Chickens, sister, spring harvest

We have chickens!  But no photos.  Must remedy.  Even though they've lived in cages all their lives, the four have learned how to do all sorts of chicken-y things in the past five days.  They can drink from a bowl of water, scratch the ground, perch on a roost, eat slugs, and--up until yesterday--fly.  I clipped their wings however, when I realized they'd begun experimenting with this new ability.
I think between them they've laid around two or three eggs per day since they've come to us (don't panic--that's candle wax in the egg carton).   Partner's begun naming them, and Franklin calls them "bok-boks."

My middle sister is over for a visit and Franklin loves her.  I've never seen him like this with anyone.  I may have to take advantage of her good nature and get her to babysit one night for us.  I think it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity--he never willingly spends time with strangers, even when I'm present.  And he was friends with her the very first day!

In the garden, I've harvested broccoli for the past few weeks.  When I go to it, I pick all spears close to flowering--encouraging it to continue producing.  Sometimes there's more than we can eat, so I freeze the excess.  Another new crop:  baby spinach.  And so far, one asparagus spear.  I had such high hopes when I planted them five years ago.  Franklin and I shared it between us, raw.  After all, one's better than none.

Pictured: a random forget-me-not.  It somehow insinuated itself into my turnip patch.

Seedlings, yarn vs cash

My little portable greenhouse is in my house at the moment.  It blows over easily, so the best position for both sturdyness and sunnyness is right inside the sliding door in our south-facing kitchen.  I've got plenty of veg and flower seedlings, with room for another few trays.  In fact, some of these are now big enough to shift outdoors.  I think when the spring winds have died down (around mid-May) it'll go back outside with its cover.

I've been making a little extra cash recently by listing some of my excess yarn stash on ebay.  I bought quite a lot of yarn over time, loved having it, realized I would never have time to knit it all, and painfully put a few up for sale.  Then when they sold I discovered it was actually more fun having the money than the yarn--now I'm addicted!  I've ruthlessly sorted through all my yarns and more than half are in the "for sale" box.  And if they don't sell?  Well, I can still knit with them, right?

Actually I'm crocheting lately.  I had fun dyeing some pale beige yarn into fairy princess pink and have been crocheting a lacy shawl.  It's been a while since I last picked up a crochet hook, and I'm enjoying myself. 

Another project recently completed:  my third skirt of the month.  No photo at the moment (I wore it and now it's in the wash):  again a simple knee-length skirt, but with a different pattern this time.  Photo to follow.

Spring flowers, spring skirts, spring broccoli

Some really spectacular shrubs flower in my garden this time of year. This one we call the Burning Bush:
And this is the flowering currant; I actually have three dotted around, in varying shades of pink.
I picked some to put with a few tulips and random leftovers from a gift bouquet; I missed having flowers in my house over winter! And speaking of tulips--I think they have doubled in number from last spring. The past two years I've divided them and I need to divide them again this year. When I do so, I take them to a new un-tuliped part of the garden. If this multiplying continues, I won't have anywhere left for transplanting.
I've been busily sewing myself two new skirts. Both from the same pattern, different views. This first is some light wool with self-made piping. This wool is actually the same as I used to back Franklin's quilt. The piping is from an old cotton sheet; I'm very pleased with it. The skirt also has a zipper and a button in the back, and an invisible hem which sits about an inch above my knee. The waistband is cut on the bias.
The second skirt is some cute printed corduroy. The front panel creates a faux wrap-around that sits right at my knee. It has an invisible zipper (actually invisible, too! unlike previous attempts) and a hook and eye in back. The material and button have both been in my stash for at least four years--about time I used it.
I've also been hard at work planting more seeds, and the remaining 3.5 kg of seed potatoes. All potatoes bar about 12 are planted in grow sacks; I ran out of both sacks and extra soil, so the last few went in the ground. Still have lots of seed planting to continue with over the course of this month and the next.

And the first of my purple sprouting broccoli harvest. I'm going to be very vigilant and not let it go to seed this year; if there's too much for us to eat, I'll pick and freeze. All winter long I've been looking forward to this!

The unveiling of the henhouse

After a few weeks of digging, raking, and re-laying paths, most of my vegetable beds are either planted or ready for planting. I still have a small bed with my purple sprouting broccoli (now sprouting) and a large bed with last year's cabbages going to seed. I need to pull up all but one or two cabbages for seeds and dig over the bed to plant.

Today Franklin and I took a trip to the garden center to pick up some new seeds: peas, radishes, lettuce, swede (also called rutabaga). I hope I have room for everything! I was really tempted by some hazelnut trees; I almost bought one. Then I read the tag that said it wasn't self-fertile, i.e. you have to plant at least two in order to get nuts. Sigh. I couldn't justify spending £40 on trees today. Though I know exactly where I'd plant them...

