This Month's Grocery Spending 2023 – May

I will keep this short and sweet because I didn’t do a whole lot of shopping this month.  As the pantry challenge continues I pretty  much just picked up dairy and some fresh produce.  A few items too for camping and BBQs such as buns, hotdogs and relish.  I did stock up on breakfast cereal too.  I think this is a pretty boring grocery shopping post to be honest.  But sometimes, that’s good because it also means I didn’t very much money either.

 

Hamburgers & potato salad
I ate great! 😋

I'll try to be more exciting next month.  Did you happen across any great deals this month?

  

My Tireless Retirement - Week 60

 

Hello my friends.  Today is Memorial Day in the U.S. and a time for many to remember lost loved ones as well as veterans that gave all they had to give while fighting for our freedom.  I know a lot of loved ones are sitting heavy on my mind today, but I am comforted in knowing someday we’ll be reunited in Heaven.  I am also truly grateful to my family members that have served in the armed forces and to those that continue to serve.

 

Another project filled week has flown right on by and we are now looking at June here in a few days.  Time flies when you are having fun and I must admit I have been having quite a bit of fun lately.  I started and completed another small home improvement project which I’ll be sharing more with you on Friday.  Another long awaited project that had been nagging at me for quite some time.  I’m super excited to have that off the good old “to do” list and no longer on my mind.

 

While waiting for paint to dry I made good use of wet rollers and paintbrushes and ended up repainting the wainscoting and trim in my dining room.  It wasn’t all that long ago that I redid the dining room, however after a few years of using it as a work from home office, an online classroom, and as always a place to eat our meals as well as homework central it had a few bumps and bruises.  It was nothing a fresh coat of paint couldn’t cure.  Now it looks bright and new again.

 

I continued to putter in my garden and my flowerbeds last week.  I pulled some weeds, plucked up all the spent tulips which I added to the compost bin, watered everything, and then planted a few sedums in a couple of the flowerbeds.  My flowers look so gorgeous.  Mostly, I just sat outside and really enjoyed my new yard.  At times I still can’t believe this is now my yard.  The backyard will continue to be a work in progress as I decide what I want to add and grow back there.  I’m excited about all of the possibilities as it evolves.

 

First harvest from the garden already
Cilantro for my sweet little bunny

Fred Meyer has had a lot of really good deals on chips lately so I spent my pocket money and stocked up.  Now I have loads of chips for camping, BBQs, picnicking, and entertaining friends.  Lots of good flavors to add to a yummy meal or a simple sandwich.  I think I have enough to get me through the summer.

 

Daisy is having her hay while Jack is inside the cardboard box napping

I gave our Daisy bunny an updated enclosure with “grass” and a new hidey hole which my cat Jack decided is his new place to take a nap.  Apparently he wants to share the new enclosure with Miss Daisy.  She seems okay with it and does enjoy his company.

 

She loves her new space

I got the closet door I painted the week prior hung back up.  I gave our downstairs bedroom a good clean up for the first time since I decluttered the bed, the craft center, the dresser and my sewing and craft table.  Now our little bunny can romp around in a much larger space whenever I leave her enclosure door open.  And Jack can continue napping.  After all, it’s hard work being a putty cat.

 

Lastly, I had an opening in my busy schedule to head one town over and drop off all of the electronics and tech equipment I had decluttered and stacked in my garage.  It feels so good to have that pile of stuff out of my garage and now in the hands of the recyclers.  On my way back I was able to stop and pick up supplies at stores I don’t shop at often as they are on the other side of the city, so it is never a quick trip in that case.  Harbor Freight is one of those stores and I was able to pick up a couple of tarps to replace the worn out ones I decluttered this spring as well as get a replacement pump for the pond.

 

A new little BBQ to replace the ginormous one I gave away last month

I hope you all had a great week.  How has the weather been where you live?  Are you planting flowers or working on a garden?  Do you have any home improvement projects in the works?

 

Slow & Steady Wins The Race

 

In the past two years I’ve had a bit of a struggle trying to get back to where I was prior to an unexpected onslaught of health issues I was plagued with in 2021.  With frustration mounting I decided to take a giant step back and reevaluate the situation.  After all, what is it they say about doing the same things over and over, yet expecting a different result?

