The Professional Domestic

SAL-Project Summer House-#3

Project Summer House is flying by just like Summer always does!

Here is where I left off:

And here I am now:

I hope to finish this one in the next update. The backstitching is what will make it really pop!

Now off to see what the other ladies in the group are stitching! Links to their blogs below. Thank you, Avis, for organizing this Stitch-a-Long.

See you in three weeks!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon,

Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Cindy

2024 Goals Weeks 19-21 of 52

The last three weeks have been busy and I took my son’s words to heart…if you want to do something then do it!

Here’s what I have been working on the past couple of weeks:

Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

I am putting all of these repairs and projects on hold for now because we need to concentrate on getting the credit cards paid off. Some of these we will work on ourselves when we have time.

Home projects done by us – Paint all trim in kitchen, re-paint upper kitchen cabinets, paint ceiling and walls in hallway, finish painting and put up picket pallet fencing, finish painting master bedroom and ~~hang mantle over bed~~, front porch stained or painted, new brick patio in the backyard.

Two Thursdays ago, I took the day off and worked my butt off on placing the bricks for the patio! It was a big job and my Hubby wasn’t very happy with me that I didn’t wait for him but hey, he was pretty happy when he saw it. There is still more to do but at least the bricks are in place. Whew!

Home projects done so far: Hang mantle over bed

Sewing projects – ~~Finish Joyce’s Rose~~, New curtains for kitchen window, new seat cover for kitchen chair, new curtain over cat’s window seat, Christmas tree skirt, finish winter and summer season x-stitch projects

I stitched a ton more on Summer House. It’s coming along. 😊

Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year)

I finished reading three more books in the last 3 weeks.

The Murder on the Links, by Agatha Christie, Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight by Janet Evanovich and The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis. I was a little behind in my Stephanie Plumb books so I was excited to listen to number 28 while I was driving. Who listens to CD’s in the car anymore? Me! My car still has a CD player. Murder on the Links was ok. It’s a little hard to follow because if you aren’t paying close attention you get a little lost. The echo of Old Books in the end was very good but it took a bit to get there. I almost gave up on it half way through because it was kind of boring but I pushed through and I am glad I did!

Books read so far in 2024:

1. “Not Quite Prince Charming”, by Liz Talley

2. “Buttercups in the Basement”, by Jane Harvey

3. “Searching for Sandra”, by Jane Harvey

4. “Christmas at Hummingbird House”, by Jane Harvey

5. “Perfectly Charming”, by Liz Talley

6. “Home for Christmas”, by Lloyd C. Douglas

7. “Witch Is When I Said Goodbye”, by Adele Abbott

8. “The Sun and Her Flowers”, by Rupi Kaur

9. “God Never Blinks“, by Regina Brett

10. “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, by Agatha Christie

11. “Witch is When Stuff Got Serious”, by Adele Abbott

12. “The Murder on the Links“, by Agatha Christie

13. “Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight”, by Janet Evanovich

14. “The Echo of Old Books“, by Barbara Davis

That’s 14 books read. 16 to go.

Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC.

We plan on going to NC for a Chiefs Panthers game, and then I get to see my Step-Daughter’s new house!

Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined.

Lots done in the gardening dept at the Ripley homestead. I planted four varieties of onions including, Yukon gold potatoes, Lunchbox peppers, green bell peppers, some celery, eggplant, lettuce, spinach, peas, a bush bean variety and a pole bean variety. The garlic is now putting out scapes.

I planted 12 more varieties indoors. Tons of pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash and a few flowers and in two weeks they are huge!

I did some more work on my two new raised beds. Every day I try to accomplish something outside.

Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility.

Gardening is definitely counting as exercise right now. Hauling those bricks 12 at a time with a wheelbarrow for 5 hours most certainly counts as a full body workout.

Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months.

I only got 6 more listings up since last update. I have been so busy in the garden that Etsy has kind of taken a back seat.

Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing).

Nothing more on this one.

Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails.

After Little League is done and I have my husband back I will work on this goal.

Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year.

I sold 12 more listings in the past few weeks! 108 down, 192 to go!

Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year.

Our next thrift sale is this coming Saturday!

Pay off one of the two credit cards.

I do have an update on this but I’ll post separately.

That’s all I have for now. I am getting there and feel I just need to be more organized on my days off to get some of these things knocked off my list.

What have you all been up to? Got anything good growing in the garden? Any trips planned? Let me know! – MM

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com

Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning 2024 Week 20 of 52

I have given myself a new challenge in the meal dept. Only spend $45 one week and $90 the next, then $45 then $90. I am going to try to stay within a strict budget for the next few months because I NEED to pay off that credit card. I can’t stand it anymore.

So I figure it will be fun to try these amounts to see what I can come up with. Why $45 and $90? Why not? It just sort of popped into my head. I love a good challenge!

We stocked up pretty well last week spending $160 so it will be as good a time as any to start this.

This week I have the challenge of only spending $45. After figuring out what I wanted for dinners for the week, I spent $43.11 and this is what I bought:

Yep, this is it. I am glad I have $90 to spend next week because I will need coffee and creamer by then, lol.

