Schedule

When growing up my mam had a schedule of doing things on certain days.  Over the years my schedule hasn't been as rigid and has changed depending on who was home and the seasons.

For the next month or two I do have a schedule that I hope to stick too.  Here it is:

Monday: Housework

Tuesday: Basement painting

Wednesday: Basement painting

Thursday: visiting children or at knitting

Friday: grocery shopping/housework

Weekend: who knows!!

It's not written in stone of course, but I think if I could stick too it at least for the rest of this month and July, I could get the walls and ceilings painted in the basement, and if dh gets some of the trim up and doors, I could get a lot of that done as well.  The space I am painting is probably around 800 square feet split into three rooms, plus under stairs and closets.  Yes you could live down there quite comfortably.  

So wish me luck that I stick to this schedule.  Do you have a schedule?

Okay whose bright idea was if for me to join this

de-cluttering challenge????  I am knackered/tired/pooped/ whatever word you want to call it. It's bloody hard work all this cleaning.  Guess it wouldn't be so hard if I didn't have that much clutter in the first place right?

Anyhow as mentioned in this post my "project" for this week is our bedroom drawers and closet.  So I tackled the drawers yesterday and today's project was the closet.

Our closet is the length of the end of our room so a decent size, probably around 10+ feet I think.   We installed that a couple of years ago as we had no closet in the room.

Now as it has sliding doors it is hard to take the photos of inside, but here goes.

and here:

Again it is hard to see the difference in the after photos.  My side:

Dh's side:

Now to prove that I did take some a lot of things out of there here is a photo of all the empty coat hangers on our bed.  Each one had an item of clothing on it.

The pile of clothes on there, along with the two handbags are things I am donating.  I had the same pile again of things that I hope will fit in another couple of months, that I am storing in a drawer in the spare bedroom.  Also on the bed in the spare bedroom is a pile of dh's clothes that I would like him to go through before I donate.

I also gave the bedroom a good clean when I finished that and moved all the furniture, including the bed as we have wooden floors so it is dust bunny central.  I also took the two ceiling light fixtures apart and washed them, along with the bathroom light fixture.

Add that to putting the garbage out, picking up poop, bringing in the logs, ironing, taking the ashes to the fire pit  and what ever else.  I think I have done more than my fair share for the day, don't you?

My challenge for next week is the living room.  However I am making a start on that this weekend, as it's a nightmare at the moment, you'll see what I mean when you see the photos.

Oh and by the way, there will be three garbage bags of clothing that will be donated due to this exercise.........

A bit of this, and a bit of that........

Sunday was a perfect day, we did very little all day and it was nice.  Dh did do a couple of jobs outside and tested the snow blower to make sure it was working.  Otherwise we just vegged out in front of the fire.


I found a photo of the venue for the wedding that I thought I'd share:

My mother brought over some magazines for me to read, as you know I am a magazine junkie. They included a couple issues of BBC Easy Cook magazines.  They include all sorts of recipes and the two she brought me had a few recipes I think I want to try.

I also got the 2012 Milk Calendar with the newspaper this weekend and it also has some super recipes on it.  I think that's going to be my calendar in the kitchen this year.

Have another super busy week ahead of me.  I want to get the house cleaned from top to bottom.  I have all the bedding washed, dried and ironed from when our visitors were here. Just need to get all the rooms cleaned ready for the kids coming over at Christmas.

The weather is now cooling off and feels like winter weather now.  We have been lucky though as the snow has been north of us, which is just as well, as I still don't have my snow tires on my car.  Do you put snow tires on your car for winter and if so when do you normally put them on?

I really could do with a few more hours in the day........

Tuesday was another busy day at The Acreage.  I managed to get some housework done in the morning, and bits and bobs done in the house.  I watch Eastenders at 12 noon while I have my lunch.  It was an hour episode as it was New Years Eve 2007/2008 when Kevin Wickes died.  I also did my ironing while I was watching it.

I then went out in the garden and got all sorts of bits and bobs done.  I am becoming a pro at trimming .  One down side to it all my i-pod died.  So hopefully by Wednesday morning it will be charged again.  As I plan on spending a few hours in the garden again on Wednesday.

I am two thirds done the field again and it is looking good.  I must say I enjoy cutting the grass after supper as it's not as hot, and watching the sun set is lovely.

When the builders were here, I fed them at coffee time in the morning and the afternoon.  So of course I sat down and had a coffee with them and got to know them.  One of the guys' wife is a buyer for a big giftware company, and to cut a long story I knew someone who worked there.  Anyhow, he was telling me how he had been to Vegas with his wife and they had met Marie Osmond, as they are carrying the Marie Osmond line of products.

So I was telling him how I love Marie's line of handbags.  Again to cut a long story short, he turned up at the house with the handbag below.  Wasn't that nice of him and his wife?

I love it, although I may keep it for the Fall and Winter season.  Her line is very similar to the Vera Bradley purses that I adore.
Here is my column this week for the Eden Valley Messenger.

Also here I am again with my weak excuses as to why I haven't been by your blogs............actually there is only one......lack of time, as there are too many other things needing my attention at the moment.

I am so sorry.

