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| My Not-Quite-Ikebana Flower Arrangement |
Guess what time I went to sleep last night/this morning? Yes, 5:30 a.m.! Eek! Even so, I had set the alarm for 10:00 a.m. and I made myself get up when it rang. Neighbor T had mentioned that the telephone company repair crew was coming at 10:00 a.m. and the telephone pole is in my backyard - very often, I get asked to open the gate for them to have access to the backyard. Today, however, they were able to access the pole from T's backyard (as the pole is right at the corner between her backyard and mine). However, around 10:30 a.m., T knocked on my door, asking if she could use my bathroom as she had locked up her dog in her bathroom to keep him out of the repair crew's way. As she was leaving, some missionaries walked up to my door. I don't normally open the door to missionaries, but, I had been watching T leave, so, I had the door open, already. They wanted to know if I spoke Spanish and, when I said no, they left! I guess they are only interested in saving the souls of the Spanish speakers? LOL.
After they left, I brought in the trash can and checked the mail. The week's grocery ads had been delivered, but there wasn't any special deal that caught my eye. One of the Kroger affiliates is having eggs on sale for $1.49, again, so I might buy another dozen before the sale ends next Tuesday.
When I went out to bring in the trash can, the neighbor on the other side of T's house saw me and waved. I had heard from T that he and his family were leaving, so I walked over to wish him well. Apparently, they are moving to a more upscale neighborhood because the schools are better in that area (he has young children)! He also introduced me to the man with whom he was talking, who will be our new neighbor (I believe he's renting the house). I welcomed him to the neighborhood.
I noticed, today, that the monarch butterflies are migrating! There were lots of them flying north! I tried to take photos of them (would have made a great entry for the "In Flight" prompt for the Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt), but, the butterflies were fast, all I have is my cell phone camera and I am not good enough of a photographer to take a photo of them! I was very disappointed that I couldn't photograph them, though. Not a single butterfly stopped to rest or take a sip of nectar!
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| Imagine Butterflies |
By the time I took the photo, the butterflies I was trying to photograph had flown off! So, just imagine this photo with butterflies flying in it! LOL!
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| Crocosmia Flowers in Bloom |
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| Flower Buds on the Orange Tree |
Look what's peeping from under the orange tree:
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| Radishes! |
The few really old radish seeds that sprouted and didn't get thinned out are ready to be harvested! I picked this one that is pushing itself out of the ground!
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| First Harvest! |
I picked some of the crocosmia flowers and leaves from the garden, along with a few grasses to bring indoors. At first, I just put them in a vase, then, I thought I should try a flower arrangement. Well, I tried! LOL! Ikebana, it is not!
I was having a slice of cold leftover pizza for lunch when neighbor T knocked on the door, to use the bathroom, again. I asked her if she had had lunch, she said no, that she wasn't hungry. I offered her some cold pizza and she said that sounded good, but didn't want to be away from her house with the repair crew still there. So, I wrapped it up for her to take back with her. Later in the afternoon, she called to let me know that the repairs were done and she had phone service, again.
After lunch, I dusted the main rooms and vacuumed. My original plan had been to do the main rooms yesterday and do the bedrooms, today. But, I didn't do them, yesterday, and when I wrote my To Do list for today, I didn't want to get over-ambitious and list "dust/vacuum whole house". However, after I did the main rooms, I still felt energetic enough, so I went ahead and vacuumed the whole house. I didn't dust the bedrooms, but my bedroom was cleaned, last week, and it was OK. I timed myself and it took me 45 minutes to vacuum all the rooms; not bad. I also got started on the mending, but, that will be a separate post, I think.
Then, it was time to watch some TV and rest. I went through and cleaned out two more file folders while I rested. I emptied them both out, so that's two less files in my file cabinet!
By then, I was getting hungry, so, I cooked the beef I bought, yesterday:
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| Beef Curry |
Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to be there for neighbor T during the day
- Meeting a new neighbor
- Being able to get the dusting and vacuuming done
- Garden flowers
- Video chatting with my daughter
Oh, and I redid my flower arrangement - still not Ikebana, but a little better, I think! These types of arrangements should not be displayed in front of mirrors as the reflection messes up the lines one is supposed to be striving to achieve, but, I needed it as high up on the mantel as possible, to keep it out of Dancer's reach! I also found out that there will be an Ikebana exhibit and demonstration at a local recreation center at the end of the month! I am going to try and attend it! I had attended an Ikebana demonstration many years ago, with my mother, but, I obviously need a refresher course! LOL!
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| Still not Ikebana, though! |
Tuesday's To Do List:
- Clear some of the
- Dust/vacuum the
- Do the dishes - DONE
- Cook - DONE
- Mending - STARTED
Wednesday's To Do List:
- Check tax papers folder
- Drop off file at the tax preparer's office
- Continue to clear file folders
- Mending and sewing
- Clean my bathroom
How was your Tuesday? Do you like to do flower arrangements? Have you tried Ikebana?
