Sick? Cut Some Slack

January 30, 2012January 29, 2012 / Frugal Fish / Leave a comment

I have been fighting a sinus infection in the cavities behind my forehead for the last 12 days. I am finally on antibiotics, but I got a revelation…

…Your most important asset is YOU!

When I get sick, I found if I keep going as if nothing is wrong I get worse. Sinus infection turns into bronchitis and eventually I get pneumonia.

I remember one winter that I had 6 sinus infections. I would get one cleared up and be off of antibiotics for a couple weeks and get another one.

I guess I learned this lesson the hard way. Now when I get the first symptom of a sinus infection, I immediately stop and start pushing fluids and getting rest. I let the house go and let everything wait.

That is why I have not been blogging and you may not hear from me for awhile.

When the sinus in your forehead drains it comes out the tear duct to your eye then drains down the second tear duct to your nose and throat. That means I have fluid going over my eyes regularly and it makes it difficult to see.

If you get sick, cut back and cut yourself some slack.

I’m going back to bed!

Renew Furniture

January 23, 2012January 19, 2012 / Frugal Fish / Leave a comment

Last week I shared a photo of my new couch. I don’t buy furniture often; I try to just keep my furniture in the best possible condition.

I vacuum each piece every month or so.
I clean them with “Resolve” when I see stains.
I sew up any loose seams.
If there is a worn spot, I will embroider it with a satin stitch. (The “Old Recliner” I posted last week had a spot that was embroidered. Did you even see it?)
If I see a piece of material that has come loose I will reattach it with a staple gun.
I tighten loose screws.
I replace missing hardware.
I also spray springs with WD40 when they get noisy.

Sometimes, it seems the piece of furniture is getting shaggy. I don’t just toss them; I take more drastic steps.

Can you see the difference between the right side and left side of this chair?

The right side is "renewed".

My secret is in the second photo.

My secret "renewer".

That’s right, I shaved it! I used a disposable razor to shave off the pills. I took the picture when the chair was only half-finished.

It’s true, you can renew furniture!

Dividing of the Towels

January 20, 2012January 19, 2012 / Frugal Fish / Leave a comment

A Tale of Two Towels

When we added a bathroom to the basement I dubbed it the “Boys Bathroom”! It is in the corner of the laundry room and it reminded me of a locker-room. That meant the upstairs bathroom became the girl’s bathroom.

I had to divide the towels between them. I had several white towels and several darker colored towels. I decided to use the lighter colors in the girl’s bathroom and the darker, more masculine colors in the boys bathroom.

It was a huge mistake!

In no time at all, the white wash cloths were stained with mascara, blush and eye shadow.

This month I switched them around. I moved all white and light-colored towels and wash cloths to the boy’s bathroom and put the darker ones in the girl’s bathroom.

Sometimes all we need to do is switch things around.

My Reclining Couch

January 19, 2012January 18, 2012 / Frugal Fish / Leave a comment

My aunt Nellie requested a picture of my new couch. As I am really happy with it, I thought I would show it to you, too.

It is a couch with a recliner on each end. We looked at it at a furniture store and then went to the mall to look at couches at a store that was going out of business.

We tested a couple; but realized they were not a brand we were familiar with and they seemed shoddy. If we had a problem we would have no place to get help because the store would be gone. We didn’t even bother asking about the “lower than listed prices”.

We went back to the furniture store and bought this dark chocolate, brown couch because it was made by “Lazy Boy” and this store will be there if we have a problem.

My room is 12” X 14” so all of my furniture has to be multi-purpose. We had to buy a side table to go with the couch or we would have had the recliner on the couch hitting our other recliner when we opened it.

We found this side table at the same furniture store on sale! The front door opens revealing two shelves, but the cool part is – it has a latch on the back. When you turn it, you can slide the top forward and it is open to the top shelf. It’s like a secret compartment!

I have always looked for multi-function furniture. My old recliner is also my rocking chair!

My Reclining Couch

My new side table.

My old recliner rocks!

My Christmas Eve Epiphany

January 16, 2012January 12, 2012 / Frugal Fish / Leave a comment

Who knew I would have an epiphany in the first few minutes of Christmas Eve when…my husband got sick.

