SHEs Organized

EDIT

Did you know there's about 7,500 cultivars of apples? And this week, we will explore some of them!

The Maiden Blush apple tree is one of the oldest American apples. Coxe wrote in 1817 that Maiden’s Blush apples were popular in the Philadelphia markets of his day. Beautiful apple of pale thin skinned, lemon-yellow color with crimson blush. Flesh is white, sprightly, crisp and tender with a sharp, acid flavor that mellows when fully ripe. Maiden Blush apple tree is an excellent grower, comes into bearing young. Dependable producer, long harvest period, and displays resistance to fireblight. Good for cooking, eating fresh, drying, or cider. Harvest starts in mid to late-September.

Good morning, trissie! How was shopping?

I did not know there were that many apple varieties but I do believe it. Every time I go to the farmer’s market they carry an apple I’ve never heard of before. I don’t recall seeing a maiden blush, I don’t pay much attention to the names I confess, but the coloring sounds beautiful. And you’ve reminded me I have apples in the refrigerator I need to use up.
I’m going to make my list for the week so I can get a running start tomorrow and it will be all ready for me.

Happy Monday!

Bama, what will you be making with those apples? If you're out of ideas, my grandma used to make stewed apples - peeled and diced apples, a bit of water, some sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves and couple lemon slices, cook for about 5-10 minutes till some apples start to fall apart, serve hot or cold. Perfect even for apples that no longer look appealing or are slightly bruised. A whole pot would dissapear when left unattended! (you can tell gma used to have an apple orchards with about 20-30 trees, lots of quick apple recipes in my family!)

Starting the CPot with pulled pork for burgers before leaving for the shopping trip was very wise, as me and the girls didn't get back till after 8:30pm! DH,DBD and DS were able to have dinner earlier and we just fixed ourselves the burgers when we got in. I think the girls were happy with the trip, and we did some meaningful talk on the way home re: what it means to have a healthy relationship with alcohol and why I would prefer them to not try marijuana till they are 18 or so. I don't kid myself, I know they will likely experiment with stuff, and I want them to understand there's safe and there's dangerous ways and things to experiment with. Like, you know, never drink and drive, and never sit in a car with drunk driver, and don't smoke pot till your neural system is developed enough not to be affected, and if you do smoke, do it in a safe environment! And stay away from street drugs, like always, that's a big thing, because those are dangerous even if good quality and a lot of times the quality is not good and that's even worse. We have somebody in the family who's doing "fashion" drugs, and it was all cool untill it was a disaster

Anyway, onto happier topics. Working from home today, because I have an online seminar starting at 1pm running till 3:30. I'm hoping the tires for my car will be delivered today, and if they are, I'll take it for tire swapping - the shop is open till 6pm and it's first come, first served, no appointment needed. I also need to find some time to work on the taxes, but I think I am mostly done, just need to check the rental taxes calculation and then fill in the final info on the website. Garden also calls, and downstairs is a mess because I didn't do anything after getting home last night. So off I go!


TaDas
- up and attem
- dressed to shoes
- breakfast and coffee
- internet time
- lunchboxes ready
- DS, DBD and DtDT out of the door with DH

ToDos
- morning routine
- 1 hour on cleaning
- get started on payroll stuff

Braindump
work
- mailbox work - MUST DO
- BoD material on OS contract with CP - MUST DO
- notes for tomorrow's presentation - MUST DO
- 1pm online seminar - MUST DO
- Q1 report - regulatory update (local) - NICE TO GET DONE
- Q1 report - copy updated deadlines to overview - NICE TO GET DONE
- Q1 report - update on internal development - NICE TO GET DONE
- start research for IDD report (probably not happening, will be on the list for weeks to come) - DREAM ON
routines
- midday routine
- afternoon routine
- evening routine
food
- dinner
- bake something sweet
organization
- homework and backpacks
- DBD's speech therapy
- make medical apt for DBD - neurology
- make medical apt for all kids - eye check
- 2x15 on tax returns
- 15 on filing
- amendment to rental contract
- rental accounting
- pharmacy order (after we get back from the long weekend)
- order clothes stand for bedroom(after we get back from the long weekend)
- deal with insurance
cleaning
- clean DBD's room
- clean DS13's room
- clean twins' room
- clean master bedroom
- clean master bathroom
- spiff up kitchen
- spiff up living room
- spiff up downstairs bathroom and hallways
- spiff up office
- iron and rehang living room curtains
laundry
- load of lights
- load of cleaning rags
- ironing
- folding
- mending
- laundry put away
me time
- 15 of exercise
- Bible study
- reading
garden
- plant apricot tree
- plant treatment - pest
- plant treatment - mold & funghi disease (maybe not yet? check)
- watering
- tree and bushes pruning
- general pick up in garage
- general pick up around the house
- fertilizing
- April seeds in ground