 

I don't need to get it all done today, this week or even this month

I feel that the reason I’ve been able to regain much of my strength, energy and endurance lately is due to the fact that I am no longer doing things the way I used to.  No more multi tasking, no more go, go, go.  I realized I no longer need to stuff as much productivity into a small amount of time because I no longer need to fit tasks in between work, school activities or other people’s needs.  I’ve finally been able to recognize and accept that I’m retired and I’m now on “my time”.

 

I loaded the truck one day, then after a good night of sleep
I drove to the dump and unloaded it the next day

My approach to each day is to decide what I want to work on and then sit with my morning coffee and plan out in my head, sometimes on paper, how I want to accomplish my task or tasks of the day.  I take each job in smaller increments and I don’t rush through the process.  I figure out what tools and supplies I need, I gather those up and then I get to work.

 

Take time to enjoy the process and admire what has been accomplished

I take breaks if the project I’m working on is a lengthy one.  A one hour lunch break is a must, plus at least two fifteen minute breaks, maybe longer.  I make sure I’m drinking water and eating good food so I’m well hydrated and nourished.  I take time to stretch and to rest, even to step back and really look at what I’m working on and admire my progress.

 

Recognizing when you've done enough for one day is important

Some days all I’m doing is gathering supplies like making a trip to Home Depot or the nursery at Fred Meyer.  Sometimes all the shopping, loading and unloading is a job all of its own and I’m done.  Recognizing my limits each day is important.  I don’t need to completely wear myself out.  By pacing myself I actually seem to get farther.

 

This is true

Overtime I’ve found I’m able to work longer, work stronger and do more tasks with less effort.  I still get tired, but I don’t get frustrated anymore by my limitations.  I welcome the sore muscles and the achy joints as a sign of me accomplishing great things.  I notice now that when I take a break, rehydrate and rest for a bit I can easily get started again.  I’ve accomplished a lot this past year and I’m making great gains in my overall health.  Knowing this fuels me to keep going.  I’m no longer sprinting to the finish line, instead I’m just plodding along, but I’m winning.

My Hall Closet Revamp

 

Welcome to 1979!

 

Well, not anymore.  This poor closet, which is located under the stairs and accessed through a door in the downstairs hallway hasn’t seen much love over the years.  The paint on the walls was the original paint and the shoddy vinyl flooring job and ugly shelving job I did in 1995 left a lot to be desired.  In a nutshell, this closet was a mess.

 

Check out that dingey ceiling

First bit of paint going on!

Unfortunately, with everything else going on over the years this hall closet was never a priority, it just couldn’t be. I did not have the time, energy or bandwidth to even consider doing anything in here until now.  Finally, I was able to get to it.

 

Such a difference already!

Ceiling now looks fresh & clean

After all the decluttering I have done in the past six months this particular space in my home was no longer jammed with items, which is really good, however I could clearly see the dingy walls, the yucky floor and the shelves I never liked and no longer need.  For quite a while I’ve had some ideas for this space, but until now those ideas were, just that, ideas.

 

I painted the one wall green

I got started by clearing out what little was in there knowing that what I now plan to use this space for would be much more functional and deserving of a good makeover.  I began by wiping down the dusty hot water heater and gave the walls and ceiling a good coat of bright white paint except for one wall which got a coat of Sweet Grass green.  Don’t you think any closet under the stairs deserves a feature wall?  It certainly has transformed this space, that is for sure.

 

Out with the old

In with the new!

I removed all the old vinyl flooring including the remnants of the original flooring I had left on the trap door because…  well I’m not quite sure why I left it to be honest.  Most likely it was due to a lack of time and no inclination to remedy it later.  Once the old flooring was gone I scraped and swept the subfloor and installed a new one.  I did vinyl floor tiles since it isn’t going to be a high traffic area and was the most affordable option.  It is after all, just a closet.  No need to break the bank here.

 

Nice!

There is no trim along the floor in this closet, perhaps someday I will add some, but for now we’re going to leave it be.  I don’t really have the budget to add some at this time after purchasing a gallon of white paint and the floor tiles.  To save some money I reused the coat rack I had installed in 1995 only this time around I sanded it and gave it a good coat of white paint.  I also added an extra hook I had so it will hold more things if I need it too.

 

Instead of installing floor to ceiling shelving as I did in 1995 I added a small book shelf that I had purchased last summer for the upstairs guest bedroom.  I had yet to use it up there for anything so instead I reallocated it to the hall closet.  It currently holds my bag of shoe polishing supplies.  Not sure one needs an entire book shelf for that purpose, but we’ll go with it.

