The Year of Decrapification

So much stuff!!  From where does it come?  Well, we all know the answer to that:  it can only come into the house if the occupants let it.  

I finally got my act together enough to clear out the stuff I had put in my nephew's room here at my house.  Most of this has already been taken to the Goodwill donation truck.  Another small box is going this morning.  And then there are a few things that are going to my mother's house to be stored in her shop for the yard sale we are having this spring. 

Items from Mr. GV's closet:  coat, shirts, exercise clothes, hat, tie, etc. 

Prom/banquet dresses from 25 years ago.  Why was I hanging on to these?  Sentimental I guess, but now I am so glad they are gone.  The black one might be stylish enough to wear even now but the rest?  Maybe someone would like to make cute pillows or dress up clothes for their girls out of them?  

A wreath that was a gift when my Dad died.  It hung in my spare room (now cat room) where I didn't have to see it very often.  Although it's pretty, it makes me sad to look at it because of the event associated with it, so out it goes.  

Totally random items--water bottles, thermometer, phone case, microwave turntable, storage containers, fanny pack, shoelaces, and so on. 

The few toy items I had.  

Electronics!  Is this the bane of everyone else's decluttering process?  I put the cameras, phone, GPS, and one of the cords in a box for the yard sale, but the rest is gone to GW.  

Houseshoes, notebook, floor puzzle, knife, bag.  Plus a small box of items GW would throw out so I'm going to put them at the yard sale as free.  

Puzzle, lampshade, belt, child learning cards, MY GRADUATION HAT from 500 years ago.  Yep I'm sure someone will want that piece of cardboard and fabric.  

A nice storage container on wheels.  The top is slightly bowed because I had heavy items on top of it, but if counterweight is applied I think it could be fixed.  When you get rid of lots of things, you have no need for as many organizational containers.  

Capri jeans that have multiple buttons for the fly and a couple pillowcases.  

Purses, a few clothing items, horseshoes, water shoes.  Duffle bags are going to the yard sale. 

All going to the yard sale:  guitar (being returned to my mom who is the actual owner for her to sale), kid's chair, fireplace screen, camping mat, photo printer. 

I am SO glad to get these things out of my house.  There is still quite a bit to be done.  It's all the hidden type of items now:  old laptops in the top of a closet, not really bothering anyone but getting on my last nerve because I know they are there, sentimental items packed away in a closet, too many T-shirts clogging up a dresser drawer.  

Pressure Cooking

 I grew up only knowing pressure cookers as something to be a little bit scared of, and was constantly told to stay out of the kitchen when canning was happening because it might blow up.  My parents and grandparents raised large gardens and there was always canning to be done before the season was over.  It was a big process but it was the way things used to be done when my parents and grandparents were growing up, and I am glad to have experienced it.  The heat and the jiggling of the pressure cooker are memories of my childhood that I doubt I ever forget.  Neither will the rows of beautiful vegetables and soups disappear from my mind's eye.  

But today's pressure cookers are much safer and now I know they are not just for canning!  For Christmas, I requested and received Vegan Pressure Cooking by JL Fields.  And last week I was ready to give the first recipe a try.  

Mr. GV is a big fan of mushrooms and also of greens, so the Beans and Greens Soup from the cookbook was the perfect recipe.  Verdict?  Delicious! The vegetables were cooked perfectly and the flavor was great.  It's a little spicy for my taste, but Mr. GV likes the heat so it is perfect for him.  Next time I will probably make it a little less spicy so that I can enjoy it as well.  

I've also cooked in the pressure cooker a few more times since the beginning of the year.  I made black eyed peas twice.  Easy peasy.  (Ahem.)   I rinsed my dried beans (no soaking needed) and cooked on normal (high) pressure for 10 minutes.  I also made brown rice using the recommended times in Vegan Pressure Cooking and it came out perfectly.   I just might be able to get rid of my regular rice cooker!  

A new year

Happy new year everyone!  I've been gone since mid-November.  Lots of life to live and I put the blog last.  I do enjoy posting here and having a place for memories, so my intention is to get back to posting more often.  

To start off the year, I decided to make a list of things I'd like to work on, and I thought I'd share that with you.  I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't do them all, and in fact some of them might drop off my list as time goes on.  We will see!  

2015

-Reading:  Set a goal, something fun—alphabetical, one fiction/one nonfiction, or other ideas to just read more.  I have shelves full of books that I want to read. 

-Blog:  Get on a regular schedule for posting, even if that is just once a week.

-Kitchen:  Homemade bread, try new recipes, use up pantry items, set a grocery budget

-Declutter:  One in/one out rule

-Household:  Set up a regular cleaning schedule  

-Exercise:  Get back to walking and rotate dogs to take along

-Photography:  Learn to use manual settings

-Humane society:  Promote on social media, work on grants, new adoption ideas

-Use it or lose it:  Cookbooks, electronic gadgets, kitchen items, clothing.

Would anyone else like to share a list of goals or just an item you would like to work on in 2015?  Good luck!  I know even those who say they don't make resolutions or set goals probably still have at least one thing they would like to change about their life.  

Kittens!

