Big project to be crossed off the list: the trees

On my on-going "frog" list I have many things that seem, frankly, over my head.  But I often reason with myself that Hubby didn't start out in life knowing everything he would need to know about managing a home or finances or vehicles or property or insurance or just about anything else.  He had to start from some point of reference, do his homework, and make the best decisions he could.

And so will I.

I love my home and I want to take care of it, so the first of many frogs to eat is getting some things repaired and taken care of.  Starting with the yards, which are not in good shape.  Last weekend, with the help of The Girl, we mowed again, edged, raked, and spread some grass seed.

I also had an arborist come look at all of my trees and give me recommendations for pruning.  Its going to be a huge job as Hubby and I had never had a professional do the job, so the trees were not being managed well.  

The oaks in back have exploded in growth and are getting tangled up with other trees.  Not to mention they are touching the patio and house roof and one of them is suffering insects and fungi and is too close to the house so it must go.  (You can also see a pecan tree on the fence line in the above photo - I will have to trim the fence boards to accommodate its growth!)

The front yard tree will require an extensive "haircut" that will allow for street and driveway clearance as well as allow some sun to help the lawn recover. 

Its going to be expensive, to say the least.  But its something I can save for, as they will be coming out in January.  Time to stop putting off these frogs and move forward.  Think how pretty it will all look in Spring!

Gina

New life meal plan #5

 Soon it will be time to mow Highlands but I may wait for cooler weather.

Monday - Mole Chicken Drums (crockpot), chard, steamed carrots

Tuesday - Apple Gouda Chicken Sausage with charro beans, spring mix salad

Wednesday - Tilapia with onions and peppers, skillet potatoes, broccoli

Thursday - Turkey burger on ciabatta, sliced onion and tomato, tortilla chips and guacamole {mom on-call}

Friday - Cranberry Gorgonzola Salmon Patties, green beans, acorn squash {mom on call}

Saturday - {on call} TBD

Sunday - wine club pick-up for lunch, probably take-out for dinner

Gina

5 thing Friday - burger, breakfast, pampering, crafts, Teddy

Last Saturday, The Girl and I went to a wine club pick-up in Burnet.  

We had a prime spot on a picnic table under a big oak.

And enjoyed some burgers!  And lately, burgers are quite the treat for me, since we aren't eating fast food Monday through Friday.  So they seem exotic and special and delish.

The next day, I went to check on Highlands and stopped by a favorite local place for breakfast.  I did eat breakfast alone in a restaurant full of families and couples, but the service is always friendly and the food is amazing, and I thought happy thoughts about Hubby the whole time.  It was actually the plan to eat breakfast here the morning of July 24th.  

At Highlands, I putseyed around getting some things done here and there.  Then I parked myself in a lawn chair and read a book while I did a spa treatment on my feet.  It was a very needed relaxing day.

Its not home, but it feels like I have an extra back yard in this special place that is private and where I can breathe freely. 

The Girl has been heavy into needlework and sewing and crafts. She made this sweet owl needle punch, so I hung it by the shelves in the office. So sweet.

We had a scare this week when Teddy decided to wake up and puke a few times.

He has been high anxiety so maybe he is reading the room (house).  He was already struggling with the move from Houston, and now 2 new homes in 2 months.  So for now, no Google lady playing music, special food to calm his stomach, maybe some happy meds, and extra pets and love.

Better days are coming for Ted, too.

Gina

The start of a prettier closet

 I've been as busy in this closet as I have in the garage.  And although I'm done in here for now, there are a few things I would still like to do.  Nothing fancy - just having it clean and neat is a big deal to me. 

I removed some stacking steel shelves in here and stored or donated a bunch of stuff that was still on them.  I pulled all of my huge storage boxes of Christmas down so I wouldn't have to climb on a chair to reach them this year.

We had several of these stacking crates from The Container Store - they are home to flip flops and tennies.

Years ago I bought this chair at Goodwill and spruced it up for Mark to put on his shoes in the mornings.

Above the hanging clothes there is now mostly empty space.  I bought a few more white hangers and realized that now I have space to add some new things to wear.

I re-configured a couple of closet rods to better match what I was storing, and patched and painted a million small holes left by cup hooks for his hat collection above the door.

