Busy as a Bee ... bzz .. bzz!

Well, I have been remiss in writing, but that's not to say I've been lazy. On the contrary: I've been busy, busy, busy around here. And I've made some real progress on my To Do list, too!

In the past couple of weeks, I've managed to tidy up my landscaping. I've cut grass, weeded gardens, planted, transplanted, created new footpaths, and, finally, even managed to step back and enjoy the fruits of my labors. I re-purposed the old rabbit run into a more proper compost bin, and cleaned up the old haphazard compost pile that I'd been 'crafting' for five years.

I painted the cabinet doors and reattached them to the kitchen cabinets and the hutch cabinets.

I hung new moulding in the kitchen - at the top of the upper cabinets, and just under the lip of the countertop. (It's a simple moulding, but I think it looks really swell in my kitchen.) I got some pieces of pegboard to hang as a backsplash behind the sink, and as a side panel for the oven. (I still have to do the actual hanging, though.)

I hung new window treatment hardware on most of the windows, and got some nice new curtain panels for them, too. They are white cotton curtains with natural jute horizontal stripes. I love them. They are simple. They let the light shine into the room while still affording privacy. And they are beautiful.

My dad and I cleaned out my garage. (That was a dusty enterprise!)

I boxed up the books from the built-in bookshelf, and decorated the shelves with a few remaining cookbooks and plants and display trinkets that will be staying with me.

I have begun cleaning up the old Frigidaire Flair oven to get it ready to sell. (If you aren't familiar with these vintage ovens, you should do a google image search. They are fantastic ovens with some brilliant design touches!)

I've reorganized the bedrooms, which contain primarily three piles of boxes: Stuff that I am keeping; stuff that I am discarding; and stuff that I need to address again to decide if they are keepers or not.

I removed the nasty old caulking adhesive from the tub. (FYI: The adhesive caulking strips do not work!)

I began going through my kitchen cabinets to purge items that I don't essentially need.

And, finally, I had a scare with Lucy Cluckernutter, one of the chickens. I came home the other night from a very hectic day, and sat on the patio to check out the yard, and watch the chicks a while. I soon after noticed that Lucy's foot was trailing a path of bloody prints. When I looked at her foot, it was covered in blood. I immediately tried to get close enough to her to see if I could find the source of the bleeding, but she isn't used to being handled by humans, and runs anytime anyone gets too close. I called my dad, but he didn't know what to tell me if I couldn't even access the foot. Then I found a vet specializing in avians and exotics in Raleigh. They were willing to see Lucy if I could catch her and bring her in. It would be an emergency visit since they were closing within the hour, and wouldn't possibly make it in before then. I called everyone I could think of who might be willing and able to help me try to catch Lucy, but all I was getting was voice mailboxes. None of my immediate neighbors were home. I was freaking out at this point. Try as I might, I couldn't catch her by myself. Finally I got through to my friend and neighbor, Jenn, and she and her husband came over and helped me catch my wounded hen. (Thanks to Jenn and Jeff for being two of the best friends and neighbors ever!) The vet was great, and gave her a full check up after addressing her wound. Turns out one of the blood feathers on her foot got pulled out somehow, and that will cause bleeding. He dressed the wound, gave her an excellent bill of health, charged me a small fortune for the after hours visit (which was totally worth it!), and sent us on our way.

Whew! I think that's it.

I've been trying to take photos as I go, though, admittedly, sometimes forget to get good before shots. I'm hoping to get the photos downloaded before too long, so you can take a look at some of the progress for yourself.

It's ironic how preparing a house to put it on the market can really endear it to the current owner. As I'm seeing my house and, especially, my yard coming together so nicely, it's really been sprouting some conflicting arguments in my mind. I'm hearing that little voice trying to consider what it might be like to stay here a little longer ... or indefinitely. Then the other voice begins to extol the virtues of mobility and travel and simplicity. Then the two voices start bickering back and forth. When this happens, I just remove myself from the argument. I am sticking to my plan. I don't have to think about those big decisions yet, anyway. I'm just going to keep moving forward and working toward my original goal, and I will deal with the rest later, when it's more relevant. That's the plan. I have a plan. Yes, sir. The plan's the thing.

