12 Oakdale

 Welcome, 2025 Another year to pare down our belongings, either by not buying something or by moving things along. In another post, I’ll list our 1/week cleaning of drawers, shelves, or box. In: 01/03: 2 copper mule mugs. (Also 1 mini vase & 2 tea candle holders used as vases for hospice flowers, a Windermere Garden Club project.) All from Central Hope Thrift Shop. $6.66  01/06: Watercolor brush: #2 round, kolinsky sable, from Amazon. $29.82 01/07: SD card reader for trail camera, from Amazon. $10.64 01/08: Watercolor brushes: flat, mop, rigger, & filbert, from Amazon. $46.51 02/23: 3 shelves to display my paintings, from Wayfair. $44.72 03/ 03/25: 2 tshirts for HGB from RSMAS grad student sale. $42.80 + $14.88 UPS shipping 03/29: Grab bars for the shower and next to toilets, anti-slip mat for rug, plus shower mat returned, from Amazon and installed by Patten and Ryan. $99.88 05/24: Hose for pool, to replace old one Bath mat Stihl 3” chainsaw Pole for Stihl chainsaw...

December 10, Alec and Winston appeared with our new 75” TV which has taken over the south wall of the living room, starting a domino effect. I agreed to have the 3 paintings be hung in our bedroom, but first I will paint the wall behind our bed. That will happen after Grant removes the existing screws and mollys, then patches the wall. Plus I have to measure the square footage to see if I have enough green paint left from the living room to avoid buying more. More importantly, it means we don’t have to make another color decision. For the nonce, the paintings are lying on the guest bed. We also can reclaim the bookcase for the books stacked on the ottoman and Dad’s sea chest. That means Suelen, the Brazilian woman I’ve hired to clean twice monthly ($115/visit) will have less stuff to move, dust, move dust.  She and her assistant Frabrina came December 20 and spent 5 hours deep cleaning the house ($250 and worth every penny). They scrubbed every surface, wiped the grime, mopped the ...

 Goal: clean a drawer, box, or shelf each week, shedding something in the process. Me: January 1: my underwear, wearing the old and throwing away after, not washing and returning to drawer. January 7: my sock drawer, letting go of handkerchiefs I don’t need/want anymore. House: January 5: Shelf under sink in garage. Figured out what spray bottles were. Decided to use up Pinesol before buying more clearner. Left water purifying equipment. Next time.