The Week in Review

A Sign at the Shopping Mall

Last week went by in a flash, it seems!  Since I didn't do daily posts, I thought I'll do a quick recap of the week, if only to remind myself of what I did!

After all the excitement of Easter Sunday, Monday was a quiet day.  Daughter had work and I did a few things around the house, putting away a load of laundry I had done on Sunday, cleaning the kitchen, watering the houseplants (daughter watered the garden in the evening), and taking the trash bin to the curb for pick up on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, I brought in the emptied trash bin, went to the pharmacy to pick up my medication refill that was ready, and redeemed my Extra Care Bucks coupon for a box of cereal.  Then, I did some paperwork and paid a bill.  In the evening, after daughter finished her work for the day, we went to the library to return her books and to inquire about the free seeds that I had read about in the library's newsletter.  Apparently, a local farm had donated seeds to the library and each of the City's 70+ libraries were given 200 packets of seeds to be given to the patrons, free of charge.  However, when we asked about the free seeds, the librarian said they had all been distributed.  She did mention that one of the regional libraries had started a seed catalog and we might want to visit them.

On Wednesday, I picked curly kale leaves from the garden:

Curly Kale from the Garden

Later in the afternoon, M was here to tend to the garden.  He bought me a bag of fertilizer for plants such as blueberries, azaleas, and camellias which like acidic soils.  It cost $50 on sale, he said.  Of course, I reimbursed him for the fertilizer.  He brought me yet another rescue rose plant!  It looks  rather spindly, right now, but, it is a pink English rose, he said.  His client had two rose bushes she wanted removed and he took one and gave me the other!

New Rescured Rose Bush

On Thursday, I did more paperwork, put away a load of laundry, picked some curly kale from the garden, and used the last of the zucchini (from the Summer of Zucchini) I had in the freezer to make two loaves of zucchini bread:

Zucchini Bread

On Friday, I went to the post office because I had a couple of pieces of mail I wanted to be date stamped before I mailed them.  I also bought a book of stamps while I was there.  Daughter had a day off from work and came with me to the post office.  Afterwards, we went to Daiso, a Japanese store, where most everything used to be the equivalent of 100 yen.  That is no longer the case and the lowest priced item there is now US$2.25.  But, daughter loves going there for their craft supplies and other cute things and I love to try their snacks.  They had a 40% off sale on some of their snack items and we bought several items, including:

Chocolate and Coffee Biscuits
(I love these)

and

Cookies with a Sweetpotato Filling
(delicious!)

and

Squid Flavored Crispy Batter-Covered Peanuts
(also delicious)

I bought three large plastic planters for the garden, but, daughter paid for everything.

On the way home, we stopped at one of our favorite local Chinese fast food restaurants and daughter treated us to lunch, which we brought home to eat: chow mein, broccoli beef, green beans with chicken, jalapeno chicken, and barbecue pork.  There was enough for lunch and dinner and leftovers for at least another couple of meals, each.  

M was here to tend to the garden in the evening and I put in an order for groceries and daughter ordered items, including a coop, she is going to need for the backyard chickens she is wanting to get!  Chicken Little has been gone for several months now and the neighbors now have a rooster (it sounds like a rooster; I haven't seen it as, so far, it has stayed on their side of the wall).

On Saturday, the groceries I ordered were delivered.  Later in the afternoon, the table top weaving looms and kits daughter and I ordered were delivered and we spent some time learning how to weave!  

Much later in the night, M texted me - he thinks he left his pruning saw on top of the lemon tree; would I please retrieve it and keep it in a sheltered place where it won't get wet during the rain that was in the forecast?  Well, I went outside and searched for the tool, but, couldn't find it.  I texted him back and he said not to worry about it.  

It did rain in the early morning hours, which was lovely for the garden.

Raindrops on Roses

On Sunday, I went back out into the garden to look for the missing garden tool that I couldn't locate the night before.  Once again, I looked on the lemon tree, in the lemon tree, and under the lemon tree that M said he placed the tool and didn't find it.  I looked on the other lemon trees, on the ground in the other parts of the backyard, and the area he had weeded, with no luck.  I looked in the garage, in the shed, around the patio and back steps, and on top of the trash bins, because he sometimes leaves his tools on top of them, and there wasn't anything there.  I checked the front garden, too, in case he took it out to the front and left it there.  Finally, I looked inside the yardwaste bin:

Inside the Yardwaste Bin

Do you see it?  A silvery metal pipe-like thing?  He had raked up the weeds and the curry leaf tree branches he had cut down and along with them, tossed the cutting saw into the bin!  

The Pruning Saw 

It's a good thing I looked in the bin, before I took it out to the curb on Monday evening to be collected on Tuesday morning!  Otherwise, the pruning saw would have gone with the yardwaste!  M said he is going to get me a detective badge!  LOL.  

On Sunday, I picked some of the celery that is growing in the back garden:

Celery Stalks

I washed them in salted water and lay them out to dry:

20 Stalks of Celery

Later, I chopped up the stalks and the leaves separately and froze them.  They will be added to stir frys, soups, stews, etc.  I have more celery plants in the garden and their stalks will be harvested and frozen, later.  

I also cooked the kale I had picked earlier in the week and made a mallung with it, sauteeing it with onions, garlic, grated coconut, green chilies, turmeric, etc.  I kept some of the mallung for meals this week and froze two packages of it for later.

And that was my week, last week.  It wasn't a particular busy week, but, there was something happening every day.  Mostly ordinary, everyday sort of things but they are the things that make up my days and each of those things make that day a little special.  Harvesting produce from the garden, running errands, spending an hour shopping in a favorite store, finding a misplaced tool, baking zucchini bread and rehoming another rescued rose bush. 

I am grateful for:

- Ordinary days and everyday happenings
- Garden produce
- Being with my daughter
- Finding M's pruning saw

- April rain showers

- Rescued rose bushes

How was your week?