Category Archives: Housekeeping – Maintenance

August 13, 2020 · 9:07 am

Rain

Pinterest

I’m getting ready to leave for a much-needed massage. It looks like I’ll get a second shower, too, as it’s dark outside with thunderstorms predicted. I’m not water-soluble, so I’ll be happy if there is no hail associated with the storm.

I’ve been working hard lately cleaning, so I’m hoping to reward myself with time in the art room this afternoon. I have a new design for earrings in my head, and I would like to see how it goes. :0)

Our irrigation system brains in the well house keep getting zapped by the various short power outages we’ve been experiencing lately. We ordered a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) lately and my husband put it out there and hooked it up. Hopefully, now we won’t have to reset the thing over and over again. Fingers crossed.

I gathered some tomatoes yesterday. Most were the size of cherry tomatoes, but I will happily use them in salads. Nothing else from the main garden at this time, except some good-looking weeds.

I hope that your day is filled with fun.

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Housekeeping - Maintenance, Mother Nature, quality of life, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds, taking care of yourself

Tagged as , , ,

August 9, 2020 · 4:33 pm

Sunday’s Project – My Art Room

The combination of zipping into my art room, doing a project, and zipping out again, plus having other projects take priority, resulted in a mess in my art room.

I just got some new wooden earring blanks that I have ideas for, but decided that my art room deserved a good straightening up and cleaning before I started something new. As you can see, things are in a mess.

 

 

I spent quite a bit of time there this afternoon, and think I did enough good that I can begin the new earrings tomorrow with a clean conscious. –

Here are the AFTER pics –

2 Comments

Filed under Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob, Lewis projects, Organizing/DeCluttering

Tagged as , ,

August 8, 2020 · 2:15 pm

Two Projects for the Day

PROJECT # 1

Amber’s feeding station is a pretty well-designed heavy rubber/plastic? thing that is in two parts – the upper part that holds the water and food bowls, and the lower tray part.  Amber is creative, though, and immediately decided that she would take the upper part (the whole thing – full of water and food) away to ‘somewhere else.’  This led to my husband screwing it into the wall.

 

This was really gross, with dog hair, white water dental hygiene additive residue, dog slobber, etc. I was able to get the tray out from under the screwed-in top part and scrubbed it in the kitchen sink. I tried to unscrew the top part, but the screw wasn’t in straight and I was afraid I would mess up the whole thing trying to get it out. I just brought all the cleaning stuff to the station and did the best I could.

It isn’t perfect, but at least I’m not cringing when I walk past – several times a day – now.

 

PROJECT # 2

My kitchen is a busy place in our house. I try to clean as I go, but it gets to the point where I need to scrub the stove, scrub the sink, move everything off the counters, etc. Today was the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only problem with all this is that now I don’t want to mess it up!  :0)

Leave a comment

Filed under Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob, Lewis projects

Tagged as , ,

August 1, 2020 · 3:29 pm

Today’s Project – “Go Out” Table August 1, 2020

We call this the “Go Out Table” because we stage things we need to take with us for errands, etc. It also houses my husband’s diabetic supplies. Under it is a bin with stuff going one way or the other from the booth in town I rent with my friend.

As I’m embarrassed to show you, it becomes a catch-all for a lot of other ‘stuff,’ to the point the stacks may decide to topple and slide off any minute.

This was today’s project.

(I had to slip my work on it in because my husband’s project was in the basement and he wanted my help there, too. )

My husband’s question was, “Where did everything GO?”

Now we can pick something up when we leave the house without an avalanche. :0)

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob, Organizing/DeCluttering

Tagged as , , ,

July 31, 2020 · 6:15 pm

Happier Fish?

The cleaning out of the aquarium today resulted in its designation as ‘project of the day.’ We changed from a more regular filter system, like you can buy at Walmart, to a more expensive, fancier type filtration system. It came in a lot of parts with three different things acting together as the filter. I got a bit intimidated while reading the directions, so I asked for my husband’s help.

At least half an hour later, we finally had the filter ready to go into the tank. We put it aside while we did the regular clean out. I like the fact that the majority of this filter system is on the outside of the tank, giving the sweet fish more room to swim around. If you look carefully at the top of the picture above, you can see (above the blue) the outside of the filter.

 

This picture gives another view from the other end of the tank. You can also see the filtered water going back into the tank. When we got it back together, the top didn’t fit anymore, so my husband took it out to the shop and cut off part of it to make it fit.  There are three filters in this one: a foam piece on the bottom, then activated charcoal, and then a bio filter of a bunch of pellet like things you put into the provided mesh bag. You have to work to get these rinsed and into the filter. This filter is made to handle tanks from 5 to 20 gallons. Since ours is a 5, this should be MORE than adequate to do the task.

