In my last post, I spoke of yellowjacket hives being underground and that my husband gets rid of them himself. However, I highly recommend getting a professional exterminator to do this, because it can be extremely dangerous to do this yourself. In this post, I'm just going to tell you how to know when a yellowjacket nest is nearby and how to discover where it is so you can safely mark the spot for your hired professional. And in case you don't know what a yellowjacket looks like, here's a picture you can use as a reference.  yellowjacket image courtesy of Wikiepedia. Yellowjackets are members of the wasp family, but they are plumper than the average wasp. And although they resemble the more docile honeybee we all adore, the yellowjacket is extremely aggressive and not as fuzzy. So, if you begin to notice quite a few yellowjackets in your yard, just be watchful. Often, where they are more plentiful, you will be near their nest. Sometimes, you can see them come and go thro...

This morning, I have been embracing gratitude and thankfulness as I reflect on all that God does for my family and me. That's how I reset my emotions when they go off the scale. And now, I'm feeling much calmer and less anxious and ready for the day.  One of His sweet creatures visited our deck yesterday afternoon. God's sweetest creations like this grey squirrel bring me so much joy and calm me down. Thankfully, I didn't scare this little squirrel when I pulled back the curtain to check the rain gage.  The bluebirds must have eggs in the birdhouse now, because the male chased the squirrel under the deck, perhaps thinking he could be a predator. Then he took to his "throne" on the shepherds hook that will eventually hold one of the hummingbird feeders later this month, watching out for other "predators" that may come along.  In an earlier post this month, I had mentioned that we had either a bumble bee or carpenter bee visiting our deck, looking for...

October Leaf Peeping Enjoying an autumn drive I know autumn isn't a holiday, but it got me out of the house for a couple of days. It's still fairly warm here in the afternoons even though we're well over a month into this beautiful season, so I actually grilled hamburgers one night. And we went leaf peeping one afternoon. See the pictures below of some of the beauty I captured with my camera as we drove around. Beautiful sun in the clear October sky Autumn in the backyard We don't have to drive anywhere to experience the beauty of autumn though. I love our backyard . I tell my family I would miss our backyard and large deck more than anything if we had to move. One of life's secrets is having a nice place to get away from the daily grind. My place for that just happens to be our backyard. Even when the roses slowly stop blooming, the hummingbird feeders come down, and the other birds stop nesting, I still enjoy spending time on the deck or in the backyard. The pink...

Oh my goodness! I'm so excited to share what I learn  this summer with you. I have tried to follow grilling directions from others on the internet, but as with so many other instructions, people just copy each other. I find out quickly that they haven't tried anything they're telling others to do. Rest assured that my instructions are genuine, tried, and true. In my 59 years on this earth, this is my first experience with charcoal grilling. So, I'll be doing all the trial and error before sending you to the grill.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm planning to spend lots of time outdoors this spring, summer, and fall. There's plenty of time in the colder months to stay inside. Who knows? I may even grill during the winter months - outside of course. I asked for the charcoal grill for Mother's Day so that would be part of the plan to spend more time outdoors.  I chose the Royal Gourmet charcoal grill and smoker shown below. It is a less expensive model, ...

These first  2 tips came to mind when I was buying 4 new outdoor deck plants this past week at Lowe's. First of all, at least at the Lowe's I visited, all of their hanging basket flowers were badly wilted and turning brown. I'll have to say, that was a first. All of their plants usually look amazing. I'm not sure if it's because of all the local rainfall, and maybe they haven't been watering them regularly, and that was why they looked so shabby. Because typically, someone would be watering the flowers at about the time we arrived; always have been in the past, and no one was doing that on the day we visited earlier this week. Or maybe they've let Mother Nature overwater them. I don't know. Regardless of the reason, I passed on buying hanging basket flowers. I'm the type of person who really needs to start with healthy flowers. Therefore, I brought home 4 in regular pots, because they all looked healthy. So, my first tip is to pay attention to the ...

