Kitchen reorganizing leads to Freecycle

 Latest successful rehoming of nice stuff that's run its course.

Yes I know most of them are collectible and "worth $$". But not to me. Everything's isn't a dollar transaction. Some people who don't have spare cash for these items will love them, and they've outlived their life in my house.  

One person, very excited about receiving some of these things, has freecycled a lot of surplus good food to me more than once. I've shared some of it with the food pantry. So I was almost prepaid, if you're of a transactional frame of mind.

So yes, I'm aware of the $$ value, used to trade in antiques and collectibles way back, but this is my choice at this age.  I've already had people explain how to sell them, yep, thanks for sharing!

Sunday called on my organizational side to get the kitchen contents thought out and moved and cleaned, those containers of tools get greasy and I didn't notice till I started handling them. 

I laundered the curtains and they literally fell into rags and lint in the dryer. Probably the result of being in a west window. I have to rethink the kitchen window.

I thought my toaster oven had died, no response, just clicking, until I remembered the gfci plates. The nearest one didn't govern the near outlets, noooo, it was the gfci across the room, silly me. Anyway I reset and the toaster oven worked again.

It seemed like a good moment for 

of

It pays to keep up with your strength training, mental and physical! Mine's been called on quite a bit lately. At this point everything is back in the kitchen because I couldn't stand it any longer. This evening's video is about back strengthening, good.

Next Friday is Handsome Son's birthday, so I plan on my failsafe chocolate walnut cake and a handmade card, which is all he wants. There may be a bit of $green added in though.

As usual, we won't know what day to celebrate till he knows his work schedule and other plans. So I'll bake the cake ahead of time to be sure. 

Every year I remember what a broiling hot humid summer that was, and how thrilled I was to have that hot baby safely born and not kicking inside my ribs any more. I felt so cool by comparison, in a hospital with no ac,  with just one body heat to deal with.  And of course he was the best baby there had ever been.

This week 57 years ago, one week before I gave birth, I sat daily under a tree in the yard, and read War and Peace. It took five straight days. But I thought that might be the only time in my life I would have the chance to do nothing but read all day. Turns out that was quite an accurate forecast.  I just finished,  then started  labor that evening, and I have never had a free block of time since!

Happy day everyone, enjoy your week. Gary is all in with the patio idea. When he can get to it. He'll recruit another neighbor, who's in India till September, so no rush.

Saturday saw the completion of the house repairs, but first

Up early Saturday morning, cool, great for walking, I went to the pond.

Here's the neighbor's hibiscus, more mature than mine, but it also goes to dry sticks over winter 

Here's my hibiscus 

And the morning glories forming a lovely vertical focal point with the hibiscus.

I was out on the deck quite a while, since the butterfly bush casts enough morning shade now. I used to watch those fancy gardening shows where people with large gardens and even larger budgets planted endlessly, making all kinds of outdoor rooms. 

The one useful thing I learned was to remember to have at least one vertical focal point. I could do that without a big budget or garden, and it does make the place work better as a design, or as near as most of us come to it. This year its morning glories rivalled by hibiscus. Posh stuff.

Then the contractors arrived and it was all drills and saws and blowers all day. Visits from various neighbors interested in the goings on.

New flooring in the kitchen, some fancy high tech clicky plank stuff, all the room painted, exterior completely done, with extra paint job thrown in on a part of the wood that the HOA painters had patched badly. Now it looks great. 

They also fixed my storm door which was slumping on the hinges after being opened and slammed hundreds of times over the last few days. Now it closes normally.

All the players departed mid afternoon, leaving me desperate for a cup of tea, having had no access to the kitchen.  That, and a snack on the deck, were just right. 

I'm so glad it's done, my car's home, and I can start organizing the kitchen once the paint's dry.  Saturday evening was about planning this with my feet up and handy beverages.

Pictures

Floor in progress 

I don't care how much they pay them, it's not enough 

Clearing up ready to go 

The older man facing us is the crew chief who went to endless trouble over every detail. Next month he's visiting his parents in Brazil and he told me I reminded him of his Mami. When they left I asked him to say hi to her from me.

Left, his back to us, the multi talented man who prepped and painted the kitchen then installed the floor. The other man did exterior work up and down ladders all week.

New kitchen floor, temp curtain, a length of embroidered sari (!)

The paintwork and the flooring make the old cabinets look much better.

Here's how the stucco is drying in the sun and matching its surroundings 

From across the street it's blending in as it dries.

And here's where I had another idea

You see the lack of vegetation between cars and people tromping over it, demolishing the daisies, daylilies and daffodils. Well, maybe this can work better.

See Gary's similar area next door. A few pavers, a couple of chairs maybe a bistro table, and I'd have a nice little area. Also it would keep ants out of the house if there's no vegetation up against the foundation.

