Another week in the rear view mirror

 Another blogger mentioned that time seems to be flying by this spring, and I do not disagree. This week in particular just disappeared. I said to my son as he left for work on Friday, "Is this your last day of work for the week?" He said yes, and I responded, "Then it really is Friday."

I have no idea what I did the first part of the week, but I do know that I spent several hours in the basement painting. The main room is almost complete - it needs some paint touch-ups, and the baseboards need to be painted. The bathroom wall has been painted but I still need to caulk the baseboards and paint those. While I was working in there, I discovered the toilet is leaking. It's because the bolts inside the tank are rusted and loose. I had pointed that out to the contractor and he said it was that way when they removed it. I suspect it may have been but the removal and replacement dislodged them further. I shut off the water, flushed most of the tank, and used towels to clear out the rest before calling the plumber. He's booked for next Monday. We have two other functioning bathrooms in the house so it isn't a big deal.

The new room has been partially primed I still have a wall and half and that one walls bulkhead to complete. I have lots of primer, but have run out of the natural grey that I've used in the other rooms. I'm going wait a couple of weeks to get more, and use this project for the heat that will come in July. It will be much cooler in the basement than outside and I'll appreciate it more. 

Outside the fence that was installed last year needs to be weather-proofed with transparent stain. In addition, the trim around the garage and front door need re-painting. I finally bought the paint for the front door too. Because, you know, I don't have nearly enough painting to do. :) 

I did get outdoors as well, and transplanted the seedlings that I started this spring. The seeds were from tomatoes, peppers, and marigolds that I harvested from the plants I grew last year. I didn't have much luck with the marigolds and peppers. I got two seedlings out of the two dozen marigold seeds I planted, I've two green and one red pepper, out of the nine that I planted. Tomatoes fared better, with four of nine plants started. They're much smaller than the plants I bought at the garden center as I was growing them indoors with no grow light. This was mostly an experiment so it won't bother me if I get nothing from them. My garden center peppers are blooming, the tomatoes are a little further behind. On the other hand my potatoes are up! I've got three containers so I'm sure I'll enough for a few meals when all is said and done.

My front flower bed is starting to fill in. The west side tends to do better as it gets more sun, but I've got columbine, bleeding heart, Jacob's ladder, five hostas, and some lamium starting to fill in the area closest to the front door. I need to replenish the mulch too.

I was thrilled to find the bleeding heart made it through the winter...and it is blooming too. The bush is only about a foot high so I was bit surprised by that. 

The bergenia is doing well. It was one of the first plants I put in the bed. Twelve years ago, all this bed contained was lily of the valley, a hosta and a whole lot of rocks. It's come a long way since then.

Out back, the peony is about 12-15 inches tall, but has no buds. I didn't expect it would, as it can take up to three years for a perennial to mature. I read the saying the other day, "The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap."

I did have a day out on Wednesday. I started with a drop-off of a trunk full of stuff at Value Village. For the donation, I received a 20% off coupon. Eli needs shorts for the summer, so I decided to check the store. I found five pairs of shorts for him, two t-shirts for myself, a jigsaw puzzle and two large balls of yarn. All for less than $30! I had to mail a couple of things to D, so added the shorts in the box and he should have them next week.

I did some browsing at a few other stores, and grabbed a bite to eat before meeting my travel agent L, and friend K at at coffee shop. It was a beautiful afternoon so we sat outside with our drinks, talked about past and upcoming travels, laughed at life and I shared the photos from my cruise. It felt so good to be out with friends, spending an afternoon in the sun.

Thursday we had a thunderstorm roll through in the afternoon accompanied by a good rain. The spruce trees have been shedding pollen for a couple of weeks now, and my driveway was almost yellow in color from it. The rain washed that away for the most part. Friday was another rainy day. Carter showed up first thing in the morning to silicone the stairs and to install the access hatch for the furnace duct. Hooray, the contractor's work is complete! I'll wait to share photos until I finish my part. 

Today, I slept in - until 7:10 a.m. That's a first in a very long time for me. I'm usually awake by 5:30 and out of bed shortly after 6. Not always because I want to, but Saku is quite insistent on being fed. Today he let me sleep. The sun is shining at the moment, though there is more rain in the forecast. I'm going to take advantage of the nice weather and head out for a walk. The painting can wait!

Have a great weekend everyone.