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| Crocheted Dress |
This is the dress my daughter crocheted for her goddaughter to wear at the baptism.
I had planned to wake up early on Tuesday, but, having gone to bed after 6:00 a.m., I turned the alarm off when it rang in the morning and went back to sleep! But, once I woke up, I was productive. I brought in the emptied trash cans, did a load of laundry including my bed sheets, remade my bed, looked up the driving directions to the specialist, paid bills and did a bit of paperwork.
Then, I decided to make a start on putting a few things back in place as all the items piled on the family room table and coffee table, etc., were getting to me.
I started with putting the china and serving dishes back in the china cabinet. But, first, I had to clean the china cabinet shelves and the mirrored back. There is one wooden shelf on the bottom and two glass shelves above, consisting of three pieces of glass each, which rest on wooden supports, and which can be removed for cleaning. Of course, I managed to drop one piece of glass on top of another piece of glass while doing so! I thought the bottom glass would break, but only a few small pieces broke off the edge of the piece that fell. I was able to put it back in place and made a note to myself not to place anything heavy on that piece of glass.
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| Empty China Cabinet |
Then, I put the items back, making sure I was putting back only those items I absolutely wanted to keep. I didn't put back 7 or 8 items, including an ice bucket, a covered casserole dish, a tray and two small serving dishes, a toast rack, and a serving dish holding two jam pots. I am going to put them in a box and wait for a bit to see if I want them before I donate them.
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| China Cabinet: After |
Then, I moved on to the living room. But, first, I wanted to do a little cleaning. So, I washed the inside of the front door. Then, I adjusted the drapes in the front window as the painters didn't hang them properly and they left a gap when the drapes were drawn closed. Then, I had to wash the inside of the windows. And dust all the furniture, again and wash the painted shelves on either side of the fireplace. And vacuum the floor. I now feel that I have thoroughly cleaned the living room.
Finally, I was ready to bring back some of the living room items - the two plant stands and plants, a stand lamp, a side table, the basket with music books, photographs to go on the mantelpiece, a few decorative items for the bookcase (no books, yet).
Later in the night, I realized that my appointment with the specialist, which I thought was scheduled for Wednesday, was actually on Thursday! I was glad I had already realized that on Tuesday night because when the doctor's office called me on Wednesday morning to confirm the appointment, I didn't get confused!
On Tuesday, I was grateful for:
- What I was able to accomplish in terms of cleaning and putting things back in place
- Weekly trash collections
- Working appliances and electricity to run them
- Being able to pay my bills
- Video chatting with my daughter
Tuesday's joyful activity was picking peaches.
On Wednesday, I started to put back a few things in the shelving unit in the dining area, but, haven't finished doing so. The items I returned to the shelves included my cookbook collection, a candy jar, a couple of decorative dishes, and a candle stand.
Then, I did a little more paperwork and tended to the garden with M. Afterwards, I had to go to the post office before it closed to mail a document (the paperwork I did, earlier), and from there, I went to the pharmacy to pick up a medication refill.
I noticed that the pharmacy had cereal on sale for $1.99 a box and I decided to pick up two more boxes of cereal. With the coupons that I had already loaded onto my store card, the two boxes of cereal came to $1.37 for both, or, approximately $0.68 each. I was happy with that price.
I was tired after I came home and took a very brief nap. A short time later, neighbor S called and brought over a large piece of cake. I ate a piece of it and froze the rest to share with my daughter when she visits, next.
Friend R called in the evening and we had a chat. Later, I chatted with my daughter; she had her medical procedure done in the afternoon and is recovering and taking it easy.
On Wednesday, I was grateful for:
- M's help with the garden
- Daughter is recovering well after her medical procedure
- My medication refill was available
- Neighbor S bringing me cake
- A safe drive to the post office and pharmacy and back
Wednesday's joyful activity was picking more peaches. I had some with yogurt for brunch:
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| Peaches and Yogurt |
Plans for Thursday include my doctor's appointment in the afternoon, some paperwork and filing, putting away some laundry, and continuing to put things back in the living room and dining area.
How is your week coming along? What are your plans for Thursday?
