Week 6 - Light at the end of the tunnel?

Another week of near isolation is over and it appears there may be some loosening of restrictions here soon.  In Saskatchewan, we've had less than 350 cases and only 4 deaths (thank goodness) so our provincial government has decided to let things go back to semi-normal.  There is a five stage plan, but only stage 1 and 2 have actual dates assigned, the other three stages will be determined depending on well or how poorly the first two stages go.  The first stage will start on May 4 with the opening of medical services such as optometrists, occupational therapy, dentists and such. Boating and fishing will be allowed too, although only family members living in the same household will be permitted to do these activities together.  Assuming all goes well, by May 19 retail stores will allowed to re-open but again with significant restrictions.  We've been truly fortunate as none of our long term care homes have been affected though I am concerned that at least two of our indigenous communities have recently announced several cases.  Those communities could be hard hit if as this continues.

Based on Thursday's announcement, and a conversation my son had with his boss, I'm thinking he'll be back to work on May 19 as well or at least that's the expectation. I do believe management will bring most staff back slowly but C works in an area that provides general services to the other divisions so he's more likely to be needed.  While I'll be happy to have my time to myself, I do worry this might be a bit early. 

Another relaxation of the restrictions is that we can have contact with one other household.  I've made plans to drive out to visit D and Eli on Mother's Day, May 10.  We'll still maintain social distancing, so no hugs from her though we're pretty sure Eli won't follow the rules.  I'll wear my mask, as will D, we'll wash our hands frequently and I'll change out of my clothes when I get home.  I won't stay the night but will drive out early in the day and come home around dinner time.  Unless it's raining, I won't be surprised if we spend most of the day outdoors in her yard.  Eli loves the outside as he calls it, and there's lot of room for us to visit while he plays.

On a totally different note, and a happy one too, this week I received a parcel in the mail.  I follow Connie's blog at Far Side of Fifty.  Each spring she has a contest for her readers to guess when the snow will be gone from the snow stick in her yard.  I made a educated wild guess of April 2 and it turned out I, along with another reader, was right!  We each received a prize for the correct guess.  


Connie and her husband create hand carved wooden items, and I was hoping that the prize be one of those.  I was not disappointed at all, as the prize included a little fairy house, as well as two scrubbies and some lovely note cards.  All hand-made by Connie!  She's a prolific crocheter creating afghans, shawls, and baby blankets as well.  She's definitely an artist.

I did a bit of sewing and some crocheting and knitting as well this week.  When I went grocery shopping on Monday I used a scarf as a mask but decided after seeing several blogs mentioning hand made masks to give it try.  My first attempt ended up in the garbage.  I used elastic but found it wouldn't stay on my ears.  So I poked through my stash of sewing notions and found some bias tape to use as ties. Since then I've made another couple of masks, one for my daughter, and another to have as a spare. 

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous so I've been spending my afternoons in the sun room.  I used some of that time to finish a UFO (unfinished object).  It's the infinity scarf I started ...let's just say months ago! Obviously I'm not wearing the appropriate top but you get the picture.  AND yes, I need a haircut in the worst way!  Thankfully I'm not the only one.

This was my view as I relaxed on the little love seat in the sun room.  

Friday, the clouds came scudding in, but it wasn't raining so I got into the front yard to do some clean up.  I swept up the patio and driveway of needles and pine cones from the spruce tree. I got down on my hands and knees and cleaned up the front flower of debris, clipping off the dead leaves and stems of the perennials, and put down fresh mulch.  I leave the perennials through the winter for the bugs.  There were dozens of dead lady bugs and a few live ones too.  The latter I moved under the mulch as best I could.  Once everything was cleaned up, I brought out the patio furniture - just a small table and two chairs.  Of course, I had to test it out and so sat and enjoyed the fresh air and the bird song around me.

Today was another lovely day, so I'm posting this in the evening.  About mid-morning I headed outdoors to clean out the large shed in the back yard in preparation of having it removed. My brother has the week of May 4th off and will be taking it apart and moving it out to the farm. My niece L has all sorts of plans for it, as it will become her "she-shed" and art studio.  I'm grateful that it won't be sent to the dump.  

This photo was taken back in June 2011, just about a year after we moved into the house.   I kept extra pots, the lawn mower, hoses, garden tools, and so forth in it.  Everything except the lawn mower has been moved to the little play house shed. I'm not sure what I'll do with the mower - I might just tarp it for the summer because it doesn't make sense to move it to the garage as there is no grass out front.  To put it in the play house would require lifting it onto the lower deck, and then lifting it into the playhouse.  More work than I want to do.

Once the shed is removed, I'll clean up that area and prepare it for new sod. But I've decided the rest of the work will wait until next spring since I will not be listing the house this year.  For this year, at least, I'll use the space for some container gardening.  

Finally, spring has arrived!  (Even if my neighbour has his Christmas lights turned on this evening.) I'm starting to make some plans on what I might plant in my containers, assuming the garden centers are open for business by the long May weekend.  As I was searching for a decent photo of the shed, I looked through photos of years past and gotten some ideas.  Soon, I'll be able to start digging in the dirt again.  That makes me happy!

Take care and stay well everyone!  Have a great week ahead.

