May 5 - Massachusetts

Quick-ish post on a Friday. Got a few things accomplished this week despite the fact I was not feeling that great. Sore throat and sniffles - I am chalking it up to pollen! A lot of the trees are starting to break open their buds now, which makes for a stew of pollen :)

Emptied a bunch of the larger boxes, which opened up the living room!

Most big boxes gone!

Tossed a TON of stuff in the process :) It also made for unwelcome aches and pains the next day, but I am pleased with my progress (such as it is). Accomplished some much-needed errands as well this past week.

Temps dropped today, and it poured off and on. We can use the rain though. I had ordered a few pieces of desperately-neeeded furniture, which were delivered today. Bureau for the bedroom (so I can unfinish packing boxes of clothes in there) and a kitchen cart. Previously I had a dry sink, which sort of looked like this.

Dry Sink

Held my wine rack, bar implements, serving pieces, and knives. The bottom was storage for larger liquor bottles (gin, Disaronno, Baileys) on one side and kitchen towels etc. on the other.

It did not make it through the fire, but I replaced it with a sleek cart on wheels. It has 2 drawers for serving pieces and knives, a very large middle drawer, and butcher block top. Fits quite nicely! I will post before and after pictures next week as there is some assembly required (which requires my brother's assistance).

I did empty most of the larger boxes out here, but there are more that need to be moved around and emptied in the room that will be my studio and workspace. Missing a few kitchen items as well, but they are likely in random boxes I have not yet unpacked. Have yet to find my cast iron pan, muffin tins and baking sheets.

Getting back into a routine (my "normal"), which is a good thing. Laundry on Friday night, shopping and spending time on Saturday with my brother. Vacuuming twice a week as needed :) If only I could get the kitties to pick up after themselves!

This week I did, however, create a new "toybox" for them (previous one was lost in the fire). Somehow I managed to accumulate enough kitty toys that survived intact in one of the kitchen cabinets. Yay!! I had a ton of baskets; weeded through them and only kept about 4. One is now serving as a new toy box for the kitties!

Kitty toy box

Each of them have been into it, and picked out toys of their choice. THAT makes me happy; makes me smile. It tells me they feel comfortable here and know it is "home".

As it is :) I will leave you with a few more pix of my tulips; they are gorgeous! Also the area leading to my door - you can see the rosebush blooming quite healthy!

Tulips

Stairway area

More tulips

April 30 - Massachusetts

Quick post & update from the weekend. I am tired and more than ready for bed (and HGTV - one of my guilty pleasures!) I got a lot accomplished this weekend with the assistance of my most awesome brother. I could not do it without him.

Saturday we did a lot of shopping (groceries etc.), but I was still feeling a little peaked. I so want to finish unpacking that I tend to overdo it at times. Part of me says "work through the pain", and the rest of me says "please do not".

Physically I am feeling a little better though. Feels good to stretch and use muscles that I could not this past winter.

Spent some time visiting with friends yesterday late afternoon - my first barbecue of the season! Burgers, dogs, and homemade coleslaw. It was excellent. Much as I loved the outing, unfortunately I began to fade very quickly (still not feeling entirely up to par), and could not stay as long as I would have liked.

I was able to get a lot done here today, though. After my coffee & muffin :) Emptied 3 boxes, tossed a bunch of stuff.

Making progress! Doing what I can as I can. I do need to get out tomorrow & run some errands, which I shall.

April 28 - Massachusetts

We are actually getting a "real" Spring this year! As fellow New Englanders will attest, that does not always happen. Some years we go from the cold and snow of Winter directly to really warm temps and humidity of (early) Summer. There have been years when I have had my A/Cs in the windows by now; other years it is still too chilly to even crack a window (and it snowed). No in between.

This year we are getting that in between: Spring! And I (and the cats) love it! Throw open the windows and get the fresh air :) After being cooped up all winter, who does not look forward to Spring? This year it is very welcome. In my new yellow house with flowers blooming all around outside. Here is Panda enjoying the kitchen window. And Phoebe & Percy fuzzing up my bed.

Panda napping in the sun

Phoebe (L) & Percy (R) napping

Yes I am still unpacking. Found my every day plates, and more glasses than I realized I owned. And still ruthlessly purging.

I kind of overdid it between Wednesday and yesterday and am unfortunately paying for it today. Washed and put a lot of kitchen things away. Straightened out the bedroom closet (clothes & shoes), put towels and winter coats away.

Went through curtains - where did they all come from?? 99% of them ended up in the trash as they will not suit here. Too bad, as some of them are really quite nice and a few looked to be brand new. A lot were from my "yellow & black" phase - yellow living room with black curtains. Made a dramatic statement at the time (and looked darn good!), but the spaces were a lot larger as well.

I will paint this place, but in softer tones. I want a light grey (on the bluish side) for the living room, and have not quite decided on the kitchen color. Not blue, not white. Maybe a darker grey with a small red accent wall. Currently the living room is an odd shade of bright green, and the kitchen a bright tropical shade of teal. Not my style!

The hall / laundry area and my main bathroom are pink. Why??? Unless one has small children, what adult deliberately paints rooms pink? Bathroom will eventually be a very soft yellow, and I am leaning toward lavender for the hall & laundry area. Best part is I already have the yellow, and the lavender will only require a quart :)

The previous owners were gardners of a sort, and I am reaping the benefits of that in my small yard. The daffodills are a welcome addition, and the tulips (which just opened) are stunning. I love both! I think there are irises out there as well (which I love), and there are 2 small rose bushes. I used to love gardening, and will add to the selection of spring flowers with crocuses and hyacinths, which I adore.

Unfortunately there are hostas coming up as well. You either love hostas or not. I do not. They overtake the garden. And unfortnately - their roots are rhizomes, and without an herbicide they are difficult to eradicate. I will find the correct herbicide. I will eradicate them!

I leave you with some pix of the daffodils and tulips I am currently enjoying. Spring! :)

Daffodils

Tulips

Tulips

 

Tulips close up

More tulips