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| Serrano Chili Peppers |
Today, I picked the first of the chilies from the plant in the garden! These are Serrano chilies and I use them in my curries. There are a few more chilies on the plant; I left them to become bigger.
I spent a fairly relaxed day, today. I brought in the trash cans, started dusting my bedroom (didn't finish), watched some TV, read a little, and did some cooking (made a stir fry with smoked sausage, carrots, broccoli, and zucchini and also cooked a chicken breast to be used in salads, sandwiches, etc.)
I walked a bit in the garden in the evening and pulled out the rest of the green bean plants. The buddleia plant didn't do well this summer. Last year, it grew well and had lots of flowers. Then, it was pruned back and this year, it didn't do anything! I am hoping it will revive over the winter, if not, we might have to say goodbye to it, which would be sad because it was a birthday present from M, a couple of years ago.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Green chilies from the garden
- Relaxed days
- Phone chats with friends
- Working fans and air purifiers
- Electricity to run them
Today's joyful activity was picking chilies (and some tomatoes, too) from the garden!
Plans for tomorrow include going for a blood test in the morning. I should be home in time for M's visit to tend to the garden, but, I'll leave him a note, just in case.
How was your Tuesday? What are your plans for Wednesday?
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August Decluttering Challenge:
8/1 - 1 pair gardening gloves
8/2 - non-working heating pad
8/3 - old purse/handbag
8/4 - 1 computer CD containing a report
8/5 - 1 plastic lid that cracked and broke in two
8/6 - 1 hooded sweatshirt (received a new one to replace it)
8/7 - old make-up I no longer use
8/8 - 6 plastic laundry detergent scoops (I use powdered laundry detergent; each new box comes with its own scoop; I don't need to keep the old ones, but, it seems such a waste to toss them in the recycling bin)
8/9 - 1 sponge paint brush (unused, but, so old, the sponge is no longer spongey!)
1 plastic food container
8/10 - 1 blouse (given to daughter); will be donated as she decided it didn't fit her properly
8/11 - 1 broken clothes hanger
3 bras
8/12 - 2 Zucchini! LOL! Eileen informed me that the zucchini don't count!
8/13 - Daughter's old artwork: A poster
8/14 - Daughter's old artwork: A painting
8/15 - 1 long dress (given to daughter) - she had urged me to buy it for myself one year for all of $1, but, I didn't wear it. She, on the other hand, loves it! It looks much better on her than on me!
8/16 - 1 coffee mug
8/17 - A book on cake decorating:
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| Cake Decorating Book |
It was a gift from my mother, along with a box of decorating tips, in 1981, which was when I graduated with my master's degree. I baked and decorated a lot of cakes over the years, including almost all of my daughter's birthday cakes. But, I don't bake that many cakes, any more, and I've given away most of my cake pans. I still have most of the decorating tips, however! But, I am ready to let go of this book. I looked through it one last time, today, and said goodbye to it!
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You are doing well getting rid of stuff.
ReplyDeleteI am making serious headway putting the stuff to get rid of in a pile, but I am waiting until the end of the month to actually take it all to Goodwill at one time
I was debating keeping some floor pillows for the music room when I counted seating and I have seats for 10 people there. II had a eureka moment and realized am never going to have that many folks in it at one time again so why keep them.
Thank you, Anne. I, too, am putting aside the items to donate; I have a bag and a box set up to receive the items as I declutter. There are some previously decluttered items in the garage, too, waiting for a pick up.
DeleteWell done in getting rid of the floor pillows! You are right - we are probably never going to have a lot of people in our homes, at one time, again!
De-cluttering is sometimes a challenge because of the memories that item has, not that it in itself sparks joy, just the memory of the giver. As I mentioned to Eileen, all these de-cluttering posts have finally motivated me to get a move on with it. Two bags of clothes from last night's challenge! I am rooting for the buddleia to make a come back.
ReplyDeleteWow! Look at you go! 26 mugs earlier and now, two bags of clothes! Well done, Mary-Lou! Yes, decluttering is a bit of a challenge for me because I have now come to those items that survived previous decluttering sessions! Most of the items left have some sentimental value attached to them.
DeleteYour peppers look great. I have two pepper plants this year. The first one promptly died after producing one pepper and the second one has only produced one pepper so far.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. I have one bell pepper plant (that has produced 3 bell peppers, so far!) and the chili plant. I think I might plant more chili plants, next year! I hope your second pepper plant will do better and give you at least a couple more peppers! :)
DeleteI should have planted at least one chili seed this year. Definitely next year.