I think I'll adopt your approach for when I finally unpack all the boxes from the move. I've been going through some of them but I'm not making as much progress as I'd like. When I get to the stage where I can unpack, I think I'll just put the things I know I'll use, plus the items that have sentimental value, and the remainder can stay in (repacked) boxes. I can make decisions for disposal when I get to that stage. Thanks Bless!
ReplyDeleteThe dress for the baby is beautiful. Your daughter is very talented.
I hope your appointment with the specialist goes well today. xx
I think this way of being more intentional about what I put back is working for me. I am telling myself that, it's a fresh start and just because I've had something for years, it doesn't mean I need to keep it. Like the ice bucket - I no longer entertain on a scale where I need an ice bucket; if I do entertain and need ice, I can put some in a bowl or something. I hope it will work for you, too, as you unpack and put things away. If you keep the non-essentials packed up, you might find you don't need them, after all. And if you find yourself wanting something, you can get it out of the storage box. If you haven't needed something in, say 3 to 6 months, then, you can feel good about donating or selling the items.
DeleteThank you; my daughter was very happy about how the dress turned out.
And thank you for the well wishes for today's appointment.
That dress is so beautiful! The peaches and yogurt look healthy and delicious.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. This is only the second dress my daughter has crocheted, but, we think it turned out really well. Peaches and cream would have been better, but, yogurt is a good alternative. :)
DeleteYour living room must be sparkling now with that thorough cleaning! The peaches look delicious. It's not quite peach season here in my area.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the living room finally received that deep cleaning I've been wanting to give it for years! That part of the house is a definite 10 on my satisfaction level. :)
DeleteThe peaches are an early ripening variety in an attempt to avoid the fruit getting scorched during our summers.
It's great to hear that your daughter is making a good recovery. And you're doing amazingly well with your cleaning and decluttering. It must feel good knowing that everything is fresh and tidy.
ReplyDeleteThe items in your cabinet are beautiful. Xx
Thank you, Jules.
DeleteI am feeling very pleased about the living room as everything is fresh and clean. I keep looking at the china cabinet and smiling. :)
This is from your friend, Pam, in Indiana. Your daughter is very talented. The crocheted dress is so beautiful. You have been very busy getting your house back together. I know it is a lot of work but so very worth it in the end. Those peaches look delicious! Blessings to you!
ReplyDeleteHi Pam! Nice to hear from you, again. :) Thank you; I think the crocheted dress is very cute. It's only the second time my daughter has crocheted a dress (the first time was an outfit for her friend's older daughter).
DeleteI am so happy to have the living room area painted that I didn't mind the work involved in emptying it out and now, I am enjoying the process of putting things back, mindfully.
This year's peaches are delicious. I am planning to make some peach jam, this weekend.
Hope all is well with you, Pam.
You did well to set aside some items to see if you really want to keep them. I know there are some items in our china cabinet that could go and if I set them aside I might forget that I ever owned them. I do have a cup, saucer and plate set aside. They are Irish pottery and green and although we don't use them, I can't bring myself to donate them! Perhaps I should just take them out of the box and put them back and get rid of something else instead.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady. I am asking myself some hard questions before putting things back. I have a few items I use infrequently, but, they are useful to have when I want to use them, such as my big serving platters. I bring them out every almsgiving and/or Thanksgiving. I am definitely keeping them! Other items, however, like the punch bowl, might no longer be needed! I got rid of one punch bowl, but, there is a second one lurking in the cabinet.
DeleteYour Irish pottery cup, saucer, and plate set sounds like something you really like. Maybe you don't use them, but, if they bring you joy, I'd say keep them. Maybe display them in your cabinet or on a shelf and enjoy looking at them; maybe fill the cup with some special chocolates or candies that you can help yourself to as an after dinner treat. Maybe decide that something else can go instead of the cup and saucer set. :)
I wrote a comment but it gave me an error message when I hit publish, multiple times. So I apologize if you got the comment 4-5 times! Ha! Mostly I noted that the dress your daughter made is so sweet and pretty , and I'm glad she's recovering well. You're very organized in returning things to the living and dining rooms.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a recurring problem for me too, here, for a few months. Hmm.
