cleaning

Cleaning and Sorting and Ousting

November 18, 2019 at 10:38 am by Claudia

We dodged a bullet last night. We were supposed to get a coating of ice, but as far as I can tell, we didn’t. When I heard the school bus arrive on time, I knew, without even looking outside, that it hadn’t happened. It’s been very cold here from the moment we came back from Paris, much earlier than usual. We usually don’t get this kind of warning in mid-November.

I reorganized and purged lots of the stuff in my dresser yesterday. I have to be in the right kind of mood for that sort of thing and I was. I pulled a chair up to the dresser and started pulling things out, making keep piles, making discard piles. It took me a couple of hours, but I’m very pleased with the results. Because we have so little storage space, an oddly shaped bedroom closet (which we share, by the way) and never enough storage for sweaters, jeans, etc., I think I just give up until I reach the point where I can’t stand it any longer. That happened yesterday.

I have a whole list of things I need to attend to.

It’s the eternal problem with a small house, especially a small house that was built in 1891. Not enough storage space. It feels like I’m always thinking about how to create storage here. It’s never-ending.

As they say, it is what it is.

Today is for grocery shopping, more work around the house, and, if I can find the time, more reading.

Happy Monday.

Houseplant Mysteries & Cleaning

September 8, 2019 at 9:48 am by Claudia

This is intriguing. My now-quite-big monstera (aka split leaf philodendron) needed repotting a couple of months ago, which I did – with the help of Don. Several leaves on the bottom had yellowed and died, which often happens with plants at certain times of the year. But I must admit, this plant is very special to me (it was found in the sale area of Terrain and I nursed it back to health) so I was worried. I though it might be root-bound. After the repotting, I started to notice the beginnings of new stems, which was a good sign. All in all, 6 new stems/leaves appeared!

Here’s the interesting part: usually, once a monstera gets mature, the new leaves have several splits in them. When a monstera is young, the leaves are either whole, without splits, or have one split. Out of the 6 new leaves, 4 were whole, and 2 had a split. I’m not sure why. Did repotting it have an effect on the leaves themselves? If I’d kept it in the smaller pot, would they have had several splits?

I don’t know. But I’m glad I repotted it – it was getting very top heavy. This is why I find all plants – indoor and outdoor – so fascinating. I also repotted my parents’ sansevieria – it definitely needed it as the roots were breaking through the pot – and I’ve since read that they only bloom when they’re more root-bound. Since mine has bloomed for the past 3 years, it will be interesting to see if it blooms this year.

Don is at the Farmers Market today. We both woke up way too early, so we had a lot of time to chat before he took off. Sleep is erratic lately. Ah, well, nothing I can do about it, except stay in the moment.

Another lovely day, partly cloudy – though it’s sunny at the moment – temps in the seventies. I plan to yank some weeds and water the plants. I thoroughly cleaned both bathrooms yesterday. I don’t know why I hate doing it so much, but I’ve decided I need to create a bathroom cleaning schedule, so that big cleans like yesterday’s aren’t so big. I have this app I use called Wunderlist, which is a great way to create reminders. I’m going to add ‘bathroom cleaning’ to the list. Anyway, I felt a great sense of accomplishment once I finished, so there’s that.

Hope you’re having a nice weekend.

Happy Sunday.

Oh So Satisfying

March 15, 2019 at 10:32 am by Claudia

The temperature hit 60 degrees yesterday. I had all the windows open, as well as the front door. Light was streaming into the cottage and I decided that this was the day to tackle the wardrobe/cabinet in the living room.

I found it at an auction many years ago. It’s huge, has interior shelves, and I love it. $100.00! One of my favorite “steals.” It has such style. It has furnished us with storage that we wouldn’t have otherwise, which is why I got it in the first place. Over the years, it became the repository for office supplies, jewel boxes and CDs (from the time that Don was recording his songs), telephone books (do we really need them anymore?), binders holding every script I have worked on since we moved here – stacks of them, old theater contact sheets, old bills, paycheck stubs…you name it.

You have to be in a ruthless mood. I was – a strange combination of ruthless and happy – so I tackled it. First, I used some Murphy’s Oil Soap on both the pew and the coffee table. Then, armed with contractors bags, which are huge, I started throwing things away. Three contractors bags later, I was done. Well, not quite. I had to wait until Don got home to ask him about his blank CDs and his masters for some of his recordings. He sorted through those and then we were done.

In the meantime, I took the opportunity of an almost empty cabinet to remove the McCoy from the top and push it to the left about 3 inches, so there could be some space between the cabinet and the pew.

And now the door shuts again. I had been propping the child’s chair against the cabinet to keep the door closed.

Now there’s a little air between all three pieces.

And you can see some of the carving on the pew. And it’s easy to pull out from the wall if you want to see more.

Such a satisfying day! I’ve long known I had to tackle the cabinet. I just kept putting it off. But the addition of the pew, along with my need to see some of the carving detail, which necessitated moving the cabinet, is what clinched it.

Even warmer today with possible rain, then back down to the mid-forties tomorrow, which is still positively balmy considering what we’ve been through this winter. No complaints from me.

I woke to the horrific news from New Zealand. I will never understand how such hatred can exist. My heart is with you, New Zealand.

With hopes for an end to hate with the realization that we are all one,

Happy Friday.

Cleaning and Sorting and Ousting

Houseplant Mysteries & Cleaning

Oh So Satisfying

claudiahillsparks

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