This bloody grass is on steroids!

Here we are in the first week of May, and I'm already complaining about the grass.  I mean the field is like a hay field.  I had to cut the front lawn again on Monday and I had just done it on Saturday.  Now under the front lawn is the septic bed; however its not squishy on the lawn, nor are there any floaters!!  However the front lawn seems to love having that spetic bed underneath it, as it's grows like crazy!!

I was out and about on Monday and had to pop into Lowes for some Tuck Tape when I noticed these half dead bulbs.  So I asked how much they wanted for them, and they said 50 cents per pot.  I picked up 9 pots of tulips, each with 5 tulips in them, and 2 pots of mini daffodils.  I will let them completely die and will then replant them in the fall.  I have a place for them, I thought it was a great deal.

Here is a close up of the daffodil.

This is a close up of the tulips.

The goal for this week is to try and get more grass cut and try and get more of the veggie garden planted....oh and clean the house, do the laundry, cook gourmet meals and promote world peace and save the world in my spare time..........and if that isn't enough, I'll sweep up as I'm going along!

Isn't that what everyone does everyday? ;0)

Enjoy your Tuesday........

Just when you think things can't get any busier/chaotic......

Something else happens.

We are having some work done down the old basement, and some new windows put in both basements.  As far as we were aware the guys were booked in to start the job on May 18th; which by the way took me two weeks just to get a date out of them.

So on Monday the secretary called just before lunch time and asked if they could start on possibly Wednesday afternoon, definitely Thursday at the latest.  So I said no problem, but they were going to have to take up the deck, as dh wouldn't have time to do that......

Around 2:30pm on Monday she calls again and asks if they could move it forward as the Tuesday and Wednesday job they had planned had fallen through.  So I said fine, meanwhile me and dh had to clear out the old basement so they had room to work.  This was a job I hadn't planned on doing until Tuesday morning.  Infact this wasn't a job I had planned on doing until May!

I spent the morning cleaning the house, or attempting to.  Did a couple loads of laundry, that needed ironing when it had dried.  I planted some onions and lettuce in my cold frame.  Planted the two shrubs I had bought on the weekend.   Saw the first snake of the season, quite surprised as I didn't think it was warm enough for them.

I had bought some pork chops on clearance on Saturday, so had to cook them.  Made enough for a meal for Monday night and a meal for the freezer.  I had pulled out some ground beef/mince out of the freezer, and hadn't got around to using it.  So made a couple of shepherd's pies for the freezer.  Plus as we have workmen in all week, that will be handy as a quick meal for us.  Then while the oven was on for the chops, I made an apple crisp with some apples that needed to be used up.

After supper I tackled the grass again and got the field finally finished.  Also took a stick and got rid of the caterpillar nests in some of the trees.  Figured if I keep on top of them, I will hopefully stop them eating the trees this year.

Being the church greeter on Sunday was good.  I made sure I was pleasant to everyone, and reminded a few people I needed the recipes, and everyone was very friendly.  This coming week when I am the greeter again, I will also be helping out setting up for the after service coffee and cake meeting, that they have once a month.  So that should be good.

Here is my column for the Eden Valley Messenger. I think I will do the same one for the Orangeville Banner, this week as well, as it's relevant for those readers as well.

It's always the way.......

Tuesday I wasn't feeling the best, so I didn't do much. I did a load of laundry and as it was such a miserable day, I ended up putting them on the clothes horse to dry in the family room. The house was cold, but I didn't put the fire on until 1pm. The house was reasonably clean but not as clean as I would like. Then just after 1pm, there was a knock on the door, and my dad and a British couple who are staying at my dad's and step-mum's house stroll in.

Of course the fire wasn't co-operating, I haven't been shopping for two weeks, so didn't even have a cookie to offer them. I mean isn't it always the way when things aren't looking their best in the house, visitors arrive?

Fast forward to Wednesday by 12 noon the house was tidy the fire was on; infact the fire lit itself!! How did it do that you ask; well it was so windy that I decided not to clean out the ashes in the fireplace. However I laid the fire, by putting in newspaper and sticks ready to start the fire later in the day. By around 11am I heard crackling from the fireplace, and it was burning. There must have been some hot embers in the fireplace and they set fire. Oh and by the way never saw a soul all day, other than the UPS guy, who was wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt, in this weather!!!

Next time the house looks a mess, I will no doubt get a pile of visitors!!

Look what arrived today:




I only ordered it on Sunday (see this post) and thought it would take a month. I haven't tried it yet, but will try it on Thursday. Nothing has gone to waste either in the packaging, as I will re-use the bubble wrap and brown paper. The UPS box it came in I am using as a box to put Molly's toys in. Which is turning out to be a game for me and Molly; as I put her toys in there and she takes her toys out, and back and forward it goes...LOL By the way dh and Molly have made up and are best of friends again!!

Thought today's post has better be a bit more upbeat!!!

Thanks for all your replies yesterday I really appreciated all your comments.

