Fall....how I love you! Let me count the ways........

I don't think I told you but one night Nitty was barking ...alot...which she doesn't do very often but I was in bed reading and she had already been out so I told her to lay down and paid her no mind.  Well, this is what I get for not listening to my "lead" guard dog!

 If you can't tell what that is...it is dirt in the shape of an old porcelain sink that I had sitting there with what used to be flowers in it.  Someone had dumped it and taken the sink and Nitty tried to tell me but I didn't listen!  You can bet I will from now on!  Why someone would want that old sink is beyond me....I got it free at the junk yard and there's plenty more where that one came from.  Anyone have a clue?  
 

 I'd been meaning to work on this area as soon as it cooled off a bit so yesterday I did! 

I hauled 6 bags of rock/pebbles and some of those concrete blocks you see in the front there.  I thought I'd be sore this morning but not a bit!  I was so happy that I can still "lift and tote".  I did have a doctor comment once that I had really strong back muscles.  Now, if I could just transfer a few of them to my stomach! LOL!
This area had been covered with mulch more than once and the constant replacement cost and also the fact that it bleached out and looked terrible had me turning to pebbles.  I had also had some plastic edging to keep the mulch from washing down the drive way but that didn't work out either so I went to the concrete blocks.  I'll probably put containers out there for flowers but no sinks! LOL!  There's a solar fountain there but it doesn't work anymore either....I swear!  I spent good money on products that didn't last so from now on I make do with what I have.  Another thing is that I can't get any more landscaping supplies now that the weather is just getting perfect for working outside because Walmart stops carrying them in August!  Geez Louise!  I'll have to save my money this winter and buy a whole bunch come Spring to last me until Fall. Also, the same brand of rocks I bought the first time were tan colored and the new ones are more gray.  Huh?  Where's quality control when you need them?  
I managed to hang the ghosts out too.  I hope no one takes them!

Nitty was keeping an eye out................

along with her trusty sidekick, Annie

I shook and washed rugs yesterday too as we are supposed to get rain straight for like 3-5 days starting tonight and if you've ever tried to shake rugs during a rain storm you'll understand why...lol!
I didn't get any pictures of the lunar eclipse but I snapped these last night..........

 It was a gorgeous evening and I hated to go inside..........I wish I had a better camera or could it be the photographer?  See "the man in the moon"?  Yep, he was out there last night too!

I'm off to do some serious cooking and baking and there's "that kitchen project" too!  What are you up to today?
Happy Trails!

 

The race is on!

Every day I will be sharing something "creepy" to get you in the mood for Halloween.  No, I did not take this picture last night during the lunar eclipse or rather very early this morning.  I would usually go out to see it but we had storms that kept me awake the night before so I was pretty tired out!
I am progressing slowly on the kitchen...basically it looks to be a room a month while still maintaining a life.  Here's my first cupboard.  It was filled with canning jars so I am packing them away in boxes and putting in the basement.  They don't need to take up precious cabinet space.

I cleaned the outside of the refrigerator (actually, I'm so old I still refer to it as an icebox).  I got rid of all the magnets and most of what they were holding was outdated anyway.  I have 2 whiteboards for a weekly "to do" list and an ongoing grocery list and a magnetic towel holder.  This frig is 40 years old and still runs great.  It's a Frigidaire and if I wait just bit longer it should be coming back in style.  It's the almond color that was so "in" years ago.  I like it but then I like older things.

I also cleaned and removed a red little step stool that was on the right of this little stove.  I am moving the stove somewhere....porch maybe?  It is cast iron and heavy as all get out so I will need to get those moving sliders underneath it.  I'd like to fill it with battery operated candles on a timer and make it look like a fake wood burner. LOL!  We'll see how one more of my "hair-brained" ideas works.

Last week I made ham and bean soup and corn muffins and today I'm making a pork loin roast and some kind of pumpkin dessert I think.

