Retirement Cottage?

I have been considering the purchase of a cottage. I am a few years from retirement and would like to be able to retire and live at the lake. My plan is to find a cottage, pay it off and get it ready for use as a full time residence.


Somehow I thought this would be a fairly easy endeavor but it really is going to be far from that.

There are so many things to consider when thinking of a retirement home, whether its a condo, house, farm or cottage. I thought it would come down to price and location only but there is so much more to deal with.

First off is age. My husband and I are in our early 50's and not afraid of a little TLC work for our cottage but we must consider that we aren't retirement age yet and we already have some physical issues. Neither of us are in the construction field or are we carpenters. If we find a place that needs work we have to decide if it is something we can capably handle and physically do?

We need to calculate the amount of space we will need. We have two sons and by the time we retire they will most likely be married with children or close to it. Does that mean we would need to have a bedroom for each of them to share with their spouse and children? Do we just make sure the cottage covers the needs of my husband and I and tell the boys to build their own bunkies? (Bunkies are usually small one room out buildings that have sleeping quarters)

Once you figure out the size and the amount you are willing to pay for a place, you have to start looking for the where? This is when it gets really tricky. When your younger with young kids your priorities are different. If we are going to be seniors we are going to need:

• hospital
• fire services
• ambulance
• doctors
• gas station and garage
• pharmacy (that delivers)
• bank
• grocery store
• general store
• post office
• hardware store
• serviced roads
• garbage pick up
• neighbors 

These will also have to be available all year round and not just during the traditional cottage season. This will narrow down your options because there are not a lot of places that have all of the necessities I have listed. With such a long list and major needs we are going to have to be close to a small town.

You may find it strange that I put neighbors on this list but being elderly you would want to know that there are people near enough should something happen and you need someone A.S.A.P. lets face it everyone needs help sometimes.

This is going to be a difficult process and a scary adventure, looking for our retirement home. I will be keeping you updated on our progress as we go through the steps along the way. I am sure I will have lots to write about. If you have gone through this process drop me a line I would love to hear from you.

Live, Laugh and Love

Guide to Mold on Walls ......Removal Protocol, Products to Use, Personal Safety

This is an article regarding mold. 

People don't take mold as seriously as they should. It is a debilitating illness that left will only get worse. If you have a mood problem be sure to read this advice column.

We have had problems with mold, in 2012 our basement flooded with 8 inches of water. It was one of the worse situations we have ever had to deal with. We were one of hundreds that got flooded in our area on this one stormy night.

We basically had a team that stripped our basement to the foundation and rebuilt from there. The neighbor hood was piled with stinky wet garbage. The furniture, carpets, toys and everything you could think of was lined up and down the streets.

We had people literally walking the streets picking through this rotting mess. We tried to warn them but again it goes to show people don't take mold seriously. All you could smell throughout the neighbor hood was that sickly mood smell.

If you have a mood problem usually the first sign you get is that musty smell. That is the time to start the hunt. Follow that smell till you find the source. Be careful not to disturb the mood as it gets airborne and that's when the real problems begin.

Guide to Mold on Walls ......Removal Protocol, Products to Use, Personal Safety: How to remove mold on walls. Removing wall mold depends on what type of wall the mold is growing on. Dealing with mold on concrete, drywall, wood, etc. Products, safety precautions....

Be careful and protect the ones you love.

Shower Grime, Yuck!

If you like having a sparkling bathroom but hate the smell and fumes of those toxic cleaners, try whats on the web. It's a home made cleaner that claims to leave your bathroom clean.

I wanted to try out this homemade cleaner to see if it worked as well as my usual cleaner. I did some homework and searched Pinterest for the best cleaner for the job. It is one thing to read it, but it's another to see for yourself if it really works.

I left my shower to help set up for the trial. I had black mold around the edge and this reddish slime which after investigation turns out to be a mold as well. This red stuff is a really nasty mold (fusarium and aureobasidium) and doesn't clean with the same product as the black. I thought it was just from hard water?

When cleaning mold, you should use a face mask and rubber gloves even when it's a small amount. You want to avoid it becoming airborne. 


The recipe I used was:

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1/4 cup Dawn dish liquid

Mix all the ingredients into a spray bottle. Wearing your mask and gloves you are ready for the attack. I sprayed the whole surface of the walls and tub and let it sit for a few minutes. I used a scrub brush and some muscle power, for tough spots I sprayed then sprinkled with baking soda. This causes a reaction and it bubble up and then I scrubbed. The results:

Before

After

The mixture worked on the tile and the tub. I was impressed. 

One of the issues in the shower is also the shower liner. I find that this gets stained and doesn't wash very well. I know the best thing to do is wash it more often but it is a pain taking it down. I had to think of a way to make this job easier. Hmmmm....

Well I came up with the idea to have a piece of the curtain that could be removed easily and washed on a weekly basis. I purchased a standard white liner at my local Walmart.

