Another closet

The hall closet was next on my list.  I keep some cleaning supplies in there, my hard floor steamer, batteries, and meds, plus some other odds and ends. 

I had all these cute frames in there. The 8x10 will be going, because I don't really care to display pictures that large.  The small ones on the right are dog or cat-themed, and for now I am keeping one dog and one cat one.  Same for the dog ones on the left--one goes and one stays.  The wooden one with flowers I really like and won't have any problem getting a picture in it.  The other four I will give myself a deadline for, and if I don't have them filled with pictures and displayed by then, they are going too.

Recycling I found in the closet. 

Two heavy glass lightswitch plates that were a gift several years ago.  I might put one in my guest room, which is decorated with some antiques.  Again, if it's not done quickly, I'm getting rid of both. 

The random stuff that is leaving my hall closet for good. 

And the finished product.  I don't have a before, so just pretend it's filled with random junk I've held on to way too long.  Ha. 

Good Eatin'

I have been cooking lately, just not too much new or notable.  But I did cook this little number recently, General Tso's Tofu, with rice and steamed veggies.  The sauce was delicious!

Also on my plate that evening was pulihora, an authentic Indian rice dish made by a friend of a coworker to Mr. GV.  The coworker knows we love Indian food, so she brought us a big bowl of the pulihora. 

Mr. GV had an additional dish on his plate that night--a collard dish I have made many times before.  He remarked that it was interesting having Chinese, Indian, and Southern soul cooking all in one night.  lol 

Backyard

Little white frog (I swear it's white--I couldn't find anything online about it, but it looks white to me) hanging out in the fold of the canna.   

Loving this burst of color.

Behold the purge

I know you've all been waiting with bated breath to see what crap I got rid of out of the master closet.  Ha! 

Random stuff--air purifier, lamp, travel pillow, cat waterer, etc.

My clothes: 

2 shorts
2 dresses
3 skirts
5 pants
5 pair shoes
7 shirts
13 (!) sweaters
a multitude of socks
3 pairs heel supports
new bra

Oh yeah, 3 more shirts I found, plus a photo album.  Underneath the shirts are a couple sheets that I have sewn numerous times, and they're not holding together anymore.  I might try to patch them or I will cut them up for rags.  Either way they are not sitting around in my closet any longer.  

Three purses, two belts, wallet that were mine, and a pair of sandals and shirt that belonged to Mr. GV.

Here is the whole gigantic mess.  Of course right now it's all moved into my spare room, but in a few weeks hopefully it will all be gone!

Closet cleanup

We have a fairly large master bedroom closet.  And because of that, it becomes the catch-all and gets junky.  So I set out to give it a good cleaning. 

Here is my (shameful) before picture.  On the right are Mr. GV's clothes, and mine are on the left, mostly hidden behind the door. Ahead you see sheets, and below that (behind the mess on the floor) are the shoes.  See that red box?  Fragile Christmas decorations that I don't want up in the attic.  Green clothes basket?  Random stuff. 

After:  winter comforters and blankets on the top, blankets, bags, and beach towels on the next two shelves

sheets (two sets flannel, two sets regular, and top sheets to keep schmutz from the dogs' and cat's paws off the comforter. So much easier to change out a sheet than the comforter...)

My hang-up clothes, before

and after.  I'm not into the whole 'put in order by color' thing.  It may not look like much less than the before, but I also hung up several shirts that I had laying in a pile in the bottom of the closet. 

Pants/sweaters before

and after.  I tried on all the pants, and if they were too big, they were out of there.  I've kept the weight off for a few years now, and am still losing more, so I figured it was time to finally get rid of the big pants. All the sweaters are gone too, as I just don't wear them.

Mr. GV's side of the closet (plus my wedding dress obviously) before

and after.  I put the shirts together by type (T, short, and long-sleeved.)  Mr. GV doesn't have the time right now, but very soon he's going to go through and get rid of quite a few. He only wears scrubs to work now, and in his off time sticks to T-shirts.  Maybe once or twice a year he needs a dress shirt. 

Bottom rack, before.  See those cables peeking out behind the clothes?  That's our electronics box.  My goal is to eventually get rid of that entire box of assorted cables and gizmos, but for now at least it has been neatened and the box found a new home.

After.

Another harvest

I think this will be the last of the broccoli.  I'm going to leave the plants for another couple of weeks, then I will pull them up if they aren't doing anything.  A couple of years ago I grew broccoli from seed, and those plants kept putting on side shoots that kept going for quite a while.  I bought these from a local organic farm as plants, and so far all they've put on are the one main head. 

I really thought we were done with raspberries but Mr. GV tells me no.  There are still a few more out there, but it will be up to Mr. GV to get them. The cultured blackberries are starting to ripen, as are the wild ones on the edge of the woods.  There are thousands upon thousands of the wild ones, but a lot of them are a few feet into the woods, and I would have to be suited up in armor to go in there visiting the snakes.  Or starving of course. The ticks are bad enough.  We pulled 5 or 6 off of me yesterday, plus had a couple more crawling.  There are lots of new canes on the very edge of the woods, so if all goes well next year hopefully those will fruit. 

And we have a few potatoes too. 

Then and Now

In the picture below, you see myself, my baby sister, and our ringbearer.  He is a cousin to Mr. GV, and he was a real cutie pie way back then. 

Fastforward 16 years and 51 weeks, and here is our ringbearer, now himself the groom.   His bride is lovely, and I guess you could still say he's still a cutie pie.  ;)