in the meantime

Hello friends, time for a break from vacation photos to show you a little bit of what's going on here. Hope you all are well and hanging in there as we all go through this Coronavirus epidemic together. I think together is the key word. Even though we can't physically be together because of self-quarantine, we can support each other emotionally right now.

As I was taking a walk the other day in my neighborhood ~ the only sunny day we've had all week ~ I came upon my neighbor-friend who was bundled up, sitting in the sunshine in her front yard. We talked for a bit about how much this isolation sucks. That it's ridiculous we can't even give each other a hug. That we can't watch the news or go on Facebook often because it fuels our anxiety. That we feel like we're living in an alternate universe. Then I turned and saw snowdrops under her pine tree. She said they weren't there before; they only recently appeared. I told her they were our little bit of joy that we found in the day. Those are the things we have to look for right now.

My lilac bush is budding. Another joy.

 I was trying to explain to an online friend recently why I needed to stock up often on grocery items, especially fresh produce. Brian works 12-hour shifts in the emergency services field. He is not allowed to leave his work place to go out and get food. That means he has to bring three meals ~ breakfast, lunch and dinner ~ to work. When he works three 12-hour shifts in a row, that means nine meals he has to prepare ahead of time! This is what our fridge looked like the other night after he was done packaging up his meals. And yes, I do feel blessed just looking at this photo, as it means we have access to an abundance of food.

A local vintage shop is moving their current location and so the owner is selling certain items at excellent prices. She's been posting photos on Instagram of what she's selling and when I saw this red bench, it called my name. She warned me it "needed work", but I didn't care, because it's going to stay outside. Once the weather warms up a bit, I'm going to move this into my side garden. It won't be for sitting on; I'm going to use it for potted plants.

You can see where a piece is missing. And one of the arms on the bench falls off, but I think it can be screwed back on. If not, no big deal. With a little bit of clean up and potted flowers and plants, I think this piece will add some charm to the garden.

This vintage metal plant hanger was the other thing I picked up from the shop. See that ugly bench in the background? That's where the red bench is going. I'm not sure yet where the permanent place for the plant hanger will be. To be determined once spring yard clean up starts!

I'm still working on decorating Brian's office (what used to be Tim's bedroom). I admire those of you who can put together a room in a weekend, or even a week. Or a month! I found this window in my basement the other day and I thought it might look nice above the black cube. Thing is, before we hung the window, I had just purchased the lamp on top of the black cube: That's why the plastic is still on the shade. The lamp looked great there before the window was hung. (That little chick is not staying on the window shelf. I just stuck it there when I was working in the room.) 😉

But now that the window is hung, I'm not so sure about the lamp. Is it okay that it comes above the shelf of the window? We really need lighting in this space because of the chair next to this piece of furniture. I guess I could put a floor lamp between the cube and the chair, but this room is so small, I don't want anything else on the floor. If I buy a smaller lamp that would go under the shelf of the window, that lamp wouldn't be big enough to cast enough reading light. Thoughts? Do you like the current lamp where it is?

A recent purchase ~ a little decorating pick-me-up ~ was this bird pillow for the entryway bench. I found it at Walmart, of all places. I think it's cheery and perfect for spring.

I've also been working on a little spring decorating.

The daffodils in the blue Mason jar will look so pretty once they burst open.

 I have my Easter decor spread out on the guest bed, trying to decide what I'm going to do with it. I'm not much into holiday decorating anymore. Most of it will probably end up going back into the storage container.

 I'll probably do a little vignette on top of the dresser and maybe on the kitchen table or shelves, but that's it.

 Thank you all so much for your friendship and kind comments. They really make my day. Your comments come through my email account and I've noticed there's some of you where your email shows up as a "no-reply blogger". So if you ask me a question in the comments, I can't answer you privately. Or, if you're new to my blog and leave a comment, I can't email you back to thank you for visiting. How do you know if you're a no-reply blogger, or what to if you want to fix this? That's too much (and too techy!) for me to answer here. Your best bet would be to Google it and find a site that can directly answer those questions and offer help.

Until next time, wishing you all peace and good health.
💓

getting closer

Hello friends, and happy Friday. We've had a couple of beautiful "teaser" days here in northern Illinois where the sun is shining and it's warm enough to open the windows. It actually got up to 63 degrees yesterday. I had every window open in the house and the cats went crazy, not knowing what to do. They didn't nap the entire morning - they were too busy running from window to window, sniffing the fresh air and lunging at the birds and squirrels. Good thing we have new, strong screens! I can't tell you how wonderful it is to not only feel the fresh air in the house again, but to hear birdsong all day long. The extended forecast shows much cooler weather and lots of rain, maybe even a little s*** mixed in, so I'm enjoying every moment of this beautiful weather while I can.

And my lilac bush is starting to bloom! Another sure sign of good things to come.

