Monthly Archives: April 2016

2016
04/29

Category:
Garden
Life

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Hoop house tour

First, before I forget,  I got a question about the granola, so if you read the comments from yesterday, you will find how I make it.

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The raspberries – though not in the hoop house are off to a running start.   We had to put the little fence around them as the sheep LOVE raspberry leaves and will totally strip them.

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As one enters the house, on the left are various types of lettuce, Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage and other greens.   Down near the other end are cauliflower and broccoli.

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This is the left center row.   In front are zucchini (marigolds to go outside in middle there), a few wayward potatoes, cucumbers and space for melons on the other end which still needs weeding.

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This is on the right of the doorway, and is technically my tomato spot.   In the front here, I am trying to grow some sweet potatoes.  This is a new experiment for me, so we will see if they do well.

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This is farther down the tomato row.   Though we covered this row for the winter so we wouldn’t have to weed, the volunteer tomatoes are coming up.   Some I left as they were because they were in the row though not straight and many others, I moved over to the rows.  I planted and left 52 volunteers and on my way out, I saw I missed another 10 or 12.   So Sunday, they will get moved.   It will be a surprise what is where.   Last year I planted 12 or more various types of tomatoes.

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This is looking from the other end of the tomato row.   I have started planting beefsteaks that I grew from seed this year.   The seedlings didn’t do very well, and it looks like I am keeping them too wet.  Maybe they will do better in the ground.

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This row has beets, kale, more that I don’t remember.   I still want to put carrots and cantaloupe in the ground.   Maybe Sunday that will happen.IMG_4450And across the back are some potatoes which need hilling.   I think I will cut them back before I hill them.

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2016
04/28

Category:
food
Knitting
Life

COMMENTS:
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Blue/grey socks finished

I started the day by removing the 4 quarts of granola from the dehydrator trays and putting it away.    Now there is at least a minimal breakfast for those hot days when I won’t want to cook or for an evening meal.

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Then it was off to the chiropractor.   Even though I’m done, it helps if there are two people in the car as we can use the express lane, so I went along and worked on the knitting in transit.

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Besides there is a Whole Foods store there and I love looking through the store.   I find things I don’t find in other grocery stores and their produce always looks so good and fresh.

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And before the day was over, these socks that I thought I was setting aside are finished.   They are done in Elann’s superwash “Sock it to me collection” style “puzzle”    I used #2 needles, cast on 64 stitches and knit 6, purl 2.

Tomorrow is my day to catch up on house cleaning and work in the hoop ouse.

2016
04/27

Category:
farming
Life
quilts

COMMENTS:
2 Comments »

Latest squares quilt finished and a run-about

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This quilt is 54 inches square and finished.   It is now in the laundry room waiting to be washed and then will be put in the charity pile.    It seems there are so many requests end of summer that I like to get ahead.

And the dentist and the ophthalmologist are now behind me.   Yes, I get to go back and have a couple small fillings in June, but the eyes are no longer swollen and the eyesight is 20/30 in one eye and reading distance in the other.   So now I’m a happy camper.

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And just to have a bit of fun, these two decided to go investigate the neighborhood today.  They got about 1/2 mile away when a neighbor called.  They love the game “catch me if you can”.   But fortunately that doesn’t last too long, and they are ready to get into the car and come home.

2016
04/26

Category:
farming
Life

COMMENTS:
1 Comment »

A play day?

I started my morning by announcing to DH that I needed a day to play and wasn’t planning to do anything “because I had to”.    So the first thing I did was sweep all the non carpeted floors – because I wanted to, which made me feel better.

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After breakfast, I realized that all the stuff piled on the table and night stand was bothering me.  Therefore, that’s what I wanted to take care of – which I did. And which took me until time to go to the gym.  Now there is very little on the nightstand and these are organized.   Plus I now have a spinning area once again.   Somehow, papers and “things” get tossed on top of each other until I feel I have no room to breathe.   Still this was play because I didn’t have to do it – I wanted to.  And we have been in the car so much that neither of us wanted to go anywhere.

The class we attended at the gym was strength training with about 30 seniors.  It started out easy.   The others have been attending for some time.   We copied what the leader was doing – or tried to.  Apparently this will get better as our strength isn’t up there with the others.   So now, we have signed up for one day of yoga and two of this strength training (at 11am – which kills my day and maybe me.)   This was not on my “play” list – but was on his.  I keep thinking that someday I will learn to like exercise, but it still hasn’t happened.

