Fixing stuck doors and what not

Ok, so as one of my dear friends pointed out (and you know who you are) it's amazing what you can do with a lot of spare time on your hands.  Today, my spare time has been filled finishing the cabinet lining that should have been done weeks ago and figuring out how to unstick painted wooden doors.  All this set to the recently discovered tunes of Canned Heat by Jamiroquai that's somehow in my itunes library (thanks Delinda).  Anyway, in the process I discovered this neat website from Australia that includes such fun tidbits as how to unstick your painted wooden drawers with a candle as well as fixing a scratch in wooden furniture with a walnut.  See, there's all sorts of things you can do to fill that time!
I've also had a request for more pictures of the house.  I'm working on it, I promise!  It's still a mess and there's still boxes everywhere.  Hoping to have it more under control by this weekend and will post pictures accordingly.  I'm also in the process of researching the history of the house.  I know it was owned by the town doctor at one time but not sure exactly when.  Don't even have a date for when it was built exactly.  I do however, have pictures of my first attempt at making applesauce (and if you'd like to make your own here's a link).  It was a spur of the minute decision as I wanted to make banana bread to use up bananas that were starting to get a little too ripe but realized I needed applesauce for the recipe.  Fortunately I also had apples on hand which allowed me to escape the 10 minute drive to the nearest Piggly Wiggly, and voila! Homemade applesauce!

Here's the resulting banana bread too!

The big move.... and birds

It's finally happened.  We packed it all up (well, actually Allied packed it all up but we had to stand around and watch for 2 days), put the two cats in the car and drove for 4 days across country to our new home.  Poor Jeff, with me crying the whole first night in the car having said my good-byes to my family earlier.  It was rough and I don't just mean the weather on the way.  You can say it, we sure have good timing moving from Arizona to Wisconsin in the dead of winter.  We were hoping to make the drive in two days but due to bad road conditions and my inexperience at driving on ice while trying to avoid being plowed over by semi trucks meant that it took twice as long.  But we made it!  The new house is big and old and has lots of character.  Character means there are small, odd shaped rooms in the basement and light switches that don't seem to turn anything on, and various other oddities that occur over the course of the nearly 100 years the house has been around.  But strangely, it does feel like home.  I'm surprised how easy it has been to settle in here and honestly, to accept life in the Midwest.  I've always thought I'm a West Coast girl through and through and that will never change.  Guess it can change.  Life's funny that way.  At any rate, now that we've spent the last few weeks unpacking I'm beginning to explore life as a stay-at-home wife (for the moment anyway).  Here's a few of the things I've been doing to fill the time

I set up a few bird feeders on the back deck.  Seems like the thing to do around these parts.  I can now sit back and watch the winter birds flock to my feeders.  Unfortunately, the neighbor has about ten feeders and multiple bird houses set up and I think must have some sort of magic bird seed that attracts them in numbers that makes my little set up look like a joke.  I have a plan to install a bird bath/fountain complete with heater so the water doesn't freeze up which I've been assured will attract birds for miles around.  Who said bird watching can't be a competitive sport?

The other great thing about birds is that they keep the cats occupied for hours. This means I can unpack without cats attacking the crumpled pieces of packing paper that are being pulled out of boxes.  In fact, the birds are so captivating I can sit a mere 3 feet away and crochet with balls of tempting yarn in total peace.  Why didn't I figure this out sooner?








Valentine's Day ice cream!  It's been in the low to mid 20's most of the time that we've been here.  What does that frosty weather make you think of?  Ice cream of course!  Our second week here brought Valentines Day and with it an opportunity to finally use the ice cream maker attachment for my stand mixer that we've had since the wedding but have never used.  I was surprised how easy it was to make and it really was amazingly good if I do say so myself.

And finally winter in the Midwest, with its short days, snow as far as the eye can see, and constant cold means one thing.   Longing for Spring.  It seems that most people here, if they aren't ice fishing, spend a good portion of the winter making plans for the following season.  Of course I've only been here for about a month but I feel I should dive in and immerse myself in the culture.  I have to admit, there is something about planting some starters that makes me feel, of I don't know, warmer?