Tuesday, May 24, 2022

A Good Day on Monday

Another Passionfruit Flower

The passionfruit vine is growing well and producing flowers.  Each flower lasts only one day, but, there are more buds on the vine:

Passionfruit Flower Bud

Purple passionfruits are self pollinating, yellow passionfruits are not and need beneficial insects to pollinate them (or some strong wind as the pollen is considered to be too heavy for regular wind pollination).  Or, one can hand pollinate them.  The variety I have is purple, but, I want to ensure I get a good crop of fruits and don't want to leave it all up to the bees and butterflies.  I admit I have been trying to play fertility goddess with them!  Not sure if my efforts are helping or if the insects are taking care of things for me, but, we do have at least two baby fruits on the vine!  This is the bigger of the two:



Baby Passionfruit!  

Hopefully, there will be several more fruits to harvest, later this year.  It is supposed to take about 70 days after pollination for the fruits to ripen.  

I went to have my lab work done, this morning.  They have a new self check-in system set up and a lab technician standing by to help people with it, because it was new and not working as well as it was supposed to.  Even with the technician's assistance, I had to check in twice before it worked.  I had to wait a bit to be called in (they were behind schedule because one technician was helping people check in rather than drawing blood) but, I had taken a crossword puzzle book with me and I was fine with waiting.  Eventually I was called in and had seven vials of blood taken!  At the end of it, the technician asked if I was doing OK and I said yes.  I had to be fasting, but, I had water and a snack with me, to have in the car, if needed (but, I didn't need it).  

My bigger concern was if I had enough cash to pay the parking meter!  It takes dollar bills (or a credit card) and I had only two $1 bills with me.  So, after my lab work was completed, I went into the pharmacy on the ground floor of the building and bought a candy bar to change the $20 bill that I had, explaining to the cashier that I needed some dollar bills for the parking meter.  He probably wondered why I didn't pay with a credit card, but, I prefer to use cash.  It all worked out fine because the parking meter only required $2, which I had on me, but, now, I have three $1 bills, as well, for the future.

After I came home, I ate the leftover sauteed garbanzo beans for breakfast.  A little later, I made some fried rice with leftover pork and leftover rice and had some of that for lunch.  

After lunch, I did a load of laundry, dusted the living room and parts of the dining room (not the dining table as it has my sewing and fabric spread out on it), and settled down to an afternoon of sewing!  The rug I am making is coming along nicely.  

If you had been in my neighborhood, today, you would have seen containers of soup and plates of cake going between our houses!  Neighbor T called in the late afternoon; I think she forgot that we had chatted, yesterday (or she got the days mixed up as she sometimes does).  Anyway, she mentioned that she wasn't having such a good day, so, to cheer her up, I warmed up some soup I had made and frozen, and took it over, handing it over at the doorstep.  She was happy and called me, later, to thank me, saying she enjoyed it for dinner and it was delicious.  In the meantime, neighbor S called to say she had forgotten to give me a piece of her husband's birthday cake and brought some over!  A piece of tiramisu and a piece of tres leche cake!  I enjoyed some of both after my dinner of leftover pork fried rice.  

It was a good day for social interactions.  In addition to exchanging food with neighbors, I called friend A in the afternoon and left a message, cousin N texted to check on me and her mother, aunt C called.  Later, friend R called and, of course, I video chatted with my daughter.  There were emails, too, with friends and that's always nice.  

Today, I am grateful for:
- A safe drive to the lab for the blood tests and back
- Medical insurance
- Helpful technicians
- Neighbor S bringing me cake
- Family and friends checking on me

Today's joyful activity was sewing.

I also accomplished everything on my To Do List for today, too:

Monday's To Do List:
- Fasting lab test in the morning ✔
- Change bed sheets ✔ (Actually, I just put back the same sheets after washing and drying them - less folding!)
- Load of laundry (bed sheets/towels) ✔
- Dust living room & dining area ✔
- Clean the fridge ✔ (There was nothing to clean; I checked the shelves and drawers; wiped the door handles)
- Take trash cans to the curb for Tuesday trash pick up ✔

In addition, I cleaned the litter box, swept the bathroom, did the dishes, wiped down the kitchen counters and stove top, etc., which I've listed as my "dailies" in my cleaning schedule that I linked to, in yesterday's post.

Tuesday's To Do List:
- Bring the trash cans in
- Dust the family room and my bedroom
- Check on the newly planted seedlings and water if needed
- Water the indoor plants
- Tidy dining room shelving unit (This week's cleaning focus is the dining room and laundry room; since I did the laundry room, earlier, I am focusing on the dining room)

How was your Monday?  What have you planned for Tuesday?

20 comments:

  1. I think you've had a very productive day. I will be taking another bag to the charity shop later, which is all thanks to your encouragement. The dusting and vacuuming can wait until tomorrow :) X

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    1. Thank you, Jules; yes, it was a good day. Well done on the decluttering! One bag at a time; it's the way to go. :) Yes, the dusting and vacuuming can wait. :)

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  2. Hi! I did get your comment. So nice to hear from you! I seem to can't comment even on my own blog with my google account. So I use my website URL. This is something that changed since I last blogged two years ago. (Hard to believe 2 years has passed). I have to let 3rd party cookies in from my computer settings and I don't want to do that, in order to comment as before with just my google account. Anyway, glad you finally got your labwork done. Always problems in life it seems! But so nice you can come back home to your nice neighbors. Your passionfruit is beautiful! Andrea

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    1. Thank you, Andrea. I'm glad the comments got through. Glad to see you blogging again, too.

