Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Winter Roses and Other Happenings on Wednesday

Winter Rose
This rose is for those who, like my friend Bushlady, woke up to snow, this morning.   The rose bushes will be pruned, later this month, but, until then, they continue to bloom.

While I was out in the garden, I took a couple of other photos, too.

Chrysanthemum
Last October, I bought two chrysanthemum plants to keep on the altar during the prayer gathering.  Afterwards, I planted them in the garden.  The purple one died, but the yellow one survived and has a flower (there are a couple of buds forming, too).


Oranges
The photo of the oranges might be a candidate for the Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt, prompt #17 Orange.  I couldn't resist picking one of the oranges and having it as a snack! 

There was a knock on my door, this morning.  It was someone contracted by the utility company to trim trees that might come in contact and interfere with the power lines!  He and his assistant needed access to the backyard to inspect the utility pole and my pine tree.

Trimming the pine tree that is growing in the backyard has been on my to do list for a long time.  (Don't you love the English language?  In what other language can "trim the tree" mean both decorating a tree with ornaments and cutting it back to prune it?   LOL.)  But, my gardener friend hasn't been able to do it. So, today's visit by the utility company contractors was a blessing!  Especially since they trimmed the pine tree at no cost to me!

They didn't trim as much off the tree as I would have liked, and I might still nag friend M to prune a bit more of the tree, but now I don't have to worry about the power lines being impacted!  I'm glad I was at home to let them have access to the backyard.

They removed all the branches they trimmed, but I broke off a couple of sprigs for this week's "winter arrangement", along with a stem of paperwhites. 

I spoke with the dentist's office, this morning.  Apparently, I still need to call the dental insurance people to request that my account be activated, as the dental office was told that my account has been terminated!  Sigh.  I'm getting a bit tired of all these phone calls, back and forth!  So, one item crossed off the to do list and another item added to it! 

In the afternoon, I went to the grocery store to buy more canned cat food.  I've discovered that Dancer only likes the soft "pate" versions; he doesn't like the "shreds" and "bits" ones, that have pieces!  He also only likes the taste of fish, not chicken, etc.  So, I returned three unopened cans of cat food that had pieces in it and bought several cans of the pate versions, four cans of "salmon pate" and four cans of "white fish and tuna".  I also bought a loaf of bread ($1.29) and some bananas (@$.59/lb = $.78) for me.  Total spent, including cat food, came to $5.08.

January grocery spending to date:
1/4: bananas = $.99
1/9: bread & bananas = $1.29 + $.78 = $2.07
Total = $3.06

After that, I went to the fabric store, as today was the last day of their sale on broadcloth and other items.  I wanted to buy two yards of white broadcloth (regular price $3.99/yard; on sale for $1.99/yard) for a set of pillowcases I want to make.  Their quilt batting was on sale, too, for 60% off, so I bought one queen size polyester quilt batting (regular price $29.99; on sale for $11.99) and one small cotton quilt batting (regular price $9.99; on sale for $3.99).  I bought them both for projects I have in mind.  I wanted to spend about $20, which is my budgeted amount for my personal allowance, as I don't have a budget for craft supplies, as such.  The cost of the items came to $19.96, but, my total came to $21.86, with sales taxes.  I figured it was okay to go over budget by less than $2.00.  Especially since I "saved" $30 by taking advantage of the sale!


Fabric Store Receipt

Later in the evening, I changed the sheets on daughter's bed and did a load of laundry. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- Roses in winter
- Oranges fresh from the tree
- The pine tree being trimmed, free of charge
- Being able to exchange the cans of cat food without any problems
- Being able to buy fabric and quilt batting on sale


Wednesday's To Do List:
- Call the dentist's office - DONE
- Go to the fabric store - DONE
- Grocery store for more cans of food for Dancer - DONE
- Start putting away the holiday decorations
- Wash daughter's bedding/remake her bed - DONE

I accomplished most of the items on my list for today.  Taking down and putting the holiday decorations away will go on tomorrow's list.

Thursday's To Do List:
- Call cousin P to see if she wants to go visit Aunt T with me
- Visit Aunt T
- Take down and put away the holiday decorations

How was your day, today?  What have you planned for Thursday?

