• Home
  • Welcome
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure Statement
    • Contact

Life with Dee

Creating a beautiful life...

  • Home & Garden
    • Homemaking
      • Cleaning
      • Domestic Dee-va
    • Gardening
    • Country Living
    • Pets
      • Shiloh Says
  • Dee’s Kitchen
    • Menu Monday
    • Recipes
      • Guest Posts
      • Instant Pot
      • Pinterest Recipe Review
      • Vegetarian
    • In My Kitchen
    • Tea
  • Frugal & Green
    • Green Living
  • French Inspiration
    • French Friday
    • French Inspired Living
    • French Links
  • LWD Book Club
  • Organization
    • Organization
    • Productivity and Time Management

A day in my life…part two…

February 24, 2010 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

Well, obviously I didn’t update yesterday as I had planned. I kept track of what I was doing up until about 3:15 and then it all became a blur of household tasks, phone calls, and various interruptions. In other words, a totally normal day. Here’s what I did manage to record:

8:30 Tea With Dee blog (post, update book and dinner plans)
8:40 dress, moisturize face, hair in ponytail, take down laundry, reboot laundry, make breakfast, feed cats
9:00 back upstairs to eat and read more email,
9:50 let out chickens, refill pets’ water, reboot laundry
10:15 30 min. on treadmill while reading “The New Frugality” by Chris Farrell
10:50 read a few emails, set timer for 15 minutes to read blogs
11:20 dusted, prepared and ate lunch while reading Flylady book, talked to mom on phone, rebooted laundry
12:20 email, Facebook
1:30 nap
2:15 computer

2:45 shower, dress, makeup, hair
3:15 and onward: finished laundry, folded and put away, vacuumed main areas of downstairs, tidied up whole house, prepared and ate dinner, talked to a friend on the phone for over an hour, chatted with David when he returned from his trip, watched some of the Olympics, more computer time, read Bible and “The Friendly Persuasion”.

I knew this already but I really do spend a lot of time on the computer. Between three blogs of my own, another I post for occasionally, Facebook, reading blogs, reading and moderating a yahoo group, and assorted other things, I am online a lot. A LOT. As long as I keep up with other aspects of my life, I am okay with this. I mean, I very rarely watch television. And much of the time spent online involves reading about various things of interest to me (news, politics, environmentalism, cooking, etc.). Yes, I’m probably trying to justify my obsession. 😉

So, how do you spend your day? Have ever tried to spend a day writing it all down?

Filed Under: Dee's Life, Home & Garden, Homemaking Tagged With: day in my life

A day in my life…

February 23, 2010 By Deanna Piercy Leave a Comment

For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that I hope it will help me accomplish a lot, I’m keeping track of what I do today. Because there’s a good chance some of you are almost as nosy as I am, I’m going to share it here. I’ll probably check in here 2-4 times today to write a post outlining what I’ve been doing. Here’s what I’ve done so far:

  • 7:00 a.m. – alarm went off, checked weather and Facebook on my iPhone
  • 7:15 – got out of bed, started a load of laundry, made my hot tea and put away clean dishes while it was brewing
  • 7:30 – read email

And that’s essentially what I’ve been doing the past hour. Guess it’s time to get dressed and get busy!

Check back later for the further adventures of Dynamic Dee! Or something like that.

Filed Under: Dee's Life, Home & Garden, Homemaking Tagged With: day in my life

While going about my day…

January 20, 2010 By Deanna Piercy 3 Comments


Sometimes changes sneak up on a person and then there is a moment of realization that you really aren’t quite where you had once been. Today was one of those moments.

A couple of months ago I found out about a local co-op from which I could purchase a bi-weekly box of organic produce. I was delighted by this discovery because it’s virtually impossible to get organic fruits and vegetables here in our little town. Well, apparently Wal Mart carries a small variety but I quit shopping there two years ago. Anyway, I now pick up a box of beautiful produce every other Tuesday. Today was my pick-up day.

