House & Garden Update, etc.

Weird... the blogger posting interface has completely changed since last I posted... methinks I do not like this new interface!

Anyway, it's been a bit, so here's what's been going on.

Two weekends ago, Saturday, I went out and had a little retail therapy:

Among other things, I bought myself: a composter (yay), some solar garden lights (marked down that week for clearance... I can't remember if it was $30 or $40 for the ten pack), some plastic containers that fit the funny shelf in the front hall, a flower pot, stuff for the garden (although the place I went was sold out of much of what I wanted... dang!), and some perennials because they were on sale:

One even came with an extra, an interesting little lichen:

Of course, the garden isn't ready for them (especially since I couldn't get the stuff I wanted to amend the soil), so they've been sitting in their pots since then. :P

Sunday (two weeks ago) I went to Sheeples for Open Farm Day with a friend and some of her family:

Of course, we missed a turn, and ended up visiting a really pretty marsh area on the way there:

(I think I want to paint that.)

At the farm day, I finally finished spinning some singles that have been in progress for *ages*, and started two-plying them. I can't remember if it was that day or shortly thereafter I finished the plying:

(Plying is *much* faster!)

Last Saturday I was working overtime, so no gardening got done, but I did get out last Sunday. Dad was over too, and hauled away a bunch of his junk. Again, I forgot to take "before" photos. Here's the "after" of one of the piles he was working on:

(Those who know the state of the back yard before will know how impressive that photo is.) I was going to work on getting my perennials planted last weekend, but, somehow, things never quite turn out how I plan. When dad said he wasn't going to take the axle because the raspberry canes were drooping over it, I went to work on (again!) tying up the raspberries. I also inspected and cut out any stems that looked to be infected with the raspberry borer (did I remember to post about that? I figured out why I kept finding the canes broken: raspberry cane borers!) and burned them in my dad's stove:

Of course, before I could burn them in the stove, I had to shovel out all the ashes that were in it. I put them where the pines are, to balance the pH:

(I still need to dig the ashes in, they're just sitting on top for now. Of course, burning green stuff produces *lots* of smoke, so I was well smoked by the end, and mom came over to see if my house was on fire.

I ran out of string before finishing with all the canes:

(I had more upstairs... I was using leftover bits of kitchen cotton, but I didn't feel like taking my shoes off to go get more right then. I did tie them up that night after dinner, though, since they're right under a streetlight. (Of course, I found one more infected cane doing that, but I didn't want to start the fire going again, so I just put that one in the trash.)

I also got my composter put together:

Yay! Then I looked at how empty it was, and on Wednesday I was coveting all the yard waste my neighbours had put out for trash pickup. (However, today I started doing some yard clean-up, and my composter doesn't look *nearly* so empty... in fact, I suspect it's not all going to fit before I'm finished!)

So, that brings us to today. The bosses decided against overtime today (yay!), so I slept *late*, then washed my mango tree (it still has lingering spider mites, *sigh*), then went out into the garden. I took lots of "before" photos, in case I ended up working on not quite what I planned. Of course, what I *did* do took forever, so there wasn't much light for *after* photos!

Hmmm... looks like it's already a long post, and the next bit is also long, so I guess I'll do the rest as a "part two".

Lovely Day!

This morning a friend picked me up, and we drove to another friend's place for spinning group.

Across the road, there was a flea market, so we stopped in for fun. I got a kick out of this old "wool winder":

Definitely hand made! The hooks are bent nails. I found an antique shoe stretcher for $2. (My grandma usually needs her shoes stretched, and mine could often use it too.) Plus it was neat, and only $2. (I left the $10 "wool winder" behind... I don't think I could use it.)

Then we continued on to the spinning group, where there were lots of animals to pet as well. :)


The llamas didn't come close, but Mikey the dog loved attention. And, of course, as the person allergic to cats, I was the only one who had the barn cat jump onto her lap. (Thankfully it jumped back down when I looked at her and said "NO".)

