Spring, Blossom and Bees

It is Spring time here and the Washington Navel Oranges are just about finished.   Enough left to carry me over until the Valencias are ripe enough for me though.  The Valencias are usually to my taste around November but others are pinching eating them now.

We have a tree full of Valencias ready to go when the others are completely gone though the son is into these already. 

He says the Washingtons are now passed it, too ripe and not nice.  I disagree and am still eating them off the tree.   We have juiced dozens and I have made a batch or two of Orange cordial at the husbands request but unfortunately too many were wasted. 

I need to get on top of them earlier next year as 5 trees producing at once may be too many and going by the amount of blossom out there now I think we will have an abundance next year too.

To A bee or and not to a bee....

 The Valencia is full of flowers and even if half of these come off there will be enough Oranges next Spring/Summer to keep our Vit C up.

Walking around the front yard is heavenly with the scent of Orange blossom.    There are also lots of bees out there now and their soft buzzing adds to the Springtime ambience.  I love my back front yard.

Planning to Plant.

Finally!  I have cleared out a few garden beds to plant in.  It's taken ages but a day or so of sunshine, hearing and reading about the awesome gardens others have and a husband willing to help me ...and I too am now, finally, ready to get planting.

This is what the big tank garden has looked like for too long.   I started a couple of days ago and had managed to get the South end cleared but still had the full of grass Northern end to do.  It was such a big job that the husband took pity on me and decided to help.  I'm glad he did or I'd still have 2 days work to do.

We went over to Mandurah on Wednesday, called into Bunnings and came out with a boxful of stuff to plant so I now have heaps of plants to plant.    We bought 3 different sorts of Tomatoes, Purple Eggplant,  Peas, Kale, mixed Lettuce, Cucumbers, some other stuff too.

On the way out we saw a reduced section so I bought some more.  This lot were only 50cents a punnet so I even smuggled some flower seedlings into the trolley.
 

A few of the smaller tank gardens were overgrown too but with husbands help they too are now clear enough to get some food growing in them.  This one had become overgrown with Lemon Balm but because I sometimes have this as a tea during the hot weather I wanted to keep it.  He convinced me to let him pull it *all* up because I do have 2 half drums with it growing.  I am *allowed* to replant some of it elsewhere, just not in a food producing bed.    If I don't keep an eye out though and pull up the small plants as they grow this bed will soon be overgrown again.



I don't know what this plant is, it's pretty though, when the grass isn't growing all through it, and I was/am going to get in potted up to sell at the markets.  I haven't done anything about that yet so that too has to come up.  That will happen over the weekend.  It started out as a small plant in the ground between 2 tanks, it grew and grew and grew.  When we pull it up it too will regrow and become a problem again if I don't keep on top of it.



And this tank can't have anything planted in it because the Chokos have taken off already.    I am trying to get these to grow in other areas of the yard but until then they are staying here.   Cause we gotta have Chokos!

So this weekend will be planting time.   First I have to get rid of a few thousand more Slaters and unfortunately I have had to resort to using poison on them.  There are so many that I cannot even get them down to manageable numbers so poison it is.  That or no food for us at all.    I put some snail pellets down, under leaves and grass and overnight the amount of dead slaters is huge so it is a quick and easy fix but not what I wanted.  I want to grow food though, I gave the non-poison ways a good go over the last couple of years but can no longer keep on top of them.   This way we will get the food and I figure that as long as the pellets are not on the food and we don't actually eat them ourselves...maybe it won't be too bad.  

This Leads To This, Leads To This, Leads To This...

In the bathroom, on the floor under the towel rail, I had a box, a metal toolbox that I stored spare food in.   This somehow became a flat surface that 2 small containers were put on and they in turn had stuff put on top of them.  One reason I raised the towel rail was because this pile was getting so high it was close to touching the rail and getting in the way of getting my towel. The top stuff on the tool box was some clean sheets and towels that wouldn't fit in the cupboard.   

Once the cupboard was cleared out the sheets and towels could fit in and I was able to get to the boxes/containers.  One holds curtain stuff.  Tape, hooks, that stretchy white cord...stuff that I was keeping *handy* because I was/am going to use it for some curtains that I need to make.   But this looked out of place now that the cupboard doors were shut and the vacuum cleaner was put away so I put these containers into the cupboard.  I could do that because there was space in there after the cleanout.   There wasn't much food in the toolbox, a couple of boxes of Taco shells and some cup-a-soups, so I took these and put them with the other food in husbands wardrobe.   Great I could now get rid of this toolbox so I shut the lid, turned the handle and put it outside, ready to take to the shed.

Thinking a bit though I decided that I could put all the spare food that was in husbands cupboard in this toolbox and free up a shelf for him to keep his work gear on and that in turn would free up a shelf in another cupboard where I could store the overalls and gloves and other bee clothing.  See, one thing leads to another but the final thing can't be done until the other things are done first.  Such is my organising. 

And because I had cleared another area in the bathroom there was now a handy place to put this toolbox/food storage container where it would be out of the way.   So I go out to get this toolbox and...swear word.   It was locked. Why would the stupid thing lock itself.  That shouldn't happen should it.  Shouldn't but did.   I had a key though, ummm, where was that key...That's right, I had put it in the toolbox so it wouldn't get lost.  The key to unlock the locked toolbox was safe in the toolbox.   Apparently turning the knob to shut the toolbox so it stays shut locks it.  How stupid is that!!  So I now have a locked toolbox that is no good for anything until I get the key out so I can unlock it...

Son has told me what to try so tomorrow I will get my drill and see how good I am at using it.  He says to drill out the pop rivets that hold the catch on, take it off, open up the lid and get the keys out then pop rivet the catch back on.
That sounds easy enough.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Sheet!

