messes and cleanses

I am trying very hard not to focus on the iron dust that has settled over my basement. The Plumbers are here, replacing the basement shower with a nice stall and set up, but part of the demo work has left some serious dust.

I will show pics of this project tomorrow when it is finished!

In the mean time, I am keeping busy by decluttering. The over-the-stairway storage closet with three huge shelves has been offically emptied! (Yes, some of the items are sitting on the kitchen floor, but they WILL find a home!)

Its a lovely sight!

Empty! Except for the Christmas tree and a boy.

The closet really does make an awesome fort. It may stay empty for a while. At least until spring when the kids can be outside more.

And my other major accomplishment today is getting up and organized in time to make beans in the crock pot. A left over ham hock had enough scrapings on it for some great flavor. I added onion flakes (easy!), carrots, chicken broth, and some cumin/salt/pepper kind of stuff.

I did bring the beans (no soaking at all) to a rapid boil for 45 minutes on the stovetop, then threw them, half cooked in the crockpot. My crockpot cooks quite hot, and the whole thing was done in two more hours! Now it will just sit and taste better all day until supper. Yum!

A mess a' beans!