Saturday, April 24, 2021

Saturday

Today has been a lovely day.  Cloudy and cool in the morning, but, sunny with a high of 70F in the afternoon, turning cloudy and cool, again, in the evening.  Daughter is feeling much better, today, and almost back to normal.

I started off the morning having a video chat with a good friend, which was very pleasant.  A few years ago, she suggested having an online video chat on my birthday and ever since then, it's become a bit of a tradition to video chat on our birthdays!  The rest of the time, we email back and forth, on an almost daily basis!  Yes, she reads my blog, too.  :)  Today, we chatted for almost two hours.  

Afterwards, I had brunch (cornflakes) and then, headed out to check on the newly transplanted seedlings.  The zucchini seedlings were in need of watering and I was going to water only them and the sweet potatoes, but, then, the fruit trees looked like they needed watering too, and I ended up watering the whole backyard, after all!  

Later, I read the owner's manual for the fridge and read up on cleaning the coils.  It said that the coils don't need to be cleaned for regular household use, HOWEVER, if the kitchen is very greasy or dusty or there is heavy pet traffic, then, the coils should be vacuumed every three months or so!  I don't think my kitchen is that greasy or dusty, and I wouldn't consider one cat to be considered "heavy pet traffic", but, the fridge is about 3 1/2 years old now and I guess I should do some cleaning of the coils one of these days.  In the meantime, I discovered that the air vents on the top of the fridge (according to the manual, cool air enters the freezer from the bottom, circulates to the top and enters the fridge side from the vents located at the top, then, goes back to the freezer from the vents located at the bottom of the fridge (near the crisper drawers).  Blocking the top vents would prevent the cold air from entering the fridge.  Well, guess what?  A bag of coffee was blocking the top vents!  That might be the reason why the fridge hasn't been as cold as before and why the milk has been turning sour so quickly!  I moved the bag of coffee aside and I think the fridge is already a bit colder than it has been. 

In the late afternoon, I practiced the piano for about 30 minutes.

After which, I went into the backyard, again, to do some weeding!  Remember this flower bed from earlier in the week?

Flower Bed: Before Picture

I had started weeding it, yesterday, and I continued weeding it, today.  I weeded for about one and a half hours and this is how it looks now:

Flower Bed: After (View 1)

View 2

I'd say about half the bed has been weeded.  This is another bed that was made smaller as rose bushes died.  But, there might be enough room to tuck in some vegetable seedlings in the weeded area, if I decide to do so.  Maybe something like a few chili plants?

I took a couple of pictures of the type of grass I am weeding from these beds:

Weeded Runner Grass

Long Underground Stolon/Rhizome

The blue stool is what I sit on when I am weeding.

The next step is to break down more cardboard boxes to spread as a weed barrier.  I might use some newspaper, too, if I don't have enough cardboard.  

I managed to find a few sticks to put around the newly transplanted zucchini seedlings:

Zucchini Transplants with Sticks

I came indoors when it got a bit too cold for me to be out in the garden (around 6:30 p.m.), had a cup of tea, watched some news and a documentary about L. Frank Baum (author of the Wizard of Oz books), had dinner, chatted with aunt C and friend R, and texted with cousin N.  Afterwards, I cooked some chicken I had kept to thaw and did the rest of the dishes (daughter had washed some of them).  Overall, it has been a very nice day.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Daughter is feeling much better
- Technology that enabled me to video chat with my friend
- Her friendship over the years
- Being able to garden
- Clearing the fridge vent seems to have helped!

Today's joyful activity was video chatting with my friend.

Plans for tomorrow include more weeding (I'd like to finish that flower bed), watering the front garden, and piano practicing.  

How was your Saturday?  What are your plans for Sunday?

22 comments:

  1. I am glad your daughter is back close to normal after her vaccine.

    What a difference in that one bed in such a short time.
    It looks so nice.
    That particular grass looks like a real pain to deal with - such a long root. It can be hard work. You are getting it done though.
    At some point you will have the initial weeding finished on these beds and I'm looking forward to seeing what you end up sowing in them.