Monday To Do List (√ = done)
√ Bible
√ Weigh
√ Planner
√ Spot clean floors
Water ~
√ Bathroom - wipe down, scoop litter box, clean toilet, add soap to shower
√ Feed inside animals + glucoasamine supplements
√ Feed outside animals
WHB √ dust, vacuum, mop, glass
√ Kitchen - wipe down, unload/load/run dw, shine sink, wfd/cook (dill potatoes, corn on cob, ham?, stewed apples…), clean up after eating
√ Laundry - scoop litter boxes, tidy
Wash - dh’s clothes (hamper empty), my clothes
√ Dining room - wipe down, dc top of cabinet
Living room - clean glass and rehang cat seat, √ water plants, √ dc bookshelf, strip and wash furniture covers, √add hydrangeas to vase, take down decor around tv
Second bathroom wipe out inside cabinet, scoop litter
Foyer - wipe AC vent cover (in progress)
Master bedroom - box items to donate, box Christmas
Closet - sort/declutter clothes and shoes (√ spent :20 on piles)
Paper - log payments
Porch - √ plant tomatoes and peppers, repot plants that are in too small containers, √ repotted mini yellow rose, water plants
√ Yard - gather mulch and put in dog yard
√ Walk dogs/walked Beau and let him run after the ball
√ Pick blackberries - didn’t see any
Spray for ants
Spray house with outdoor cleaner
√Poarch delivered two loads of dirt/gravel
√ Spread dirt - found someone to do it for us cheap
√Messaged girls to see if they wanted to come over this weekend and grill, work in the yard

What to make with apples…I was thinking of slicing and eating with peanut butter maybe but dh would really love me if I made stewed apples so I should do that now, thanks for the suggestion.

Those conversations are so much easier when you’re the child, more of a necessity when you’re the parent. You’re a great mom, this will be a bonding moment for your girls and you.

I’m off to bed, see you later, alligator.

Good morning, Trissie, and thank you for starting us off. I knew there were a lot of apple varieties - the UK has some orchards devoted to "heritage" varieties - but not *that* many!

Sleep well, Bama! Can wild turkeys and domestic turkeys interbreed?

Trissie, you're such a good Mum. My drugs education from my parents consisted of o e word: "Don't!". Alcohol was a different matter. My father was what would these days be termed a functioning alcoholic, aided by my mother (I never realised until years later that the shopping trips I was taken on where she bought bottles of brandy by the case, were certainly not "normal" behaviour. ). I was never interested in the drug scene, so never tried anything, and for me, *not* drinking alcohol was the ultimate act of teenage rebellion!!!

Today, DH goes to the office, and I have a day at home. We have a misty start, but I think it's going to burn off to give a beautiful warm, sunny day. So, gardening and a walk are definitely on the agenda. My front garden is at the (short lasting!) stage where I don't need to do very much there, so I need to use the time to get as much of the summer bedding potted up, so that's all done before I need to start cutting back the periwinkle when it's finished flowering. I'm also expecting a cat food delivery today, so I need to be around for that. And, of course, the house is always calling to me!

To do:

Appointments:
Monday: DH to office
At home for me
Tuesday: DH WFH
8.45 vet Freddie - Solensia injection & ORDER HIS FLEA CONTROL!
6.30 pm DH choral practice
Wednesday: DH to office
7pm DH choral practice
At home for me
Laxapet for Jude and Matilda
9 pm Final touches to Waitrose order - ORDER EXTRA MILK FOR CHURCH COFFEES
Thursday: County Council elections; DH is PO at our local polling station
Vote!
10.30 am church
Any errands?
Hoover car? ( Weather permitting!)
Bring blue crates up from garage (delegate this to DH)
6-7 pm Waitrose delivery
Laxapet -Jude and Matilda ( if we didn't do it yesterday)
Friday DH: WFH
At home for me
Saturday:
*Text DF E re coffee tomorrow* not this week, as we're doing coffees after church
Sunday: church 9.30 am We are doing the coffees this week
Coffee with DF E ? Not this week
Laxapet Jude and Matilda

