On the back of yesterday I have been making plans for my Spring Cleaning!  DH helps out, especially with the moving of the furniture and it does go quicker with the two of us and I have lost a weekend.  So the plans are getting up early this weekend and next to get all the jobs done! 

I will be getting all the extra washing sorted out too, cushion covers, curtains, throws, bed protectors etc washed and out of the line.  We are due to have a warm and sunny weekend. 

I also use it as an opportunity to declutter things.  If I haven’t used it in the past year I recycle it to our local charity shop.  When my Mom passed I was still living at home and I had to find certain legal papers and it was an absolut nightmare.  My Parents had lived in our home for twenty five years and I don’t think my Mom had ever thrown anything away.  Then when my Grandmother passed DH and I had to clear her home out and she had lived there with my Grandfather and her mother, so there were in effect two homes.  It took us weeks and weeks to get it done so I am determined that I will not have that happen in our home. My good friend Susan has had to go through the same thing and has also vowed to declutter her things too!  Perhaps we should set up a Blog Hop of decluttering!!!

Of course we have lots of boxes in the attic stored with the Boys baby things and toys which eventually will go to their homes when they have them!!!!!

For me the Spring Cleaning is one of those jobs I hate to start and really get cross doing it, but absolutely love it and how our home looks once it is done!  But isn’t it the case with any big job?

I have resorted to my list making, so I don’t forget anything and of course using my Spring Cleaning lists which you can find on my side bar.  It really does help to have it all written down and tick it off once you have completed a task, I love ticking things off!!  You can’t guess that as a little girl I loved stationery, notebooks and lists!!!  It really helped when I was studying for my exams, I had notes and lists pinned up all over the place. 

How is your Wednesday going?  Thursday tomorrow with home jobs and Friday I am getting a start on things and grocery shopping of course. 

Hugs & Love, Susie xx

My reward when all the Spring Cleaning is done; a cup of tea and an hour to read!!!

Work on your home never stops!!!  We did a lot to ours when we moved in so of course things are now breaking or need replacing as it has been twenty years!!   The basin in our main bathroom has developed a crack which is starting to creep so we are getting a new one, which of course means new taps.  We are also going to replace the taps on the bath too because you can guarantee if we don’t it will fail immediately after the plumber has been!

Another job is we have some blown units in our double glazed windows so we are getting those replaced before Winter.  The problem at the moment is that everyone is so very busy, which is great for them after the last eighteen months but things are taking a long time to sort out.  The windows have been ordered and we are just waiting for them to set a date to come and replace them.

We are now waiting for the plasterer to come and quote to replaster the ceiling where the rain got in and still waiting for the roofers to come and seal the tiles and clean the gutters out before Winter!  Of course you do know what will happen don’t you?  They will all turn up in the same week!  Yep especially as it is me, these sorts of things always happen to me!!!!

One of the windows which needs replacing is in our dressing room, which means I am going to have to empty it for them to do the job!  Of course that means I can have a clear out at the same time so it is not all bad news!

Today has been busy with work and I had an appointment this afternoon, I don’t know where the days and weeks are flying to!  I hope you are all having a good Tuesday. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle xx

Treacle’s view on the day!

Here are some pictures of our work in the garden yesterday.  DH got the grass cut which always makes the garden look so much better and also got up the leaves that had fallen.  Of course a load more of fallen since!!!!

The table and chairs are still out at the moment but we did put the umbrella away as it was nice and dry, which was a good job as it rained all night and most of this morning.  We will put the furniture away next week after I have given it a clean.

The vegetable bed has been cleaned and tidied and I wil put some winter greens in, when I visit the garden centre for the Winter pansies. 

The pots waiting to be filled and I swept the patio stones.  I clipped the box bush in the top left of the picture and made it look tidy and we just now need to trim some of the plants before Winter.

Next time we need to tackle the plants on the right hand side as they need tidying!

Busy sorting things out at home now as the weather has been up and down today including rain, wind and sun!!! 

Happy Sunday everybody. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle xx

Dh and I spent a lot of last year’s lockdowns getting our garden back into order after a few years of only doing the minimum.  So much so that although we have not been able to do much so far this year it really has not gotten out of hand and only took us Saturday to tidy it all up.  It has been lovely and warm, although Sunday was very hot, but yesterday was back to being nice and warm and today but tomorrow we have forecasts of possible thunderstorms which we always seem to get after some nice warm weather. 

