I'm a Pensioner!!

Ok the upside to being 60 is you get  a pension. Got my first deposit the other day and I have to admit it takes the sting out of getting old. Well a little bit anyway. I am still not on good terms with that little reality but I am getting there. Its a fact, I can't change it so I may as well figure out how to make peace with it. Money helps. (Yes, Yes I can be bought.)

Again  a long stretch between posts and I have to be honest its mostly because I do not have a lot to tell. I mean there is only so many times I can go on and on about cleaning the kitchen. Fascinating subject as that is.

So in desperation shall we do some bullet points on what has been going on around here.

• The giant mushroom has finally made its way to its new home in the flower bed. It looks cute nestled in all the weeds

•  I finished the quilt for Busy and the Carpenter. I have not taken a picture yet but I will, once I have sent it to them first. They really should see it first. Here is my other quilt project in the mean time

• I finally got the window box figured out. I needed something to put the flowers in that would not fall over. I thought of terracotta pots, metal buckets and then I settled on cookie tins from the second hand store. Cheap and cheerful!! Just need some oasis to stick the flowers in and we are good to go.

• I was sitting in the living room minding my own business on Saturday night and the ring holding the lovely lantern I bought let loose and the entire thing smashed and I mean smashed to the floor. Scared the crap out of me . The candles still work so I will keep them. The rest is garbage, sadly. Now I have to find something new to hang in that corner.

• The No Cook Friday gals had our once a year, celebrate for everyone birthday party. Game of Thrones theme. We had a blast!! Sweet Baboo's daughter made the cake and she did an awesome job. The Iron Throne never looked so good. We played games, ate, laughed and generally behaved like we were 12.

• Then on Sunday some of us, The Banker, Teddy Bear, Kit Kat and I binge watched the last season of Game of Thrones. We do a pot luck sort of meal and snacks when we binge watch a series. It was a great day.

That is pretty much all I can think of. I have some projects on the horizon but I will keep that to myself until they are finished and I can show pictures. I have Quilt blocks to make because I am once again two weeks behind. 

The next thing I hope to do is finally get the material to recover my new to me kitchen chairs. I have the money now so I just need to get my butt to the store and get it. If they still have the stuff I picked out when Busy and I were there. I have my fingers crossed.

See this empty spot on my veranda??

My kitchen table was parked there but it has found a new home. The Banker's granddaughter and her family were happy to take it and make use of it and I am happy to have it gone. I have my fingers crossed that she will decide she wants the chairs too

Oh yes I had a little triumph the other day. You know how once in a while you will buy something and think if I just loose a few pounds that will fit. Well guess what I wore to work last week?

I bought this shirt YEARS ago and finally I am able to wear it. Its been a long time coming but at long last I actually wore it. Doing a little happy dance!!

That's it that's all. I got nothing else. 

Toodles

Linda

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday

My favourite thing to do on the weekend after No Cook Friday is to park myself on my veranda with a good cup of coffee and just breath for a while. Listen to the birds, the bugs and the muted human noises. It regenerates me

Throw in my favourite coffee mug and I am pretty much a happy content lady. I indulged in this little pass time yesterday after I got home from gassing up the car and getting me some new potatoes from a local farmer. I picked up breakfast and then it was the veranda for me. Breakfast al fresco, just the best.

Yesterday was a day to get a jump on some of those little jobs that I have managed to ignore for longer than I care to admit. 

Ok sit back and prepare to be dazed by my industry::  (please note this is laden with heavy sarcasm, I truly am my own worst enemy)

I made a giant mushroom!! The silicone is set today so at some point it will make its way into the hosta bed. I had had the bits for awhile but took forever to get it siliconed.

I, at long last dragged the tiles from the dining room and got them tucked away in the back porch. Only took me three years to get the tiles from the veranda to the dining room into a rubbermaid container. Then it took a few more weeks to get them into the porch.........Triumph.

Speaking of the porch the cat carrier that KitKat had borrowed it back in it place and not in the dining room. Dining room/dumping ground..........whatever label you want to give that space.

I got my new dining room clock hung up and I did it all by my little self.

While this may seem like a two minute no brainer for anyone else its a great feat for me. To get myself up on a step stool and down again is major. The pain in my legs makes this sort of things problematic. Not to mention my fear of falling and getting very injured BUT its up and it looks gorgeous and I love it to bits.