    I think your harvests are going to be growing!
    Plus I bet the roses will benefit too.

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    1. Thank you, Debra; I'm glad my daughter will have a few days of feeling well before she gets her teeth extracted!

      I am pleased with the weeding and hope to keep the beds weeded in the future! You are right - I'm sure the roses will benefit, too.

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  2. Good news that your daughter is feeling much better. From what I've been reading it seems that younger people are more likely to get a bad reaction to their second dose.

    Good news also about the fridge. Let's hope that moving the coffee packet has solved the problem for you.

    You're making good progress with the weeding. I like the idea of the chilli plants. I'm hoping for one myself though I'm not sure how well it will do outside over here.

    Sunday is my quiet day at present. I watered part of the garden very early this morning and will do the rest once the sun has moved round this evening. My only must do for today is assemble the trolley I've bought to keep the baby plants on.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen; yes, I, too, have read that the younger people tend to feel the side effects from the vaccines more.

      I think moving the coffee and clearing the vents did the trick! But, I would still like to get the coils vacuumed, one of these days. :)

      I think a few chili plants will be good to have in the garden. If you grow one in a pot and keep it in a sunny spot, I'm pretty sure it would do well. You might need to ask someone at your plant nursery/garden center, though.

      Sounds like you are having a nice, restful day. :)

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    2. I planted chillie outside over here, in a pot, and I got a decent crop! Worth a try Eileen?

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    3. Hope Eileen will see your comment, Lady Ella.

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  3. Grass is always hard to weed because of the runners, but I still try. I never really get rid of it, but just hope to control it. Your weeded beds look good--a great payoff for hard work.

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    1. Yes, the grass spreads deep underground. Now, if it will grow in the lawn areas, where I'd like it to grow, it wouldn't be a problem! But, the flower beds are what get watered, so, all the grass runners migrate to the beds! Can't blame them, but, it makes it hard to maintain the beds!

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  4. We bought our first fridge secondhand for a very small price. It was winter, snow was thick on the ground. Our tiny flat was freezing. It was a full week before we realised the fridge didn't work!

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    1. Oh, no! Were you able to get the fridge to work or did you have to replace it?

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  5. Sounds like a good but busy day. So glad your daughter is feeling better. Have a nice Sunday! :)

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    1. Thank you, Martha; yes, I'm very glad that daughter is feeling better. Hope you are having a nice day, yourself. :)

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  6. That sounds like a very pleasant day. My Saturday was spent puttering in the yard as it was just too nice to be indoors. Today we have our rain!

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. Glad you were able to spend your Saturday out in the yard, especially if it is raining, today. No rain, here, but, it is partly cloudy and a bit cool (for us, anyway).

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  7. Well, you've been very productive. Hubby has been enjoying weeding, as much as one can enjoy that particular activity, too. I should get him to take a small stool out, as his back always bothers him if he is at it too long. And he is usually at it too long, as there is much to do.

    Our little under-counter fridge upstairs has started to make an unusual sound every so often, so hubby is also going to look into that. It probably could use a vacuuming too.

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    1. I find the stool to be helpful. My gardener M uses a kneeling pad, but, I don't think I can kneel for long and I probably won't be able to stand up, afterwards!

      Hope your husband is able to check your fridge and see what is causing the unusual sound. Hopefully, it is nothing serious.

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  8. Glad you got the fridge figured out! I wonder how long that has been there?

    Gardening can be very tough on the back. I think that's part of what puts me off. Seems like whatever angle I sit at something cramps up and then I have to try to jump up which is like something out of a comedy show lol

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    1. I think the fridge vent was blocked for at least a few days - we are constantly moving things around to make room for various items!

      It would be difficult if you get cramps, unless you weed for a few minutes, walk around a bit, and weed a bit, again.

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  9. I'm glad your daughter is feeling better now. I have my vaccine this weekend and I'm a little worried about the side effects.
    Fingers crossed you have solved the issue with your fridge. X

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    1. Thank you, Jules. Good luck with your vaccination! I hope you will have minimal side effects, if any. Fridge seems to be doing OK! :)

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  10. Hope the fridge is now back to full chilling!

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