We spun outside (some in the sun, some in the shade... I chose shade), had lunch, then spun some more. (Some people knit, but that's okay too.)

It was a *beautiful* day, and not too hot. :)

After I got home, I had a nice nap (I didn't go to bed early enough last night).

I watched a movie I got in the "previously viewed" bin, it was quite enjoyable.

About an hour ago, I went out to take out some getting-stinky trash (I had shrimp for dinner last night), and did a little star-gazing. There were some clouds, but the rest of the sky was quite clear. I saw one shooting star (Perseid?), Cassiopeia, Polaris, Ursa Minor, part of the big dipper, and what I'm guessing was a satellite (moving south to north at a constant speed, but not an airplane) and possibly the space station (something extremely bright, to the left of the moon, apparently stationary). The police helicopter also circled overhead several times.

Hmmm... googling, it says that the space station isn't in geosynchronous orbit, so the bright thing isn't the space station. I tried looking it up on a star chart, but am having trouble wrapping my head around the placements. (I think I'd need to take my laptop outside, and hold it above my head... but I'd rather go to bed now.)

I hope you had a lovely day too! (I suppose tomorrow I'll have to actually cross something off my list... or at least tackle the dishes that have, somehow, once again stacked themselves up.)

Dreaded To-Do List

I have about a month of unpaid leave between terms right now. I have a *long* to-do list. I keep getting pulled in different directions with all the things that need doing, so I thought I'd make a list of all the things that need doing, and break it down into manageable chunks.

Off the top of my head, and in no particular order, here's what I put on the list so far:

• apply for jobs
  
• call dentist
  
• call scope
  
• gardening (inside & out):
  
  • dad's weeds
    
  • dig in soil, (& transplant)
    
  • plant spruce seeds
    
  • transplant vft, amaryllis, (others?)
    
  • dispose of dead plants
    
  • remove stumps
    
  • transplant peonies
    
  • NW garden
    
  • SE garden
    
  • SW garden
    
  • plant crocus bulbs
• format hard drive
  
• art:
  
  • prepare canvases
    
  • paint cat
    
  • prepare demo
    
  • hang art
    
  • frame block print
    
  • frame loon
    
  • finish silk painting
    
  • call to arrange silk painting class details
    
  • order silk painting class supplies
    
  • print cards
    
  • print magnets
    
  • renew membership
• clean apartment
  
  • clutter:
    
    • couch
      
    • coffee table
      
    • chair
      
    • desk (office)
      
    • desk (hall)
      
    • dresser
      
    • drawers
      
    • kitchen table
      
    • front hall
      
    • spinning area
  • bathroom floor
    
  • kitchen floor
    
  • old air conditioner
    
  • ac filters
    
  • fan from basement
    
  • oil (finish?) lr end tables
    
  • deal with boxes
    
  • mail
    
  • dust
    
  • mop
    
  • toilet
• format hard drive
  
• install lion
  
• sew pattern magnets
  
• sew pyjama bottoms
  
• sew t-shirts (pyjama tops)
  
• sew printer dust cover
  
• make stitch markers
  
• finish desk & move it into office
  
• 2140:
  
  • prepare assignments
    
  • prepare midterm
    
  • prepare final
• medical paperwork
  
• scan & send instructions

Scary, huh? Some of the things are fairly quick, it's the length of the list that gets to me. (It doesn't even include regular stuff like laundry, dishes, etc! Or fun stuff!)

For tomorrow, I've chosen the following:

• dad's weeds
  
• dig in soil, (& transplant?)
  
• Laundry
  
• format hard drive
  
• water plants
  
• trash & recycling
  
  
• office desk clutter
  
• scan & send instructions

Tomorrow isn't supposed to be too hot, and isn't calling for rain until later, so is a good day to do at least a little gardening. Laundry needs doing, and the plants are looking wilty again. I bought a new back-up drive today, and so I should check to make sure it's working, and get regular back-ups going again. (The last two items are only if I have time, although setting up the back-up drive will be easier if my desk has less clutter on it.)

