A Productive Day

I know it's a wee bit early for Spring Cleaning, but after weeks of below zero weather, today was the perfect day to get a taste of Spring with temperatures hovering around 8'c with blue skies and sunshine. Inspired by the book Organized Simplicity and equipped with the necessary tools for cleaning, I set about to tackle the upstairs of our home...

This was the perfect time to focus on the bedrooms and bathroom as all four of our children are gone at the moment, so there would be no interruptions while I worked away.
I stripped beds, took curtains down, removed the shower curtains, hung loads of laundry on the clothesline...
The sunshine and wind made for a speedy drying job!

I scrubbed the bathroom from the ceiling down, doing walls, tub surround, toilet, sink etc.
I washed the shower curtains and hung them out to dry as well. Don't you just love a sparkling bathroom!
With teens and young adults in the house, this is not as common as I'd like!

Because I was washing the window coverings, I had to clean windows too! Our house is fairly old by Canadian standards, (over 100 years...young compared to Europe!) so it is more work to maintain it. As I was standing on the porch roof to do the outside of the windows, I noticed that the trim work or corbels as my hubby refers to them as, need to be re-painted...it's now added to the honey-do list:)

Glorious sunshine streaming through gleaming windows:

As I was cleaning the girls' room, I was thinking of and praying for them. I love how their bedroom reflects their interests. Oldest daughter K has a passion for India and took these photos on one of her trips there:

Middle daughter J has a passion for England. Several years ago while she was living there, I came for a visit. We rented a car and navigated the british roads through some of the most beautiful countryside. One of my favourite places to visit was the Cotswolds. This centre photo taken in the quaint village of Bibury, is of Arlington Row:

How can you tell she is a Jane Austen fan?

Her fun Bulletin Board:

The joy of a clean bedroom
with afternoon sun streaming through lace sheers:

Although I have more laundry to finish up,
I am going to take a break to enjoy a cup of tea,
along with my new British Country Living magazine.
Yesterday I spent the day with my dear friend K
while we shared out hearts over coffee/hot chocolate.
She listened, offering words of wisdom and encouragement.
We also enjoyed our shopping trip to Vincenzo's,
browsing some antique shops,
making a stop at our favourite book store,
Chapters where I purchased this magazine:

I just wanted to add:
Thank you again everyone for your kind and thoughtful
words of encouragement and for your prayers.
Another answer to prayer was that I was able to accomplish
so much today with relatively little pain...PTL!
I appreciate you all more than words can say!
Tomorrow we will go to the Niagara area to visit my Mom
as well as our friends, H&M.
On Sunday I am looking forward to having
my three lovely and adorable little nieces and handsome nephew
over for two days so their Dad and Mom can go
on a romantic getaway.
I am really looking forward to it.
Their children are all so precious and dear to me!
May you find simple pleasures and gentle joys in your weekend!
Blessings and love to all!