Forget-me-Nots

We are in the middle of rain, rain, rain here for the past week or so and now we are heading into almost another whole week of rain lol. But Saturday I got a bunch of work done on the garden. That felt great!

Recently I shared that we lost a bunch of hostas. Those losses have spurred on change. Those losses made me rethink a lot about our garden set up. We lost those hostas because of of a number of reasons – fertilizer and herbicide overspray and then a few of them were expected because I knew tree roots were getting quite close. And because those reasons will not be going away, I am not replacing any of what was lost.

But that was not the end of the story. The space did not look “right”, and because there had been so many hostas there, other things that were previously minor parts of the garden – the forget-me-nots and the clover – began to flourish. Think no barriers like plastic underlayment under the rock …

Saturday I spent time paring back the forget-me-nots and the clover (and quite a few bunny planted raspberry seedlings) in prep for where I want to go with my next garden phase – expanding my daylily propagation work, needing more planter space. Just like anything, times are changing. I am in a new phase of my gardening, just like we all get to new phases of our life, and I need to have a little bit of reassessment of what will work for this.

Saturday I cleared all clover and forget-me-nots out of the front, left very little of it in the corner where the linden is, and cleared it away from the path out back.

I was unsure of what I wanted to do in the area that sustained the largest number of hosta losses, so I left just a little patch of clover and forget-me-nots there. This morning I decided. I moved the green shamrock into that area, and I like it, so the remaining clover and forget-me-not patch in that round of the corner will go.

And then I will tackle this.

I planted the forget-me-nots the year my father-in-law and a sweet neighbor friend passed weeks apart. The forget-me-nots are sentimental. And I have kept them inside the paver trim. Inside 😊 But I hardly think that stepping on forget-me-nots is a great way to remember those we have lost, and stepping on forget-me-not is definitely not part of my daylily propagation “vision ”, so, as they bloom and begin to fade, they will be pared way back. A heartwarming sprinklng that enhances the daylilies and remaining hostas out back.

Funny story time

I am constantly editing what is in our home. But believe me, I did not always have that time. Stuff collected – intended and unintended. I say my husband is a Leverite – puts something down and leaves ‘er right there – but believe me , I do the same. I just hide the stuff in storage cabinets – lol. Oh, and I have to give credit. I did not come up with the Leverite. I heard it in a sermon. Truly 🙂

Onwards …

Last weekend I decided it was time to go through the Easter “shelf” in the storage closet. Oh, my, goodness. About 1/2 had nothing to do at all with Easter. This sweet little candle holder is an example. Back in the day I started something with my sisters that we would trade off buying matching Christmas ornaments. One year I was more adventurous and bought this – not an ornament, but it does have a hanger, right? Love!!!

How this got on the Easter shelf? I think I remember keeping it out after Christmas, thinking I would burn it during contemplation time. But it was so strongly scented! So I thought I would use it outside on the patio, but it kept blowing out. In the cabinet it went, until this past weekend.

When I saw it I remembered the strong scent. But then I had a moment. I could remove the strongly scented wax and put in a taper. So I did. All went well. Until I thought, whoa! that flame is high! And the wick is not reducing. I put it out. We trimmed it. But the taper got so hot in the glass I put it back out.

Still, I love the way the holder looks. Maybe I can get a flameless, very short, batter-operated candle.

Not giving up. Not yet.

One thing – Pursue Your Wildest Dreams

This one deserved a blog. It is an example of a “pretty, and great reminder, but does not match me”.

I love the saying, and it is a very cute design, but … I like coffee cups that can go in the dishwasher. This one technically can, but .. dishwater seeps into the plug in the bottom (because it was supposed to be vacuum sealed, which I really don’t care one whit about). When we pull it out of the dishwasher, and turn it upside down and put it away in the cabinet, I forget it will have trapped water. When I go to use it, even when I think all the dishwater is back out, it is not, and it leaks out some more, all over my shirt, before a conference call, which is not my “wildest dream”.

Go forth encouraging saying coffee mug and find someone who likes to hand wash coffee mugs.

One thing – “I’m bored”

Two words that, if we heard them when raising the boys, we stopped everything and paid rapt attention, because if we didn’t, good things were not going to happen.

I cannot believe it, but I, myself, am bored. It is a not so great feeling. I am not at all used to it. It, in itself, tells me I absolutely need to find a new “wildest dream” to pursue. Like we knew our boys needed activity, I know myself. This is not going to go away. And it is not a “do the dishes, put in a load of laundry, find one thing to declutter” need. I need a “love it, inspired” … next step. You see how I avoided that “P” word, that has a “roject” at the end? Yah. Have a little aversion to those 😉

Yesterday we had a symbolic moment. I will give history for understanding. When we moved here we had a very different color scheme. That was a LONG time ago. I have kept some of those quality items, because, well, you know, you never know, they might stop making, well, for instance, seaglass colored bath mats. You never know. The three seaglass colored bath mats were sitting on top of the huge baby bouncer our grandson has outgrown. I was trying to decide – stay or go? For the bath mats, not the bouncer 😉

I was working in my office and heard some rustling. My sweet husband had previously had that “I am going to have some fun” look. I knew I better investigate. There was a bag in the hallway, ready to go out the door. What was in the bag? The 3 seaglass bath mats.

Now you may laugh, and it is kind of fun, and funny. But it was also a moment. The camper doesn’t need seaglass bath mats. The little house up north is sold, and it didn’t have seaglass bath mats even before we sold it. Nothing in our townhouse needs seaglass bath mats. Time to go. So off to donations they went, with the pans and kettles that came with the camper. They are now released for someone else to use and enjoy.

