Outside My Window… it is overcast and dreary, just like the last two Mondays! We had wind and rain overnight, but we’re promised sunshine and warm weather starting this afternoon. We shall see. I have a good crop of dandelions growing in my yard, though. A lawn care salesman stopped by last week and tried to sell Bill his services, pointing out our huge crop of dandelions. He seemed a bit taken aback when Bill announced we liked our dandelions!
I am thinking… it’s going to be a busy week, but hopefully as productive as last week!
I am thankful for… getting the Christmas tree stowed away in the attic over the weekend. AND the start of the 2017 NASCAR race season. I do love our Sunday afternoons of race watching, with Bill napping and me crocheting.
From the kitchen… dishes are piled in the sink and nothing is planned for supper. I made the guys bbq pork ribs yesterday and baked sweet potatoes and made a topping of black beans, tomatoes & kale for myself. There was plenty of leftovers, so no cooking will be needed tonight.
I am hoping… that the paintings I shipped to my brother last Wednesday arrive tomorrow undamaged. My grandmother painted them and they are irreplaceable. I did take photos of them before I sent them off, as I plan to order wall canvases of some of them for myself. Eventually I would like to take pictures of all the paintings that various family members have and then make them available to all family members. Here’s a photo of the painting she made for me as a teen, maybe for a birthday? More likely for a high school graduation gift.
I am reading… The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero by Timothy Egan (for the 2017 European Reading Challenge). I have 30 pages left to read, it’s due back to the library on Wednesday, and I cannot renew it again. I may have to pay some fines on this book. I’m still reading The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, 1858-1919 by Douglas Brinkley. I’ll be starting One Child by David Nicholls tonight – it’s the next book on our 100 Bestsellers List challenge.
I am busy creating… a Rippling Waves afghan for a niece. It’s coming along nicely, don’t you think?
I am hearing… the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast, specifically the February 16, 2017 episode “2-Hour Best Celtic Music Retrospective.”
Around the house & garden… the houseplants I treated for mealy bugs survived the treatment. I don’t see any new evidence of mealy bugs, but I’m keeping an eye on them. This coming weekend I plan to take down the winter/holiday floral arrangements and break out spring flowers. I’ll probably have to make a trek to Hobby Lobby at some point to buy some new flowers, as I’ve added some new vases / containers since last spring.
In other news… David finished his taxes last week, February 15th. He was quite pleased with himself that he got them done by the deadline. I pointed out that the deadline was actually April 15th. We were all amused. He was slated to get a rather large refund, so he bought himself another monitor like the one he bought last December, and passed his old monitors along to me. So I have new-to-me monitors, slightly larger and newer than my old ones.
One of my favorite things… pictures of granddaughters. Charles bought a new car last month and was given a couple of hats by the salesman. Liana has taken to those hats, won’t go anywhere without one of them on. She’s so cute. And she knows it, too!
Our Weekly Overview…
Monday: Bill working from home. David is at work. I’ve been writing book reviews, crocheting, and writing blog posts. As soon as I finish this post, I’m headed to town to get some groceries and ship a birthday package to my mom.
Tuesday: Bill works from home. David is off work. I’ll be at my Master Gardener class from 9 – 4. This week’s lesson is on Turf, with a mini-lunch session on How To Sharpen Your Garden Tools.
Wednesday: Bill works from home. David is off work (but probably has a Manager’s meeting to attend at noon). I’ll have MG homework and Quarterly Invoicing (paid work), plus the ever-present Quicken. With Bill’s help, I was able to get our mortgage refinance entry in correctly last Friday. I’m down to just double checking a few entries and 2016 will be complete..
Thursday: Bill works from home. David is at work. I have a MG SWAt meeting in Denton from 9:30 – 11:30. In the afternoon I’ll tackle whatever paid work has come up and hopefully be able to get ready to start taxes on Friday.
Friday: Bill works from home. David is at work. I will have MG reading to do and hopefully get started on taxes. It would be nice to have them finished in February, a novel idea!
Saturday: & Sunday: David works. Bill & I need to do some outside things, if the weather is nice. The pool desperately needs cleaning (we didn’t get it cleaned last weekend or the weekend before!). I need to clean up my raised bed and get that ready for planting greens. And I’m sure we’ll have a lawn to mow if the weather stays as warm as is forecasted.
Here are some picture thoughts I am sharing …
These are just some of the 24 coasters I made. Some will be gifts, others we will use ourselves. They were a lot of fun to make.
Oh you made some of those coasters! They are so cute – and I like that you’ve made different colours.
Cute grandchildren are always worth a photo too.
I told a lawn care salesman the same thing about our dandelions last year. 🙂 I’ve actually had a few brave dandelions blooming almost all winter, even covered with snow at times. I love those hardy little plants. This year I hope to harvest some of the leaves for tea, too.
That painting is such a special memory! Love the granddaughter photo, too.
Great post. I’ve been reading and not coming back to comment. 🙁 I like the pattern in the afghan. The light color looks lacy to me. Beautiful painting and cute kid!
Thanks for reading and commenting. 🙂