Garden Clean Up Day ~ Wild Violets

 

I had a full day out in the garden.  It is a hot mess of weeds.  The asparagus bed is going to need TLC this year, or we'll just till the new part again, and buy plants this year.  We dropped seeds last year, and with everything going on called life, I neglected it.   Our wild violets are starting to come up, but I doubt we'll get enough by today.  Monday the weather forecast is snow.  Yes, I said snow.  Ugh.  I'm hoping the rhubarb and asparagus harvest is not affected.  I can live without violet jelly, but this weather is "all over the map."

It is a bit on the early side for all three of these to be starting to come up.

I managed to pull the long 30 some foot pea fence and t-posts all by my little ol' self.  Compost is being added today, so I am in a hurry to get 6 foot foxtail and other stuff pulled first.  I didn't get my other bean fence pulled.  It was already late in the afternoon, and the ground was drying up making it too hard of a job to do it myself.

Today?  It will be the mid-70's and rain moves in.

First Day in the Garden ~ My To-Do List Got more To-do-ey ~ Solar Electric Fence Suggestions?

 I was up and outside early to beat the 86°F heat yesterday.  I first got the chicken coop mucked, and washed the watering unit.  Why oh why do the chickens seem to dirty it up in one day?  

Anyway, I spent the rest of the morning out in the gardens, pulling plastic, stakes, and anything I missed last fall.  I have more to do, and I need to move all the grow bags out before the rain arrives.  We are hiring a person to come till both gardens, so we need the pea fence and the bean fence pulled.   He is a friend, and doesn't charge a lot, and can get it all done nicely and quickly for us. We keep up after that with the smaller tiller. 

Oh, and for 14 some years we've been growing gardens here, we've not had too much to deal with, in the way of critters.  We did very well actually.

The last two years have been a headache.  Not sure if it's due to not having dogs here or what, but the rabbits and squirrels have been the biggest nuisance.  We are installing an electric solar fence this year.  

We have never done this, and if you have, and have suggestions for the solar part, I would to hear them.

My green onion is going ba-zonkers, and I am so happy.  Last year it had a rough time.  I wasn't sure I'd get much this year. 

Also, some of my rhubarb survived.  What's the best way to dig and move it, without killing it, and would it do well in a grow bag?  We are going to dig out the bed it's in.

How Big? ~ Great Weather and Fresh Air

 

Back in the darkest corner of the depths of our walk-in closet, I found several bottles of Homemade Kahlua.  They were dated 2016!  Not sure what happened that holiday season, but they were long forgotten and unseen.  Until now.  According to my blog, I gifted it that year so maybe I had extra I just completely forgot about?

(hard to see in this photo, but glue is darker on some of them)

I also found several glass jars I had recycled and added a handmade label (intended for Christmas gifting).  Over the years, the glue sort of looks strange on them.  One survived looking great.  I'm guessing I used different glue on them.  You can read how I made these on my S.C.R.A.P. Blogspot.  You can get the homemade granola recipe:  HERE.

The closet was part of the addition from the last people who lived here. It was built at the grand size of 8 feet by 16 feet (no one needs a closet this big!)  They were odd about shelving placement, so we put in a few portable shelving units, and had to install a rod for hanging clothes.  By the way, this old farmhouse has zero linen/towel/coat closets.  You can imagine how much was stored in this one single addition closet.

The last family who lived here, had a father who owned a cabinetry and cement business, that eventually went belly up while we lived here.  

Anywho, those Kahlua bottles were dumped, soaked and cleaned.  Sigh.  Like I said, I am so glad we are having to do this, as it gets me even more organized.

Thankfully, I finished the closet. I only have to pull out some empty shelving units prior to the carpet removal.  Meanwhile, the grass is getting cut while we have this 86°F day.  

Windows are open to get some fresh air circulating with all the dusting going on.  I'm taking advantage of the sun and warmer temperature while we are getting it.  It won't last past the weekend. 

Copoclephily ~ Not Homesteading Related but Related to Home Keeping (or decluttering)

 Copoclephily is what describes the collecting of keychains.  I am a Copoclephilist.  Yes, and probably the worst habit I started as a young kid.  

That is not all of them either.  I have counted 998 so far (some duplicates).  I gave one away.  My husband said he would build a display with a covered plexiglass cover, if we build a new pole barn.  He's been saying that for the last 14 years ha ha!  

I have not found one museum in our state that displays a collection of this sort.  I have no idea where to even start to ask or look to donate.  Any ideas?  

The weather has been gorgeous this week.  The ground it still pretty soft from our last rain storm, but it's been great to hang clothes on the clothesline again.

Camping Tips ~ Vintage Tablecloths

The weather is so nice right now, but I know Mother Nature could change that in an instant.  However, we took advantage of it, and grilled out last evening.  It was so nice to enjoy our porch too.

