Monday, August 13, 2018

Much Cooler on Monday

It has been a cooler day, today!  It was almost cold at 78F inside the house, when I woke up!  LOL!  I turned off the fan and went back to sleep for a bit longer, just because I could!  This is what retirement is all about!  LOL!

It was still below 80F when I woke up for the second time.  I had my coffee and went online for a bit and I didn't need to turn on the fan, at all, until around 2:00 p.m.!

I put away the laundry from yesterday, washed the crocheted blanket and the wool shawl I drape along the back of the living room love seat (to hide the cat-scratched upholstery!), washed the knitted sweaters, and the jackets.  These are the jackets I had worn to the office on a regular basis, that I hadn't put away before the flea infestation.   One of them, a red jacket, said "dry clean only", but I don't dry clean anything, so I washed it, anyway!  It seems to have survived the wash, OK; I'll see how it fits once it has dried!

For brunch, I cut up the pineapple I had bought, last week, which I had kept out on the counter to get ripe; yesterday, I noticed that it was quite ripe.

Fresh Pineapple
I used the tip of my vegetable peeler to dig out all the "eyes", cut it lengthwise, and sprinkled the pieces with freshly ground black pepper.  That is how we used to eat pineapple, when I was growing up - sprinkled with salt and pepper.


Brunch
It wasn't a very big pineapple; the plate is a side plate, about 6 1/2 inches in diameter.  I put the top of the pineapple in some water to see if it will grow for me (the last one I tried growing simply rotted!)  I am thinking of maybe buying another pineapple before the sale ends, tomorrow.

In the afternoon, I stripped daughter's bed and washed her bed sheets.  She has a twin size day bed which pulls out into a king size bed (or whatever two twin beds make, when side by side), with two foam mattresses.   Each mattress comes with its own mattress cover, but I also put a fitted sheet as an additional mattress cover.  So, basically, each mattress has two fitted sheets (daughter doesn't like to use the flat sheets).   I do this so that I don't have to wash the mattress cover, itself.   Today, I pulled out both sets of fitted sheets off each mattress and sprayed the mattress covers with flea spray.  Ideally, I should remove and wash them, too, but I don't think I can manage to put the mattresses back into them by myself.  Daughter agreed that spraying them should be sufficient.  Then, I remade her bed with sheets from the linen closet, and covered the whole thing with a flat sheet.  I am hoping the flat sheet will keep the top fitted sheet on the top mattress protected, but, I've a feeling I might wash the top fitted sheet and put a new sheet before daughter's next visit home (she's coming back, next week, to be here when I have my endoscopy/colonoscopy). 

I had thought that there was another quilt on daughter's bed to be washed, but, I was thrilled to find that I had already washed it!  Woo hoo!  What this means is, I have now washed all the quilts and blankets we used during the winter and which were on the beds when I discovered we had fleas!  Everything, other than the drapes, curtains, bed skirts and mattress covers have now been washed!  The drapes, etc., have all been sprayed and, I think that is sufficient.  Taking down the drapes and washing them is for another day, maybe in September!  In fact, as I mentioned to one of my friends, yesterday, the drapes are so old, they might disintegrate in the washer if I tried to wash them!  LOL.  I will continue to wash the sofa dust sheets and my bed sheets every 4 days or so for the next couple of weeks, but that is a more manageable laundry schedule!  To celebrate being caught up on the laundry backlog, I washed the three empty laundry baskets!

Today, after I put away the dishes that were drying in the dish drainer, I scrubbed both sides of the kitchen sink.  I usually keep the dish drainer in one side of the sink, so that side gets scrubbed only now and then.  Afterwards, I filled one side with a bleach and water solution and I let the dish drainer soak in it.  I regularly scrub the dish drainer, but, it is white and, sometimes, there are stains that don't go away.  The bleach water solution removed all the stains and that's another job crossed off my list!

I also dusted the living room, again.  I hadn't planned to do that, but, I am glad I did.

Obviously, the pineapple I had for brunch wasn't quite enough for lunch, as well as breakfast!  When I went to make my evening tea, a little after 6 o'clock, I felt hungry!  So, while the tea brewed, I decided to have a late lunch/early dinner (linner?) and had the leftovers from last night's dinner (rice with beef and broccoli).  Then, had my tea.  Most probably, I'll get hungry again, before bedtime!  I will have a yogurt, then, or a rice cake and peanut butter (my late-night snack, last night!)

After tea, I took the trash cans to the curb.  I wore my long white skirt over my pair of shorts, and a white blouse over the tank top I was wearing, and white socks with my sandals!  Before I came inside, I carefully inspected my skirt and saw there were two tiny specks!  So, I quickly got out of the clothes I wore out and hand-rinsed the blouse, the skirt, and the socks!  I didn't want to leave them in the laundry basket, as they were! 

