Author: iagardener55

I have never, in all of my adult life, slept as well as I have been lately.

Whether it’s due to the complete cessation of an overindulgence of alcohol ingestion, or the amazing GroundingWell™ mat on the bed, I’m sleeping at least 8 hours, every night, all night. I admit to 1, or 2 brief, and I do mean brief episodes of waking, but only long enough to roll over, or uncover my feet. I only get up to go pee if I’ve had a cuppa tea before bed, which, I’m proud to say, is closer to 10:30pm, rather than 12:30am, or later.

I’m also exercising again, and eating better. I’m no longer eating all of the chicken pieces when I make them, or all of the milanesas when I make them, or all of the potatoes when I make them, but I’m eating a medium sized salad, 1 protein, 1/2 c. to 1 c. frozen mixed veg, and 1/4-1/2 baked potato, sweet, or white. I haven’t been to Costco for almost a year so I don’t have any baking potatoes. That’s in the near future.

I’m going to have to Uber it to Home Depot, Costco, and Liverpool, Mexico’s larger semi luxury store, not far from us. I don’t want to put J & L out, making them walk all around the mall with me; I want to get out and gawk at all of the things I’m not interested in buying. Besides, Liz is due with baby 4 in a few weeks.

In closing, if you want better sleep, stop drinking alcohol. If you just want better sleep regardless, get the GroundingWell pad for your bed, and convince me you don’t sleep like a kid again. It took me about 2 weeks to really get the whole effect, but now that I’m sleeping so well, I just thank the Lord for whomever figured out this grounding business.

So, until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I thought I was done with my shawl.

Then I thought I wasn’t. So I unknitted it back to the last row, started another set of 32 rows of 100 stitches/row, and “finished” it. Put fringe on it, and then it was done.

But it wasn’t. Not really. It still didn’t look like I wanted it to, plus I found another skein of the yarn I’m using, so what was I to do?

I did. I took all of the fringe off, unknit it again, that makes the second, or third time, I’ve lost count, and am working another set of 32 rows, 100 stitches/row, then adding the fringe, blocking it, and calling it done. Or I’ll keep knitting until I’ve used up all of the yarn.

This time, however, when I went back to where I thought I ended with the pattern, it wasn’t where I really ended with the pattern. I discovered, after about 6 rows, (and here I want you to understand that I don’t care in the slightest) that I was off on the row count. So, I have a cute little curly cue in the pattern that no one will ever notice except the 3 of you that read this. And me, of course.

And all of the extended family I’ll show when they see the finished work next time we go to Los Altos. 😂 Let me show you now what I did.

All I can say is so what. I enjoy the challenge of the different cable patterns, but I don’t enjoy the thought of going back to rectify my mistake. I have other things I’d rather be doing, and that ain’t it. I just want to finish the damned thing so I can move on.

I’m moving on. Regardless.

Until next time my lovelies, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I have discovered 2 ladies on YouTube that experts in the very thing.

It is something I’ve wanted to do for decades, but alas, I had a husband that enjoyed “things”. He didn’t have them growing up so when we were old enough to buy them, he did. WE did.

Now, though, he’s gone, and I’m left to deal with all of the “things” we bought, no longer use, never used, had to have, don’t want to deal with anymore.

So, I’m not going to. I’ve given tons of stuff away, clothes mostly at this moment. I’m working on my clothes now, stuff I’ve never worn because I gained weight immediately after retiring. (Before I retired, truth be told.) Things in a size L, or 12, 14, all gotta go. I’ll probably never be that size again, and as I type this I can say I’m 50/50 on whether I care or not.

I’m walking 2-3 km almost daily, I’m eating so much better now than I ever have, so any angst I’ve felt about being to heavy is going out the door with the excess “stuff”. I’m not going to spend whatever time I have left on this lovely plain to be upset, and self deprecating when what I should be doing is enjoying my time left to me.

So I am. My kitchen is my escape room at present. I’ll show you a few photos and you can decide for yourself which you prefer.

The “normal” view, so it’s “before”.

This is how it looks now, every time I walk into the kitchen, peace, calm vibes wash over me. No more this, or that on the countertops. Just the barest minimum. Wait, there’s more.