You change out each part of the filter at a different time. We’re supposed to replace the foam filter every two months, the charcoal every month, and the bio filter every three months. (I have the directions on the table beside me so that I can mark my calendar with when each thing is supposed to be changed.)

So far, I haven’t seen any reaction from the fish – yea or nay. I really hope that this new style of filter keeps the water cleaner for longer.

 

So the aquarium clean out and filter installation turned out to be the project of the day today.

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Amazing Animals, Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob

Tagged as , , , ,

July 31, 2020 · 9:48 am

Thoughts on a Friday, July 31, 2020

AginginPlace.org

Today we meet our friends for Lunch Bunch. Our ‘core group’ (Linda, Kay and I) have been meeting every Friday possible for over 17 years now. “Priceless”  just isn’t a strong enough word to describe how special this is.  Others come and go. Our husbands were made honorary members of the group years ago. Linda’s husband is gone, now, but we share memories of funny or touching things from the times he was able to join us. Kay’s husband has joined us recently. He isn’t working now, laid off because of the virus. He is at the age where he should have retired long ago, but loves the work. He is working now to define himself as much more than his work, and I’m delighted. He has a wonderful sense of humor and it’s fun to hear what he has to say. My husband has been a member for several years now. He presides over his ‘harem,’ ( :0) )  though now graciously sharing that fantasy with Bud now. We enjoy catching up with what the others have been doing, or hearing about plans for the future. We have borne the sad news together over the years, and have helped each other deal with whatever has happened. We had to miss a few Fridays due to the virus. Then the restaurant owner was allowed to serve us outside at picnic tables. Now we’re back in the restaurant, wearing masks in and out. It’s good to be back.

We will have to set our humane trap again tonight because it looks like we have ANOTHER raccoon. This has been a record-braking year. We have relocated 8 raccoons so far, and it LOOKS as if we will do it again..

We had quite a storm yesterday evening. LOTS of lightning, loud thunder, wind, and heavy rain for about half an hour that I was aware of. No damage, though. We are due for more today. Our grass and plants will be happy. My husband is frowning as he imagines the grass spurting up again.

 

This is yesterday’s tomato harvest. We are enjoying fresh sliced tomatoes for part of our lunches and dinners every day. It has been glorious. Even if the harvest stopped suddenly – as it sometimes does – we have been very lucky this year.

Not sure what today’s project will be. I’m trying to choose one area to ‘heal’ every day. Yesterday it was my kitchen desk and the shelves above it. I also spent a lot of time scrubbing one of the downstairs bathrooms. I have LOTS of good choices, as I am a slob. I’ll report later on what the choice is.

I’m doing really well on my exercising. Being able to add a gold star to my desk calendar is motivating for me – a person who hasn’t fully grown up. They motivated me as a child in school and I will still get off my duff and go earn one now. I’m giving myself one for each session on my elliptical trainer in the garage and each session of yoga stretches and abdominal exercises. So far, this is an 8-star week. I’ll go for 9 and 10 today.

I hope you have a wonderful day today, productive and enjoyable.

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Friendship, Gardening, Healthy Eating, Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob, Lewis projects, Organizing/DeCluttering, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 30, 2020 · 2:51 pm

Today’s Project – Thursday, July 30th

I have this nice little desk in our kitchen. The shelves above are a combination medicine and first aid supplies area. All too often it becomes a catch-all area, piled up with various things.  Today’s project was to clear off the desk, go through the things on the shelves, look for expired meds, and reorganize.

 

Things are more organized now and much cleaner. :0)

Leave a comment

Filed under Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob, Lewis projects, Organizing/DeCluttering

Tagged as , , , ,

July 30, 2020 · 10:01 am

Raccoon # 8

Live Science

We caught raccoon #8 of the season last night. We have just come back from relocating him where he will hopefully find the rest of the “gaze” of raccoons we have driven to their new home out farther in the country. Even though Amber barked at him obnoxiously, he didn’t lose his cool.  It looked like rain was coming soon, so we relocated the raccoon before having breakfast or doing anything other than feed animals.

Now we’ve had breakfast and I’m enjoying a cup of coffee as I type this.

