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Archive for Renee Spindle

10 Things I Have Learned to do Around My House

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Renee Spindle

There are times when my Travel Man cannot be home, and some little thing needs to be fixed around the house. Of course, with Murphy’s Law waiting in the wings, nothing ever breaks when he’s home, just right after he leaves. So when something of a minor proportion goes wrong around the house I try to fix it on my own. That means I may then be forced to learn a new skill out of necessity. I have also been known to place a phone call to a certain Travel Man that talks me through the fix over the phone.

You see we always have an ongoing honey-do list, but I try to keep it very short and sweet. When my Travel Man is home I do not want him spending his days at home fixing things. I want him to be able to spend his time with me. I am selfish that way.

Since acquiring my title of Domestic Goddess, there are a few new things I have learned how to take care of around the house. This is my list of 10 new skills that I have acquired, learned and/or taught myself while my Travel Man has been on the road. A good portion of the things on this list I would have previously left for the hubby to take care of or for the two of us to do together.

1. Cleaning the pool filter. This is usually just a weekly thing, but I am able to keep it on track by myself. We have an above ground pool, nicknamed “big bag of water” by my brother.

2. Maintaining the pool chemicals. I can do this, but in the middle of a hot summer this one drives me nuts! Oh how I loathe algae.

3. I learned how to use a roto-hammer to take up some flooring in our hallway. I got the floor completely prepped so Travel Man could come in and install the laminate flooring. This one was exhausting!

4. Taking the car in for service. I always felt like the service writer would take advantage of my lack of knowledge where the car is concerned. I never liked doing this one, but now I just do.

5. Cleaning the air filter on the air conditioner. Our filter is removable, and reusable. you just spray it off, let it air dry and replace. Voila!

6. Adjusting the sprinkler timers. I have had to learn how to program two different controllers for our front and back yards. Now I feel like I am an expert.

7. Replacing some drip nozzles on the lines out by our fruit trees. This one was surprising quite easy.

8. Repairing our thermostat. You can read the details of that story here. Travel Man was actually at home when this one happened. This was a must-fix critical situation!

9. Fixing our lawn mower. I learned how to clean out this little teensy-weensy carburetor jet. You can read all of the details here.

10. I have learned how to light the charcoal grill. It took me awhile to get past this one. I would always just light the gas grill for a quick summer meal. But now if I want a really great hamburger I definitely light the charcoal grill. The flavor is so much better, and now I love to do this.

All of the things that I have learned to do on this list make it easier for Travel Man to be away from home. He knows I’m not afraid (nowadays) to try to fix something I feel is within my “comfort zone”. And you know it’s also a confidence builder for me. I can still learn new skills, and be just a tad more self-sufficient when I need to be. However, Travel Man and I do have an ongoing agreement that if there are any plumbing problems when he is on the road, I simply call our resident plumber!

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Can you fix a Lawnmower? – I did.

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Renee Spindle

A few weeks ago we were having some lawnmower difficulties. Difficulties meaning the darn thing would not start. Now if you are an avid follower of my blogging stories you know that my hubby is a Road Warrior (aka Travel Man). This means that his “honey-do’s” have to be very well defined and we have to try and keep the list as small as possible as his time as home is usually limited. However, my oldest son, Bryan, still lives with us and he is a tremendous help around the house and with the gardening/yard work. With the combined efforts of Bryan, myself, and Travel Man’s “honey-do’s” we get the fixes done around the house that need fixing. Teamwork!

Back to my lawnmower story now. The lawnmower decided not to start on this particular yard work day, and the boys ultimately determined that it just needed to get taken to the shop for repairs. Travel Man was on his way the next morning and the yard could not wait for him to get back from his trip to get the grass looking beautiful. I was the one taking the mower to the shop the next day, and I was not looking forward to doing this by myself. I get that way sometimes. I can do a lot of things on my own or by myself, but for some reason this task was just not appealing to me.

Then a light bulb went on for me. I remember both of my sons telling me about doing “research” on YouTube to find out or figure out how to fix things. So I thought, why not me! I searched for our brand of lawnmower, and the problem we were having. Lo and behold 5 or 6 short videos came up, and I was on my way. I watched two or three videos, which were all fairly simple to understand.

