There’s nothing earthshaking to note today, but I have a lot of tidbits to share.
The amaryllis bloom that I posted about recently has begun to wither, but the bloom on the second stalk is just starting to open! Tomorrow, I’ll cut off the first stalk and move the supports to the second. I think we’ll have another week to ten days of pleasure from this plant. This summer, I’ll put all four of the amaryllis plants outside, in a bid for a Christmas display.
Dear Husband and I had a light breakfast together, and talked about our (read:MY) plans for the weekend. I want his help to clean out the mudroom closet and the shelves under the counter. The hanging things are his, and I suspect there are dead boots and odds and ends that could be thrown out. I need to have him tell me why something should be kept.
I hadn’t intended to clean out three of the shelves in the cleaning pantry, but I wanted to put away the food processor, and it seemed like a good time to do the job. I store potatoes, onions and garlic on the lowest shelf, and discovered four sweet potatoes lodged behind the onion bin. Wouldn’t you know that I had just sent DH off to buy a sweet potato? I reorganized all the cleaning products, threw out an old iron (there were three stored there, I should really throw out one more), and generally got things into a more usable order. When DH returned I told him where to find the mink oil for his shoes, and he said he had just purchased more mink oil, not knowing it was there. I handed him two containers, and the brush. I think we need to do this reorganization about once a quarter until we’ve used up all the doubles and triples of things. Note: I did this with the food pantry and the freezers last week!
Mark the calendar. Today was the first day we have seen chipmunks for the 2011 warm season, and they are exceedingly frisky! The gray squirrels have been ruling the roost during the winter, but these little rodent cousins will eat them out of house and home now that they are awake.
My brother-in-law’s sister, Karen, is in the hospital. She may have had a heart attack. Prayers and positive thoughts would be welcome.
I’ve started a book called “The Coffee Trader,” by David Liss. It’s set in Amsterdam in 1659. I love novels in historical settings. If this turns out to be a good book, I’ll post more about it later.
I have to buy a skein or two of red yarn this weekend. I am assembling an afghan for Shelly Tucker, the organizer of “Share a Square.” She has organized the donation of more than 12000 six inch crocheted squares, as well as the assembly of these squares into 150 afghans for kids who will be attending cancer care camp this summer. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of this effort. If you crochet, or know someone who crochets, Shelly will be organizing a repeat effort for 2012, starting in August. Visit her FAQ page for information on what she needs.
I had a good day yesterday in the sewing room. I have just two seams to sew and I will have finished the second of five or six baby quilts I plan to do this year. YEA!!! I have the parts cut for one, and half of another, sailboat quilt. There are times when it’s just comfortable to sit and cut pieces for quilts. I have another quilt on which I’ve completed the blocks, and just need to sew them together.
SUN!!! OMG, the SUN IS SHINING!!! I understand that we are supposed to have a week of gradually warming temperatures, with some sunny days. THIS is what I have been missing for the past two and a half months. I think that I experienced a little SAD this year, and I’m very happy to have this glorious light around me!
And with that, I think I’ll open the shades in the studio and sew for a bit. I hope you’re all having a great weekend. Don’t forget to turn your clocks back!