Sunday, April 7, 2019

Spring Activities Continue

Hi friends,


It's been raining a lot here this week so I didn't get to plant my 2 gardens plot yet. I am happy about that because it gave me time to shift to doing a few other things. I'm still in Spring cleaning and spruce it up mode.  I'm making notes here for my own record and for future reference.

 I'm constantly in the process of decluttering and getting rid of things some of which has piled up for over a decade.  Things piled up when I spent years looking after my late sister's children then looking after my late mom.  I couldn't spend time to properly deal with my business while others in the family were in great need. The declutter project I'm doing will still take a lot more time.  I don't easily get rid of things and like to take time going through everything meticulously.

Sometimes I go through things 3 or 4 times before making final decisions and over the years, needs and wants change and things come into clearer focus as to what is needed or can be let go. I am no hoarder though and over the years have gotten rid of a lot of things mostly through giving to the thrift store or posting things on the local Freecycle website.  For now while I'm still in declutter mode I'm trying to spruce things up a bit.

Spring Cleaning
  • A new bathroom shower curtain. I just changed it a year ago and felt the colours (navy on white) needed toning down. My new curtain is mostly white and has small designs in navy and gray). I intend to paint the bathroom (something I never seem to get to) and install a train rack for extra towel storage.
  • Purchased some command hooks for the laundry closet on which to hang my mop and broom. I've had metal ones for many years but never got around to nailing them in the wall. So at last I have some stick on ones. I've purchased extra command strips if needed. One of the shelf units in the laundry closet came out of the wall so rather than put it back up I purchased some narrower plastic shelves from Wal-mart a year or two ago. I am happy with the new arrangement because I don't have a laundry room as such and have to make do with a very small laundry closet.
  • I emptied and cleaned the vacuum cleaner, vacuumed the living room/dining room and moved the area rug from the front room into the master bedroom. I'm looking for another one or two larger area rugs for the living room and dining area. I've been looking for a very long time. I am not in a big rush because of all the other things I have to do and because I hope to live with my purchases for many years to come.
  • I bought a new larger entry hall rug to replace the temporary one I bought last year.  I went back and forth to the store 3 times to buy and exchange the rugs. In the end I got a different colour than I wanted.  That's okay because the entry hall rug and the kitchen rug are now the same design (different colours) and can be interchanged if I want to change the colour scheme in the kitchen.
  • I bought a new tablecloth (narrow brick red and tan stripes on natural background) and natural coloured napkins.  I've got a number of tablecloths I bought many years ago but wanted something to freshen things up. I think I can get rid of at least one or two tablecloths that have seen better days.
  • New (slightly larger) kitchen rug, dish rack, draining mat and oven mitts. I've decided I'd rather have a dish tray under the Umbra dish rack but have been having problems finding just the right one. Maybe I'll change my mind as time goes on and stick with the draining mat. I will donate the well used teak dish rack and several drying mats. If no one wants them I'll be fine with putting them in the trash because all of the items have been used for quite a long time.
  • I bought an under the sink shelf. I'm not sure if I'll use it in my kitchen or in the master bathroom. If I like it I may buy another one later. Right now I use plastic containers under the kitchen and master bath sink to keep things organized. Right now though the  master bathroom stuff is out of control and needs to be reined in again (I'm working on not buying more products and using up what I have. It takes discipline).
  • I used some white wood putty to fill in some cracks on my kitchen cabinets. I'm not sure yet but I may paint out the lower cabinets some time in future or I may reface the kitchen cabinets.  It will depend on whether I can make a small repair to one of the cabinet hinges and also on overall costs. This is just one of so many projects that need to be done.  For now I am focussing on the smaller projects to try and make the household flow a bit better.  It seems to be a never ending process.
  • I purchased a can of Scott's Liquid Gold to shine up the kitchen cabinets after washing. I only buy this stuff about once every decade and mainly use it on my laundry closet shutter doors to shine them up a bit. I got this tip from an Executive Assistant to a former boss.  We would share a few decorating ideas from time to time. I was surprised to learn that this product is multi-functional and can even be used on kitchen pots to shine them up.
  • Notes: Most of my new purchases were done at HomeSense so the items were all at a discount.  Of course the stock changes daily.  If you waffle a bit and return another day you take a risk that it might not be in stock when you return.  Imagine my surprise when I returned the very next day for a red & beige rug for the entry hall (there were 3 of them less than 24 hours earlier) and they were all gone! Since I visited the store daily for 3 days in a row it was clear to me that stock turnover happens very quickly.  Overall though I've been very pleased with what I found there. I'd been wanting to stop at this store for years. I didn't realize it's location was convenient to me.


