Month: March 2021

Sit around and wait…

then run like hell to get it all done. The long awaited dishwasher installation was scheduled for today with the “you will get a call when they leave Lowes” message from the installation scheduler. Well, he called at 9 a.m. to ask me if I might have used a different name on the order. Uh NO. It was finally established that the extra parts, ie hose, power cord, counter clips were with my dishwasher, but mislabelled and he would be here after he did another installation. This company installs from Bristol, TN to Roanoke, VA and services 16 Lowe’s stores. He finally showed up at 2 and got the dishwasher installed.

After the very noisy GE we had that failed last winter, this one is so quiet I can’t even hear it running when I’m not standing beside it.

We had errands in town that were missed over the weekend or couldn’t be done until today, so as soon as he left, we hauled into town to get everything accomplished before 4:30 when a buyer for our treadmill was due to pick it up. We were on our way home when he messaged and asked if he could come early and he beat us home, but the treadmill is on it’s way to a new home and the basement has more room for ping pong when grandkids come to visit.

One of our errands was to pick up an alteration. I became enamoured with WoolX clothes a couple of years ago and wear them skin out year round. One of my favorite pieces is a heavy zip up hooded sweater/jacket, but it comes with a wimpy nylon coil zipper. The first one failed when the coil pulled off of the tape so I contacted WoolX and they sent me a replacement and the label to return the damaged one. Well the zipper on the second one failed in the same place, the same way, and again they replaced it and sent the return label. The third one had the same issue and they offered me a full refund as they were not in stock. I didn’t want to give it up, so they gave me a partial refund and let me keep the jacket, indicating they were going to have a discussion with their manufacturer about the zippers. I used part of the refund to pay a local tailor to put a real zipper in the hoodie and got it back today just in time for the not so springtime days coming up for a couple of midweek days and nights.

Somehow in the activity, I managed to smack the back on my left hand on the corner of a counter top and bruised it, then gouged a chunk out of the back of my right hand on the door frame trying to help the large man and his tiny thin daughter load the treadmill into the back of the pick up truck.

Yesterday on the way to Wilderness Road Regional Museum, I finished another square for my breed blanket. I have one more on the needles, to have finished by the end of the month, but here is a picture of the ones done this first quarter and a picture from Founder’s Day yesterday.

The one on the needles is from the same yarn as the bottom right, but the colors are slightly different as the roving had variation in it. There is only one more dyed wool to go in, the rest are white, gray, tan, and black so the colored ones will be spread out through more of the finished blanket when done.

Tomorrow is another sit and wait day as the John Deere Tractor dealer is coming to pick up our tractor to repair a rear tire that went flat and do an annual servicing. We have no idea when they will come.

Movin’ Day

Last evening was moving day. The hens were herded and/or caught in a big fishing net or by hand and relocated to the Chicken Palace with food, water, scratch, 3 nesting boxes, and an old ladder that was cut in half and propped at angles against the roof beam to provide with with all their needs for the next week or so until they are comfortable in there and know it is “home” from now on. I expect today’s stress and the strange digs will reduce egg production this week, but that is the price I needed to pay to be able to clean up and repair the coop for the littles. The rain cooperated just long enough for me to get the move accomplished.

It was also moving day or actually transplant day for the young tomatoes. I wanted to wait a bit longer, but the second batch needed to go in the hydroponic garden, so the first dozen were transplanted into plantable 4 inch pots, placed in a plastic container that was the perfect size and they will begin outdoor days and indoor nights until danger of frost has passed and they can go in the ground. Once they were good sized sprouts, I used another dozen of the plugs to start 4 more tomatoes because daughter wanted 6 and I generally plant 8 or 10. Since the starter tray for the plugs holds a dozen, I started some Thai basil and some Cilantro to also share with daughter. Those had sprouted or at least germinated and needed to be under the light and fan, so they are in a position to be ready to put in the ground about the time of the last frost and a short period of hardening off.