I had already loaded the back of my Prius with our recycling so I could drop it off on my next trip to town. We’ve recycled for many years now but I have recently become hyper-vigilant about it. In fact, we are doing so well that I just got two week’s worth of household trash in one biodegradable bag. Of course, when I hear about the family that produced that much trash in a whole year, I know I still have a ways to go.

I had a series of errands to run and started at the recycling center so I could clear out the back of the car. I was delighted to see an elderly couple there dropping off their recycling, too. Guess you can teach old dogs new tricks.

Next stop was the co-op site. I had a nice chat with the woman who works it and picked up a flyer that I plan to put up at church in the hopes of finding additional co-op members. I think it’s important to support things like this and to share the information with others.

I then made a quick stop at a small grocery store where I brought in my re-usable bag rather than using the plastic bags offered at the store.

There happens to be a used book store across the street so I decided to run in for a minute. I hadn’t been in there for a few months as I’m trying to curb my book-buying habit. However, I do like to take a quick peek once in awhile because occasionally I find a real gem. Today wasn’t one of those days, though, and I left empty-handed.

Next up was the library. I adore public libraries and even though ours isn’t anything special, it is still a veritable wealth of free books, magazines, music, and movies. I have a stack of fiction books at home that I am working my way through but since I also like to have a variety of non-fiction to browse through at any given moment, I figured I’d see what I could find. Here’s what I left with:

  • Tying Clouds to Rocks: Meetings and Conversations with Wise and Spiritual People by Wm. Elliott
  • The Heart of Compassion: A Practical Approach to a Meaningful Life by His Holiness, The XIV Dalai Lama
  • How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
  • Mary Jane’s Ideabook*Cookbook*Lifebook: For the Farmgirl in All of Us by MaryJane Butters
  • Whole Green Catalog: 1,000 Best Things For You And The Earth
  • Made From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Woginrich
  • an audiobook by Ram Dass, A Spiritual Journey

By this point things were becoming clear.

After picking up a quick lunch at a small, local drive-through, I went to Tractor Supply for cat food and pine shavings for the chicken coop. I also picked up the premier issue of “Urban Farm” magazine which contains articles on how to live a sustainable life, even in an urban area.

Last up was to drop off some organic kiwi at my daughter’s house (part of our co-op order and not a favored fruit in this household). I showed her the books I had picked up at the library and she told me that Jenna Woginrich (the author of “Made From Scratch”) is one of her Facebook friends and has a blog I would like. We chatted about a lot of things, including our mutual interest in what we jokingly refer to as “Hippie Stuff”. Yes, somehow…despite living in rural Oklahoma (not exactly a hot-bed of unconventional thought), the two of us have gradually become hippies of a sort. I had to chuckle to myself as I realized I was even wearing Birkenstocks and my peace sign necklace today. But don’t worry; I still bathe and wear makeup. 😉 Which is why one of my blogs is called “The Well-Groomed Hippie”. I guess my inner-hippie has finally taken over and there’s just no more hiding it. More to the point, I don’t think I want to.

Filed Under: Dee's Life Tagged With: co-op, hippies, hybrid, libraries, Prius, recycling, spirituality, The Well-Groomed Hippie

101 in 1001…

August 13, 2008 By Deanna Piercy 9 Comments

101 Things to do in 1001 Days Project

Day Zero Project

The Mission:

Complete 101 things in 1001 days.

The Criteria:

Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable, or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (represent some amount of effort on your part).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following list was written off the top of my head, in no particular order, over the course of a couple of days. I might try to categorize them at some point…or maybe not. If you are inspired to develop your own list, click on the link above for more info and then leave me a comment with a link to your list.

