August Declutter Challenge: Week 4

Item 1: Knife sharpener. My brother gave me a new, better one for my birthday, so this old thing has gone to Goodwill.
Item 2: Dying plant. A lovely hostess gift from dinner guests. Actually, we invited them for drinks before taking them OUT for dinner, after our basement flooded and the whole house smelled ... damp. Plant matter into compost. Basket to Goodwill. Because you CAN have too many baskets.
Item 3: Flowers that were never alive. Like last week, this lovely floral arrangement was purchased when we were staging our last house to sell. It looks okay from a distance. Up close, it's very....plastic. Direct to Goodwill.
Item 4: (Cheaply) framed poster of guitar chords. We just repainted Alex's room and it doesn't go with his new look. So he says.
Item 5: Lamp from Ikea with burned out bulb. These lamps seem to have been breeding in our house. We don't need it, and don't want to replace the bulb. Gone to Goodwill.
Items 6 and 7: More books came off of their 60-day amazon.ca listing unsold. I listed a bunch on the homeschooling board I still lurk on. Two lots went: a Canadian history bundle, and an art curriculum for Grades 4-6. These were two separate sales, and two separate mailings, so I'm counting them as two items. Plus I made some money!

August Declutter Challenge: Week 4

Item 1: Knife sharpener. My brother gave me a new, better one for my birthday, so this old thing has gone to Goodwill.

Item 2: Dying plant. A lovely hostess gift from dinner guests. Actually, we invited them for drinks before taking them OUT for dinner, after our basement flooded and the whole house smelled ... damp. Plant matter into compost. Basket to Goodwill. Because you CAN have too many baskets.

Item 3: Flowers that were never alive. Like last week, this lovely floral arrangement was purchased when we were staging our last house to sell. It looks okay from a distance. Up close, it's very....plastic. Direct to Goodwill.

Item 4: (Cheaply) framed poster of guitar chords. We just repainted Alex's room and it doesn't go with his new look. So he says.

Item 5: Lamp from Ikea with burned out bulb. These lamps seem to have been breeding in our house. We don't need it, and don't want to replace the bulb. Gone to Goodwill.

Items 6 and 7: More books came off of their 60-day amazon.ca listing unsold. I listed a bunch on the homeschooling board I still lurk on. Two lots went: a Canadian history bundle, and an art curriculum for Grades 4-6. These were two separate sales, and two separate mailings, so I'm counting them as two items. Plus I made some money!

My quick and easy pina colada.

I haven't posted a drink recipe lately, and this one is my own invention. Well, perhaps others have come up with the same thing, but this was a pure product of happenstance.

We brought back a bottle of coconut rum from Jamaica a few years ago, and never really used it. I pulled it out a few days ago and was looking around for something to mix it with.

My eyes fell on a can of Mountain Dew in the fridge that we got with a "10-drinks-for $1" deal with Pizza Pizza last week. Well, if you mix the Dew with coconut rum, you get a sort of low-fat pina colada, that is really quite refreshing. Even Z liked it, and he doesn't usually slum when it comes to beverages.

We'll have no trouble finishing up the coconut rum now.

My quick and easy pina colada.

I haven't posted a drink recipe lately, and this one is my own invention. Well, perhaps others have come up with the same thing, but this was a pure product of happenstance.

We brought back a bottle of coconut rum from Jamaica a few years ago, and never really used it. I pulled it out a few days ago and was looking around for something to mix it with.

My eyes fell on a can of Mountain Dew in the fridge that we got with a "10-drinks-for $1" deal with Pizza Pizza last week. Well, if you mix the Dew with coconut rum, you get a sort of low-fat pina colada, that is really quite refreshing. Even Z liked it, and he doesn't usually slum when it comes to beverages.

We'll have no trouble finishing up the coconut rum now.

Another major milestone.

Z and I celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss today!

We took a mini-break three weeks ago, spending a few days in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Tonight, the boys were at the CNE, so we walked up Avenue Road to the mysterious Lobster Trap (in business 43 years) for an anniversary dinner. The bibs were cloth, which was nice. The place was a little grotty, but the service was good and the food was fine, if basic (for lobster).

I know it's hackneyed, but it feels like yesterday that we were young, slim, and in love. We still have the "in love" part, and the rest doesn't matter!

It's official!

My brother and his family are moving to Toronto next fall.

