Category Archives: New House

Organizing My Space

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I’ve slowly been making a few changes around the kitchen and laundry room.  It all started after one day in town when I overheard some ladies talking about their kitchen and counter space.  That got me thinking about my own space.  I’ve been living here at the house for almost five years.

When we moved in we didn’t have all the cabinets in the laundry room or shelving in the closets.  When we did get them, I just put the leftover stuff in them and didn’t really think much about it.

Well now that Kramer passed away in June and I have more “reign” of the house and know that things will be put away where I want them, I’ve rethought a few things.  I’ve also been playing a few personal rules over in my head…
1-make things as convenient as possible for usage
2-use my head and save my feet
3-touch things only once if possible

In light of that…the dishwasher pods got moved out of the laundry room and into the kitchen.  They are in the flour canister now.  No steps needed to get a pod.

I’ve made a few more small changes like this…See my Instant Pot.  That used to be on the counter and the Air Fryer was here.  Well I use the Instant Pot ALL THE TIME.  I use the Air Fryer occasionally.  The Instant Pot was on the counter and to get more counter space I decided the Air Fryer was getting kicked out and the Instant Pot was going to live here now.


I love my little eclectic spot.


I’m not sure what that red drawered thing is but that’s where I keep the silverware.


The label on it says, “The Queen Gas Stove”.

I bought it YEARS ago.  We were first married and it was one of the first auctions I went to.  It’s sat on a counter in whatever kitchen I was in at the time and has been our silverware drawer.  Yes…I love Pioneer Woman dishes…See? Continue reading →

The Work Continued

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You might remember that earlier this week I told you that the boys helped with a few jobs around the house.  I told you they trimmed the trees and helped with the garden.  What I didn’t tell you is that they moved into the house and helped there too.

As many of you know I’ve been working on fixing up the living room.  Kramer and I initially moved into the house before we had a chance to make things the way we really wanted them.  It was part money, part time and part just plum being sick of fixing.  If you missed the saga on how we took a foreclosure house and made it into a nice house, you can read about that in the archives.  The main remodel took place during the late summer and fall of 2014.  We moved in January of 2015.

Room by room we worked to get the rooms to what we want them to be.  To date, the kitchen, back entry, laundry room and spare bedroom are done.  That’s it.  Now Kramer has passed and I’m on my own to tackle the rest….well me and a little help from the kids.

When Kramer’s cancer hit, we decided the living room would be next.  We knew there would need to be more down in our lives and having the living room the way we wanted it would make things a little more relaxing.  That and having the couch frame snap put things into motion.

First, while Kramer was still living, we bought new living room furniture.  It didn’t arrive until after he passed.  I love the furniture.  Then I found a buffet for the television…and there was a coffee table in the garage that Kramer had been working on before he passed.  Craig and I painted the living room and fixed the trim.  There is a lot more to do as it’s a “one step at a time project” but most recently, I bought blinds for the living room.

Buck was the one that ended up helping the blinds get hung.


The kids had fun playing with the bubble wrap.


Lucy was getting tired when I snapped this photo….see? Continue reading →

The Craig and Jo Show: Planter Boxes

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I told you that Craig and I had a big day of fix ups around the outside of my house on the 6th.  Kalissa had worked the overnight and Craig was looking for a way to keep him and the boys out of her hair so she could sleep…so he came to my house and helped with projects.

First it was the new pole with the no maintenance sleeve and hanging baskets….

Then is was the landscaping along the southwest corner of my house….

Then Craig said anything else???  I told him a couple long term projects.  I want to power wash and paint the back garage.  I won’t be upset if it waits until next spring but it is needing help.  We need to shingle it too so it can wait until then.  The kids have offered to pitch in and shingle it for me but with Buck and Lora building a house, he’d prefer it if we could wait…so I likely will.

I told him I’d like to landscape around the fuel tank.  Right now it looks unfinished after everything else looks so good.  We didn’t have the supplies for that though.

Then we came around to the front of the house.  I showed him something that has been bothering me since we built the porch….this…. Continue reading →

The Craig and Jo Show: Another Spot of Landscaping

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I told you earlier this week that Craig and I (mostly Craig) put up the new hanging basket post.  Well after that was done Craig asked me if I have the stuff to do the landscaping on the back south west corner of the house.  I said I did…Craig said, “It’s so nice and cool yet today so we better get it done.”…so we did.

The back corner of the house had gotten a little overgrown.  I’ve been so busy keeping up with watering the plants I have and working on the other new landscape projects that this…well, this got left.  You can tell right??


This area has never been the best.  When I moved plants from the farm house where we used to live I had ran out of space and these plants still didn’t have a home, so I walked over to this side of the house, dug a hole and put them in.  I figured I would take care of them when the time came.  I’ve weeded them a time or two but until this day, that’s all the maintenance they’ve had.

This spring…no maintenance at all!!  UGH.  It looks overgrown and a  mess.

Grass was growing in it. Oh my…it NEEDED to be WEEDED.  See?? Continue reading →