Rooster Party

I am joining Sheila at Note Songs for her rooster/chicken party. I have a long love affair with these feathered friends and I did a post about that here: roosters post. My mom had roosters in her kitchen so I suppose it has been ingrained in me that you need a few in every kitchen.

I even have them in my china cabinet.

On pillows.

Here are some kitchen fellows watching over me as I cook.

They keep watch outside.

And even grace the garden.

Thanks to Sheila for hosting this fun party.

Linking to:

Notesongs

Tabletop Tuesday

Rednesday

Not Just a Housewife

A delightsome life

Very Merry Vintage Style

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Wow Us Wed.

Transformation Thurs.

BNOTP

Primp Your Stuff Wed.

Show & Tell

Farmhouse Friday

You Have to Train Them Young

You have to train them young if you want them to help you when they are older. And I am totally serious about this. Because I used to work part time while we were homeschooling, I had to have help from my daughters to keep the house up. I wasn't going to be gone nine hours and come home to a disaster, so the girls learned young that they had to help in the house. My mom would be here of course when they were young and she was instrumental in giving them regular chores that they still do to this day.

You cannot wait until they are older and then ask them to help you and expect them to not only know what to do but to have the discipline to do it without a hassle. I have friends whose kids do nothing around the house and they say I am lucky cause my girls help. Yes, I am lucky, but I put the time in when they were young teaching them how to clean and how to do it without complaining. Basically, if they complained then they got more chores until they stopped complaining. Sounds mean but you only have to do it once or twice and if they know you are serious, they will take you seriously. Don't give up because it is hard work to teach them to do it the right way but they will get it. My 17 year old has been largely in charge of our laundry for years. She does a wonderful job and when I chip in to help her fold she says she hates the way I do it. I mean she brings our laundry folded in perfect squares with tight corners. She is a bit OCD about orderliness so she is perfect for this job. I hire her to organize cupboards and drawers, she is so good at organizing.

Hard work when they are young will pay off immeasurably as they get older. My girls will move out and know how to cook and clean. Doesn't mean they will, but it won't be because they didn't learn here. My oldest is sort of a slob in her own space but she can cook, do windows and even fix a lawnmower. She is a stud. She works three jobs this summer saving for a car. Hard work never killed anyone and our kids are soft these days. They need a strong work ethic instilled in them if they are going to survive. I may sound like a slave driver, but I really am not. I have a full plate as well, especially with a husband that works out of town and long hours. I have to do what a lot of husbands would normally do at times and my girls, at least the younger ones, have more free time due to homeschooling. This is just a bit of motherly advice for those raising young ones right now and some encouragement to keep at it when training kids to help around the home. I don't have perfect kids and they sure don't have a perfect mom but don't hesitate to get them started young as it will pay off for you later and really for them too. They may never admit it but you will have taught them valuable life skills.

Linking to:
Time Warp Wife
Domestically Divine Tuesday
Tip Junkie
Bowl Full of Lemons
Barn Hop
A to Z
Not Just a Housewife
Raising Homemakers

Summer Burnout

By this time of year, I am over it as they say. No trips to the nursery for flowers to fill my pots. Long gone  are the lush flowers from spring and early summer.

The heat here, even though we have had a mild summer, makes it hard to keep anything newly planted alive if you miss a days watering. So I am content to just putter and clean things up. I still water daily but I start to empty pots and put them away until next year. 

I just enjoy the things in my garden that require no attention from me but still look pretty.

I love this old iron bench. I need to paint the wood but I hate to paint the sides as they have such a lovely aged rusty thing going on.

The ivy never dies. It is so happy hugging the base of my fountain. Less time planting and more time just turning the sprinkler on for the kids. 

Linking to:

Cottage Charm

Bowl Full of Lemons

Southern Daydreamer

Beach Day!

Taking the girls and some friends to the beach for the day. Great way to spend a hot summer day. See you all later!

Simple Sundays - TSP

Several people have e-mailed me and asked what I use to clean my kitchen walls and cabinets in order to prep them for painting or for general cleaning. I use TSP cleaning powder and my mom always used it so it is what I have always chosen for the job. It is a great degreaser and wonderful for just wiping down walls and cabinets. Wear rubber gloves though. Below is a snippet of info I found on the internet.