Future dates to note: Order my meds

Outstanding deliveries: Animes, Mountain Warehouse, Seasalt

Extras:
Amend Amazon S&S items - TODAY
Digital decluttering- Google Photos for 2024 and 2025
Pick up my footprints
House tasks: clean gutters and the swan neck on the downpipes where "stuff" tends to accumulate, clean cladding back and front and downpipes, and short return wall as well. Replace the bit of mortar that's fallen out of the edge of the roof (I think its called the verge?) , fix dripping kitchen tap ( new washer?), sort out cabinet that wobbles, fix garage guttering that's loose at one end and bending down. More as I think of them? Texted 10/3 and 14/4
If no reply by the end of the month, then definitely look for someone else (DF PM is also starting to become exasperated with his reluctance)
Steps to take to find a replacement: ask friends, look on local sources eg Nextdoor for recommendations
I may have to split the jobs between different people this year if I can't find someone who's good at a variety of skills, so:
For gutter cleaning, Dneighbours R and A used Ben's gutters -are they pleased with the work? Does BG also clean cladding? Do they have a website? Yes
Also The E Gutter Cleaners -they have good reviews
Prepare my "job spec" WIP
Fill in free quote forms for both the above companies
Wait and see the results!
Kitchen tap - DF E has given me the phone number of her plumber . I think DF CW also has a plumber she is happy with?
Garage gutter -probably something for a handyman - text /message a few likely people. Does Dneighbour R2 do handyman type jobs? I know he's done work for Dneighbour R in the past, but that was larger jobs, like laying a path!
Pick a new podiatrist from my "short list"
Book an appointment !
Take up and hem those thick winter curtains for the kitchen
Book eye test for me
Find picture hanging equipment for DH
Sort prints and put in albums (this will probably be an activity to do on wet days!) WIP I am now working on 2024
Think about setting up Guardianship for F,J and M - looked on Cats' Protection, I need their microchip numbers, approximate DOB, colour and markings and useful information about them. Bookmark link with local recommended solicitors (also ask DF CW?)
Change health centres to the one nearest us? On hold ATM , but I'll leave it on my list so I don't forget.

To do:
Early morning:
Cuddles and treats on the bed with Matilda, Jude, and Freddie
Cup of tea
QT
Update latest Waitrose order when new dates become available
Make bed
Shower / wash hair/ moisturiser and sunblock/ clean and floss teeth
Physio exercises and back exercises WIP
Proprioceptors exercises X1 x2 x3
S/S bathroom
Get dressed
DH launched
Breakfast and meds / supplements - me
DRINK WATER #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8
Check bank account
Go for my walk

Garden:
15 minutes in tiny front garden
15 minutes in back garden

Cats:
Cats’ breakfast and meds / supplements
Fresh water in cat bowls
Scoop cat trays
Check Jude’s bowl
Check Matilda's bowl
Walk Freddie
Lap time with Jude, Freddie and Matilda
Play with Jude, Freddie and Matilda
Head rubs with Jude, Freddie and Matilda
Cats' supper

House:
Rubbish down to wheelie bins
Kitchen clean up
Load DW
Run DW when full
Unload DW
PUPA downstairs
Quick dust sitting room
Quick hoover downstairs
PUPA upstairs
Quick dust bedrooms
Quick hoover upstairs
Lunch
Supper

Lay out clothes for tomorrow
Journal three things I am thankful for today
Hand cream

Extra house tasks:

Monday:
Clean bathroom
Clean spare room
Clean bedroom
Can I clean some windows?

Tuesday:
Clean hall
Clean sitting room
Clean stairs
Empty hoover before starting work
Wheelie bins back when dustmen have been
Filing paperwork for 15 minutes
Clean more window /patio doors?

Wednesday:
Clean kitchen

Garden extras:
Feed pots weekly
Beginning of June - need to order more fuchsia gall mite predator
Plant Begonias - shallow pot on manhole cover in front garden, also some for shallow bowl on patio? Bought 18
Geraniums - 12?? along fence by path?
?? along remainder of fence
15 for small border
6? for patio ? Bought 30
Allysum - need to plant these in a pot -which one?

Financial:
More work on budget WIP
Healthspan
Change CTax SO again in May!

Good morning kittykatt.
Dh said the same thing, according to google wild and domestic turkeys can breed, albeit rare, and she would probably make her nest in the woods behind us so I doubt we’d ever see chicks, as adorable as they might be.
I saw a meme on Facebook saying, “remember when as kids in art class we would make ashtrays for our parents?”, my mom would send me into the gas station to purchase her cigarettes, times have sure changed!

Bama, that's interesting about the turkeys. Growing up, we were "officially" a non smoking household, although my father used to have to odd cigarette in the garage. Again, it was something I just wasn't interested in - possibly because it was something the "cool" kids did, and I definitely wasn't cool? ( Looking back, I think today there would probably have been some adult intervention, and being taken for "testing", but back then, if you were a bit "odd" or "different" you were just left to get on with it!)

DH has finally left for work, after I got involved in the hunt for his wallet and I'm having some one to one time with Jude. I like to do this when I possibly can, as she's the quiet, timid one, and I don't want her to get overlooked with the strong personalities of Freddie and Matilda!