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Archive through November 15, 2004

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2004 Nov. - 2005 Jan.: Home and Garden (ARCHIVES): TVCH's Home & Life Organization (ARCHIVES): Archive through November 15, 2004 users admin

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Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 1:11 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LOL, we should be starting to call ourselves the "15-Minutes-Gang". Funny how quickly 15 mins come up whenever I need to do something, but not for tooooooooooo long.

Dipo
Member

04-23-2002

Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 8:33 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I have to say I have been trying to do some of the holiday stuff, but it is hard. I don't even know what I want to get anyone and we were supposed to do the online ordering. It did get me thinking though so I have picked up a few things and I am on the lookout for a few more.

Have gotten some things done in the 15 minute runs that have been on my list for a long time. I don't really have much clutter anymore just have to keep up with the cleaning and chores I hate, like cleaning and waxing my 4 sliders before the rain gets to bad (I seem to have missed on this one since the rain has started but will get it done).

Hope everyone is making progess with their projects.

Catfat
Member

02-27-2002

Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 11:25 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Hello everyone, I haven't been posting to this thread for several months, but have been sneaking a peek every so often.
Been trying to keep up with Flylady stuff, not having much success, still just trying to keep my morning routines in place, it's the best I can do right now. I printed off the Holiday list and am starting to do some of it, but don't really have the enthusiasm yet. House is a mucky mess, but one or two little areas are cleaner.
It is good to see all your names again, and I am thinking you all are having more success than I am.


Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Thursday, November 04, 2004 - 7:59 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thank you, Lumbele, for those positive words.

I really don't have a problem with my decorating...I know what I like. Some folks, my father included, are a bit put-off. He was visiting the other night when he noticed his grandmother's picture, which hangs from a peg on a shelf and not from a nail lined up perfectly on the wall. He really wants me to get that straightened up and placed "properly." LOL.

It is so great to see other posts here besides my own! I'm going to step back and allow you all to keep right on. I love to read what you're up to and how you're doing. Catfat, don't you worry, it will happen...babysteps, babysteps, babysteps. Dipo, you are way ahead of me! I haven't even begun to purchase for the holidays yet, but I think I had better get crackin' and buying some holiday baking supplies, etc. Spinner, I hope your work schedule slows enough for you to be able to join us more often...love hearing from you...still have flowers going in the bathroom?

Take care, everyone!

Catfat
Member

02-27-2002

Thursday, November 04, 2004 - 10:19 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Here is a perfect example of trying to do things perfectly and ending up with one of those "It just gets worse and worse" stories.
I always try to get supper started before I go to work at 11 a.m. so that things are less dramatic in the evening. Yesterday I was looking through the freezer for stuff to make homemade soup, maybe using up a few bits and pieces of vegetables, meat or whatever. I came upon a huge bag of soup-bones given me by a friend when she slaughtered a beef, and I thought that it would be easy enough to boil those bones down and make some good organic soup.
I found my biggest kettle (covered in greasy dust after sitting on the top of my cupboard for years) and hauled it down. OK, I said, I will just wash this off and use it, no big deal. I washed this huge 5-gallon kettle, filled it with maybe 10 pounds of frozen bones, covered them with water, and wrestled it onto the stove. It took nearly an hour for it to come to a boil. That's OK, I said, I will be a little late to work today. I boiled down those bones and hunks of fat, turned off the fire and looked in. Dragging out the bones, I discovered an inch of grease layered on a huge pot of greyish water with no taste and smelling like a knacker's yard (slaughterhouse). I had dirtied up my stovetop, the sink, two seives, a huge pot and its lid, a dozen ladles and utensils, measuring cup, several dishtowels, and on and on. I ended up with nothing edible, except a pile of bones to give the dog, and I am still cleaning up globules of beef tallow that splashed on every surface in my kitchen.
I told my husband, the next time I suggest boiling bones to make soup, remind me of this day and give me a good shaking.
I shall now keep several cans of good old Campbell's consomme' in the pantry and will never again try boiling bones to make soup.
Don't even try to tell me what I did wrong, because I don't care.
I am counting the three gallons of grey water that I poured onto the compost heap as my pounds that I flung for the week. It will probably kill all the good bacteria in my compost, so that will end up mucky too. (sigh)