A while back I had told you I would be on a blogging hiatus for a couple of months to clean our carpet. I think I'm past that point now and thought I would give you another update. Simply put, I'm not finished. 😜 Life continues to be busy, so this is turning out to take a little longer than I had anticipated. Transcribing work has come along since I posted my last update. I was thinking I would get work on April 17th or18th. So, I didn't clean carpet that week to prepare for the incoming work. For some reason, I didn't get the work until Friday, April 26th, so that was another week I didn't clean the carpet, because I was still waiting for the work assignment. Then I worked until Wednesday May 1st on that project. So, another week I was unable to work on the carpet. I spent Thursday and Friday doing more in-depth housework to compensate for the remaining time last week.  This week is Mother's Day prep and another grocery store trip on top of taking care of a fe...

One of my favorite side dishes to make with a meal is mashed potatoes. One day, a couple of months ago when life was very busy, I just happened to notice these Idahoan  brand instant mashed potatoes with 4 servings in a grocery aisle I was going through. They had a variety of flavors, so I bought several pouches. I wondered if the dried potato flakes could be as tasty as the flavors indicated. And yes, they are to my surprise. I am very impressed. On days when I'm running behind, it's 5:00, dinner should already be served, and I'm not going to be able to start dinner for a while yet, AND mashed potatoes are planned for that meal, this will do quite nicely. Fewer dishes are involved, and it's quick. They are pretty thick, but they don't feel heavy while you're eating them. Very creamy actually.  All you need to do is: Boil 2 cups of water. Pour the boiled water into a heat-proof bowl. Pour in the dried potato flakes.  Stir with a fork until you get a thick, mashe...

Listen to Meditation 6 . Psalm 46:10 NLT says, "Be still, and know that I am God!" I AM your Father. I AM caring. I AM love. I AM your Savior. I suffered and died for the world's sins. I was resurrected from death and will resurrect those who love Me. I love you. I AM the Holy Spirit - your Guardian, your Guide. I live in you because you have accepted me. I help you find your way back when you feel lost. image courtesy of Anuja Tilj via Unsplash You make mistakes, but you are not a mistake. You think I am far away because of your problems. But I AM closer than you realize. I love you. Just be still and feel the love of all 3 of My Entities radiate through you, to the tips of your fingers, to the tips of your toes.  Every person, everything has a purpose. Nothing is wasted. Breathe in the oxygen that the vegetation provides you. Breathe out the carbon dioxide that the vegetation around you needs for its survival. Listen to the songs of the birds I have placed in your back...

For the next couple of months - give or take - I'll be cleaning out the walk-in closet and deep-cleaning the carpet throughout the house. My life went into "ignore" mode as I dealt with the death of Cleo . Nine months since she died, now, I need to deal with some of these "chaos" issues in certain parts of the house. It has been 14 months since I last deep-cleaned the carpet, so that has to start as soon as possible. I have some pre-posts started for the site, so I'll work on those as I have time. I'll still have regular updates; I just won't be around as often as I have been recently. Just for a while. As I age, I find that life is simpler if I try not to do too much each day. It causes muscle and joint pain and mood irritation. I don't like any of that, so I'm trying to be smart about these upcoming cleaning plans. I don't think that makes me wimpy, just wiser . I still get up before sunrise and get lots of work done each day. But I do ...

Yesterday, I told you I had a couple of new work-from-home updates for you. I talked about a new AI platform to help with transcribing work in yesterday's post. Today, I'll talk about the second one, which is Udemy. I recently discovered Udemy - an online learning platform. I just started my fourth course out of 5 that I originally purchased and have recently bought 4 more courses! They also have over 10,000 free courses that you can try. I don't think the free courses have certificates. Some of the paid courses don't either, so be watchful of that. I'm actually looking for classes with certificates. image courtesy of udemy.com At first glance, these courses look expensive. But I have a secret I'm going to pass along to you. You will get some great complimentary pricing just for being a new student ($19.99 and less). And when those complimentary prices go away, put classes at regular price that you want to take in your wish list, and wait a few days until they...