So on Monday, I did manage to get half of the attic vacuumed before I had problems with the shop vac. All in all that took me around an hour. I had a couple of loads of laundry which I hung out and got dried and ironed. It was super windy all day so they were dry in no time. I got the house tidied up and did some tidying up in the kitchen. All which made me happy, as I love to see the house nice and tidy. I actually enjoy just pottering around the house doing bits and bobs.

The allergies aren't too bad in the morning, but as the day progresses it gets worse. I have made an appointment for the doctors on Tuesday morning, so we'll see what this one has to say about my ear. I did manage to get some grass cut on Monday night, and will have to say I was scratching my nose a lot afterwards.

I also noticed I have a pile of raspberries ready, so will have to get them picked sooner rather than later. I did manage to get some weeding done in my veggie patch, not much, but a start. I am not sure where to start first, as the grass needs to be cut, the rasps need to be picked and the veggie garden is more weeds than veggies.......any ideas? Don't panic I am not stressing, just trying to decide which job should be done first?

I have to call into the garage also Tuesday morning, as I need to get this C V Boot thingy fixed, and they need to see the car, so they can order the part, that will be another $300. On a more positive note, dh can mend my headlight for $10.

All in all Monday was a more positive day, helped by the fact that I am feeling a lot better. Thanks for listening to me........

Odds and Ends.......

Well on Wednesday it rained all day, and you know what it was nice. It made a change not having to go outside in the garden. I was able to get on with a couple of jobs inside of the house. One job I managed to get done was strip some of the ceiling lights and give them a good clean and get rid of all the dead flies.

One of the fixtures I cleaned was the ceiling fan in the kitchen. And what a surprise I got I thought the light shades were brown..........after washing them they are white sand blasted glass!!! Yes, that is how dirty they were. Now dh is going to take it all to bits and take the whole thing down for me to give it a super good clean, but hasn't had time. So I gave it the best clean I could. It's a really nice fan, though the guy has installed it incorrectly and as I told dh, we cannot have the fan on, until dh has installed it properly. Here is a couple of photos of the fan.




Now above the two front window's and the above the front door is the original glass that was probably installed in the house when it was built. I washed the glass today and the glass in the kitchen area was black. I have no idea how anyone could let anything get so dirty? The walls by the way in the kitchen/dining room are not pink, but a dirty white, it was just the way I took the photo.



We seem to have one resident red squirrel in our yard. No idea if he/she lives on their own, or it has a little family in the woods. Anyhow I was watching it go across the lawn, and the starlings were attacking it. No idea why they were doing that, do you have any idea? All the birds were wandering around the yard today, they obviously like the wet weather? I have located a few nests around the property including a robins nest, not too far from the patio doors. I will have to take some photos of it.

I had a couple of "whatever" moments again on Wednesday. We had gas heating at our last house, so I knew I would have a bill for the last reading from the gas company. Anyhow, it hadn't arrived, so I called them to see what's what, and they said it was mailed on May 8th. I obviously hadn't received it, and said so, so the lady said she would mail me a duplicate and by the way, it's due on the 28th of May! So I say, that's all well and good but I don't have the bill so how can I pay it. Anyhow, to cut a long story short, she told me the amount that was due and after that I will have to pay a late charge fee. I told her no way was I paying a late charge fee, and to make a note of that on my account. She said she had done that, we'll see. I felt I was being a good customer in enquiring where my bill was, and all they want to do is charge me an extra fee!

Called Sears about my dripping water dispenser, and the guy was as puzzled as I was, as to what I should do. Sent a note to whom ever and they are supposed to call me......I'll believe that when it happens!!

Called Health Canada about my lack of address and the guy told me they often have this problem with new sub divisions. So I told him the house has been here since 1907, and it isn's a new sub division. He told me to fax my change of info over for me and dh. So dh faxing it at work today.

Haven't heard from either the roofing guy or the fireplace guy, so not sure what's going on there. I do believe they run on country time, not city time.........but I am only guessing on that?

I had to use the dryer today to dry some laundry, and would you believe it, it actually worked!!!! Its not an ideal situation though as the dryer is not vented outside, its just has its pipe in the old basement with a sock over the end.

The ants are back, well a couple of them, so I squirted powder on some cracks in the caulking on the window sill, I need to redo the caulking. I swear though I and wiping down the counter tops a couple of times a day and making sure there is no food left out, so not sure what to say.

So there you go a bit of this and a bit of that!!

Busy Bee.........

Have to say today (Sunday) was a productive day. I did something that I know we woman hate to do, well at least I do. I cleaned out my closet. I also finally admitted to myself, that all my thin clothes were never going to fit again and I should get rid of them. That in itself is an accomplishment, if you ask me.

It was actually an eye opener as well, as I have hung onto some of these clothes for the past 20 + years. I will have to say there are a couple of "what was I thinking items" in my closet. Including a dropped waisted corduroy Laura Ashley dress with a big bow, circa Princess of Wales period. Along with numerous items with the lovely shoulder pads in there. Which I am guessing are all out of style now?

So now I have four big garbage bags full of clothes to send to charity and another garbage bag to throw out. Plus I have a ton more room in my closet and drawers.

I then tidied up the cold cellar, which is one of those places that always gets missed. Plus I got a ton of laundry done. So all in all a productive day, wouldn't you say?