Hook Size Matters and other ramblings. . .

 

The "clay pot" on the left was crocheted with an "H" hook and the one on the right was crocheted with an "I" hook.  I am not sure what I will do with the smaller one yet, but it was a mistake in the making.

During the process of the bedroom flooring/painting, I kept two hooks in a drawer in one of the end tables of the living room.  One night I grabbed the wrong hook for my blanket and had to frog quite a bit of it.

I had this yarn sitting at my bill paying station (aka the procrastination station computer area).  I decided to go ahead and use it up and see how many "clay pots" I could get out of a ball of cotton yarn.  I will most likely add this to my inventory, or gift them once I get the leaf coasters made for them.

Nothing exciting to share today ha ha!  Just a hook mishap.  I've also been pretty exhausted at the end of the day.  I probably should not be crocheting anything.

I am not getting much done, as we are in the midst of bad weather to work the compost into the garden (it's on just not tilled in).  The closet floor is close to being finished, and some donations have been delivered.

Happy Homemaker Monday

 The closet "extreme clean" is still going on.  I'm impressed if I pull at least a few items a day around here.  

My green onion is in full harvest due to the recent weather.  I could not let it be ignored with the twist of weather today.  I made a batch of fresh green onion/parsley pesto.  I plan to use some in our breakfast this morning.

Compost has now been added to the gardens.  I have yet to pull the bean fence, but we have a few days before tilling is done.   I think this year has been the earliest to get these jobs done, and I am thankful for that.  In May, it's typically hit or miss weather for getting planting done.  

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

I will link up when she posts.

The weather . . .

43/34°F and possible snow.

As I look outside my window . . .

Very cloudy and dark, and it's snowing.

Right now I am . . .

Brewing coffee.

Thinking and pondering . . .

Thinking about taking some donations to drop off, to get them out of the house.

On my bedside table . . .

Water, a crochet hook, phone charger

On my TV . . .

Netflix movies.

Listening to . . .

Country.

On the menu . . .

-fried eggs with homemade pesto, bacon and tomato slices

-Charro Beans to use up tomatoes in the freezer, and a side to go with leftover

-sheet pan chicken sausage/carrots and potatoes 

-Mexican Lasagna (no pasta), and  corn we froze off the cob last summer

On my reading pile . . .

Once a week I get this out to read up on things.  Last week I read about the Nettles.  I am learning new things from this book, and it's been on my shelf for years.

I am about 1/4 of the way through Atomic Habits.  I am very much enjoying this book.

On the to-do list . . .

-pay bills
-laundry
-work on upstairs flooring

-make a breakfast

-run errands

Extreme Clean list:

-clean all of the blinds

Plans for the week . . .

To get the closet floor done, trim done and everything put back in it's place.

What I am creating . . . 

Hard to see, as the weather was rainy and dark and the lighting was bad, but I am using beads from my Grandma's stash and making a few sets of these earrings (using up supplies I have on hand for jewelry making).  It's a smaller crafting project for when it's hot out.  Most likely they will be gifted or sold down the road.  I'm thinking it would make a thoughtful Christmas present for our girls, considering the beads are from my Grandmother.

By the way, my readers were not much help with the tiny parts of the earrings.  If you use a crafter's magnifying lamp, I would love to hear your suggestions on purchasing one.

I'm still working on this blanket (old photo)

My simple pleasure . . .

On a dreary day like today, I will sometimes put something in my coffee like Bailey's or Rum Chata Peppermint Bark.  Most days it is just coffee.  I do miss the recent porch time I was getting.

Looking around the house . . .

It's still a hot mess.  I will be until the upstairs flooring is treated completely, and the bedroom closet is done. 

From the camera . . .

The ornamental apple trees are loaded with blossoms.  I took a photos just in case the snow damages things today.  

Bible Verse, Prayers. . .

Last Monday I mentioned Tina's husband.  He had cardiac arrest, followed by more complications, and unfortunately has passed away.  He name is Dane, if you wish to pray for the family.

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.