getting rid of stuff, new curtains, and a dinner guest

 Good Monday morning, friends.

 I am so happy to report that here in northern Illinois, the sun is shining and we're 

supposed to reach 65 degrees F. today! The winds will be whipping up to 40+ mph

this afternoon, but I don't care. Much better than snow or freezing temps. Of course,

it only being the end of March, this weather is too good to be true. This is just a

one-day deal. The rest of the week looks to be in the 40's with lots of rain.

I worked on cleaning out more stuff and organizing this weekend. One thing

I did was to go through my Tupperware/plastics cabinet (everyone has one of those

cabinets, right?) and throw away anything that didn't have a lid, throw away anything

that was obviously too worn, and then donate whatever I didn't want or need that was

still in decent condition. Here's the messy cabinet before:

And here's the after. I did keep a few plastic containers and will phase those

out as I buy more glass containers.

 

I had mentioned in my last post that I had gone through my closet and dresser

and bagged up no-longer needed jeans, shirts and winter cardigans. I had Brian

go through his clothes and do the same. We ended up with two huge garbage

bags full of clothes for donation! Here they are on my porch, all ready for pick-up.

I also went through stuff in the basement and ended up with two paper bags

full of household miscellaneous - plus an unneeded desk chair.

I had a friend gift me with some beautiful cotton curtain panels. At first, I thought I'd

use them in Tim's room/the guest room, but because that room is so small and the

headboard of the bed will need to go near the one window in the room, we decided

to order a simple Roman shade for that room instead. So, I tried the curtains in 

the living room. I love them! I love the way they softly drape and how the light filters

through the panels. I know that they're not the "proper" length. All the experts say that

curtains should either hit the bottom of the window frame or just skim the floor. Well,

you know what? I don't care. I happen to like these just the way they are. That's the

thing with decorating your house. Forget the rules, people. It's your house. You

can do whatever is pleasing to you. That all said, I can envision a piece of

 contrasting material sewn on to the bottom of these panels so that they hit the floor. 

But, I don't sew! I wouldn't even know what material to pick out. My eyes glaze over 

when I go into a material store. I just might have to commission a friend to work on 

these someday. ;-)

 

 Brian will be home quite late from work tonight. Unfortunately, he has a wake to

attend. A coworker passed away suddenly due to complications of diabetes. All

I know is that the paramedics found this 46-year old man unresponsive, with a blood

sugar level of 1000! I have never heard of that high of a blood sugar level. By the

time he got to the hospital, he also had a heart attack. Then he was on life support.

The next day, he was gone. So incredibly sad.

Anyway, I decided to invite one of my best friends over for dinner tonight.

I'm going to make these White Chicken Enchiladas. Don't they look

delicious? I found the recipe here.

 I am off and running now to do a big grocery shopping. 

Thanks for visiting!