Another lovely day in the T-Dot

Brilliant sunshine, clear skies, 8C (about 47F in US gallons). Possible rain showers in afternoon.

I need to start making lists again. I haven't made much progress on de-cluttering and cleaning the house these last few months, but except for the kitchen floor it hasn't got any worse. My method used to be to list what I needed to do by a given date or by necessity ("Change kitty litter! Empty dishwasher! Pick up drycleaning!"). Now I merely list what I have accomplished, which isn't a bad method either, except that these days the list reads: "Starting thinking about considering the best day to change the kitty litter." I used to ask a co-worker to remind me to leave myself a note to do stuff. He thought it was pretty funny.

But the front garden needs a bit of work. Or a lot. Oak leaves (from the many mature trees to the west) fill the garden beds. They don't decompose readily (due to the tannin) so they mostly have to go into yard waste bags to be picked up by the city and (we hope) make it into the compost process. On Environment Days in each ward residents can pick up free compost (bring your own shovel and containers).

My gooseberry bushes need to be moved to a sunny spot before they leaf out any more because once the rampant raspberry canes start up they block all the sun. Also the rhubarb (good Scrabble word) should be moved into a sunny spot. My front door faces west so the sun appears in the east in the morning (I think...). I have lots of room on the north side of the property along the fence to put these things, since once there they get the most southern exposure. If that makes any sense.

My roof would be ideal for solar panels: the gable roof over the front part faces east and west, so it would get morning, afternoon, and evening light. But the start-up cost is high (though I could probably get some rebates or grants from federal, provincial, or municipal sources).

In the meantime, I took a laundry load down to the basement and brought up the yard waste bags I didn't use from last year. I feel like I've accomplished something already!