Tuesday Tidbits

 We did get rain over the weekend, followed by some cooler nights, so I had to give the garden a few days to dry up a bit.

Grab a cup of java.  I tend to get chatty some days, ha ha!  It's probably a boring post as well.  

On the inside of the homestead, there has been much work being done on the utility room purge.

The Before. . .

Pattern purge.  Oh my....had several binders of craft instructions from when I took part of MOPS.  Ha!  That is a group of Moms with preschoolers.  Good gravy!

Two cupboards above cubbies were cleaned and lined.

Painted the added trim.  I used leftover door paint from the kitchen bathroom repairs/renovation project.

Broke out the label machine to properly label binders.

Saving these to possibly help organize the garage, when we start that purge/re-organization project.  Here, all those years I thought I was keeping my yarn organized.  Ha!  I was creating more space to store more I think.  Not anymore.  My focus, is to use up that yarn this summer. It was mostly all cotton yarn.

The yarn filled an oversized shopping bag!

I revisited the binders.  It was long over due.  I found I had re-printed some patterns, thinking I lost them and they were just filed in other binders.  

I think I tossed out about 4-5 of the binders (they were all recycled binders from the kids when they were in school), purged a lot of craft and other patterns, and put about 4-5 in the donation stuff.  I have more to purge, so the binder project is not over with just yet. 

There is one binder that is all Christmas crafting - magazine pages, printed patterns, old magazines etc.  It will take the longest to purge.  I loved to participate in the kids classroom holiday parties, and always made something new for the kiddos.  It's time to purge/toss!  

I emptied, and removed all those containers of yarn.  

The Pharmacy door trim was painted, and door installed.  I completely cleaned the cupboard above the coat cubbie , and my pattern books are being moved to there.  All the kids games were removed and put in the donation items as well.  I can't work in that room all day long.  It has no windows, and is off of a hallway, so it gets very little AC in there.  A fan helps, but it gets pretty warm when you are zipping around working.

I have much more to clean, but making some progress in there.  That cubbie with the new door needs purged and cleaned.  

Today will be a hot one in the 90's.  I need to check my raspberry bushes first thing this morning, and get some tomato plants weeded.  The rain may be returning.  I say "may" because the forecast changes constantly here.

. . .from the handiwork journal

My recent attempts to soak in some porch time, have been short due to 90 degree days here lately.   The bugs are terrible, and I'm guessing from the recent rains we have had. 

 . . .the second doily for the living room.  I honestly forgot about this project.  It was in my on-the-go bag.  I need to get this finished.

. . .current status on the current large blanket.  It's too hot here to work on such a large project.

. . .finally finished this (top picture) dishcloth.  Started another one.  Finished that one.

I used the leftover yarn to crochet two hand sanitizer holders, and then used the very last of the yarn.....

...to make 4 granny square centers.  I have just a wee bit of yarn left.  

How this project started:  I was cleaning up the very last box of craft items in the living room.  I had a crocheted strawberry for a keychain for one daughter.  I went to the utility room (next room to get a complete extreme cleaning) to open a craft container to get a key ring for the strawberry, and saw 4 of these snap clasps (still in their packages).  

I think I bought the clasps about 5-6 years ago (or longer, as that Hobby Lobby closed).  Anyway, I went to my yarn stash boxes, and came up (took me about 5-6 trials) with a self made pattern, for a cuff bracelet.  Leave it to me to create a pattern with yarn that is discontinued ha ha!  I've had this crochet thread for many years as well.

. . . crocheted 4 cuff bracelets.  My husband was impressed.  Not just with the finished project, but that it used supplies I already had.  By the way, the clasps are not leather, they are faux leather, and can still be purchased at some craft stores.  They are almost double the price however, from when I purchased them.

I have plans for these already.  I would like to get one made with two more color I do not have.

. . .lap afghan on the crochet hook.  It's my current "on-the-go" project. Recognize the yarn?  Leftover small balls from my own recent blanket, the one that was ordered after that blanket, from Christmas ornaments, recent crochet hats, and from other projects.

The very small balls of yarn are then donated to the local school art teacher.  Do you have any suggestions for the smaller balls of leftover yarn?  They could be used to make granny squares I guess.

. . .sold this oversized hot pad (these are approx. 7 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches, made per the request of my Mom).  Funny story about this sale.  A long time friend from high school, messaged me a photo of an oversized dishcloth, and asked me to make her another (she was using it for a hot pad for 9 x 13 size dishes).  

I told her, that was not made by me, and I make double thick.  She was embarrassed that she never bought from me, but wanted my last one in my inventory.  Odd color I used, but she bought it.  I have had one more request, so I will be doing an inventory check on any cotton cone yarn I have.

I used to make them like this.  I have this one in my kitchen, and have used it almost daily for the last 13-13 years or more.  It's about 12 x 10 3/4 inches.  I may make a few more of these as well.  They are great for  9 x 9 dishes, cookie sheets, pizza pan, etc.  However this was my very first one, and it was single crochet.  I now have longer Afghan hooks.

. . .  I decided to donate all of these jars I made so many years ago.  I recycled jars and crafted them to fill with homemade granola for my side of the family (many, many years ago) for Christmas.   It just never happened.   These jars will find a new home.   

Question:  Where is the best place to buy a board for crocheted granny squares?  I may be doing a large blanket with granny squares next summer (maybe this summer).  I do not have one yet.

