazing frozen ‘deluxe’ pizza (peppers, pepperoni, sausage, onion, black olives), quite simply the best frozen pizza I’ve ever had (they also do a yummy chicken and pineapple over BBQ sauce pizza!). I buy the pizzas on sale (3 for $9.99). They are a little soft by the time I get home, so open them up and use scissors to cut them into quarters, rewrap, and toss in the freezer. Then, when I have a day when I’ve been active and my kitchen is perfect and I don’t want to mess it up, it’s easy to pull out just as much pizza as I should be eating at one time.

While the pizza was baking, I went outside and dug a hole for my antenna pole. I might actually get that project done one day. It’s just that I have service now and every time I play with the antenna it takes ages to find service again. So I really need a full day for this project. Maybe this coming Friday will be the day…

I’m so glad I got this day off before starting the new job tomorrow. I feel like I managed to reboot my brain. I’ve had a lot of technological frustration in the last few weeks, so having a day away from the computer did me a world of good!

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Double Town Day

I hadn’t planned to go to town today, but my second warranty replacement for my Western Digital drive was waiting for me at the post office and I needed some things at the home store, so I had ample reason to go.

I’ve had a Western Digital drive for five years now that has never failed me, but haven’t had any luck with the My Passport brand. My first one crapped out on me in Mexico and I got it replaced while I was traveling through the US last month. A month later, the replacement failed! I asked them to send me something different and they sent me a My Passport Air specifically formatted for Mac, a significant upgrade. If this one lasts, it will have been worth all the money I’ve spent in returning the old drives!

Since I’ve been craving a hamburger since I got home and have made some more weight loss progress, I decided to go to 121 Steakhouse for lunch. I went all out and ordered a bacon cheeseburger with sweet potato fries! The kitchen goofed and sent me curly fries instead, which are just as good, so I told the server not to send them back, but to please remove the substitution fee. That fee has jumped to $2! No more substitution, even to salad, for me! But because it was a mistake, they actually reimbursed me $2.79, not $2. So I picked a good day to have lunch there. 🙂 Their coffee is absolutely mindbogglingly amazing, so I pretty much had a huge pot of it, too. I need to remember that and get a to go coffee from there instead of at the gas station!

After lunch, I went to the home store to get some things for my cell phone booster antenna project (thanks, Croft!). More on that when I do the project on Sunday.

Then, it was off to the grocery store to get what was on sale this week. I really like that when they are having a good deal on avocados, they put the limes on sale, too!

I also stocked up on almond milk, which was surprisingly inexpensive ($2 regular price for a container that will last a week!). Friends in Mexico left me a bunch of almond milk that they didn’t want to bring on the plane and I’ve just finished using it up. I never thought that would be something I’d need or want in my diet, but it’s fabulous! It’s low calorie, tastes great, has protein, and is wonderful in smoothies. I’ve also been using it with a high protein cereal topped with a banana for breakfast, which is funny because I normally turn my nose at Western breakfast foods. But this really works for me. I can have it at 7AM and go all the way through to lunch (between 12:00 and 1:00) on just 300 calories! Wow!

No sooner had I arrived home than I got an email from a client regarding my Windows computer, which crapped out on me last weekend. They asked that I mail it back ASAP so that they can reinstall Windows and do other maintenance on it. Because of their holiday schedule and the fact that I will have a lot less flexibility in my own schedule due to new work commitments starting next week, we determined that I needed to get to the post office today. So I quickly packed my post office kit that has a marker, scissors, and packing tape, as well as the computer and power supply and headed back to town!

The gals at the post office were helpful and found me a box and free packing material! I packed the computer and sent it off (you do not want to know what it costs to send a well-insured and packaged laptop across Canada). I had missed the truck to Regina, so it actually won’t head out until Monday night. Bummer.

Today was our first really hot day in ages and I was burning up by the time I came out of the post office. I decided on just one last treat for the day and went to the Village Food Store to see if they had ice cream. Yes! I got a ‘small’ cone for $2.10, a fair price. That’s it for treats for me for the next little bit!

Off to do some plumbing. I found another leak under the sink. 🙁

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Running the Dishwasher Off the RV Holding Tank and Pump

I did another load with the dishwasher today, running it off the holding tank, and WOW. The added pressure made all the difference! Everything came out sparkly clean!

I will not hesitate to do this again. The pump only ran at most 10 minutes of the whole cycle and I used less than a quarter of my fresh water tank.

Another thing that surprised me is how little power this unit uses, a mere 8A per 1.5 hour cycle. I could run this machine off grid no problem as long as I had a water source!