Continued preparations

In between curling matches, reading and posting blogs, chats with D and Eli (FB Messenger is great for this), and regular housework, I've been busy with more de-cluttering and minor repairs in the house.  I'm finding there is a lot of work to getting the house ready for sale.  I made the mistake of searching for "top tips for selling a house" yesterday.  Phew, there are a lot of ideas out there.

One of the top tips is to clean surfaces.  In the kitchen it's meant to show how much counter space is available.

Here's my kitchen....I tried, I really did but there are just too many things I need out. The coffee pot, kettle, toaster, and breadbox are going nowhere.  Though looking at the photo, I'll make sure the broom is put away in the closet. 

My living room is much better, with the exception of the table beside my chair.  I keep my remotes, address book, telephone, cat brush, pens, etc.  in a container.  It's is really cluttered but the drawer in the side table is full too.  So, I'll have to do something else with it.  

In my de-cluttering I've managed to fill another large box and started a second one with items to donate.  A lot of this came from a second round of going through Christmas and other seasonal decorations.  In addition, I'm taking a tub of assorted items to my daughter at her request.  I cleaned out three tubs but must admit I filled two of them with items that used to sit out on the shelves in the storage room, mostly stuffed animals and Santas.  I did get one empty tub that I'll use for the stuff that I need to hide during showings.  

The paint touch ups are complete.  When Eli was little we had installed a gate at the top of the basement stairs, when it was removed, there were holes that needed to be patched and the walls repainted.  Luckily I had the paint from the bathroom renovations and was able to use that.  I did pick up a small tester of white paint for touching up baseboards and the railing on the steps up to the kitchen. Some time ago, my nephew for some reason known only to him, scratched up the railing with a sharp object.  I'd ignored it until now, but with a bit of wood filler and paint it looks fine.  

One afternoon last week it was warm enough to open up the sun room, so I took the opportunity to clean it thoroughly.  All the toys have been put away, the floor was swept and then vacuumed, and I pulled down some of the curtains and washed them.  I'll continue that process until they've all been cleaned. (Why I haven't done this in the years I've lived here is beyond me).  

Tucked away in the coffee table are a set of towels, teal and white striped, that I'll use to cover the furniture.  The cat's claws have done a number on the existing towels but I won't replace them until necessary.  For showings yes!  One of the curtains was torn by Sheldon, I think he was trying to chase a bird.  It's the second on the left in the picture; I took it down and patched it, then moved it to a corner where it isn't likely to be closed.  I could try to replace them but there are 12 curtains and at an average of $40-50 each I'm not prepared to spend that much money, and it's not likely I could find one that would match the current ones.

Another repair made was the front hall closet door.  The one on the left had split at the top when I was trying to open it one day.  I probably yanked on it too hard.  For the longest time (a year or more) I lived without a closet door.  It certainly ensure I kept the closet tidy. :)

I had been looking on line for replacement doors but was trying to figure out how I'd get them home.  I sure didn't want to pay the $75 delivery charge! As I was getting out of my car the other day, I noticed a couple of panels on top of the shelving unit.  There were a number of pieces of wood left behind by the previous owners.  I checked, and sure enough the panels were the right size.  One of the panels matched, almost to a T the broken one so this weekend I took them all down to basement where I could lay them out on the floor and replaced the broken panel.  My son gave me a hand re-installing it. It's not entirely level but as my dad would have said, "a blind man riding by wouldn't notice the difference." Hooray, another fix with no additional cost!

I did go out the other day and spent a few dollars on towels.  I bought new white tea towels for the kitchen and patterned hand towels for the bathroom.  These will only be used for showings...my ratty old stuff is for everyday.  That plastic tub I mentioned earlier can be used to hide the ratty old stuff while the showing is happening.  I'll just toss it in the car to take with me while the showing is going on.

I'm still about a month away from listing, partly because D and Eli will be here in early May. AND I know the house will need some serious cleaning after they leave.  As well I want to get the garage and yard in tip-top shape and that can't happen until we have some nicer weather.  Sunday was another lovely day with temperatures reaching 15C(70F), but it won't be that warm every day for quite awhile.  My theory is, I'll get as much done in the house as I can now, then will be able to focus my attention on simply keeping it up, and working on the outside.

In the meantime, I've done a little bit of crocheting.  I started an Easter basket for Eli before I left on my cruise and took it with me to work on while I was away.  When I returned home, I realized I didn't like what I'd done so I unraveled it and started again! 

Here's the final product with a few goodies tucked into it (he's only 2 so that's all he's getting).  The basket itself is made using two strands of yarn, all of it scraps I had from other projects.  I knew I didn't have enough blue so used the green and yellow to make the stripes.  The handle is also made with double strands but for additional stability I used three pipe cleaners, side by each, crocheting around them.  I sewed the handle onto the basket, and used the little foam pieces I got at the dollar store to decorate it.  With a bit of paper, and the goodies, I think it turned out pretty well.  

I'll deliver the basket and other items I've gathered up around the house to D and Eli on Wednesday when I drive out to visit.  D wanted me to come for Easter weekend, but I'd rather not deal with the holiday traffic.  Eli has no idea yet, what Easter is or when it is so he'll care less. Though I do know he'll be happy to see me as I will be to see him too.

Have a great week everyone!