I finished a few books this week...........finally! I loved this one and there is a sequel that I plan on ordering..........
it was about a 16 year old homesteader taken from real events pieced together from various journals.

I know this was made into a movie and it was supposed to be wonderful but I didn't care for it and slogged through it.  I think part of it is because at my age you know how tragic life is and you really don't want to dwell on that part of it.  I have a little too much empathy and it can leave a scar on me that appears in my dreams and haunts me throughout my day.  Although this wasn't a graphic book about the holocaust...it was close enough and to pick up a book each night reminding you of those awful, horrific events is not peaceful for going off to dreamland.  So, at my age I would prefer to read about happier events.  I realize we never want to forget and who could?  But on the other hand I can't deal with the constant reminder either.

I read another book my daughter brought me and this was the other extreme.  It was a children's book but this time it was a little too young for me.  But I know why she gave it to me as it mentions Iowa and the specific towns where we lived and the Hawkeyes! LOL!  It was a cute story though.  There's another one about the Button family that I will read some other time.

I am presently reading this very old book.....it's fiction and a little different...I'll reserve my judgement until I am done.  It's not what I thought it would be though....I'll say that.

And for my non-fiction I'm back to reading this one..........

As for handwork.....it's slow as I am doing the kitchen and trying to work outside..........and today I must start decorating for Halloween in and out and also making ornaments and such for the grands to mail for Halloween.
I'm about a day behind on my 3 rows a day for the blanket..........

 and I finished the heal flap and the gusset on my 2nd sock so I am now heading down the stretch towards the toe!  But I need to put it down and work on Christmas presents!  Only 12 weeks left?  Heaven help me!

Happy Trails!

Happy Fall and Happy October!!!!!

I know I've said it a dozen times already and it was 87 today...again but tomorrow the cold front is coming and storms and I can't wait!  It will usher in the true Fall and I will be happy at last (as long as the storms aren't too severe).  Meanwhile, I've been like a slug and have not gotten much done around here but I will share what I have.........more progress on the "blanket/throw" for my daughter and son-in-law for Christmas...it's hard to believe it will be big enough but it is squeezed on that needle but good....136 stitches across so one can hope!  I've committed to 3 rows a day.

 

I repotted a bunch of plants and potted up some I had rooted.........this little shamrock has gone crazy since I repotted it....in just a few days it has sent up all kinds of new shoots and even flowered....what gratitude!

I potted up another celery for this winter.......and it took off too......

I've been S L O W L Y working on the kitchen and have little to show for it really but I did finish the bookcase........

I made some chocolate cherry granola bars from a recipe I got from a sweet blogging friend over at Apron History
Her pictures are much more appetizing than mine but they were quick, easy and delicious and I highly recommend them!

I got tired of knitting/crocheting from patterns...so many gifts to make....so I took a break and just started crocheting some simple little squares that I'm thinking of making into a blanket for Annie for Christmas....there I go...another Christmas present but they're easy and mindless and sometimes that's just the project you need when you just want to sit and watch t.v.

 

Have any of you been watching the Nature shows with the "cams" on PBS?  Here it's on Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m. CDT and they had a tiger cam and tonight was a penguin cam.  The photography is amazing as these cams are set everywhere and disguised so you see the animals acting naturally and close up.  Those baby penguins tonight were SO CUTE I couldn't stand it!  You can watch it on You Tube and also if you go to PBS Nature you will find all their shows.  It is truly spell binding to watch this new way of documenting and photographing nature.  Here's a little peek

I hope you're having a good week and that Fall is appearing in all it's beauty to a neighborhood near you!  Happy Trails!

