New Car Gratitude - Blessings Abound

I shared a little bit last week how I got a new car but have had mixed feelings about posting about it. The picture at the top is my dad headed in his home as I drove away picking up my new car! 

I have NEVER asked my family for help on my house, yard or for money. When my dad did his wedding reception at my home, he did come help in the yard to get it ready and there have been a few times he has offered help in the house and I have let him come and help me in my downstairs bathroom installing tiles and a sink. 

As you know, I am fairly independent and handy when it comes to fixing things. The one thing I always call my father about is the cars. My dad is AMAZING at so many things. He has a Doctorate degree and is so knowledgeable in SO many things, but he truly has a gift when it comes to cars.

He even invented and created his own car when we were younger. It has a bed in the back, seats in the middle, a roll bar and a removable hard shell top. It was SO cool and my cousins always wanted to ride with us when jeeping as we would climb up on the back bed and bounce around.

Other times, we would remove the top and stand holding onto the roll bar and one of my VERY favorite memories, was driving alongside a heard of wild horses as they ran. We raced along side them with the wind in our hair. I LOVED horses and always wanted one so to have that freedom moment racing alongside those majestic horses in the wild was such a joy, I will always remember that. Here is a link to a post that has a picture of his creation. It was a green Blazer hybrid. 

With all that explained above, I have to say that we have called my dad many times for help getting cars or fixing cars! My dad would find me what I was looking for at car auctions and help fix them up if there were issues and just recently he found a car he thought one of my girls would like. She drove to visit him and decided she liked the Honda 4 wheel drive car he found so she purchased her first car. 

He then called me asking what car I was driving and told me that he and his wife, (my step-mom but I love her like my mom) wanted to help me get more of a luxury car and he found a Lexus that he wanted me to look at. I told him I was fine driving the car I am driving. It is an old Honda but still runs ok and I was fine with it. 

I went up to pick up Princess Threes old car as she purchased the new one. While there, he had me look at the Lexus and I told him that with all the girls still not settled anywhere and moving to different college apartments and hauling kids with luggage to go on missions etc, I needed a car that had folding seats and more area for dressers, bins etc for a few more years until my kids were a bit more settled in their lives. He asked me what the "must have" options were. Basically, I can't live without air conditioning and heat! Power windows and locks would be nice but not a "must" have. 

Still, I told him I had some financial things going on and I could make payments but not pay just outright until I had saved up some as I had to put new gutters on the house, send off my missionary to Japan, fix the roof etc, etc. 

He called me the next week saying they had already purchased a car and registered it, took it into a shop for a recall fix and made sure it was all ready for me to pick up. Of course, my independent personality told him he didn't need to do that and I could buy my own car and make payments but what he said next to me made me cry.

He said, "(my step mom's name) and I have watched you sacrifice everything for your girls. You have given up anything for yourself in order to give them EVERY opportunity in life and you have raised some wonderful women! They are amazing people doing amazing things and are so responsible. We wanted to get you a luxury car that is reliable so that you can have something wonderful in your life! We got the car you wanted that would help you best, but know it isn't "luxury." We hope you like it! It is here waiting for you when you can find a ride to come pick it up!"
 

I was able to find a friend going up that week and picked it up late in the evening and they waited up so I could give them hugs and he even paid a few hundred to make me an extra chipped key just in case I lost one. Of course he filled the gas tank as well. He had thought of everything. It is the way I like to give my girls their cars, clean, tank full, ready to go! 

I truly think it is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me! They saw the needs I had and made efforts to fix the issues in my life. I could hardly drive home that night! My dad wouldn't even let me take a picture of him with the car or at all. They truly do quiet acts of service for others all the time and never expect anything in return. 

They drive all over the place to support all their children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren! They help pay money towards each grand-child's mission each month and sometimes they have up to 7 grandchildren out at a time. That is a house payment every month! They just went out to visit my sister that lives over a 10 hour drive away a few weeks back and there are health things, family living with them, church service, and they just did more remodeling on their home. I am tired just thinking about all they have done in the past year! 