After lunch, we rested while he read more James Harriot stories.  Those stories will never grow old.  We really just lazed around most of the afternoon which was very pleasant.  After supper, we put the animals to bed and look what I found when getting the hay.

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Do you see her way up in the back.   I’m not too concerned since we no longer have a rooster.  Tomorrow is the dentist and the eye doctor, so we will be out all morning, have a late lunch and I always need a rest after the dentist.   I like the dentist as a person, but I so DISLIKE going to the dentist even for a cleaning.

 

 

 

2016
04/25

Category:
Life
quilts

COMMENTS:
2 Comments »

Yoga and another quilt

Today we went to the senior yoga class at the nearby gym.  It was supposed to be easy and some of it was.   There were also many of the balance stretches that weren’t so easy for us.   So we decided we will go each Monday until they are easy.  Then we hurried home, had lunch and went to the chiropractor in Bellevue – think 60 minutes each way.

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Even so with good time management today, this quilt is now quilted.   It still needs trimming and a binding, which I can’t find.  That is the strangest thing, because I would think that orange would be easily seen, especially since I used it very recently.

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Here is an up close of the clouds I quilted

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and the backing.

2016
04/24

Category:
Life
quilts

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A wintry day and a quilt

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Now we don’t have Texas type hail, but we had a lot of our little hail today.   In fact, it happened twice, which is the first time I can remember that happening.   You can see the tiny little icicles on both the chair and on the deck behind it.   Just little tiny ice pieces, but it went on and on.   It was enough like winter that I spent some time in the studio, quilting.

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This quilt is now quilted.  It still needs trimming, a label and binding.  I am delighted to have it off the machine.  By the end of the week, it should be finished.

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I then started this quilt.  The back is sewn and the quilt is mounted.  However, there was a programming error and I ended up removing all the stitching that I put in.  What takes 10 minutes to put in, will take two hours to remove.   It was very helpful that DH was willing to read some of James Harriot as I picked stitches out.   That was an excellent place to quit for the day.

2016
04/22

Category:
farming
Garden

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Sheep and weeds

 

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This is on the other side of the driveway from their pasture and it’s either let them out on days we’re home or we have to mow and weed eat.   That’s not a very difficult decision and they are so happy to be weed eaters.   It is so interesting to watch them eat.   A taste of this, then a taste of that.

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And here is what happens when I walk toward them.   They think I must be coming to give them grain.   They were wrong tonight, but managed to push the gate open and were waiting for me to grain them.

 

IMG_4402Can you see all the yellowish “weeds”.   Really they are tiny maple trees that all have to come out this year.   By next year their roots will have buried so deep that they will be very difficult to pull.  They are all through the blueberries and grape patch, so I have hired someone to come and pull them.

I tried to do some heirloom sewing today and just cannot see well enough to do the kind of job I like to do.   It will be another month before they will check my eyes and write a prescription and then another week until I get the glasses.   Right now, if I had it to do over again, I would pass.   I’m just a bit discouraged by all this.  Maybe I just need some chocolate.  Most likely, I need to trust that God knows what is best.

2016
04/21

Category:
Garden
Knitting
Life

COMMENTS:
1 Comment »

Socks, etc.

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This is the last you will see of these socks this week.   I’m getting tired of them, though I’m about half way to the toe, so they will find a back burner for awhile.

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These are the peppers that will be going out to the hoop house tomorrow.   I forgot to green peppers, so I’ll have to purchase some plants.   These seeds are from peppers we ate.

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And just so you will get an idea of how relaxing this environment is for some,  enjoy this.

2016
04/20

Category:
Knitting
Life

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Frogging and a guest

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There was a good bit of frogging on my socks today, so I thought I’d share my friend’s work with you.   Mary came with her knitting for a lovely visit.   She is making this sweater for her aunt in 100% baby alpaca.   It is wonderfully soft. imagejpeg_0

 

She is a beautiful knitter as well as her other skills.   This is the point at which she left here to return home.

2016
04/19

Category:
Life

COMMENTS:
4 Comments »

The second eye

I’m done with the surgery.   Thanks for all the good wishes and prayers.  Most of today was spent resting.   And tomorrow I expect the blurring to clear up by evening.   I am ever so glad to have this over.   Now life can move onward.