Here goes:

1. attend NIN concert
2. attend Flaming Lips concert
3. get wench costume made
4. host Margaritaville party
5. host pirate party
6. host halloween party
7. buy classic, high quality purse
8. decide on a wedding ring
9. finish my book
10. submit a magazine article
11. get my passport
12. make love somewhere unusual
13. get all photos in albums
14. organize digital photos
15. learn calligraphy
16. finish reading the Bible
17. start book club
18. start young adults ministry
19. finish knitting scarf
20. take a belly dancing class
21. clean out laundry room closet
22. learn to make the perfect creme brulee
23. read four classics
24. have 500 subscribers to “Tea With Dee” newsletter
25. order and hang new curtains in bedroom
26. decorate balcony (plants, trees, new lights)
27. learn to make soap
28. learn to make candles
29. write Grandma’s story
30. host a wine tasting
31. host a cocktail party
32. get five massages
33. get a pedicure
34. take train to Fort Worth
35. print and frame photos of Mom and Aunt Dee
36. get a hot tub
37. take David on a surprise picnic
38. learn to download music to my iPod
39. organize my recipes
40. take trip to Memphis
41. order “The Secret” dvd and watch it with David
42. volunteer at House of Hope
43. create a vision board
44. attend Blogher, hopefully with Lisa
45. go to Denton with the Rollins, Haneys, Robertsons…
46. go to a comedy club with friends
47. buy several beeswax candles for our bedroom
48. find a new perfume for intimate times only
49. visit OKC memorial
50. locate all important papers, documents and put in safe
51. finish reading Twilight series
52. finish reading Outlander series
53. finish reading Harry Potter series
54. master a new song on the piano
55. move art supplies to exercise room
56. read 1/3 of “MLA’s 30 books…”
57. see a movie at the new theater in Moore with friends
58. go to Starbucks and work on novel for one hour
59. buy new pedometer
60. make appointment with eye doctor
61. set up a cozy breakfast corner in our bedroom
62. attend a cooking class at International Pantry
63. start file for trip to Paris
64. attend a mystery dinner with friends in Guthrie
65. print and read Wishcraft
66. try a martini
67. try sushi
68. go to the wild animal park in Wynnewood with David
69. drink 6 glasses a water per day for a week
70. buy a new houseplant
71. test drive a fancy car with David
72. select 5 new recipes from my huge collection and make them
73. attend showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show
74. go to Misal’s Indian restaurant in Norman with Mom
75. organize a girls’ night out/excursion/shopping trip or something like that
76. have dinner at Galatoire’s in N.O.
77. have dinner at Abacus in Dallas with friends
78. buy myself flowers for no reason
79. attend a protest
80. organize my closet and use all matching hangers
81. buy a dozen linen napkins and use them regularly
82. take a swamp cruise
83. shoot pool with David 10 times
84. make cheese at least once
85. enter something in the county fair
86. lose 10 pounds
87. lose another 10 pounds
89. lose another 10 pounds
90. lose that final 10 pounds
91. celebrate the weight loss with some fabulous new clothes
92. find a really special serving tray and use it to serve tea to David and myself several evenings a week
93. schedule a pap smear
94. pick 5 ideas from “1001 Ways to be Romantic” and do them
95. learn to play poker
96. watch 5 classic movies I’ve never seen
97. watch 5 foreign films
98. have a nice portrait done of David and myself together
99. print 20 photos from Lisa’s wedding and put them in an album
100. make beignets
101. make another list of 101 things

Filed Under: Dee's Life Tagged With: 101 Things in 1001 Days

A Day in My Life…

July 9, 2008 By Deanna Piercy 4 Comments

I keep meaning to do this once in awhile so here goes:

5:15 — The alarm goes off way too early for my taste. David has to fly out this morning for a short business trip. He hits the snooze button and we snuggle for five more minutes.
5:20 — David gets up and showers while I try to wake up.
5:35 — I get up, turn on the computer and continue to try to wake up. David goes downstairs to eat breakfast. I’m a bad wife. I don’t *do* breakfast before 6 a.m. so he’s on his own. There was already coffee made in the insulated carafe which he just needed to zap in the microwave.
5:45 — David is back upstairs and I blowdry his hair for him. He’s seeing a customer today and wanted his long and often wild-looking hair to be a bit more subdued for the day. It looked really nice when I got through. Maybe I should do this for him every morning. Or maybe not.
6:00 — I kiss David goodbye and go make myself a cup of Earl Grey. While it’s brewing, I empty the dishwasher and feed the fish.
6:15 — Back upstairs, I set the timer for one hour of computer time and start this daily account of my activities.
7:20 — Made the bed and took the waste baskets down to empty into the kitchen trash can. While brewing another cup of tea I gathered up the bathroom rugs, towels and toilet seat cover from the guest bathroom and put them in the washer. I checked the clothes I have drying on a rack in the tub but most were still a little damp. I think I’ll have to set them outside for a bit to finish drying.
7:40 — Back to the computer. I’m still in the process of switching over to a new email address and have to spend some time each day checking my old account online and contacting people regarding my new address. There are several people who keep responding to the old one despite having told them to change their address book.
8:30 — Fed kittens and refilled their water. Fed chickens and refilled their water. Fed horse and put fly spray on her. Picked up some leftover fireworks debris. Refilled the dogs’ water bucket.
8:55 — David called from the airplane. They will be taking off soon. I miss him already.
9:35 — Went downstairs to exercise. Did 25 minutes on the treadmill while watching an episode of Sex and the City.
10:15 — Talked to David on the phone after he picked up his rental car — a black Mustang. Responded to a few emails.
10:35 — Removed everything from top shelf of refrigerator, wiped it down, put in a fresh lace doily, then replaced the items neatly. Prepared lunch for myself.
11:05 — Lunch/computer.
11:45 — Read awhile and took a nap.
1:30 — E-mail
2:00 — Cleaned two more shelves and the meat drawer of the refrigerator.
2:20 — Did a little computer work including a brief editing of an ad for United Campus Ministry.
2:55 — Put bathroom rugs outdoors to dry. Started final load of laundry. Folded a load of laundry and put them away. Cleaned another shelf of refrigerator.
3:30 — Wasting time on the computer.
4:20 — Put third vase of dead flowers in trash. Lisa called so while talking to her I washed a few dishes, dusted a few pieces of furniture, and turned over the drying bathroom rugs outdoors. I then started to take out the kitchen trash and David called. I took it out while talking to him. Now I’m back upstairs with a bowl of grapes and a banana.
4:50 — Oops, forgot about this. Let’s see…all I know for certain is that Chris came home around 5:30 and showed me the movies he bought. We just finished eating dinner, too.
6:30 — Checked on drying rugs. Still damp so I threw them in the dryer to finish them up. Gathered some recycling and put in the car for my trip to town. Checked on the chickens and gave them some food. Pet the kittens. Washed the last remaining item in the sink and sprinkled Bar Keepers Friend — will scour on my next trip downstairs. Chris is asleep in the family room so the vacuuming will have to wait.
7:00 — Answered a few more emails
7:20 — Fed the horse. Gave the kittens more food and fresh water. Fed the chickens and closed the coop. Fed the dogs.
7:40 — Looked up a book I had started printing some time ago. Unfortunately it is no longer available. Wrote email to a group where someone else might have downloaded it. Spent a little time checking out the forums for the author of the book.
8:15 — Took a shower. Talked to Lisa on the phone. Made a cup of Earl Grey tea and while it was brewing I started the dishwasher and sorted the mail.
8:45 — I’m going to post this, shut down the computer, get in bed and read “Twilight”.

Goodnight!

Filed Under: Dee's Life, Home & Garden, Homemaking Tagged With: day in my life

Running With Scissors…A Cautionary Tale

January 3, 2007 By Deanna Piercy 4 Comments


Historically, little boys have dreamed of becoming fire fighters or cowboys while little girls envisioned themselves as nurses or teachers. What is not often acknowledged, however, is the virtually universal career ambition among the preschool set. Show me a four year old and I will show you a budding hair stylist. If you have had even a nodding acquaintance with more than two children you will have witnessed the results of this passion.

I’ll never forget the young son of our highschool basketball coach. This was one of those late in life babies and *spoiled rotten* barely begins to describe this little blond imp. He normally wore his perfectly straight blond hair in a bowl type cut. I doubt this was the goal but his hair fell straight over his brow rather than the more traditional, side parted style of the times. He often accompanied his father to basketball practices and to this day I distinctly remember the intriguing hair cut he gave himself. Imagine, if you will, straight blond bangs with a perfectly centered gap of about an inch wide, cut to the scalp. I’m not sure what the parents were thinking but he wore it this way until it grew out. There were no attempts to even things up by cutting his hair short all over.