I’ll report back what I came up with.

Total spent on groceries so far in 2024 – $1840.29

Question of the week: could you spend only $45 on groceries?

Until next week- MM

SAL-Project Summer House-#2

It’s been three weeks since introducing my latest project, and I am already more than halfway through!

Here is where I left off with Summer House.

And here I am now:

I hope to finish this one in the next update. The backstitching is what will make it really pop!

Now off to see what the other ladies in the group are stitching! Links to their blogs below.

See you in three weeks!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon,

Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Cindy

Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning 2024 Week 13-19 of 52

I have been all over the place with meals the last few weeks and have been experimenting with a new diet for myself. I hate calling what I eat a diet but hey, that’s what it is, right?

I have been eating the Mediterranean diet the last 2 weeks. I wanted to eat healthier, but flavorful food was a big requirement for me. Eating Mediterranean always appealed to me because of the fresh ingredients and there was an episode of The Chosen that showed what they were eating and that was exactly how I wanted to be eating.

Here are a few things I have eaten in the last 2 weeks.

Now you say, what about getting my husband and son eating this way? It’s much easier to get my son to eat healthier. He loves a healthy diet but since he is weight training he definitely needs a lot of protein and he wants carbs too.

My husband is the tougher one. He is a junk food junkie. When I first met him, he was all meat and potatoes and pizza and wings and very little fruits and veggies. When he told me what he ate when he was young and also what he ate when he was newly married (the first time) I vowed (as his second wife) to rework his diet and change his mind about eating healthier. One can not eat frozen chicken pot pies, PBJ, and pizza and live well into their 80s. Though somehow, my in-laws lived into their 80s, but sadly, they both developed dementia. I am praying that my husband’s change in diet for the last 15 years will help stave off any potential dementia.

Groceries, since my last update totaled $603.

For Mother’s Day this year, my son cooked for dinner for us, and with the list I gave him, he did my weekly grocery shopping for me. What a great day! I didn’t have to cook or grocery shop! Win, win!

Total spent on groceries so far in 2024 – $1,797.18

Question of the week: who does the cooking in your house?

Until next week- MM

2024 Goals Weeks 15-18 of 52

Lots of stuff going on the last four weeks! I feel like I am making good progress on my goals, although the big stuff is going a little slow.

Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

I am putting all of these repairs and projects on hold for now because we need to concentrate on getting the credit cards paid off. Some of these we will work on ourselves when we have time.

I have been getting more info about how to install a small brick patio myself because I feel we can tackle that without professional help. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but I do want it to last. My husband and I have a difference in opinion on how to do it. We’ll see which opinion wins out.

We got over 400 bricks for free last year from a woman right in our town that just wanted to get rid of them. It took us two nights and two trailer loads but free is free, right?

Last Friday, I had our plow guy rototill the spot where we want to install the new patio, so hopefully, it will motivate us to get it finished.

Home projects done so far: Hang mantle over bed

I purchased the new patterns for both the seat cover for my kitchen chair and the curtain over the cat’s window seat. I also have made good progress on the Summer House in the series I started years ago from Brooke’s Publishing. I have already completed the Spring and Autumn houses, so this will be my third in this series.

Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year)

I finished reading two books in the last 4 weeks.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles, by Agatha Christie. It’s her first novel in the Poirot series, and I really enjoyed it. I have shied away from reading Christie in the past because I was overwhelmed by the number of her characters, but I did well reading this work of hers.

I read this Agatha Christie book because it was included in the quarterly subscription box I get from the Literary Book Club.

This book subscription helps you read the classics and makes it enjoyable.

Every three months, subscribers receive a box with the classic book and wrapped goodies to be opened at designated pages. It’s a lot of fun! Here is the link to the subscription: https://www.theliterarybookclub.com/

I also finished reading “Witch is When Stuff Got Serious”, by Adele Abbott. I needed a palate cleanser after the Agatha Christie novel.

Books read so far in 2024:

1. “Not Quite Prince Charming” by Liz Talley

2. “Buttercups in the Basement” by Jane Harvey

3. “Searching for Sandra” by Jane Harvey

4. “Christmas at Hummingbird House” by Jane Harvey

5. “Perfectly Charming” by Liz Talley

6. “Home for Christmas” by Lloyd C. Douglas

7. “Witch Is When I Said Goodbye” by Adele Abbott

8. “The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur”

9. “God Never Blinks by Regina Brett”

10. “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, by Agatha Christie

11. “Witch is When Stuff Got Serious”, by Adele Abbott

That’s 11 books read. 19 to go.

Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC.

Nada on this.

Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined.

I have gotten quite a bit done on this goal! I picked a small amount of asparagus this morning as well as our first go at the rhubarb.

I replanted over 50 seedlings into their second home.

I planted peas and they are up, garlic is looking great.

I got the two new raised beds set in my new kitchen garden I just need to fill them and stone them in. I also want to brick in a raised bed up against the pallet fencing.

Don’t worry it will look great when I get it all filled in

Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility.