I divided the total length 
(84 by 3 = 28) and cut the bottom 28 inches off.

On the sewing machine I hemmed the two raw pieces.

Next I used Velcro strips about 3 inches long with the glue on one side and attached it every 10 inches across the top 2/3 rd piece. Be sure to have a Velcro piece right close to the edge on both ends.

When attaching the Velcro make sure you use the scratchy side of the Velcro on the top portion of the curtain. You want to attach it to the front of the top piece about 1" above the bottom edge. 

The soft side of the Velcro goes on the bottom portion. Attach it to the top of the wrong side of the curtain 1" below the top edge. Position them to line up exactly with the Velcro on the bottom of the top portion.

I machine sewed the top and bottom of each Velcro piece on each piece of curtain once in place.  

In this photo you can see that the bottom piece covers over the top portion, this is a view of the front of the curtain. I actually made an error on my curtain, I put the Velcro right along the edge of the two pieces.

It works and the water doesn't leak or anything, but it would be better as I instructed above with the one inch from the edge to the Velcro tape. 

Now I can easily remove the bottom portion of the curtain and through it in the wash weekly. Since the soft side of the Velcro is on the bottom I don't have to worry that it will catch on anything in the wash. It is a good idea if I say so myself. 

To finish off the new cleaning ideas, I also purchased a scrub brush that holds cleaning solution and I keep it in the shower so I can spot clean while I am in there. 

My shower has never been shinier and I am happy with the new cleaning regime. 

Daily Dainty Torture

Ladies, what is the one piece of clothing that is torture to wear?

I will give you a hint, it stabs you, squeezes you, falls from its place and never seems to fit right. It's our BRA'S. I am convinced that it was a man who designed the bra as a constant torture mechanism for all of us females. Lol

Since we aren't going to go bra less, we suffer in silence. Every time I take mine off I let out a giant sigh of relief. I have red marks from the wire under the ladies and on both sides of my under arm area. Why can't they make a bra that works?

The true fact of the matter is, it's not the bra, it's the size of it. The numbers show that 80% of us wear the wrong size and this adds to our misery. If it's not falling off the shoulder or riding up over the breasts its jabbing us in one part or another. This is where the proper sizing comes in. If we just get the right size than our misery will be over. Yahoo!!

To determine the right size grab yourself a flexible tape measure that shows inches not centimeters. Start by measuring yourself around your body just under your breasts. Make sure its snug but not too tight. Once you have this measurement add two inches and this is the number in the bra size.

To figure out your cup size you need to measure around the largest part of your chest ( if that happens to be around the waist or close to the floor you may need a belt not a bra Lol). Okay now you have the two measurements, deduct the first measurment from the second and this is the number to determine the cup size. 

For every inch difference you will go up in cup size. If the differenece is:

1 inch = A

2 inch = B

3 inch = C

4 inch = D

5 inch = E or DD

6 inch = F or DDD

7 inch = G

8 inch = H

So there you have it, your 1st number and the cup size is the size of your bra. eg. 40D or 32A et cetera.

When you go out to bra shop don't just buy based on the look and your numbers, try it on. Did you know that when we sit our chest expands? Try the bra on and have a seat, most dressing rooms have chairs or benches, when sitting put two fingers under the bottom and make sure it isn't too tight. Next raise your arms to make sure it doesn't ride up over your breasts in any way. Take a look at the overall fit, you shouldn't be pouring out over any of the edges and the cup should lay flat without any puckering.

There are so many types of bras that sometimes it gets confusing which one is best. Its easy to be drawn toward a cute little number that's all lace and frill but that may not be the best choice if you are a 40"DD". Bras should give you support almost like a gentle hand holding you in place. Take a look at the straps as well, are they wide enough if your large chested or thin enough when wearing a tank top?

I remember my first bra fitting. I was about 12 and my Mom took me to Woolco (anyone remember Woolco)? We were standing in the aisle and my Mother bless her soul tried this bra on outside my shirt. I was so embarrassed. 

Buying a bra is something that should be enjoyable. You want to feel good when you put it on and you want to look good too. There are a lot of specialty stores that will do professional fittings for you if after measuring and calculating your still not sure. It is worth doing and you will be amazed at the difference it makes when your wearing your favorite sweaters or shirts.

Earlier I mentioned that it was probably a man that made the first bra and I have learned through this post that it was not. The woman who received the first patent for the bra in 1913, was from New York and her name was Mary Phelps Jacob. Amazingly the bra replaced the corset which was also designed and patented by a woman. The corset of that time really was a torture item.

Well in the end it turns out that I too was wearing the wrong sized bra. Now that I have done my measuring and clculating I have purchased the right bra. I now have comfort and am no longer a victim of pain. I have made friends with my bra and we have promised to support each other.

Good luck with your bra shopping.