Hi friends,
I hope you are all doing well as the new week begins.
I had a pleasant surprise as the last week came to a close. Debbie over at the blog
She Graces Her Home in God's Grace touched me when she gifted me with a beautiful book and journal. It is perfect for me at this time because I've been thinking of journalling during my prayer time and this beautiful book and journal will get me going in the right direction. Take a wander over to Debbie's blog and you will see what a gracious woman she is. The black, gray and white afghan the books are on is my latest project, a crocheted afghan. I think this will be my first make (not my last) of 2019.
I've been super busy trying to get everything organized for spring.
I know some people no longer believe in Spring cleaning. They say if you clean all through the year there is no need for Spring cleaning. I'm not sure I believe that because I do daily cleaning and larger clear outs and clean ups in between. But I always find that come Spring I can see dirt, dust and grime that accumulates over months and as the light improves I can see things that need a good cleaning. Plus I find that living in a smaller home one tends not to move things around too often because it is a lot of work. So some things need a good spruce up every now and then.
This past week I've been washing down a number of things:
1) bathroom doors and walls
2) bathroom fixtures and installed new shower curtain
3) kitchen cabinets (outside only, insides will come later as time permits)
4) a few pieces of Royal Doulton china (Old Country Roses pattern).
I don't have a china cabinet, nor do I want one. These days my few pieces of china sit on a shelf atop the microwave.
It's also time to get the patio cleaned up and I've made a good start by
1) plucking all the dead growth and leaves
2) piling all the garbage in bags readying them to take to the garbage room
3) washing all the garden gloves to make sure they are clean and ready for the gardening season (I probably should have done this last year. I had good intentions but never got to it.)
4) scrubbed down the large patio table and put up the patio umbrella(this is where I sit with family and friends)
5) scrubbed down the smaller, round patio table (this is where I do my planting).
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| Photo taken before I washed down the tables. The pavers need a good wash too. |
Last year I purchased plastic table cloths from Dollarama for both patio tables. It helped to keep the tables clean of grit and grime. I know it's not that great for the environment to use all that plastic but it was labour saving for me and with some of my health challenges this is important. I was going to wash and save the ones from last year but by the end of season they didn't look like they would last through a good wash.
I also made it to my new community allotment to clear out the debris and put in the fertilizer. I will return this week to see if there is any more fertilizer I can add before I plant.
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| The plot before cleaning. |
I need to think about what I want to plant here at home and at the community allotment and see what I have on hand before making a trip to the stores for seeds, fertilizer and so forth.
This past week has been all about baking and cooking from scratch for make ahead meals. I've made home made bread and lots of lasagna for freezing ahead. Lasagna is something I seldom make but I felt like having some so I made enough to last awhile. It will help me during the busy week ahead to have something on hand to take out of the freezer and eat with a green salad.
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| Dough is rising. |
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I've finished a book that I received from a woman who also has a community garden plot. I found the book quite entertaining as it is an account of one woman's effort to grow food and raise animals for food while living in Oakland, California and the interesting and sometimes funny situations that arose.
I leave you with some signs of Spring in my part of the world. Like many people, Spring is one of my favourite seasons
I'm hoping for more time to resume my posts about my recent travels
abroad once I've finished the planting and gotten a few appointments out
of the way.
I have so many photos that it takes so much time to load them,
decide which ones to use and then resize them before posting.
Enjoy your week
