As I
write this post, it’s Day 13 of our Covid-19 self-isolation experience. As one joker said, with this isolation at
home, he “talked to his wife the other day and she isn’t so bad”! If you live with someone, you certainly are
getting to know them better…or in some cases…possibly worse.
As for
Laurie and I, we actually have always liked hanging around together and doing
things together. What we miss is our
ability to go out to a restaurant or explore the back roads. While we can and do go on drives in the area,
not being able to stop, shop, dine, etc. limits the experience.
However
today is a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and warmth…so the windows are
open and Laurie has been busy spot cleaning, picking up sticks and
roofing/gutter trash in the yard and re-potting a couple of plants. I was out in the yard for a while too…and
that sunshine was glorious.
We have these
2 pots of pansies on our front porch. Originally
the centerpiece of these planters were a couple of faux evergreen trees. We had to remove them because the pansies were being attacked by beetles and the other one not as much. Can you guess which was
which? The damaged pansies are beginning
to make a comeback…and as soon as conditions permit, Laurie will be shopping
for a new centerpiece for the planters or maybe just more pansies!
We have a
‘flock’ of these little snails living along the front and in certain areas along the
back of our house. It looks like these photos represent 2 different species. This area
of East Tennessee has had a rainfall/moisture surplus that totals more than 14
inches above normal year to date. Consequently,
it’s been the perfect environment for these little shelled critters as well as
the small frogs that we continue to come across.
They are
tiny…at least at this point. I tried to
learn more about them on-line but there are so many species that I can only
guess that they are some type of garden snail.
Apparently a plethora of snails seek shelter (hibernaculum) as a group
when the weather demands it. We’ve never
had a problem (yet) with the snails destroying any of our plantings…
Many of
those of us that are ‘trapped’ at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic have undertaken projects
that we’d put off for months or even years.
Laurie decided that our first project of this sort would involve our
spices and related materials in our kitchen cabinets. This is what it looked like in our kitchen after
we’d removed most of the items in the spice cabinet.
Once we
removed everything, Laurie cleaned the shelves and the liners as well as the ‘stair
step’ unit we used for most of our spices. Once the cleaning was done and unneeded or
unwanted items were discarded, we filled the stair step display, arranging the
spices again by alphabetical order. We
can hold off doing this project again for another few years....
But once
inertia was overcome via the effort with the spice cabinet, it was on to even more kitchen cabinet
cleaning and reorganization. This particular cabinet is the one right next
to the stove top that contains the most common seasonings and cooking oils. Now we even have a little empty storage space
on the top shelf!
Laurie also cleaned and
reorganized her baking equipment and baking supplies shelves…
A couple
other shelves were attacked as well. In
this case it was a miscellaneous cabinet with honey, syrup, pancake mix,
recipes, and more… More space on the top shelf! Several drawers were also redone, with some other non-food items discarded or transferred to my storeroom.
I will admit, and Laurie will be more than willing to tell you, that I’m ‘a bit’ lazy as
regards housework. In any case however, it's true that this project
did provide a sense of purpose and accomplishment for both of us.
So…what
have you done or are planning to do to pass the time while in self-isolation/quarantine?
One last
glimpse of spring at our house...flowers blooming in one of our deck planters
and pots. These pretty little blue
flowers signal the regrowth of our rosemary herbs. Actually, they never really died off or went
completely dormant over this mild winter and they were one of the first things
to bloom here at our home at ‘paradise east’ in Tennessee.
Just
click on any of the photos to enlarge them…
Thanks
for stopping by for a visit!
Stay Well
and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie
Good for you guys getting things organized.
ReplyDeleteStill winter here although getting warmer, hence instead of wearing 3 layers of clothing it's down to 2 layers:) Other than that it's layers of gloves, gowns and face shields while at work. Me still healthy. Wishing the same for you and your loved ones, friend David. PS: Your first pansy pic is precious:) Love, cat.
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