There's a mostly empty shelf space that I may pretty up to be a sort of dresser table with a small mirror and something pretty for the wall.  Meanwhile, I found two collage frames of family photos that I went ahead and hung on another wall (not shown).  It looks pretty bare in here and that's not a bad thing.

This clock does not work, but maybe I will take it in for repair.

I was trying to get away from storing anything in here but clothes, but for now its the best place for the Christmas stuff.  Its not the prettiest closet ever, but it does smell nice and I know where everything is.

Gina

New life meal plan #4

 I took lunch to my mom recently.  The first time I have gone to visit her since 2 weeks before Hubby passed.  A lifetime ago.  Or 51 days.  Same, same.

 We enjoyed brisket sammies with potato salad, which she said wasn't as good as hers, because it didn't have chopped celery or onion.  Even though you can clearly see that it did.  No sense in pointing that out.

Monday - Dr. Martin's Mix, Chard

Tuesday - 5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken Legs, baked sweet potato, salad

Wednesday - Salmon Patties, twice baked potato half, pintos

Thursday - Crockpot Stew for Two, biscuit

Friday - Grilled Chicken, Tuscan chopped salad

Saturday - TBD {putseying around the house}

Sunday - ditto {definitely not putseying around the house}

Gina

5 thing Friday - files, new shredder, disasters, trees, me

I have been a busy bee in the garage.  I purged from our shared files and I completely emptied Mark's.  He made copies and printed and saved everything.  There are things in there that can't simply be recycled - from scouting, insurance, emergency radio services, licenses, all sorts of documents relating to all sorts of things for years. It is overwhelming to go through it all. 

I ordered a new shredder when it became apparent that my little tooty one wasn't up to the job.  Bigger, handles more pages at a time, larger bin.  I love it. 

I've been spending an hour or so daily, running the shredder as I listen to music and have a glass of wine.  The garage is clean and organized so its not terrible.  Slowly I am getting a handle on things.  But I have many more boxes of files to go through.

Tuesday morning felt like a Monday with a nail in a tire.  Thank goodness Hubby had me buy the road hazard insurance for my new tires.  In fact, every day this week there has been some minor disaster of some sort.  A window frame breaks.  The glass shower wall starts leaking.  The lock on my locker at work fails.  

Just keep swimming.

We may not have a beautiful lawn but the trees are growing and in need of attention.  So yesterday I got a quote to trim this one and the several in the back yard.  I love my house and want to take care of it, including the trees.

I see myself in the mirror and I feel like I have aged in the last few weeks.  I am doing all of the things I know I should: eating right, taking my vitamins, getting enough sleep.  I don't smoke, I don't drink too much, and I try to live life as un-risky as I possibly can.  But life does take its toll.

Gina

Harvest 2021

It was late in the season to harvest grapes, but it was such a weird spring and summer, weather-wise. What with tragedy at my house and all else, I really thought I had missed out on helping out my favorite winery with it.  So when I got the email last week for a call to help, I jumped at it.  No other way to feel normal than to get back to life, and Hubby would have encouraged me to go.

I grabbed a couple of bottles of ice water, put on my tennies, and left the house at 5:15 a.m. to drive to Perissos in Burnet.

I made it just before daybreak.

And jumped right in.

We  worked the Aglianico vines - there were maybe 50 wine club members there to pick.  Lots of couples or girl groups.  I worked alongside other people, but I was mostly alone and it was OK.

The vines were loaded with grapes.  We will likely not enjoy the wine made with these grapes for another 4 years.  {Wonder what life will be like in four years?  If I'm around I will have to go drink some of this wine!}

Pretty, no?  They can be devilishly hard to harvest when they grow tightly along the wires, so you get squirted fairly often with grape juice!  I was sticky and dirty at the end of 4 hours.  But I had a good time, and I felt healthy and strong enough to work hard.

We picked 9-10 tons.

I didn't stomp grapes, though. 

I took this photo and was sitting there resting, enjoying a glass, and who walks right up to me?  My sister Maggie!  She and her Hubby decided to re-join the wine club and surprise me.  We sat at a picnic table, enjoying snacks until it was too hot to stay outside, then said our goodbyes so I could go check on Highlands.

It made me feel normal and was a good break from my house.

And I'm looking forward to more of that feeling.

Gina