From this island of chaos to

to this. Even this spot has less in it now than when I took this photo. I’m just too tired to go out and take another photo.

That’s just the beginning. I’ve made a rather large dent in the living room, the guest bedroom, the bathrooms, and the spare bedroom. I have converted the spare bedroom, the smallest bedroom, into my office as I’m tired of sitting in the living room with all of the “stuff” at my back, nagging me to get it gone.

I’m working on it. You know about the building of Rome, and such.

Until next time my lovelies, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I was able, after a bit of trepidation, to finally get the viewer in the front door.

Evidently, it is, somehow, in the same place as the original door that was there before we had the new door made. Don’t ask me how that happened, I can’t even begin to understand. When I went to drill the hole for the whatever it’s called to go in, there was a small plastic disc the same size that I had to pry out before being able to drill all the way through.

After using this drill bit, then a bigger bit, then a, well, you get the idea, the whole thing went together like a hot knife through butter.

Now I can see who’s at the door before opening it. The condo administrator came to the door last night. Did I look through it before opening the door?

Of course not. I knew she was coming, and I was in the process of getting ready for bed, cleaning off my makeup. Bummer. My big chance, and I blew it.

Next time.

Until then, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I’m going to take a few weeks off.

Again.

I need a bit of time to recharge my soul. I’m tired, becoming a bit melancholic, and am not interested in feeling like this.

In 2 days, Ivan will have been gone from me for 6 full months. I’m not going to spend much time crying; I’m beyond that, for the most part. But I need to find a few more things to fill the huge whole in me.

I’ll spend the time continuing my daily walks, exercising, decluttering. I’ll continue to take whatever photos I like, and will show you some of them when I’m back.

Until then, please, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I’ve put away the flannel duvet, and heavy comforter insert for this season.

I’m into the Spring season now, and my bedding has to reflect the current season.

I have also changed up the flannel bottom sheet for a nice slippery cotton, pillowcases as well.

You don’t have to change yours up yet, if you don’t want. It’s starting to warm up during the days here, so some of the residual heat remains into the middle of the night, and even into the early morning. My feet, especially, get so warm it wakes me up. It helps, too, if I remember to put lotion on my feet, and legs before going to bed.

When do you change your winter bedding to Spring time, lighter weight bedding?

I almost forgot- I’ve also changed all of the wallpapers on my Apple products from snow, (I love my winter wallpapers), to flowers blooming along my walk around the park. In the living room, the monitor I use with my Mac mini, I’ve switched that to a Sequoia sunrise. So peaceful, but renewing as well.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I’ve decided that I’m not done yet with the Laura shawl I’ve been knitting since time immemorial.

I decided that it needs more length to the shawl overall, so I undid the finishing stitches, and am going to add at least one more skeins worth of yarn. It’s nice and warm, for sure, just not quite long enough, IMHO. Let me show you.

This is a photo of the “unknitting” process, taking down the cast off stitches, and adding the body of the piece back onto the cable, and needles to finish the project.

Here, all of the stitches have been placed back onto the cable, with the stitch markers in place, designating the 9 different patterns I’m using to knit this. In theory, it shouldn’t take me more than a month to really finish this, and then to add the fringe, something I’ve never done before. I’m also knitting a pair of leg warmers from the same yarn, to wear around the apartment. I wear leggings, and me knees get so cold in here. Remember leg warmers, any of you “older” readers? I’m bringing them back.

So, that should do for now. If I finish the shawl, for real this time, I’ll post a photo of it.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

I did.

Just the other day. In fact, after transplanting all of those herbs I showed you, I had to vacuum the whole apartment!! Well, I hadn’t vacuumed since before I went to LA, so it really did need it.

I have 3 different vacuum cleaners for 3 different types of cleaning needs. Ivan bought a small handheld vacuum cleaner from Shark, one of my favorite brands, that we used to clean up the area around where he sat, and watched his computer, and ate. Well used. Small, convenient, rechargeable.