Signed.
It Just Gets Worse



Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Thursday, November 04, 2004 - 11:03 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Oh, Catfat! I'm sorry that it didn't turn out so well, but I still can't help laughing! You know what they say about everything happening for a reason? At least your story served to crack someone up; I can see it as an "Everybody Loves Raymond" episode! I'm with you, canned Campbell's is plenty good enough. By the way, I have no idea what you did wrong since I have had no experience with that amount of bones...maybe that's it? Too many bones?

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Thursday, November 04, 2004 - 1:33 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Catfat, Vee isn't the only one rofl. Your story just brought me out of one of those "I wanna bite somebody's - anybody's head off moods". Hard to do that when you are laughing. Besides, there is nobody home right now.

Catfat
Member

02-27-2002

Thursday, November 04, 2004 - 11:46 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Glad I could be of some help!!
I have a hundred stories like that. Maybe I should be a stand-up comic.


Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Friday, November 05, 2004 - 12:07 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
LOL, Catfat, I once cooked a meatloaf that took over 2 and a half hours to cook and still came out burnt on the outside and half raw inside. I feel your pain, lol.



Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Friday, November 05, 2004 - 1:04 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Well, Catfat, why not try out your routine on us?

LOL, War. LTNS, how goes the battle?

Vee, I hear apple pies are your specialty. I was just talking to DS about how I have tried oodles of pie crust recipes including so-called idiot-proof ones, yet never managed to serve anything but leather. That's why I buy them now. Just thawing some puff pastry which I'll grace with an apple filling and glaze. Great substitute as well, just more fattening. But then DH got a nice cholesterol report card, so we can get a little cheeky.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Friday, November 05, 2004 - 3:37 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I don't think we can call them my specialty, Lumbele, but nice try! I do love a homemade crust that is nice and flaky so I don't care for the goof proof ones. I actually use Martha Stewart's method, which, I suppose, does not come as a surprise to anyone who has been reading my posts for the past several months.

Your puff pastry idea sounds lovely...now puff pastry is something I would not tackle from scratch!

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Friday, November 05, 2004 - 4:07 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
You mean one can make puff pastry from scratch? I thought puff pastry only comes in rectangle yellow cardboard boxes in the freezer section.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 10:20 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Lumbele, I imagine that you have made some from scratch...what with your European roots and all. Come on fess up...I think that would make a fun thread...what is the most difficult or challenging recipe you have ever made?

If any of you have Adobe Reader, this link is a good one. It is a lengthy list (4 pages) of Holiday tips from the American Cancer Society. I found some good ones. It's called Because We Care. Have a happy weekend!

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 10:54 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Not a chance, Vee, wouldn't even try to make puff pastry from scratch. Not for all the tea in China.
Even my mother and grandmother, 2 confirmed "from-scratchers" never tackled that one. So shopping in the freezer section is absolutely guilt-free for me.

Biloxibelle
Member

12-21-2001

Sunday, November 07, 2004 - 10:12 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Hi gang, oh Catfat you made me LOL this morning.

I thought I'd pop in and catch up. It seems I am getting things under control around here. I have come up with a routine and am sticking to it. It's part Flylady part me.

This is the daily routine:
I get up every morning and dress right down to the shoes. I clean all three bathrooms, spray down sinks and toilets, clean toilets so the bathrooms are "company ready". Then empty dishwasher while making sons breakfast, feather dust house and make beds while he is getting ready for school. After dinner is cleaned up I start the dishwasher, shine my sink, swifer sweep and swifer mop the kitchen floor. It is amazing just how that simple routine can keep the house looking so clean. I do shower later then Flylady suggests because it take a good hour to blow dry and curl my hair. So I shower around 11:00. But I have always wiped the shower down after showering so that hasn;t ever been a problem.