We have doors open so far this morning, enjoying a nice breeze through the house. We are due for storms today, with a bigger chance this evening. I will get out, check the garden, and see if we have more ripe tomatoes to bring in soon.  Of course, now that we are home for the rest of the day, the sun has come out. :0)

I am doing well on my efforts to exercise this week so far. I have done my elliptical trainer in the garage, plus my half hour or so of yoga stretches and abdominal exercises every day. This is a 6-gold-star week so far! I will try to earn 2 more today.

The wonderful person from Tri-Hill Pest Control in Fort Smith is due here at 12:30 today. 1308 Zero St, Fort Smith, AR 72901. (479) 782-2847. He is a super nice man – PLUS since he has come and treated the house quarterly, we haven’t had a bug or pest problem. (Other than my husband.) This is a wonderful company.

Today’s project will be my kitchen desk. We use this, and the shelves above it, to have medicines and first aid stuff on hand, too, so it’s a busy area. I will try to get this area cleaned out and reorganized today.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Amazing Animals, exercise, Great Companies Who Deserve Your Business, Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob, Mother Nature, Organizing/DeCluttering, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 28, 2020 · 9:42 am

Tuesday

Inspirationfeed

In a few minutes I will drive down to get our mail and put out our trash. When I get back, I’ll spend some time on the elliptical trainer in the garage. I’m HOPING to do 20 minutes today, but I’ll do what I can and call it a win for the day. My motivation is high today. I was planning to do the elliptical MWF this week, but I’ll see what happens. :0)

My husband wanted to eat some of the South Beach pancakes this morning. The last time was a disaster, so we decided that the NEXT time we tried them, “I” would be the one who caused it. I mixed up the two packages (one for him and one for me) according to the directions. The batter was too thick. I added 2 more tablespoons. The end result was good. We used a little butter and some sugar-free syrup. It was a nice way to start the day.

I will check the garden and also see if we have ripe tomatoes to gather. It has been so hot that I have spent the minimum amount of time outside as possible. We have a 50% chance of rain today – particularly this afternoon – so I’m hopeful for a bit of a reprieve.

I am trying to choose something in the house that needs ‘healing’ (cleaning out, reorganizing, cleaning) each day. I’m not sure what today’s project will be yet. So MUCH to choose from! I’m working on large leaf bag #3 of things to donate to the Disabled Vets.

I’m re-reading book # 47 (out of 49) of the J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) “In Death” series. #50 in the series has been ordered and will arrive soon!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under DIET!, exercise, Gardening, giving, Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob, Lewis projects, Organizing/DeCluttering, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 27, 2020 · 9:37 pm

Today’s Project 7-27-2020

I love my recliner in the living room. Beside it, I have a wealth of things I’m either using all the time – or PLAN to use –  as I sit. And that’s the problem – WAAAY too much stuff on the table. It gets to the point where the piles start falling. This is yet another example of why I have to admit I’m a slob.

Trying to clear this off, clean the table, and make sense of what was left was today’s project.

It took awhile, and many trips to either relocate or throw away a lot of things, but here is the result. My husband exclaimed, “What is that? Is that a table?”  And yet he lives.

 

 

It is not perfect, but it’s MUCH better than it was! :0)

Leave a comment

Filed under Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob, Organizing/DeCluttering

Tagged as , , , ,

July 26, 2020 · 2:26 pm

Office Project 7-26-2020

I’ve been tackling my part of our home office a bit at a time.

I FINALLY got our important records and monthly bookkeeping caught up yesterday. Today I tackled the rest of the filing, my desk, and my shelves.

 

A nice thing happened as a result of this, I started feeling the wish to get rid of some stuff!

I’m going to declare victory on projects for the day, since I FINALLY have my work area reasonably organized and clean, and I will go do my yoga session for the day.

But, I’m pleased that the urge to purge is beginning to sprout. I’ll ‘water’ it and see if I can get it to sprout, starting tomorrow.

Leave a comment

Filed under Housekeeping - Maintenance, I'm a slob, Organizing/DeCluttering

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 23, 2020 · 10:07 am

A Clean Fish is a Happy Fish

My husband helps me clean out the aquarium once in about 10 times. This time he decided that we needed a better filter. I told him that I had researched the subject before and that we had the best reasonably priced filter system and filters for a 5-gallon tank. He asked me to research again and get something else, so I did.

I read and read, compared, then finally found a source that listed the ‘best’ filter systems for 5-gallon tanks. I have ordered an Aqua-Clear Filter System, plus additional inserts.  They are supposed to be delivered tomorrow.  I’ll try it and let you know.

