Wednesday on the Homestead

Good morning and happy first day of spring!! Spring makes me happy :). Winter is done now in the PNW and warmer days have taken over and I'm loving it.

I'm a little later this morning in getting my Wednesday post out. I took care of a few chores before sitting down to write my post. Before I started I went out on my deck to take my weekly picture. I'm glad I waited because I was met with this lovely site..

We get a little family of deer that like to come and graze on the grass occasionally. It was sweet to see a couple of them this morning. 

I've had several things going on in the last week and feel like life has been so busy.  As I shared last week my daughter had her baby and I've spent time taking her meals and rocking my newest little love.  

Towards the end of last week my Hubby had a work related conference he had to attend in Seattle. It was a one day conference so we decided to expand the time.  We left early in the morning, drove to Seattle, and checked into a hotel that was near the conference.  He went to the conference and I had a very relaxing time reading, meandering around the hotel, working on blog posts and just enjoying the peace and quiet. After he got back we had dinner and took advantage of the hotel's indoor pool and hot tub.  

The next morning we drove farther north and went and visited Hubby's aunt and uncle. We had not seen them for so many years.  We had the best time with them. They are such and inspirational couple to us in so many ways.  We were blessed to spend the time with them and hope to do it again soon. 

In the later afternoon we drove home. The most challenging thing about the drive was going through Seattle rush hour traffic. I've heard the stories about how crazy the traffic is, and I do believe they are all true! Ha, ha!  But we survived it and made it home in good time.  

On Sunday I took my first hike of the season and actually the first long hike I have taken in many years.  I'll share more about that in a bit.

Goals

I have already started on my goals for the day.  I spent some time this morning giving the kitchen a good cleaning, taking care of my cats, getting a fire going, and working on a to do list for the day.

I need to go through my house and give each room some attention. Clutter pick up, dusting, vacuum, sweep, mop, and tidy up.  Not quite sure how things can fall apart so easily when there's just the 2 of us! But I suspect it's because we have been busy.  

For the Love of Books!

I made progress in my Agatha Christie book but it's been slow. 

Projects

After my granddaughter was born and our trip out of town my quilt project has come to a standstill. Maybe I'll find time this week to work on my next quilt square. 

My other project is my hutch in my dining room. I've had it on my list for a couple weeks and I did get it started. Today I would like to finish it. I have a couple boxes of things for donation and finishing up this project would mean I could get all that I have out of the house, which is always a great feeling.

Frugal Living Practices

I thought about this tip last week and realized I don't think I've ever shared it. 

A couple years ago I was cleaning and reorganizing a cupboard in my bathroom and ran across a large bottle of hair conditioner. I rarely use conditioner and I had bought it as a package deal with the shampoo. The shampoo is long gone but there was this bottle of nearly full conditioner. 

What can I do with it I thought. Looked on line and came across women who use it in place of shave cream or gel.  I started doing that. 

I've been very happy with this and my bottle still has maybe 1/4th left in it which probably will last me another year.  

It's been a long time since I purchased in shave gel/cream which has saved a lot of money because that stuff is not cheap.  

Fitness and Health

Last week my oldest son texted me asked if I'd like to go on a hike with him. I said, YES!! On Sunday he and I set out on a 6 mile hike. I wasn't sure if I was physically up to that distance, but wanted to push myself.

We set out on the trail about 11:30 in the  morning.  We were hiking in to a lake that was about 3 miles in. The weather that day was gorgeous! The sun was out, it was a little cool but actually perfect hiking weather. 

Part of our trail connected with the Pacific Crest Trail and both of us had never actually hiked on that trail.  We saw several people with backpacks walking thru. 

Me and my son standing on the PCT (we both thought it was a picture worthy moment! :)..

We stopped and took a break at about 2 1/2 miles, and then when we arrived at the lake....

After our break we hiked back out. We made it back to the car at about 3:00pm. I was definitely not breaking any speed records! :D But had the most amazing feeling of accomplishment.  I was SORE! All over, my feet, my legs.. seemed like everything was sore.  

I recovered faster than I thought I would and am already going through my hiking trail book seeking out our next adventure. 

In the  meantime with the improvement of the weather, I'm back out there walking the roads around my home building more muscle and focusing on keeping fit to prepare for my next hike.

View from my Deck

I could not ask for a more perfect day :). The beauty of the day is inspiring me to get outside and enjoy it.

 

Today's weather: High: 67  Low: 46

Spring is certainly in the air! 

 

That's all for this week my friends,

Crystal