 

New flat LED bulb is much brighter

New pull for the light fixture and a better shot of the coat rack

Once moved back in I have my box fans stored in the very back along with my Little Green carpet cleaner.  In the front section I placed my vacuum cleaner and hung up my coats.  Then I added a new flat style LED bulb and to the light fixture.  I also added a new pull as the old one had broken eons ago.  I went fancy with one that matches the door knobs throughout my house.  Why not?

 

Before

After - Yes!!! 😍

Now I actually love this closet and enjoy opening the door and going in there whereas before I was more tempted to just shove stuff in there and hurry up and close the door.  It definitely feels cleaner and it is much brighter too.  The fact that the floor is new and all one style makes it even better.  Who would have thought that a storage closet refresh would make such a difference?  I just love it!

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 59

 

Hello, hello!  Even with more daylight hours this month seems like it is flying by so quickly, does it seem that way to you too?  I think, for me, it is because I’ve been rather busy with a variety of tasks, small and large, so a lot of my time has been well occupied.  I’m super happy with what I’ve accomplished so far and I’m excited to work on some other things I’ve got planned as well.  I absolutely love this time of year.

 

It was a nice week to work indoors as well as outside.  Our week began with clouds, wind and a little bit of rain, but was just lovely the remainder of the time.  I tended to my garden, planted some seeds – cucumbers, dill, zucchini & chives.  I puttered about in the yard quite a bit pulling weeds and I planted some more flowers while making plans to add a new flowerbed to my backyard next to the chicken coop.  I’m pretty excited about that.  I added three more paving stones in front of the door to the chicken coop now that the ground is softer from all the moisture we’ve had and raked up the rest of the backyard in front of the raised beds. The fruit trees got their second spraying now that fruit is beginning to show.  Fingers crossed we can get on top of the moth larvae problem that has plagued us for a while.

 

Indoors I completed one project I’ve been working on the past couple of weeks and will be sharing more about that on Wednesday.  Also, after giving away my girls captains beds I purchased a new platform bed frame for the upstairs guest room.  I was able to put the bed back together and rearranged the furniture as that room will be undergoing some new and fun changes.  Be sure to stick around to see what I end up doing in there.

 

The old bathroom door got a fresh coat of white paint and after curing for about twenty four hours I installed it in the downstairs bedroom.  Now the closet has a “new” door and I’m pretty happy about that because this closet is now home to my long term food storage.  Yay!

 

Cheeseburgers & potato salad for Mother's Day

That pretty much covers it for last week.  Just a lot of little changes and improvements that are making my house feel more and more like a home than it already was.  Fabulous!  What has been keeping you busy lately?

 

I Planted A Garden

 

I’m the first to admit, I am not a great gardener.  I want to be, I’ve had some small successes in the past, but overall, not so much.  I was thinking this year I wouldn’t even bother, just take the year off or maybe abandon gardening altogether, but I have the desire and it is something I really do want to be somewhat successful at.  I put a lot of effort into my flowerbeds and recently I’ve done really well with that so I know I can become a gardener too.  Maybe not the greatest gardener, but a gardener nonetheless.

 

Roma tomatoes

One of the things that really convinced me to give it a go this year was when I was replacing the garden beds and digging up the old soil it was loaded, I mean loaded, with big fat earthworms.  All of the soil amendments I had added the past two years were finally paying off.  Prior to, the soil in my yard was horrible, I couldn’t even successfully grow grass.  Weeds yes, no problem, but a decent lawn was a whole other matter.  I do know that the quality of the soil in my garden beds was not helping me to become a good gardener at all.

 

A nice variety of peppers

I do believe I owe the current state of the soil in my entire yard and garden area to my chickens and a very cute little bunny.  I’m telling you, if you want to turn your soil around, adopt a bunny.  I had read that bunny manure worked miracles so we put it to the test.  While I was recuperating in 2021 we dumped all of the bunny pellets into the yard, flowerbeds, under the trees and into the compost bin.  Last year I did the same, turning it all into the soil and the earthworms came!