18 comments:

  1. How lovely to be able to pick oranges fresh from the tree. Writing this on a cold wintry day here in England!

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    1. Wish I could send you a fresh orange from my tree, Angela.

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  2. Those oranges are so pretty. I don't think I could have resisted one either.

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  3. Thank you for the photo of your lovely winter rose. I probably don't have as much snow as Bushlady (my sister sent photos of HER snowmageddon), but it looks cold and forbidding out there today. We still only have a dusting of snow but it is blowing and eddying around and gives the illusion of some frozen wasteland. So keep those photos coming please.

    I am afraid you are going to have to decide which photo to use as your orange prompt. I like them equally well. The persimmon is more unusual and exotic looking, but that photo of the oranges is so lovely, I would be tempted to frame it and put it up on the wall. Your yellow mum reminded me that mine didn't bloom before winter arrived. Hopefully, it will survive to grow again.

    Yay to the utility company for trimming the tree at no cost, and Boo to the insurance company for denying your insurance, AGAIN.

    Great deals at the fabric store....all those future projects finished for $20, plus what you have put into them thus far. Will those pillow slips be future gifts?

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the photos of the rose and oranges, Susan. :) I guess I will go with the photo of the oranges for the prompt, if only because they are fruit growing in my garden. I hope your chrysanthemum comes back next spring and give you lots of flowers.

      Yes, the pillowcases will be a gift. I am looking forward to sitting down at the sewing machine, once again!

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  4. How wonderful to be able to pick an orange. My 'picking' is limited to choosing which ones I'll pick from the supermarket shelf!
    I like your tree trimming comment. I often think similarly about drawing curtains which means both to open them AND close them. Dancer sounds like a cat who knows his own mind!

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    1. There is something very satisfying in being able to pick ones own fruit from the garden. I'll be planting a peach tree, later this week, to replace the one that died. My daughter still talks about how sweet the peaches from our tree used to taste.

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  5. That's a great photo for 'oranges' for the hunt. That was a stroke of luck that the tree was trimmed at no cost to you ... it must have been your lucky day!

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. I think I will go with the oranges for the prompt. :)

      Yes, I'm so glad the tree was trimmed and at no cost to me! It certainly was my lucky day!

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  6. Lovely photos! Here everything died after the first frost, but the weather has been so insanely warm that the forsythia is already blooming and I am seeing the tips of crocus peeking through the soil. It is way to early for both, but they did not get the memo I guess.

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    1. Thank you, Anne. I hope the spring flowers that are coming up in your area don't get caught to a late frost!

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  7. Thank you for the lovely photos of flowers and oranges! They are a feast for the eyes for anyone who looks out on a white world. I get pleasure from the bronze leaves of the beech and oak trees, since they stay on the trees in winter and offer a bit of relief from the white.
    Was there ever a cat that didn't have firm ideas about food preferences? We had a cat the loved those little packets of soft lumps of food, and would check the cupboard when the door was open to see if there were any in there. Dancer is exercising his feline right to be picky, isn't he?

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    1. You are welcome, Bushlady. :)

      Yes, Dancer is exercising his right to be picky! He refused all food, yesterday, and had me so worried! But, eventually, he deigned to eat some canned tuna. Even so, I called the vet's clinic to ask about him, as he is not meowing (and he's a pretty vocal cat, usually) and seems to be just sleeping even more than normal. Then, this morning, he threw up. I might take him in, today, for a check up, although he did eat some tuna, this morning.

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  8. Love today's grateful list. What a lovely thing to do, make a list each day

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    1. Thank you, Ratnamurti. I've been making a list of at least five things for which I am grateful, each day, for several years, now. It helps me to seek out the positive things and not focus as much on the negatives.

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  9. What a beautiful rose.
    And picking oranges from your own tree must feel so good. I always feel happy when I pick something from the garden. 😊

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    1. Thank you, Nil. Yes, harvesting from our own gardens is very satisfying, isn't it? My gardener friend planted a peach tree for me, yesterday, so I am hoping to pick some peaches, in another couple of years. :)

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