In Action

Inspirational song: Mr Blue Sky (Electric Light Orchestra)

Rest time is over. I have too many things to get caught up on to continue to loll about after vacation. First thing I did was complete a plant propagation I set in motion weeks ago. I had gotten a fancy philodendron splendid on 50% off sale ($30 instead of $60). I wrapped two nodes with wet moss and plastic wrap (the process is called air layering), and left them alone for around a month. Today I took the top cutting, which had begun sprouting some gorgeous roots. I cleaned out a plastic nursery pot from the reserves, and a terracotta to place it in. I made a new moss pole, and learned how to make it go a little faster. There were a few hiccups along the way, getting the pole and plant positioned just right, but I'm happy with the result. I can't wait to see it grow tall and large, like the one Sydney Plant Guy has. (He can be found on YouTube and IG.) Will let the mother plant recover before I take the next cutting.

Since I had to tidy up my potting soil mess, I got rolling on kitchen work. It wasn't awful in there, but there were still some things left out that should have been put back in the pantry before I left. No one did a deep clean while I was gone. I was only able to do some before my lack of an attention span got me started on yet another task--the one I hinted at yesterday.

I had been sick of the yellow walls in my kitchen for years. I don't know why I keep chosing yellows that I end up hating soon after painting them. Several months ago, I tried covering them with the leftover paint from my bedroom, but it just looked awful under bright kitchen lights, and I abandoned the effort quickly. The kitchen has looked terrible and half-done ever since. A month ago, I decided I would just paint everything the same pale blue, including refreshing and brightening the dining and living rooms. I had a paint chip taped to the wall in several spots, a way of leaving the comments page open. No one in the house voiced a negative opinion, so I bought paint, and today I tested a couple small sections. It's a pale sky blue, a little more baby pastel than I expected, but I'm fine with it. It's not half-beige, half-corn on the cob. Tomorrow I start pulling out the fridge and coffee bar and get the rest knocked out.