Back at the Big Box Store again - this time looking for a large houseplant to go in a corner (I didn't find what I was looking for). I was so excited to see the pansies are here! Granted, they're inside for now because our weather is still too iffy, but next time I'm in that area, I think I'll get a pot of flowers for my porch and then put them in the garage at night.

The painting of Tim's room and the hall bath is done. You can see what a small bedroom this is. We're making this room into an office (for Brian)/guest bedroom/lounging spot. I wanted a day bed for this room but discovered they are bigger than I thought. So now I'm looking for either a love seat that pulls out into a bed or more of a twin platform bed: Something that doesn't have a headboard. It will go on that wall to the left, towards the window. Which also needs curtains.

This is the only spot that worked for this big desk. I wanted the desk in front of the window, but it blocked the vent. And if I moved the desk over to the right where the vent would be under the opening in the desk, it was too close to the closet door. Why do builders put vents right underneath windows?! I could never figure that one out. We also need to find a desk chair that "goes" with this desk. I've been looking on Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp almost every day. I know eventually it will come to us!

Here's the other side of the room between the closet and the door.

The bathroom color isn't much different than the previous color, though this gray is pretty much a true gray and a little darker. The previous color had slight blue undertones. We also had the painter paint the wood trim at the ceiling white. All I need to do in this room now is decide on shelving for above the toilet and then on the wall to the left, decide whether we want to re-hang the towel bar or find a decorative board with two hooks. I might even look for a new shower curtain.

Bathroom After:

Bathroom Before:

Speaking of painting, I'm working on chalk painting the old window that I've had on my buffet for years. It was getting way too worn and chippy.

See the worn part? That's how it was all over. I didn't sand the window - I was kind of afraid to since it's most likely lead paint. The chalk paint has worked just fine going over all the chipped parts anyway.

An update on my back issues: the x-ray showed I had height loss in L4-5 which basically means disc degenerative disease and then arthritis in L5-S1 (lumbo sacral area). Like I said in my last post, one really needs a MRI to see what's truly going on. When I questioned the nurse who called with the results, she said insurance dictates that you do x-rays first, then physical therapy, then have a MRI if needed. Ah yes, the good old health insurance protocols in the US. In the meantime, a friend of mine gave me a recommendation for a good physical therapist. I called to set up the appointments but can't get in with her until April 23rd. In the meantime, it's all about self-care and doing what I have to do to keep the pain at bay. I can't sit too long and I've also discovered that our living room couch is mostly off-limits for me. It's too soft and doesn't give any support. If I sit on it for longer than just a few minutes or dare to lie down on it to read, my back yells at me when I get up. So I'm staying active, taking walks either around the neighborhood or walking on the treadmill, doing yoga stretches twice a day, using a heating pad first thing in the morning when my back is especially stiff, spraying Bio-Freeze on my back several times a day, and taking CBD oil to take the edge off the pain.

Hope you have a great weekend with some fun plans!

keeping the rug, lilacs, cats and warm weather

Thanks for all your comments about my new kitchen rug! After living with it for a few days, it grew on me and I decided to keep it.

A few of you commented that the rug was too small. That the chairs needed to stay on the rug when they were pulled out. I've heard that decorating rule for dining room rugs. And I can see why that makes sense and why it would look better. However, I can't do that in my kitchen. And here's why. This rug is 5'x7'. The next size in rugs is 6'x9'. There's no room either way for a bigger rug. Any longer - and the rug would stick out past the doorway of the kitchen/living room.

On the other end, the rug would extend too close to the cabinets and door that goes into the garage. We use this door a lot since our cars are parked in the garage. You can see that there's just a small space to walk into the house from the garage. I certainly wouldn't want dirty shoes on a kitchen rug - especially a rug that can't be washed! Shoes come off on that little red rug by the door as soon as we walk into the house.

Then there's the width. Any wider, and the rug would go over the vent and into the wall.

There's not enough room on the other side either. That's the main walkway through the kitchen. I don't want a rug going almost to the fridge and cabinets.

So, this is what we're stuck with. I honestly don't mind the smallness of the rug. I think it denotes our little eating area just fine. After all, this is not a "dining room".

In other news, it was a fabulous 76 degrees today! I went into the backyard to check on the lilac bush, and sure enough, the buds are starting to open. :-)

Clementine was in all her glory, sleeping in the open window. I'm sure you noticed the bird feeder is empty. I need to clean it and take it down. I'm done feeding the birds for the winter. All the seed is doing now is attracting big, noisy crows and a naughty woodpecker who is now pecking at my house! Though we can't figure out what he's "drilling" at: our house is all aluminum and vinyl. I've stood outside looking around, hoping to catch Woody in action, but no such luck. You can also tell from the photo that I desperately need to start on spring yard cleanup. That boxwood wreath is from Christmas and the branches on the bench below are winterberries. They once had beautiful red berries on them that looked so pretty against the snow.

