Weekend Recap

Last week Robert was gone with the two older kids to their speech tournament for four days.  I had learned to adjusted to these go-away of theirs. As the kids grow older, they have a more active schedule to keep. 
I had also learned to use these "alone" time more effectively. Even though I would still have Peter with me but he mostly just tagged along with whatever I was doing and surprisingly he was actually very mellow when his siblings were gone.
As usual, I always have a couple of "big" projects I would tackle and a whole bunch of little ones while a big part of the family is gone.
I didn't list the "projects" this time but I worked for almost a straight four days with the exception of watching two BBC movies on DVD - "Cranford" and "Wives and Daughters" on two separate nights.  The movies helped me to relax after moving things around and cooking and cleaning at daytime.
Anyway, here are some of the things I did.  Some of them are still in progress which is all right as I have not expected to have everything "accomplished" just because I had a chance to start the projects.  Giving grace period to projects has been a big blessing for me on the realization that things do get done - in due time.

 I set up my scrapbooking center in my bedroom.  this will be a trial experience, I hope it will work out.  I don't have it all the way set up yet.  This is one of the projects that is still in progress.

 I moved Peter's mattress out from under the bunk-bed.  I am still searching for a bed frame to put the mattress on.  I have to keep looking at Craig's List for it.  I really like the idea of inserting Joshua's desk half way into the bunk bed to make the room not looking too crowed. We still need to repaint the wall.  Another project in progress. I won't put the new comforter up until we got the bed frame.  I don't want the comforter to be dragging on the floor.

I Googled for a natural home made recipe of "no-streak" mirror cleaner and found one that called for only two ingredients so I put it to a test...

There were no exact measurement - just half of a fresh lemon and some vinegar.

Well, it turned out I only need to use straight vinegar to shine the mirror without any streak at all!  The lemon juice some how left a film looking layer over the mirror even after my great effort of buffing.  So, STRAIGHT vinegar on a cotton rag (not the microfiber towel as the one shown here) works wonder.

 I did find another good use for the lemon peels (removing all of the white parts). I put them in with some baking soda and leave them in the refrigerator to absorb the odor.  Just need to refresh the content monthly.
Note: I had to throw away the lemon peels after a couple of days as the moisture in the refrigerator caused them to become moldy.  I did not add any more fresh lemon peels, just keep the baking soda in there alone.

 I simply put the date on a piece of scotch tape for reference.

 While cleaning up boxes of books, I found this box full of more cookbooks that I have forgotten.  I am not sure what to do with them just yet, so another work thought in progress...

This one was my most exciting experiment - the most frugal air freshener diffuser I have ever created. A recycled yogurt jar with some essential oil and some shes kabob sticks! The room has been invigorated with the refreshed scent for pennies!

More book repairs.  We had these books since my oldest was a youngster.  They are tattered loved very much by all the kids.

The weekend passed quickly and I may not be able to do these much plus more again perhaps until their next trip.  But being productive while they were away sure was a wise use of time.  I was having tons of fun with all the work and researching, but truthfully I was glad to be reunited with my family even though it meant being busy and having messes again. ♥

~This post is linked to Raising Homemakers