Okay, so for now, I'm off to re-caulk the bathtub, among other things. I hope you're having a lovely and productive Spring, as well!

Ciao!

Momentum and Release

This weekend I got inspired by the beautiful warm weather. I could feel my body practically aching to get outside. This also seemed the perfect time to begin acclimating my body to some of the physical challenges I'm hoping to create in my new life. As I mentioned in earlier posts, it is my goal to try to get my body into a much more efficient and fit shape so that I might be ready for any opportunity for adventure that should present itself. And, in that spirit, I chose to start walking this weekend. I realize that might sound a little anti-climactic, but it's not as small a step as it sounds. I chose to walk everywhere I went this weekend with the exception of the grocery store when I had to buy the week's worth of food for me and Charlie. I walked to the pool hall Friday night to meet my friends. I walked to the farmers' market Saturday morning with my friends. I walked to work on Saturday night (and got caught in the rain on the way there). It's been great. I love how walking a town can give such a personal experience of its landmarks and its people. I am planning to continue to use my feet and not my car as often as I can. I even hope to start walking to the grocery with my wagon in tow. So, I'm picking up momentum on my fitness plan. The diet is still going pretty well, though I am definitely wrestling with cravings. And I'm hoping to begin more goal-specific calisthenics this week. So, that part of my plans is going smoothly. Yay!

On a melancholy note: Blanca bunny is going to her new home today. My friend from high school is coming this afternoon to pick her up and take her to his neighbors' where she will find her new family. I know it's the right thing to do for her. And I truly believe she will be happier there, but in this past couple weeks, we have actually started to bond. I cleaned her house this morning, and cut her nails and held her and sang to her and tried to explain what was about to happen. She just looked up at me with those big, sweet eyes, and seemed to be telling me "I trust you, and I love you, too." Of course, I wept. And have been weeping on and off since that moment. And will probably weep some more. But such is the grief of release in these instances, and I will relish the sorrow as the price for affording Blanca's happiness, and doing what's best for her.

That's all I've to report right now. Happy Daylight Savings Sunday, everyone, and may you adjust to the time change smoothly.

Happy 2010!

A new year and a new decade began today. Most of the day, for me, was spent trying to recover from last night's merriment, but I was up alarmingly early (before 8am!) nonetheless. I did manage to be somewhat productive throughout the day, though, summoning small bursts of motivational energy between lethargic stints on the couch. I gave Charlie (the dog) a bath. (Always a good time ...) I tidied up the house. Washed, dried, and put away the massive mound of dishes that had been threatening to take over my kitchen since yesterday morning. I cleaned out the bunnies' houses. I also managed to take the bunnies out to play a little, though, they are never really sure how adventurous they're willing to get when out of their houses. I brought Anisette (a big, feisty, super fluffy, black dwarf lionhead) onto the couch with me for while. Then I let Blanca (a timid, little, white netherland dwarf with brown markings down her back and on her ears) onto the bed for a while. I still haven't tried putting their new harnesses and leashes on them, yet. Though I intend to do that very soon. I hope they won't put up too much fight when I try to outfit them, though, I must admit, it's likely they might. But, I think the vision of them in their coordinating harness vests will be adorable enough to make up for any difficulties with the donning. Lastly, I've made out my list for the farmers' market and the green grocer visit tomorrow morning. Aside from that, I've been volleying between re-reading the Harry Potter books and researching information on natural care for Charlie's illnesses. I'll have to write more about those in another post. Too much to cover tonight.
I'm off for a little more reading before bed ...
May 2010 be a year of many wonderful and rewarding experiments!