Disposing of the old personnal things is a hard thing to do. You just don't want to toss stuff like that in the garbage along with the kitchen scraps. Let me suggest that you think about what we did. We went through the papers,etc. to make sure that there wasn't anything there that might be important like stock certificates or hidden money, (and there was!) and then we built a small fire in the back yard and burnt everything like that. We also burnt worn out books and stacks of old religious tracts and Sunday School leasons. Snapshots of people that we did not know was another thing that went. My mother had even saved some of my old baby stuff. Well, if you want to get technical, she was one of those that save a lot of things that would never be needed. They were all burnt. One of our local churches provides furniture, dishes and other household things for people that have fallen on hard times. I called them and told them that they could have anything they wanted in the house....but they had to TAKE EVERYTHING and dispose of it somehow. That's what they did. When they finished, the house was stripped and all we had to do was clean and sell it. They got three bedrooms of furniture, refrigerator, washer, tables, lamps and even pictures from the walls. I could not have begun to handle it without them. That's one way of solving the problem. Maybe something like that would work for you.

My electrician (aka hubby) finally got my second pendant hung over the island today!! You may or may not remember when I posted this pic back in September or October Right after I built and installed my temp island. The area looked, quite frankly, somewhat ridiculous. An 8 ft long island with this one lone pendant hanging over one end of it. The reason it was there was because that was an existing box that used to have a fluorescent light box on it. I knew I wanted to put in another box ran off of the first one and install 2 pendants, well, today it finally got done!! Yay!! Not only is it aesthetically pleasing but there is soooo much more light over my island now! Can I just mention again how much I love the smoke colored glass in these pendants? Also, in keeping with our weekly thread "no accomplishment is too small", I tracked down some spare 2x6 and cut blocks to fit in the old window spot. I also got the piece of drywall cut to install. The only reason I haven't yet is because I am thinking of creating a "time capsule" to put in the wall before I close it off. Chances are that spot will be opened again at some point in the future, it is where the MIL quarters and main house meet. Even if I never open it back up, I thought it would be cool to leave a "treasure" there for someone to discover in the future. Tell me truthfully, does that sound really lame or kinda cool?

I've decided to transform the leaf mould bin into a compost bin sooner rather than later. Instead of emptying out all of the leaves, I've started incorporating grass clippings and kitchen/garden scraps into the bin, making sure it gets a good green/brown ratio. Over time, by turning the existing brown materials in with the new green materials, it should make good compost. The negative about this is that I won't be able to use this stuff for about two years, when I could have actually collected leaf mould in one year. The positive is that compost is more nutrient rich but can also be used the same way, as a top dressing or mulch, for water retention and weed suppression, but giving those plants a boost that leaf mould may not do. I'll work green materials in for about a year (or unless we get it so full that it absolutely can't hold any more) then setup another swimming pool composter up. On appx April 2018, the plan is to collect compost from the first bin. On appx April 2019, I'll collect compost from the 2nd bin. Then, April 2020, from the first bin, and on and on. Meanwhile, I'm slowly building up a small farm, with rabbits, cows, chickens, and eventually, ducks, possibly turkeys, etc. Rabbit poop = instant garden fertilizer + worm food, for vermicomposting, to collect worm castings for the garden, and the worms themselves could feed some fish, for a future aquaponics setup. Cow, chicken, duck, and turkey poop will be composted. As of right now, it's all about slowly moving forward, to try to obtain a balance, where everything works together.

Maggy, I would love to help! I've actually coached many in my friends circle. First decide where you would like to run, is it in your neighborhood, in the park? Even a treadmill is fine but IMO a little harder for a beginner because you can't naturally vary your pace as easily. But wherever gets your running and motivated is the key! All you really need is a good pair of running sneakers and it you like to listen to music an armband for your phone (or other device). You have to start out slow and by that I mean your pace. Don't worry about your time, trust me, speed comes with repetition and time. I would start at a slow pace and see how far you can run before you become fatigued. If you need to take walking breaks - go for it! Many many people run even marathons with a run / walk method. Don't get discouraged and don't be tempted to sprint. The whole point is to build endurance in the beginning. I would start with maybe 3-4 times a week and build from there. Perhaps set a goal of running 3 miles non stop in two months? Trust me you can do it! And to prevent injury, increase mileage no more than 10% a week. Take rest days and listen to your body. Good luck and feel free to message me privately.