There is a lot more work to do in the coming weeks to continue spring cleaning and decluttering though I won't likely write about all of it in this space (lucky you).

Gardening

I bought some pansies to plant in the containers on the balcony. I should have time later this week to undertake this task. Pansies are one of my favourite little flowers and each year it is hard to find the starter plants here. When I saw a few earlier this week I snapped up 10 pots because the store didn't have much stock and very little of the purple colour I love so much.  I have to plant them soon and hopefully the weather will cooperate later this week.



Frugal Cooking

I've baked bread every week for the past 3 weeks. We haven't eaten it all up so I made bread pudding with some of the slices. I forgot to take a photo. It was good but I'm still looking for a good recipe. I find most of the recipes I've tried result in what I consider to be a dry pudding.

I want a pudding that is much creamier and similar to what my late mom used to make. Too bad I didn't learn her recipe but back then I really didn't enjoy cooking at all and had no interest in learning much about it.  In the version I made today I added more milk (find it here) and used less sugar. It was a decent outcome as in tasty but lacked the creamy texture I'm after.  I think the trick might be more eggs and milk though that might make a bread omelette, lol.  If you are a cook and have a creamy bread pudding recipe that you wouldn't mind sharing please let me know.

Right now I'm cooking from my food stock and only buying the barest minimum of foods, like a bit of fruit or eggs and milk to supplement what I have on hand.  I've got a lot of dried and canned goods as well as stuff in the freezer that I want to use up before I do any more grocery shopping.

So for today we had garlic mashed potatoes, fried pork chops and canned cream corn. I have salad fixings but I didn't make any salad.  Once I eat salad I tend to be too full for the main course. Dessert was bread pudding.

Yesterday we had baked chicken breasts (bone in) with canned browned mushrooms and mushroom soup "sauce" over steamed rice with steamed asparagus on the side. We had oranges for dessert.  I think Monday I'll make breakfast for dinner (bacon, eggs and hash browns or bacon with an omelette so I can put some veggies in there).  The goal is to use as much of my stock of food as possible so I can clean the freezer and the inside spaces of the cabinets.


If I run out of meat or fowl I will make vegetarian meals with chick peas, lentils and so on. In fact I hope to intersperse some of the meat and chicken dishes with vegetarian ones. I was inspired by browsing through the book by Mary McCartney (daughter to Paul and Linda McCartney). I didn't buy the book. I just sat down for awhile and thumbed through it (and a few other books) enough to be motivated once again to eat more vegetarian meals. One thing I want to make (which I saw in Mary McCartney's cookbook) is a corn meal bread with jalapeno peppers and corn niblets. I have several bags of cornmeal that a friend gave me and I need to use it up soon. In fact, I'm not sure what the expiry date is (it's in sealed plastic bags with no markings).  Perhaps I should open one bag and smell it first.

Creativity

The crochet afghan I am making is going to be large enough to comfortably cover a twin sized bed so it is much larger than the throws I've been making to cosy up while sitting on the sofa. I think I'll be gifting it to my uncle who is now in long term care but first I'll call his wife and see if this is okay with them because my idea is rather last minute.  I'll take some photos of the finished product and share them when I'm done.

Television/Movies

I started watching a new series called "Hanna" on Amazon Prime.  I'm on episode 4 and find it very interesting. Are any of you watching it? I wanted to go and see the movie Dumbo but haven't got around to it yet. Have any of you seen it and do you recommend it for adults?


Reading

I am also reading a bit here and there. I am slowly working my way through the book Beyond Expectations which  I  picked up during my recent travels to Kenya.