My husband never gets sick. He said he had not been that sick since the Christmas he was 8 and had such a bad case of pneumonia he ended up in the hospital.

My son had this flu two weeks ago; it featured projectile vomiting. My husband cleaned up the floors and walls after him, because I was in bed with a sinus infection.

I didn’t take any chances. I wore 2 pair of gloves when I cleaned! I was so disgusted that, after cleaning it up three times, I threw away the little closet organizer I used to store towels.

Then I had to figure out what to do with the towels! I took out all of the cleaning supplies and medications in the cupboard under the sink. Then the towels and toiletries fit nicely in there.

I went to move the supplies to the hall closet and found half of the medications were out dated. I put the cleaning supplies in two caddies and even emptied the top shelf of the closet that had the Nebulizer, Vaporizer and foot bath on it and…

…I found the missing controls to the electric blanket! That was a nice reward.

My epiphany came when I realized how much larger the room felt without the unit holding the towels. I had freed up floor space. It made my bathroom feel twice as big.

I did the same thing in the kitchen when I took out a side table and moved the appliances to the top of the china cabinet. I also took the leaf out of the table. You can actually walk around my table now!

When all three kids lived at home, I needed the table large enough to fit five; but that changed over three years ago. Now that it is easier to get in the chair around the table, we are using it a lot more. (Yes, we were one of those families that ate dinner in front of the TV.)

I never realized the problem was the table was too crowded. In order for someone sitting near the wall to get more food, the person sitting beside them had to get up. Of course, when my son’s family comes to dinner we always eat at the big table in the basement. Especially now that we have a grandchild that needs a high chair.

As I am cleaning, tossing, giving away and organizing, I have ended up with empty shelves. I don’t say, “What shall I put there?” I leave it empty until I find something that needs to go there. I am trying to put as much in closets and cupboards as possible. It makes it easier to dust and that makes it healthier for me. (Dumb allergies.)

To quote my hero, FlyLady.net, “You can’t organize clutter; you have to get rid of it!”

Before De-cluttering

After De-cluttering

Not a Slave of Fashion, But an Employee

January 12, 2012January 12, 2012 / Frugal Fish / Leave a comment

Okay, I ranted about the article on fashion, and in the middle of the night, I realized I do listen to them and modify their advice to my situation.

1. Orthopedic Shoes – I will wear my lace up shoes with matching pants to draw attention away from them. I will not wear them with a dress or skirt; which means I will only wear a dress or skirt to an event lasting less than two hours, because that is about how long I can handle wearing pumps.

2. Matching Jewelry – I will wear parts of sets with other jewelry if the color is what I need to balance an outfit; but I will not be afraid to wear them together.

3. Past Trends:

A. Twinsets – I will break it up for other outfits, eventually, but I am still searching for one in 100% cotton or silk, that I can afford. The search has been years, so when I find it, I want to wear them together for a while. I will wear them with jeans to be a little trendier.
B. Nude Hose – Okay, I threw out my nude hose, but I will wear tights or colored hose.
C. Mock necks – I will stick to my guns on this one. Turtlenecks choke me.

4. No Pastels, Try Jewel Tones – I will wear jewel tones exclusively, because I am a winter according to the book, “Color Me Beautiful”. According to Missussmartypants.com, who did my colors also, I am a summer; but her color swatches included red, turquoise, emerald-green, teal, and purple. I consider them jewel tones.

5. Under Accessorizing –Okay, I am guilty. I spent almost a year wearing just my wedding band and the gold stud earrings that I received when I got my ears pierced. My diamond kept coming off when I changed the sheets on the bed and I was afraid I would lose it.

A. Earrings – I wore yellow hoops on Thanksgiving and my granddaughter was fascinated with them. Now when she comes over she likes to pull my hair away from my ears to check out my earrings.

B. Pins/Brooches- During my sons Christmas concert she was amused for several minutes playing with my angel pin.

So, I am not a slave to fashion; I am more of an employee. I employ some of their advice!

Really, I am wearing jewelry to amuse my granddaughter!

I Will Not Be a Slave to Fashion

January 10, 2012 / Frugal Fish / 2 Comments

I read an article in a magazine that shared the clothing items that make you look old. While I agreed with most of the article I had a problem with some of it.