Meanwhile, the fish have a clean tank, clean glass beads, clean decorations, lots of bubbles putting oxygen into the water, and a clean filter and system that is ‘supposed’ to handle a 10-gallon tank, but doesn’t do a stellar job on this one.

I LOVE passing the bright, clean tank with happy fish swimming around, blowing bubbles at me!

(I’m starting to get used to the ‘click-click-click’ sound the goldfish causes as he sucks a glass bead up off the bottom of the tank and lets it go again. :0))

Leave a comment

Filed under Amazing Animals, Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as , ,

July 19, 2020 · 9:55 am

Quiet, Hot Sunday

Oddetorium

We are truly into summer now, with heat indices in the 105-110 range, and hotter forecast. We are very grateful for good air conditioning and ceiling fans. One of the many perks of aging is that my personal comfort range on temperatures is becoming narrower.

I will get outside in a minute, mix up a container of KillzAll Weed Killer, and spray it around the garden area. That, and seeing if we have any ripe tomatoes will be it for being outside today.

My friends, Kay and Bud from Lunch Bunch have been making me feel like a slug lately. They are systematically going through a bunch of their stuff in their home and packing it up to get rid of it. I should be doing that, but the ‘lazies’ have me in their clutches right now, and it’s all I can do to do the bit of yard work I need to, plus exercise. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Next on my personal list of things ‘when I get motivated,’ is to use the power washer. If I can get started, it’s addictive. This year I will try to start with out outside chairs. I also need to do the deck, sidewalks, front porch, and driveway pad. I’m not sure if I can clean up our stained brick in our planters or not, but I’ll give that a try, as well. Hopefully, I will get the urge soon. :0)

I hope that you have a healthy, happy Sunday.

Leave a comment

Filed under aging, Gardening, Housekeeping - Maintenance, Mother Nature, Organizing/DeCluttering, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , ,

July 11, 2020 · 10:17 am

Scrubbing the Fish

Yesterday I scrubbed the aquarium, taking everything out, washing it, changing the filters, decorations, etc. and then filling it back up with treated water. I did everything EXCEPT scrub the fish, though I thought about it.

Due to the things I’ve learned and the changes I’ve made, I have to clean the aquarium every 1-1/2 to 2 weeks now, rather than absolutely every week. I have talked to the fish about the alleged pooping contests that I have read that goldfish have, but they don’t seem impressed with my arguments. Apparently, that is just too much fun…

 

Both fish seem healthy, and they continue to welcome me at feeding time by getting into one corner, wiggling their bodies and blowing bubbles at me until the flakes start raining down. I like it. :0)

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as , ,

July 4, 2020 · 3:19 pm

Clean for the Holiday

My fish aren’t particularly patriotic, but I thought they would appreciate having a clean tank for the Independence Day celebrations today.

JD Houston via YouTube

We have had a quiet day, other than someone in the valley below us practicing with his gun this afternoon. I was settling down for a cat nap, but decided it wasn’t in the cards when the shooting started.  I may get another chance before the evening begins.

The rain has stopped for now, and I’m hopeful we can have our cookout on the deck tonight and enjoy the neighbor’s fireworks.

Leave a comment

Filed under Amazing Animals, Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as ,

July 3, 2020 · 9:07 am

Commercial?

Tail and Fur

We are one step closer to having our ability to take as long a hot shower as we would like.

Our wonderful plumber –  Travis Hawkins, 479-461-8347 – came and looked at things. He is looking for a replacement for our water pressure tank in the well house. (It has lasted for over 30 years, so I guess we got our money’s worth.) He will get back to us when he is ready to install it for us.

Meanwhile, he suggested that we try CLR on our shower head, just in case it was clogged, slowing the water flow. (Good pressure is essential for the tankless water heater to function and continue to function.)

 

The directions said to dilute it by 50%, immerse the head in the liquid for 2 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. I did this three times, then put it back up. We have a rain water shower head, that is large and has a lot of holes. The treatment helped, but we still had a lot of clogged holes.

I took the head down again and this time immersed the head all morning. This seems to have helped significantly. I had hot water for my WHOLE shower this time!  The water pressure is still low, though, so we will replace the tank when Travis can find one and install it for us, so that we won’t be on the borderline of functionality.

But  CLR is a good product!

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Great Companies Who Deserve Your Business, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as , , , , ,

July 1, 2020 · 9:28 am

Fingers Crossed

Pinterest

Our good plumber is supposed to come today to help us figure out why the hot water in our shower is cutting off mid-shower.

We have a tankless water heater. This allows us to have all the hot water we need, regardless of how many things we run during the day or even at the same time. We are getting all the hot water we want downstairs, and in the sinks upstairs – but not the shower.