Now the extra's after the routine:
Mondays is Windex day (after 3 year old DGD is here on Sundays this house needs windex LOL). Then I also wash all the towels and iron any clothes that need it.

Tuesdays is cleaning out the fridge and grocery shopping in the am after dropping son at school day.

Wednesday is is laundry day.

Thursday is carpet day. I vacuume the carpets and change and wash the sheets.

Friday is mopping floor day. I sweep and mop the bathrooms and entry. I wash all the throw rugs and water the plants.

Saturday is outside day. I sweep off the front porch and patio and wipe off the patio furniture.

Sunday is kind of a day off. I sleep a little later and don't do the daily routine. But I do laundry and clean the guinea pig cages. But this is the day my son and his family come over and we grill out.


This has all worked out much easier then I thought. It's not a big deal at all to get these things done. The daily routine has cut my "cleaning" time to almost nothing. Where before it would take forever to clean.

Actually last Sunday I was put to the test we had some friends we haven't seen in a while call wanting to come over. It was so nice to say sure and know my house was company ready. None of that sure then rushing around to clean baths, kitchen or whatever.

I also amuse myself by watching "How Clean Is Your House" has anyone else seen that?

I'm going to take some pictures of my on-line purchases I mentioned a while back and hope to get then posted sometime tonight.

Schoolmarm
Member

02-18-2001

Sunday, November 07, 2004 - 11:21 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
How do you clean your house? Well, I don't know about you, but I just call my Mom and whine and say that I need help cause I've just had TOOOoooo much.

Mom has now cleaned the kitchen. Thrown out the 'expired' food. Cleaned the living room. Tried to restore one of the books that was soaked when my car was submerged. Done laundry. Done dishes.

Thanks MOM!

I feel like I'm cheating, but at least I can be productive at work. I have a recital on Tuesday and Wednesday I leave to give a paper in California. Still have to get the poster made and finish WRITING the paper. But at least my computer almost up and running. I'll have two days to get ready for Munich and that paper.

<it will be ok, it will be ok, it will be ok!>

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Sunday, November 07, 2004 - 12:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Biloxibelle, so good to hear from you! Sounds as if you could send that letter in to the lady herself and have it sent out as a testimonial. I'm glad that you have found ways to make it work for you even if it isn't exactly what's on the program. I am also glad that you don't spend as much time as you used to cleaning...that's the blessing of it...clean house and more time. Looking forward to your photos!

Schoolmarm, mothers are great and once you've unpacked and settled in more it will be easier for you to set up the routines that work for you. Best wishes as you head off to do these exciting things...presenting papers and getting ready for your trip to Munich! Oh, you're right...it will be okay!

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Monday, November 08, 2004 - 12:54 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
You're not cheating, Marm. Sometimes you just have so much to do you can't keep up with the less important stuff. Mom and I have been taking turns cleaning sis' house for the past month and a half or so. Sometimes housework just isn't as important.

My cleaning routine has been semi-organized since before I quit work. I was working full time with two young kids at home, and decided I wasn't going to spend all my freetime at home cleaning. So I did one day of major cleaning. The whole house would be done, mopping and vacuuming everything, if curtains needed washed or the fridge cleaning out it was done that one day, then I spent the rest of the week doing minimal upkeep. It worked so well that I adapted it just a bit when I quit work.

Up until just recently I still did one day of major, clean everything in site cleaning. Then the rest of the week, I'd have an hour or so of housework each day.

For a while I really got out of my routine badly, and the first thing to suffer was housework. I finally got to the point I was miserable. And so last week, I really started concentrating on getting back to that routine. It's gone pretty good and I feel like I'm back to being me. Having a clean and neat house doesn't make me happy, but rather keeping the house clean and neat gives me something to do where I'm being useful and productive and that makes me happy.