I feel so GRATEFUL for such an AMAZING example of what a father and mother should be! How blessed my girls are to have that kind of example of how kind and generous a father and mother can and should be! They haven't had that in their home but I am grateful that they can have that in their world and extended family! 

You can't know the gratitude in my heart every time I get into and out of  that car and to be able to lock it so easily, and to be able to sit comfortable while driving and relax not having to drive a stick shift for hours. The joy I feel each time I can put a audio book into the cd player to keep me awake as I make the long drives to family events. The ability to plug in my phone with either car or house charger in the car and to be able to plug my phone into the stereo and listen to movies and music from my phone. Being able to adjust my mirrors from the drivers seat. 

All these things may not seem like much to many but to me, they swell joy in my heart! Even more so, that each time I use it, I feel loved and appreciated! What a blessing to have loving kids and parents and now grandchildren! 

I am TRULY Blessed! Best thing today, as I went to video the car, I found a nickel in the back of the armrest! You can't tell me that my Father in heaven wasn't letting me know He loves me too! (Here is the original post about me finding coins)

I hope you have a Blessed Day! 

Cleaning Minerals and Dirt off of Aluminum Siding and Window Frames

I have a large picture window on the front of my home. When I purchased the home, the people that owned it had the sprinklers hitting the garage, brick and windows of the home and there was white mineral build up on all those areas. 

Since then, I have fixed or replaced the sprinklers so they don't hit the house anymore. With that, the home still had 20 years or so of mineral build up of lime and calcium deposits on it. Our area has red dirt that blows in the wind and then gets stuck to the mineral deposits causing a muddy reddish look to anything with those deposits on it. 

For years I wanted to clean the minerals off and three years back, we cleaned the garage door which took three of us at least a week or so as we had to spray, scrub, and rinse several times to get it clean. I was grateful for their help and glad to be getting that project done. 

Here is a link to our post about cleaning the garage door. I also used these cleaners to clean the sides of my trailer when I cleaned it prior to "waxing" and both are still clean but I think mostly that is due to the "teak oil" and I will post about that in another post but wanted to focus on cleaning today.

I actually have pictures of this dirty window in one of the videos about waxing it and it is so sad to me that it took me three years to get to cleaning it but am so happy I have gotten to it and hope to finish for tomorrows post. 

I used two products to get the grime and minerals off the window. I have always had the best luck using a product called "Tub and Tile Cleaner" by a company out of Idaho called "Melaleuka" and the product has "tea tree" oil in it and for some reason, it eats through the minerals like nothing else. It was sunny and the product kept drying on me so I suggest that you spray it and use a damp squeegee to spread it and then let it sit for about ten minutes and then use the squeegee to wet it lightly again and then five minutes later, use the wet squeegee to scrub at it. Then, use DRY paper towels to scrub the area.

Each time I have used scrubbers, it takes off the thin coat of paint so I suggest doing it this way as the oil eventually works through the minerals taking them off as you scrub. It does take some elbow grease and time. It is well worth the effort though as you look at the comparison video and pictures, you will see how much better it looks. Regular scrubbing and soap just can't get those minerals off. 


What worked well on the dirt and smudges was "Totally Awesome Cleaner" from the local dollar store. I worked great on the dirty area where there wasn't minerals near the top but you have to really scrub and rinse it off well or it will leave yellow detergent marks on the white siding.

I am a bit saddened by the fact that the new gutters are white but they didn't clean or replace the metal flashing coming out from the roofing so against the new white gutters, that area above looks super dirty. Also, the flashing and edge just under the new gutters is yellow with age as

well. I cleaned this area above the window but it is a KILLER on the arms and neck to scrub those areas and I realized with all I have to get done in the yard before snow, there is NO way that I can take the time to get to that this year. But, knowing me, it is going on the list as I don't like to leave things "undone" and am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things like that so hopefully, I can get to that next spring.

You can see in the bottom picture that there is tons of minerals and rust and dirt on the other window bases as well and I am nearly done getting that off the other front windows so pray that tomorrow I can finish those early and teak oil the big window and get them all coated with Teak oil!!! 