Picture Heavy Post Warning!!!!!!!!!

Our new raised planter with some veggies in.

The summer flowers are all coming out now after the cold and wet May we had.

We have put some bedding plants into the pots.

I have re-planted my herby garden with parsley, a new rosemary plant, some oregano and my chives are still doing okay. 

The garden from our bench and the table.

The blue of the sky through our tree.

All the above pictures were taken facing the sun so they have a slightly ethereal quality. 

Of  course Treacle got in on the act the other evening whilst she was waiting for dinner!!!

This is this afternoon’s picture: 

Even though it is warm she still likes to snuggle under her quilt!!!!  Although it is cool in our den next to my desk. 

Happy Summer you lovely lot! 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle xxxx

After all the rain and how cold it was in May we now have some lovely sunshine and it is warm.  So much so that I have finally got the last of the Spring Cleaning jobs done, ones which need the sun out.

Here are all the baskets and bins in our home which I wash and then leave out to dry in the sunshine, including Treacle’s basket.

I also have crystals around our home (I think they bring good energy to a roome but understand that not everyone believes the same)  I wash them and then run them under cold water and put them on the tray and then put them out in the sun to “charge” them.

I have also managed to get all our curtains washed and the under bedding and now it is the turn of the dressing gowns and a couple of quilts and some other bits I have in the kitchen.  I love it when I can hang the washing out. 

Here are the pictures of our outdoor furniture newly painted.

Also here are a few pictures of the flowers currently out in the garden, we have some weeding to do!

Quite a few more flowers are just coming out.  I will have to water them tonight after today’s heat!

This is how blue the sky is today with no clouds!  Bliss. 

I hope your Tuesday is going well.  I have managed to get all my work done and these other jobs done in between, as well as answering the door for deliveries for the Boys! The weekend is supposed to be nice so with luck we can get into the garden and do a general tidy up and then perhaps the following weekend we won’t have any jobs to do and can do something different!! Wonders will never cease!!!! 

Hugs & Love, Susie xx

Summer

“Come with me, Mom says.  To the Library. Books and Summertime go together.”

Lisa Schroeder

Just in time for the start of June we finally have some sunshine and it is warm!!!! Hurrah!  We are all enjoying it, especially Treacle.

We had another long weekend last weekend so DH and I started painting our sitting room.  We had the paint and all the stuff needed but of course things did not go as planned as the Boys put a spanner in the works so we did not start painting until Sunday!  It took us all Saturday afternoon and some of the evening to clear the sitting room and now I remember why we don’t paint it regularly!!!! 

Here are all the books stacked on the dining table, floor, dresser etc!!!!

It took us a while to get it all back in as well and no the books did not go back right so that is the next job!! 

We had traumas with the paint we had chosen it was thick and gloopy and did not go on the walls well so we had to go and buy some more paint which was fine.  It looks nice and clean now and I am so glad we have finished.  There is another long weekend at the end of August and we need to paint our bedroom/dressing room so that will be then. We also need to get the ceilings re-plastered in our den, kitchen and laundry and of course that will need painting when it is dry, but of course that will then make the walls look bad so we may end up painting those too!! 

As we have some nice warm days now I am washing curtains/cushion covers/quilts/matress and pillow protectors and getting them all hung outside.  Can’t let the sunshine go to waste.  I also have all the baskets and bins to wash and they can dry outside too. 

This weekend DH and Youngest are going to a new car museum which has opened near us and not only do you get to see the cars you can drive them too!!!   I am going to try and get the outdoor furniture re-stained and there is some gardening to do.  One weekend soon I am going to do nothing at all!!! 

Our Boys are having a few issues with each other at the moment, did you know I am running the Derbyshire branch of the United Nations?  As well as a restaurant, Chinese laundry, hotel and all round diary consultant!!!!  We are still due to go away in August, so long as the wretched Covid doesn’t start to act up again, and at the the moment we think it will just be DH and I and it will be SO nice to get away!!!!!!!!!! 

Of course this week is now a short week and I will be confused all week being a day out but at least the weekend will come round quicker!!!  I hope you all are having a great week. 

Hugs & Love, Susie xx