This Week In My Home: Busy as a Bee

This week in my home...


...I lost my way last week.  This week I'm renewing my purpose: get my home and yard spring ready.  The yard doesn't require much from me so that's not the big thing.  I want to finish off the spring cleaning indoors so I can make my way outdoors to the porch and patio next.  I need to do some things to the main living/dining room and work on the kitchen a bit more.  Not so a hard task to say it like that, but it's coming nearer the Passover mark which means the kitchen really must be deep cleaned.  I think subconsciously I put it off because I realized it was near and I wanted this task done nearer the end of spring cleaning. 

Why did I lose my way last week?  I went out to rake leaves and pick up limbs one day and then had a nosebleed which made John command me to stay indoors out of the pollen, sigh.  This happened last year and the year before too, and it's really an old story but every time I have a nose bleed he worries.  It's easier to do as he says and let his worries die down.  I still have medications the doctor gave me to use to offset the problem and have had no further incidences on that end.  But then I dropped a stupid 1 liter water bottle on my foot and bruised it.  I was commanded to sit and keep ice on it, which probably saved me some awesome bruising because what I have is huge and looks like a big smudge of dirt on top of my foot, lol.  Then John insisted we take a day out and somehow I wrenched my hip.  I took something for the pain on Friday morning and that promptly put me to sleep for three hours or so and there was that day gone by the time I got over being groggy and finally got routine stuff done. 


What I did manage last week was over half the yard work that I deemed mine to do, and I managed to sort of almost spring clean the laundry.  There's still work to be done back there.  I just got a good beginning on that job.  Then I determined I wanted to redo the back entry wall/shelf.  I lucked out and found three items at the antiques mall for less than $6 and I've put those in frames.  I put those with a few more of my things and it made up a lovely set.  I've asked John to hang them all for me.  But if my hip stops aching, I'm likely to attempt the job myself...

What shall I do this week?  Let's push ahead and see.

...I plan my work week:

I made out bills on Friday, but I'll need to take a day to mail them, run errands, do banking and buy groceries.  The usual round of Harvest activity.

I will strip slipcovers and wash them.  I have pen marks on the chair seat that Josh left here way back at Christmas.  High time I got that tended to.

I need to sort out the linen drawer in the buffet.  Overall the living area could use just a good hard routine cleaning and it will be good.

In the kitchen this week, I will clean the walls near the stove as well as under the stove hood.  Not y favorite task but it must be done.

Clean the oven.  Another 'ugh' job.  Thankfully the oven is not too bad, but I always feel it's hard to clean because it's a gas oven.  I don't feel comfortable just spraying it with Easy Off the way I could the electric one!

Go through the kitchen and pantry and gather all the items that contain yeast in one spot in the freezer or cabinet so I can easily see and focus upon what we need to use up or must throw out as we get near Passover.

Clean and wipe the insides of the baking cabinet and glass and plate cupboards.  Cull items as I clean.

Clean and stock the main food cupboard from the pantry supplies.  This will ultimately save steps when making meals as I shouldn't have to run to the back pantry to grab basic items during meal prep. 

Create and implement a restock list so I can make one trip to the back every few days instead of four or five times a day.

Pantry and freezer inventories.

Finish that yard work I started.  I should really be able to do it all in under two hours.

Get my closet back in order and make up outfits for the coming weeks.

Make more tortillas.

All the usual routine stuff: laundry, dishes, meals, daily floors, trash, pets, etc.

...I plan my menus:

Not so many menus this week.  John is working 2 extra half days and his usual full day this week.  That means I am on my own for 3 days except for breakfasts.

It's meant to warm up and I know John would much appreciate one of his favorite warmer weather meals:
Tuna Pasta Salad, Saltines, Fresh Fruit Bowls

Chicken Tenders, French Fries, Green Beans, Tossed Salad

Ground Sirloin Steaks, Wild Rice, Spring Salad of Carrots, peas, radishes and lettuce

Italian Sausage Roasted with Vegetables, Green Salad

...I plan my leisure:

It may not sound like leisure to you all but I want to do a mini fashion course.  I've already determined I am a 'romantic' (duh...) but I have several web sites I plan to spend my spare time going through and learning what I might do differently.

Work on outfits for spring. Yep, it's work and it's play.

Start now planning for a trip somewhere during the late spring.  I don't know where we're going.  I'll be gathering prices and looking at possible spots and such and then run the best of the best by John.  I'm starting now because for all his spontaneous self, there's always a lot of back and forth before we get to the part where he'll 'suddenly' decide what we'll do and where we'll go. 

Read.  I have another book going and a stack of vintage magazines for April, plus the three new ones I picked up at the antique mall last week. 

I also have a project of sorts, gathering some poetry I've written for the Poet's Group I joined at church.  I need to copy these pieces off and perhaps tweak them a little bit.  This too will be leisure since I have a month to get these things together.

5 comments:

Delorise said...

Everything is coated in yellow here. I watched a tree standing alone in a field as the wind blew--you could just see the haze of yellow blowing off it. I cleaned interior of hubbys' truck for his upcoming birthday-when he suggested I wash it also, I told him that would be a total waste of my time- it will be coated again in pollen in just minutes. Spring is definitely here- I just hope we have a long one before going into those hot summer days. My one goal in the upcoming week is to get the garage closet cleaned out and organized. Since it is going to be a major chore-that achievement will make me really happy. Hope your foot is okay. Have a great week.

rebecca said...

How you get everything done that you do absolutely amazes me!

susie @ persimmon moon cottage said...

I am needing to do a lot of spring cleaning in our house. Everything is looking grungy to me. I get a little done each day, but need to get more done. I have knee shots coming up in a couple of weeks, hopefully I'll be able to get more done after they take effect.

I'm looking forward to getting outside and doing a bit of cleaning up in my flower beds. But so far this season, it seems on the days when I plan to go out and get some work done the weather gets wacky, or too much pollen is flying in the wind. It's still pretty early in the season here, so I think I can pull it all together before seed planting time.

Does anyone else sometimes get to feeling if they didn't have to stop and fix supper, and clean up after,it would be easier to accomplish a lot more in a day. I seem to lose all of my get up and go after supper and then I'm done for the day.

Terri, I agree with Rebecca's comment. Everything you get done amazes me too!

Susie D.

Tammy said...

I've printed the tortilla recipe you like so much. Will give that a try for fajitas this week. We have a hard time finding wheat tortillas that are thin enough and not like folding a piece of bread around the filling.

Lana said...

Our big project that must be done is getting stain on our 900 sq ft deck. We suffered burn out from all the projects last year and put it off last fall and oh how wish we had not! We are just going to do it bit by bit as we can. First is the pressure washing and I told hubby this AM that even if we only wash a few feet a day it will be progress. I have a mending job to do on the huge braided rug in our living room. It is dusting week for the whole house and kitchen chairs and all the picture frames and light fixtures. It is also the week the the carpet gets vacuumed. We only have carpet in rooms that sit empty here so they are bi-weekly. Glass cleaning is on this weeks list which is all the full storm doors and anywhere else that needs attention. It is also laundry room cleaning week. I hope to also get to the one guest bed that needs to be stripped and washed and remade.

Baked spaghetti from the freezer is on tonight's menu. Tuesday we are meeting the couple who found my husband down in the parking lot after his heart attack for dinner. I hope to grill some chicken if we have a clear day on Wednesday and Salmon is on the menu for Thursday. Friday night we have two grandchildren overnight and it is Chick fil A and the play area for dinner. Saturday night is always pizza night here with the dough made in the bread machine.

Have a productive week everyone!