On August 18, Mr. GV heard Cosette cry out around 3:30 a.m.  And then an hour later we heard the first kitten crying.  Naturally I rushed into the spare room and stayed with her until they were all born.  I wasn't going to miss out on seeing these babies come into this world, not to mention there was always the chance she would have trouble. I had read up on kitty midwifery, just in case.  It was amazing to watch Cosette become a mama, and see all her natural instincts kicking in.  

The second kitten came at 4:55, and the third at 5:58.  The third one was a tougher birth for her.  While it is normal for kittens to be born feet first, his little feet would come peeking out, then disappear, over and over.  I was worried about her ability to push him out but she managed.  He was the biggest and I'm guessing that was the issue.  At 6:45 the fourth was born, and we were done.

Nope.....not done!  Although we had only seen four on ultrasound, at 7:20 Cosette began bearing down again and out popped number five!  

Happy birthday! 

4 days old

Growing

Panther discovers himself in the mirror

We have had so much fun with these kittens.  They are all healthy and loving.  It makes me so sad to think of all the kittens that are born into situations where the mother has to struggle to take care of them, or the babies have to fend for themselves with no mama around.

Grey Bear is the oddball, in terms of coloring.  The rest are all brown/black striped tabby, and he is a grey striped tabby.  He is an absolute beauty.  I assumed he would be the first to be adopted, and he was.  A friend from high school saw him on Facebook and she and her family fell in love with him.  I have received a few pictures and it sounds like all is going well with their new addition.  

The other four?  Well, they are still with us.  Our local no-kill shelter does not have much luck with adopting out cats, so there is a long waiting list.  I have spread the word that these kittens are up for adoption but so far no one is interested in any of the rest.  For the time being, they are find here with us.  I just hate to see them get out of the kitten stage, because I am afraid they will be even harder to adopt out and I don't want them to spend their lives in a shelter.  

For now, I am just enjoying them.  Five cats, four of them 13 weeks old, can be quite a handful, but oh it is so worth it!  

Cosette

In June, my sister who lives in another town told us about a cat that followed her cat home.  She lives in an apartment complex near a large store and there are a lot of stray cats there.  I figure it is a dumping ground for unwanted cats.  

And then the cat started getting bigger......Stray cats don't get overweight for the most part.  Instead they get pregnant.  Which is exactly what this little girl had happened to her.  

We brought her home with us on July 27th.  It was pretty obvious she was pregnant, but I took her to the vet just to confirm.  While there our vet did a free X-Ray "just for fun" as she called it, to see how many fetuses there were.  She saw four, and said she thought the cat would be due in 2-3 weeks.  

We named her Cosette, after one of the main characters in "Les Miserables."  Cosette was an orphan, a little waif with big eyes, and so was our new little mama-to-be, so the name fit.  

With 3 weeks left to go in her pregnancy, she weighed all of 7 pounds.  My sister had, of course, been feeding her, but she still needed some fattening up.  That was no problem, as I put out unlimited dry Kitten Chow and a small can of wet food 2-3 times a day.  

Pretty soon Cosette's sides were sticking out and she developed a pregnant lady waddle.  

She took to laying on her side a lot.  I spent as much time with her in her room as I could, to gain her trust so that I would be able to handle her babies from the beginning.  I also got a thrill out of seeing her belly roll around when the babies became more active towards the end.  

Here is Miss Cozi in Mr. GV's lap, the night before her babies decided to make an appearance.

Next post:  kittens!!

CCHS Tour de Paws

Last fall, Mr. GV got an idea to help out our local humane society.  We had adopted twice through them already and were very impressed by how well the animals were cared for. We attended our first quarterly meeting and put forth the suggestion to them:  How about a charity bicycle ride to raise funds?  They said "Sure!" and so WE DID IT!

This event involved months of planning, loss of sleep (from worrying and from working), asking people for money and supplies (something many of us are not at all comfortable doing), and lots and lots of volunteers.  

But.....we pulled it off!!  In the end we raised almost $5,000 after expenses! Next year our expenses should be even less since we will know better how many  supplies we will need plus there will be items we purchased this year that should last us for many years to come.

The community supported us by many businesses becoming sponsors of cash and supplies, and the bicycling community supported us by coming out to ride, even though the weather report wasn't so good that day!  In the end we had 52 riders, which is fantastic for the first year of an organized bicycle ride.  

Riders get ready for the start

Mr. GV makes a few announcements at the ride start.

J said the prayer, and asked that the riders and volunteers stay safe and that all our animal friends would find a home.  :)

Our last rider in for the day.  He is someone living with  recently-diagnosed muscular dystrophy and did the 100 mile route on his recumbent bike!

An exceptionally happy, extremely tired Mr. and Mrs. GV.

Busy busy

Busy busy around here!  I have so many things to talk about, but I am too busy doing them all to write about them!

The biggest undertaking of them all:  We are in the very last few days of organizing a big event for our local humane society.  It's so exciting and I can't wait to share our end result.  

We also have taken in a few extra boarders---the cute and fuzzy kind.

So between these things, family events, and just normal everyday life, I'm having trouble organizing my thoughts right now.  

In a week or so I hope to be more rested and able to share everything on here.

See you then!