Wow! I certainly loved "eavesdropping" in on this very "creative" conversation. Thank you @MadisonMolly2017 & @nebslp for sharing 💗 .

@SummerSkier I really enjoyed your garden report. Yes! It has been interesting "what did and what did not (so far anyway) survive our awful Uri storm in Feb"., as you wrote about yours.

I was especially happy to read that the heirloom rose that your dad gave you years ago froze back only to the roots and is now coming back strong!! That is so very special 🌹.

I've been doing the recommended waiting and wait a little more to see what actually survived the big freeze. What is in the ground is what I was waiting for. What was in the pots took a bit shorter time to be quite certain of what survived. I still have two pots on the porch that I'm holding out on whether the roots and whatever is below the surface might send up some shoots. One is like an "elephant ear" plant. My neighbor and I are still hopeful as we had passed babies back and forth to each other over the years. My new last summer, because it was very unusually beautiful, yellow hibiscus that we splurged on, bit the dust while wrapped but obviously not protected enough for the fierce cold. My pencil cactus perished in the garage. I had that thing for so many years. A lady a couple streets down that I rooted a piece for her was talking about making some cuttings and asked me how to do it. I asked her if she had an extra could she pass one along to me since the parent plant froze while in the garage. 😥. We never expected that to happen. Of course 🤷‍♀️.

We are getting a lot of rain (actually happening right now finally!) this weekend, so I'll have to wait for the gardens and foundation planting areas to dry a bit out before I can now prune all the dead parts off and reveal what is peeking through. We had lightening recently (but very little rain) so the different sages are beginning to come into bloom. So I'm really wanting to get out there and prune. We have a small sage called Lipstick Salvia (s. greggii) - Also called Texas Sage, or Autumn Sage. That one is bi-colored (white and red) and the others that I have known as Autumn Sage all these years are beginning to bloom. These are bright red. The white ones are coming back also. The tall Silverado sage bushes will be lovely especially after tonight lightening, The day lilies' foliage looks really nice so far, and the Asiatic lilies that are alive are coming back strong. I'm hoping the Mexican petunia and the Dwarf Mexican petunias also come back. I've had them for years and have sweet memories with them. The Plumbago is returning. Not certain which ones. There are other perennials that I spotted some green so maybe! I'll find out next week.

Speaking of all the strange or bad weather events showing up, earlier this week we missed the potential tornadoes and big hail with the storms that came awfully close to my area. We have been getting close to drought conditions here again, so we sure could have used more rain, but as my friends say we were grateful for every drop that we did get earlier this week and that we were spared from the destruction. I had tornado watches and warnings talking to me on my phone into the wee hours of the night. And the towns that ended up actually in harm's way were not that far from us. They are suffering much wind and hail damage. I learned the next morning that this storm spanned several states before the night ended 😥.

Several years ago my neighborhood had quite a bit of hail damage and another time several tornadoes touched down just blocks away from us and some further away but still in areas that I often go to.. So we knew the potential danger. I stayed awake and colored and drank sleepy time tea until things quieted down.

OK, for my declutter report for the second half of April: April 13 - April 30th: I continued to declutter more random miscellaneous things in my Stuff category. I took all of what I had collected since my last donation day earlier this year to the same donation site on Wednesday! So my empty Donate Box is awaiting whatever I find next to give away 💗. I also have been decluttering in the Digital category. Paper came to a temporary screeching halt as I felt overwhelmed and other important things that I had to deal with became more important. Of course these things only added more to the papers to sort then declutter or file. I kept up with any incoming paper. So come May I will focus more on paper and the garden/ outdoors. And see what inspires me in other areas as time goes on.

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@SummerSkier gorgeous flowers!! I’m glad some of the things you thought were lost are surprising you with a comeback. It’s too bad about your pine tree though. Something like that is hard to replace and takes so long to feel the same.

I’m glad you Texas gals didn’t get hit with the storms that went through there. This is such an unpredictable time of year.

@SummerSkier Lovely Senorita is indeed very lovely and your heirloom blooms are so beautiful 💗 . And yay for your Peace Lilly staying alive! That is sad about the pine tree, but it I'm happy that it did have an amazing long life span for you to enjoy.

