It was gusty and windy the other day and I kept saying "Doesn't it sound like March outside?" Usually it's just the day I've got wrong but this time it was the month. For whatever reason, that day I was sure it was April and it's taken me nearly all week long to realize that it's still March. I think my thoughts just rushed ahead of the end of March to start planning April and stayed there!
All my planning thus far has been mental. Now it's time to get my thoughts down in writing and make my goals for the month.
Yard: Because my head won't let me think of a thing else until I get the yard plans down I will start with that first. I bought a rose bush and two clematis that I want to get planted during the first week of April. The directions on the rose bush says the spot must be 18 inches X 18 inches wide and be cultivated down to a depth of 2 feet. It needs a spot where there are at least 4-6 hours sunlight. I'm thinking the flower bed outside the living room window may be my top choice for a spot for it. We shall see if I can stand the work required to plant that bush. I'm not half so concerned about what it will take to plant the clematis.
Finish cleaning the back porch rafters and rails. Get the front porch rails cleaned, as well. The back rails held up well this winter despite the many days of rain but the parts I didn't get to last autumn before it got cold still look pretty awful. I'm less concerned about painting them as that can be done in small bites all through the warmer days ahead but they must be full cleaned before I can start the painting. The back porch floor also needs a fresh coat of paint. We have that paint on hand as well. I'll go to work on that one morning this month while John is gone.
Get my planters ready for planting. Several plants will hopefully return from last year. The Dianthus already look pretty good but they need to be repotted. I don't know if the Angelonia will return this year or not. The chrysanthemum stems must be cut. There's a hydrangea that must be planted into a bigger pot. I think I'm going to plant it where I've had the Hibiscus the past two summers.
I need to dig up a lot of daylily and reset them and get those iris Josh and I dug up last fall and plant those. Bess took hers home in February and planted them and doggone if they haven't bloomed this month. I think that girl might have a really green thumb.
John suggested yesterday that I wait until Sam could take his truck to the store and buy my mulch and blocks. Well I won't! Sam barely has time to complete jobs on his own place. John just doesn't want to haul things in the car, but as I told him today, either I get things to work with or I never get to the tasks I most want to complete. I'm resigned to just going weekly and buying what I can haul home. I'd give much if he'd just buy a truck that I could rely on and drive but he doesn't and so I will do what I must.
Home: I have a myriad of projects for the house. I want to finish that chifforobe, at least the outside part of it. I want to get the headboard for the guest bedroom painted and I want to do something to freshen up that worn old sewing machine of Big Mama's. I also want to change out the quilt in the guest room, which means I must also change out the curtains, which is done easily enough.
I will change out the bedding in our room. I would really like lace panels at the windows in the living and dining area so I'm looking for some that are pretty and reasonable...I'd like to put up fresh curtains and panels in our bedroom...but we shall see. I am getting ahead of myself really as I haven't a thing new to go into any room but I do feel I'm ready for at least a small change. I have to have a bed skirt before I can change out to my lighter warm weather spread. So shopping will be in order this month either to buy fabric or to buy said skirt and curtain panels.
I have pictures to hang in my bedroom and want to sort through what I have to see if I've anything pretty to go on the guest room walls. I may need more frames. Really the main focus will be on the two bedrooms though I shall likely continue to hone my 'English Country' look as much as possible if I find any new components.
I want to continue my zone work with a little deep cleaning throw in. I need to clean the ivory rocker. And I'd love to paint the doors that lead into the living room and little hall way at the guest bedroom end of the house. That bathroom door needs a coat of paint as well.
Get the oscillating fans cleaned up. John wants to buy new fans this year. Ours are pretty old, something close to ten years and they've lasted well but they are noisy and sometimes don't oscillate or won't keep their head straight. If I see a decent price on any I'll go on and buy at least two to replace those that see the most use each warm season. And in the meantime the fans we have will be clean and ready to use.
I really want to get that shed in shape before the really hot weather arrives. That means focusing on what is needed, like shelving and a couple more bins to get things organized and making a real effort to determine what I shall donate and get it to the donation centers. I want this DONE so I shall just spend the money to get what I require to get it done.
I've been ignoring a small problem with a household appliance and I really need to stop and get focused on it before it becomes a major problem. I'll tend to that this first week of April even if it means I must call a repairman.
Food/Pantry/Menus: I accidentally wiped out my food board on Pinterest, but no real harm done. Anyway, I started a new board for warmer weather. While we've relied mostly on beans and rice for meatless meals this winter, I am thinking we'll lean more heavily on salads and thin soups this summer for our main courses. I have never really built up as large a recipe file for summer months which is rather silly when you consider how warm it gets so early here and stays warm so long into the fall.
