Sweetwater Style: A Weird Week it Was!

weird (wîrd)

adj. weird·er, weird·est

1. Of, relating to, or suggestive of the preternatural or supernatural.

2. Of a strikingly odd or unusual character; strange.

3. Archaic Of or relating to fate or the Fates.

On Monday the Governor called off school because the wind chill was -40 degrees!

On Tuesday our School District cancelled school for the 2nd day because of the cold!

By Friday.....the temperature had risen to above freezing!

WEIRD!

It is also that WEIRD time of the year when I tend to take care of "little" projects instead of taking on big ones!

I thought that I would share "Seven Little Sweet things" that I did accomplish during this weird week!

Simple Lamp redo....
The lamp on the entryway table wasn't working...I hunted around and found a "buffet lamp" on a shelf downstairs.

The green color was OK, but I was inspired by this photo of the wrought iron fences in New Orleans.

There was shiny black spray paint in the basement....

A couple of quick coats of that.....

A new black shade.....

The updated lamp really mimics the look of the wrought iron!

Somehow when the weather gets cold and there is lots of talk about the flu, it seems wise to think about healthy stuff.

It was time to start making fresh grapefruit juice from the box of fruit purchased from a church fundraiser.

This link from last winter's post has the recipe!
It is a delicious and healthy pick me up!

I love me my UGGS! In fact....I have a couple of pairs of boots and a pair of slippers. They are several years old and well worn....in fact....the sheepskin insoles were pretty worn on the slippers and the oldest pair of boots. The boots and slippers still have lots of life in them.....so buying new would be un-thrifty!
An on-line purchase of these $15 replacement insoles from ZAPPOS got me two "almost" new pairs of UGGS! And the shipping was FREE!

Pretty thrifty! Pretty Comfy!

Once all the Holiday decorations were put away, it was time to update the family room mantle.

The Hurricane lanterns with the candles, the "sugared grapes" and the round tray are left from the Christmas Mantle. The addition of some artificial Ginko leaves, two green plants in matching Haeger planters, and the goodwill pomegranates make this one of the favorite treatments I have done on the mantle so far. It feels fresh and clean....but not too stark!

I was a "Feline Healer"! What you ask?

Well...a couple of weeks ago, we noticed that Marvin always looked like he had been in the fireplace ashes or some other dirty corner! His chin was always gray. Pretty soon his gray chin was getting black! We did a little research on the internet and found out that this was probably "Cat Acne" (who knew) caused by dirty food bowls! (Oh the guilt!!!!)

The solution (cure) was pretty simple. CHANGE THE FEEDING BOWLS every couple of days!!! AND....to heal the acne....hydrogen peroxide or Witch Hazel wiped on the black spots a couple times a day! I am proud to say that Marvin's chin is now white and snowy once more!

Homemade Swiffer/Mop cover from an old towel.
There are way too many old towels around here. I try to give them away....but now I am on a mission to find "crafts" to make using them...

My internet search led me to find out that there are lots of ways to make homemade mop covers..... Here is a link that has a bunch of links to patterns for making them. There are even some knit and crochet patterns if you want to spend time making them.

My idea is to make a bunch quickly....use them....launder them a few times and then throw them away.

I made 6 of these from one towel (minus the one that I made that had too long of "flaps" and wouldn't fit...oops)

It took about 15 minutes total....and cost nothing!

( I don't use a Swiffer....it is the mop that goes with the wood floor cleaner I use....but the idea is the same!

Three Days to do Five Days of School!

The rest of the WEIRD week was spent trying to fit library use for 500+ kids into a short week! You do the math....500 kids times 4 library books in 3 days!

Oh....and that means that they BRING BACK 4 books that need to be checked in and shelved as well! But the good news....touching all those books with all those germs probably helps me build my immunities! Hopefully the "kid hugs" do too!

You can see that our Media Center is a very busy place....!