Saturday Meanderings

Happy March! How can that be?!? I have no idea who makes up the daily celebrations by month but today, March 1st is Share a Smile Day and World Compliment Day. Make sure you pay a compliment to someone with a winning smile! My apologies for not posting last Saturday. It was one of those weeks where I was over-scheduled and just had too much going on. It is always so much fun for me to write this post so I am happy to be back chatting with you about all good things this week.

On Television this Week

What a fun experience to be interviewed on Arizona Horizon (PBS) this week with Ted Simons. No, it wasn’t about this blog, but about our neighborhood perspective on proposed housing bills by the Arizona legislature.

We chatted on the set for about 7 minutes about this topic and if you want to see it, you can find it on YouTube here.

Facebook Marketplace

Have you ever used Facebook Marketplace? I certainly do not use it but the few times I have, it has been either very successful or very frustrating. This week I post my son’s double bed, which is in very good condition. I have lots of responses where people are excited about it, set up an appointment to come by, and then never show up. Certainly, I understand if someone changes their mind or gets delayed, but to just never respond?

Long story short, I sell the bed to a very nice young man and now I can cross that off my list. His new bed, from Wayfair, did arrive, but I haven’t completed assembly. Hopefully, I will be able to show you how it looks next week.

Inside Project Updates

The office clean-up is finally finished! I had nearly 10 garbage bags of shredded documents and files. Everything is back in order too, but what an intensive project. To see an older post about our home office, click here.

With this complete, I move to my daughter, Elisabeth’s room and her bathroom. Originally the cast iron tub in her bathroom was in the master bath. Since it is such a uniquely designed tub, we moved it to her bathroom. Even though I have tried researching this age/description of this tub, I cannot seem to find any information about it online.

The front of the tub has a removable “skirt” (in 2 pieces). With a corroded drain problem, we hoped to remove the “skirt” to get to the underside of the tub, however, this became a daunting project. After removing some tiles, I call a halt to the project.

Instead, we decide to access to the tub drain by cutting through the back side of the adjacent wall. What was supposed to be a simple new drain trap replacement, turns into a much bigger project. With the drain trap so corroded and stuck, is it possible the actual drain has deteriorated and is leaking?

The good news is the tub drain is not leaking and the new drain trap is installed. Whew! We also replace the handles to the shower. With new caulking the tub/shower area should look fresh and clean. The not-so-good news is that I have to repair and plaster the big wall hole and re-tile around the tub. More photos to come once it is finished!

Outside Projects

Our yard helper, Mr. Francisco, retired last week after 19 years of assisting us around Bella Terra. Even though we will miss him, I am looking forward to the opportunity to do more work ourselves and re-think some of our landscaping. I’m not sure my husband shares my enthusiasm, however, he is taking the bull by the horns and is now the cute new lawn guy!

This week, Mr. Scott rips out the hodge podge of shrubs around the fountain. Originally, the same shrub was planted, but over time as one would die, a new variety was put in its place, looking like a patch-work quilt. Many of the plants are past their prime, so we are putting in new Blue Bells for consistency.

With such lovely weather lately, our weekend will be filled with yard work projects.

Great Bargains at Hester and Cook

If you haven’t visited Hester and Cook online, I believe you will love their products. I am a big fan of their paper placemats which are very affordable (some at 50% off) now on their Sale page. This is an inexpensive way to elevate your table with little to no effort.

I buy 2 different styles of paper placemats this week as they also make great gifts. Each packet has 24 sheets and if someone hasn’t spilled on them, they are reusable. See their sale page here. I don’t get any stipend for this~just want to share a great product at fabulous prices!

Documentaries of Note

We started watching the 3-part documentary recently released about Kevin Costner exploring the connection between Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks. There is beautiful scenery shots, and I am finding the history of our National Park system so interesting. You can see it on Fox Nation, which I find surprisingly affordable at $59.49 annually.

There is another Fox Nation series I am excited to watch called Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints. This is an eight-part docudrama series. The first four episodes premiered on November 17, 2024, and the remaining four will be released in April and May 2025. 

Another Cute Collar

I suppose this is getting to be my obsession, but here is another cute faux collar that is now part of my growing collection. You can’t see this in the photo but the collar has little sparkly things on it. This time I wore it to church and several people stopped me and asked about it. Again, I don’t get a stipend for referring this, but here’s the link. Too cute not to share!

Around the Internet

Do you love flowers? If I had my druthers, every room in my house would have a fresh bouquet of fragrant flowers. Aerie Lauder, the granddaughter of Estée Lauder just released her book, Living with Flowers. She shares the many ways she brings flowers into her home including fresh bouquets, floral patterns on wallpaper, fabric, tabletop pieces, and perfume.

Don’t you just love these painted closet panels? It reminds me of my mother, who hand painted doors to a closet armoire she had and it was lovely. I think my sister was the lucky one to get those. You can find Aerin’s new 272 page book here.

Well, that’s a wrap for this week! Wishing you a glorious weekend, filled with laughter, rest and relaxation. Hoping the same for me. See you next Saturday and stay safe out there!