Before I accidentally discovered this amazing trick that I'm going to share with you this morning , I would get so frustrated trying to string green beans. More than half of the time, I either would not be able to pull the strings off at all or the string would break before I reached the other end of the bean. For a reason I can't remember, after washing the green beans, I did what I'm telling you below, and I was able to string my green beans with ease. It was amazing!  Put green beans in a bowl of water. Place the bowl of green beans in the fridge overnight. The next day, the strings are easy to pull off the green beans.  If you have plenty of green beans to string, you'll want to remove about a handful from the cold water at a time - and place the green beans remaining in the water back into the fridge so the beans won't get warm before you finish stringing them. In other words, the strings pull off better when they are colder. And the beans break better, too, if...

Helping other women is something God has called me to do. That is why I started this blog over 3 years ago. I want you to realize you're loved by our Heavenly Father no matter how bleak things are at the moment. Maybe you were afraid during the pandemic - or just bored. I hope that reading this blog helped you in some way and continues to help you. Because life still throws things at us even if the world seems to have returned to "normal". Now that the pandemic is "over", troubles, pain, sorrow, and worries still lurk. I'm still going to be here for a long, long time, sharing as much as I can with you. From teaching you how to make an easy side dish to reminding you how much God, as Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit, loves you.  Today, I wrote the first of what's going to be a long memoir about our dearly loved and missed cat, Cleo. As much as my heart is breaking for her, my heart breaks more for this broken world. I wake up each morning m...

For the past few years, I've had rosacea . This draws a lot of unwanted attention to my face. Lately, this annoying rash has started burning more too. There are 4 types of rosacea, and mine is the papulopustular - or acne - rosacea that resembles acne across my cheeks and nose. So, that's the one I'll be discussing today. Although, the rash is constant, heat triggers larger outbreaks and the uncomfortable burning sensation. So, warm showers, blow drying my hair, exercising, cooking, overexertion from cleaning, mowing, other types of work can all make this face rash worse. And I do at least 3 of these things daily.  I don't want to take medication, and I can't afford many of the creams that are recommended. So, I've started using inexpensive acne medication to ease the burning and significantly fade the redness from bright red to light pink. You will need to discuss other treatments with your doctor if this doesn't work for you or if you have one of the other...

A soft-bristle toothbrush is great for cleaning vegetables. In particular, I like to clean carrots and corn with a toothbrush. For the cleaning agent, you can use liquid soap, dishwashing liquid (my preference) or vegetable cleaner found in the produce section of your local grocer. For corn, you first need to remove the husk and as much of the silk as possible. Wash with your preferred cleaning agent. Rinse thoroughly under warm running water. Then after you have rinsed away the agent, use your toothbrush to rake over the kernels (lengthwise) to remove most of the remaining silks.  Image courtesy of Katherine Volkovski via Unsplash With carrots, chop off the green tops and the tips. Next, wash them with your preferred agent mentioned above. Use the toothbrush to clean in the crevices of the carrots while the cleaning agent is still on them. Rinse thoroughly under warm running water to wash away all the dirt. Image courtesy of  Farrinni via Unsplash You can also use a toot...

Are you tired of your potatoes rotting within a week of bringing them home? I use russets for many of my side dishes - fried potatoes, mashed potatoes, potato salad, baked potatoes, oven fries. Or I'll dice them and use them in my main dishes such as stews, soups, and homemade pot pies. And I usually use 5 lbs. to  10 lbs. of potatoes each week.  Not only is potato rot a waste of money and it leaves you without your planned side dishes or add-ins, but the smell is just plain gross. I've found that by following my guidelines below, I can usually at least prevent potato rot for up to 2 or 3 weeks. That isn't to say that a rotten potato doesn't get by my nose once or twice a year. But I am saying that most of the time, these guidelines will work even though I take the potatoes home and store them inside a dark kitchen cabinet. And I store at least 20 lbs. of potatoes for 2 to 3 weeks inside that cabinet. Patricia's Potato Selecting Guidelines When you select your bag...