With the pandemic – plus the hot weather and working outside , we are taking even more showers than our usual one a day. My husband thinks we need a new water pressure tank in our well house. The job is too large for the two of us, so we have called our wonderful plumber to come take a look and see what he thinks will solve the problem.

I’m hoping that tonight I will be able to take a nice shower with hot water to rinse with, rather than cold… Fingers crossed!

Leave a comment

Filed under Housekeeping - Maintenance, taking care of yourself

Tagged as , , , ,

June 29, 2020 · 10:30 am

Thoughts on a Monday 6-29-2020

Storyteller Travel

I LOVE the look of humor and character on Shoebill Storks.

We are having a super humid day today. It’s like pea soup outside. The humidity is 92% right now. UGH. That said, at least the sun is not a killer, so I’ve just come in from pruning our roses bushes and cutting things back a bit.  We have a super good chance of rain today. It is cloudy and looks like it could rain any time now.

We are waiting for our plumber to come.  We have a tankless water heater that gives us lots and lots of hot water. We haven’t had to worry about running out for years. Until lately.  You have to have full water pressure to get the hot water, and it takes a bit of time for that to happen. We get it when we first step into the shower upstairs, then halfway through our shower, we get cold water, like we used to have when the tank emptied. My husband thinks we may have to get a new water pressure tank for the well house. Hopefully, we can get what we need to get our wonderful hot showers again soon. Fingers crossed.

I hope that you have a good day.

 

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Gardening, Housekeeping - Maintenance, Mother Nature, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , ,

June 26, 2020 · 9:27 am

Thoughts on a Friday 6-26-2020

Thrive Global

I’m feeling GOOD this morning. I’ve been eating very carefully since my illness and I think I’m at 100% this morning – no upset – no pain – AHHHHHH!

We have the front and back doors open this morning, bringing in a nice breeze. There is a good chance of rain today, but I’m hoping it will hold off until AFTER we get home from Lunch Bunch with our good friends. This week is the last week we have to eat at a picnic bench in the parking lot. July 1st the restaurant will open in some capacity, so next week we are back to our normal table. (We go early enough that there are usually only the two waitresses there with us, or someone coming in to grab a take-out, so I’m not worried.)  One of our friends is celebrating a birthday today, so it will be extra nice.

I finished weeding my raised bed square foot garden before I got sick, and that is still looking good. The squash plants are looking healthy, though they haven’t shot vines out yet. The little bitty celery plants are still alive. I’m going to check our tomato planters on the other side of the house this afternoon.

I’ve decided that one of the next projects will be pressure washing.

Getty Images

We have two sets of outdoor chairs that are in serious need of a good cleaning. I will also do the deck, back sidewalk, driveway pad, front sidewalk, and front porch. This will probably take several days of work, but it has been a couple or three years since I did it last time, and so is needed.

I’m working on my Important Spreadsheet, getting through the first pass on it yesterday. I need to find answers to questions, and then I’ll finish that up, print copies for several places, send the URL to our son, etc. I will put it on my calendar to check for needed updates in three months, instead of six, next time.

My husband and I decided that we needed more help and motivation on our keto eating plan. Neither of us has built up good willpower and so we have gotten lax lately, gaining several pounds. We decided to do two months of the South Beach Diet

to give us a good push toward getting back on track and losing some lard. We have signed up and are awaiting our first month’s delivery. I’m HOPING that we will be well on the way at the end of the two months. Built into the program is DIY meals, so I will still be using the good keto recipes we like – just reminded of portion size and encouraged to NOT add things we shouldn’t. Fingers crossed this will stop our bad habits and make the scales stop frowning at us.

I am awaiting an order of wooden shapes for earrings. I am in communication with a nice lady who likes these –

 

but would like them 2″ in diameter, instead of 1″, as they are on the website. She also wants them in hot pink and white. I can’t wait to get started! :0)  I also ordered some other shapes, so will dive in and see what other fun I can have.

Feeling better is making me think of spending time in my art room. Hopefully, I can get upstairs today…

Have a wonderful Friday!

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under DIET!, Family, Friendship, getting the lard off, Housekeeping - Maintenance, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds, Thoughts on a ________

June 21, 2020 · 11:46 am

Yippeeeee!

picturequotes.com

Things are quiet so far today, and for that I am truly thankful.

