September 19, 2022 Monday--12:30pm

Good afternoon!

So far the KitchenAid mixer...

...and the beehive blender are sold and gone.

Just have the Cuisinart and all it's attachments and blades left as far as my kitchen appliances to be sold.

Getting more and more room on my countertops--LOL!

Ever since Allie saw the baby bunny on the patio she has preferred this bed back in the corner where she can comfortably keep an eye out there.  Trouble is...

...it is too comfortable and she dozes off--lol!

She does keep an eye out, though.

Patiently waiting for it to return.

 Maybe she thinks that it is like a kitten?  She doesn't want to hunt it...she loves it.

Monday

While I was sitting here watching TV a lady walked over from the sidewalk right to my patio just to tell me how much she loved my flowers.  :)

Me, too!  I will definitely want to have some flowers in my window wells!

Tuesday

Watched Jurassic World: Dominion on Netflix DVD.  It was fun to see some of the original characters again! 

I called for maintenance--three things.

Wednesday

Gerald was here.  He fixed my slow draining bathroom sink and replaced the last smoke alarm in the studio...but after taking the washer apart he couldn't find anything wrong with it.  I have been afraid to use it.  When Leah was here I showed her how loose it is in there and she thought it was too loose, too.  Will finally do a small load today or tomorrow.  He asked if I would try to take a short video if it does it again.

Leah came over that night and put together the new floor lamps for me.  I replaced the one by my chair...

...and the one by the art table in the studio.

So far it does seem easier on my eyes!  I can change the tone to add a bit of yellow so it isn't so harsh.  The addition of the yellow still helps even when you put it up to the brightest it goes.  I am very happy with them.  Even have remotes and touch memory and brightness adjustment on the pole.  What they don't think of these days!

Leah went to bring out the old floor lamps to the garage...but there was a spider on the keypad.  She is deathly afraid of spiders, called me, and I went out.  (Was truly bug day, I tell you!)  The spider went behind the keypad, of course.  The keypad has been really tough to slide up and that night it was REALLY hard.  I finally got it up and opened the door.  We breathed a sigh of relief.

I had brought my cart with me.  As long as I was making a trip out I did need some more bird seed.  Decided to bring in some smaller bags I had wanted to try...and came across a bag of seed filled with small black beetles!  I am not joking--it was called Bugs 'n Berries!!!  There were no live bugs in it when I bought it!!!  Maybe it had bug larva in it?  Be forewarned, people!!  They were crawling inside and even a few outside of the bag!!

I have scissors in the garage--took it over into the grass beyond the garages and dumped it out for the birds.  

Creepy crawly night continued after Leah left, too.  I had a giant cricket up on the wall above my AC!  Got that one.  About an hour later a big old black spider on the wall by the AC!  But I missed that one.  It fell down and ran behind the heat register never to be seen again.  At least--so far.  

Allie watches for the baby bunny.  

I watch for the spider.

It is that time of year where all the bugs are trying to find a way inside where it is warmer.  Mice and such are doing the same.  Fall is here.  Chillier nights and cooler days.  My very favorite time of year...except for the bugs.  We've never had mice here--knock on wood.  Not out in the garage, either.  In this apartment complex every fall we have dead and barely moving crickets scattered about the hallways.  They are always half dead when they make it inside.  Can't blame them for thinking they might live if they could get warm...they always die.  But not in my apartment, thank you.

Thursday

Nice sunny day...but we lost electricity for 45 minutes in the late afternoon.  When it came back on it really startled me because I could hear this loud male voice in my bedroom--lol!  Here the alarm clock I haven't used for years had the radio come on full blast!?  So odd!  We've had short outages before and that has never happened.

Anyways, it wasn't just our complex.  We got a text notice from the electric company that the power was out in "our area".  Dagan and Leah live in West Fargo and their electricity never went out.

A little over two hours later--out it went again!  This time for an hour and 45 minutes.  My lift chair does have enough battery power to get you out of the chair but that's about it.  So I moved over to my old little tan lounger (has a footrest lever)...got my trusty oil lamp and some candles lit...moved over my writing paraphernalia and settled in.  

Allie paced--wondered what was going on and why I had commandeered her chair--LOL!  So very quiet.

Meanwhile, I got a call that I have a new cleaner coming from the county!  Doreen.  She'll come for about an hour and 15 minutes every other Tuesday afternoon at 2pm.  Nice!  I mainly need her to clean the bathroom and scrub the floors.

Friday

Got another call.  No, will not have Doreen...will have Keanna.  Same schedule.

Leah and the boys popped by around lunchtime to pick up the blender that had sold. 

Later they were back to bring me over to the clinic to get my stitch removed at 3pm.  They dropped me off and waited in the parking lot.