Like this one.  (source Walmart).  I am looking to get one large enough to have space for 4 stacks.  

New Recipe Tried ~ Rhubarb Infused Vodka

Go figure.  The one year we did not grow cherry or grape tomatoes, and I am finding many new recipes that we love!

Mediterranean Orzo Salad, and we love it!  We can't wait to make with with our own cucumbers, and bell peppers, but next year I will be growing cherry and/or grape tomatoes.  There is nothing better than a cold dinner on a very hot day.

 I was a bit late, but finally got the rhubarb infused vodka strained and bottled.  The light makes the color look different, but they are all looking good.

Rain is on the move today, so mowing is in progress.  The tomato patch (larger one) is too dry to weed, so I am thankful for the rain.  I've been out in the gardens every morning.

I was a bit surprised to see a banana pepper so early this year, but happy for the harvest.

I have a stack of library books to look through.  I am looking for a specific type of hat pattern.  I just have not had time to open the books.  I am hoping today, with the rain, I will get some free time.

Garden Work

 

Just a few pictures.  By the way, flies can bite thru the garden sleeves.

Older photo, but do you prune your zucchini plants?  Yellow squash?  I watched a video about this, and pondered that thought.  I have never cut stems off of my plants, but I read that the bees can pollinate much better, as they will see the flowers better if you prune them.  I don't want to kill my plants, so I'm asking here if you prune your squash plants?

Garden work.

Rinse and Repeat.

Best soap so far, for cleaning my hands/nails after garden work.

Chit Chat on the Porch

There are always pros and cons with gardening.  I feel both pros and cons are in the daily chores.   I try to take advantage of the weather either way. 

 

I am constantly reminding myself, that I am one person.  It's normal for the housework to suffer, if my attention is on the garden.  The flower beds suffer if the housework needs attention and so forth.  

Our heat index was at 91°F by 11am yesterday, but any time out in the garden is better than none.

I've been using my clothesline despite humidity.   I will need to replace it soon, and the trees need trimmed (adding that to our long to-do list).

Question for those who can:   

My canning pot, which I've used for more than (or about) 20 plus years, has a few rust spots on the bottom.  Suggestions on removing the rust?  I tried googling, and I couldn't find a real good answer to this.  Or is it time to replace it?  Or just use steel wool?  

Garden ~ Kitchen-ness ~ Utility Room Purge (the room that holds way too much ha ha!)

 

Our 4th of July started out very foggy, but the remainder of the day was in the high 80's, and sunny.  We spent the morning tying up tomato plants, until the heat index turned 91°F.

  Those tomato plants are not all of them, I have a main tomato patch as well.

Our zucchini plants are about 5 feet wide this year.  Never in our life, have we seen them this large.  Don't mind the weeds, I'll get those when the ground is a bit more dry out here.  You can see the small whirly-gig, and can compare that to the plant.  Amazing!

  

I'm still trying to resurrect the green onions.  Golly they took a hit with the heat and recent drought.  I was hoping for the rain to help, but it will take some work to bring them back to life.

I like to keep healthy snacks prepared for hot days.  Some days we don't feel like eating a large meal, so I whipped up some hummus, and added spinach this time.

One of our favorite breakfast casseroles with chili peppers and cottage cheese.  

 

Craft containers on a shelf in the utility room - the purge/extreme clean has started.

 

I dumped out 3 containers, of the "jewelry" making craft supplies.  I went through them to either toss, donate or keep, and filled a bag to donate.  However, I think one daughter wants to look through it first.  Keep in mind, we have 6 kids, and that was years and years of crafting with them.  The girls really used these, and there was a mess in the bottom of each container.  I found a small set of screwdrivers, that will go to the garage.

All of my patterns were put back into a binder, but my binder ring in the center broke.  I'll revisit that project when I have a new binder, but the patterns are all in there, and in their properly marked section.

The Pharmacy Door Story

 The back story to the pharmacy door:  My Dad was a pharmacist for a living.   The drug store also had a photo counter, cigar/cigarette counter with candy counter, a general store counter and items sold there, and an old time (what I called) fountain.  

(source:  Hometown Library)

If you look to back right upper corner, that is the pharmacy, with enclosed windows that were added later in the years.  If I remember correctly, the enclosure was added to lock it up, due to people breaking in and stealing from the store.  I can't recall if it was a business requirement, or because of the breaking and entering and stealing, but the enclosure make it possible to lock that area up.

At the "fountain"  there was a counter with stools and booths to sit at.  I grew up working behind that counter at nights and weekends.  I sometimes worked for the main, full time gal Carol that ran the fountain.  If my memory is correct, all of my siblings, at some point in their lives, also worked there.  I think my first pay was $2.25/hour.  I loved that job.

  Dad built this door for the entrance to pharmacy counter he worked behind in the drug store (before the glass windows and door enclosure was added).   He painted it, and when the store closed, he kept the door.  When he passed, it was found at his apartment I think?  I ended up with it, and had it for 2 years before figuring out what to do with it.  We talked about many ways to use it, and one suggestion was to decorate a barn with it ha ha!  I wanted a room pantry with this as the door (getting a kick out of the "pharmacy" painted on the door), and we considered it for other uses.

It's going to be a door for one coat cubbie, to replace a curtain, and keep the dust out.   A work in progress, but getting done.