Friday in Review

Dancer Kitty Helps to Assemble the Sideboard

Dancer is such a helpful kitty!  We can always count on him to lend a helping paw, whenever needed!

On Friday, I woke up at 8:00 a.m. and called the furnace people to tell them about the delayed ignition and flames sparking out and to request that they send a technician over to take a look at it.  The earliest they could schedule one was Monday, between noon and 2:00 p.m.  If they had an earlier time become available, they will call me, they said.  Luckily for me, we are having some warm, sunny days, so we don't need to have the furnace on.  

I spent the rest of the morning replying to blog comments, checking other blogs, etc.  I made scrambled eggs and hash browned potatoes for brunch.  I prefer cubed potatoes for hash browns; daughter usually prefers shredded potatoes, but, this time, she asked for the cubed potatoes. 

In the afternoon, I called friend R to check on her and to ask if she needed anything.  

Later in the afternoon, neighbor S's daughter N stopped by with some passion fruit vine cuttings (from her cousin's father-in-law's garden) for me to plant!  I have them in a jar of water for now and asked M to bring me some rooting hormone.  You are supposed to dip the ends in rooting hormone and plant them in a pot and tent them with a plastic bag; they stems are supposed to root in about one month.  Hopefully, it will work, as the seeds I planted didn't do anything!  

I also cleared the area around the computer desk, moving the small plastic shelf unit and bags of cat food away from the desk and cleared off the top of the desk.  Some of the items on the shelf unit will be stored in the new sideboard, once it is in place and other items, such as the shoes will have to be taken back to the bedroom closet.  Then, maybe, I can dispose of the shelf unit. I also went through a basket of stuff I had placed on the computer desk - mostly computer related stuff that daughter needs to go through to decide if they need to be kept or not.  If they need to be kept, then, they will go on a shelf in the new sideboard, behind a cabinet door!  A few other items were rehomed, elsewhere.  

I am almost ashamed to post the before picture as it shows just how messy and cluttered this corner of the room had become, which is why we decided I needed more covered storage:

Before

Yes, that is the cracked pink mug I "decluttered", earlier, sitting at the right edge of the desk!  I have been using it as the scoop for the dry cat food and tossed (recycled) the old plastic jar I had been using as a scoop, instead.

This is how it looked after I removed most of the clutter on and around it:

After

Later in the evening, when M came to do the garden, he helped my daughter to remove the computer table and put it outside.  It will be taken away by bulky item pick up once I call them and schedule a pick up.

Then, I cleaned that corner of the family room - vacuumed, wiped down the walls (they really should be painted, but, that's another project, as I need to order paint and paint roller brushes, etc., and, besides, my daughter doesn't want me to do any painting of walls, myself), cleaned the baseboards, etc.  Then, I got tired and since I had forgotten to wear a dust mask, my asthma flared up!  So, I stopped and took my rescue inhaler and rested!  Today, however, I washed the wall (didn't do much to improve appearances, but, at least, I tried!) and washed the baseboards, again.

M had bought me more winter vegetable plants from the nursery (with my approval) - purple mizuna (a type of Japanese mustard green), snow peas, and sugar snap peas.  He planted them in two of the planting beds that are fenced off with wire mesh to keep the garden critters out!  I need to make a trellis for the pea vines.  He also brought me a hellebore plant that someone was getting rid of (he took one and brought me one); he doesn't know that color the flowers will be, but, we shall find out, eventually, I suppose.  How kind of him to think of me!

Later, I cooked flavored rice (added some powdered vegetable soup mix to the rice), salmon fillets (with onions and tomatoes), and broccoli for dinner and did the dishes.

Cousin P called in the evening and we had a long chat.

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- Being able to schedule the furnace check for Monday
- N bringing me passion fruit vine cuttings to try and root
- M buying the vegetable plants for me and tending to the garden
- M gifting me with a hellebore plant
- M helping my daughter take out the old computer desk

Friday's joyful activity was getting new plants for the garden!

Stay tuned for the big reveal yet to come!