Productive Weekend

 

Phacelia 

The self seeded phacelia plants, are coming up all over the garden and some are starting to flower.  The pollinators love them and I like the pretty foliage and the lavender colored flowers.  I have discovered, however, that I develop a temporary itchy rash if I accidentally brush against the hairy stems of this plant.  M doesn't seem to get the same reaction.

We've had a warm weekend with the daytime highs of 80F and 81F.  I am loving the warmer weather.

I've been washing the quilts and blankets that were on daughter's bed ever since she left and putting them up on the top shelf of the linen closet until needed.  I also took the opportunity to sort through and tidy the shelf with all the towels after I washed the towels she used and put things back.  

On Saturday, I washed daughter's bed sheets and pillow cases; scrubbed the toilets, ordered and picked up groceries, and picked up one of my medication refills.  Later, I cooked the cabbage I had picked from the garden and I texted M to stop by on his way home from work, to pick up a portion of the cooked cabbage so he could try it.  Actually, I packed a meal for him - rice, chicken curry, the sauteed curried cabbage, and cucumber salad.  He was surprised that I had packed a full meal and texted me later to say that it was delicious.  He brought me a packet of cucumber seeds because I want to try growing cucumbers, this year.  

On Sunday, I decided to change my routine a bit and cleaned the kitchen.  I've mentioned before that I struggle to keep the kitchen counters cleared.  Well, things had got piled up until I felt overwhelmed by it.  So, I started to clean the kitchen, doing baby steps - empty the dishwasher, empty the dish drainer, scrub the dish drainer and that half of the kitchen sink, rinse the dishes and load the dishwasher, scrub that half of the kitchen sink, clear the counters and wipe them down, wipe down the lower cabinet door fronts, wipe out the microwave and the toaster, wipe down the stove top and under the stove burners on one side (the other side will be done another time), wipe down the fridge and freezer door handles, clean out the crisper drawer in the fridge and reline it with a new kitchen towel, and run the dishwasher.  

I worked in short periods of time of about 15 minutes each and took plenty of breaks as I didn't want to get too tired or have my hands cramp.  In between cleaning, I paid bills, watched some videos, made a pot of turkey and vegetable soup. and took the opportunity to inventory the freezer bin where I keep most of the meat and the top shelf of the freezer (I was looking for some frozen vegetables to add to the soup).  

The kitchen cleaning is not completed (still need to scrub under the burners on the other side, sweep and mop the floor, and clean out the rest of the fridge), but, I was happy with what I managed to accomplish.  

This weekend, I was grateful for:

- The lovely warm weather
- Phone calls, emails, and texts from family and friends
- M bringing me cucumber seeds
- Working appliances
- What I was able to accomplish in terms of house cleaning, etc.

The weekend's joyful activities included being able to provide a meal for M.

Plans for Monday include going to the library to return (and maybe re-borrow) a book, finish cleaning the kitchen, take the trash cans to the curb, and water the garden.  

How was your weekend?  What are your plans for Monday?