Saturday, November 6, 2021

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!

14 comments:

  1. You did well on the clean up on the desk! It looks so much better. With all that has gone on this year and the sorting of houses and belongings it has certainly got me thinking more of the space I live in and how I want it to look!

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. Cleaning up other people's belongings can be an eye opening experience, can't it? Makes one wonder why we keep the things we keep!

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  2. You did well sorting all the stuff from the old computer desk and I have read your posts back to front and have seen your new sideboard, it's very nice. I've used rooting powder before when my brother-in-law gave me cuttings from his garden, wonderful stuff.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. That corner, at least, has been nicely organized, now! :D I am hoping the rooting powder will work for the passion fruit vine!

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  3. You mention then and again that M takes plants for his garden. Have you ever seen it? It would be very interesting to see what all he has growing.

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    1. I have not personally seen his garden, but, he sends me pictures, every so often. He has quite a collection of succulents, I know, and gardenias, roses, lilies, camellias, etc. :)

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  4. Well done Bless! Time well-spent and I am glad you posted the "before" photo as it made me chuckle! :o) I also laughed about the cracked mug - you are too honest!!

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    1. Thank you, Lady Ella. I debated with myself whether I should post that before picture or not! I felt that I was opening up myself to possible unkind comments by posting it, but, there is a reason why my email name is "Bless My Mess"! :D Also, as you said, I have to be honest, with myself and anyone who reads this blog. I don't want to share only the good parts and have people think that I live a charmed life. I don't. I struggle with some things and keeping my home uncluttered is one of those things. Maybe the before picture will help someone realize that they are not the only ones to have a cluttered corner in their room. As for the mug, it has a bigger chip at the top, but, it still functions well for scooping out dry cat food! :D

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    2. I'm sorry you worried about being judged. I don't think it's a concern though. a) You're among friends and b) it's not shameful, e.g. it's not dirty or even messy. We all have different circumstances and I for one am very used to "organised clutter". Japanese homes are often on the small side and it's quite common to see many things neatly stacked in a corner like this. I do it myself! I hope you didn't take my comment to mean that I was laughing at you. I really wasn't, I just loved the realness. "Too honest" referred only to the explanation about the mug, which I'm sure no-one would have noticed if you hadn't pointed it out.
      Hope that makes sense. (No need to publish this if you would rather not; I just wanted to clarify.)

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    3. Thank you, Lady Ella; no, I didn't for even a minute, think you were laughing at me. :) I know that the regular readers of my blog are kind and will not judge. But, this is a public blog and people are not always kind, are they?
      "I just loved the realness."
      Yes, that's what I was hoping would come through! This is real life - messy corners and cluttered table tops! As for the mug, well, I felt I owed an explanation! I might have a couple of other items around the house that I decided I would declutter, but, later, changed my mind and kept! :D

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  5. I hope your passion fruit cuttings grow well. Love the messy desk and the after photo! We have to do something about our computer area, and since DH wants to replace the flooring this will be an excuse to rearrange things. But I have been adamant that the floor is not to be replaced until after January as DH needs the computer as I just couldn't face furniture being all over the other rooms when Christmas is approaching.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady; they say the passion fruit cuttings should be taken in spring, but, we shall see if these cuttings will grow and survive our winters!

      Oh that messy desk! Sigh. It had become such a cluttered mess in that corner! I think you are wise to wait until after Christmas to redo the flooring. :)

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  6. What a difference! That area is all cleaned out. It must feel good.

    I have a nice patch of hellebores. They are probably almost 10 years old and have spread really nicely. I look forward to their early flowers at the end of a long winter.

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    1. It cleaned up nicely, didn't it? :)

      This is my first hellebore plant; I'm looking forward to seeing what color flowers it will have. M's plant has black flowers!

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