 

The start of my little herb garden
Cilantro for my very helpful little bunny

The soil is rich, black and fluffy now so I am hopeful for a decent result this year.  I also cheated a bunch and bought almost all of my vegetable starts from a nursery instead of growing them from seed.  I picked up tomatoes, a variety of peppers and some herbs.  I also added marigolds to the front of the tomato beds to attract pollinators.  I bought brand new zucchini and pickling cucumber seeds to plant directly into the garden and got rid of all my old seeds so I am completely starting over.  And I’m going small this, not trying to plant everything or a lot of everything, just a little bit at a time to see how it goes.  Then next year I may do a little bit more, who knows?

 

Cucumbers in the middle section

I will be sure to update you on my progress as the summer continues.  Right now I feel like I’m off to a good start and I’m hopeful.  Now to sit back and see what happens.  Have you planted your garden yet?

 

Backyard Landscaping Is Complete - Almost

 

Looking back at last year when I began my big landscaping project I was plagued with rainy and unusually cold weather, much like this year.  With our long, long winter and very wet and rainy spring however, I did manage to get outside in between rainstorms and clean up the rest of the fallen leaves and all of the winter debris throughout my yard, prune the fruit trees and get them sprayed and finish up cleaning the collection of old firewood, scrap wood and other things that got pushed into the backyard as I was working my way from the curb at the street all the way back to the backyard fence line last year.  Much of what I got rid of ended up going on Facebook Marketplace as I’ve been endeavoring to downsize and streamline as much as I can with regard to my entire home, including the outside spaces.  It has been a process.

 

This space is just screaming for an overhaul

I was beyond ready to give it one

I knew going into this part of my big landscaping project that the raised garden beds would need to be replaced.  They had been originally constructed from recycled wood, old fence posts, and over the years, while they had served their purpose, they had rotted and it was definitely time to rebuild.  With the high prices on lumber, this time around I decided to go with something a little bit different so I purchased three galvanized steel raised garden bed kits.  Moving the dirt and tearing out the old beds was the hard part, the raised garden bed kits went together remarkably easy.

 

The new space with the smaller compost bin in place

Before I could even get started though I had to move my compost bin so I could fit the four by eight foot raised bed in place along the fence that separates my yard from the neighbors.  After deconstructing the compost bin I moved across the yard and rebuilt a smaller version of it.  I think the new and much smaller bin looks pretty nice nestled among the Virginia creeper and is the perfect size for me now.  I was able to reuse all of the wood and the screws from the old bin so this project cost me nothing but my time and energy.

 

Two of the new garden beds

My supervisor

I piled all of the soil and compost in the middle of each bed before tearing out the wooden structures.  The new beds were screwed together in sections and because they were larger than the old ones they fit around the mounded soil so my dirt shifting was kept as minimal as possible, but it was still a lot of digging.  With two of the garden beds in place I was able to smooth out the soil and then more digging.  I added all of the soil from the raised bed that used to be in the center of the garden area into the two new ones.

 

Lots of junk to deal with in the process

The new beds are a little bit larger so I needed more dirt

With that work complete and after a good cleanup of the garden area I was able to proceed with the third bed that sits along the edge of the lower deck.  The rainstorms moved in and progress came to a standstill for a while, but eventually the skies cleared and I was able to bet back to it.  With all three new beds in place I was ready to move on to the next step of bringing in more dirt.  These beds are larger than the original ones so I had to go and pick up some topsoil to finish filling them up.  I chose to buy the top soil in bags rather than bulk because it was much, much easier for me to move into the backyard since I do not own a wheelbarrow or a garden cart.  My neighbor lent me his hand truck and that was a godsend making moving those bags of soil super easy.

 

I'm thinking of using that stack of pavers along with some gravel in the area by the coop

My other supervisor

With the raised garden beds filled and complete I did a final cleanup of the area which included loading up all the old rotted wood and the last of the yard and garden debris that had accumulated.  I added the rusted out firepot to the mix as well as a few other things and it was off to the dump with a very full truckload of junk.  It felt amazing to heave all of that crap out of the bed of my pickup and knowing that pretty much all of would biodegrade over time made me feel fine about what I was contributing.

 

Ready to go to the dump!  Note my very full recycle bin in the background
I've been a very busy girl!

Welcome to my backyard 😁

The backyard is complete for the time being.  I do plan to acquire more gravel to fill in the area in front of the garden beds, but for now I’m ecstatically happy with how it has all turned out.  Neat, clean, and beautiful, just as I’ve always dreamed it could be some day.  At long last I have the backyard I’ve always dreamt of and I’m going to enjoy every square inch of it.  So will I plant a garden this year?  You better believe it, but that’s a story for another day.