It's Not Quilting . . .

Thursday evening, Honey Do was helping me with groceries. Specifically, cutting up a watermelon while I finished making dinner.  He grumbled the whole time - it was warranted. Supplies get pulled out and not usually put away. I always intend to, but never seem to get back to it. 

Friday morning, I restocked, purged, organized and cleaned the kitchen.

I started here. This is a built in desk. It's more storage and a catch all than a desk. It's where the bread machine lives because it has a dedicated outlet and is out of the way when I do need to use it. It's also where Honey Do drops off his lunchbox after work and stays there over the weekend. It's also where the fresh fruit is so it's easy to add to his lunch.

It took less than an hour. It led to a little reorganizing in one of the cabinets, which needed the attention as well. You can't tell, but there is a loaf of bread baking in the bread machine for the weekend.

 

Next up, the main counter.

 

The microwave lives here permanently. I wish there was a better place, but an outlet is the issue. Everything else is just clutter and clean dishes that just need to be put away.

All the clutter on top of the microwave was dealt with. The only things there now are the recipes I need for the coming week's menu and our butter for toast. All of the dishes were put away and new ones were done and added. Things that can't go in the dishwasher. I still need to get that light cord out of my way, otherwise, done.

Lastly, the counter on the other side of the sink.

 This is another catch all area, so frustrating.

The egg basket for the duck eggs, coffee pot and compost bin sit on this counter. Dirty dishes land here after meals waiting to go in the dishwasher or wash by hand, whichever they need. Normally, it isn't this bad.

 

 And done.

 

Once I finished all this, I took care of some apples before they went bad.

 

We had apple crisp for dessert :)

One final area that needed a little attention was my canning jars.

 

I don't know how much canning I'll have to do, but every time they went on sale at the local big box, we bought a few cases. I have all the sizes, but it seems we mostly use the pints in an effort to not waste food. Sometimes, the quarts are just too much for one or two meals. We've already run out of apple sauce from last year. 

I was able to do the organizing because I had to clean up this area to make room for the new water heater and boiler to come into the house. Prior to those repairs, this was another area of a cluttered mess. 

This unit is like a locker room at school. We don't really use it for that, so I thought it was the perfect place to store the jars and the egg cartons. I was going to work on this space this week before all the repairs took priority.

I've been trying to do the de-cluttering and organizing since the beginning of the year. I signed up with Joy at Days Filled With Joy, but I fell off the wagon. I'm glad to be back on it and feeling really good about my progress.

Off to do some stitching . . .
 

Scrap Happy - June 2023

 We turned another calendar page. Am I the only one shocked by the fact that it's already June 15 !!??

Thank you Kate for hostessing this blog post. Follow the link to see what everyone else has been working on.

As for me . . . a lot, just not in the sewing room. I've spent almost all my waking hours the last two months in the garden . . .

Hauling soil

Filling in beds

Weeding and mulching

 

Growing garden

The gardens look great, in my humble opinion.

The sewing room. . .

not so much.

The water heater went out Sunday afternoon. Some of my fabric was stored in the laundry room and had to come out to make room for the replacement. Honestly, I haven't had time to put it away. The water heater was replaced on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday, the boiler was replaced. We knew both were going to need replacing in less than five years from purchasing our house two years ago. In fact, the last service on the boiler said we would be lucky to get two more years. That takes two major expenses off of the to-do list. It's gotten a whole lot shorter. And thank God for His provisions. We are truly blessed.

I received another blessing over the weekend.

Honey Do working on a semi-secret project for me.

When we moved in, we found a frame to what I thought was a chair. Well, it was a garden bench. Honey Do started sanding and grinding away all the rust, he painted it, cut and stained the lumber and then enlisted Sister and I to paint the motif on the back supports. Then he assembled it.

Now it sits proudly in the front garden. Isn't it beautiful? Someone else's scrap has become my treasure. I'm such a lucky girl !!

So a new month begins. I'll start by sending this pile of scrap flannel to a friend for her guild service project. 

 

Then cleaning and putting things away. There are lots of plans for sewing scraps and getting busy sewing in general, especially since the garden will be less demanding going forward.

Have a scrap happy month.

Catching Up

It has been a busy few weeks around our yard. There's been Memorial Day to celebrate and remember. There's been lots of yard and garden work. It's finally coming to some conclusions in some areas.

 

 

I redid the Welcome Post that Honey Do made for me last summer. All the decorations came from Dollar Tree !! What a great store. I find some of the cutest things there.

The front flower beds are still pretty sparse, but things did come back like this brown iris . . .

 

The variegated lupines that my sister so generously shared . . .

 

 

The purple iris.

We are very conscientious of the plight of pollinators, so in an effort to do our part I have been choosing new perennials that will attract them. I believe this is a type of Lobelia. It's one of the first flowers to bloom in our back garden.

I transplanted a lot of irises and it appears most of them are the purple variety. The peach colored rose bud is another climber that Honey Do found last year on clearance.

As that peach bud opens, it becomes more

 

 

and more white. I just love it.

The vegetable garden is mostly done. Even after putting up the retaining walls, I added a bit more space to the garden. Here we've planted pole beans, cabbage, cauliflower, celery and kohlrabi.

In this section, we've planted peppers, herbs and a few tomatoes that were gifted to us. Sister is already volunteering to help with canning. I am so blessed. These pictures don't show it, but the gardens have been mulched to help with water retention. It's been at least two weeks now since we've had any rain.

 

 

Two more blessings, Rocky and Honey Do enjoying some snuggle time on the porch.

And this is how I start most of my days, breakfast on the porch :)

It's my paradise, my refuge, my happy place. I can't even imagine being anywhere else.

 

Because of all the gardening the last month, there hasn't been any sewing or stitching. That should be rectified soon.