Darren's off later this month for two weeks. Kids will be in school for most of that time, so one of our jobs while they are busy, is going through their toys, books, and clothes. Seperating for things they've outgrown and need to get handed down to younger cousins, things that need to be thrown out, and stuff that needs to be kept. It's a project I've been putting off for awhile because it's such a big job so I was tickled to death when he told me he'd help me get it done, lol.

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Monday, November 08, 2004 - 4:28 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Biloxi, great to see you again. Good to hear that you are using a routine that works for you. Mine constantly changes, too. What works for me one day/week/month doesn't necessarily work the other.
I've never watched that show, what network?

Marm, getting help is not cheating, just accelerating. Besides, with what you have been through it should be mandatory.

War, a clean house automatically lifts my mood as well. The dungier things get the deeper the furrows over my brows.
Good luck with the kiddie cleanup! I remember those days. But you and the kids will feel so much better with all the clutter making someone else happy.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Tuesday, November 09, 2004 - 9:40 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Getting help is not cheating, just accelerating!

I love that, Lumbele! It's going to become part of my personal lexicon.

Hope you're all doing well...must get off this computer so I can get about my business...not doing kitchen today...bedroom instead. Kitchen was done over the weekend so am all set. Are you all making your plans for the holidays?

Have a great afternoon...Laurie, where are youuuuuu?

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Saturday, November 13, 2004 - 9:23 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Glad to hear that I am not the only one not sticking strictly to Flylady mantra. If something in a different zone needs doing more than zone work, I too just move on over.
Many of the Kelli missions get done in my weekly "blessing". Ok, another deviation from Flylady. I can't bring myself to quit after 10 mins if I am not finished with the task. Who quits dusting when the buzzer goes off, but you can still write "pig" in the dust on the table? If I waited to do the backsplash in the kitchen until Kelli hollers "Go" I'd need hammer and chisel to get the guck off the tiles.
But I did dump 12.7 GB on my computer today. How much fling weight does that count for?
The puter kept running a bit on the slow side and I know I should be doing regular maintenance, but I think I need a computer Kelli to keep things running smoothly.LOL


Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Saturday, November 13, 2004 - 2:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Who quits dusting when the buzzer goes off, but you can still write "pig" in the dust on the table?

LOL!!!! This is why my mother will not even try the program...says there's no way that she can get anything accomplished in 15 minutes. I suppose it all depends on how far gone things are. But this line made me hoot right out loud, Lum!

My computer is running horribly...probably I need to weed out old e-mails and my gif files, too. It's just that what's in the computer is so neat and tidy from the outside anyway. Lum, hope that you can figure out the math on that 12.7 GB because I'll be absolutely no help with that.

Perhaps you can send in that suggestion about a computer Kelli because that's a good one!

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Sunday, November 14, 2004 - 10:58 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Sorry about your computer troubles, Vee. Hope you can find a way to fix things. Wish I had some advice for ya, but my very limited savy only goes as far as "reboot!".

Your Mum has a good point when it comes to the "weekly blessing". That's why I often do 2x1 hour a week. But I can get quite a bit done in those 15 mins time zone forays.

Sent the suggestion to Flylady and would you believe someone is actually working there on Sunday, because a "Thanks for the suggestion" reply came back half an hour later. Short and sweet, but I am not gonna hold my breath. Unfortunately, I am probably the least computer literate out of our group here, but until we can find a more knowledgable volunteer (uhum, hint, hint), or Flylady comes through I think I'll play Kelli, the computer missionary for a bit.



Catfat
Member

02-27-2002

Sunday, November 14, 2004 - 11:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Lum, I think the replies are automated. I sent two different letters to Flylady and got identical replies. Nice, but automated, I think. But maybe yours was different?

Lumbele
Member

07-12-2002

Monday, November 15, 2004 - 9:23 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
That's what I thought at first too, Catfat. But unless they have a super smart "replyer" they could not have known that what I sent was indeed a suggestion.