Before putting the second set of starts in the 12 cell hydroponic garden, the water was dumped, the container cleaned out, and refilled with fresh water and plant food.

I’m looking for another one of the resin half barrels that I have used for raspberries and often for flowers and herbs. I will transplant some of the larger herbs from the smaller hydroponic garden that Son 2’s family gave me for Christmas and start a new batch of the ones I use regularly to grow in the house. I do like clipping them and using them in salads and for cooking.

I’m off shortly to my first event in a year. Founder’s Day at Wilderness Road Regional Museum, dressed in costume, set with wheel, spindles, wool, and some items to perhaps sell. It is outdoors and the rain chances during the 4 hours is 70% for two of the hours, zero for one, and 40% for the other. I will set up in the loom house or on a porch to demonstrate Revolutionary War period fiber preparation. My dark blue skirt will be paired with a dark blue mask which certainly wasn’t part of their garb, but will be part of mine today.

Saturday Projects

Saturday’s are drive thru breakfast out and on to the Farmer’s Market. A couple of days ago, I reseeded lettuce, spinach, kale, and Lacinato kale in the garden. At the market this morning, I scored spinach and Lacinato kale starts and came home to add them to the mini head lettuce starts from a few weeks ago. They will provide greens before the seed is up and providing. I didn’t bother to water them in because the afternoon and tomorrow are rainy. Mid week, I will cover them at night for three nights because we have three nights of upper 20’s expected.

Once a few dandelions coming up around cardboard in the paths were dug and the mulch respread, I set about making a “chicken run” from the end of the chicken’s enclosure to the Chicken Palace where the big girls will be herded this evening and locked in to acclimate to their new digs.

That is the chicken palace behind the burn barrel which is making short work of all the scraps from the old boxes and the rotted barrel staves. I just kept adding wood until it was all gone from outside the garden. Whatever is left after I build the compost bins from the remaining boxes, will be burned another day. I sat out near it with a garden hose at the ready until it began to thunder and lightening and I moved to the inside of the garage where I could keep an eye on it. Once it was just a smoldering layer in the bottom, the rain began hard. I expect it is mostly out now, but the new plants got watered in.

One of the display pieces, I have wanted for vending events is a decorative ladder. I have looked for one unsuccessfully, so yesterday, a trip to the big box hardware store and a purchase of two oak boards, two oak dowels, and a package of screws gave me the supplies I needed to make my own. It is put together, given one coat of poly stain and finish and ready to take with me tomorrow to the museum for Founder’s Day.

It is the same height and rung spacing as my folded rack seen in the left of this photo below.

Tomorrow, I will leave the piece that can attach to the table at home and use the rack and ladder to display items for sale. I expect it will be too warm to sell many knits, but maybe the yarn and woven bags might sell and I am going to hold an end of season sale. What I am taking is packed in the car and ready to go.

The chicks were moved to the garage last week into the large RubberMaid water tank to give them more room. At 4 and 5 weeks old, they are no longer the cute little fuzzies that they were, they are gawky teenagers with feathers, long wings and a propensity to try to escape whenever the screens are moved off to add food, water, or clean shavings. I have raised the heat lamp well above them, but left the heat tables in. They may need it mid week with the colder nights, but they are only a couple of weeks from moving to the coop. Daughter is going to loan me her power washer and I am going to powerwash the inside of the coop, repair a few pieces of outside trim, and repaint or stain it before I move them over. The narrow run off of the pen is going to be removed and the pen enlarged to give them more running around space until they are large enough to free range. I will cover the top of the pen with bird net to keep the hawks from picking off the chicks to feed their own chicks. I lost three young birds a couple of years ago before the pen and run were covered.

There are still 15 in there, but 3 or 4 are so much smaller than the others, I need them to get some size before I can turn them loose in the pen.

After I move the adult birds this evening, I will work on the coop and fencing next week and get it all ready for the littles.