Wednesday's Doings

Papaya

Today, I overslept, so had a bit of a scramble to get dressed and out the door in the morning!  Had a fairly quiet day at the office and a long, slow drive home due to traffic.  I had planned to mulch the front planting bed, this evening, but I have a sore shoulder (not sure what I did to cause it), so, I decided that hauling bags of mulch would not be the best thing to do (don't have a wheelbarrow).  I guess I will let the gardener do the mulching for me on Friday.

Instead, I put away the last bits of laundry and tidied the living room and dining area.  Then, video chatted with daughter and read a bit. 

Dinner was salmon, potatoes and green peas, with a piece of papaya for dessert.  Tomorrow's lunch will be leftover fried rice with papaya and a banana for desserts/snacks. 

It was a cooler day, today, with highs only in the upper 70s.  Tomorrow, too, will be a similarly cooler day.  The temperature will rise over the weekend.

I didn't make a to do list for today (other than mulching the front planting bed).  My to do list for tomorrow (Thursday) include:

- Bank
- Pharmacy
- Post office
- Tidy family room

 How was your day?  Did you have a busy day?  Or was it a slow day like mine?

July Grocery Shopping andTuesday's To Do List

July Week 1 Groceries

I went grocery shopping, yesterday and bought what's shown above:

8.72 lbs. tomato, @ $.39/lb = 3.40
.72 lb. ginger, @ $1.19/lb = $.86
.43 lb. garlic @$2.29/lb = $.98
.67 lb. red onion @ $.39/lb = $.26
1.21 lb. zucchini @ $.89/lb = $1.08
.28 lb. kohlrabi @ $1.99/lb = $.56
2.02 lb. papaya @ $.69/lb = $1.39
1.04 lb. nectarine @ $.49/lb = $.51
1.14 lb. bananas @ $.49/lb = $.56
2 mangoes @ $.50 = $1.00
1 coffee creamer = $2.99
1 loaf bread = $1.99
1 packet sesame sticks/crackers = $2.39
2 packets cashews; $3.95 + $3.70 = $7.65
12 cans coconut water, @ $.59 = $7.08 + deposit $.60
almost 1 lb. beef shoulder steak @ $3.99/lb = $3.51

Total spent = $36.81

I went over budget in June by $13.02, partly because daughter was visiting and I bought extra groceries to send back with her.  I will be deducting that from the July grocery budget, so, my grocery budget in July is: $75 - $13.02 = $61.98.

What's left in the budget = $61.98 - $36.81 = $25.17

The tomatoes, some of the ginger and some of the garlic are to make tomato chutney, which I make once a year in the summer, when tomatoes are on sale.  My tomato chutney is like a very spicy version of ketchup and it is a favorite condiment in the family.  Daughter and I eat most of it, but some of it gets gifted at Christmas, etc.

One of the packets of cashews is for daughter, and most of the cans of coconut water, as well, since she loves it (regularly priced at $.99 @).

I bought the kohlrabi because a friend mentioned buying one to try it after disliking it as a child and I thought  I should try it, too (I, too, have had it as a child and not cared much for it).  I bought the smallest one I could find, so that very little would be wasted if I decide I still don't like it!

I cooked the beef in a spicy curry, tonight, and I have thawed 2 previously cooked salmon steaks.  They will be my main sources of protein for lunches and dinners, this week.

Today, I had tuna salad sandwiches for lunch (with canned tuna from the pantry) and dinner was some of the beef curry with bread.  I plan to take more of the beef curry and bread for my lunch, tomorrow.  I also made a "trail mix" of cashews, dried cranberries, and the sesame sticks for snacking.  Bananas and nectarines for fruit.

Today's To Do list was much shorter than yesterday's:

- Eye Exam - done
- Pharmacy for aspirin - done
- Library to pick up book I had requested/placed on hold - done
- Bring trash cans in - done
- Cook beef curry - done
- Paperwork - done
- Mulch front planting bed
- Take cuttings from succulents

Have you gone grocery shopping yet, in July?  Have you eaten kohlrabi and if so, do you like it?

