Springtime is HERE!!!!  We have been cleaning and organizing and keeping up with the kids.
Since we haven't been getting many hits on eCrater, we are also trying other non ebay options.

 Etsy for example.Our store there is https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThriftyMota


Also, I have started another blog in hopes of sharing memoirs from my great grandmother and grandmother's Newspaper articles, cards, letters, photos, and other memorabilia.

http://memoirsedgarhubler.blogspot.com/

I set up my store on eCrater, no sales so far and it has been a couple of months.
I also recently tried Etsy.com which has more traffic, but still no sales. The sites are:
http://thriftymota.ecrater.com/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThriftyMota

Wicker Rocker repair

Johan recently was asked to repair the wicker Rocker as shown in the photos.
Apparently there are not to many places here in this area that sell caning supplies, but we found a place online and the items were just as we ordered and at a great price.

First he sanded the chair:

He then removed the old canning and spline from the chair.

 Then he stained the chair.

Replacing the wicker seat and the new spline around the wicker.

Finished Chair after sanding, staining, replacing the wicker seat and covering with a gloss. 

Glad to getting back to normal! January 11th we took the kids fishing at Rollover. Forgot bait, so we bought some frozen fish. I should have known we weren't going to catch anything, but we went anyway.

Well Sunday I woke up and my left hand and right arm were burning like on fire. By Sunday night I have Johan take me to the ER in Webster. The ER sends me home with an antibiotic and some pain medicine.

Monday I'm no better.
Tuesday no improvments. So off to the doctor I go. Still nothing. The doctor says keep taking the antibiotics.
Wednesday the swelling is going up my arm. The blistering is all over my left top of my hand and right forearm.
Thursday I've had enough. Back to the ER on January 16. They admit me. Take an Xray and a tetanus shot later I'm in a room getting IV antibiotics and pain pills. After cultures for saltwater vibrio came back negative, the Infectious Disease doctor orders a skin biopsy from the dermatologist. The hand surgeon cuts off all the dead skin on the top of my left hand where the blisters were. More cultures and a biopsy to test for Microbacterium Marinum. I had never heard of that so googling yep you bet!

Still no results that were positive. So January 22, I get to go home with a home health to clean my wound so Johan can see what they do. That said I was glad to be home. Over the next two weeks, besides getting the range of motion back in my left hand, I got the results of the biopsies. They basically said no bacteria that was tested for and no allergic reaction.

I was and am glad that this was not something worse, but still wish I knew what the cause was.

Super Laundry Sauce

Recently, I came across this article for Super Laundry Sauce. We made our first batch and I'm proud to say that the results were awesome! Laundry came out clean and fresh. These two jars will last for a while!

Check out the recipe here at this link:
http://www.budget101.com/myo-household-items/5-minute-no-cook-laundry-detergent-recipe-4075.html

Natural Furniture Cleaners tips

While cleaning out my emails, I ran across the following tips about Natural Furniture Cleaners.

• White Vinegar will clean furniture without destroying the finish. 
• Rub store-brought toothpaste gently over water rings on wood to remove them.
• Use black tea to clean and fill in tiny scratches. Use brown crayon for large scratches.

The water ring idea we will definitely have to try!

While looking for some free printable Certificates for Gavin's completion of the second grade Science and Social Studies classes, I came across the following site. Very neat free printable certificates so I thought I would share.
http://www.squidoo.com/free-printable-award-certificates-for-kids