Dishpan Hands

I absolutely HATE HATE HATE unloading the dishwasher. I'd rather do my taxes while on the treadmill after a 3 day cleansing fast.

But it's kind of a necessary evil, isn't it? Or is it. I've discovered, much to my very great surprise, that I enjoy doing the dishes at night by hand. Who knew that dishwashing could be a peaceful Zen moment kind of activity?

But, there are some rules. First, I must use some yummy dish soap. Yes, the price is ridiculous, but it is very concentrated. Truth be told, I don't have this $50 per gallon dish soap. I just want it. I'm using the lower octane Mrs. Meyer's Lavender scented dishsoap. Next dish gloves. Not just any dish gloves. Look at these cute gloves from the blog Little Birdie's Secrets. Check out their blog. So many cute things!

And lastly, drying the dishes with good quality cotton dishtowels. 

Result- clean dishes, clean kitchen and some quality quiet time. 

How Many Topics Can I Fit Into One Blog Post?

I have a touch of ADD, so you will have to forgive me while I flit around completely unrelated topics.

My de-cluttering and purging of STUFF continues. I have a tall laundry hamper in my kitchen where I deposit items for donation. It's a bit ironic that my de-cluttering efforts have caused a big ole piece of clutter in the kitchen; but it's temporary so I am ignoring it.

I spent last weekend with some friends at their mountain getaway in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.  The beauty and peace of that corner of the world is amazing. Their home is bordered by the Appalachian Trail on one side with woods and a creek that literally bubbles as it flows over the rocks.

The trees are thick and beautiful all four seasons. Even in winter sunlight streams through the leafless tree branches and creates an incredible show of color and light and movement.

The ice and wind have brought down a lot of branches- huge branches. The locals call the "widow makers".

There was a little proof that spring is coming...

It was a great weekend with time for knitting, reading, napping and a painting lesson. We went out for an incredible dinner and slept late. It really doesn't get any better. 

A little knitting took place a few weeks ago.  I made a hat for the son of one of my friends. He's 7 and a Steelers fan. 

The hat was easy. Picking the cat hair out of it was a part time job! On the needles now is a pair of pink leg warmers for another young friend. She's 4 and all girl and must have a pair of hand knit leg warmers for her ballet class this fall. 

We painted at the mountains. My friend Sue is an amazing painter. She uses acrylics like watercolor. I love painting, but I've struggled a lot with it.  I think my biggest problem is I don't let the paint dry between layers. What a shock. Me. Impatient! We painted greeting cards. I don't expect Hallmark to recruit me any time soon, but it was fun! 

Next topic- meal planning. I am always in awe of people who can plan their week's menu of meals, thereby saving money on groceries and eating a healthy and balanced diet. For some reason, what comes so naturally to some is totally overwhelming to me. I've tried dozens of systems. I've over complicated the whole process every step of the way. I think I've hit on the answer. I found a planning calendar at Target that fits my thought process. It's a tablet with 52 sheets of a weekly schedule. On the right side there are several pads of sticky notes. The sticky notes fit onto the calendar. Brilliant. 

First, I've decided that I need to simplify my meal plan. Stop with the major recipes slated for every night. After working all day and playing bumper cars on the beltway the last thing I want to do is sear, chop or braise. Much better to plan something simple and quick. I write seven simple breakfasts, lunches and dinners on sticky notes. Then I arrange and re-arrange until it feels right. No more lists that get complicated, convoluted and ultimately, ignored. White stickies are breakfast, yellow are lunch and green are dinner. I haven't done snacks for the week yet. I love this system. Hopefully I'll love it enough to use it. 

And finally, Juli in her nightly meditation pose.  She got this toy for Christmas. Nightly she cuddles up to it staring at things that aren't there. She is in full Zen mode. 

The Great Outdoors Part 1

I have a sweet little patio outside my condo. Up until now it has been a total under achiever in the charming department. I had it repaved last year, and the charm level definitely went up. But it's still been rather a bleak corner of my home.

Bleak.
Furniture in need of paint.
But nice new pavers and lovely windchimes = potential.








So, armed with lots of potential and not a lot of pesos I challenged myself to create a charming, warm and welcoming back yard space with as little money spent as possible. Time for a trip to Target.

It doesn't look like much yet, but here's a pile of even more potential.

A tablecloth for next to nothing.

Kitchen towels to cut up and sew back together as colorful pillows and cushions.

Working on the arrangement of the furniture.

The grill ended up way more to the right.

The table cloth ready to be trimmed down to the right size with the left overs planned for a big cushion on my red adirondack chair.

One pillow is sewn. Several more in line.

You are seeing 2 dish towels cut up to make one pillow.

Look at these cute chair pads that go with the table cloth. $5.99.

I don't know whether to spray paint the patio furniture black or white.

The table cloth is trimmed down to size. The chairs are padded and pillowed.

The 60% off lantern is hanging over the table with a flameless candle inside.

This photo is sort of a "mini reveal" of things to come. I hesitate even posting this, as there's much more to be done.

Still in the wings:
Lots more cushions and textiles.
Plants- lots of plants.
Maybe a small water fountain.
Little "B" white lights for the ceiling over the patio.
The wrought iron window frame thing hanging on the wall is going to lean artfully against the fence behind some pots of plants.
I'd like a piece of waterproof art on stretched canvas to bring some color to that wall. I may have to paint it myself as stretched canvas paintings for the outdoors run about $250.

I'm looking forward to using my patio this year. Reading, writing and resting will take place. Maybe a bit a knitting and a glass or two of wine with my neighbor Mimi.

The more I look at the table cloth the more I think I had a bed spread like that when I was in college in teh late 60's. What's old is new again.