The floor is clear of all the stuff that is not going to be displayed on my lower level. Some of it went to the garage, some to the loft over garage, some will be donated, some went in the furnace room and various closets and some went to recycling. I am thrilled to be able to walk in and out of the back door without the obstacle course.
I have done more rearranging and I'm still not happy with the TV. I need to elevate it or lower the picture above. I was sitting on the stairs for this photo. The cabinet in lower left is next to the yellow decoupaged cottage chest with the big clock above shown in a previous post. Happy last day of August. It flew by, didn't it? I accomplished a lot though and I'm happy about what I've done so far. xo
My milkweed is almost defoliated because the leaves are being devoured by these amazing yellow, black and white striped caterpillars. I took this photo last evening when I was closing up shop downstairs. They "head-butt" when competing for food. Click here for the really interesting article with a video if you want to watch them fight. Plant more milkweed! That is all Monarch caterpillars eat. Really.
These three photos are of the sitting/eating area of my walk-out lower level after days of rearranging. I think I have it the way I want it and after I get rid of all the stuff in the photo below. I will start a deep cleaning soon. I probably should have done that first but I didn't do anything but vacuum. Everything down there came from garage sales, thrift shops, roadside finds, and gifts from friends. The table with the tablecloth was a roadside find and it turned out to be perfect with 4 of my bentwood chairs that used to be in my upstairs kitchen. It had been stored in my furnace room and now it has a new life. I recently completed my ongoing search for all black lampshades and I am thrilled with the look. The one on the lamp with the staircase behind is dark gray.
It's so much cooler today (72° at 8:30am) and very breezy. I will try and tackle this stuff and clear the area to the back door and then I will be able to clean. The kitchen counters are piled high too😱but I will persevere until everything is spick and span and I will be so very happy. I made great progress in the bedroom too and those photos will be published soon. Have a great weekend. xo
I found this photo I've been saving of a wonderful screen door. One day I want to have one made for my front door if I ever finish all of my indoor projects. See you later. Back to the salt mines. Photo from Instagram. xo
I am just the opposite. I have been pre-tired thinking about making my lower level wonderful again for way too long and it's coming together, finally. I am not finished yet but I'm feeling good about what I've done so far. Image from Instagram. xo
There are no words for the tiredness of my bones. I don't think I even combed my hair because I hit the ground running this morning and never stopped. I worked in my basement and in the garage and moved mountains. I am not finished but I made a major dent. The bee above is feasting on one of my milkweed flowers. I haven't seen many butterflies this year. Wonder why? See you tomorrow. xo
I ordered two DVDs recently: Season 11 and Season 12 of CLASSICAL STRETCH | ESSENTRICS on PBS. Here is the website. Each box has 4 discs and 30 sessions so I am all set for two months of daily stretches. I am on the second disc of Season 11 called FULL BODY MOBILITY. Yesterday she mentioned that our calves are often called our second heart because they pump oxygenated blood to our heart above. I never knew this. She had me doing simple calf lifts -- up on your toes and back down again. Each daily stretching exercise is only 22 minutes long. I am enjoying them and feel that my posture has improved and other things too. Her program is on the PBS CREATE channel on Saturdays at 6am Sunday mornings twice at 6am and 6:30am if you want to check them out. I have always been strong and healthy but these exercises are mainly for connective tissue and creating long strong muscles for balance. The second DVD is entitled Aging Backward. I am not very fond of the floor exercises because I don't have a Yoga Mat and my space in front of my desktop computer isn't ideal. The exercises with a chair are okay but I love the sessions with just stretching the best. All of the exercises are slow and don't seem very hard but I work up a sweat by the end. I got my 2 sets on eBay from one seller for about $25 w/ free shipping. On PBS each set costs about $65.00.
I did some research on my own about our calves and found out she was right. I have new respect for my calf muscles now!
The website for the above photo is here. The video below is on that link too.
The link for this video on YouTube is here. This is also an ad for compression stockings at the end. Sorry about that but I really liked the animation about how the pumps in our calves operate to pump blood back to the heart. I never knew how important our calves were until now.
This is a photo of my two DVDs.
The rain has stopped and I was up and down all night while it was coming down hoping my basement would stay dry and it did. I have only had water down there twice, once during Irene in 2010 and I can't remember the other time because it was minor. Sandy was not one of them in 2012. The one in 2010 was terrible because we had 17 consecutive days of rain and when Irene hit with her winds and downpours there was no place for the water to go since the land was already super saturated. Luckily, we did not lose power and I was able to pump the water out myself. My basement doesn't have a sump pump. Anyway, I hope everyone is safe and didn't have anything catastrophic happen in the way of Hurricane Season and Henri. xo
UPDATE: I added two links for you to watch and try at home if you are interested in improving your balance and posture and getting strength through gentle stretching. xo
UPDATE: I got up early today (Saturday) and discovered Miranda's program Classical Stretch is on PBS Create at 6am. She is on again on Sundays twice, at 6:00 & 6:30am. If you have a DVR you can record and have 3 classes for the coming week. xo