It is quite interesting and chock full of information about the early days of Kenya's independence and the power brokers of the day.

I also picked up 3 more books at the library.


The Piano Teacher,  set in the 40s and 50s in Hong Kong. It's a fictional story which is primarily about two separate but intertwined love stories set in the period before and after Japanese occupation.  I've just finished the book and I would probably give it a 3 or 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I'm about to start on the next two books.


On Island is a book of fictional short stories written by a former Canadian Member of Parliament. The stories revolve around island living.
We're Going to Need More Wine is a memoir by actor Gabrielle Union. Her essays are true stories about power, color, gender, feminism and fame.

Other

I was hoping to see an old friend for lunch but she's had some family issues come up as well as some health issues so our get together is temporarily on hold.  I have another friend who I hope to see early in the week. I've suggested we go and see the Monet to Matisse exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery. I thought we were going on "cheap night" but I now see it may still cost quite a lot so I'll have to reconfirm with her tomorrow. Next up I have to meet with a new financial advisor. I've been wanting to change up advisors for some time now but never have time to do the research. I've been called by a new to me advisor at one of the banks I deal with so am hoping to have a meet and get to know you session before any decisions are made. There have also been a number of dental and medical related appointments on the agenda this month and some family matters of my own (all is well) and the ongoing charitable work in Kenya. I didn't expect April to be so busy.

 ~~~~~

I hope you are well and busy and that you
 have a wonderful week ahead wherever you may be in the world.

Joining

Our World Tuesday

~~~~~~~

33 comments:

Pamela said...

Wow! You have been busy with so many things. I always feel like I am in a process of decluttering. I used to live in a large house, now I live in a small apartment so it is an ongoing process.

Joyful said...

I totally understand Pamela. I too live in a smallish apartment and the process of cleaning, decluttering and organizing never ends. If we stop for a length of time we are soon run over with things.

Rhodesia said...

We also need to get onto spring cleaning but until it is warm enough to stop the wood fire it is pointless. It creates so much dust and I always remark that it looks like we have volcanic activity in the house!!
Liquid gold is something I have never heard of and I am sure we can not get it here I certainly would like to use it though on somethings. Our bread pudding is dryish, but that is the way we like it so don't think our recipe will be any good to you. What about an Egg Custard Bread Pudding, look that up and see what you think.
I like the sound of Beyond Expectations, must look that up.
Take care and do not over do things. Diane

Joyful said...

I agree it is better to wait until it is warm enough for you to stop burning wood before you start the spring cleaning. It got cold here suddenly the past few days but should warm up again soon. In the meantime as you can see I've been too busy and will take your advice to take it easy a bit. I'll also look for a few egg custard bread pudding recipes. Good luck finding the book.

Red said...

You are very busy. From around here we get rid of some things and then we have to buy other things.

Billie Jo said...

Hello!
I enjoyed visiting here with you today!
I am inspired to cook with what we have, rather than continuously bringing more into the house.
So thank you for that!
I am happy to hear you are enjoying Hanna. I was wondering about it!
Have a cozy day. : )

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

You are one busy lady! Love the spring cleaning and reading. Thanks for sharing it with us.

happyone said...

Wow you sure have been busy, but it sure beats boring. :)
No, haven't watched Hanna and this is the first I've heard about it.

colleen said...

Ah, we were both looking at clouds. I have to get out in the garden before it rains.

Fun60 said...

You have been so busy. I admire your determination to do so much and keep on top of things.

Joyful said...

Yes it usually works that way. I've read in some places that you should get rid of one item for every item you bring in. I read somewhere else that you should get rid of 3 items for every new one you bring into the home.

Joyful said...

Thank you Billie Jo. I have a tendency to buy more food when I already have food to cook and eat up. Glad to hear you were inspired to use what you have too!

Joyful said...

Hi Carol, I have been so very busy though I certainly didn't anticipate it would be quite as busy. Once I got started I thought I'd better get as much done as possible since I have a long 'to do' list. Thanks for stopping by.

Joyful said...

Busy beats boring any day. If you have Prime Video check out the series 'Hanna' and let me know what you think.

