May's Recap

I knew I hadn't written out a list of goals for May, but I was curious to know how my month stacked up against my 2018 goals for the year. Reading through my post for the past month, it felt like I had lived a lifetime. So much had happened since I returned home from my 2 week trip to Elliot Lake.

Environment:
House- I did not get my Spring Cleaning accomplished by May. My circumstances have changed, so I focused more on purging items and downsizing my belongings. I have yet to hold my first yard sale, but I was able to sell some items through the online Kijiji.  Once I am rid of the items destined to leave, I will be able to give the house a good clean, get rid of even more items, and bring in a realtor. But I am pretty sure I have given up the idea of selling this house until early next Spring (March or April).

Garden- I have given up on the idea of growing my veggie garden this summer. I have simply run out of time. To make the property look more attractive to buyers, I will focus on the flower beds, keeping the property mowed and kept up. I have brought in a dumpster to get rid of all the old wood from past projects and lots of other items around the yard, including inside the work shed. I am transplanting some perennials from one of my biggest flower beds so I can turn that garden back into lawn. I will bring in more mulch, after examining whether or not I can find free or cheap mulch sources. I am also thinning out lots of perennials to give away to friends and family. I will be pulling weeds and roto tilling my vegetable garden later in the season so people can see there is a very large vegetable garden. (This is a complete contradiction of my 2018 goals of putting emphasis on my vegetable garden and not in the flower beds) My riding lawn mower is back for servicing, but I have not yet heard back about how much it will cost to repair it. I have people who will show me how to use it. Later this summer, after I have finished using them, I should be able to sell the snow blower, the riding mower, the roto tiller, the pressure washer and the utility trailer.  I will have another yard sale just to sell off the tools from the shed and all the summer outdoor furniture.

Finances:
Spending- This is also a contradiction of my 2018 goals. I am spending money on new (lumber, hardware, and new blades for tools needed to complete the projects) Wherever I can save on materials by re-using old, we are making substitutes.  I am putting money into the property, which I vowed not to do, but again because of changed circumstances, I needed to replace the front and back decks because they were a liability issue before I could sell  the house. However, I was able to trade Rick's van for labour. Other people's help is what I need the most.

I continue to track what I spend on food and non-food items. I have used loyalty points this past month to buy plants, tools, primer, and the like. I received a $25 gift certificate in the mail this past week for a grocery store, after I applied as part of a class action suit. I continue to collect Optimum points when I shop at No-Frills and Shopper's Drug Mart, and I fill in Pinecone Surveys when they come to me on-line. (I receive $3 a survey, but they have not been very plentiful lately)  I am making more birthday gifts for my adult children and my parents. I made some money selling some furniture on Kijiji.

Saving- Although I have been able to squirrel away a few extra dollars each month to apply extra payments to my credit card,  I am spending more right now.

Family and Friends: Facebook messenger has made it much easier to maintain close relationships with my family. I drove up North to spend two weeks with family late in April and beginning of May. I drove to Bradford to spend a weekend with my daughter and family. I attended a lovely Mother's Day dinner with my son and his fiancee. I drove to Charleston Lake to spend a day with friends and made a Memory Book for the birthday recipient. I went out to dinner and a movie with girl friends this past week.  I talked on the phone with one of my husband's cousins, and sent a letter and sent photos to another cousin of his who is battling cancer. I am continuing a card campaign with my DIL in BC, who is now more than halfway through her cancer treatment. I made 6 birthday cards and 6 "gifts" for family members in the past month.

Health: I saw three doctors and missed one (oops1) That one has been rescheduled for this week. I saw the ENT doctor and there is nothing they can do about the loss of smell. I had a colposcopy but don't expect anything as a result of that. I saw my GP and received antibiotics for the tick bite on my back. My thyroid is good and I am still losing weight and inches, but my sugar is creeping back up. Not sure why.

Crafts and Leisure: I made two Memory books as gifts this past month. I finished the embroidered pillow slip for my son's fiancee's birthday. I "made" colour gifts and birthday cards for three male members of my family. One was a box of ALL  yellow gifts with a card that said "sending you sunshine on your birthday."  The other two gifts were boxes of ALL orange gifts with a card that read "Orange you glad it's your birthday?" So easy to do and brings a smile to the birthday boy, especially if some of those coloured gifts are snacks or chocolate. Think Reese's Pieces (orange) or M&M peanuts (yellow). Unfortunately, I don't think I took any photographs of the finished gifts. I continue to make encouragement  cards as I need them, but I still  have a healthy supply of birthday cards.