In and around the house

So my chilli plant is showing potential! Who, (besides Stay-at-home mum who guessed correctly!), would have thought those itty bitty seeds left over from some chilli I ate up all by myself, could sprout into seedlings, very much like how a "tau-geh" (bean sprout) grows from a red or green bean? (Good guesses, Firehorse, and Judy)!

On Friday itself, before the week was up, my good husband went and raked the many leaves outside -- with some help from a leaf blower to gather them, and possibly more than a little help from our two boys!



I went and prepared a quick dinner -- garlic bread, and fish fillet (that I just used some citrus grill seasoning out of a bottle, and simply added a dash of soya sauce for a bit of East meet West) into the oven to bake, at the same time I did a stir-fry of the green beans with mushroom, carrots, and baby scallops that our boys like, over the stovetop...



And since the next day -- Saturday -- was not a schoolday, I didn't have to cook extra portions or be adding a bit more variety for the next day's lunch, nor trying to pack cooked food into lunchboxes at the same time I needed to set the table for dinner! I took about half an hour, and also because the boys weren't in the house -- you know, possibly being more than a little help I need! Haha!

That was when the guys were about done, too.



It was growing dark, but Jon and Ben didn't want to come in. They were trying to make an obstacle course out of these tyres!



Those were our old tyres, we'd asked to take home, after we just had them replaced earlier in the week. But it's not so straightforward a project -- this obstacle course, since the tyres will have to be buried in such a way that rain will not collect in them!

Another item to add to our Nice-To-Do list! But I'm not sure when we'll get round to it!

Re-invent, repair, replace, re-do, or re-visit (a forgotten or half-done project). Those usually need more time and effort, than replenish, especially if replenish just means go shop for something! And that "something", being a replica of what we've just run out of.

This past week, outside of our day-to-day whir of activities, the husband, amidst his own busy schedule, also made time for a couple of other house things, that had been at the back of our minds.

Like our new clothes dryer, that arrived a few days after we went and got it, and I'm happy that it's not going to churn out more than the occasional piece of shrunken shirt or blouse!

And because my swollen toe made some things more difficult for me to do on my own, Vern also helped me take down the sheer curtains in our living and dining area, and put up some non-sheer ones I'd got awhile back and originally meant for our master bedroom.

But since curtains for bedrooms is something we won't be working on anytime soon, the ones now up in the dining room are doing a better job (when they aren't tied back) at keeping out the sun, than did the sheer ones before. The reason why I thought we shouldn't wait anymore to get them up.

From this...


... to this:


But these curtains with paisley prints, brocade-like, did take a day or two for us to get used to! I tried to soften their more ethnic feel, versus the more oriental look before, by putting back on the sheer maroon scarf from the living room combo, and looping it twice rather than just once.

Hmm... what do you think?

But yes, such are the house things, other than moving pieces of furniture around once in a blue moon (even if there aren't all that many to move around), that many a woman, wife, homemaker, stay-at-home mom -- me included, of course! -- like to squeeze in, from time to time, besides the more run-of-the-mill chores! And the kind husband will usually oblige, especially if he knows the changes are for a functional, not just aesthetic purpose!

If only the ever-growing clutter in our home can be as quickly sorted out, or raked away like leaves! I haven't found the energy to straighten out anything beyond our immediate work piles! Tell me, please, it's because I live with three guys, no?