I have too many of them too.

This morning I will sort through the sheets, tablecloths, doonas and covers...and all the other crap stuff that is in the bathroom cupboard.  The towels from yesterday still look good but I know there are at least 2 missing.  I should have 3 matching pairs as well as a few odd ones but there is only 1 pair in there so I will need to do some searching.

Today though is sheet day and after pulling them all out yesterday I do wonder how they all fitted in there.  Oh that's right.  They didn't.

So we have 1 bed.   At any 1 time it will have 2 sheets on it.  So really I need 2, maybe 3, sets, yeah?   I have sorted through and now have 5 sets in the cupboard.  And one set on the bed.   But still have a pile sitting on the table to go through.   Arrhhh.   OK, now I have 1 set of Winter sheets to fit back in as well.

More sheets to come out and be sorted.  See the top shelf there, see the pack on the right?   That is a set of unopened sheets and matching pillowcases.  New and unused.  Unwrapped even.   I don't think I need to open them now but not sure that getting rid of them is the way to go either.  One day I will need new sheets and these are good quality.  And expensive!




 The top shelf here...It's supposed to hold swimming towels and I thought I had 4 of them...I know 1 was used by the granddaughter and hasn't been brought back yet, son is using one as a bath towel, there is 1 up there.  The other things are odd towels that will go, some lace curtaining that I use as a food cover during Summer, extra shampoo and conditioner...That has been there for a couple of years, not used since I stopped using shampoo and conditioner...but it is new, never opened...maybe that could go...And there is a box of towels.  New and unused.  I probably don't need them and may sell them.  May not.    I can't really see the point in selling stuff just because it's not being used yet.  Eventually they will be.

The bottom 2 shelves have an assortment of stuff...I will go through and do these 2 shelves sometime after the sheets.








OK, half way through and daughter has come out to help.    Lots is getting done but she laughed when I cried.  How rude!   Why did I cry?  I dunno, maybe I am tired but...I just couldn't bear the thought of her emptying a tube of handcream into a bigger pump bottle and then the empty tube having to be binned.   I know, or maybe I don't...stupid.

She took away a couple of bags, I don't think she trusted me not to go through them and take stuff out...these bags will be taken to the next Really Really Free Market in a few weeks time.



All the perfumes, shampoos and conditioners that I no longer use are gone.   She said I have too many soaps and wanted me to get rid of some but husband, and now the son, use soap so they are something that will eventually be used.  And who is she to say that 37 is too many anyway. lol.

Husband no longer uses powders or aftershave so I will offer these to the son.  I'm sure he will use them and it will save him buy any for awhile.  If he says no then they too will go to the RRFM.  Except the soap, I'll take that back and have 39.




But thanks to T (BIG thanks) the cupboard is sorted, I can see what is in there, the doors shut.   I'm not sure how I feel when I look at it though, it doesn't make me happy.  But it doesn't make me sad either.  It just is the way it is now and not the way it was.

Pillowslips. How Many Is Too Many?

We have 68
.  
24 pairs
20 singles
Plus, yes plus! 3 pairs  and 2  singles I brought home last week because they were rejects from Vinnies but in better condition than some that I have here.    HoHum, no wonder the husband shakes his head in disgust.

So really, not 68 but 76 pillowslips.  Honestly.  I counted 54 at first but found more as I went through the sheets and tablecloths and then the ones on the line from Vinnies.

Two people live in this house.  One queen size bed with 2 pillows. 

So maybe we don't need 76 pillowslips.

Some match the sheet sets.  Some match the doonas.  Some I love.  Some I like.  This is SO HARD!!




Done.  I have culled.  I have gone through them all and have put aside all the singles.  Except a dark blue one that is the other to a pair that husband has for his work pillow.      And a really pretty one that I will take out and use in the caravan at the beach.    And we have a couple of pair on the pillows on the bed.  Yes a couple of pair in there because I use them as pillow protectors too.  Two pair on a pillow at a time.

In the linen cupboard though I now have only 21 pair.   Still too much, maybe.  OK, not maybe, still too many but, yep there be that but...They are packed up in a neat little pile and as I go through and use them more may be taken away.

What will I do with the ones I no longer want?  I will take them down to the next Really Really Free Market.  Along with any sheets that I decide I wont keep.  But that is tomorrows job.

It Wont Fit!!!

I have done some washing and brought some of the dry stuff in to put away.  But...It wont fit!!   The towel shelf has towels and sheets on it so the clean towels wont fit where they are supposed to go. 

The sheet shelf, well that is so crammed even a pillowslip can't be pushed in anymore.

The shelf where I keep tablecloths and quilt covers is so packed with other crap I can't get anything out unless I pull it all out and then I have to cram it back in again. 

Such is my bathroom cupboard.  Linen press.  Cupboard where I keep sheets, towels and crap.

Well, up to a couple of hours ago anyway, the cupboard was full to bursting, the doors couldn't be shut properly, the clean stuff couldn't be put away and I had no idea what was in there.

So I pulled the towels out.  And the flannels, handtowels, floor mats.   The sheets that were on that shelf came out too.   I scooped them all off the floor and put them on the table to sort.  The towels are back in where they go but that shelf is looking a bit bare.  I know I have more towels than what is in there now but I don't know where they are.  Truth be known, I probably shoved them somewhere else when they wouldn't fit anymore.  However, if/when I find them, there is room for them. 

This is the cupboard after I finished the towels and pulled most of the sheets out.  So much stuff.  Too much stuff.

The towel shelf looks OK now but I know there are a couple more towels somewhere.

I am going to work on the sheets this afternoon.  And Pillowcases.  Then the rest of this cupboard.  One shelf at a time.