...my Tuesday

this has been a "full" day...

I came into the kitchen to find this...



Gracie gets "fixed" on some pretty amazing "perches"...
and she's always stubborn about moving...
even if I need to use the coffee maker...

and besides...
I don't want her sitting on my counter/sink/appliances anyway...yuck...

besides the obvious reason, of course...
there's always "collateral damage"...



this time...

not only did she break the handle off of my blue mug...
she trashed my big, heavy weight French bistro glass...
I'm just grateful that she didn't get the Orcas Island mug too...

then there were the beans I started soaking yesterday...



I rinsed them...
added a ham hock, chopped onion & garlic,S&P...
added a qt of chix stock...covered it and left it to cook...



after about 3 hours...I stirred them & cracked the lid...
to let them cook down a bit...



after another couple of hours, I had this...
so I re-covered them, turned them down to the lowest simmer...
and left them another couple of hours...
at which time the ham hock had fallen apart...
so I fished out the fat & bones...



leaving me with this...
I stirred it well to release everything from the bottom...
covered it & turned off the heat, letting it set...

the fat, skin & bones...



became dog food...
Molly loved them...the kitties will lick off the gravy...
but won't eat the bones, etc...

but that was towards the end of my day...
back at the beginning...

I dug into the office closet [behind Mt Catfood]



and pulled out a box of replacement air freshener re-fills...
and replaced the empty [all of them] ones...
I also replaced the "plug-in" ones...
this was after I took out the trash...
and cleaned cat boxes...

then I surveyed the BIG project I'd been putting off...



I needed to move out the dead plant pots, move the table...



sweep the floor & create a space for my big ficus trees to come inside...



because the front porch is full of plants that won't take a freeze...

especially, the ficus trees, scheffleras, dracenias & the African violets...



so I took these...
[yes, there are now 5...
I rescued one from near death by dehydration at the grocery store...]



and did this...



bringing them into the kitchen...



where they will do very well...



if Gracie doesn't decide to "nest" on them...



the 2 dracenia margenatas will be OK..



until the kitties start discovering them...
cats LOVE to chew on them...fortunately, they are NOT poisonous...
but being chewed on doesn't help the plant...



they won't chew on this pothos, which should do well here...
even so close to the heat grate...



the fiddle-leaf fig [ficus] that came back from bare sticks...
it got frost-bitten last year...



I almost didn't get it inside...it's SOOOO heavy...
I just hope I didn't really hurt myself...
it should be happy here...lots of eastern light...
[the other ficus have new growth...]



this dagger-leaf ficus [I don't know it's real name...]
also responded well to being outside for the summer...
it HATES hot air blowing on it & needs a lot of light...



so hopefully, this will be a good spot...
as it's away from the heat grates and in an eastern window...

I also brought in the Maranatha plant I repotted...
a Hawaiian shefflera, 2 small fiddle-leaf figs...
some cissus [oak leaf ivy],my coffee tree & some "creeping charlie"...

I moved my old portulaca pots to the back...
to replant them with the johnny jump-ups...
I put the Christmas cacti in their places...
since the cyclamen have lost their blooms...
I'll either have to replace them or not have any this year...



so after all that work....my front porch looks a bit barren...

and the day was getting on towards evening...
so we went for a walk to the park...



the tide is rising [moon going full...]

so on our return...
I dug out my indoor watering hose...



it easily reaches all my plants...
and keeps me from having to lift & carry heavy buckets of water...



it attaches right onto my bathroom faucet...
and has a sprayer at the other end...

so after returning from the walk, finishing off the beans...
preparing to water the inside plants...
and write this...

I was treated to this...



the late afternoon sun, shining on the liquid amber tree...

oh...and while we were out walking...

I noticed that one of my neighbors down the street...
had some workmen parked in front of her house...
[she had her whole house renovated last year...]
but this trailer was of a contractor who does bathrooms & kitchens...

so we stopped to chat...

they are a father/son team...licensed...
the city inspector showed-up ...
& seemed to know the dad on a first name basis...
[always a good sign...]

I told them about my situation...
they said that animals didn't bother them...
[Molly seemed OK with them...
and I got a good vibe from them...]
so I took one of their cards...
and will call them to come take a look at my situation...

the Lord moves in mysterious ways...
and I asked Him to make "the right guys" appear...

5 houses down is pretty much, "appearing" in my book...
so I have a "good" feeling about this...

now... I just have to finish this post...
send an e-mail...water the indoor plants...
light a fire... make some cornbread...
heat up some beans...

sit in my rocker...watch some TV...
have some supper...

and try to stay awake until I finish eating...

all in all...

not too bad for a Tuesday...