Spring yard cleanup is going to have to wait though. Rain is now moving in again and looks like it'll be here throughout the entire week. Plus the temps are dropping into the 40's and 50's. Today's weather was just a teaser!

Some of you know I'm not crafty. About all I can handle is a can of spray paint. So with today's nice weather, I went into my stash of spray paint in the garage (I think I have just about every possible color) and decided to paint this metal tray white. Previously, it was gold. And before that - aqua. I don't even remember what color it originally was when I bought it! I'd been looking for a white tray for the coffee table for awhile and couldn't find one I liked. This was definitely a much more affordable option anyway.

And I suppose I can now put the winter throw and pillow covers away until October and unpack the spring ones. (That's Monkey - Clementine's "baby" - snoozing on the couch.)

Have a great weekend!

flowers and bees (no birds!)

 What a beautiful weekend we had ~ perfect for getting some yard work done! Saturday was spent at my mom's house. Hubby power-washed her deck for her and then we all went out to lunch. Sunday, we mowed for the first time this season, dug out a lot of weeds, sprinkled grass seed in bare spots, and started on the mulching. In this photo, hubby is digging out some of the pachysandra ground cover that has overtaken the stepping stones. That stuff is a bear to dig out - has very strong roots.

 We also dragged the old ladder out of the garage and put it on the south side of the house. This was a ladder that a neighbor was throwing away last year, so it was a freebie. I need to buy some more annuals to fill out the rung space. I'm heading up to a new-to-me garden center this afternoon!

We had a couple of envious window watchers. (The butterfly at the bottom of the screen is a magnet. It's for covering up holes in the screen.)

The lilac bush as it is now. In a couple more weeks, this bush will be exploding with fragrant blooms. 

Starting early Sunday morning, our neighbors two doors down were working on cutting down a huge tree in their back yard. We have no idea why they were doing this. Maybe the tree was diseased, who knows. Last month they cut down a beautiful, healthy maple tree on the side of their house. Now they have no trees at all on their property. I just don't get it.

 Meanwhile, back indoors, I made a delicious spring salad: brown rice, red quinoa, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, baby spinach, fresh parsley, radishes, scallions and feta cheese. I'm sure sugar snap peas and/or asparagus would be good in this salad, too. The dressing was simple: olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. Makes a delicious light lunch or accompaniment to grilled meat or fish.

Later in the afternoon, we visited with some friends. I love the explosion of color in this spot with the tulips and azalea. 

Our friend is a beekeeper and the three hives are literally abuzz with activity right now. Our friend said he can actually smell the honey when he stands next to the hive. I'll take his word for it!

He got this close-up shot for me.

He even painted the sides of the hives with flowers. A guy of many talents and interests! He is dating one of my best friends right now.

Well, it is later in the afternoon and I'm home from the garden center. I bought some more pansies, coleus, gerbera daisies, and a few varieties of lettuce.

Here's what I absolutely fell in love with: Bougainvillea. I didn't know what it was at first, so I took one of the plants down to look at the tag. I was surprised to see what it was because Bougainvillea is usually a tree or bush. They also had this plant in pink. I didn't bring one home because of the $35 price tag. Mother's Day is coming up so I might drop a hint. ;-)

Here's a close-up of the flowers. They don't even look real!

I'm headed back outside now before the rain comes in. We just got a severe thunderstorm warning and the clouds are already rolling in. Looks like cool temps and a lot of rain for us the rest of the week. How is spring going in your world this week?

Sharing with At Home With Jemma - Spring Garden Party.

teaser monday

 The sun was shining today and the temperature actually got up to 50 degrees. Let me tell you ~ it felt so wonderful after months of frigid air, that I turned off the heat in the house and opened a few windows. I was constantly in motion with doing work around the house, that I wasn't even cold. The cats were in all their glory too, sitting in the windows and sniffing the fresh air. I went outside later to take a walk and to see if Snow Mountain had diminished at all. All of you in warm climates who think snow is pretty - well, it is when it first falls and the earth is blanketed in fluffy, perfect whiteness. But the reality near the end of winter is huge, ugly  piles of snow covered with all the dirt and rocks from the road that are kicked up by the snowplows.

   

My lilac bush has buds! I actually discovered them last month. I swear, I don't ever remember seeing this bush with buds before April. Maybe it's confused. After all, it's supposed to snow again tomorrow night. And this is how March in Illinois goes ~ sun, clouds, snow, rain, warmth, cold. We have one day of hope and then it's taken away as swiftly as it came.

Which will be the case with Tim. I'll be driving him back to school tomorrow already. He has a lot of studio work to do with his photography and print making before school starts back up next week.  I've been enjoying having him at home again, even though he sleeps until noon and is gone immediately after dinner to friend's houses. When he's home it means more housework, cooking, laundry and the dishwasher sometimes running twice a day, but that just means I'm being a mom. The kitties are basking in his presence and piling up in his bed. They'll miss him, too.