May 17 - Massachusetts

Good evening! This has not been a stellar week for me; not feeling 100%. Visited my Mom and ran errands Sunday and perhaps spent a litle too much time behind the wheel. Moved several small pieces of furniture around Monday which also took a toll. My back was a wreck. Tuesday was the worst. I could not move out of my own way.

I have started to square away the bedroom - straightened the closet and my box of T-shirts found as I mentioned. The Box. It was one of the larger boxes, and turned out to be quite the Pandora's Box! Not only T-shirts, but the movers had simply dumped quite a few of my dresser drawers into it.Nightgowns, costume jewelry, random items - you name it. Took me 3 afternoons to go through the entire thing. I sincerely hope I do not come across another box like this!

The Box

Bottom of The Box...

My brother moved some heavy furniture around in there for me, and that really helped. Still making good inroads of progress though. Culled my T-shirts to fit in one drawer - good grief! To think I actually used to really wear them all.... They took up 3 drawers previously.

I have located a good donation for some of my nicer items of clothing. I have dropped a lot off to a local Red Cross. I like to ensure my donations end up in good places. Red Cross gets an "A-" from Consumer Reports, so they are high on the list.

There is a local "Loaves and Fishes" which is where I will drop off the better items. They do excellent work in the community, and their website says 86% of monetary donations are directly distributed to those in need. That is a good percentage, even though I am not donating money. Here they help people get back on their feet. Not only do they provide food to those in need, they also provide clothing and items that will give them that helping hand up to get to a job interview and make a better life.

I am very pleased with my kitchen setup, and the boxes ARE going away slowly but surely :) Here are some pictures of my non-box filled kitchen! I really love the kitchen. More working counter space than I had previously, and so open. (Also becoming less ambivalent about owning the world's largest refrigerator.)

Kitchen appliances

Another view of kitchen

I am finally to the point where I was able to order a couch :) That makes me really happy! It will be delivered week after next.

Kitchen

As you can see, I have made progress. The bags in the pix below are clothing donations, so those will be going away shortly. (Also the big box in the corner is for trash - still ruthlessly tossing!) Boxes against the wall are all books.

Yes it is slow going, but I have to realize my limitations (and stick to them). There is a point when you have to admit to yourself you cannot do now what you could when you were 20 or 30. Much as I would like this to be over and done!

Living room

Couch will go here :)

I need to get out and run some errands tomorrow. I purchased a standing fan at Walmart, only to discover most of the pieces were missing. Temps shot up into the 80s this week, so I do need to replace that.

The irises have started to bloom outside in the garden as well, which is nice. I will try to snap some pix of them as well. They do not last long, unfortunately, but are beautiful. I would also like to pick up some lavender plants, and perhaps a few lilacs if I can find them. Strawberry plants for sure! Strawberries and lilacs take a few years to mature, but I love them so.

I will leave you with a before and after pic of my sleek new kitchen cart! I love it. Stay tuned, my friends.

Before the kitchen cart

Kitchen cart