Over the years I heard about and saw many, many more children who were getting an early start on a career in hair styling or had been the willing recipient of another child’s tonsorial practice. Being the type who prefers to learn by avoiding the mistakes of others, I tucked these observations away until such time as I had children of my own. All conscientious parents are careful to keep medicines and cleaning supplies locked up or at least well out of reach of their children. I took this a step further and kept all household scissors locked up as well. I had a horror of discovering my young daughter with the long, blonde hair (who had been virtually bald the first year of her life) missing a chunk of that pretty hair. Whether she would have done it to herself or whether her older brother might have been the budding stylist, I wasn’t quite certain. In any case, I wasn’t taking any chances.

And we managed to escape that particular childhood trauma. Well, at least until she got gum in her hair while I was at work and my husband cut a foot long chunk out. But that’s another story for another time.

Fast forward to the Friday before Christmas. Keep in mind that my son is almost 23. And according to college admissions tests, quite intelligent. For the past couple of years he has been keeping his hair cut fairly short by use of a pair of electric clippers. These clippers have various detachable guards so you can select the desired length of hair and then just run the clippers over the head leaving an even amount of hair. He does this himself and then I help even up the back, shave his neck and trim over the ears with scissors. I’m sure he has saved a lot of money on haircuts as a result of this.

On this fateful Friday evening I heard him come over from the guest house where he lives. I was in another room but heard him talking with his dad. David called to me and when I came into the kitchen I was greeted by the sight of my handsome son who now had a bald patch on the front left side of his head. Apparently he had been getting ready to do some grooming when a phone call from one of his many female friends distracted him. After he got off the phone he went to trim his hair but had forgotten that he had taken off the guard.

You know, there is something to be said for growing older. Even a couple of years ago I might have freaked out, especially in light of the fact that we have a tradition of taking a family photo after the Christmas Eve service at our church and there was no way his hair would grow back in two days. But one look at my son and I instinctively knew that if I lost it, he would, too. So I did what any mother of a crazy son learns to do. I laughed. And laughed. Pretty soon all three of us were cracking up and making jokes about his new look.

I did have enough presence of mind to grab the camera. I took the first shot of Chris standing in front of the Christmas tree, turned with his *normal* side to the camera. The second showed his brand new bald spot and a sheepish grin. The third was of his dad shaving the rest over the bathroom sink. The final shot was of my newly bald son and his barber/dad together in front of the tree.

Fortunately I made sure to rotate his sleeping position as a baby so Chris has a very nicely shaped head. He also has a bevy of female friends who think whatever he does is just wonderful and told him they liked his new look. It’s been 11 days now and there has been enough growth that it almost looks like something someone would do on purpose. Well, maybe if they were joining the armed forces or a cult. Still, we’ve all become accustomed to it which perhaps explains why the basketball coach and his wife didn’t try to fix their son’s haircut. I guess you can get used to anything.

Filed Under: Best Of, Dee's Life

One Hundred Things

August 11, 2006 By Deanna Piercy Leave a Comment

One Hundred Things…part two:

11. have at least one grandchild to spoil, er, love (preferably a girl who loves frilly stuff as much as Lisa did — boy, did I enjoy playing dress-up with her!)
12. sit at a little sidewalk café in Paris, with the Eiffle Tower in view, people watching and nibbling on something delicious
13. attend a Broadway play in New York
14. learn to drive a stick shift
15. get all my photos in albums (I’m at least 3 or 4 years behind!)
16. take piano lessons
17. visit a lighthouse, climb to the top, watch ships at sea
18. act in a local play
19. test drive an expensive sports car (hence the need for #14)
20. win something at least semi-significant

Filed Under: Dee's Life

100 Things I Want To Do in My Lifetime

August 9, 2006 By Deanna Piercy Leave a Comment

I’m going to list these in groups of ten periodically as the mood strikes.

