Tree removal

 I think it is a rite of passage into a different level of adulthood the moment you have your first tree removed.  Today is that day for me haha! I love the little house that I live in.  Yes, it's a rental but I still consider it very much my house.  After all, I have been here for 16 years and so much of life has happened to me in the Brice Street Manor, good and bad. So, when I need to have something done to the house that is definitely my responsibility, I feel obligated to step up and take care of it.

You might be thinking to yourself isn't it the landlord's responsibility to remove trees and such?  I think that would normally be yes depending on what your lease says.  And Lynn and Melissa, my landlords, did have the dead dogwood that was in the front yard removed.  But that tree was already there so I did not feel it was my duty to take care of it. The fig tree, however, was my duty.

Years ago, Michael and I decided to plant a fig tree.  It took several years to produce good figs but once it did, there was an ample supply. Usually, the birds and squirrels and other animals fed off of them, but we would occasionally be able to get a handful.  And I do not mind if the animals eat from whatever is in the yard. I feel like it is their right to. The tree was planted at the corner where the patio meets the garage.  It seemed like a nice spot for the tree.  It would get plenty of sun and still provide some shade for a part of the patio. 

However, once the tree began to really grow, it is almost like it did not stop.  It got bigger and bigger and practically took over the side yard.  There was a fence around that portion of the patio that the limbs absolutely destroyed.  It simply got to be too much.  And I did not want it to irritate the foundation of the garage or the patio if it kept growing at the rate it was.  So, it was time for it to go. A friend of Jason's who does landscaping and yard work gave us a great deal to get the tree gone.  I am thankful that it was easy and did not take incredibly long.

Now I can look at where the tree used to be and see all of the work that needs to be done over in that portion of the yard.  It is making me excited for spring.  Ah, another escapade in adulting is in the books!

Could I Have This Dance

 I posted a song by Anne Murray a few weeks ago.  And while I try to not duplicate artists during the year, today I'm making an exception for two reasons.  One, it is Valentine's Day and this is a beautiful love song for those who celebrate. I will celebrate tomorrow when all of the candy is half off LOL  And two, Mom and I loved to listen to Anne Murray together and I wanted to honor her this week.  Enjoy!

Household inventory categories.

 When I work on my household inventory, I divide it into categories like furniture, china, records, etc. I like to do it this way as opposed to room by room for several reasons.  One of the reasons is that I enjoy moving things around in the house.  It creates variety. And I don't have to go back and change the inventory to indicate where something is located.  That would be a lot of work.  Not that I am afraid of a lot of work, but it seems unnecessary in this case LOL Another reason I like to do it this way is that it is easier to add to collections if the inventory is separate.  If I want to add a piece to my set of sterling, I can simply look at that inventory and add it.  It comes in very handy with things like records as well.  I add records to my collection all of the time and having a specific inventory of them at hand, I will usually not buy the same record twice. I have done that many times, especially with my Christmas records.  

While I do not log my inventories room by room, I do go room by room to do the actual inventory.  And, like most household processes I have, once I've gone through the entire house I start over again because things change and I need to update.  Right now, I have about 15 different categories in my household inventory. I do enjoy doing them.  Not because I like to see how much stuff I have, but reading through these inventories will bring back wonderful memories.  Remembering which family member I received something from or what antiques shop I bought something at.  It's a comfort to me.  I don't think I will ever be done with it because I add and get rid of all of the time.  Still, in the meantime, I enjoy it. That is all. 

Quote of the Week

 

One Drawer at a Time - Keeping things together

 I have been finding it interesting while I am going through my kitchen cabinets that not only have I been keeping like things separated, i.e. glasses over here in this cabinet, glasses in that one, but I am also realizing that I will separate parts to kitchen gadgets.  While it is really not a big deal in the long run, I have been wondering to myself why I do that?  Why not keep all of the pieces to things together in one place?  It's not that difficult so I have no clue why I have not been doing that for all of these years.  This process is going to help me to correct that issue.

I was going through some cabinets the other day where I keep some kitchen tools like my food processor and my rice cooker.  The cabinet only has three shelves in it yet I manage to spread out the parts all over in different places.  Almost like there was some kind of kitchen gadget accident and pieces went flying.  Wherever they landed, there they stayed.  I'm happy to say that is not the case.   I have just been lazy when I put things back up.  So now, everything that goes to my food processor like the different blades and the different attachments are all together.  The parts of my rice cooker are nicely nestled in one corner.  It's the little things, you all.  This makes me happy and I feel like I am better organized because of that.  Well, I am better organized because of it.  That is the entire point of this exercise.

Not mine but you get the idea of all of the parts!

Next up is the spice shelf and then the food cabinets.  I'm quivering with anticipation!

Selecting my next book

 

I am about halfway through the Tim Curry biography, so I am happy with my progress there.  I did not read as much as I had originally planned this weekend, but I did get some in.  Honestly, since the weather was pretty clear compared to the past few weekends, I spent most of my free time finally getting my Christmas decorations put away. I have not been in a huge hurry to put them away, but since I had the time on my hands, I wanted to get it done. 

Now that I am halfway through this book, I am thinking ahead to what I want to read next.  I literally have at least a hundred books at my disposal here in the house that I have not read yet.  But what kind of book do I want?  I want to read something different than the kind I'm currently reading.  I love biographies and could spend my time just reading those, but I want to branch out to something else. It's not like I don't read other things; those are just some of my favorites. 

I checked my bookshelf on Good Reads to see what all I had listed in my "want to read" section.  That's when I realized that I still had a book labeled "in progress".  It's a book called Teenage Outdoor Stories.  It's a collection of short stories from 1947.  No doubt this book belonged to my Uncle Bill.  I got this book from Grandmother's house when I was a teenager.  So, I think I've found my next book.  I remember that the few stories I have read have been entertaining.  Problem solved!

Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 

Observe the ordinary events that occur around you.  When you spend an extra moment looking, they can transform into rich treasures.  Thing back to your own childhood and recall that some of the most vivid and happy memories were made when you were doing the simplest of everyday things.