May 22 - Massachusetts

Faith

A short post, with a few thoughts that seem apropos at this point.

Things have happened and moved so very quickly the past few months. Found my yellow house online at the beginning of March. A few days later my brother looked at it, sent me photos and his assessment. I saw the possibilities and found an answer. Trusted with all I could muster - a great deal at that time.

Made the offer March 8, negotiated, and closed April 3. Less than a month later. Might be record time :) Much scrambling in between, but it all worked out.

Faith and trust like that - are something one grants judiciously. It is precious and rare, for me anyhow. You either believe or not.

I did. I am not sorry, disappointed, or let down. I have not looked back.

I had faith. I believed.

How many people can say that, honestly? I have no "what if"s or "I should have...". I am happy, my cats are happy. I have beauiful flowers in the yard!

I bought a yellow house! :) :)

Yes I still have lots to accomplish here. And - I have accomplished quite a bit given the circumstances and my limitations.

I feel settled, safe, and happy. One has to have 'been there' to recognize that feeling: "yeah, this is it". It is one of the best.

Faith. Everyone believes in something; a higher power or being. The Gods of the major religions; the gods and goddesses of the universe. The basic tenets of spirituality that reach far, far back in time.

One must have faith & belief to survive. Trust is given and can be taken away in a flash. But faith - Ah! Faith is a constant. My parents, my family, instilled that in me. It is entwined in your core. Faith always remains :)

May 21 - Massachusetts

I am almost ready to take back what I said about Spring! It seemed fairly short-lived, although it always does even when it occurs :) Temps broke record highs a few days last week; it was over 90 a few days in a row. The past few days have been cooler; nights especially. Much nicer. This coming week is supposed to be more normal for this time of year. Or so the weather people say!

That changes daily in New England. Weather reporters are the only people I know of that are wrong more than half the time yet keep their jobs.

I have an appointment for my car tomorrow afternoon, and of course as of this morning they are calling for 100% chance of rain. But wait - I did not check the forecast this afternoon - it may have changed!

Gotta love it; we live (and stay) here for a reason. Mostly to be able to complain about the weather.

I did get some pix of my irises early this afternoon. They are absolutely gorgeous! I love the deep purples.

Irises

More irises :)

I also discovered I have a lovely largish white bleeding heart plant in my garden! It fully bloomed last week. I have never had one before, and decided I quite like it. I need another one to complement it.

 

Bleeding Heart plant

Made good progress towards the end of last week. And of course my most awesome brother moved a bunch of things around for me (again) yesteday. Getting closer to what I envision :) Bedroom should be 100% by the end of next week. Well, except for shoes.... those are a whole 'nother story as they say!

Located yet another kitchen box. Hiding. Good grief. Those have been the bane of my existence for the past month. Not only has every single thing been wrapped in yards of paper, it all had to be washed. It has been not only tedious, but extremely time-consuming as well.

Anomaly. I may have the world's largest fridge, but I also have the world's smallest sink. When I washed the baking sheets they would not fit in the sink. Water went everywhere! My every day plates do not fit in the sink easily.

Sink

Reference point... glass takes up 1/4!

So you can see what I was/am up against. I have looked into replacement sinks, and found a few that will fit. I realize space in mobile homes is tight, but there is no reason I cannot have a sink that suits my needs. A single basin sink would be far more practical.

Here is a sample picture of those I am looking at.

Farmhouse sink - more space!

Lots to accomplish this coming week. Felt good health-wise yesterday and today, and although my legs ache it is a "good" kind of an ache. Muscles stretching and rebuilding (must be the coffee and muffins / danish / watermelon cups - my morning weaknesses!). After a winter of not getting out and being able to move around much, it is a welcome change.

Enjoy the weather! It will likely change - again - in the next day or so :)

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