Have a Blessed Day! 

Oh Happy Day - New Internet

I didn't sleep much as you know, I went to bed super early this morning and I woke not much later with a headache.

I have had several this week with nausea. I was on some antibiotics and think they messed up my stomach and caused some headaches. I couldn't get back to sleep once I was awake so I got up and took some pills hoping it would take the edge off as I had the cable guy coming today. 

I got ready and literally as soon as I was ready, there was a knock at the door. It freaked me out a little as there was no one at the front door and no car in sight. I went to the back door and there were two guys there. I visited with them and it was great, they were in and out in just over an hour or so. 

They hooked it up, visited for a minute as I logged on with my devices and it was amazing. I walked around the house with several devices streaming youtube and Netflix and was thrilled with the service. I didn't have any hesitations or swirling "thinking" circles while it updated and had to catch up or anything. 

I then gave it the "upload" test by uploading a 3:21 min video to youtube and was sad that the video took 22 minutes to upload. It took almost 7 minutes per minute of video to upload which can seem long but compared to all night with several reconnections, it was amazing! 

I took a "check your speed" test on download and upload from three different sites and found it interesting that two were similar and one was over twice the speed difference on upload and half again on download and one site couldn't register an upload speed after several tries. 

At least I am getting what I am paying for which has never happened in all the time I have been in this house. I am at the ten mps download and 1 upload. I may need to jump up to a faster upload speed if I want to do longer videos but for now, I am super happy as it takes me way more than 20 minutes to answer questions online and write my blog so it isn't a big deal. The pictures took a min or two to upload but sometimes it took 20 minutes to upload so I am so happy! 

After all that, my head was still not happy and my stomach was not far behind so I went and sat in the sun in the front room and smiled when I saw a double rainbow just below my mothers picture. I had to get up and get my camera so I could share the rainbow with you as you know, it is a sign from my mom that she is watching out for me. I have lots of posts about rainbows and how I see them when I need them.

You can search for those posts by typing "rainbow" into the search box at the bottom of the home page. I have seen, heard, had people mention them about 20 times in the past two weeks. I DO think my mom is aware of me and is just reminding me she is there in heaven watching out for me.

I can happily say I will be calling my other provider tomorrow and canceling service! SO HAPPY!

Have a Blessed Day!

This Isn't What I Planned - Here is Hoping

It is almost 7 a.m. and I am still awake. I have been working super hard on the yard and inside of the house. I have been working on cleaned minerals off the big picture window aluminum siding for days now and pruning trees and cleaning out the storage room in the basement after dark.

I put away a few boxes that have been out since my mother lived with me nearly 2 years ago. I would get company and push them into a stack as I didn't have time to get to going through the stuff. There were a few from Easter a few years back when I sent my mother home just before she died. I have had so much happen since that time with her death, dealing with her estate, Princess fives roll over, my health issues, new grandchildren, other family members surgeries and my own surgeries etc that I truly haven't had time to get to stuff. 

I was going to post about games that we played, but my camera is out in the garage as I was taking pictures and video of the window for a blog and forgot to bring it in. I tried to upload a few more videos and they took hours and nothing finished and I am happy to say that hopefully by the next time I blog, I will have new internet and pray that I can actually upload movies without having to reset my internet five times and waiting 2 hours for a minute video. 

So, this wasn't what I had planned, but it is what it is. At least I am getting stuff off my "to do" list as the picture window has been on my "list" since I cleaned and teak oiled the garage door three years back. 

I am missing my girls as they helped me so much on the washing of the garage door. The window has so many layers of red dirt and minerals on it that I have been scrubbing for two days and letting it soak with the CLR remover on it. I nearly finished cleaning it today but my squeegee shredded and I had to leave to purchase a new one and it got dark before I could do a the sides and final wash so hopefully tomorrow I have time to get it done and can teak oil it and share pictures and video of before and after. 

Have a BLESSED Day!

