Thursday, April 12 - Massachusetts

Good afternoon intrepid followers! Short-ish post today.

I am pleased to report the microwave I purchased last week was not defective after all. It turns out I was the defective one, not taking the instruction manual literally. Silly me, thinking the bullet points for the "function" buttons were just that: button A does this, button B does that. Nope. It was a "how to" written in order.

Apparently people need instructions written on a fifth-grade level now. I obviously did not pass THAT test as I must have been confused. All is well now, however :)

Still was not feeling well at the end of last/beginning of this week. I will spare you the details.

My little house is being painted inside, and I am so pleased!! The grey I chose for the Living Room has opened it up already, making it so much lighter and brigher. What a difference it has made! Here are some pix of the work in progress.

Living Room Before

Living Room After

I cannot wait until it is complete. In the meantime my abode is disrupted, of course. Moving furniture etc. out of the way for painting. Nowhere near as disrupted as it was last year at this time with all the boxes!!

Living Room After

In Progress - What a difference!

Besides the two different greys for the LR and kitchen (Bunny Gray & Iceberg, respectively), I chose the color for my laundry area and my bathroom. "Deco Rose" to cover the bubblegum pink. My Brother has expressed his dislike on that choice more than once. Here is a sample swatch. I am loving on this.

Deco Rose

As I have reminded him, more than once, this is my house and he is not entitled to input on colors! After this is done I need to tackle the bedroom. Currently it is a(nother) weird shade of green, albeit not as jarring as what was in the front rooms. I want a nice warming yellow :)

Painting continues. Garden work is also happening. My neighbor is helping me straighten out my gardens and set them to right. She and I will talk tomorrow. I have some ideas. It is the execution I need assistance with.

Tuesday, April 2 - Massachusetts

It is with heavy heart I post this evening. Yet another favored appliance has bit the dust.

My microwave chose a most inopportune moment to die. Sunday night, when I like to snug in bed early with HGTV and a nice warm dinner.

The microwave did not give even a hint of going bad.

Dead microwave

I am one small person. Thus when I cook, I make enough for about a week. I put the rest in containers to be MICROWAVED during the week. Supplemented by frozen dinners every few days to mix it up. All of this requires a working microwave oven.

Alas - it was not meant to be. The other night it just up and quit on me.

Me being me, I would have expected sparks or snaps or SOMEthing. Nope. This one just simply... quietly....  quit working. No warning.

In its favor, this WAS one of the longest-lasting microwaves I have owned. We actually bonded. I was hoping for another few good years. Not meant to be.

Today I made my way to Walmart for a replacement. I had done my due diligence with Consumer Reports, and was confident in my purchase. Only to discover upon unpacking and testing it that half the buttons on the unit I bought do not work.

I like the microwave; I am NOT happy with a faulty unit. (Another 'bad checkmark' for Walmart.) This is why I save receipts.

It will serve for a few days (the main buttons work) until my most awesome brother rescues me once again.

I have left a very long trail of appliances gone bad! Story of my life, but I do not consider it entirely my fault.

I have a theory about some of this. (I believe in conspiracy theories; they are prevelant).

And --- I do have pics of my living room and kitchen finally changing color which I will share shortly :)

Wednesday, March 28 - Massachusetts

Good evening my friends. I had intended to post two weeks ago after the storm, but circumstances prevented. I have not felt well for over a week; nothing serious but enough to  keep me "down and out". Feeling somewhat better now, and have the promised pix to share (belatedly).

The tail end of Winter that preludes Spring in Massachusetts is a mighty fickle thing. There are days the sun shines warmly and lulls you into thinking maybe... Then two days later an icy wind blusters down from the North and you are bundling back into the Winter gear you have not put away yet. Because you know better.

Thus the weather has been this year during the gnarly month of March. Stepping stone from Winter to Spring. When we were young, my Dad called it "mud month". I know why now :)

One day the chill of February changes a bit. You can feel the wind shift, even if just a little. Smells a bit different outside; not as biting. The snow on your porch and in your yard starts melting. Winter receeding.

Then - POW! Mother Nature is done teasing and socks you with a good one. That is what happened about 2 weeks ago. We got seriously dumped on. Close to 14" here - I measured it the next day. My front door was a bit stuck opening with all the snow.

Trying to open front door

Here are some before and after pix.

Before the storm

 

After the storm

Before the storm

After the storm

This week has not been too bad as far as weather. Upper 40s, but a chilly 48 degrees. Snow still in piles. April is just around the corner, but as T.S. Eliot cautions, "April is the cruelest month". And goodness knows, after having been born and bred in New England, I can attest to that without question.

I do know I am not putting away all of my winter things for another month yet. April can be cruel. Some years we actually do get a true Spring; I live for that! Hard to tell this year.

The inside of my house is being painted slowly but surely, and I am over the moon about it! Iggy tropical greens are being replaced by lighter grey and grey/blue colors. Details in my next post! In the meantime, I seriously envy these guys. My kittles warm and sleeping after the snow. :)

Kitties sleeping....

Kitties sleeping more :)

Stay tuned!