Monday's To Do List

I had the day off from work, today.  I got up at 7:30 a.m., called daughter to wish her a good morning (and get her started on her day as she has to go to her internship job), had a cup of coffee, and wrote out my To Do list for the day:

- Wash bed sheets/remake bed (done)
- Dust living room/dining area/family room/my bedroom (done)
- Vacuum the house (done)
- Mop kitchen (done)
- Grocery shop/Buy cat food (done)
- Paperwork/filing (did some)
- Clean out fridge (done)
- Empty waste baskets/recycling/Take trash cans to curb (done)
- Water indoor plants (done)
- Mulch the front planting bed
- Water the back garden (done)
- Take cuttings of succulents for rooting
- Put gas to car (done)

The first 3 items took me most of the morning to do!  It is noon now; time to go grocery shopping.  I'll be back to update.

Update:

Did the grocery shopping in the afternoon (2 stores) and put gas to the car.  Came home and had a late lunch and then, took a nap!  Later, after I woke up, I cleaned the fridge, took the trash cans to the curb, mopped the kitchen floor, watered the indoor plants,  watered the back garden, and cleaned the litter box, did a sinkful of dishes, and did some paperwork (more to do).  Called a friend and video chatted with daughter. The mulching and taking cuttings will have to wait until tomorrow.


How's your Monday coming along?  Do you make daily to do lists? 

Weekend Activities

Completed Placemats

 
Today, I finished sewing the placemats I started earlier, here.  I had cut out six placemats and during the course of the week, I hand sewed the bindings down.  Today, I finished hemming the binding on the last placemat and machine quilted them a bit to hold all the layers together.  That's another project completed.

Altogether, this has been a good weekend for projects. 

On Friday, my gardener came to attend to the garden and he put up the room air conditioner in my bedroom window, for me (it is too heavy for me to lift up to the window sill by myself).  It wasn't hot enough over the weekend to use it; I haven't even plugged it in, yet.  But it is now in place for me to use when I need it, over the summer.  I'll take it down again, after the summer.  The gardener also brought me a pile of magazines to read. 

Also on Friday, I went shopping to buy the supplies I needed to make the terrariums and I also bought 5 bags of mulch for the garden.  And I assembled the terrariums, ran the dishwasher, cleaned my bathroom, hemmed the binding on one placemat, and gave the cat his flea prevention medications.

On Saturday, I did a couple of loads of laundry, sewed the bindings on another placemat, made the birthday cards, and went to my friend's home to dinner.  Afterwards, we watched a nearby fireworks display which was visible from her front garden. 

Today (Sunday), I video chatted with an overseas friend (isn't technology marvelous?), washed the dust sheets on the family room sofas (and put new dust sheets on the sofas), finished sewing the placemats, cleaned the kitchen, watched some Wimbledon tennis and Women's World Cup soccer on TV, and spoke on the phone with a cousin and with another friend.  And video chatted with my daughter, too, of course. 

Focus on abundance:  A pile of magazines for my reading pleasure.  :)

How was your holiday weekend?  Did you have a good weekend?

Birthday Cards

Birthday Cards

I needed two birthday cards for my friend and her daughter.  So, I pulled out my scrapbooking/card making supplies and made two cards.

Card stock, some colored papers, and a bit of paper with Happy Birthday printed on it.  I thought the green strip of paper on the 1st card looked a bit too plain, so, sewed a row of herringbone stitches with some embroidery floss.

I am a self-taught card-maker.  I haven't taken any classes, and I am sure it shows!  But that's OK.  I enjoy making them and it gives me the opportunity to be creative.

Every time I need a card and decide to make one, I tell myself that I should make a few in advance and keep them ready, rather than rush to make a card at the last minute.  That way, I'll have more time to plan things out and embellish the cards a bit more.  But that will be another project for another day. I guess.  I do have to make another birthday card for another friend's upcoming birthday; I'll try to make that ahead of time. 

Can I consider cardmaking as "paperwork"?  :D

Focus on abundance: a box full of scrapbooking/cardmaking supplies, all bought on clearance. 

Do you make cards?   If so, have you taken cardmaking classes or are you self-taught?

