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Posts: 8,574I always pre-planned left-overs. I figured since I married a die-hard bachelor he would be happy for anything he gets. And he is.
So now, instead of preplanning leftovers for one extra day I preplan for as many days as I can.....an extra big roast can do for a whole week.- over rice, with graxy and vegys.....as a crustless pot pie, as hot sandwhiches, etc.....
Or a ham...lots to do there....ending up with split pea soup. And if I am really up to my eyes in a project I'll even use canned soup and doctor it and he never knows the differance.
I bought him lots of extra tshirts and underware- only have to wash once every 9 days instead of once a week.....
stuff like that
anyone else have any tricks to give yourself more time for the really important stuff?
dilu
Jazzy RagsDilu I make a big bowl of pasta with red sauce and my hubby will have it next day but it must be fryed 
BEAR ME SHOOTKADilu, your husband is a treasure. 
I cook everyday. 
First, second meals.. 
my hubby loves to eat 
and he wants to eat every min he's at home.. 
:doh: I cook borcsh - it's a Russian soup or chiken or fish soup, and main dish. :cake: 
All house cleaning on me..
I spend 4 hours on everything everyday. I have to manage myself to get to bears.. 
Julia
or being HERE...
Ruby Mountain BearsMy husband is pretty patient and good. Since his accident he has been retired, but all the house work is still on me. Once in awhile he will vaccuum the whole place for me and that is a big help. Move all the furniture everything. but we have always had a big place with land and horses, we have three large dogs too. So he has lots of work to do himself. Plus we heat with a woodstove, so that means lots of firewood has to be cut and chopped. 
Plus we have two teenage daughters that require lots of time and attention. :pray:
Plus I work a regular job too!!!
Since I started making bears I don't cook as much, or clean as much. although today I was making candy for christmas. :dance:
I have to get my swap bear finished tonight!!!!!!!!! :redface:
It's almost done!
kathy
Back Road BearsFunny you bring this up Dilu as I was just wondering today, while digging out my extra big slow cooker, what I could do to streamline things to have more time for making bears.
I came up with:
Making as much beef stew as my cooker will hold.
Baking a huge lasagna and freezing it in single portions.
Putting my hubby on a diet, then I wouldn't have to cook at all as I'm on a yugurt, cold meat and salad (OK, and cookes, too) diet.
Put diapers on the puppy so I'm not forever running outside with him or wiping up after an accident!
Doing all the chores in one day so they aren't nagging at me the rest of the week, distracting me from bears.
Unplugging my laptop and tossing it in a snow bank so I'm not forever logging onto TT to chat or checking on my auctions.
Now, I didn't say I've DONE all of these things..... just ideas! 
Oh, you gals are going to hate me for this one......I don't cook. My husband and I have a deal. He cooks....I clean. I'm a neat freak and he loves to cook. It's been working for almost 25 years!! :dance:
No hate mail, please. 
Aleta
Posts: 8,574Oh Aleta you are so cute.
no hate mail
My much beloved mother in law always had projects going, she beaded, knitted and crocheted, she also danced. So she always had projects in boxes all around her chair.
She brought the boy up right.
I do vacume every day- just having the carpet clean makes a huge differance.
I do a little every day. When I brush my teeth I clean the sink. When I take a shower I use that funny Clorax shower cleaner thingy....it works great and doesn't smell like the spray obn cleaners.
We only have woodstove heat too.....and boy does it get dusty. I love those swiffer duster thingys- fast and fast and fast.
I vacume the kitchen, cuz its easier than sweeping, and then I don't have to hunt up the dust pan.
Has anyone tried the Swiffer carpet thingy?
The hubster always does the night dishes. I think this is the real reason he insisted we get a small dishwasher......tell the truth I like it beeter than washing too.
I'm with you Daphne- and i do the same thing.....make a lot and freeze in one person portions.....for those days when I oops....forgot.
He doesn't care. When we met he lived on beans and rice- he calls it "God's perfect food." But enough hot sauce on anything and he will eat it.
Julia, I love borsht (sp.?) yum, with a little sour cream....sigh
I guess it helps that there are no kids, and we retired to a house so small that there is no room for Peta Princes to move back in. (Yep that was on purpose.....also I didn't want the up-keep)
When I was a home health nurse I'd look at these monster 2-3000 sq. ft homes and these little 70 year old ladies trying to make do and keep up and just wonder how they did it....well, some didn't.
dilidu
BEAR ME SHOOTKAJulia, I love borsht (sp.?) yum, with a little sour cream....sigh
dilidu
I could teach you how to cook it if you want but it TAKES time! :hug: 
Julia
OH NO! I'm going to be one of those 70 year old ladies in a (gasp) 5000 sq. ft. home!! Egad. 
.......and a million or so cats to boot!! I'd better start saving my bear money!!!!!
Aleta
Oh yes! What could be better than REAL Russian Borscht recipe??? Do share, please, Julia! My dad would LOVE it! We also have a Ukranian neighbor who's forever making me homemade pierogis, so maybe I could return the favor with some Borscht.
