Marsia's Diary
- Thread starter Marsia
- Start date
Thanks LaMa and Cate! I am feeling like I have landed on my feet! I had a nice mellow day today at home. I put the lawn mower together and mowed part of the lawn. The grass had gotten really high, so I stopped after about an hour and a half or two and will do the rest tomorrow. I mowed over a tan snake with black markings, but luckily I had put the mower on the highest setting for letting the grass be as tall as possible, so the snake slithered under the blades - phew! Then I was going to go into town but had a flat tire on the car, and the repair shop I found with good reviews is not open Sunday. I also didn't feel like calling the auto club to put the spare on, so did it myself and just had a nice evening cleaning and watching gardening videos on how to make your own soil because I am so flabbergasted at the price of even bulk truckloads of gardening soil. I have a plan now.
Talked with J today and he likes the tile pics I sent, so we have a new kitchen floor and backsplash picked out. The last of the color swatches come in the mail tomorrow, so I am ready for contractors to descend upon our house in two weeks. I need to pack everything up and move it to the basement where it won't get all dusty if we refinish flooring, so I may have a week of shlepping boxes around in my near future, but this is soooo much better than the old house where we constantly were under construction. So much better to do what we can upfront while most of our stuff is in boxes.
So no new adventures today, though I forgot to say I met the neighbor's dog yesterday who barked at me profusely so I fed him cat food and am starting to win him over. Lumi has been following me around the yard a lot and doesn't go far, so I let her do her own thing outside today. She sat under an outdoor table on the deck while I mowed. She loves being high up on the deck and porch where she can survey her queendom.
Talked with J today and he likes the tile pics I sent, so we have a new kitchen floor and backsplash picked out. The last of the color swatches come in the mail tomorrow, so I am ready for contractors to descend upon our house in two weeks. I need to pack everything up and move it to the basement where it won't get all dusty if we refinish flooring, so I may have a week of shlepping boxes around in my near future, but this is soooo much better than the old house where we constantly were under construction. So much better to do what we can upfront while most of our stuff is in boxes.
So no new adventures today, though I forgot to say I met the neighbor's dog yesterday who barked at me profusely so I fed him cat food and am starting to win him over. Lumi has been following me around the yard a lot and doesn't go far, so I let her do her own thing outside today. She sat under an outdoor table on the deck while I mowed. She loves being high up on the deck and porch where she can survey her queendom.
Hi LaMa! I don't know if the neighbors can hear everything in our yard. We have a lot of acreage, though you can hear the neighbor call for kids or dogs, I don't know about normal voices or barks. I know nothing about dog breeds, but in my search for black dogs who are waist high with pointy ears and tail, found a breed called Schipperke that looks like him. He was digging his nose around in the pine needle mulch and pushing it aside to eat something. I fed him to see if he would eat voraciously, in which case I'd try to catch him and find his owner. Glad I didn't have to. Lumi understandably hates when I rescue dogs, and was grumpy with me for even feeding him. Later I discovered that he lives next door, and was relieved that he isn't a stray. People don't let their dogs run wild where we lived, so if a dog was running loose, you knew to catch them and call the # on the collar.
I really like living in a new place. I drove to the tire shop this morning on a road I haven't been down before. It has staggeringly beautiful trees draped in even more Spanish moss than I've ever seen (and they were backlit by morning sun), picture perfect farms, interesting old mobile homes and little brick houses and the road is lined in my favorite wildflowers, bluegrass and wild purple aster. I may have to come back and dig up a few to transplant into the flower beds.
I'm sitting in a cafe waiting for the car, and since I ate fantastically well yesterday, I got a chocolate banana bread slice with my tea. I'll make up for it by eating just as well otherwise today.
I'll go get some nice amendments to make my own potting soil after this, and hopefully stop by a county park or boat landing on the way home.
I really like living in a new place. I drove to the tire shop this morning on a road I haven't been down before. It has staggeringly beautiful trees draped in even more Spanish moss than I've ever seen (and they were backlit by morning sun), picture perfect farms, interesting old mobile homes and little brick houses and the road is lined in my favorite wildflowers, bluegrass and wild purple aster. I may have to come back and dig up a few to transplant into the flower beds.
I'm sitting in a cafe waiting for the car, and since I ate fantastically well yesterday, I got a chocolate banana bread slice with my tea. I'll make up for it by eating just as well otherwise today.