ReplyDeleteI like your slow but steady de-cluttering. I did a big de-clutter Marie Kondo style a few years back and while it felt great, I did let go of a few things (books for instance) too quickly.
I hope that at some point we will have people over again, now that I have retired, but I am also realizing that is not really something I want to do. We have 3 family members over at holidays and really that feels like a lot of work.
Baking, on the other hand, still seems reasonable and possible.
Rising food prices are getting me interesting in cooking from scratch and preserving/freezing etc again. I may as well keep the pans/jars etc a little longer.
Hi Debbie, the nice thing about gardening is that there is always next year to plan and plant! :) This is my first year of growing chilies after years of saying I should! :)
DeleteSlow and steady is the only way I can declutter without getting overwhelmed! I've done 10 items a day, or as many items as the date (1 item on the 1st, 10 items on the 10th, 30 items on the 30th, etc.) in the past. But, 1 item a day is what I am able to do right now.
Entertaining is a lot of work, isn't it? I love to entertain, but, all that cleaning and cooking can get me very tired! Cooking from scratch and preserving/freezing is a very good way to keep food costs down. There was a shortage of canning jars, last year, so it makes sense to hold onto your jars for now. :)
My buddleia didn't do too well the year after being pruned back but the second year it looked the best it ever has done. They're quite a hardy plant so hopefully yours will revive.
ReplyDeleteAre serrano chillies quite hot or is that one of the milder varieties?
I showed the buddleia plant to M and we decided to wait and see. The few leaves it put out, earlier, have all died. But, maybe the roots are still alive and might put out new growth, next year. :)
DeleteSerrano chilies are considered to be hot. It is not too hot, but, I can taste it when I add it to curries. If I eat it raw, then, I grate or mince it finely and add to egg salad, etc.
That photo must have a category place somewhere in the future. Something like "green and white" or "nine"!
ReplyDeleteI used to decorate cakes too, a lifetime ago. Funny how these activities that were so absorbing no longer appeal! I did help with a birthday cake 3 years ago, a combined effort with DGD's parents. It was a chocolate horse's head and I used fondant to make a rosette with 12 on it!
I've been doing more yard work yesterday and DH is moving the piles of brush I created. This morning I went to buy two more hummingbird feeders that won't leak, and a few groceries.
Thank you, Bushlady! I'll see if I can use the photo for one of the existing photo categories! :D
DeleteI'm sure your DGD loved her birthday cake! These days, if I bake a cake, I am more likely to leave it unfrosted, never mind about decorating it! My daughter doesn't like frosting and I don't need the sugar!
You and your DH make a good team! :) Glad you got some new hummingbird feeders that won't leak. This morning, DD and I watched a hummingbird enjoying the flowers on the moringa tree! :)
Good for you for doing all of that decluttering! Too bad about the butterfly bush. I tried growing them here, but I it was too hot. They do really well up in Wrightwood. My neighbor has one. Your serrano chilis look perfect!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie. Decluttering is hard for me to do! I think it got too hot or not enough water for the butterfly bush. I'm still hoping it will revive, but, we shall see. I'm happy about the chilies - there are lots of flowers on the plant and I am hoping I'll get lots of chilies! :)
DeleteYum on the serrano chiles. A meal around here isn't a meal without some kind of chile. We love it on anything and everything! Forgot to put my name on the previous comment. Sorry. I do that quite a bit. Ugh! Denise
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, I had a feeling it was you, Denise. :) I use chilies in almost all my curries; I keep them in the freezer. Hope all is well with you and thank you for remembering to put your name! :D
DeleteYou are staying committed to the decluttering. It feels good when I get rid of something I haven't used in years and years.
ReplyDeleteOur town has a bulk waste day a few times a year. We are limited weekly to only what fits in our trash can so anything else that is larger must be dealt with at these events.
This Saturday is one of those bulk waste days.
I have a few things to take that I've been holding on to for this day and I am excited to get rid of them.
Thank you, Debra. I just have to close my eyes and toss stuff, because if I go to look at what I am tossing, then, I want to keep it! LOL!
DeleteThat'll be good to have those bulky items out of your house or garage or wherever you've been storing them. Over here, we can call for a bulky item pick up any time of the year - they will collect it on the next regular trash collection day (or, is it the day after? I can't quite remember), but, it will be a different truck than the regular trash pick up truck.