Projects

Projects?  Pieces of work?  Tasks?  They all sound like "work" right? Ugh.  I got myself into a tizzy this week, and had to get crackin' on doing some actual completions.  Otherwise, Hubby was going to call "hoarders" and turn me in. Seriously.  I had so many "projects" going on at the same time, I literally lost track of what needed completed first.  

Prosperous Weekend

(garden before we tilled it)

 
The garden is getting back into shape.  We secured the pea fence again, dug out the plastic and stakes, and mowed down weeds.  We started to till it, and get it ready for next year.  We battled tons of mutant lady bugs though.  Just standing to take the photo, I ended up covered in them.  I moved back pretty far to take the photo, and even then, you can't see all of it.

Hand Therapy

In desperation to give my hands some relief, I bought a paraffin wax hand therapy machine.  My 16 year-old is also battling sore hands from hand milking goats, so I felt it was a good investment.

We immediately opened the box, read the directions, and heated the wax.  The other girls were so enthused, that they too joined in with dipping a hand.  

I had to laugh, as we all wanted to take photos, but we all had one wax covered hand in a plastic bag.  

Wood Stove Repairs ~ Spiders ~ Surprise Flowers

I stitched up a few more cards and have them up for sale now.  I hope to get more stitched before the holidays arrive.

So it was bound to happen.  Stove pipe repairs (or not).  The chimney sweep was finished, and handed me a paper with a quote for new piping.  Wanna know how much?

Are you getting what you paid for?

Back in the spring, I ordered meat chickens.  I specifically ordered pullets.  One particular chick was picked on by the rest, and we brought her back inside with the layer chicks.  They layer chicks mothered her, and she slowly recovered.

We decided to keep her for a layer, as this breed was a dual breed of chicken.  We thought we could use the extra eggs.

Homemade "Lime-Away"

I wanted to share, that I have made and used the homemade "lime-away" recipe that Nancy shared over at A Rural Farm.  Thank you Candy for telling me about it.  It's awesome.  There are three simple ingredients - vinegar, lemon juice and dish detergent.  We have well-water, and even though we have a salt softener tank, we get build up.

The kids are responsible for one bathroom, and I the other.  My shower is tile, and my homemade tile/grout cleaner does the job very well.  However, over in the other bathroom, the shower is a stand-up version, and a cheap one at that.

I sprayed it down, and cleared a spot clean.  I waited for the kids to come home and showed them.  The response?

"That really comes off?" 

Sigh...

"Yes kids, that really comes off." 

Now they have no excuses.

Recipe:
Fill a spray bottle half-full with white vinegar; add 1/4 cup lemon juice, then fill the bottle the rest of the way with dish detergent.  Shake well then spray on and leave for about 30 minutes, then wipe off.

Preparing for Winter

Alias is enjoying the outdoors, and I think he has more energy than the other two dogs.

The house is a mess today (go figure), and the chimney sweep is coming this week.  I'm about a month late in getting it taken care of.  The kids will be working overtime to get this place "ship shape" today.  I like my kitchen "company ready" when I get up in the morning, and I have not been successful at getting the kids on board with this.  Where there's a will, there is a way, so I'm not giving up yet.