i'm pretty low maintenance- really!

awhile ago i did a post about laundry and how i make an effort to save money in that part of my household. G recently completed my new clothesline for me, and I'm so happy with it that i just wanted to share it with you.

and really, it doesn't take much to make me happy- honestly! I'm thrilled with my new clothes line. the old one was very Amish-esqe. (not that we have anything against the Amish.) it was one of those pulley jobs- you know- 2 *pulley* wheels mounted far apart, with a rope on which you hung the clothes. i know you get the idea. well, mine had the tendency to rapidly rewind after hanging a basket of clothes, chewing up pants, shirts and towels, as well as eating my clothespins and trying to cut off my fingers while it was at it. not much fun, although maybe comical for the neighbors to watch.

but the best part of this new clothesline is the rock. yes, the rock. you can see it there in the foreground, with my basket on it. it's a really cool rock. (and i wrote about our rocks before.) the rock is just perfect for setting the basket of wet clothes on while hanging up the rest of the laundry. and even better yet- it came with the house! we didn't even pay anything extra for it. so how's that for low maintenance- it really doesn't take much to make me happy!

and on another note- this is my 100th post! woohoo! and to think that when i started my blog, i was very reluctant, and only followed one blog. i wasn't really getting what the whole point of a blog was, and what was all the fuss about? now i have several favorites that i follow fanatically daily: PW, the country doctor's wife, OCTAMOM and april showers. I'll freely admit that i am a fan of other blogs, too, but those seem to be my tried and true favorites. I've kind of gathered from my wanderings that the 100th post is a milestone to be marked by posting 100 things about yourself.

but don't worry! I'll spare you all those scintillating boring and mundane details about me, and just point out a few details you can glean from this post alone.

first of all, i love to dress A and B in overalls and denim jumpers; preferably with shirts and tights that have stripes. i don't know what it is about stripes, but i really love striped shirts. when my twin boys were small, they almost always wore overalls and a shirt with stripes- D's shirt had red stripes, N's shirt blue stripes, and G had green stripes. and M was often in a little dress, with a matching hair bow. they were all so cute! but i digress... i love footy jammies- and nanny from Florida makes sure that the girls have plenty! "toasty warm" as A says. also, i use cloth diapers. kissaluvs with the bumpy covers are my favorite. and the whole thing is pretty painless with a snappi- no fumbling with diaper pins like our grandmothers did! i was really blessed when a close friend gave me all her cloth diapering stuff when her youngest outgrew them. chinese prefolds, covers, contour diapers, pocket diapers, wool covers... what a tremendous blessing in a box! so my diapering journey has been made easier. but i really do love to use cloth diapers- it makes me feel all pioneery and frugal.

also, i love to quilt. as i sit typing this, and look around the living room, i can count 9 quilts that I've made. they are wall hangings, coffee table decorations and just draped on the sofas and chairs, waiting for someone to snuggle up and read. I've been quilting for about 20 years now, and have made hundreds of quilts. when the older children were small, i was very prolific, finishing about a quilt a month. that's not possible anymore, but i still drag my sewing machine out once in a while for some therapeutic sewing. the quilt on the line is A's baby quilt. all 6 children got a quilt for their birth day. and then again when they were 5 and 10. M got another quilt for her birthday/graduation that she's taken along to college. quilts have always been a part of our family, and everyone has their favorite. my philosophy is - use it! don't fold it away in a chest to dry rot. if you get it dirty, we'll wash it, and if you wear it out, I'll make you another. (anything for an excuse to buy more fabric!)

and the final thing that I'll tell you from this picture is about our cat, Spooky. she was a package deal when i married dave and most of us really like her, including me most of the time. since she's come to live in our busy household, her personality has changed, so her name no longer fits. she showed up at dave's farm one day with a rat trap on her foot, and after a VERY expensive veterinarian visit (another story) she only has 3 legs. we should change her name to tripod. in spite of her only having 3 legs, and being declawed to boot, she is really enjoying living in the country again, and hunting the unsuspecting chipmunks that come to feed at our bird feeder. amazingly, she is very good at catching chipmunks. (or it may be the same stupid one, we're not sure.) this would not really be a problem, but whenever she catches one, she brings it into the house to show us. usually it's not dead. again, not really a huge problem. but here's where the problem comes in- after catching it, and bringing a live chipmunk into the house- she LETS IT GO! this is a problem! it usually results in some minor chaos involving the cat, chipmunk, a toddler, several teenage boys and a broom, not to mention some excited shouting! i think all the wild rodents are out of the house, but i'm not really sure.

so there was a peek into my life- hope it didn't fall into the category of TMI! thanks for stopping by- whether you're one of my regular readers, or just dropping in, i'm glad to have you, and i hope you'll come back again soon.