@MadisonMolly2017 that is a very special idea about how to use your grandparent's wedding hope chest now! Well done! Enjoy having the dining room again for you to use 👏.

May 19- May 31 Decluttered 5 items from the kitchen to donate. I also got rid of some food items that were expired in the refrigerator and the pantry, and other things that are no longer wanted such as small sauce packets from take out food.

I decluttered 15 miscellaneous things from my top dresser drawer. Things just seem to get stashed or stored there for lack of a better decision and then forgotten.

I'm also continuing the slow progress of the after winter cleanup and the ongoing debris clean up from the more recent storms that have came through. Including the huge storm on Friday. The boy down the street said it looked like the Discovery Channel (meaning the nature shows) outside. I have not experienced that much lightening/ thunder/ wind and rain at one time in many years! Thankfully we had the oak tree in the back pruned this winter so it held up well.

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@MadisonMolly2017 Amazing progress, Maddie! Patient, consistent, persistent…wins every time! If I did the math right (that’s questionable🤔) if you do 15 minutes a day, that adds up to 5475 min/ (365 days) year, or 91.25 hours. Apparently you can get a lot done in 91 hours and 15 minutes!

@SummerSkier That is good that your Purple Martin house is very stout and the gourds withstood the storm also. Your kitty 🐈 is also very fortunate to have you to take care of her during the storm . So far those are behind us, and now, at least for me it is back to the heat and dry weather of summer. High 90s and lows in mid 70s this week.
I just recently found that the oleander survived the freeze, and the various Lantana, and the different sages, and Red Bird of Paradise and the others larger plants have come back strong, especially after the storms. I've been cutting back the dead branches and working to tidy the gardens. Some I'm leaving wilder as they have burst into amazing bloom and I do not want to disturb except what is obviously dead to preserve the extra burst of bloom they are gifting me with. The lillies have come back better than ever. Most of the other bushes and plants in other areas are finally doing well also. I've been patient to let them alone to see what and how much survived. And it paid off. Very few of the potted plants survived, but the few that did are looking great. We bought 2 small hibiscus and hopefully they will do well and grow tall. I like them but they are hit or miss for me for some reason. And so my gardens grow....

@MadisonMolly2017 I really enjoyed reading your post! You have a terrific mindset and and well earned wisdom while working your decluttering plan! You are amazing in your accomplishments. Thank you for sharing with us. I am always encouraged when reading your posts 💗.

I love it @nebslp, that you actually did the math about how much one can actually accomplish time wise doing 15 minutes a day for a year. Thank you for doing that!
My timers are also my friend, whether it is working outdoors or in the house. I use them every day for one thing or another. Now I have a greater understanding and appreciation for how these minutes add up over time ⏰.

June 1- June 12 I have been cleaning up the backyard fence garden and the yard as well as the other areas in the back yard. And some in the front yard. I still have more work to do in the back as well as the side areas and also more in the front. With the increasing heat progress will be slower and I will have to water and keep tidy also. The back and front porches are completely clutter free (extra pots etc are in the garage and so on) again and tidy also. They are now completely cleaned up from the winter storms. All plants/pots have been attended to and doing well so far.

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I really am enjoying this thread! I missed the update from @texasgardnr but am so totally pumped that so many plants and trees survived and came back stronger than ever. I know a LOT of folks here pulled their oleanders out but I always suspected that just like the fig trees they would come back from the root. What is interesting to see is that some of the branches on shrubs/trees which LOOK dead seem to come back with a new shoot also. So happy you gave everything a chance.

My Desert Willow which got hurt SO badly in the freeze is finally blooming and yesterday my heart soared as I watched my first hummer of the season on it early in the morning.

No decluttering here but I agree with Maddie that the kitchen cabinets would be an excellent choice. Honestly I rarely use them anymore since it is just me.

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~ ~ Waving Hi Everyone ~ ~

My son & his Family are coming this week... so preparing for their Visit...
I am reflecting on a routine for decluttering and will be back to post after their visit (July 19ths)
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