I want to get the new shelf unit and at least one more big bin for my pantry storage.
I'm going to continue to stock up on meats and I'm also going to focus on flour, corn, olive oil. All of these items have been affected by cold or flooding (late or no planting due to flooding in the Midwest this year will affect beef, wheat and corn crops). I expect the peach crop here has been affected as we've had frosts in the past week and the peach trees had already been frosted while in bloom. So I'll look for canned peaches to stock up on as well. I know there are a couple of other that also will be higher in price this year, or say they predict. I'll find the list and post it on the blog so everyone is aware.
I wanted to go find the blog post I mentioned where things were mentioned about possible higher cost or shortages:
https://cherylsfrugalcorner.blogspot.com/2019/03/time-for-concern-stocking.html
I want to continue with the meal prep morning each week. That really did cut down on work time and made my weeks far more productive this past month...or I would have been more productive if I hadn't used up most of the saved time as added leisure time. But I did enjoy it! So yes, this is a keeper for sure and I will continue to do a day of prep for meals each week.
Finances: One goal I had for April has already been met. I had a windfall that I am going to use to cover our vacation expenses this year. I'd meant to get that savings ramped up this month but now it's not necessary. Instead I will focus on adding to our newer savings account.
While I'm amping up savings I want to start trimming down on grocery costs overall. I can stand to do that now that the freezer is so much more full and the pantry is better stocked. I can afford to wait on good sales or focus on one item at a time and build up a stockpile on less than I've been spending these last three months.
And then our church has a special fundraising project that I would really like to contribute to. We have two months to get together the donation amount. I'm going to do all I can to do this.
Personal: I'm pretty satisfied with my current wardrobe options. I am going to look for accessories: light scarves, kimonos, flats or sandals, a straw bag, perhaps a straw hat or two to round out my wardrobe and give it a little more oomph. I think I have plenty of good costume jewelry to work with but if I find something nice on clearance that I like I'll likely buy it.
I listened to a lot of music this past month and I honestly believe it has been very beneficial to me in keeping anxiety from doing more than nipping at my heels now and then. I found two new artists I've enjoyed listening to and it's spurred me to try and make music a part of every day.
I'll continue playing about with my crochet and working at creative projects which feed my muse so that I find fresh inspiration for writing the blog. I have a four inch square bit that I haven't felt the need to pull apart and that's further than I've progressed yet. Maybe I will get that dish cloth made after all!
I also have felt adrift the past month as I sat about and waited on pollen counts to slow down so that I could stand to be outdoors. The pollen are a little decreased and what is producing at present does not seem to bother me as much as those blooming a few weeks ago. I plan to be more active this month and to get more things done.
While I've continued on with my Bible studies, we seldom have a sermon on in the house any more. I'm going to remedy that and try to have at least one sermon on daily. We have a lot of CDs and we have YouTube and we can access lots of things. I think we need that extra daily boost.
I did not read at all this past week but I did finish three books this past month. I'd like to set a small stack of books next to my chair and try to work my way through them during April....besides the stack of English decorating books I already have by my chair. I do actually read those, too, they aren't just picture books.
And I really want to get busy on that forgotten new blog I meant to have up and running by now. I had such plans! Certainly I would rather spend my time working on such as that rather than sitting about wasting time on nothing much. I find more and more I want my hours to be as productive as possible at least for the main working part of the day. I do believe in leisure time but I've about had a glut of it these past two months.
And that's my goals for April. What are yours?
5 comments:
We have to make a trip to visit my elderly parents the end of the month. This will be tough for my husband but I did book a cottage near them so that We have a place of our own. We will take two days each way so that he does not become overwhelmed by travel and so I have booked those hotels so that there is nothing to cause him to worry. This will the first big trip away from home and I am praying all goes well so that we can travel more to our kids homes. , Our daughter is begging us to come to Europe, too. We will see.
I love reading your goals...sounds like a busy month for you! I would think that you would certainly want to get the bulk of the hard work done outside as I can’t imagine how hot and humid your summers are. I think it’s hot and humid here! I agree with you about the mulch...do it a little at a time and eventually it will be done. I’m sure between working, the young children, and the house projects, Sam is quite busy.