YOP Week #13

What a week!  The weather is perfect and I have to use it while I can.  You won't see gobs of progress on YOP's... just steady until Winter.  I have to balance it with outside work and also Project #2...The Kitchen, Day #2 is today.  Actually, yesterday was but I was over at the neighbors helping her pack up as she is the widow (they were separated) of my neighbor Paul, who died.  She came back from Florida to arrange for an estate sale and also to rent out the house and move what she was keeping down to Florida.  My heart went out to her as you could tell it was all a bit overwhelming for her.  But there were several helping her besides me and I met my new neighbor!  She's a retired teacher from Iowa!  Do you believe it?  She's very nice, loves animals and loves to read!  She was custom made to be my next door neighbor!  Anyway.......this is my "progress" at the end of the day when I was too tired to do anything else. LOL!
 Remember the afghan I was trying to resurrect with this Lion Brand Homespun yarn? Well, it wasn't working so I tried my favorite blanket pattern (again in crochet) and the problem with this yarn (besides being the yarn from hell) is that I can't count my crochet stitches which means you can't follow any pattern in crochet.  Someone mentioned they had no trouble knitting with it so I found a knitting pattern on Lion Brand specifically using Homespun.  The other problem was I had no idea it is technically a "bulky" yarn....that might have been part of my problem.  Anyway, I am off and knitting a "throw" and it is called a "wave" stitch which describes it perfectly as that's the effect you get after about 10-12 rows.  It's 136 stitches cast on and it is all squeezed on my long needles but so far so good and the one nice thing is even if I make a mistake I'm not sure you could ever see it! LOL!  I hope it will be big enough....it's hard to tell.
  I've got it figured out if I do 3 rows a day I should be done by the end of November or beginning of December.

 Another "bulky" project I dislike............the rug which will take forever but I do some each evening...it's a good t.v. project.........

and of course the long standing sock project........but...I am starting the heel!

Kitchen Project Day #1 got me this far...........I cleaned off this bookcase in my kitchen and put all my appliances and big pots on it with room left over.  I think I will make a curtain for it to keep the dust out plus appliances aren't all that attractive...lol!

I also started a new book my daughter brought me taken from journals and real life but made into a fictional account for young adults.  It got the Newberry Award and I may be looking into more "young adult" books as I love them!  This story is about a 16 year old orphan who inherits a "claim" and a shack to go with it in Montana but she has to "prove" the claim by fencing it and farming it.  I could read these types of books all the time. 
 *Katrina....if you haven't read this you should...you will love it.....it's right up your alley!

Last year I bought the niftiest tool.  I don't like chain saws and most are too big for me to handle but this is a chain saw that you use like scissors and is more for saplings and limbs (no tree felling using this) which is all I need to do with it.  It works slick and as long as you can get the  "scissor" around it you can pretty much take it down.  It's also cordless and made by Black and Decker.  LOVE!!!!

This is my handiwork from yesterday.....easy peasy!  I told you it was a jungle down here! LOL!  At least in my yard it is.  I'm 66 and have RA so you can see how easy it must be. Plus, much safer for me than a chain saw.

Well, that's all for the YOP's but stay tuned for more progress on my 50 million other projects before winter comes! LOL!
Happy Trails!

Celebrate! Celebrate! Dance to the music....

 The porch is offcially done.....all 23 days of it and still.....

I need to move these out and find a home for them plus there's another rug to lay down but officially I am calling it done....

 

I have lots of room for more books (gardening) and pots for under the potting bench..........

The little black radiator is  my heater for the winter.....I have to keep my plants nice and warm....

Lots of room here............

and here...........

To celebrate I made my favorite Fall soup.........Penzey's brat, beer and cheddar

I don't have one of those fancy "boat motors" they use to puree things so I get out my antique which works just as well.  I don't like to "drink" my soup....I like it hearty so I don't do a lot of pureeing. 

I also made a Magic custard pie  which I have made for years when I want a quick dessert and this takes 2 minutes...literally.  It takes longer to pre-heat the oven! LOL!

BEFORE BAKING

AFTER BAKING

Yum!!!!  Tomorrow I'm on to the kitchen!  What do you have planned this week?

Happy Trails!