I'll go get some nice amendments to make my own potting soil after this, and hopefully stop by a county park or boat landing on the way home.
Thanks guys! 
My day got even better. The shop where I took our car patched the tire, filled up the spare and all the other tires and then told me it was complimentary and to think of them when I need new tires! And they give all their female customers a red long stemmed rose! Then I found a good health food store where I talked with 2 other people who left California and a nice lady who showed me how to use the bread slicer for their beautiful fresh bread counter. I now have a reliable and inexpensive source of organic veggies (and ironically they are from California and cost less here!). I also got inexpensive perfect Bartlett pears, which are in the top 5 of favorite fruit in the world, and they smell sooo good. And I grabbed a beet salad for lunch and it was delicious with red pickled onions, which I must learn how to make. They make everything taste delicious and special. I got 3 bags of groceries for way less than what I would normally pay in CA.
I also got some fresh fish I was planning to make for dinner, but just came back from an hour and a half walk in the waves, and I am tired now. I am starting to relax and feel like I can let my hair down and not worry. I keep almost shedding little tears at how nice things are here. Even the sandpipers at the beach are extra cute, and the waves are extra warm. Oh, and I got 2 beautiful little persimmon trees at the health food store, as well! And they were very healthy and inexpensive! I have to plant everything in the next few days and make sure they all stay healthy. Also picked up paint at the hardware store and gave a couple our contractor's number. People are all so friendly here!
I am going to take it easy tonight. It's not even 7pm and I could go right to sleep!
My day got even better. The shop where I took our car patched the tire, filled up the spare and all the other tires and then told me it was complimentary and to think of them when I need new tires! And they give all their female customers a red long stemmed rose! Then I found a good health food store where I talked with 2 other people who left California and a nice lady who showed me how to use the bread slicer for their beautiful fresh bread counter. I now have a reliable and inexpensive source of organic veggies (and ironically they are from California and cost less here!). I also got inexpensive perfect Bartlett pears, which are in the top 5 of favorite fruit in the world, and they smell sooo good. And I grabbed a beet salad for lunch and it was delicious with red pickled onions, which I must learn how to make. They make everything taste delicious and special. I got 3 bags of groceries for way less than what I would normally pay in CA.I also got some fresh fish I was planning to make for dinner, but just came back from an hour and a half walk in the waves, and I am tired now. I am starting to relax and feel like I can let my hair down and not worry. I keep almost shedding little tears at how nice things are here. Even the sandpipers at the beach are extra cute, and the waves are extra warm. Oh, and I got 2 beautiful little persimmon trees at the health food store, as well! And they were very healthy and inexpensive! I have to plant everything in the next few days and make sure they all stay healthy. Also picked up paint at the hardware store and gave a couple our contractor's number. People are all so friendly here!
I am going to take it easy tonight. It's not even 7pm and I could go right to sleep!
Today was a stay at home day and fuss over the yard, get all sweaty, come in and finish up documenting the paint colors so I can send all my decisions to J and K for approval (which takes forever to color correct all the photos of paint colors in the rooms and label what they are), and then when I was finishing, the sky suddenly turned stormy and there was a lot of thunder and a little rain, but the light was gone for the day. So now I am figuring out living room layout and stuff like that.
At dusk there were a lot of fireflies out in the pine forest where the azaleas are. It's really beautiful watching them! I think I needed an introvert day to balance out extrovert day yesterday. I ate a bit more carbs than I would have liked today, but probably stayed under calories.
Tomorrow I want to swim in the ocean if it isn't rainy.
At dusk there were a lot of fireflies out in the pine forest where the azaleas are. It's really beautiful watching them! I think I needed an introvert day to balance out extrovert day yesterday. I ate a bit more carbs than I would have liked today, but probably stayed under calories.
Tomorrow I want to swim in the ocean if it isn't rainy.