I'm tempted to start the drive right now, but, as it's nearly 4 am, I *really* need to get to bed. Good night!

Monday's list so far has the phone calls and applying for jobs.

Sheepy Day

I got to pet sheep (and a doggy) today!

It was a drippy day... not the best for photographing sheep and lambs. (The lambs were indoors.) However, I got to pet them, and feel their soft, fuzzy chins. I also helped de-floss a sheep (it had some felted fiber tangled around it's teeth).

And I got to spin (until the humidity made my wheel cranky). :D

On the way to the sheep farm, we stopped quickly in at a garage sale. I got a lovely glass pitcher, and a wooden box with sliding lid that will make a great spindle box for either my golding spindle or spalted maple spindle. :) (I think both of those should fit, but my maggie will be too big.) Not bad for $2.

All and all, a lovely day. (Do you suppose the "rapture" took the nut job religious fanatics away? That would be even nicer.)

Windwheel Repair

*cough* *cough*... Note to self: although it doesn't smell, pay attention to the "work in a well ventilated area" warning! (I meant to have the windows open, but forgot. I've got a cross-breeze going now, and am in a different room. Opening the windows at +1C is a bit nippy.)

I finally got around to gluing the upper wheel on my Windwheel spinning wheel. I meant to do this repair outside on a nice sunny day, but somehow that never happened this summer. So, kitchen it is. For those who are interested, I took photos of the steps (except the actual gluing... I needed to focus then, to get the glue *only* where I wanted it):





Here you can see the crack better:

It turns out it wasn't *completely* separated... there were strands joining the two parts. This made gluing more challenging.

These clamps were to go through the holes:

It turns out it's difficult to get clamps that are small enough to fit in the holes, while being long enough to span the holes. This pair *just* fit the bill once I removed the pads... but then there were no pads. So I added a few layers of newspaper to minimize marking.

Dry run:

The newspaper around the wheel is for two reasons: protect the wood from the ratchet, and to keep the strap from being permanently glued to the wheel. ;)

Glued & clamped:



Now we wait...

Knitting Retreat

I barely had my camera out... basically only late Friday night when people said "I want a photo of this!" The rest of the time I was either knitting (or some other form of crafting), having too much fun, or sleeping (last week was nuts... still is... but things should ease up a bit by Wednesday).

Anyway, here's what I have photographic evidence of:


Feeding frenzy at "Yarns on Stage". (Note: there were more attendees than what you'll see here, but many had gone to bed by midnight when my camera finally came out.)


Pretty greens! Mine's the one on the left. I've done more needle-felting since this photo was taken, but still have more to do.


A gorgeous art quilt that was one of the raffle prizes... aren't the stone beads neat?

I didn't win this, but I won two other nifty prizes! (Yes, I'll take a photo of my prizes and my bag plus other stuff later... but probably not tonight, unless I need a break from dishes.)


(Ladies in front of) Yarns on Stage.


I arrived home around 4 pm... now I'm doing laundry (loads in both washer and dryer, two more waiting to start) and catching up on work forums & e-mails (done). Still to do today:
• dishes,
• make hummus & other lunch stuff,
• make & eat dinner,
• prep for class tomorrow,
• prep for Art Talks tomorrow,
• send thank-you e-mails to people I spoke to on Thursday (I really should have done that sooner, but I haven't had a chance yet),
• create resume, and
• water plants (sad, droopy things!).
I think that may be everything. At any rate, it's more than I'll have time to do tonight. :(

Found On Flickr

Carved Moose Antler and Chechen Top Whorl Drop Spindle

*drool*... this is *so* pretty. I found his shop, but he doesn't ship the antler ones outside of the USA. *pout*

Franklin Update

Franlin update from Kim:

Franklin learned his name very quickly and now comes running whenever he is called - and now DEMANDS to be cuddled after every bottle (and every time he sees me!) Such a little charmer! His voice is very tiny - at first - but as his need for the bottle and cuddles increases, he finds the volume control and cranks it quickly!