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  3. You sound so productive in all areas. I think you wheel has been fully balanced and operational, lately.

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    1. Thank you, June; things are rolling along quite nicely, lately. I hope it will continue to do so!

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  4. Yes I've played that "pollinating fertility goddess" when Lady Ella & I grew pumpkins together & I'm not sure who was more embarrassed me or the plants!! The PassionFlower has such an detailed flower. Sending positive energy that the blood tests are all good.

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    1. Yes, I could almost hear the flowers asking, "What is she doing?" :D
      Thank you for the positive energy, Mary-Lou. :)

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  5. I hope the results from your blood tests are good. Is this in preparation for another visit to your consultant?

    I like all the food swapping that's going on and especially that you ended up with the cake. That made me smile!

    Well done on completing your daily chores list. How's the decluttering coming on or is that taking a back seat at the moment?

    I've had my hair cut today, and will see my sister later on. In between I've been practicing the piano, placing adverts on eBay and reading.

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    1. Hi Eileen. Another comment that went to the spam folder! Yes, the tests were in preparation for my consultation with the doctor and the majority of the results were good. I need to watch my low density cholesterol (the overall cholesterol levels and the high density cholesterol levels were OK).
      I was happy to receive the cake, after all! :D
      I decluttered my 31 items in May; I'm keeping it up in June. I'm getting there, slowly.

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  6. I wish our climate would accommodate some of the more tropical plants. Even though it gets very hot here during the summer, we still have occasional freezes during the winter. A greenhouse would solve that issue. Maybe someday!
    I have started putting one dollar bills (when I get change with a purchase) in what once would have been the car ashtray (no idea what you call that now) for things like parking and what not. When it is full I take it out and convert it to larger bills I always leave at least 5 ones in there.
    Last time I counted and converted I had 57 ones stuck in it!

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    1. Maybe you might have to plant the more tropical plants in pots and bring them inside when there is a freeze warning. Maybe a screened porch or the garage?
      I, too, used to put dollar bills and coins in the 'ashtray', but, I had used some of them to buy the pizza, a week or so ago, and since I hardly ever go shopping in person, these days, I don't get a lot of cash back. I will have to start building up my stash, again! :D

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  7. Yes you are the fertility goddess. I enjoy hearing about your biology experiments.

    7 vials of blood - you weren't light headed at all?
    Did you eat the candy bar in the car?
    Yum - tiramisu.

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    1. M thinks it's hilarious that I'd be out trying to pollinate the flowers, but, one can't leave these things to chance! :D
      I was fine after the blood was drawn. I ate the candy bar after I came home, after I had my brunch. :)
      The tiramisu cake was delicious!

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  8. I hope you get lots of passionfruit. Funny story, my stepfather once had a passionfruit in a fruit basket and when he went to the store he said the fruit basket was great but the passionfruit didn't work. For a moment they took him seriously!
    Finding the right change can be a challenge, I like to have the right amount for my neighbour's egg delivery even though I know she is willing to make change. I hope you get encouraging results from your lab work.
    I see you have had the "food-go-round" active as usual! Your neighbour must have been so happy to receive the soup, and then you had your own treat from your other neighbour!
    The overnight trip away must have done some good as I got three loads of laundry done this morning, watered the house plants, filled the bird feeder, made egg salad for sandwiches as well as regular chores like bed making and emptying the dishwasher.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. I checked on the passionfruit, today, and it looks as if it has got bigger! Oh, your stepfather was too funny! :D I remember you flying to the UK to visit him, every year.
      I had used some of my $1 bills to pay for the pizza, the other day, as the store wanted exact change if paying cash. Next time I buy a pizza, I will take a roll of quarters and save my $1 bills!
      The "food-go-round" was active on Monday! Neighbor T no longer cooks, so she appreciates the home cooked meals I sometimes take over to her. :)
      Sounds like the overnight trip energized you! You had a very productive day!

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  9. I'm interested to see your passionfruit vine. I used to have a passion flower in my garden and it was a bit of a thug so I ended up getting rid of it. It looked similar to yours but was not the fruiting kind, just ornamental. It never even occurred to me that it might be related to the edible passion fruit. Well now I know. Hope you get a bumper harvest!

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    1. Thank you! Um, I am assuming it is Lady Ella? I will post updates on the passionfruit vine, as it grows. :)

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  10. I'm glad everything went well with the lab work, but it does seem to have been a three act performance! The passionfruit looks so beautiful. I look forward to seeing how it goes. I always enjoy hearing about how food is shared with so much kindness among your friends and neighbours.

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    1. Lyssa, I'm so sorry for the delay in responding to your comment, but, your comment had gone to my spam folder and I didn't realize it till today. The lab work went well and the results were mostly good, but, yes, it was a bit of a circus! :D The passionfruit vine is coming along nicely! I've several fruits on it and I'm looking forward to enjoying them, later, when they are ripe. It's a blessing to be able to share food with family, friends, and neighbors. :)

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