Past Time BearsWell, confession time for me . . . again. When I started making bears and realized how much time it was going to take, hubby and I sat down and had a discussion. I told him how much bear making meant to me and would he mind if I stopped cooking time consuming meals. He is so easy to please when it comes to food, so now I do very little cooking from scratch. We figure after 41 years of marriage and my cooking daily for about 35 of them, it would be okay if I didn't spend lots of time in the kitchen. And, Dilu, we also have about 2 weeks worth of underwear so I don't have to do laundry very often. Of course, when I do get around to doing it, there are several loads! And the house is in a constant state of messy, but we seem to survive it all.
I remember when my Mum joined the embroiderer's guild to do this course (big fancy schmancy thing you do through THE guild in London) and one of the women had all these time saving hints...only vacuum once a day instead of twice, only clean the windows once a fortnight instead of once a week and other such things. My mum, came home and told us that that would be adding to her daily workload not saving her anytime at all. She had enough of the cliquey persnickity ladies and eventually dropped out of the course.
I just have me to please at home...and I have to admit they old cooking has dropped off a bit - yay for salad and grilled chicken - its a 10 minute meal! ugh I do have to get the whole house cleaned this weekend as I'm going home for christmas and don't want to come back to the current mess.
bears by beesley TMWonderful topic! I am a lucky lady because Garnet loves making bears too! So he understands. He is so busy at work these days he has not done one for a while. Garnet is a fantastic cook and does all the cooking on the weekends. I try to make wonderful meals for him during the week because he works so hard. But I must say that the house work does suffer because of the bears. I really don't fret about house work like I used to.
Many Hugs Louise
Jare Hares & BearsWho has time to cook, clean, shovel snow, wash the car... ??????
I sure don't.
I am still filling orders to get them out to the shoppes before Christmas!
Anyone wanna help?
See, that's the one good thing I can think of in favour of getting married twice. My husband had lived on his own for 5 years before he met me and by that time was a dab hand at the ironing, the cleaning,the cooking...and so therefore we have this nice little arrangement.
My first husband, having been alone for 10 years prior to meeting his new partner, is still largely undomesticated, but can now cook at least..and work the washing machine occasionally.
I admit that when bear-making takes over...it takes over and little or no housework gets done. But then I look at it like this..if I was out at work all day..how much housework would get done then? None..because I wouldn't be there..so that's what happens. We have a clean up at the weekend ... I have a quick whizz round in the morning (I hate to start in a really messy house) I hoover in the evenings before Steve gets home...not worth it in the day..and generally, not always I start a meal about 5.00pm to eat at 6.00..and he reciprocates on Friday and Saturdays when I go to work. I always cook on Sundays...that's the law.. My kids come round and we have a family meal most weekends.
But that's it...I have always been the messy sister out of the two of us...my sister is a nurse and has always been meticulous about the house...and me, when I get into something and can't stop..and I have 'projects' all over.
I know whose house I'd rather live in....hers...(no not really!!!!)
Bears-a-Bruin!My hubby helps a lot around the home, but I do find that certain jobs are left entirely to me. Which has been ok because I'm home full-time (looking after our daughter) but now that I'm doing more bear-making I'm run ragged some days! Mind you, hubs works hard so I can't complain.
So where I used to dust & vacuum every day, it's less often now. Hubby hasn't even noticed! He also does his own laundry (comes of living on his own for years) and often does the ironing. And he's a dab hand at clearing up the kitchen. Dilu, I'm like you - i do things as I go along. Clean the sink while I'm using the bathroom in the morning, or clean the cooker hob while I'm waiting for the kettle to boil. Multi-tasking at it's best! The thought of cleaning for a few hours solid scares the wits out of me...eek! So I prefer to do it as I go along.... :dance:
Put diapers on the puppy so I'm not forever running outside with him or wiping up after an accident!
Unplugging my laptop and tossing it in a snow bank so I'm not forever logging onto TT to chat or checking on my auctions.
LOL Daphne!! I have to say that instead of diapers on the puppy...I'd love to teach our 3 whippets to use the potty like the dog in the movie "Bruce Almighty" LOL!!! (still waiting to sell our house so we can move to the new house where we can put up a fence! Have to take the girls out on a leash one at a time right now)
Speaking of which... if any of ya find me a buyer and it goes thru... FREE BEAR of your choice... !!
ANd yes... I do have to admit I am an internet junkie.... I often justify it by working on my website, not wanting to miss out on opportunities here on TT, and so on :redface:
:whistle. Hubby enjoys cooking, I dislike cleaning up after him , that is our routine. With housework and the garden , we have help, not because it is needed, as it is only myself and hubby at home, but as Joyce, Irene,Chops and Calvin need financial support they help around the house. This means that we have an extended family, extra schooling, clothing medical expenses etc.
I drive myself mad thou, as when I sit down to make a bear, if I see that something is not packed straight I will first pack it straight before I carry on with the bear, or if I can not find something, I must find it first even if I do not need it immediately.
I admire you , who get on with it, clean when necessary and RELAX !!!!