I was down with colds too much this past month, but since I didn’t have a cold/flu all winter, I shouldn’t complain too much. Several “night shifts” as you say too. It’s so wearing to worry about grown children, especially one that isn’t finishing some medical therapies to help his head pain. I have been praying a lot. This month will be spent preparing for planting (putting our homemade compost on our raised garden beds, fruit trees, raspberries, and perennials. I must give all the flower beds a good weeding as I never do that in late summer/fall as I get tired of the outside work, so must be done now. Then, as the perennials start to grow toward the end of the month, I really have to split many of them before they get too big. I still have a bit of pruning on the roses, hydrangea and crabapple tree to do. I am hoping to plant two more white pine on the side of our home to help give more privacy from the neighbors, especially while on the front porch. We had a large spruce tree die in that spot and I miss not seeing the neighbors house so well (or them us). I bought some hostas and astilbe to put in front of my hydrangeas in root form, so those should go in the next warm day we have. Other than that, I am making sure my seed starts stay watered.
Inside the house, I do need to make another batch of soap and some salve. I give soap away and am almost all out. It takes 4 weeks to cure. My last batch of salve didn’t have enough beeswax to set up as hard as I would like, plus I now have tea tree oil to add in so I will make a new batch. I am still working on all my cupboards and will just keep doing a few every weekend until I am done. It’s time to rotate the mattresses this coming week when I wash the sheets. I am hoping to hang them on my front porch or have my husband put up the clothesline. Hopefully we will have a warmer day or two. I am itching to wash all the heavy blankets and hang them outside too. We usually wait until the middle of April to clean off the porch and put the porch furniture outside, even though sometimes we get snow through the end of the month. I just can’t wait to put up my porch swing!
Other than that, my youngest son’s baseball season will start later this month. I can’t believe he is the last one in sports. I homeschool our boys and my 17 yo will be graduating this June so I am also down to our youngest there. Things have changed so much these past few years, and some of them in a heartbreaking way that I am still trying to heal from. We are celebrating my parent’s 50th anniversary this month too and I need to do some preparation for that too.
For fun, I ordered a few of the books you mentioned (Scent of Water, and a Grace Livingstone book that I can’t remember the name of, but you said it had a lot of homekeeping in it). I also ordered a few more Margaret Jensen books. Her books are very inspirational to me and I started with “First We Have Coffee” and “Papa’s Place”.. I am looking forward to reading more in the evening and forgetting the computer to relax. I am so very much looking forward to summer so we can get off the school schedule. I can get much more done. I’m also looking forward to getting more exercise with daily walks and gardening now that nicer weather is coming. It seems like I never notice how much weight crept on during the winter until March! Hopefully that will come off with a more active spring and not so much comfort food! Here’s to a lovely month Terri! Hugs to you!
Something I’ve done over the years that’s made paint touch ups much easier is to fill one lidded canning jar with wall paint and one with trim/cabinet/door paint. I keep them under my kitchen sink with a very small paintbrush and they’re quick and easy to grab and dab when I find scuffs or smudges that need to be touched up. So much easier than pulling out an entire gallon can of paint. With a quick shake of the jar the paint is mixed and ready to use. And it prevents me from having to repaint an entire surface. 😄
Lana, I didn't realize you'd not traveled at all except to the lake house since your husband's accident. Good luck with the visit to your mom and dad. A trip to see those grandchildren in Europe would be a big thing wouldn't it?
Karen, I think your month (season?) ahead sounds pretty busy so far as your plans go. And yes, dear, those night watches are hard duty. I'm right there with you though I'm not worrying. I am waiting, because it all has to work out in the end, though I can't see how it will!
Carolyn, that's a great tip! Thank you for sharing it.
I think my biggest goal for April is to spend some time in the sun. This was a HARD Kansas winter. Not so much the snow, but the cold. We usually get a couple of warmer days here & there to thaw out, but I don't think we had any. It got cold (& snowed) in mid October and I feel like I haven't been warm since. I lost virtually all my energy, slept way more than normal, & just don't feel very good. I feel like I'm sun deprived. The sun came out this morning and I immediately perked up. It was overcast all week.
As for warm weather menus, do you use an outdoor grill at all? Ours is a hassle to take out & use so we generally do several things at a time. (the wind in KS makes it impossible to leave it out) So, I'll usually have my husband do about a dozen hamburger patties, a pile of chicken, & some tenderloins all in one session. We just freeze the patties so we can have burgers once a week. I chop the chicken for salads or wraps and we eat the whole pieces as is. I rarely rarely use the oven in summer as the kitchen is in the SW corner of the house, surrounded by windows, & is a torture chamber. I also try to prepare meals in the early morning so in the evening, it's only necessary to assemble them. We've had deviled eggs, a tuna pasta salad, BLTs (of course!), & pitas with hummus for dinners. I will use the crock pot in summer.
Carolyn, I love your paint idea. Great way to keep everything looking fresh.
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