TSP and Wall Painting

The TSP cleaner is also useful for wall painters as it helps clean, degrease and de-gloss the walls. Using this cleaner also means that you won't ever have to sandpaper your wall clean anymore, either.

This cleaner helps you further prep your wall for painting by breaking down the gloss in oil based paints which then opens up pores in the wall in order to help you easily lay on the paint. When using your TSP cleaner for this purpose, do remember to thoroughly rinse your wall and allow the surface area to completely dry before you begin painting.

Linking to:
Seasonal Sundays
DIY Showoff
The Girl Creative
I Heart Naptime
Anything Related

Polka Dot Play

While wiping the kitchen down and playing around with my shelf when I put everything back, I decided all the pokie dotted things needed to live together.

My kids and their friends are making fun of my funny blue vase but I think she looks good up there by the little pitcher.

What is it about dots? I love them. But I love a lot of stuff and that my friends can be a problem.

Linking to:

Farmhouse Friday

Seasonal Sundays

SNS

Masterpiece Monday

Met Monday

Keeping it Simple

Polka Dot Play

Show & Tell

Summer Evenings

Every evening after supper, my youngest likes to have dessert out back. Sometimes its Popsicles but often it is a little bit of ice cream. But it has to have sprinkles. I blame her sisters for that. They introduced her to the little sugary chemically colored things.

So a little for Q and some for me. Then maybe a splash in her little pool. For her, not me. Do you think we are torturing her somehow by making her slide down into this?

Happy Saturday. Yeah for the weekend. I will be doing more wiping down in the kitchen. Oh fun.

Linking to:
Pink Saturday

Dollar "Spot" Love

I found these cutie pie cleaning cloths in the Dollar Spot at Target yesterday. I love these little cleaning cloths and use them all the time. When they are soiled I just toss them in the washer. They last for a long time. Six for a dollar is a great buy on these. The polka dots in fun colors are the icing on the cake.

I decided to put them in one of my little pails right on the dryer. We are always grabbing a rag and spray cleaner to wipe things down and these not only look cute but are right at hand when needed.

Linking to:

stuff-and-nonsense

Friday Fun Finds

Finding Fabulous

Weekend Wrap Up

Sat. Night Special

Cherished Treasures

Vintage Trays

Had time to run into Goodwill the other day and look what I found. This darling set of vintage green metal trays. My heart went pitter patter and I grabbed them right up. Four for $3.99. Yes!

Not sure what I want to do with them but they are so sweet and have lovely graphics. I think they are gardenias. Let me know if I am wrong. This is my favorite shade of green right now.

Linking to:
Show and Tell Friday
Common Ground
Feathered Nest Friday

Getting Ready

I am working hard a little everyday to get my kitchen prepped for painting. I have been wiping down all the walls and while I am at it I decided to wipe all the cabinets down as well. They will be staying white but how nice to have a kitchen all clean and shiny. It is like a drug to me when I walk by something I just scrubbed clean and notice how bright and shiny it is.

Goodbye bandaid color walls. Hello Crystal River blue.

I wanted to add an update on cleaning your wood blinds with rubbing alcohol. I had some spots that were not budging up at the top under my curtains. The alcohol was removing some of the sticky stuff but I couldn't totally get them clean so I just took a damp rag, dipped it into some TSP and wiped the blinds with that. Wa-la! Removed everything. 

Used diluted rubbing alcohol to clean my pot rack and it worked as a wonderful degreaser.

Sparkling clean cabinets. It's a good thing as Martha would say.

Linking to: 

The Charm of Home

No Minimalist Here

Common Ground

Feathered Nest Friday

Inspiration Friday

Thrifty Things Friday

Show and Tell Friday

My All-Time Most Favorite Candle

Of all the candles in the world my absolute favorite is Country Store by McCall's Candles. My kids buy me one for every occasion that requires a gift. It is such a wonderful homey scent. Fresh and spicy. Like baked apple pie and fresh fall breezes with a spicy note. How is that for a description? I burn them from September through the winter months. I get mine from my favorite store but I am sure they are sold nation wide or maybe online. If you come across one you have to treat yourself.