I am sooo totally exhausted and I have a big blister on my foot because I went to the most beautiful place, and could not stop exploring. It's called the Caw Caw Interpretive Center (https://www.ccprc.com/53/Caw-Caw-Interpretive-Center , https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g54403-d1367802-Reviews-Caw_Caw_Interpretive_Center-Ravenel_South_Carolina.html ) . It's a former rice plantation that is now a bird refuge and has alligators and snakes and Spanish moss drenched trees to the point where at one point I thought of the Avatar movie with the trees with pink fringe hanging all over them . There are also cedar swamps with cedar knees sticking up in the water everywhere, and I saw a beautiful black water snake swimming around the cedar knees (I was up on a raised boardwalk so could appreciate the snakiness from a distance!). Also saw baby alligators and quickly took their picture and fled in case the mama was nearby. And there was a small American alligator in the cedar swamps, too. Also tons of water birds, cardinals, and many birds I don't recognize. I loved talking with the people in the nature center, and took crazy amounts of pics that I'll sort through later tonight. The history of the place is super interesting, too.
I also made it to the farm supply store, and though they only had a few tiny citrus trees left, they had inexpensive organic potting soil, tall metal fence posts, and deer fencing, so I can start laying out my garden and putting up a temporary fence around it! This morning I ordered the top soil for the garden and got on an arborists list for free wood chip delivery, so I can start making new soil for next year.
I also stopped in an antique shop and found a brass deer head, one almost exactly like I'd been drooling over online the other day, only this one is bigger and nicer. So I have a happy brass deer head for the mantle now. I've always wanted a metal deer head and a mantle to hang it on.
Tomorrow I must finish mowing the lawn or soon I am not going to be able to. Have to find some bandaids for the blisters first! This is so fun getting the house nice and exploring and actually having money to get some nice things for the house and garden!
I also made it to the farm supply store, and though they only had a few tiny citrus trees left, they had inexpensive organic potting soil, tall metal fence posts, and deer fencing, so I can start laying out my garden and putting up a temporary fence around it! This morning I ordered the top soil for the garden and got on an arborists list for free wood chip delivery, so I can start making new soil for next year.
I also stopped in an antique shop and found a brass deer head, one almost exactly like I'd been drooling over online the other day, only this one is bigger and nicer. So I have a happy brass deer head for the mantle now. I've always wanted a metal deer head and a mantle to hang it on.
Tomorrow I must finish mowing the lawn or soon I am not going to be able to. Have to find some bandaids for the blisters first! This is so fun getting the house nice and exploring and actually having money to get some nice things for the house and garden!
Thanks everyone! I will post nice pics tomorrow of the deer head and of the Caw Caw Center. I just got home from buying plant pots at a mega-store (I have never been to one of those - it was really hard to find things even with "street" signs), and I am tired from mowing more lawn and potting up some plants this morning and puttering around cleaning and organizing. The day went so fast! I was planning on stopping by a county park by a big river on the way home, but when I passed it on the way home it was pitch dark and very late.
I now have everything for the garden, and the load of topsoil will be delivered tomorrow! I am being very diligent about the garden because everyone is projecting food shortages here at some point, so I want to make sure I have everything not just to start the garden this year, but also to save seeds for next year and to be able to start an even bigger garden then without needing many supplies.
I had a good food day, yogurt and fresh strawberries for breakfast, mushroom and sausage omelette with cilantro and cheese for lunch, and I either forgot to eat dinner or I don't remember what I ate. Huh. Ok, my cat is pestering for me to come to bed, and I think she has the right idea. I forgot to mention I got some wild bell bottom pants at the superstore, and I may just wear them home because they are so bright and happy they will draw attention, and I want to wait a few pounds before drawing any attention. I do think I am losing a little weight, thank goodness. Sorry if I missed your diary. I'll visit tomorrow morning, I hope!
I now have everything for the garden, and the load of topsoil will be delivered tomorrow! I am being very diligent about the garden because everyone is projecting food shortages here at some point, so I want to make sure I have everything not just to start the garden this year, but also to save seeds for next year and to be able to start an even bigger garden then without needing many supplies.
I had a good food day, yogurt and fresh strawberries for breakfast, mushroom and sausage omelette with cilantro and cheese for lunch, and I either forgot to eat dinner or I don't remember what I ate. Huh. Ok, my cat is pestering for me to come to bed, and I think she has the right idea. I forgot to mention I got some wild bell bottom pants at the superstore, and I may just wear them home because they are so bright and happy they will draw attention, and I want to wait a few pounds before drawing any attention. I do think I am losing a little weight, thank goodness. Sorry if I missed your diary. I'll visit tomorrow morning, I hope!
Llama
Well-known member
It's ok if that happens on occasion but please don't forget to care for yourself at least half as much as you care for the new house