John will be joining the faculty at Regis College and his lovely wife Jennifer will be doing whatever she needs to do to practice medicine in Canada. And their two boys will start their immersion in the hockey culture that John has missed so much in the SF Bay area. Go Sens!

Another major milestone.

Z and I celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss today!

We took a mini-break three weeks ago, spending a few days in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Tonight, the boys were at the CNE, so we walked up Avenue Road to the mysterious Lobster Trap (in business 43 years) for an anniversary dinner. The bibs were cloth, which was nice. The place was a little grotty, but the service was good and the food was fine, if basic (for lobster).

I know it's hackneyed, but it feels like yesterday that we were young, slim, and in love. We still have the "in love" part, and the rest doesn't matter!

It's official!

My brother and his family are moving to Toronto next fall.

John will be joining the faculty at Regis College and his lovely wife Jennifer will be doing whatever she needs to do to practice medicine in Canada. And their two boys will start their immersion in the hockey culture that John has missed so much in the SF Bay area. Go Sens!

Major Milestone

We are about to have another driver in the family.

Alex just finished his driver's ed course and has booked his road test for late September. He passed the driver's ed "road test" yesterday which is supposed to replicate a real road test, so his hopes are high.

For his father and I to feel confident, we'll be practicing a lot with him over the next few weeks so that he has more miles under his belt and is a little smoother. But it will be nice to have another driver in the household, particularly one who, during the driving honeymoon period, will be quite willing to schlepp his brother to karate!

I guess I need to look into insurance now...

August Declutter Challenge: Week 3

Here we go again!

Item 1: This is some track lighting that we purchased for a house that we lived in 3 houses ago (our first house). This means that we have paid someone to move it (and the rest of our household contents) three times. We have nowhere in our current house to use it, so it's gone to Goodwill.
Item 2: Anti-allergy pillow cover. All of our pillows are either covered, or are new and don't require this. Gone to Goodwill.
Item 3: In preparation for school start in a week and a half, I did some house-wide decluttering and gathered pens, pencils, sharpies, and school tools together and put them in this box in the kichen, where the boys typically do their homework. It's even labelled. I am such a geek.
Item 4: These books were listed at amazon.ca and didn't sell after their first listing period (60 days?). So they're going to Goodwill.
Item 5: Fake flowers in fake tea-pot. Need I say more? They were purchased when we were staging our last house to sell. Gone to Goodwill.
Item 6: Hand cream that I have never used. Got it as a free gift with purchase when I bought a Christmas present a couple of years ago. Gone.
Item 7: No photos here, but I had both my boys clear out the space under their beds. It was mostly old school books (Alex) and toys (Michael). School stuff went into the trash/recycling. Old toys to Goodwill.

Major Milestone

We are about to have another driver in the family.

Alex just finished his driver's ed course and has booked his road test for late September. He passed the driver's ed "road test" yesterday which is supposed to replicate a real road test, so his hopes are high.

For his father and I to feel confident, we'll be practicing a lot with him over the next few weeks so that he has more miles under his belt and is a little smoother. But it will be nice to have another driver in the household, particularly one who, during the driving honeymoon period, will be quite willing to schlepp his brother to karate!

I guess I need to look into insurance now...

August Declutter Challenge: Week 3

Here we go again!

Item 1: This is some track lighting that we purchased for a house that we lived in 3 houses ago (our first house). This means that we have paid someone to move it (and the rest of our household contents) three times. We have nowhere in our current house to use it, so it's gone to Goodwill.

Item 2: Anti-allergy pillow cover. All of our pillows are either covered, or are new and don't require this. Gone to Goodwill.

Item 3: In preparation for school start in a week and a half, I did some house-wide decluttering and gathered pens, pencils, sharpies, and school tools together and put them in this box in the kichen, where the boys typically do their homework. It's even labelled. I am such a geek.

Item 4: These books were listed at amazon.ca and didn't sell after their first listing period (60 days?). So they're going to Goodwill.

Item 5: Fake flowers in fake tea-pot. Need I say more? They were purchased when we were staging our last house to sell. Gone to Goodwill.

Item 6: Hand cream that I have never used. Got it as a free gift with purchase when I bought a Christmas present a couple of years ago. Gone.

Item 7: No photos here, but I had both my boys clear out the space under their beds. It was mostly old school books (Alex) and toys (Michael). School stuff went into the trash/recycling. Old toys to Goodwill.