I bought a wonderful Shark vacuum, from QVC, before we left Iowa. The main arm of the vacuum can articulate, meaning it folds up when you’re done with it, taking up only a small space on the floor, and while vacuuming, the arm has a joint that you can release so it vacuums underneath things like a bed, or sofa, chairs; you get the idea. I bought it for that, and the fact that it was one of the first to have lights on the front of the vacuum head. Score!

The third I bought most recently, a canister type cleaner that I wrote a post about within 2025. I wanted an electric cleaner that, when I had a lot of cleaning to do, I didn’t have to change batteries every 15 minutes. It’s made by a company called Koblenz, which is very popular down here, much like Amana, or Whirlpool up North.

The point is, I used all 3 yesterday in the clean up process, and had to take all 3 apart, and clean them. They were an utter mess, all of them. The filters were so full of dust, and dirt they were unrecognizable as filters. I let them dry overnight, and now they look like gently used/almost new machines. I didn’t take any photos because I was too tired. Sue me. 😏

That’s the end of my transplanting journey, and it’s clean up, for now. I’ll fill you in on the growth aftermath at a later date. To be sure.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

Post script: happy 25th birthday to our first grandson Isaac James. God bless you.

This year I’m going to read the entire Catholic Catechism, front to back.

I’ve been a non practicing Catholic since 1997, and have very little in the way of knowledge about the Catholic faith, and what the church believes, why it believes what it does, and how that can affect me in my religious growth.

I made a list when I returned from LA, things I want to try to accomplish in 2026, and obtaining the book of the catechism, along with the reading of same, was top on my list. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for many years, and now that I have the Hallow, and Ascension apps, I am able to find information about the church, and their dogma with ease. So, why not delve a bit deeper into the Catholic faith.

It’s easy reading, and with the catechism being explained by Fr. Mike Schmitz, from Minneapolis, MN, easy to follow along, and understand. Another win-win.

Now, if I can do all of the other things on my list, like learning the Rosary in Spanish, memorizing 3 recipes, reducing accumulated clutter to Spartan levels, learning self discipline, losing 15kg, and finishing the ceiling in the bathroom, it will be a golden year for me.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.

(I have to stop typing as my fingers are becoming stiff from the cold.)🥶

You haven’t lived until you’ve transplanted over 20 basil seedlings, a head of sprouting garlic, cilantro, dill, sage, to name a few.

I spent the better part of 3 hours yesterday do the very thing. I didn’t have the soil, and amendments that I wanted, so I used what I had. ALL of it. With Max’s help, I was able to use the 4 indoor gardening boxes that I’ve had for quite some time, plus some small, individual planters that I had in my potting area. I was able to bring home a whole head of garlic that was sprouting quite nicely, and now is in one of those larger planting boxes of which I spoke. I’ll show you what I did.

These are 3 of the 4 planters I used for the basil. Each has 4 plants in it, and the little sage is there to get the light. It sprouted while I was gone, and the one I had originally, died. This photo was taken just after transplanting, so everything is a bit shocked. 😳 They’ll recover just fine. Wait and see.

Here are the rest of the herbs- cilantro, Thai basil, Greek, and Italian oregano, Mexican tarragon, chives, and dill. All doing very well.

Here is the last container with 7 cloves of garlic. I planted the other 3 in individual little pots, mostly to use just the green shoots for seasonings, not to grow bulbs.

The last of the garlic cloves. Aren’t they so cute?😊

I used up the 5 gallon bucket I had of old dirt from previous plants that I’ve had since we’ve lived here. It was dry, and horribly dusty, full of rocks, and bits of this, and that. When I finished, there was fine powdery film of dirt everywhere. I vacuumed it up the best I could, then mopped. Yuck. I’m glad to be done with that part of this journey.

I watered each plant gently, no drowning involved, put them on the shelves as I was instructed, and voila, my own indoor herb garden was born.

I’ve ordered more prepared soil, and worm “castings”, (read worm poo), which should be here next week. I also ordered coconut coir, which, in the US, is available at any seed, and feed store. I have to order it from China. Ugh! But I can get it in brick form like I used to in Iowa. Win-win.

That’s enough for now. You’re probably tired of looking a minimally different sizes of the herbs I’m growing. Now I just need to learn how to cook with all of them. Another adventure. Stay tuned.

Until next time, stay happy, and healthy in the Lord.