But it symbolizes where I am. Like that time of seaglass color scheme, which went quite a while ago, I loved the chapter we just closed – with the little house up north. And although others have made suggestions, I have absolutely no idea what God will have for us, for me, to do next. I am kind of out of “wildest dream” bucket list biggies. Although I would still love a little old house by a brook with deer and squirrels and bunnies to shoo away when they get up to mischief in the lawn turned to garden, that is not happening so far. Maybe. But not even a hint of it yet. So I do what I have trustingly done so … many … times. One foot in front of the other, keep busy with the daily things, and watch and wait.

One thing – kettles and pans

Kettles and pans – a big thing in this household. We had one very nice set for 20 years. Then we bought a new type, and donated the old set. Then I had an anniversary with a company and chose another set. Then we bought a used camper and it had another set.

Oh goodness!!! We are swimming in pans and kettles! The cabinets are jam packed, and still … a cast iron pan is always sitting on the stove, and my husband’s two favorites – a pan from IKEA and a stainless steel kettle, are most often in the dish drainer.

The camper kettles need to get donated, the pans and kettles that were at the little house up north need to go to the camper, and we need to settle on a few here. This took place during a weekend trip up north. Someone will be very happy with a full sets of pans and kettles.

One thing – these stay, and more old chippies go

Last Saturday we took our first boxes of “One Thing” donations to Salvation Army.

IT FELT SO AWESOME!!!

Keep going if you are joining along, and I hope you are seeing results too!!!

When we were getting unchipped “old chippies” pattern dishes safely packed, we were reminded we brought these ADORABLE dessert plates back from the little house.

I bought them when we realized we wanted the white everyday china we have here, up north as well. I had wanted these little Evergreen Ernie plates for two years and finally pushed “ADD” to the cart. Hint, they were open stock, not in a full set of dishes. We find we like open stock best. No coffee mugs, please.

These little plates were so fun up north, and now they are here 🤗

Oh and we discovered we had four coffee mugs that matched the old blue chippies pattern, and two ramekins (we never used any of them). In the donations they went.

One thing – drink mix

Usually when we get into a declutter, we inevitably reach a “what’s next” phase. At that point life is nice around the house again and digging deeper gets stressful, tugs on heartstrings, even gives me guilt. I think, “That is good enough for now.”

But then we go through the day and a little thing makes one of us cringe, just a little – like the drink mix that needs that ridiculous shaker bottle – you know, with that metal wire ball, and the lid that traps unmixed goop? The one that takes longer to wash than to drink the contents? Yeah. That one.

Be gone vegetable and fruit drink mix that makes me feel guilty because it cost a lot. Take your goop trapping friend too. So I am not tempted to repeat that poor choice. Because I would. Gotta get those fruits and veggies …

One thing – strong smelling candle

We are having a ball purging stuff. This one is a hoot! and another (upcoming) on drink mixes made my husband’s day. You know … sometimes, dear man, he just doesn’t push a point. But when we got rid of these he definitely had a smile on his face.

First up – the “fireside” candle. Tomorrow, the drink mixes. But, in truth, today, they are already both GONE GONE GONE 😊

I really like what I am reading people now call “blue hour”. I like the peacefulness, before the activity of the day starts, and as things wind down. And I like candlelight for that. But I need to get rid of our strongly scented candles. After about half an hour they give me a headache.

The “fireside” candle went this past weekend. One, my husband said, smelled like a forest fire 😂

Goodness! The descriptive label said “fireside”, not “forest fire”! But yes it is too strong. Although, full disclosure, I already got rid of one he said smelled like a urinal cake. OK. TMI, right? Yes, I am laughing so hard my eyes are watering!!!

Hybrid – harvesting seeds

Where do I separate daylily seeds from pods?

Outside on the Traeger of course 😉

Well, most recently, that is.

Because if I don’t, the pod will sit on our clutter hot spot, the dining room table, for maybe days, and then I will deliberate – Save the pod? Or just the seeds? Is this thought related to save the clothes tags until you wash up the clothes the first time? Should I save the pod until the seeds germinate? Oh, the things I do!

Discipline, GF!

Separate the seeds from the pod, gather the seeds, put them in the envelope that is already labeled, put the envelope back in the safe storage space (not the dining room table ;)), where they will be joined by siblings until all seeds are gathered, and put the pod (which you, on purpose, out of discipline, left outside on the Treager) in an enticing place in the garden, to be eaten by – whatever eats empty seed pods. Bugs?

Clutter prevention 101, or is it 2 by 2? Or 19 by 19? Because that’s how many viable Purple D’Oro seed pods we got this year.

And now there are 5

Plus 1

Because a plus 1 is fun. Right?

OK, I will stop 😊

One thing – tags, yes tags

My daughter-in-law caught me at this. I save clothing tags until I see how the new clothes wash up. Old habits. If all is well, I throw them away. But sometimes I cut off the tags, throw the new item in the laundry room, and don’t wash it for a few days. The tags sit on the table in the dining room, which, yes, is clutter.

So here’s how it went down: My daughter-in-law walked by the table, swept them up, and threw them in the trash. I don’t even think she thought much of it. She is a wife and Mom. She works hard at maintaining sanity in their modest home. It was probably a reflex – lol. She knew the clothes the tags went to were a good brand for our grandson, and they would be perfectly fine after washing. I, on the other hand, haven’t bought Geranimals in 25 years.

I noticed, and didn’t say a thing. Ok, yes, and I had a moment of “I like your confidence.”

Turns out Geranimals still makes great casual kids clothes. The “next time you come to Grandma and Grandpa’s house and get dirty and Grandma wants to give you a new outfit” clothes did, indeed, wash up perfectly fine. Whew! Cuz we already took out that bag of trash with the tags ;).