He sounds like one smart cookie! (If only I were able to be there to help out with the feeding and cuddles!)

Meet Franklin

A week and a half ago I went on a day trip to Sheeples again. There I met Franklin:

(Previously known as #16. He didn't have a name yet, so I got to name him.) Franklin is a bottle baby (his mom isn't feeding him enough). We became good friends, he and I.

Do you think the landlord or caretaker would notice if I brought home a sheep? He's real quiet, and would help mow the lawn...

To read more about the Sheeples trip (and, more importantly, see more photos!), click here.

Repairing Carders

I took my carders over to my dad, to see if he had some really short screws that I could use to repair them. (The handles are loose.) He suggested taking out the nail at the base and gluing them. Turns out there was a tiny, hidden nail further down... but I was still able to get the handles out. To reassemble them, I knocked the hidden nail flush, then used a screwdriver bit by feel to re-set the nail. Photos of the process:

Materials:

(I ended up going with slightly larger nails than those pictured. I also used additional clamps and some vice grips. But I didn't know that when I took this photo.

No wonder the nails were so &*^%$ hard to get out:


Hey, cool... the handles are dove-tailed:

(Just not tight enough to prevent wobble.)

Clamping:

In order to apply pressure to the hidden part of the handle, I used nails in a block of wood.

Turns out I clamped the block too tight, though, and left dents in the leather:


The nails didn't hold up that well either:


For the second carder, I used a 3x3 grid of nails, and less pressure.

I'd call the operation a success. :) (These are the carders I bought at a local antique shop.)

Sunday

This post is nagging at me, so I'm going to toss it out quickly...

I love this box:


Show and tell was supposed to be Saturday night, but we had had too much sitting by the time the gift exchange was done, so we had it Sunday morning. Here's a few photos from the show and tell:


The group photo was the expected zoo, with a million cameras and no official photographer. Most of the group:

The silliness on the other side:

Group photos are entertaining. ;)

Here's where we ate meals, and where the group of girls from dance camp entertained us at Sunday lunch:


Yep, there was spending of money.

Much of that "doesn't count" because I've already started using it... the blue and brown roving has been knit into two toques (one too big that will be frogged, and one just right), and the fibre enthusiast's equivalent of a "dime bag" has already participated in thrums for the mitten I'm working on. (I got more of the colour I ran out of, plus a few other fun colours.) We got to stuff our own baggies for $5. I asked if it mattered if we were good stuffers, and was told that as long as the zipper closed, I was fine. I'm a *very* good stuffer. The bag showed strain, but the zipper stayed shut. ;)

Remember this gift from my aunt?

I got it figured out! It's a Salish loom (I knew there was at least one there before, but now I know how to use it), a tapestry loom, and an embroidery stand. Cool!!! I can't wait to try some Salish weaving. I also want to finish the tapestry on the tapestry loom, once I find some coordinating yarns. (What's started is pretty!) Having an embroidery stand is cool... I've always sort of yearned after them in the craft stores. ;)

On the way home, my ride wanted to stop in at Winnipeg Beach to visit the art gallery there. (I had *no* objections to that!) Between where we parked the car and the gallery, there was a "garage sale" (that looks to be semi-permanent and specializing in vintage stuff) with some really cool vintage Christmas ornaments. I couldn't resist, and so spent the last of my cash:

Look, the trees are even made in the USA! You don't see that much these days. ;)

I was sad that I didn't have more cash on me, as I would have bought the whole set of pine cones, plus a few other neat ornaments. (And then later, I was annoyed with myself that I forgot about the emergency $20 in my notebook!) Oh well.

Fortunately the gallery took credit:


All in all, a *lovely* weekend. :)