I haven't mentioned this to him yet, but I bet he'd help. He loves stuff like this.

Happy day everyone, caution, woman with ideas in the area.

Avian drama, car drama and natural art

Friday the contractors arrived at 7:30, all ready to finish the stucco, and the kitchen.

I'm told this will dry lighter.

So much cooler that  I picked a few flowers for a bouquet.

It's guarded by a white hound, Herend porcelain, usually to be found on a high shelf in the kitchen. 

Then I gladly escaped for a walk, and found myself in an avian drama. I'd heard a Carolina wren singing and getting responses. 

See on the roof there. He's there. Really. 

Then I saw another wren in a nearby  arborvitae bush, both unconcerned about me, but both shouting a range of songs. Then a male cardinal flew out of the bush, pursued by one of the wrens down the street. I think maybe he was intruding on their nest site. Wrens are fierce defenders of their nests. 

I've seen them take down a squirrel in a similar drama, one pecking his head, one his tail, till he was happy to escape, with them pursuing him for a couple of hundred yards.

That was a good year because their nest was on our patio and we didn't see another squirrel for months. The nest was a beautiful piece of architecture which the children's department of the library accepted for their nature corner.

The recent torrential rains have made lichen flourish 

And the cloudy weather means the morning glories stay open a bit longer.

And the complications with the car continue. We had another round of  texts and emails. They processed an upwardly revised claim, will send the difference directly to the body shop. I was in touch with them.  That's sorted, finally.

Meanwhile Gary was trying to get someone to help him retrieve the car  I'm stuck here because of the contractor needing me to be present for payment, and the other friend is in India. Timing! We did manage it and the car's  home again, looking very nice.

I'm starting the yes2next August challenge, saves thinking about what video next. Numbers refer to their YouTube videos.

Happy day everyone, keep fit, guard your home and your rights! Sez Ted and Big Ursy 

Better walls for old, Misfits

I discovered in the course of Wednesday's work the reason the outer wall broke through so easily.

What we had, reading inside to out was: sheetrock, insulation batts, vapor barrier, stucco. Notice what's missing? Original builders cutting serious corners here 

What we have now is: sheetrock, insulation batts, plywood sheathing, vapor barrier, then stucco to come. 

I could have had more damage to the car, less to the house, if it had been complete. It's very typical that what you do to a development house is going to be better than the original materials. In this case actually better construction.

Then I got an idea. This base cabinet I used for baking sheets had to come out to repair the wall. Here's the space 

And the cabinet. Instead of reinstalling it I think contractor friend Mike can work with me on a better use. The cabinet has a useless shelf in the back where you can't reach anything. I can just not reinstall it and we can see. The flooring will be in there and the wall painted.  So there's no mad rush.

Thursday Misfits had to work differently. But I did get the bag and ice returns out for pickup while I had access to the freezer where I store them week to week.

I hoped the driver would find his bag among all the stuff that joined it.

I started an allergic reaction to the spackling in the kitchen, so in addition to the eye drops and nose drops, seasonal repertoire, I added an allergy pill. The I went upstairs to read, and woke two hours later to find the Misfits box had been delivered and kindly brought into the house.

So I figured out an alternate way of washing the fruit without access to the kitchen, and drying them.

The other grocery items are in the living room for now. I managed to get the yogurt and tofu into the fridge.

And Thursday the effects of the moving stuff and climbing started to decrease. Because I couldn't get out to walk, I'd kind of seized up, stiff and aching. I did a balance vid with April and Aiko, then ibuprofen and ice.  That worked.

The reduction in humidity helped, too. My hair loves humidity, bones not so enthusiastic. 

Not a great heat reduction, but I did get an early walk.

And the coreopsis is doing fine, considering she's a random seed result. The lacy foliage is from her.

The leafy foliage is honesty, possibly. Not a successful year up to now. Neighbors already have dried seedpods which I'd like to swipe but it's in their front yard, hmm.

The afternoon's rain saved my watering. Also put pressure on the contractors to finish the outer wall.

This is a good time to make cordage, the ambient air not too dry.  I did get the materials from the kitchen where I left them.

Happy day everyone. That supposedly non drowsy pill has left me very relaxed or maybe I'm just tired.  Either way I'm going to have a bowl of cereal and blueberries, easiest lunch prep on a building site.

My eldest brother was a bricklayer in his yoof and, in winter, lunch was the regular sandwich, but toasted, over an open fire on the site, on a shovel!  

Except the time he took the wrong bag and found he was facing the stale crusts my mom had saved for the greengrocer's horse. Late forties, a lot of horse-drawn food deliveries, no gasoline for trucks. His pals on the site were asking him what he'd done to annoy his mom.

Take the right lunch, you'll be glad 

And to everyone's surprise suddenly it's August. Well I've had better months of July, so it's okay.

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