I have been really bad at this of course. I did exercise this morning but I have been getting most of my exercise done in the garden.

Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months.

I got 31 listings up in my Etsy shop in the last 4 weeks. One Saturday I spent four hours just photographing and all the rest of the weekend listing it all. I hope to have another weekend like that next weekend.

Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing).

Nothing more on this one.

Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails.

After Little League is done and I have my husband back I will work on this goal.

Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year.

I sold 17 listings in the past few weeks! 96 down, 204 to go!

Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year.

Our next thrift sale is June 8th!

Pay off one of the two credit cards.

There’s nothing new on this.

Welp, that’s it for now. I wish I could accomplish more but hey, what I have done so far is pretty great! Do you have a yearly goal list? Any major projects in the works for you this year? Do tell! -MM

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com

SAL-Project Summer House

I am so excited to start a new project! This chart is from Brooke’s Publishing and is called Summer House. I have already completed her Spring and Autumn houses and now for Summer House. Aren’t they sweet?

I had a heck of a time finding DMC 225, but after a 2 hour drive to Horseheads NY, I finally got a skein.

Here is where I left off this time with Summer House.

The way I am going, I’ll have this project done in no time!

Now off to see what the other ladies in the group are stitching! Links to their blogs below.

See you in three weeks!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon,

Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Cindy

2024 Goals Week 10-14 of 52

I have been busy the last month working on bakery orders and such and haven’t had the time to buckle down and work on projects but let’s see if I got much accomplished in the goal department.

Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

The tree guy is coming over this week to look at all of the work that needs to be done in our yard so I can get an idea on timeline and cost. I’ll report back next week on this.

Home projects done by us – Paint all trim in kitchen, re-paint upper kitchen cabinets, paint ceiling and walls in hallway, finish painting and put up picket pallet fencing, finish painting master bedroom and hang mantle over bed, front porch stained or painted, new brick patio in the backyard.

Nothing done on this goal.

Sewing projects – Finish Joyce’s Rose, New curtains for kitchen window, new seat cover for kitchen chair, new curtain over cat’s window seat, Christmas tree skirt, finish winter and summer season x-stitch projects

Joyce’s Rose is complete!! It took me two years and 3 months to complete it but here she is!

Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year)

I finished reading two books in the last few weeks. The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur, and God Never Blinks by Regina Brett. Very different books! The Sun and Her Flowers was a poetic work. I haven’t read poetry in years and I liked it.

Books read so far in 2024:

1. “Not Quite Prince Charming” by Liz Talley

2. “Buttercups in the Basement” by Jane Harvey

3. “Searching for Sandra” by Jane Harvey

4. “Christmas at Hummingbird House” by Jane Harvey

5. “Perfectly Charming” by Liz Talley

6. “Home for Christmas” by Lloyd C. Douglas

7. “Witch Is When I Said Goodbye” by Adele Abbott

8. The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

9. God Never Blinks by Regina Brett

That’s 9 books read. 21 to go.

Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC.

Nothing really talked about yet for this one.

Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined.

I started 7 different varieties of seeds:

Purple Red Rubin basil, Green Italian basil, Green cabbage, Big Beef tomatoes, jalapenos, bell peppers, and

Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility.

I have been doing great with exercising. I have been doing my stretches and before I go to work in the morning I have been getting 1000 steps in before I sit at my desk. My goal each day is 5000 steps.

Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months.

Well this goal is not going to get done by March 31st but I am still keeping it here because I need to keep going with it. I have gotten 14 more listings up officially but I have a ton more I have photographed that need their listings completed.

Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing).

We explored the spots closest to us which were Warsaw and Mt. Morris. I really want to explore Arcade next.

Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails.

Warmer weather for this goal.

Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year.

I sold 31 listings in the past 4 weeks. 79 down, 221 to go!

Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year.

Our next thrift sale is this weekend! We have been working so hard. My hubby, a friend and I helped clean a house out two weeks ago getting some wonderful new items for our sale and many individuals have continued to drop their items off directly to us. If you are local stop by!

Pay off one of the two credit cards.

Here is my last update:

Not Impressed with Our Debt

Not Impressed With Our Debt March 2024

That’s it this time! Nothing terribly excited going on in the Ripley household and with the excitement we have been dealing with lately I think that’s perfectly ok. How are you doing with your goals? – MM

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com

SAL-Project Joyce’s Rose #25 – Happy Dance

I am reporting a happy dance on Joyce’s Rose! After 2 years and 4 months I am considering this project finished 🙂 There are a few tweaks I need to make, but I need to move on to the next project. It’s certainly been a journey!

I am definitely going to work on something MUCH smaller for my next project.

Now I’ll see what the other ladies in the group are stitching. Join me, their projects are always so fun to see!

See you in three weeks!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon,

Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Cindy

Not Impressed With Our Debt March 2024

March was a struggle too but a whole lot better than February. I am excited to say for the first time in years we got an actual tax refund! All of this refund will be going to our credit card. Amazing!

In March I made payments of $1234.00 to this credit card, our total is now back down to $10,721.74.

Goal for April: We get the credit card back into the 9000s

Until next time -MM