Later, I called friend R to check if she got her plumbing done and we chatted for a bit.

In between all those things, I watched news on TV, played some games on the computer, read a few blogs and relaxed.

Today, I am grateful for:
- The cooler temperatures!
- Getting caught up with the laundry!  Just knowing it is all done is a relief!
- Texting with my daughter
- Chatting with my friend
- Computer games!

Monday's To Do List:
- Put away the laundry - DONE
- Wash the crocheted blanket - DONE
- Wash the sweaters - DONE
- Wash the jackets - DONE
- Wash the quilt  - I HAVE ALREADY WASHED THEM ALL!
- Take the trash cans out - DONE
- Do some shopping? - TUESDAY
- Scrub the sink and dish drainer - DONE
- Clean my bedroom - STARTED
- Water the indoor plants - DONE

Tuesday's To Do List:
- Put away the laundry
- Bring the trash cans in
- Clean my bedroom
- Do some shopping
- Put gas to the car
- Water the front garden & back

10 comments:

  1. I have never thought about adding pepper to pineapple. Right off, it doesn't sound to appealing to me, but I think it's all what you're used to.

    I have grown the tops of pineapples before, but finally gave up on them after a couple of years. They were getting too big to bring inside, but we never have a long enough growing season for them to bear fruit. I just left them outside and let them do as they may and of course, when the weather turned cold, they died. I wounder if you can grow pineapple there? Your weather is warm enough, but a I wonder if you need more humidity.

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    1. My mother used to be able to grow pineapples, here, but then, she was the type of person who could plant a dead stick and have it grow for her! I, on the other hand, can plant a very healthy plant and have it turn to a dead stick in a matter of weeks, if not days! LOL. I've grown other bromeliads, so I'm hopeful.

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  2. Now as long as you don't go outside your house or allow people into your home, you may have the flea problem looked after. *laugh* Thank goodness your laundry schedule is quieting down to only 2 or 3 loads a week instead of per day. When I see how much you got accomplished in "cooler" weather, I am anxiously awaiting Fall.

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    1. Yes, that's it! No going outside, no one coming in! LOL. I need to have the outside sprayed, again. Ha, ha, in Fall, I'm probably going to say it is too cold to move away from my seat in front of the heater! :D That's usually how it is, with me.

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  3. Mmmm pineapple with salt and pepper. Mouthwatering 😀

    You've been doing a huge amount of laundry, Bless. I hope you will be able to get rid of fleas soon.

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    1. I hate to think what my water bill is going to be, Nil, but it can't be helped. Today was the first time in many days when I didn't do a load of laundry!

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  4. I like the idea of adding salt and pepper to pineapple. I am a pepper addict so I'm sure I would like it. I tend to forget that fresh apple responds well to a little salt. Maybe pepper would work with it, too.

    It was very muggy today but I did do some yard work early in the morning. Our latest monarch pupa had turned black and was even showing a wing through it, so I was watching it regularly for action. Darn it, I missed it by a few minutes! It was already hanging outside the pupa. We see monarchs regularly and they love the purple coneflower. After our newbie finally flew away from the empty shell, we believe that he is the one that we saw spending an hour or so just supping on the nectar of the purple coneflowers. I think he was building up his strength after his transformation into a butterfly.

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    1. I think the pepper and salt help to bring out the flavor and cut down on the acidity of the fruit, too. How exciting to watch the pupa turn into a butterfly, even if you missed it emerging! I'm glad your garden is providing them with a safe and nurturing environment, with the milkweeds and the coneflowers. :)

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  5. Just catching up on your blog, as usual it is an oasis of calm, except perhaps for the fleas! lol! Hope you beat the infestation, the cooler temps should help. Salt and pepper on your pineapple sounds interesting I have a pineapple that I am making my way though, I shall try it tonight. You seem to have made a nice adjustment to retirement, perhaps taking the fast few weeks as a holiday helped. Dancer must be over the moon at having you home all the time!

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    1. Hi Sharon, lovely to hear from you, again. An oasis of calm? Thank you for saying so, but I haven't felt very calm, recently, LOL. I am hoping the infestation is over, but it is going to get hot again, by the end of the week, so we'll see.

      I hope you try the pineapple with a little pepper and salt - I think it brings out the sweetness of the pineapple.

      Being on vacation and all the cleaning I've been doing has definitely helped with making the transition! I can only imagine how stressed I would be if the fleas happened while I was still having to go to the office! I'd have been too tired to do anything!

      I just read your post and commented on it. I hope you continue to do well; take good care of yourself. (((HUGS)))

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