I’m planning to head out to my garden after lunch to catch up on the weeding in my veggie planter boxes. I’m going to TRY to transplant two celery plants I started in the kitchen recently. If I have time and energy, I’ll do more weed killer spraying. This is all dependent on our weather cooperating, though.

Our forecast is for 100% chance of rain this afternoon. We had a good shower yesterday, and more is forecast for tomorrow. I should have expected all this rain. We just finished repairing our irrigation system. :0)

Yesterday I vacuumed the first floor tiled areas (kitchen, pantry, utility room, dining area, and two half-baths.) I also did PART of the carpeted first floor area yesterday, finishing it up this morning. I’m always amazed and disgusted at how MUCH dog and cat hair, plus dirt, plus ‘whatever’ I get every time. I’m lucky to have good vacuums. I refuse to vacuum more than every other day, though, so animal hair reigns here.

I was really tired when it was time to fix dinner. My husband twisted my arm :0)  and we called in and picked up fried rice for each of us. The restaurant is still on take-out only, and has simplified to offer only the medium size, so we have plenty for dinner tonight, too. That said, I’m planning to make a loaf of keto bread this afternoon.

I hope you’re having a fine day today and doing something FUN.

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Gardening, Housekeeping - Maintenance, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , ,

June 15, 2020 · 11:46 am

Happy Fish

I just finished cleaning out the aquarium, scrubbing the fish, and putting it all back together again. (Okay – I don’t scrub the fish, but I THINK about it each time.)

 

You can see the large gold fish well, but you can’t see the WHITE gold fish.  He IS in there, just crowded out of the picture.

Leave a comment

Filed under Amazing Animals, Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as ,

June 1, 2020 · 1:47 pm

Flatulent Fish?

These fish may LOOK innocent, but the two of them are having a contest to see which of them can mess up their water more.  Their water looks pretty good until the week mark arrives and then they redouble their efforts, causing the water to go from merely murky to downright yellow-green overnight.

I have just finished emptying everything out, scrubbing everything, and putting things back together with different decorations.

Maybe they are trying to tell me they want their decorations changed?

If so, it would be MUCH nicer to blow bubbles at me in a pattern, or do body language, rather than making their wants known in such a blatant bid for attention.

 

Their water is now sparkling. The glass beads are squeaky clean and sparkling in the aquarium light. The filter is fresh and all is right with their world, although I DID ignore them just now as they collected in the corner, wriggled their little bodies and blew bubbles at me, clearly indicated they wanted to be fed THREE times today, rather than just morning and evening…

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as , , ,

May 31, 2020 · 10:39 am

Thoughts on a Sunday 5-31-2020

Penny Yaffe Krakow

We are having another gorgeous day with lots of sunshine and low humidity – a wonderful combination!  Since we have gone from dark, gray, cold, rainy weather day after day to bright, sunshiny, soon-to-be-hot weather here, today will have two projects:

PROJECT ONE:   Changing from winter closet to summer closet.

 

Depositphotos

My closet doesn’t look this bad, but it will take a lot of moving to get cold weather clothes out and hot weather clothes in. I will try, over the next few days, to try on each thing, making decisions about what to do with the things that don’t fit. Some of the things –

  • I like, and MAY fit with more lardage loss (I will put these in with the cold weather clothes)
  • will be folded up and included in the next donation to the Disabled Vets in Fort Smith Thrift Shop
  • will be thrown away.

The remainder will be organized as well as possible, in the hope I can put my hands on things quickly and easily.

PROJECT TWO – cleaning out the garden.

The day is perfect for work outside.  My lettuce and spinach are starting to bolt, so it’s time to harvest what I can and compost the rest.  I can at least pull the plants, but it may take a day or two longer to put the garden to rights. I plan to check the co-op in town next week to see if they have anything I would like to plant.

I hope that you are enjoying a beautiful last day of May, too.

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Housekeeping - Maintenance, Lewis projects, Organizing/DeCluttering, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , ,

May 23, 2020 · 11:54 am

Flourishing Fish

My husband and I cleaned out the aquarium this morning, putting in a new decoration after taking everything out, cleaning, replacing the filter, putting in freshly treated water, etc. I didn’t actually scrub the fish, themselves, but I have a feeling they would not look kindly on that.

I got the new decoration at the exclusive emporium of Walmart. The fish seem to like it. They immediately checked it out, swimming around and around it, hoping it was edible.

I don’t really know much about fish, but I have never had any fish grow like these two have. Each was about an inch-and-a-half at most when I bought them. The whiter looking gold fish is about 3 inches long now, or twice as large as it was. The gold fish is at least 4 inches long now, maybe more. I had to get a larger mesh fish scooper because the gold fish would no longer fit in the smaller one.