DeleteAlso, I forgot to ask about the big fish in the cabinet.....
I'm sorry you received error messages when you were trying to comment, earlier, Celie. This is the only comment that came through, so, who knows where those other comments got to?
DeleteThank you; this is only the second dress she's attempted and I think it looks very pretty. It was a bit big for the baby, but, she wasn't quite sure of the baby's size and better too big than too small.
I'm trying to take my time and be intentional about what I am replacing. Sometimes, I get so used to seeing something in a certain place all the time that I sort of no longer notice it. By replacing items slowly, I am hoping that I'll reach a point where I'll feel that the room doesn't need anything else.
Lady Ella, I'm sorry that you, too, have been experiencing problems posting comments.
DeleteAh, yes, the big fish in the cabinet - it comes with a fishy sauce boat and two little fishes (small dishes)! It is a set my mother decided to take with her when she left Sri Lanka. They were made by a company called Shorter and Son, Ltd., Stoke on Trent, England. I posted about them here, on one of the old photo scavenger hunts:
https://bless2cents.blogspot.com/2019/06/summer-photo-scavenger-hunt-first-link.html
I am not quite sure why she chose to bring these particular items, but, maybe they were one of the few items she could prove that she bought with her own money when the household goods were divided after my father's death. She had to give up or buy back anything she couldn't prove was bought by her with her own money. They are not necessarily to my own taste, but, I have a very difficult time getting rid of anything my mother decided to bring with her as we couldn't bring much. Every now and then, if I host a dinner and serve baked fish, I use the big fish platter and put lemon wedges on the two smaller dishes.
Thanks. I actually thought it was a stuffed toy until I saw the picture on the other post! I had definitely never seen that before. I wonder how I missed it, and when I started properly following your blog. I know I did the 2019 SPSH, but having been back to check, I see that I only posted my finds the following year(!)
Delete(You asked me recently who Maggie was - she commented on that post...)
It's quite natural that you'd want to keep the fish set, in the circumstances. How sad to think of what your mother went through with your father's other children. As an aside, if you did ever decide to get rid of the set, it might be worth getting it valued as some of that old S-o-T stuff can be quite collectable these days. I have no idea which bits though!
Hope all goes well with your additional tests. Have a good weekend.
Thank you, Lady Ella. I have checked the set of fish dishes online and I've seen some of the items being offered for sale. I'm not sure if they will be worth selling, but, we shall see. I'm keeping them for now.
DeleteGlad to hear you didn't break the glass shelves. The dress will become a lovely keepsake for the little girl, in time to come. The lamb might be pulled around, dribbled on, hugged out of shape, but the dress can be kept aside...maybe even be used for the baby's baby one day!
ReplyDeleteYes, I was very happy that I didn't break the shelves!
DeleteI hope they will keep the dress; it would be lovely if they do. If not, it served its purpose.
I forgot to mention that I love the sweet christening dress that your daughter crocheted. The little girl must have looked so pretty wearing it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady; it turned out really well, didn't it? It's only the second time my daughter has crocheted a dress. The little girl did look very sweet in it. :)
DeleteWell done with the sorting out! As I said before in another comment, I am thinking of adopting this after Baby A comes to visit. I'll put away the knickknacks before she comes and the only put out the bits I really want when she leaves.
ReplyDeleteWell done with cleaning the display cabinet. I helped my Mum with hers a couple of times. It's quite the job!
Thank you, Sharon. Taking things out and slowly returning the items that are wanted is working quite well for me and I hope that it'll work for you, too. I started on putting the books back - so far, I've put 10 books back as I know for a fact that I want to keep them. :)
DeleteThe dress is not only beautiful but a gift of self which is the most important thing a new godmother can give
ReplyDeleteI wish you were here to inspire me with my room of horrors
Thank you, Anne. My daughter is thrilled to be her friend's daughter's godmother. :)
DeleteI would love to be there to help you with your room of horrors, but, I'm afraid that I would then proceed to bring back half the things you declutter! LOL! That almost happened when I helped one of my cousins clean out her father's apartment after he passed away. But, I managed to bring only two mugs with me.