Goodbye, Hello

There's A Time To Say Goodbye ..

But there is also a time to say Hello .. My recent week seemed to be filled with goodbye's and hello's. None of them bad or painful in my opinion. Maybe it's because we recently said goodbye to winter and then said hello to spring, that we are ushering in several other new things to replace the old. I could easily go down a path of sadness over personal losses, but that's not what this post is about. Today I want to keep things upbeat and happy.. After all spring and the promise of rebirth and rejuvenation is upon us.

Goodbye Orchid Flowers

Hello New Growth

Yes, the time has come .. As we knew it would; The time to say goodbye to all of those lovely Vanda and Cattleya Orchid flowers. Although it was sad to see them all lying on the floor, bellow the plants on which they once were attached in brilliant beauty, we remained happy. Thinking back to the moments we enjoyed those blooms, and how wonderful it was to have the splashes of color in our living area when we needed it, we have to smile. It's only a matter of time until these girls dazzle us again.

So it is, that we say hello to new growth .. And the promise of flowers again next year. From these new pseudobulb shoots we are beginning to see, the new flower buds will begin to grow and eventually bloom. We have to be patient but I am certain it will happen again next February or March.

I also took the time to clean them up .. After the blooms fall off, the plants are left with a small dried up flower spike and sheath. I simply take a pair of clean scissors and snip it as low as I can without hurting the plant. I went ahead and removed a few pseudobulb sheaths. They are like those dry outer layers of an onion, and are easily pealed off. Although they are harmless being left on, the plants look much healthier and green without them.

And Now Post Clean Up

Goodbye Garbage Pail Kids

Hello New Silver

It was hard to say goodbye to my old cards .. But I am using the funds to buy more of something that currently interests me.. More precious metals. Me and those cards had a good run together. I bought them a long time ago and always with the intention that we would someday part ways. The time felt right. The cards are still sealed in there original factory packaging making them worth a bit more than otherwise. I have almost 40 packs to sell. Since they have grown in value over time, and are still quite collectable, I shouldn't have a hard time selling them all and at a good profit.

Hi Silver Dollar!

And just like that the first few packs sold fast .. And the profits reinvested into yet another 1921 Silver Peace Dollar. I just can't say No to these beauties. When the price is right (like it was this time), I take advantage of it. It's getting harder and harder to find these coins for a fair value. Often I see them and they seem well overpriced for me, but occasionally I find one I am willing to buy. I now have three 1921 High Relief Silver Peace Dollars in my Peace Dollar collection.

And one day.. Like those Garbage Pail Kids stickers, these coins may turn me a small or large profit. Time will tell.

New addition is the bottom coin

Goodbye Compost Pile

Hello This Years Garden

Like I said, we are suffering from Spring Fever .. And I decided to try and get a jump on things this year. Last year I got a rather late start and things went down hill from there. This year I am trying to eliminate the rather large compost pile that sits at the back of our garden. It is becoming big and unsightly. My plan is to keep a much smaller pile, and plant grapes in the area where the pile was. It will act as a sort of backdrop or border to our garden and hopefully give us some flavorful and visual enjoyment.

I moved most of it. Still have lots to go. The pile in the photo above is all going on the garden beds you see here.

We also picked up the first round of vegetable plants .. Lettuce, Beats, and Tomatoes. It's okay to plant the lettuce and beats, even though it still can get rather chilly out this time of the year, but the tomatoes will have to wait for another week or so. I am watching the weather and I still see a few nights where the temps will drop into the 30's (F).

Goodbye 17 Year Old Carpet

Hello To The Stress Of Picking Out New Carpet

Choices, Choices, and more Choices .. Texture.. Thickness.. Colors.. And they all look different in every room and lighting type! uggg. I'm not complaining. It's wonderful that we have saved up and are going to do something we've wanted to do for some time now, but the "choice" is the hard part. 17 years is a long time. Luckily we don't have kids tearing through the house, we take our shoes off most of the time, and only have one or two major gatherings, so the carpet held up very well. Molly and Pepper weren't so kind to certain rooms, as they got older and couldn't hold their bladders as well, so it will be nice not to see the reminders of that either.

We spent about 2 hours at the carpet store .. And another few hours here at home, simply staring at small carpet samples. The struggle is real! hehehe. I think we are making some headway on the decision. The next big challenge is readying the rooms for installation. Again, we are lucky that we do not have a ton of clutter, so although I am NOT looking forward to moving things, I am looking forward to decluttering the closets and seeing the beautiful new carpet get installed. So I guess we have some work to do.

And On That Note ..

I suppose I should stop writing about Goodbye's and Hello's and get my butt in the cleaning gear.

Goodbye My Fellow Hivers

(For Now)

Hello Sunday Morning Chores

“The gold light emanating through gray storm clouds and that pearly beauty that you can’t have unless there’s been a storm. I weathered the storm and know there might/will be others. But there is great beauty in loss. Profound. The experience has been transformative”
― Emma Scott, Between Hello and Goodbye

Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!

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