Gardening Fun

Yesterday, my hubby and I repotted a bunch of snake plants. First, he drilled holes in the bottom of my new flower pots and then I put a coffee filter in the bottom of each one. He helped me put potting soil in each one. Then we had to separate the snake plants in these cheap plastic containers. We had so many leftovers that we planted some in the garden around the back patio. I ended up throwing away some because there was nowhere else to plant. Then we transplanted the firecracker bush from the side of the house to the garden around the shed. Hopefully, tomorrow when it is cooler, I will take up all the concrete scallop edging and let the grass fill in on the side of the house. Since we never see that side, it is a waste of time to plant flowers over there.

I have an online friend, Maddie, (aka Madgardener) who has been my online friend since 1998. When I got first got on the internet on the computer, I found a chat room called rec.gardens. We became gardening friends there and eventually transitioned to Facebook and continue to be friends. She is always posting wonderful pictures of her plants and I promised her that I would post some pictures of our plants here in Florida.

Snake plants in front of the living room

Orchid and Angel Wing Begonia

Candlestick Plant

Night Blooming Cereus

Aloe and Firecracker plant

Floor Restoration

For a couple of years now, I’ve talked about restoring the terrazzo floors in our Florida home and I finally got my husband to agree to do it. I put in 4 calls to different companies and I only got one to call back. They sent out a guy who offered to do it and we agreed. Of course, I couldn’t remember which company it was that showed up. So, we wrote up a simple contract and when he came out, we had him sign it before he started the job. We paid him half at the end of the first day and the remainder of the money on the last day. He did ask for a $100 advance on the third day which we gave him. Then on the last day, he wanted the full payment after only being here for 2 hours and we refused to do it until the end of the job. It took 4 days and our house was in total chaos. But I’m glad we finally got it all done!

2023 Goals Review for December

We had a wonderful month of December. Most of the month we relaxed and enjoyed our hobbies. We had a quiet Christmas but it was nice. I achieved 82% of my goals.  I was one book short of achieving my last goal so I am happy with my results. 

1. Learn something new. - I learned Tunisian crochet to make a couple of dishcloths. I’m still practicing my watercolor painting and my ukulele. COMPLETE!

2. Knit at least 1 sweater - I finished with my sweater. (Collins Tee) COMPLETE!

3. Yarn - more out than in (use more yardage than I buy) – COMPLETE!

●                                  Yarn used - 12263 yds.

●                                  -Yarn bought - 9009

4. Complete a shawl - I finished my Shawlography shawl COMPLETE!

5. Try 4 new recipes. - I didn’t do this at all for the whole year.

6. Stretch regularly (at least 20 days out of the month) - We walked and exercised regularly. COMPLETE!

7. Create at least 2 scrapbook pages each month. - Made 0 pages in December  (Total - 82) (Even though I didn’t do 2 each month, I did more than 24 overall so I’m considering it complete.) COMPLETE!

8. Participate in the Photo a Day challenge – COMPLETE!

9. Read the Bible every day. – yes COMPLETE!

10. Read 100 books – read a total of 107 books this year. COMPLETE!

11. Read 12 nonfiction books. – (Total: 11).

-   Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today by Valerie Bertinelli

-   Prince William: The Man Who Will Be King by Penny Junor

-   I Still Believe: A Memoir by Jeremy Camp

-   Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth

-  I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

-  Nowhere for Very Long by Brianna Madia

-  My Extraordinary Ordinary Life by Sissy Spacek

-  Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

-  No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox

-  Spare by Prince Harry

-  John le Carré: The Biography by Adam Sisman

 

What are your goals for this year? Please share.