August Declutter Challenge: Week 2

Here are the results for Week 2:

Item 1: two bottles of Barbeque sauce. We don't use bottled barbeque sauce. Plus, they had expired. Not sure how we got them in the first place. Dumped sauce and recycled bottles.
Item 2: Candle from master bath. Haven't used it in the past year and it's gathering dust. Outta here! (Goodwill)
Item 3: Cleaning products from master bath. First two require you to remember to use them EVERY DAY. We are not that on-the-ball. Third was empty bottle. Fourth is moisturizer that I never use and is just taking up space on vanity. Into recycling bin.
Item 4: Sort of spooky foot-high candle holder (space for tealight at bottom). Bought it years ago at a craft fair and kinda liked it. Not so much anymore. On to Goodwill.
Items 5 & 6: The big linen clear-out. I'm counting two items for these: a twin duvet that has lost some stuffing but is still serviceable, and some twin sheets and pillowcases (cotton) that are in primary/child colours and are no longer interesting to our sons. Plus a couple of lacy Euro shams that have yellowed. Into Goodwill bag.

Item 7: Stuffed monkey with magnetic feet. Promo item from Zs work but is in danger of becoming a dog toy leading to large vet bills when dog rips toy apart and swallows magnets. Goodwill.

August Declutter Challenge: Week 2

Here are the results for Week 2:

Item 1: two bottles of Barbeque sauce. We don't use bottled barbeque sauce. Plus, they had expired. Not sure how we got them in the first place. Dumped sauce and recycled bottles.

Item 2: Candle from master bath. Haven't used it in the past year and it's gathering dust. Outta here! (Goodwill)

Item 3: Cleaning products from master bath. First two require you to remember to use them EVERY DAY. We are not that on-the-ball. Third was empty bottle. Fourth is moisturizer that I never use and is just taking up space on vanity. Into recycling bin.

Item 4: Sort of spooky foot-high candle holder (space for tealight at bottom). Bought it years ago at a craft fair and kinda liked it. Not so much anymore. On to Goodwill.

Items 5 & 6: The big linen clear-out. I'm counting two items for these: a twin duvet that has lost some stuffing but is still serviceable, and some twin sheets and pillowcases (cotton) that are in primary/child colours and are no longer interesting to our sons. Plus a couple of lacy Euro shams that have yellowed. Into Goodwill bag.

Item 7: Stuffed monkey with magnetic feet. Promo item from Zs work but is in danger of becoming a dog toy leading to large vet bills when dog rips toy apart and swallows magnets. Goodwill.

Massive explosion

Very close to home.

Before we heard about it, Z and I were commenting about how poor our sleep had been last night. There were thunderstorms last evening, and Z said that at one point, it felt like the war in Beirut before he left, except that he didn't get a blast of warm air typical after a bombing.

Shortly after this conversation, Z's cousin, who also lives in Toronto, called to give us the news of the explosion at the propane distributor just north-west of us.

We haven't had any physical manifestation of the explosion at our place, and the air quality is fine at this point.

And amazingly, there haven't been reports of any deaths or serious injuries to date.

Massive explosion

Very close to home.

Before we heard about it, Z and I were commenting about how poor our sleep had been last night. There were thunderstorms last evening, and Z said that at one point, it felt like the war in Beirut before he left, except that he didn't get a blast of warm air typical after a bombing.

Shortly after this conversation, Z's cousin, who also lives in Toronto, called to give us the news of the explosion at the propane distributor just north-west of us.

We haven't had any physical manifestation of the explosion at our place, and the air quality is fine at this point.

And amazingly, there haven't been reports of any deaths or serious injuries to date.

August Declutter Challenge: Week 1

The folks over at Organizing Queen are hosting a month-long declutter challange and awarding some interesting prizes. Every Friday, we need to post our weekly progress on decluttering one item per day.

Here's mine!

Friday: Some too-small clothing from boys' closets to take to Goodwill

Saturday: Bags for Goodwill that had been in my car for a number of weeks were dropped off.
Sunday: We were on holidays, but I managed to declutter (i.e. throw out) two old windshield wipers from the back of the car.
Monday: A pile of webbed stuff that you put under carpets. In a trash bag on the porch, waiting for garbage day.
Tuesday: A game that our kids have outgrown. Off to Goodwill.
Wednesday: Baby food that my brother forgot to take home with him when he and his family were visiting this summer. Left at a food bank box at my local grocery store.
Thursday: Cans of cream of mushroom soup that I bought at Costco for some casserole I was making in large quantity. I only used three of them, and will likely never use the rest. Also left at food bank box.