It’s that time again. You ask, and I pretend to know things and answer your burning questions. It really is so much fun to open my inbox and see the wide variety of questions you guys have. Reminds me that my readers are so diverse and pretty dang awesome. So keep those questions coming and I’ll keep racking my brain for answers. As always, please pipe up if you have any input or are knowledgeable when it comes to any of the following questions:
Mavis, I am looking for a new blender and was wondering what you would recommend. What is your opinion on a Vitamix, is it worth the money? Seems like I have seen you using one. What model would you recommend? Looks like they would really increase the nutrients in our everyday foods and be very helpful with canning as well. Love reading you daily and I value your opinion. Thank you so much.
~Cheri
We own {or rather The Girl owns} a Blendtec. We’ve had it for 6 years now and love it to bits! I don’t know anything about the Vitamix machine, but maybe some readers who own one can chime in?
Hi dear I love reading your blog posts in my emails but am trying to figure out because I think I missed some along the way and are you moving ? Or have you moved as you’re talking about the northeast and I’m here in OH so just wondered where about you might be!? I have chickens, garden, sew, rug hook, needle punch, cross stitch, mixed media art and just about anything else! So anyway thanks I love all your fab recipes and your fab blog too! Have a great day and a fab new year ahead!
~ Hugs Linda
Yes, we are buying a house in New England. I haven’t said too much about it yet {other than it’s my dream home} because well, we don’t officially own it yet. And honestly, it wouldn’t feel right posting pictures of someone else’s home on my blog until we are actually able to set foot in the place and call it ours. But trust me, as soon as we have the keys…. there will be loads of details. And pictures. 🙂
Hey Mavis, in one of your recent blog posts you had photos of your recent wool order you were going to dye. I think you said 150 yards! OMG!!! Did you get the wool for Dorr or from the Erb website you mention in your dying post? I’m in Canada and find it difficult to find wool that I can redye in yardage lengths without selling my first born-which wouldn’t take much some days! But seriously, fabric here is pretty expensive IMO and I have to justify the expense if I am redyeing it. Do you have any tips for finding wool by the yard in other places than those two websites? Thanks a million! ps, can’t wait to see your east coast home!
~ Cecile
Other than finding fabric at the fabric store {and using a coupon of course} I’m not sure where you would buy wool yardage in Canada. Have you tried eBay or Etsy? Maybe search under wool yardage lot and see if you can find the bulk quantities you are looking for. Thrift shops and yard sales can be pretty hit and miss but when you do find fabric there, it’s usually for pennies on the dollar! Hopefully someone who lives in Canada can chime in and let us know.
Hi, Mavis! I’m inspired by your hustle to contribute to your household income as a “housewife.” Your Etsy income is inspiring. Have you calculated your hourly wage for your wool dying and hooking projects? I’m just curious. Thanks for your blog!
~Sarah
I have been asked this question many times over the years and my answer has always remained the same. NOPE. I have never {and most likely never will} calculate what my hourly wage for dyeing wool or hooking rugs is. And the simple answer is… I don’t care to.
Like gardening, rug hooking is a hobby, something I do in my spare time, something I enjoy and something I’d continue to do even if I didn’t sell any of my pieces. But for me, the real joy in it, is the process, not the finished project. Which, probably sounds a little flighty… but it’s true. The fact that I can set a price I think is fair, and people pay it, is really just an added bonus. Finding joy and contentment in my work, {whether it’s blogging, gardening, rug hooking or whatever} is really a big deal for me. If I didn’t love what I did, I just couldn’t invest my time in it.
Also, I love the term “housewife”. Some people are offended by it, but honestly, it makes me smile. Being a stay at home mom, or wife who doesn’t work {outside the home in the traditional sense} is all I ever wanted to be. Even in high school. That’s all I wanted. To be married, a mom, driving a station wagon and taking care of my home. Being the little woman… is a pretty RAD thing in my book. 😉
Hi Mavis – we are getting our 102 yr old former farm house ready for sale. What is your “go to” color for the walls? I thought I read in one of your posts that it was a Sherman-Williams grey but I don’t recall the name or number of the color.
~TIA, Gwenn
My favorite go to color for a typical suburban home is Hopsack paint by Valspar. You can find it at Lowe’s. My friend Girly Girl who is an interior designer who helps put together custom and model homes uses this color religiously. I also recommend using Floetrol when painting to avoid brush strokes {if you are painting trim}. That being said, if I lived in a 102 year old farmhouse…. I personally wouldn’t use that paint color for the walls. I’d go with some sort of white. Yep. There is just something about white walls in old homes that makes my heart happy {and the color white seems period appropriate than a khaki}.