Vintage Game Weekend - Mork and Mindy - Casper -The Rescuers

I had Princess Five home this weekend. I LOVED having her come. 

As you know, I buy old games that look fun. We have several posts on here of fun games that I purchased and we have enjoyed playing them.

Here is a link to a fun game called "Hoopla" that was fun. Here is one about "Mr. Mouth" that was also fun. If you want to read about the other games, type "old game" in the search box at the bottom of the home page and you will see lots.

I have been collecting these games for the past 8 months or so to play with Princess Five when we had time. She had a few days off school and we had time to play most of the games in the pile. 

I let her pick the game she wanted to play next and she rated the ones she liked with "thumbs up" and for the most part, the games were fun just because we were playing them together.

We played a Casper the Friendly Ghost game from the 1950's which is basically the same game as Parcheesi. When I was first married, we would have another couple come over and stay late into the night playing Parcheesi.

I haven't played that game in years so when I played this game with Princess Five, I was able to teach her the strategies that you learn from years of playing.

She really liked the game and actually beat me. It was really fun and I like that it had a theme. I made a short video of each game and give instructions on some. 

The Rescuers game was very easy to play and kids of any age would be able to play it. It could be a fun day watching the movies and playing this game. Princess Five left to return to college and I finished playing the game for both of us. 

The Mork and Mindy game was all new to Princess Five. She had never seen the show so all the words were new to her. Truly, I didn't watch it all that much so some of the words were a bit foreign to me as well.

I basically remembered "nanu" and "Orson" but the rules were clear and we had a funny moment while playing and it may be worth watching the video. 

There is a space or two where you have to play "pirate dice" type of thing and tell the other players what you rolled and can bluff or not. 

I rolled and told her I had a three and a four. She called me "bluffing" and I said, "How did you know so fast?" she told me "Um, there are no fours on the dice!" I laughed until I was close to tears. We had been playing for ten minutes or so. I couldn't believe that I hadn't noticed. 


There is one square where you have to put a card on the head and guess what it says. It was a fun game. I enjoyed the weekend and just spending time with Princess Five! 

I have a few more games to share tomorrow. Have a Blessed Day! 

Fixing or Renovating a vintage Sewing Basket

I was shopping in a second hand store and a guy that I met there and became friends with over time, showed me this little cute sewing basket for sale and mentioned that ones that are in good condition can go for quite a bit on eBay or Etsy. 

I haven't sold on eBay in over 15 years and things have changed so much and even back then, I don't know that it was worth the work having to go to the post office and get quotes on shipping and then difficult customers etc made it hard to enjoy selling.

Now, everyone can sell and unless you have the same thing listed over and over, it takes too much time to list each item and answer emails etc. It used to take me an hour to post each different item writing descriptions, uploading pictures etc. 

I thought the little basket was cute and could make a cute gift. I know several avid seamstresses in my life and thought it may make a cute gift for their "Sewing cubby" area. I keep my eye out for those type things. It was $2 and I thought that was a reasonable price for a vintage, designer basket so I purchased it. 

I knew I could fix it up and make it look presentable so once I arrived home, I fixed up half of the basket to show how it could look when finished. I then made a video showing how I did fix it up. Mind you, if any of the woven material was broken, I wouldn't have purchased it but because is was just cosmetic stuff that was wrong, it was easy for me to fix up.

Basically, you can just get a permanent marker that closely matches to the item you are fixing up. I use variety packs of Sharpie and it has basic colors and back in the day, they didn't have all the color varieties available so the basic colors usually are enough for books, game boxes, and any vintage items. 

You can see in the pictures near the top, the right half was fixed up and the left was not. I pushed the wicker / chording into place and then used the sharpie to color the scratches on the color and it matched very well as you can see. 

I then used a screwdriver and a hammer to tap the nail in the bottom that was out a bit back into place by putting the tip of the Phillip's head onto the nail and tapping the handle with the hammer so it didn't damage the wooden bottom of the basket. 

I used regular Elmer's glue to glue down the decorative edging that had come loose and also the tag in the back of the box was loose. Be careful not to use too much glue as it will make the fabric stiff. Just a fine line of glue works.