I collected my supplies, went out to the shed and got the lawnmower out. Then I had to recall my video instructions, as I did not take any of my electronics out to the shed with me. I worked on cleaning out this little tiny carburetor jet on the lawnmower, tried to start it, and nothing. I was a little disappointed, as I thought I would have immediate success. So, I did the same thing again, cleaning out this tiny little pinhole in the carburetor jet, and voila! The lawnmower started!! I was giddee with excitement so I mowed a few rows of the back yard. Then I sent a text message to my youngest son to share my good news. Bryan was at work, and Travel Man was on a plane so I could not talk to them directly.

Yay- I fixed our lawnmower just by watching a YouTube video! Now I can add this one to my list of things that I CAN fix. For the record I’m two for two with my fixes. First the thermostat, and now the lawnmower. It’s always good for me to know I can be resourceful if needed. Believe me I would always rather add another “honey-do” to the list whenever possible.

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Birthday in a Box

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Renee Spindle

My nephew lives a few hours from us and we do not get to see him very often. For his birthday last month I wanted to send him something a little different to celebrate. I combed through quite a few Pinterest pictures and found this adorable birthday box idea. I decided this would be the perfect gift for a long distance family member, and set out to make one myself.

First I gathered my supplies:

An empty shoe box. The shoe box had the lid attached so it made my gift box decorating all the easier. I did not have to do any finagling to hinge the lid together.
Scrapbooking paper with a birthday theme.
Glue – I used tacky glue and my crafters’ tape.
Mod Podge.
Sponge brushes for the Mod Podge.
Washi tape.
A paper-cutter.
Brightly colored crochet thread.
A set of free printables that I found with a Pinterest link at 100directions.com. The printables were really the thing that inspired me to get going and create my box. they are adorable.

Next I planned the paper placement and cutting, and the placement for the printables for my box of fun.

I cut the paper pieces for the inside of the top of the box first and glued them in place. Then I added the trim pieces to embellish the edges.

Then I cut the paper pieces for the bottom of the box and the sides on the inside and glued them in place.

On the top of the outside of the box I cut squares to make a little patchwork look. I used a colorful scrapbooking paper here and some plain brown crafting paper.

Then I embellished the top of the box with the printables, and washi tape.
The washi tape really helped to make the edges looked finished, and like they had a uniform border.

On the sides of the outside of the box I used the same paper that matched the paper that had been used on the lid.

Decorating for the inside of the lid was quite fun.

I cut the pieces out for the banner, and then punched holes in the corners of each piece so they could be strung together.

I used some brightly colored cotton crocheting thread to string the banner inside of the box.
Then I added the embellishments to complete my “Happy Birthday” message.

When I was done decorating the entire box I painted a thin coating of Mod Podge over the top of the outside of the box to keep all of the paper in place and give it a box a bit of a glossy sheen.

Now for the contents of the box I wanted to do something fun for the birthday boy.

I baked a little lemon cake.
Sent a can of frosting with sprinkles, and a couple of plastic knives for him to decorate the cake and share with his friends.
Sent some birthday plates, spoons, and napkins.
Added some candy – M&M’s and Cracker Jacks
Threw in some party decorations, and he was all set to celebrate.

This project was a ton of fun. I would do this again in a heartbeat. You can change the contents so easily to give any sort of themed gift; baseball, a night at the movies, favorite coffee’s. The possibilities are endless. I’ll be confiscating shoe boxes from all of my family members from now on to build up crafting/gifting supply.

This post linked to the GRAND Social

3 comments Posted in Crafts

A State of Waiting

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Renee Spindle

We all spend tons and tons of time waiting over the course of our busy days; the doctors’ office, waiting for medical test results, in line at any store, the bank (oh wait I cannot remember the last time I stepped foot IN the bank!), the gas station, etc. Waiting can be stressful, and sometimes make a person somewhat wary. I have a little bit different twist on the word waiting today that I wanted to share with you.

If you’re significant other is a Road Warrior (aka Travel Man) like mine do you feel like you’re always waiting? If you’re not familiar with the term Road Warrior this is my definition. A Road Warrior is a significant other that has a job that requires them to travel away from home on a regular basis. Your Road Warrior might be gone for a few days, or a few weeks. They must travel to wherever the job takes them on a moments notice. In our case my Road Warrior’s mode of travel is almost always an airplane. He likes to say he commutes in a tube.

So, when your significant other works away from the house almost every week it always seems like you’re waiting for one thing or another.

Waiting for the next time you will see them.

Waiting to hear how their day went. Sometimes waiting a long, long time for this one.