I have talked to them about the possibility of them learning a trick or two, but so far, all they express interest in is feeding time…

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as , ,

May 20, 2020 · 10:20 am

Thoughts on a Wednesday 5-20-2020

source unknown

I have found this to be good advice – smiles are contagious, and they make you AND the recipient feel better.

That said, I just had words with my husband. He was in our home office, working at the computer, so I decided I would use the opportunity to vacuum the 1st floor carpeting. Suddenly, he and Amber, our 95-pound yellow lab,

were in the living room with me. They decided to go out on the back porch, but we had the door open, creating a nice breeze. I was vacuuming and suddenly was hit with 95 pounds of dog flying into me, trying to go after the ball my husband threw for her. I scowled at him, and he grinned sheepishly at me, after helping me up. The SECOND time the dog came flying past me, getting tangled in the cord, I put her out on the porch and shut the door. I finished vacuuming and put the dog bed back down in the living room. I opened the back door to allow husband and dog back into the house. The next thing I knew, the dog was flying for the ball into the front of the living room into her bed, sliding about three feet with the slobbery ball and bed. I then told my husband in no uncertain terms that I had vacuumed in the living room in order not to bother him in the office, and that consideration seemed to be only going one way this morning.  He agreed, grinned again, hugged me, and sat down to read in his chair. (It is now time to look at the picture and suggestion above again.) 

National Geographic

We trapped Raccoon # 3 of the season overnight and so took a trip to relocate him first thing this morning. I have a nice mental picture of him finding the two others we have relocated so far this season and having a happy reunion far enough away that they won’t return to our home. My husband cleaned out the humane trap, had to replace the plastic bowl we use to hold the bait because the raccoon trashed it, and refilled our bird feeders. We have no idea how large the current raccoon family is. We’ll see if we get all the bird seed cleaned out tonight.

We have had two absolutely perfect weather days,

Clipart Library

and I can’t sing high enough praises. I like rain, but it starts to be depressing when you get day after day of cool, gray, rainy weather. I am smiling at the sunshine, trying to encourage Mother Nature to provide more of this.  Since it’s supposed to be nice today, I’m planning to do some weed whacking in the area behind the shop and beside the veggie garden, where my husband can’t use the riding mower. When I get that all cut down, I’ll also spray some weed killer right around the big trash barrels that hold the ingredients of Mel’s Mix for the garden, plus around the propane tank that serves the shop. I’ll take some pics when things are presentable.

I hope that you are safe and well, having a happy day.

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Gardening, Housekeeping - Maintenance, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , , ,

May 18, 2020 · 3:13 pm

Thoughts on a Monday 5-18-2020

Marabou Stork-photographer unknown via Penny Yaffe Krakow

 

If I come back to the world as something else one day, I either want to be this Marabou stork (above) or a shoebill stork (below.)

San Diego Zoo Animals and Plants

I love both of these birds. They are ugly – and they look like they have a sense of humor – like they’ll say something to make you laugh any minute. A great combination!

The sun is finally shining here!!!!  We have had an entire week of rain, storms, gusty winds, gray days.  It was SO nice to have to put on my sunglasses when we ran a couple of errands earlier today!

I fixed a big salad this morning. I will offer to share it with my husband, but he has some things he really likes, instead. I will eat part for lunch and the rest as part of my dinner. It’s wonderful to be able to use spinach and lettuce from our own garden in it! :0)

My husband is going to try to mow the yard later today, if it will dry up more. We are actually watching the grass grow now that the sun has come out.

I’m going to play in my art room this afternoon, trying to finish up a new idea I had.

Have a fun day!

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Gardening, Healthy Eating, Housekeeping - Maintenance, playing in my art room, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , ,

May 15, 2020 · 2:17 pm

Feisty Fish

My two feisty gold fish have a new lease on life since my husband pitched in and helped me clean the aquarium out today. I usually do this alone, but my husband is feeling sorry for me since I caught my toe on the corner of our bed and am limping around.

Together we can do the whole job from start to finish in half an hour.

The fish don’t complain when the water needs to be changed, and they don’t praise us when the water is squeaky clean, but I KNOW they appreciate having new decorations, as they check everything out thoroughly each time we change the water.

They both got in the corner of the tank, wriggled their bodies and blew bubbles at me until I fed them again – even though I fed them as usual this morning.

Happy, feisty fish are a lot of fun to have in a family.