Just a tip on camping.  Camping was on my mind this past weekend.  We only got one camping trip in last year.

We typically have extra (cloth) tablecloths in our camper, and they are vintage ones.

We've discovered that they not only work nice to cover the picnic tables, but they double as other needs as well.

They work great for extra blankets on cold nights, they are great for placing on the grass for sitting, come in handy if you forgot towels for swimming or showering, help cover wet chairs or benches, and can be hung around the sides of an easy-up or camper awning, to block sun and wind. 

I love to shop for them when Hubby and I have the chance to do so.  We use them on the kitchen tables, and porch table's too.  I don't buy expensive ones, so it's not every year I find one to buy.  

A few more tips I came across that may help ease toting the food.  I typically cook my ground beef prior, but most of the time the entire pot of whatever to reheat over the fire.  We always bring bacon to cook for breakfast, but I wonder if freezing it (pre-cooked) would take the "fun" out of campfire meals and camping.  Hm. The kids love to cook over a campfire.

Collapsible  hampers work great to store in your camper.  Just pop it up, and put in a large trash bag for a trash bin.  They great to have for outdoor gatherings for potlucks etc. Just put a few around outside for convenient trash bins.  When your done, simply tie up the trash and dispose, and collapse the hamper for storage.

Happy Homemaker Monday

 

I hope you all had a nice Easter.  We spent it with my husband's family, but there were so many people, it's hard to talk to every single person. 

I can't say I had the day off.  I got books back on a bookshelf and towels put on the clothesline to dry, before heading out to see friends and family.

Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

I'll link up later when she posts.

The weather . . .

Gorgeous!  In the 60's and sunny, and we will hit the high 70's this weekend.  

As I look outside my window . . .

The sunrise is beautiful.  There is no wind, and the day should be great for laundry on the clothesline.

Right now I am  . . .

Waking up with coffee, and about to start a load of laundry.

Thinking and pondering . . .

Working on a plan to get two doors painted, closet carpet removed, and new flooring installed in there.  The garden needs weeded, tilled, compost added etc.  This week is perfect, but we'll see, as it will be only me doing the work.  My husband is too tired to do much after work during the week days.

On my beside table. . .

Water, a cell charger, a crochet hook and yarn needle.

On my TV . . .

Netflix, whatever looks good when I am watching TV.

Listening to . . .

70's Rock

On the lunch plate . . .

-have no idea

On the dinner plate . . .

-see menu plan

On the menu . . .

-Sheet pan chicken sausage/carrot/potato

-Pasta casserole with ground beef, home canned tomato sauce, asparagus/onion etc.

-Crockpot chops, quinoa and roasted brussel sprouts

On my reading pile . . .

....because I cannot locate my current book due to the work being done, I bought these two, recommended by a cousin.  I am reading the one on the right, but only a few pages a day.

On the to-do list . . . 

-dishes
-laundry, put out on the line to dry
-sweep and mop floors
-dust

Plans for the week . . .

Extreme Clean:  

-Start cleaning front porch

-Clean out fridge

-Continue cleaning bedroom closet/purge

What I am creating . . .

Honestly, I had to frog my current blanket, and I may table it until I have the porch cleaned up, and have a cool weather day.

My simple pleasure . . .

Porch time.  Some days it's reading, some days crochet, some playing cards....hence cleaning it up.

Looking around the house . . .

Its somewhat coming back together, but I have a bunch of craft supplies to look at before I lug them upstairs (or get rid of some).

From the camera . . .

Bible Verse, Prayers . . .

-prayers for a friend Tina, her husband is in the hospital on a ventilator.  I do not know the details.

Random Things I Found . . .

Here are some random items I found during the start of my bedroom closet purge....

Pop can from my trip to Spain, along with a toy bull, and an antique glass insulator.  I've had the insulator since childhood, but the rest is leaving the house.

I'm not sure why these were not in the "Halloween" totes (which were passed down a few years ago).  I found these purses and sunglasses meant for Halloween costumes.  They are leaving the house.

I'm on the fence with this beaded tea ball.  One of my Grandmother's made it.  It's been in storage.  My husband said, "lets find a place for it" and I'm thinking "um, not so sure about that."  I love it.  It's pretty.  Grandma made it.  Just not sure it fits anywhere.  Maybe pack it up with Christmas stuff and get it out for Christmas as a decoration?  Or discreetly and secretly leaving it one of the kids places during a visit.  It is vintage....hmm?

I found one camera from my teen years.  Yeah, no doubt it is leaving the house.  There are places that recycle them.

I'll be honest, these were all in totes from our last move 14 years ago.  Why?  I have no idea, other than just forgotten about while moving in.  I'm so glad I'm doing this too.  

We spent most of Friday running here and there, returning stuff to the hardware store, and picking up more supplies.  We hope to get a lot accomplished today.  Happy Easter!