Hold it into place for about 30 seconds and it should be good to stay at that point. If you use too much glue, you will have to hold it much longer.

If there are tiny holes or rips in the fabric, you can run your fingernail over the hole and it will usually disappear but if there is a tear or rip, you will need to use a dab of glue on the underside if possible to get the fabric stiff and stable so that it won't run or rip further. I also show that on the video. 

I use slightly damp WHITE paper towels to wipe out the inside of any fabric basket or container. The dampness gets any lint or fibers / hair to stick to it and does a great job cleaning. However, DO NOT USE any colored paper towel or cloth as the colors may die the project and it usually stains it so take care to only use WHITE.

I describe more about cleaning the fabric on the video and hope that it is clear. If you have any questions, let me know!

Have a BLESSED Day!

Snow Typhoon In Japan For Princess Four - IT IS SO COLD

Hello from SNOWY SUEHIRO!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Do you understand beautiful people!? IT IS WINTER! THE BIKES ARE GOING TO BE SENT AWAY! IT IS A SNOW TYPHOON! What is happening? I'll tell you what is happening... GOD is making himself manifest in all our lives, Miracle by miracle! 

I wish I was a faster typer, but lets get started on identify these miracles.

Hello! Yes. This miracle. Lets begin.

God is so funny! We had splits, so we had about a 4 hour trip. We ate really fast to make a connecting train. I luckily remembered the way due to my four transfers in the city.

We speed walk up to the escalator.

We get off, turn, and I see a group of foreigners.... YOU WILL NEVER GUESS IN A MILLION YEARS WHO I FOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SISTER "Happy" and Family, AND her SISTER AND HER HUSBAND!!! The American family from Higashi ward! I WAS SO EXTATIC!!!

I hugged them, and introduced my companion to them, and we bought our ticket, and we had like 3 to 5 minutes, so Iran over and asked for a picture. We took them. I was so happy. I told her to tell the family "hi" for me. She said their daughter "Little me" would be so sad she didn't get to see me. We go through the gate, and are speed walking, and I hear "SISTER!" I look behind me, and "My adopted sister" is running towards me, we had such and awesome hug, and then took a quick picture before parting ways. THAT IS A MIRACLE. GOD IS REAL! Enjoy the pictures! Remember Gods timing is always perfect! 

We also found 5 new investigators in one DAY! Usually we get like maybe 2 or 3 on a really good week, but God knew. We found a family. Life is good.

Splits. It was a party! I am so impressed with my STL Koyama shimai. It was just too good! She is so brave, and just teaches so well. She taught a whole lesson 3, and the word of wisdom in just one lesson. Like wow. I want to be like her! 

We have so many appointments, and get fed so much. God fed 2 huge meals in one night, and I just love my life! 

I've really been working on following the spirit this past few days. And I just don't know why I don't try harder to just do that always because we just only find joy and happiness when we do! I'm also trying hard to lose myself. And with  shimai as my companion, that is easy! We may or may not have eaten dinner at about 10 last night due to nonstop dendo. Life is GOOD FOLKS!!! 

"What should you be looking for in your own life? What are God’s miracles that remind you that He is close, saying, “I am right here”? Think of those times, some daily, when the Lord has acted in your life--and then acted again. Treasure them as moments the Lord has shown confidence in you and in your choices. But allow Him to make more of you than you can make of yourself on your own. Treasure His involvement. Sometimes we consider changes in our plans as missteps on our journey. Think of them more as first steps to being “on the Lord’s errand.”"- Elder Rasband

Pictures:

Yeah. I ate that. I love japan.

Us.

Splits! I love them!

You know how in America we leave the peanut butter knife on the sink to make more sandwiches....  Well.. Welcome to japan!

Oh I got presents on splits. yay! 

From this women,she does wool spinning too! With a drop spinner, and a spinning wheel. The end.

My beloved "friend" Family!

At the top, Little Me!!! She is honestly one of my favorite people. Meet my best friend and little sister! Till we meet again!