Slow down tomato ripening Do you ever wonder why tomatoes are displayed with the top side down at the grocery store or farmer's market? That's because it prevents the tomatoes from ripening too quickly at room temperature. And when you get them home and set them on the countertop with the top side up, you promote faster ripening. That's great if you actually want the tomatoes to ripen faster.  However, if you want to slow ripening for up to 2 weeks, you can actually place the tomatoes in the fridge with the top side down. Remove them from the fridge and place them top side up on your countertop at room temperature for a day or two before you need to actually use them. I just recently did that with one that had been in the fridge for 10 days, and it was perfect 24 hours later when I needed to use it. Image courtesy of Leilani Angel via Unsplash Slow down lettuce rot To slow down lettuce rot, buy a full head instead of packaged lettuce. Packaged lettuce starts turning brown w...

We all know how busy life can be. And there seems to always be several interruptions along the way. The most important thing to remember is to just let life happen. Some days, you won't feel like being busy, so take the day off as best as you can. That sounds too simple, but that's the best advice I can give you.  As most of you can attest to as well, I can't count the number of times I've had to put off the plans in my life because something else came up. I'm not a selfish person, and as I will discuss more at some point, that made me feel like I had to be a people pleaser. And I'm not lazy, so I've always felt like I had to be busy doing something. Guess what? Reading a good book is something that I enjoy doing on days I need to give my muscles and/or brain a day off.  God, after all, did give us orders to rest 1 full day each week.  So, I am starting to do that now. That doesn't mean that I don't do anything on that day of rest, but I make our mea...

If you have a big job ahead of you, and you really dread it, my secret is to just start small. Work in small areas daily until the chore is completed. For instance, if you have several windows and blind sets to clean in your house, start by cleaning one or two sets of blinds and the windows those blinds cover on day 1. The rest of the blinds and windows can follow in short bursts of progress.  Image courtesy of CDC via Unsplash Another example would be carpet cleaning. What a hard job! It requires lots of energy and time. So, I start by moving a piece of furniture away from the wall and I clean that section on day 1. Then I move another piece of furniture the next day to clean the carpet under it and so on until all of the furniture that can be moved has clean carpet beneath it and behind it. Then I can move to the simple parts - the area where no furniture needs to be moved! Let me stress that not all furniture needs to be moved. And if it's too heavy to move, then don't! Kee...

Last weekend, I was using my Instant Pot pressure cooker to make a roast, and that reminded me of a few tips I have wanted to share with you.  Number one, when you're planning a meal to be ready at an exact time, besides any prepping such as defrosting, cutting, and searing, be sure to allow approximately 20 minutes for the pressure cooker to preheat. Although, your meal is in the cooker and the lid is sealed, preheat time is separate from the cook time and will vary a little bit with each setting. And there is probably going to be nothing in a cookbook to tell you how long preheat will take. Second, if instructions call for searing, do that in a skillet instead of the pressure cooker. That way you don't have to take time to clean out the pot before you pressure cook the meal. And third, add an extra 30 minutes to the timer when cooking meat to assure your meat will be tender. For instance, my cookbook instructions for a roast is to cook 20 minutes for every pound. So, if I hav...

Cleaning routines Weekly cleaning routine I'll have to admit that I don't believe in spring cleaning. And lately there isn't much time for cleaning at all. However, something usually gets cleaned once a week in spite of everything else that's going on. At least once a month, I also wipe off the doorknobs, light switches, remote controls, keyboards and mice, and telephones with antibacterial wipes. The bathrooms get cleaned every week. No ifs, ands, or buts.  Then I pick two other rooms to dust and vacuum each week. Or I'll dust and vacuum one room, sweep the garage, and mop the linoleum floors in the kitchen and bathrooms. Finally, if I have time, I'll vacuum the rest of the rooms to complete the weekly cleaning. I continue this routine until all of the rooms are clean. Then I start the process over again.  It typically takes 4 to 6 weeks to complete my cleaning cycle. This way, I can, at least, keep the house looking decent. Only adults and 1 cat live in my h...