Have a question for me? Submit them HERE and I’ll try to answer them.
~Mavis
Lynda McCrimmon says
On that “all I ever wanted to be is a housewife” thing, you nailed it! If there was a Housewife Olympics, you’d win gold. Keep doing what you do and telling us about it.
Carrie says
I bought a Vitamix at Costco about a year ago when it was on sale for $300. I use it 5 times a week to make smoothies. I have made almond flour and almond milk in it with ease. Creamy hummus is a breeze too. I love it. I think it is comparable to a Blendtec so go with one with the options you want. I had a $20 Oster for years before and smoothies were never smooth so I was thrilled to have my dream blender. 🙂
debbie in alaska says
My desire to be a housewife is on the opposite spectrum to yours — however I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog and hearing about your perspective. And I am continually impressed with your hard work, creativity, and desire to serve your family and home. It’s fun to see things from different perspectives. Thanks for sharing parts of your world with us.
Mavis Butterfield says
“It’s fun to see things from different perspectives.” I couldn’t agree more. Life would be so boring if we were all the same. 🙂 I’m glad you’re here Debbie in Alaska.
Yankeegal says
I too love being a housewife…so much so that I stayed home with my children, and my grandchildren for a time as well. Mavis just makes it look like so much fun- she is a real inspiration!
I have a vitamix that I love…use it for hummus, soups. dips, you name it. It was very pricey at the time of purchase, but I had it included in the budget when we remodeled our kitchen.
Mary says
I couldn’t bring myself to spend that much on a blender, so I ended up with a Breville Hemisphere control blender. It works great and costs a lot less.
renay says
I bought a Blendtec and it is AWESOME> Worth the money. My favorite is to use it to can tomatoes. Blend them and it pulverizes the whole thing, skin, seeds, core, everything to a fine sauce. Cook and can! Best thing I ever accidentally did! haha
Kelly says
Mavis, I just wanted to pop in and say that I just love your blog. I’ve been reading for a few years, and feel like I know you. It makes me happy that you are so happy. It comes through in your writing lately.
I do work outside of the home part time as a school nurse at my childrens’ school, but my heart is at home. I love what you said about being a housewife. That is my 16 year old daughter’s dream, and she often asks me ” Is that ok?” Of course it is!
I’m so excited to read about your new place.
Thanks for teaching me things and making me smile.
Mavis Butterfield says
🙂 Thank you!
Stacey says
I have to chime in on this, too. I was a housewife for years while my children were growing up and wish I had had a friend like you to NOT put me down for it! I love your blog so much that it’s the only one I keep when I do my “weeding out.”
Leslie says
Vitamix- love it. We have the G series (I think) that it shorter and wider, so it fits below the cabinets, if you like to keep it out.
Mavis, I also love staying home. I am self employed (14 years going strong) and always worked outside teh home as well, but stopped that when I was pregnant with our first. I planned to go back, and had an offer for my dream job (to be a firefighter) but it really felt off. So I ended up shocking myself and everyone when I turned it down. I love being self employed and staying home. It feels right and I’m so thankful we can do it!
Michele Palmer says
I can’t toot the Vitamix horn enough. I use mine ALL the time! It has never not been able to do it’s job. I even make official custard based ice cream in it since it has the ability to heat up a custard base while blending on high!
I make pancake batter, black bean brownie batter, legit ice cream, and of course smoothies. I even make Almond milk and Almond butter in it. When I want a hot soup, I just dump in chicken broth and some seasonings and make taco soup. Add chicken and a bag of frozen southwest veggies at the end and you’ve got hot soup baby.
The cost might deter people, but it is built to last a looooooong time. That is worth a lot to me.
Sarah says
Thank you for answering the question about your Etsy income. I stay at home with our young children and homeschool them, but I often feel like I should do more (even though I have little time for anything else.) It’s very encouraging to read your positive words and the supportive comments about being a housewife. Not many people think it’s cool around here. I also love that you have no intention of calculating your hourly wage because you simply love hooking. That’s very cool.
Judy Johnson says
My Vitamix is over thirty years old and still going strong. It was a lot of money for us way back when, something like $200, (I have no idea what they cost now) but I have used it for all manner of things from grinding grain to making instant desserts over the years. Last summer I found one in new condition at a yard sale for forty bucks-I couldn’t get my cash out fast enough! Thanks for your excellent blog; it’s the only one I check daily. I appreciate your forthright presentation of the value of housewifery!
Judy says
So looking forward to see your new home!