Weekend Edition: Santa Fe and Seasonal Chores

View from the top of La Bajada hill.

This weekend was a combination of staying home to get chores done, and going up to Santa Fe to have a little fun and help a friend with some design related work.  Saturday was a mix of very cloudy and partly cloudy, making for some pretty dramatic scenery on the drive to and from Santa Fe.  

The main purpose of the trip was to help our friend Linda with some space planning issues.  This is not exactly an "after" shot, it's more like a "in-progress" photo.  There used to be a couch and a sofa table facing the fireplace and effectively blocking off the middle of the room and leaving a big unused empty space behind it (like where the viewer is standing).  Stupidly, I forgot to take real before pictures and just dove into moving furniture around.  A lot still needs to be done, like painting, additional furniture, new lighting, and more.  I think I'll make a separate post out of it.  Linda isn't someone who has ever thought much about interior decor, so I've been making suggestions and virtual boards for her to try to illustrate possibilities and get her excited.  She has gotten pretty excited about it, and I think seeing the space reconfigured really helped her see it's potential and helped her trust my design eye.

On Sunday the day was pretty typical-- laundry, a long walk by the bosque, and seasonal chores.  What does that mean?  This weekend it meant getting all the indoor plants, which reside outdoors all summer, ready to come back in.  We haven't had a frost yet, but the weather is changing, and that can't last much longer.  Had to get those plants cleaned up and back on window sills.  This morning I headed out to Home Depot to buy new pots and potting soil for those that needed replanting.  I also bought a couple bags of mushroom compost to add to the raised beds, and a pack of 75 daffodil bulbs to add to those already planted in the meadow.  Bulb planting and garden clean-up/prep, also both fall chores.  

There are about ten houseplants that need repotting, can you believe that?  Seems like a lot to me, but I'm trying to get rid of all the ugly plastic pots that may remain amongst the collection, and replace the terra cotta that start to flake and chip after years of watering. Now this afternoon I need to get myself out in the gloomy windy weather and get the potting done.  Doesn't sound very fun, but here I go!