Terrariums

Terrariums

I needed a few small gifts.  A friend is celebrating her birthday this weekend and another friend will be having her birthday in two weeks' time.  I also need two small "thank you" gifts to give to my supervisor and a colleague. 

My friend who will be celebrating her birthday this weekend would like a terrarium, according to her daughters, and so, I decided to make terrariums for both friends.  Not big terrariums, due to space considerations as both friends live in apartments and space is limited).

Usually, a terrarium is planted in a container that can be closed to retain moisture, but, they can be open containers, too.  I chose to do an open container as they are less expensive and I was planning to plant succulents, which don't require a moist environment.

I went to the dollar store for most of my supplies:  two round vases/bowls, a bag of pebbles, and a bag of sand; and I went to the garden center for 3 small pots of succulent plants.  The dollar store I went to for the supplies didn't have any plants.  So I stopped by another dollar store, and they had plants, but not succulents and what they had were too big for the planters I had bought. They would have worked well for a different type of planter.  I also used a cup of cactus planting mix, from the bag I had bought earlier.

Supplies: Glass Bowls, Pebbles, Sand, Planting Mix and Plants

First, I added a layer of the pebbles to the bottom of the glass containers:

The pebbles provide drainage space for any excess water; succulents don't like their roots to be soggy.
Next, I added a layer of the cactus planting mix:

I had selected plant pots which held 4 tiny plants each.  Next, I watered the plants and then, separated out the individual succulents:

And added one of each type of succulents to the glass containers:

Next, I poured a little of the white sand over the soil (more for a decorative effect than anything else, but it will help keep the soil moist a bit longer); and I added a few more of the pebbles on top of the sand, as shown in the picture at the very top of this post. 

I used the leftover plants to make two tiny planters, using two blue and white china pots I already had.  Each pot has a layer of pebbles at the bottom and then, the cactus planting mix.  I chose not to add any white sand, because the plants pretty much fill the opening.  They will be thank you gifts to my supervisor and a colleague for helping me with something.

The bowls I bought today and the blue and white china pots I already had, as well as the bag of pebbles and the bag of sand, all cost $1 each; the succulents plants cost $2.50 for each pot; the big bag of cactus planting mix cost $6 or $7, but I only used a 12-oz. cup of it, which, I am going to assume, cost about $.25.  So, $4 for the four planters, $7.50 for the plants, $2.25 for the planting mix, pebbles and sand.  A total of $13.75 plus tax ($1.23) for the supplies.  I spent just under $15 for four gifts and I have half the bag of sand left and enough pebbles for one more planter or another project. 

The plants were the most expensive items, so I am planning to take some cuttings from the plants I have growing in my garden and rooting them for future projects.  I have several items (tea cups, bowls, etc.) that will make great containers for planters (not necessarily terrariums) and they'll all make good gifts.

Have you made terrariums and planters?  Is it something you might consider making?

 

Feeling Guilty

Since the Fourth of July/Independence Day is on Saturday, both daughter and I are having a holiday, tomorrow.  She couldn't come home for the long weekend because we couldn't get a good sale price on the plane ticket.  It's worth it to fly home for a weekend when the air fare costs $79 each way.  But not worth it when the fare is nearly $300 each way.

It only costs me $50 for gas, each way, to drive up to visit her - that and 6+ hours of driving.  This being a holiday weekend, there will be a lot of traffic and the drive could take 8+ hours, which would be a little tiring.  But I also have Monday off from work, so this would have been a good weekend to drive up.

However, while part of me feels I should go up to see daughter, a part of me feels I should stay home and attend to some of the things I've been putting off until I had more time to do them; to try and catch up on some tasks; to get a bit of control over things at home.

Daughter assures me she will be fine, spending this long weekend by herself, she hadn't planned on coming home and she hadn't planned on me visiting her, either, because I will be going up later in the month to help her move into her new apartment.  But I feel guilty that she'll be on her own.  I feel like I am being selfish and not being a good mother!  Sigh.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being treated to doughnuts at the office
- My supervisor's offer of help with a personal, non-work related matter
- A colleague's willingness to help, as well
- A cooler day
- Daughter being so understanding

 What do you think?  Am I being selfish?

Edited to add:  THANK YOU to my tech savvy friend!