Waiting to talk to them if you have something important to say but it’s not an emergency (if things start to pile up I always have to make a list for myself). I have also been known to e-mail a list to my favorite Road Warrior if he is having a super busy week.

Waiting for the day they are coming home to arrive.

Waiting to go the airport to pick them up

Waiting at the airport for your favorite Road Warrior to get there.

Waiting to have a nice dinner together (spaghetti is the go-to, first night, home cooked meal at my house ) If we are going out to eat on the night that he gets home I have to choose the place. This is because the Road Warrior has been eating in restaurants all week, and he’s tired, tired, tired of choosing where to go.

Waiting can sometimes seem like an eternity. Waiting can test your patience, and put such a strain on your relationship, if you allow that to happen. When your Road Warrior calls you to say he has had a bad day or is missing you, be a good listener. Always be encouraging, and tell him you cannot wait to see him. Those are the things a Road Warrior needs to hear.

Waiting can be the pits, for both of us. Probably the worst form of waiting is when the Road Warrior is on his way home, and then there is some sort of travel delay. Ugh, those are times you need to have your patience in check. You are waiting, he’s waiting. You’re both waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting. But then comes the best part of waiting, when the wait is over. That’s when I am relieved that my Road Warrior is home safe and sound. That’s when we are able to relax together, and just reconnect. There’s no more waiting until the next trip.

2 comments Posted in Travel Man

10 Technological Life Changers

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Renee Spindle

Earlier this year Travel Man and I were driving back home from a road trip we took to Arizona. We were jabbering about this and that, and got on the topic of all the gadgets (because Travel Man is known to be a gadget guy) that our grand-kids will never use. These are the things that they will not have a need for, and that most of us grown-ups will miss. Here is the list of the top ten gadgets that made our lives complete, and that our grand-kids will never own.

1. Record Players – I remember riding my bike to the Ben Franklin to get the latest and greatest 45 record. I distinctly remember buying one of Donny Osmond’s 45’s. Oh, and I had a portable Panasonic record player that I could play my 33’s or 45’s on, and I could take it to a friend’s house!! That made for some great slumber parties.

2. Black and White TV- My memory of watching black and white TV was when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. We watched that event on our black and white in our family room. I don’t really remember when we got our first color television, but I may ask my Mom about that. When we were kids black and white was the norm for us. We did not know any better.

3. Kodak Instamatic Cameras- Remember how you had to have the little flash cubes, and they would rotate to all four sides? We always took our Instamatics on vacation with us. Then my parents would lovingly get the film developed, and then we would have tons of random, silly pictures.

4. The ever famous home phones (of the rotary variety) with the long squiggly cord. That would have normally been the phone in the kitchen. The cord was long so you could walk around the room and talk or hide in a corner for some privacy.

And then there was the princess style phone. If you were lucky enough to get your own phone in your bedroom this was the one to have. That was every teenage girls dream.

5. Polaroid camera’s -Do you mean I can take a picture, and it will spit out the front of the camera, and then a picture will appear? That’s amazing! I remember the flash bar on the front of my Mom’s Polaroid camera. Do you have an extra flash bar? That was almost as distinct a question as, does anyone have any double AA batteries?

6. The Sony Walkman for your cassette tapes. This was the best way to walk around with your music while listening to it. That’s amazing! I can listen to my music by myself and ignore everyone else!

7. Cassette tape players- I can remember when my kids had these when they were young. We got each of them a little portable cassette player for listening to their music “tapes” and for making their own recordings. That way they could each have their own “music machine” and there was no arguing.

8. Fax machines- I can still remember how cool I thought it was when our office got its’ first fax machine. Do you mean I can place a document on this thing and it will transmit the same image to the person I’m sending it too?? That’s truly amazing!

9. Electric typewriters- When I started my career as a professional administrator we still used an electric typewriter. Shortly after I started, probably within 18 months , my boss bought the company’s first IBM computer. So now I could learn word processing, make my corrections on-screen, and then print my document. Wow! That was amazing!

10. VCR- This is really a more recent electronic wonder, yet it has already become a thing of the past. The VCR tapes used to be stacked all over our living room and game room. Then we transitioned to stacks of DVD’s. My kids would always want to watch the same tape until it you thought it should be worn out and ready for the VCR tape graveyard.

Looking back I can see that all of these “gadgets” changed our lives in one way or another. And I am certain that as our own kids and grand-kids get older they will have just as many if not more gadgets than we did.

What was your favorite gadget that is no longer around that you will be sure and tell your grand-kids about?