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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.

Environmental concerns

Each day I see another news article about the amount of plastic in our oceans and our landfills. Another article that reiterates that every piece of plastic that has been made still exists. Another article, that most plastics can’t be or aren’t being recycled.

I drive by the local hay storage fields and see large round bales wrapped in non biodegradable white plastic. As the winter moves into spring, those fields are littered with the white plastic that was torn off of the bale before feeding it to the herds or flocks. I see that plastic in the streams and creeks that flow down to the New River, on to the Ohio River and the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico.

I try to not buy or use one use plastic plastic, but with Covid, you can no longer take your reuseable cup or mug to be refilled, if you want to eat out, it is take out and though we are seeing more and more use of cardboard containers, there are still styrofoam clamshells used by some food places. When you go in the grocer or even the Farmer’s Market, items are in plastic, so it is difficult to avoid.

Each year I stress when the garden starts providing food that doesn’t get canned in reuseable glass jars with reuseable canning lids, food that is destined to be frozen like peas and beans because the available containers are plastic bags or boxes. I tried wide mouth glass jars one year and had a lot of breakage. Yesterday an ad popped up for compostable 32 ounce bamboo fiber containers with snap on lids. They are hand washable, can go in the microwave or even the oven up to certain temperatures and when you are done, they compost in 90 days. That sounds like a winner. I can freeze peas in a smaller silicone bag and then remove them and pack several lumps in one container. Blanched green beans can be frozen on a cookie sheet and packed loosely. The snap on lids can be labelled with paper tap or written directly on the lid. I ordered a 50 pack to try this year. I hope that I have found a more environmentally friendly way to save my produce that I don’t want to can in glass for the shelves.

Our state has recently enacted legislation that will ban styrofoam and single use plastic by 2025. I see even Glad coming out with alternatives to plastic. I hope there is more of this type of restriction and innovation and less plastic in our future. I wonder how many of our health problems are the result of the rapid increase in the use of plastic in our environment and our everyday life. We already know that the industry has had to change the formulation to remove certain chemicals. Lets hope for change.