Don’t wear orthopedic looking shoes. What if you have to wear arch supports? When I wear them with my pumps I feel as wobbly as I did in the end of my pregnancies. Besides, I wear New Balance lace up shoes and they are 100% made in America so I am contributing to our economy, not China’s.
Don’t wear matching jewelry. As opposed to clashing jewelry? I swear some of the stuff I see in magazines clashes to me. Oh, and you forgot to notify the queen because when she gets out the crown jewels you better believe they match. I prefer to treat myself like a queen.
Past trends: twinsets, nude hose and mock necks. Once again you forgot to send the memo to everyone because JC Penneys is selling all of the above. I noticed LL Bean is still selling Mock necks, so you better add them to the list. I think turtlenecks look good on people with long necks, like Audrey Hepburn; but the rest of the world looks better in a shorter Mock neck. As for going without hose, you have never dealt with Atopic Dermatitis, Varicose veins or rubbing thighs. A little bit of tanning solution will not fix any of the above, and in the first item, it will make it worse. And twinsets -if I could find one in 100% cotton or silk that I could afford, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
No pastels – try jewel tones. Apparently, they have never had their colors done or read the book on seasonal coloring. Those with summer coloring look good in pastels. Those with winter coloring look good in jewel tones. The spring coloring looks good in beach tones and the autumn coloring looks good in earth tones. Telling a summer that pastels are out is crazy. It’s like saying they are out.
Under accessorizing. I think there is more danger in over accessorizing! I mean how many people can actually work on the computer with ten bracelets on their arm. I guess that only works if you are modeling and having your picture taken. If I am going to clean out the closet there is no way I want to wear a bracelet. It could catch on the clothes or I could lose it.

I think it is more important to ask ourselves why, not what.

Why am I wearing two bracelets with matching earrings that I bought together? Because it is cool in here and the bracelets keep the sleeves of my long-sleeved tee-shirt closed so cold air cannot go up my arm.

Besides…I like what I wear to match!

My matching bracelet and earrings!

Sayonara, Sofa!

January 4, 2012 / Frugal Fish / 1 Comment

I’m saying goodbye to a dear friend today. One who came into our lives 12 years ago after my son had a farm-related back injury. She has been with us through two surgeries, a broken arm, and more sinus infections than I care to count.

She comforted me when I grieved, held me when I laughed, cuddled me when I napped, helped my granddaughter sit up, watched countless movies with me, provided a safe place when I was afraid, sat through thousands of games and gave me a place to write.

Yes, I am emotionally attached to my couch!

We searched for months before we chose to bring her into our family. We looked in every furniture store in a fifty mile radius.

We shopped with a list of requirements:

Long enough to lie on, and my husband is over 6’ tall.
Overstuffed back and arms.
Solid Hunter green color (Hey, it was the 90’s).
A soft, durable material that did not irritate my sensitive skin.

We found her in the back room of the store in the farthest corner. She had been moved to make room for the new color in décor.

We bought her and the matching love seat so all five of us would have a place to sit.

I took care of her. I vacuumed her and rotated the cushions four times a year. When her stuffed arms and back sagged, I pushed it all back up in place and, using an upholstery needle, I sewed the cushions down to the frame.

Sewed the stuffed arms back down to the frame.

I kept my upholstery needle with green thread in it for years. If I noticed a spot wearing, I embroidered it with a satin stitch.

I performed major surgery on her in 2006. The front board had become loose and was tipped at a 45 degree angle. The plastic strip on top of the board was holding on by two staples.

I cut the top of the material from one side to the other. I nailed the board back in place and attached the plastic strip with a staple gun.

I used crochet thread to sew the padding back together and to baste the two pieces of material together.

Then I embroidered over the stitching in a satin stitch. It was hard on my back to sit on the floor embroidering my couch, so I worked on it for just fifteen minutes a day.

It was therapy for me, as it helped to pass the six months my son was in basic training and advanced individual training.

Satin stitch over the seam.

When the springs started to lose their zip, I folded up a quilt and placed it under the cushions.

When one spring gave up the ghost, I put a neck pillow over it so the cushions would be even.

When the cushions started sliding off, I sewed a strip of Velcro to the back to give them something to grip. (That fix actually backfired, because when you sat down it sounded like you were passing gas!)