Thursday Bits n’ Bobs
This morning I took a little walk around the garden to see what was about to bloom and bring a little colourful cheer into this very dreary Thursday morning. There are many buds about to burst into bloom which is so encouraging to see.
My daffodils should begin to open up within the next few days. While I was taking a picture of them to pop into my Flickr albums, a certain little black and white felines curiosity overwhelmed her and she ended up photo-bombing my shot 🙂 She kind of makes the picture though doesn’t she?
I also noticed that hidden underneath last seasons now dead growth of my little daisy bushes a hint of yellow. I collected the secateurs and the garden rake from the shed and cut all the dead branches off the bushes. Allot of them had snapped under the weight of this years snowfall. I raked all the leaves that had been caught under the bushes to reveal some lovely little narcissus that have bloomed!
However, my clearing up also revealed something else…
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A family of 8 lizards. I felt SO bad! In 5 minutes I pretty much destroyed their home. The girls and I carefully picked them all up and relocated them to a new home which is a very large bush that will never be disturbed. We piled some leaves from their own home around them and hopefully they will recover from the trauma and live lovely happy lizardy lives 🙂
Inside – This week I have been working on a cleaning schedule as I was beginning to see allot of little things that I was not particularly happy about. Little things, grubby light switches, dusty skirting boards, marks on the wall, things that happen in a lived in house.
They are also things that are not on the weekly cleaning routines but have to be done at some point. So I sat down with some index cards and put together a weekly schedule. I have 5 cards – Monday to Friday. On each card I wrote down what I do on that particular day and added a few more things to the cleaning list. At the bottom of the card I added Week1, 2, 3 and 4, and allocated cleaning jobs that should be done monthly such as windows, skirting boards, a schedule of cupboard and drawer cleaning etc. These cards live in my Filofax under the ‘Daily’ section where my daily diary used to live. I also have supplier contacts and account numbers in this section. Behind the weekly cards I have seasonal cards. January – December, on these cards are tasks that need to be done seasonally such as clean out the garden shed, wash curtains, clean out garage etc.
So far the system is working well. It allows me to address everything that needs to be addressed without feeling overwhelmed. Hopefully over the next few weeks I will begin to see a difference overall in the organisation of my home.
Our Lent calendar is filling up as you can see. This Sunday is Laetare Sunday which is the midway point of lent. Only two weeks left before Holy Week begins. This Sunday is also Mothering Sunday here in the UK. I had plans to mark this Sunday with a Simnel Cake – a traditional Mothering/Laetare Sunday cake, but we are heading to Devon for a few days so it’s not going to happen this year 🙂
Well I think I’m going to wrap this Thursday post up now – I can hear the coffee pot calling my name 😉
Wishing you all a super Thursday, until next time…
7 Comments
mamasmercantile
You are so well organized with your planner, you put me to shame. I have plans to start my big spring clean early next week, where everything in the house gets cleaned including taking everything out of the kitchen cupboards and cleaning not only the contents but the cupboards them selves. I also plan to take down the curtains in each room and either wash them or have them cleaned. That is the plan anyway, hopefully it will happen but life sometimes just gets in the way.
Gill
Spring cleaning is definitely in the air 🙂 I have done both washing machines and the tumble drier thoroughly, and then tackled the outer parts of the range, including getting dh to pull it right out so I could clean behind it YIKES! A new microfibre "feather" duster has swept away dust and cobwebs from on high. Tomorrow I shall vacuum the living room furniture and apply leather cream to two sofas. "Once begun is half done" 😉 Have a lovely time in Devon, I am sure you will find a Simnel cake to enjoy on Sunday, even if it is a bakery version!
Michelle
I love spring cleaning – I spent all day Tuesday cleaning out the garage. Your planners are just wonderful xx
Creative Life Studio
Yes, your kitty really does make that photo extra special. Love it!
So, is Mothering Sunday similar to our Mother's Day here in the U.S.~ just a special day to honor mothers?
Despite my having been in some liturgical churches over the years, I have never heard of Laetare Sunday. I loved reading the Wikipedia information about it and confess that I am somewhat envious! It sounds just lovely.
Shirley-Ann
Hello Nicole! So nice to see you hear again. Did you get my letter btw?
I think Laetare Sunday is more of a Catholic thing but I do love to incorporate the Liturgical year into our days. We are Church of England so we do seem to share allot of the same feast days etc. We are similar but there are points we differ on obviously.
Mothering Sunday is the same as the U.S Mothers Day. Mothering Sunday here in England goes back a long long time. It was traditionally a Christian holiday, a time half-way through Lent. There are connections with this holiday and Laetare Sunday. It's quite interesting to read up on actually. Here is a link or two:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9918148/The-true-origins-of-Mothering-Sunday.html
http://projectbritain.com/easter/mothers.htm
Helena
I found your blog through Dawn's (By Sun and Candlelight) and have been enjoying your posts. Love your idea with the cards in your planner–quite similar to what Dawn has been posting about recently. I like how you did yours with no dates, so you can just cycle through them each year.
Shirley-Ann
Hi Helena,
Yes it is similar to Dawns idea – it's a system I have used in the past but put by the wayside due to moves etc. But her recent posting inspired me to sort out my system and put it back into action. Yay Dawn! 🙂