Joyful said...

I love looking at clouds. Thankfully I was able to clear garden debris before the recent rains but have to wait for planting.

Joyful said...

Thank you Fun60. I appreciate your visit and comment. I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned to you but when I tried to visit your blog I had a warning from my internet provider (something about security settings). It prevented me from visiting your blog. Sorry about that.

Murthy K v v s said...

The books look worthy to read.

eileeninmd said...

Hello Penny, you are keeping busy. I like the idea of having the under the sink shelf. It would help keep things organized. You have some great tips on spring cleaning. Hubby and I have decluttered, thinking we were going to sell our house and move. So we are ready to go if need be, this place is too big for the two of us. Enjoy your day and have a great week ahead.

jabbott said...

Wow you been busy my friend. Was thinking if taking my little one Holly to watch dumbo so will let u know how it was. Hannah looks good I enjoyed the film. Hope to see the new film at the cinema soon. I did go to watch us and it was so good. P.S there's a letter in the mail to you xxx

Joyful said...

Yes my friend I have been very busy. So today I took a break and tomorrow will be going out to the art exhibition so I won't accomplish much at home. I look forward to hearing about the movie and receiving your letter. xx

Joyful said...

It's a good variety. Thank you for your visit and comment.

Joyful said...

Hi Eileen, I put the new shelving unit under the master bathroom sink and like it so will probably by another one. I think it will help a lot to keep things tidy. The best of luck in selling your home and moving. I hope you find a place that is just right for the two of you. Have an awesome week ahead.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

You have been busy. I love getting rid of stuff, it feels so good afterward but painful during.

Jeanie said...

You have been incredibly productive and you put me to shame! I am so very impressed! And on so many levels! How wonderful to get some good deals on the new things -- that's always fun. Smart move with cooking down the fridge (and your bread looks great!) and those pansies make me smile. This whole post has me a bit energized!

Joyful said...

Hi Yogi, it sure does feel good to get rid of things. I'll feel even better when I get rid of a lot more, lol!

Joyful said...

Hi Jeanie, you are very sweet. I think you are also being too modest. I see what you get done and you do an awful lot. But your words are very kind and encouraging nonetheless. I am taking a few days break now as I'm making time to get together with friends and also have a few appointments. Hopefully I can do the planting very soon.

Angie said...

Wow - and I thought my month was busy!!! As much as I would like to buy some flowers to brighten things up a bit, I think I need to hold off a little longer - we had an inch and a half of snow yesterday! Although pansies can typically survive anything … My husband has been watching Hanna and he likes it. I am not much of a TV watcher. Enjoy the rest of your week!

shayndel said...

You are amazing and focused to do the jobs and get them done for spring cleaning!! Wow, I confess I have been putting it off and putting it off and finally just did one cabinet!! Encouraged by reading your post to move forward to the next cabinets!!! Blessings and happy spring days!! ❤️

Joyful said...

Yes it has been a busy month and a half so far but there is still so much more to do not the least of which is planting. It's been cold and raining here for over a week now and will continue for at least another week so not sure when the planting can be done and here I was hoping to get things done early this year! I finished watching Hanna and enjoyed it a lot though it was also very sad. Enjoy the rest of your week too.

Joyful said...

Thank you for your kind words. I am not usually so focussed when it comes to cleaning but this year I feel like cleaning and making progress so I am taking advantage of it. I have to admit though that past two days or more I need a break so I'm mostly doing things that don't require so much of my physical effort before I get back into things with more gusto. Last night I cleaned one bathroom cabinet and reorganized it a bit. It always feels great to reorganize and declutter. All the best with your spring cleaning :-)

affectioknit said...

Hi Penny,
...love your gardening, organizing and frugality...I enjoyed the Piano Teacher...it's been awhile since I read it though...
~Have a lovely day!

Joyful said...

Thank you Teresa. Your words mean a lot. I'm glad you enjoyed The Piano Teacher. Have a lovely day and weekend ahead :-)

Sharon said...

You are a whirlwind of activity! I do love your photo of the night sky at the end. And how wonderful that you enjoyed yourself.

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