SHEs Organized

Well… ta da — I got out of bed, made the bed, did my morning stretches.. and it isn’t even 2:15 pm.
I don’t know if I’m depressed or just lazy. I’m sad but I’m not in tears or anything.
I woke up at 10:00 (after about 6 hrs sleep) and it was pouring down rain. It sounded so nice that I wanted to go back to sleep, and I did.
Then a dfriend called and I talked to him a minute…
And since then I’ve been mostly just scrolling on my phone.

I absolutely HAVE TO go to the drug store and Wmart today.

I want/need to do laundry.

Kathryn… I have the Hurricane spin mop… had it for years with no problem with the peddle same with my oceder mop.

Vacuumed and mop the entire house and the sat out in my pool and read my kindle for an hour. That was my reward. Took Sweetie to ace hardware to pick up his order and then did a grocery run. Got caught in the rain and made a mad dash from the car to the house with our hands filled with grocery bags.

Put everything a way and just sat down for a moment.

Tomorrow is class and then Starbucks with the girls. After that I need to do a target run before the afternoon storms catch up to me

Had a good talked with dsis.
Have not been motivated to do house hold tasks but
did spiff up the desk and some desk duty is a good thing to have accomplished yea!
Decluttered some things too. yea!
So I did something I swept the kitchen dining room & hallways yea!
Had a nice chat with dd.
Watered beds in back and front.

I am on my second Ocedar wring mop. The foot pedal stopped working consistently and I didn't have the patience to mess with it. It was well used for many years (7?) and most like abused by teens. I bought the exact same mop system again.

Being in slower mode has allowed me to be in the garden more and not be in a constant rush. The zinnas are stunning. They are waist to shoulder tall and completely covered in blooms. I would estimate 200-300 blooms about the size of the palm of my hand. It has been years since I grew zinnias but I don't want to ever be without them again. They thrive in triple digit heat. Marigolds, begonias, daylilies, and sedum are blooming and doing okay. but get overlooked because my eyes are drawn to the stunning beauty of the Zinnas. The sunflower stalks are over 10' tall and have sunflowers bigger than my hand. I like the height difference in the flowers. Flowers blooming from 6 inches tall to 10 feet tall and every height in between. The massive basil and peppermint plants win the prize for best smelling. I like to brush my hand through their leaves to fill the air with their smell. Gardening brings me joy.

I have never been satisfied with my (old-fashioned, sponge/wringer) mop. I almost bought the Swiffer wet jet, then saw some people giving bad reviews on it... kinda would like an OCedar mop or Hurricane like y'all are talking about... but not sure about that, either... of course, no more often than I mop, it probably doesn't matter. Y'all might remember, the last time I used the regular Swiffer wet pads, dh said he stuck to the floor. Shaking my head.

I honestly have some ta-das now!!!
Finished getting dressed 2 shoes... a little bit of make-up...
Did Bible reading
Put load of laundry in the washer
Went to drug store
Went to Wmart
Called daunt
Made plans for tomorrow's movie with church kids
Made plans to eat supper with ds and dgrands tonight

(I also just edited earlier post. Call from dfriend was not anxiety-producing. That should have said "AND I" talked to him. This is the elderly widower of my dfriend who passed away in 2022. He never talks more than 5 minutes, just wants to check in on me.

Do the zinnias need a lot of water, LadyM? They sound beautiful. What about gerber daisies? Do they need lots of water? I need flowers that can withstand high temps and are drought resistant, because I am a very neglectful gardener.

I want to write more, but washer is calling. Hope you all have a good evening.

Do the zinnias need a lot of water,

No more than most flowers. I think it depends on the kind of soil, how much mulch on top and how high the daytime temperature. They love sunshine. I have some zinna that have full sun and some that have late afternoon shade. There is a visible difference in the size of plants and flowers. More sun = bigger flower blooms.
I water once or twice a week. The plants have several inches of mulch which keeps the soil moist.

I keep looking at my phone. It hasn't rung a single time today. I have only received one test message. For fun & giggles I checked how many phone calls I got on average last week ...14 calls a day was the average. Our front door has only been used a couple times today. No activity in the driveway. It is eerily quiet and calm. I might be having withdrawals from constant teen activity.

DD13 has been on the phone with a friend most of the afternoon. I enjoy listening to the background noise of their chatter. Otherwise, she has been quietly going through her daily activities. Painting, making jewelry, writing stories, playing games, etc.

I finished the weekly chores, made dinner, and went for a walk in the evening. I was able to walk much more quickly tonight than last night so I guess last night's very painful walk was worthwhile. My knees, hip, and ankle hurt last night, tonight it was just my knees. My brace is up at the cottage so I'll buy a duplicate on Thursday when it is 20% off for seniors.

Got a thank you card in the mail tonight from ds, ddil, and dgs3 (he 'signed' it too!) for all the work I did caring for him so ddil could train for her new job. She's a keeper.

I got word yesterday that she started toilet training so that's another item on my to-do list for the 8 days I have him (at the cottage!) Apparently it was a spur of the moment idea she started the day before they went camping. He gets a sticker each time he pees in the potty. He loves stickers so this has been very successful. Because they were camping and because it was a spur of the moment idea, there was no wall on which to put the sticker chart and no chart either, so he is given the sticker and he sticks it on a knee or arm or tummy.

I love her spontaneous lack of analyzing the process and designing the perfect 'system' for this task. On the other hand, I wish it had started after my 8 days with him in a rental cottage! I think I might roll up the rug in the living room (but there's one on the porch, his bedroom and my bedroom so plenty of chances for messes.) On the other hand, I knew he was getting close to ready because his diaper would be dry for hours and then suddenly be soaked so he wasn't casually peeing in it but holding the pee for a while. And they observe that he stops playing and goes over to pee in his potty so they know he can feel when he has to pee. Still, the mess I'm facing..... shudder. Perhaps we'll simply live outside for all 8 days.

His first day of daycare is next weekend so he has another trial day tomorrow and Thursday. Daddy will still be there this time. When mommy disappeared during his first trial day, he literally screamed and banged on the door crying for her. Since she was nearby, she said it broke her heart listening to him. Neither parent is sure how he'll be when he arrives at my place after his half day on Thursday. We then have the 3 hour drive up to the cottage.

You can probably tell I'm quite nervous about this trip with him. We'll come home on Sunday night if it all falls apart, but he still can't go to his home or see his parents because of their work schedules.