midweek this and that

Hello friends ~ I hope it doesn't seem too far off where I begin talking about last weekend. Saturday started out with our washing machine dying. The serviceman said it was the transmission. We asked his opinion if the machine was worth fixing - it's about 12 years old - and he said no. I'm not surprised we needed a new washing machine after 12 years: I do a lot of laundry.

The good news was that the serviceman had a few refurbished washing machines at his shop. I didn't want anything fancy. All I need is a gentle and regular cycle, warm and cold water, and small - large settings. And no digital, please. To me that means more stuff that can break and bigger repair bills. We chose a refurbished Whirlpool machine that was only a few years old and met my simple criteria - for only $175. That included delivery and hauling our old machine away. Before our machine was delivered, we went to the laundrymat to do our laundry. It's been years since I've been in a laundrymat. I've always found these places a little depressing. They look so tired. There was one lone older gentleman in there. You can see him in the middle of the picture. He never moved a muscle and stared straight ahead the entire time. 

We didn't waste any time in the laundrymat, as yard work beckoned. I haven't been able to do much because of my knee (meniscus surgery), back (pulled a muscle a couple of weeks ago), and shoulder (impingement). Jeez, I sound like an old lady! ;-) And with Brian working most days and many long hours, we have to grab yard work time wherever we can get it. Brian and Tim worked hours raking the yard and the garden beds. I planted pansies (hooray for cheerful spring flowers!), and uncovered the patio furniture and got it set up. It still needs to be power-washed, but in the meantime, it will do.

Sunday was Easter. It was just the three of us, plus my mom at our house. I bought an uncured (nitrate-free) spiral ham, and also made cheesy potatoes (no nasty, chemical and sodium-laden canned soup in this recipe), honey-glazed carrots with thyme and lemon, and asparagus with a Dijon vinaigrette. A low-key, not-much-fuss dinner with mild weather where we were able to sit out on the patio after our meal and relax and talk.

 

Spring has truly sprung here in the Midwest. With warmer temps and lots of rain, the landscape has come to life once again. The vinca is showing off its little purple flowers...

hostas are almost completely unfurled...

lilacs will burst into bloom any time now...

clematis has come back to life...

and my neighbor's cherry tree is so beautiful right now, that I had to walk down the street and take a photo.

In other little bits of news, I'm still working on cleaning out my books. I now have 11 bags of books to donate! I contacted one local library so far, and am dropping off five of the bags of books tomorrow for their Friends of the Library book sale. On my last post, someone had commented about getting rid of books after they've read them. I do indeed do that - unless it's a non-fiction book that I know I'll be referring back to. These books that I'm getting rid of are ones I haven't even read yet! Several years ago, I had a friend over and she was looking at all my bookcases. She said, "You'll never be able to read all these books before you die!" I think she'd be proud of my cleaning-out efforts.

Happy Wednesday. Have a blessed rest-of-the-week.