I have never tried ikebana. I do arrange flowers for the Church display on a Sunday sometimes, but it is a more traditional English style with lots of blooms. I admire the artistry and minimal styling of ikebana. I hope your new neighbour fits in, it is good you were able to meet and welcome him to the area. My Tuesday was VERY wet and VERY windy but great fun despite that xx
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your flower arrangements for the Church look lovely, Angela. I like all types of flower arranging. I have a book on flower arranging by Constance Spry, which I enjoy looking through; I love the lushness of her arrangements, but one needs an armful of flowers for the majority of them.
DeleteWe, too, had a gale blowing, last night! But, no rain. I think our rainy season is coming to an end.
Monarchs don't migrate through here, so I've only seen them one at a time. I can only imagine how pretty a whole group of them must have been.
ReplyDeleteThere were so many of them! It almost looked like leaves being blown by a gust of wind, but they were butterflies! And...we just had an earthquake! Very mild, but I felt it!
DeleteOh my goodness. What has gotten into you, Bless? Is it Spring Fever? Look at all you got done today. I feel so guilty. All that dusting and vacuuming wasn't enough. You did some paperwork, cooking and mending and now hold the current title of Domestic Goddess.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I opened today's blog, I recognised the crocosmia flowers that you identified for me last year. I think they are so gorgeous. No, I have not tried Ikebana. I generally just thrust the vegetation into a vase that is big enough to hold the lot. And by vegetation, I don't always mean flowers....anything will do, as long as it has variation of colour and texture. I also like to use leaves and grasses to plump out a bouquet. I do admire your arrangement. It is very artistic.
LOL, Susan. I didn't want my new "schedule" (and I use that term very loosely) to go off the rails after just the 1st week, after not doing any housework on Monday! Here's what I am finding out - if I go grocery shopping, I find it hard to get housework done, too; and cleared horizontal surfaces take less time to dust, as there's not much stuff to move around and put away.
DeleteI like your idea of arranging all kinds of vegetation, not just flowers. Last fall, I picked up some twigs and put them in a vase, much to Dancer's curiosity. He must have spent at least an hour sniffing each branch to see what it was!
The flower arrangement is lovely. I took that course years ago. I am pretty sure if they had given a grade I would have gotten no better than a "D".
ReplyDeleteThe garden is looking great!
Thank you, Anne. It was fun to play around with the flowers. I should look into taking a class about flower arranging. Maybe, if I attend the exhibit and demonstration at the end of the month, I can find out if they offer classes, as well. Might be fun.
DeleteThe flowers are lovely, a beautiful shade of orange.
ReplyDeleteHurray for some radishes! Here's hoping you can harvest many more. X
Thank you, Jules. There are a few more radishes, growing. I will harvest them, one at a time to extend the harvesting! :D
DeleteI like your flower arrangement. I've never tried Ikebana, but I remember mom had a books about Moribana (I think it's a type of Ikebana?) arrangements.
ReplyDeleteYou are a very nice neighbor. :)
Thank you, Nil. Yes, Moribana is a type of Ikebana - Ikebana is supposed to be more upright arrangements, while Moribana slants.
DeleteI try to be a good neighbor. Neighbor T and I check on each other regularly since we both live alone. :)
I’m completely useless at any sort of flower arrangements; I just plonk the flowers in a vase and hope for the best, so I am suitably in awe of your skills. Well done!
ReplyDeleteYou go for the "natural" style of flower arranging, just as I did when I put my African daisies in a vase, the other week. That's what I did, yesterday, too, when I first arranged the flowers. Then, I thought I'll try something more formal, with mixed results, shall we say? It wasn't quite the result I was hoping for, but, I had fun arranging them, and that's what is important, isn't it? :)
DeleteThat looks really pretty. Some of my neighbors with young children have moved because of the LA schools, too. Others have stayed, but the homeschool. You always inspire me to do housework.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes, LA schools can be scary places! But, my daughter attended LA public schools and did well. She was able to get into a magnet program, though - a gifted magnet in 4th grade and a highly gifted magnet from 6th grade onward and she thrived. My only regret is putting her in the gifted magnet where she attended 4th and 5th grade, as she was bullied. I knew something was wrong, but she wouldn't tell me when I asked and I was somewhat distracted with caring for my mother who was in failing health; I didn't have the time or energy to give my daughter the attention she should have had and I regret that. But, on the positive side, one of her best friends is someone she met in 4th grade at that school and it was her 5th grade teacher who urged me to have her tested for highly gifted, which got her into the academic program that suited her the best. Plus, she thinks her experiences during that time helped to make her the strong person she is. For that, we are grateful.
DeleteLol, maybe the missionaries wanted a translator.
ReplyDeleteThey were Spanish speaking missionaries; I guess they felt they couldn't be eloquent enough in English to tell me their message. Not that I listen to English speaking missionaries, either. :)
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ReplyDeleteThank you, Regine. :)
DeleteHow wonderful to see the monarchs! If you see another lot, tell them not to be in too much of a hurry to get to Bushlady's milkweed plants because we just had another lot of snow this afternoon and at this rate I'm wondering if it will all melt in time for anything to grow in summer! It was beautiful though, and I took a walk up the road to the mail box while it was falling, and quite enjoyed the peaceful, pristine white scenery and the silence.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to have been a one day migration, Bushlady. Or, maybe they were the stragglers? I didn't see a single monarch, today! But, if I do see any, I'll give them your message! I'm sure spring will arrive and, when it does, everything will grow very quickly! :)
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