Snickerdoodles

Who doesn't love Snickerdoodles? And is that not the cutest of all cookie names? Makes you chuckle just to say it. We love fresh baked cookies in our house. This is my favorite Snickerdoodle recipe using butter and not shortening as some call for. Snickerdoodles are a cookie that is best eaten the same day or within a day of baking. This recipe is the perfect sized batch. You can freeze extras for later.

A certain someone smelled cookies.

The recipe is below.

Snickerdoodles


1/2 c. butter softened
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1//4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 tbl. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Beat butter with an electric mixer on med. speed for 30 seconds. Add the one cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in the flour with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour by hand if needed. Cover and chill dough about one hour or until easy to handle.
Combine the two tablespoons of sugar and the the cinnamon. Shape dough into one inch balls. Roll balls into sugar-cinnamon mixture to coat. Place two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

Linking to:
Tales of a Trophy Wife
wow-us-wednesdays
Faded Charm
Sugar and Spice
Raising Homemakers
Good Life Wed.
Foodie Friday
Fellowship-Fridays

Back to School Vignette

Okay, this was entirely too much fun to put together. Maybe it is the anticipation of fall, my favorite time of the year. Hubby and I collected things from around the house we thought had a school theme.

The little desk is actually an American Girl Doll desk and the typewriter is AG too. I thought it was perfect. The slate, an antique I bought, has been dropped by one of my kids and cracked, but I still love it.

My little Mia doll is reading her little Bible which was actually my dad's from WWII.

The microscope was hubby's grandfather's and is pretty old. 

The old text books are from the late 1800's and belonged to my grandfather. He collected old books.

Although we have been a lifelong homeschooling family, I still like to make a big deal about back to school. This year I actually don't have much teaching to do. My oldest two are in college and my 13 year old is taking all of her classes from other teachers so all I will have is my three year old and I will do some sort of preschool program but mostly she will play and enjoy the other kids in our homeschool group.

Linking to:

Remodelaholic

Common Ground

Southern Hospitality

Susan Branch Blog

Poking around in my e-mails I found that Susan Branch now has a blog. I love her style. She is one of my favorite illustrators. I have many of her cookbooks too. Check out her blog. You will not be disappointed. More cute illustrations and lovely photos to enjoy.

Look What I Have Done

I know many of you will think I am rushing things but I wanted to do a back to school vignette in my dry sink and a little something on the dining room table. I started to pull some things out and I just kept going until it was done. Here is just a peek.

School for my kids starts the last week of August so they still have three sweet weeks left. Some of our friends started this week. I miss the days when everyone started right after Labor Day.

Not sure my kids were too excited to see the reminders but my hubby and I had fun putting it together.

This little plaque of the Pledge of Allegiance is a favorite. I have heard that not all schools bother to ever say it any longer. When I was in school we said it everyday first thing. I personally think that was a good thing. 

I will reveal the whole thing in a few days when I am done tweaking it.

Linking to:

Coastal Charm

Tabletop Tuesday

Twice Owned Tuesday

Tuesday's Treasures

Singing It's Praises

I just am rubbing alcohols biggest fan. It is the best de-greaser around. I cleaned the backsplash behind my stove with it over the weekend. It works so great. Just look at my 53 year old tile shine. So cheap too. I already did a post on how great it is on cleaning my wood blinds in the kitchen the link is here.

Had a great time on Saturday hanging out with my husband. We saw a movie and then went to lunch at Chili's. Now some of you may be a big Chili's fan but the one we went to grossed me out. Is anyone out there like me? The table was sticky, the menus were gommy and the door looked like no one had cleaned it in six months. Even my husband who thinks I am OCD about these things said it was dirty in there. Now I know you are all going to think I am a crazy woman but I don't like to eat out much. It always grosses me out  thinking of all the people that touched my food and silverware. I am like Jack Nicholson in "As Good as it Gets." I don't have fifty bars of soap in my medicine cabinet but I have threatened to start bringing my own silverware. Just funny about restaurants. I also don't like what may be lurking in hotel rooms but that is for another day.

It also works as a great glass cleaner and is all I use now. Just dilute about half and half with water with a little more water and mix. I use an old spray bottle. Works wonderful on shower doors too.

Linking to:
Homestead Revival
Homemaking Mondays
We are that Family
New Nostalgia
BNOTP