I have put away plastic containers that were washed last week, I hauled some garbage and an extra container off the veranda. Later to day I will wash said container and use it to store my winter clothes. I have laundry on the go and I will wash up the breakfast mess after I am finished here. I quilted and binge watched the Blacklist. This activity will be repeated to day.  I have sorted out the recycling because suddenly they are no longer taking #1 plastics for recycle. I also have to bag up the garbage to take it out. All the clam shell containers that now have to be dumped in the landfill. Drat.

I know its all small things. I tend to leave these little jobs so to get on top of them is something I am so happy about. I want to have a neat and tidy house, jobs done and all this mess dealt with. The house is pretty good right now, because I have been working on it, but my craft room is a sin and a shame. Its next on the hit list, still on the hit list, been done so many times you would think I'd learn to keep it clean list. Whatever

I am up to date on my 52 blocks in 52 weeks quilt. Its looking rather nice now. We are half done the block and I am really enjoying this. Can't wait to see the finished deal,. I cannot find the picture I took of it but I will add it later once I locate it. Chances are I did not move it from my phone to the computer.

I have some mending to do for other folk and I home to get on that today. Its hot hot hot outside and I am struggling with the idea of turning on the air conditioner. Its a million year old machine and it scares the life out of me to turn it on each year. This year it gets replaced. I cannot deal with it anymore, not to mention it must suck up enough energy to run a small country each it it runs.

Hey did you notice, This is the second post in a week!! things are looking up.

Toodles

Linda

Tying to get my act together

Can't seem to get back to posting on the blog every week. I really do need to get my act together and get better at this. So enough with the promises, hollow or whole, lets move on shall we.

I turned 60!! I cannot get over this!! Of all the stages in my life this is the one that makes me wince. I am ok with having birthdays, rather have them than not but this number makes me cringe. I think its because I need to let go of a lot and come to terms that many things I had thought would happen in my life .......... not happening. Its all an adjustment and I am not taking it well.

I did have a lovely birthday, lots of love, good wishes, gifts and flowers. I have some marvelous friends and a family that cares about me. SO I have no complaints. I just feel so stinkin ' old. So many missed opportunities, so many never gonna happens'. If I could drink I would

So as always I am trying to get myself in order. Keep up on the housework, get things done, keep on top of the daily routines. Sometimes I fail, sometimes I triumph, its an on going battle. I would give anything to have some energy. To feel like doing something, anything.

I have managed a few things this weekend. I hand washed a ton of containers. Some for recycling and some that I use for lunches but somehow they took over the kitchen. I have them spanking clean now.

I weeded the shrub bed along the front fence. It was full of something I call bind weed. I have no idea if that is the right name but its prolific and sticky to the touch. I took pictures but the lighting is not that good.

all that green that is sticking up is what I call bind weed. There is a ton of it out there and I need to get it gone. So before I could make it into a mountain of a job, I got out there, spend a few minutes and it was gone

I finally have all the tiles off the veranda. Those tiles have been sitting out there in three boxes for at least two years. I have them in a rubbermaid tub in the dining room, they just need to get moved to the back porch. When that will happen is anytone's guess but I am hoping soon.

The flowers Busy planted a coupe of weeks ago are looking lovely on either side of the sidewalk.

and the petunias in Mom's wash tub are lovely this year. Lots of rain has made them flourish

The one I planted in the back are the favourite treat of a bunny, at least I think its a bunny. Something is devouring the blooms so I have pots with greenery in them back there. Oh well. Its plants regardless. My red and white petunia pots at the front were just white for July 1 but that's better that nothing.

The quilt for the Carpenter and Busy is half quilted. I have the stuff to make a giant glass mushroom and I have my 52 block in 52 weeks all caught up. I have my pictures all caught up for scrapbooking this fall. I try to order them as the year goes along so I don't end up having to print out $100.'s of dollars pictures at one time but I get behind now and then.

Not much else to tell. I really have to blog more often, I forget stuff inbetween posts. I know I did more stuff, stuff that I will think of once I sign off. Oh well, here is to hoping for better, more frequent posts in the future.

Toodles
Linda



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