SueAnn, married for 41 years , well done, am I next in line with 35 years, which was on the 8th of December last week.
over and out
Lynette
Posts: 3,177I don't do nuffink no more 
Ruby Mountain BearsOOH yeah I forgot. I don't do anybodies laudry anymore. The hubby made a crack complaint once when he didn't have any pants to wear. I said since I am working full time and you are not you should do your own laundry. He said " If I had my own laundry hamper I would" :doh: BINGO I got him his own laundry hamper.
And one for each of the girls too!!!! :dance: :dance: :dance:
Posts: 8,574Melissa said
only clean the windows once a fortnight instead of once a week and other such things.
What a hoot. I clean the outside windows once a year.....after the rains.....what's the point if it going to rain nearly everyday from Ovtober to May? In Germany I saw the same housfraus, or putzfraus wash the windows every single week. I was studying for a concert career, (ha !)
and decided after observing this for several months, that these good ladies did not have anything else in their lives but meddeling and putzing.....yikes!
Jared said
Anyone wanna help?
What a nice offer.....did you mean help with the bears or help with the housework? 
Helena said
and often does the ironing.
Ironing? what's that?
then she said:
The thought of cleaning for a few hours solid scares the wits out of me...eek!
I agree.....I would rather come face to face with a neighbor trying to break in then face to face with a house needing scrubbing frm top to bottom.....
I don't do nuffink no more
as ever Pen you are a giggle and breath of fresh air.....(but I'm a betting that you really do do a lot.....)
Kathy wrote:
And one for each of the girls too!!!!
Very clever.
JULIA yes please.....a real recipie for Borscht....it was one of my father's favorites....
dilyu
Flying Fur StudiosIt's neat to hear how everyone works around their house work etc.
I work full-time, but I work 4, 10 hour shifts. So on the days I work, I work from 6am - 5 pm. My boyfriend and I work in the same building downtown, so we come home together. We get home at 6pm, and I start dinner right away, something fast. I try to make it from scatch, but not always. After dinner, the boyfriend cleans the kitchen and we go on about our evening. I'm very lucky that if I cook, he will clean the kitchen, everytime. I'm a very lucky girl.
Besides a daily tidy, we only do a whole house clean once a week. We both do it together, so it only takes about 2 hrs on Sunday morning. Not bad at all. Then he does the laundry and I make a nice sunday dinner of somesort.
To be honest, I think that I haven't touched laundry, or vacuumed for maybe 5 yrs?? Not complaining though.
So now, instead of just watching TV, I'm in my studio, working on bears, ( with the TV on of course ).
But on the flip side, I always cut the grass and take care of the outside. Modern living I gues LOL 
Gatehouse GalleryOh Girls and guys, its so interesting reading this thread.....I'd forgotten what I used to do......I got rid of my PROBLEM 15 years ago.....rang his GIRLFRIEND and told her if she wanted him she better come get him.....and my life has been wonderful since.(well, if you don't count the few years my sons and I lived without any money til I took him to the cleaners in court :dance: )
I'm with Pen Pen, I don't do nufin....well not much anyway. I gave the boys a hamper each when they were 12 and told them if they didn't do their washing they would go to school naked....I did cook for them and we shared the vacuum and bathroom cleaning. But they each looked after their own dogs. Now I only have the youngest at home, Clinton 22, and he's not home for dinner often, so I eat alot of salads and only cook when he's home. The Doberman is Clinton's responsibility and the whippet (I've got whippet too Laura) is all mine...love that dog
The Pug lives with my friend (my showing partner) and is only mine at shows when I take her in the ring, so no responsibility there either.
Well what do you know that gives me LOTS of clear time to make bears.....and talk on the puter.
'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsDilu I make a big bowl of pasta with red sauce and my hubby will have it next day but it must be fryed
GASP! I thought my family was the only ones who fried spaghetti!!!! I do with butter... YUM
Kimberly W.
'Bear' Bottoms OriginalsI myself am married with two little girls, ages 4 and 2, plus two big boy dogs, one Bernese Mountain Dog and one Golden/Akita mix. My husband work 40 + hours a week in the afternoon and I work 40 hours a week starting at 5 am. That saves us on daycare expenses. I am very fortunate to have a husband who honestly does over half of the housework. Speaking of which, I need to get downstairs and clean the kitchen. I'll admit housework has slacked since I started making bears. My husband only complains every now and then, when it looks as though Katrina came through our house.
I have diligently trained my girls to help straighten up their toys and easy things like their movies and such. they both help me put away dishes, and Gabrielle helps set the table for dinner. She just picked that one up on her own... I'll usually do my bears in the evenings while watching a movie with the girls or when I'm laying in bed at night.
I keep reminding myself that I'm really lucky to have a husband that went from thinking that men shouldn't lift finger in the house and should have their off days to 'rest' when I met him to helping as much as he does without very much complaint.
Geez, now that I've re read this, I really need to get the house straightened up so he doesn't have to!
Beary warm wishes,
Kimberly Whitlock
'Bear' Bottoms Originals