1. Travel to Europe (especially England, France and Italy)
2. Publish a book
3. Learn to speak French fluently
4. Go on a whale watching excursion (will need plenty of Dramamine since I get seasick!)
5. Live in New Orleans (at least for awhile)
6. Take the kids to see the Redwoods
7. Paint something worth buying an expensive frame for
8. Grow enough flowers to be able to have a bouquet in every room of my house all summer
9. Read “War and Peace”
10. Master the perfect creme brulee (for David) and bread pudding (for me)

Filed Under: Dee's Life

If I were a princess…

August 2, 2006 By Deanna Piercy 2 Comments

If I were a princess…

I saw this question asked somewhere and thought it would be fun to fantasize a bit. If I were a princess I would have:

1. clean, freshly ironed sheets every day
2. fresh flowers in every room (lilacs and gardenias as often as possible)
3. frequent travel, staying in high-end hotels, room service breakfasts, fancy restaurants
4. designer shoes!
5. well-trained housekeeper to do the regular cleaning so I would have time to do fun stuff like decorating, arranging flowers, organizing, making things pretty
6. convertible sports car and someone to wash and wax it regularly
7. gardener
8. in-ground pool and cute pool boy
9. house in the French Quarter complete with balcony and courtyard
10. the ability to speak French and the opportunity to use it when traveling to France

Filed Under: Dee's Life

The Farmer’s Wife

July 24, 2006 By Deanna Piercy 1 Comment

Several years ago, PBS aired a riveting documentary about a young, Nebraska farm family. “The Farmer’s Wife” is one of those rare television experiences that captures your heart and soul — truly unforgettable. I just happened to catch the first episode and was immediately captivated by it. I ended up being able to record the entire thing and have watched it several times over the years. My daughter, Lisa, also loved it and we have watched it together a few times.

Filmmaker David Sutherland gives the viewer a fascinating glimpse into the lives of Darrel and Juanita Buschkoetter as they struggle to keep their farm and their marriage together through very difficult times. It’s an extremely intimate portrayal of their lives, as well as an eye-opening look at the difficulties facing small American farmers.

If you get the opportunity to see this on PBS, locate it in your library, or purchase the DVD, I strongly recommend it. I promise you will never forget it, nor will you ever look at farming the same way again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so we are in no way farmers, despite the fact I refer to our 40 acres as “Apple Tree Farm”. We do, however, have chickens, horses (one belongs to our married daughter and one to her best friend), and a tiny bit of a garden. I love to read about farming and homesteading, although I am quite certain I’m not cut out for that lifestyle myself. I don’t mind putting on a pair of jeans and boots for a short period of time in order to take care of outdoor chores, but I’m truly happier in a skirt and makeup in an air conditioned house most of the time.

Still, there is a certain satisfaction I get from hearing the gentle cluck cluck of my chickens as they peck about their yard. And while I am not really a *horse person*, I do like to stroke their velvety noses. We’re not going to be planting crops but homegrown tomatoes are one of summer’s blessings. Most of the time I enjoy living in the country on my fantasy farm.

The other night, after several days of temperatures hovering around 110 degrees, a cool front came through. The drop in temperature combined with a nice breeze were much appreciated. David and I sat out on our back patio for quite awhile just enjoying the outdoors. I mentioned that I sure would like to see a deer and no sooner were the words out of my mouth than David spotted one! We apparently have quite a few living in our woods. There are currently a couple of fawns which everyone else out here has seen but I have missed thus far.

We also have been seeing a black cat pretty often and a few days ago discovered that she has two kittens. They are wild and won’t come anywhere near us, but I do enjoy little glimpses of them. I just hope they are handling the heat okay and finding enough to eat. I keep thinking about putting out some cat food for them but I try to remind myself that I can’t personally feed every wild creature living on our property. Can I?

Filed Under: Country Living, Dee's Life Tagged With: Life on Apple Tree Farm

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • Next Page »
Dee - Profile Pic

I’m Dee, a Francophile with a hippie heart, trying to create a beautiful life in the country while dreaming of Paris. Click here to read more.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

FAVORITE POSTS

LWD Book Club ~ February

LWD Book Club February 2019

Copyright © 2019 · Life With Dee