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as , ,

April 26, 2020 · 10:51 am

Fresh Fish

I love watching my fish check out the different decorations I put in their home each time I clean the aquarium.  They don’t say much about the changes, but they wriggle harder and blow lots of bubbles, so I know they are interested.  You can only see the white gold fish in this pic, unless you know that the orange curved ‘stripe’ on the right side of the tank is the orange one. He is about 4 inches long now.  I like seeing the brightly lit tank, the sparkling clean water, the bubbles of the aerator, and the fish chasing each other. I talk to them – making bright conversation – but they don’t engage in spritely repartee.  It’s a nice, quiet, appreciative relationship.

Leave a comment

Filed under Amazing Animals, Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as ,

April 19, 2020 · 4:19 pm

Pooping Contest

Even though the fish grumbled, my husband helped me clean the aquarium today. I asked for help because I have now changed to a filter for a 10-gallon tank even though ours is a 5-gallon.  The part that hangs the filter system on the tank didn’t want to go on, so I enlisted his expertise.

I only have the two fish you see here. The whiter one has grown to be about two times as large as he was when I bought him about a year or so ago now. The gold one has increased in size at least three, and maybe four times. He’s a monster now.

I didn’t realize when I bought them that gold fish have a well-earned reputation for pooping. I realize that fish need to, but these two wrote the book on it! I guess it’s like being on lockdown. They have nowhere to GO. Not much to DO. No HOBBIES to get involved in. Still, one would think they could devise games to play in there, rather than having pooping contests.

I am cleaning their tank once a week in order to keep the water sparkling clean most of the time. It gets a bit cloudy, and then, suddenly, the water is GREEN and desperately needs to be changed. I have read lots of articles on the subject. I’m following all the suggestions. It’s a good thing that I find these two fish NICE. I enjoy having the aquarium and love the look of it when it’s nice and squeaky clean.

Maybe one day they will listen to my not-so-subtle suggestions and get with the program…

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as , , ,

April 17, 2020 · 3:20 pm

Funny Fish

I’m beginning to suspect a conspiracy.

Usually, my fish look a bit ‘put out’ (miffed?)  when I carefully put them back in the aquarium once I’ve cleaned it out, changing everything.  They don’t say anything, just swim around checking everything out.

Yesterday when I put them back in, they went back and forth blowing bubbles and looking at me. I’m beginning to suspect that they are pooping even MORE prolifically than usual because they actually LIKE have new decorations to look at.  I tapped on the glass as they swam back and forth. They stopped, came up to my finger, blew bubbles and then went on their way.

A challenging way to communicate, in my opinion. Maybe I can encourage them to make signs –

  • LIKE this bathtub!
  • More beads, please
  • FEED US!
  • You’re funny looking!

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Tagged as ,

April 9, 2020 · 10:01 am

Thoughts on a Thursday 4-9-2020

David Zinn Art via Penny Yaffe Krakow

Even though I want to bite him in the leg at times, I’m thankful this morning that my husband and I are riding the pandemic out together. Even though I am trying to reach out to the others who mean a lot to me via text, email and phone, REAL HUGS are hugely important to me. So I hug my husband; hug my dogs, Amber and Molly; hug my cats, Smoke and Abby, every day. I don’t hug my 2 gold fish, but we smile at each other.  :0)

I’m even grateful that I work my head off each day, trying to tackle a different part of my house to heal. I’m a slob, and I hate housekeeping, but there is a sense of accomplishment when an area that was a mess gradually becomes an area we can enjoy spending time again.  (We’re looking forward to having our lunch on the screened in back porch today!)

Today’s project is two-fold: 1) weed whacking the areas my husband can’t reach with the mower. We have gone from looking like no one had lived here for several months – with 8-inch-or-so high weeds, to an area that is starting to look not only like someone lives here now, but also like someone cares. My husband was really steamed that he had to mow in March – an affront to fairness in his mind – but he has now mowed twice since then, wanting to feel happy about the yard again.   So I will use the hand-held weed whacker to clean up the edges, the area under the deck, etc. where he can’t reach, and then clean everything up with the leaf blower. 2) The other part of today’s project will be buying and planting tomato plants! (Yeagers Hardware is open and they have plants today.) I will visit my veggie garden and see how things are going.  (Pics later.)

I am hopeful we will get past this awful time and once again we will feel free to HUG our friends without putting them in jeopardy.

I hope you have someone to hug, physically or virtually, today.

Leave a comment

Filed under Family, Gardening, Health Alert, Housekeeping - Maintenance, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds, Thoughts on a ________

Tagged as , , , , ,