I have to admit--these paintings in the dermatology waiting room baffle me.  Why would you have two identical paintings hanging right next to each other like that?  The only difference I can see is the one on the left is a bit faded on the left side.  Maybe the sun hits it?

Hanging over to the right of the matching paintings...is this.

Why would you have a framed painting hanging inside of another framed painting?  The dermatology department is strange.

Anyways, the nurse clipped the stitch, yanked it out, and off I went.

Leah and the boys picked me up and we made a trip to Baker Nursery on the way home.  Was so much fun!  Leah needed something for a tree (iron?).  Ian and I headed for the house plants and there was such an array of pretty and silly planters & pots!  We laughed and laughed.  Then Leah and Liam joined us and we looked through the house plants.  I have been snooping online for low-light houseplants I could have in the basement...and Baker actually had a ton of them!  So exciting to know they have a good selection.  I'll be back after I am moved and settled in.  :)  We headed for my apartment.

The boys helped carry in Leah's big crock pot and some recipe books.

Ian wanted to show me how strong he was--that he could carry Liam on his back.

Leah had mentioned she has this big crock pot I could use to make my soups.  (I am the only one who loves soups.)  Might be easier and I wouldn't have to bring my big pots when I move.  I don't think I'd want to use a big pot on a hotplate, you know?  (We both keep trying to think of ways to downsize our stuff.)  I will be trying it out for soups and stews and other slow cooker recipes this winter.

I finally caught a picture of Allie's new friend.

Makes you wonder how many litters they managed to have this year!?

Later I began a huge project in the middle of the night on Friday (couldn't sleep after a 3 1/2 hour nap).  The fact that I have a new cleaner coming was the motivation.  I should have gotten before pics but I didn't think of it.  I haven't known what cleaning supplies I even have under the sinks since Caroline was here--LOL!  I had a huge Amazon box in the middle below the bathroom sink and stuff was piled high to the point of falling out when I tried to pull the baskets out on either side (which also got stuck because of things protruding everywhere).

I decided to do like the organizing shows I have been watching--pull every single thing out.  So I had the countertop...

...and the washer and dryer covered!  (The big box was on the floor.)

I did the same thing in the kitchen where the right side, at least, was overflowing and stuff was falling out.

Covered the countertop.

Yes, Leah's crockpot and my toaster are in the back--LOL!

I would work till my back complained loudly and then sit and go through cookbooks.  Finally finished in the kitchen yesterday (Sunday).  I now have all the cleaning supplies on the left side under the kitchen sink.  The current supplies.

I refilled the Amazon box (which fit so perfectly under the bathroom sink)...

...with all the stockpiled cleaning supplies.  Now all the extras are all in one place!

But you may notice that the two side basket shelves are still empty.  I need to finish clearing off the washer and dryer...both to finish organizing under there and in order to test out the washing machine.  

But this project has snowballed, of course.  I want to purge and organize all the medicines... Q-tips, toothbrushes, toothpastes...all the health related stuff...all the vitamins and supplements...all of it.  Which meant I had to get down any related bins from above the washer and dryer...

...which are now in the bedroom.  Five of them!

Allie has found all this fascinating and wants inside everywhere I open anything up--lol!

Anyways, it doesn't matter if the bedroom is a mess when she comes.  It's the whole bathroom and the kitchen & pantry floor I want her to clean.

All that has kept me out of trouble last week.

Some pics from Leah!

The boys playing the card game I got Liam for his birthday.

Liam's birthday cake.

Some of the fun activities the boys have been doing lately.  Learning to roller skate.

Using a push scooter.

And bowling!

They have a ramp for littler bowlers.  Liam uses it...

 ...but Ian doesn't anymore.

Looks like they had a great time.

Well, that's it from last week.  I need to finish in the bathroom...(or at least move the rest into the bedroom--lol!)  Tomorrow I meet the new cleaner, Keanna.  Was light rain this morning but now the sun is out and it is 73 degrees.  About time I get dressed.  I am so sore and tired that I am moving very, very slowly.  No surprise.  But I am so very, very happy to have gotten done as much as I have.  Feels like the first big pre-move purge project.  ;)

Dagan and Leah have been working on clearing out in the garage and Leah said this next weekend they will be able to start emptying the basement.  We've been texting back and forth about polishing and sealing the basement floor...an additional cat door for if Blink and Allie become really good friends (then both cats could go upstairs and downstairs but I could keep my door closed).  If they didn't get along we'd just keep the cat door under the stairs closed.  We're discussing cabinetry for my bathroom...it is all exciting and fun.

Hope you all have a stimulating and rewarding week.

Till next time...❤