The henhouse is ready for some chickens: tada! When I spoke to the hen charity, they told me I'd just missed the last collection and the next one isn't till the end of April. I guess we're not in a rush. Franklin really enjoyed helping his dad build the henhouse. In this picture, he's got one screw in his mouth and a box of them at his feet. He loved putting them into pre-drilled holes in the frame; it took a lot of concentration. Partner had a truly inspired idea of using an old drop-leaf table top for the roof; we can lift it up in case we need to get inside. We also bought some moveable fence so we can let the hens range but keep them out of sensitive areas like my seed beds.

Hoping for hens, less debt

I seem to have lost nearly all my crocus this year. I don't know what happened; I hope they come back next year.

We celebrated Franklin's 2nd birthday very quietly at home with his paternal grandparents. I made cupcakes and the only gifts we bought him were some clothing and a bicycle bell for his push cart. Incidently, he loves all of them. His other grandparents sent him a talking Cookie Monster which he's been carrying around the house all day and even took to bed.

I drew up a design and Partner tweaked it a little, and using mostly reclaimed wood (some bed slats, an old CD rack, a table), we are well on the way to a new hen house. It's about six square feet, is mobile, and I put down my details for an order of four hens today. Hopefully we'll be getting some ex-factory farm chickens; there's a charity which buys hens destined for the slaughterhouse and rehomes them.

I'm so excited that Partner and I got approved for a bank loan to pay off his credit cards. We've had a tough time financially for a few years with me having a few medical issues, plus other difficulties, but have managed a lot better in the past twelve months. We got to the point where we could make a pretty substantial overpayment on the credit card, but the interest was still absurd. Luckily with this loan we have a 2 year payment plan and the interest has gone from 27.7% to 6.7%. It means we'll be saving almost a quarter of the original balance in interest by the time it's paid off. And the payments are lower! Happy! I still intend on paying it off early. I'm confident we can.

Quilt, gardening, birthday and plans

The quilt! The blocks don't really line up and the quilting is kind of wonky; I call it "rustic." I wish it were mine.

Tons of work in the garden this past week and a half: I've dug over most of the vegetable beds, done so much pruning of shrubs, and have planted lots more seeds--some indoors, some outdoors. I've also relaid the old path through the vegetable patch and put down some more, thus defining the individual beds a bit better. And I've pulled up so many dandelions in the process; most of them had roots about as tall as the shovel blade: twelve inches long. Apparently people make a coffee substitute out of dried dandelion root. Maybe I should start saving them; I've got plenty!

Partner has next week off work as do I, and it is Franklin's birthday at the end of it. I'm so not throwing a party this year. I'm mulling over whether to make cupcakes for our Monday playgroup, but might not. There are usually lots of kids there, definitely upward of twenty-five. I might just make them for us, using my favorite recipe.

I want to do some more projects around the house and garden while Partner's home. Top of the list: repairing the hole in the dining room ceiling. The hole that's been there longer than we've had Franklin. The hole which is big enough for the bathtub to fit through, were it not already firmly affixed to the floor above. We bought a piece of plasterboard last weekend and Partner cut it to size. It just needs to be nailed up. I don't care how it looks; it can't get uglier than it already is.

A little gardening, quilting, knitting, and a laundry fiasco

Now nearing the end of February, nights are noticeably lighter and warmer. I even put the clothes line back up outside. The first battalion of daffodils now have arrived in my back garden with many more forming buds. I've even done some work--digging, hoeing, planting. That reminds me; I need to check on my seed trays out in the cold frame. Cabbage and celeriac so far, with more to come soon.

I called on my neighbor with the greenhouse and she says she's lost the key so we can't get in. I hope she finds it soon--I want to put some seed trays in there! If not, I may have to forego my tomato dream. Or maybe break down the door...

I completed the quilt; I machine quilted it--just straight lines following the patchwork on top, then finished the binding a few days ago. Not too heavy, but toasty warm. Franklin's been sleeping wrapped up in it. Pictures to follow.

I also knit myself another pair of warm, happy socks. After the success of Partner's wool/cashmere socks, I decided I needed a similar blend. I love cashmere--amazing for socks. I admit, this pair is not the most beautiful of footwear. But so so soft!

I just realized I never posted a picture of Partner's socks. Here's the only picture I have, but rest assured: there are two of them.

I had a washing machine disaster last week in which several items of knitwear, including a new cashmere pullover and my pair of stripey socks shrunk. I can't explain what happened. I put them on for a woollen wash in the morning, the same as I always do. Franklin and I then went to our play group, and when we returned two hours later, the machine was still running, pretty much everything in it ruined. Partner thinks Franklin tampered with the dials when I wasn't looking but I'm not convinced. All surviving knitwear will be handwashed in sink/tub until the machine is trustworthy again.

I'm more upset about my socks than even my cashmere pullover; it cost me £6.50 at a charity shop. The socks took me many hours of work including unraveling the yarn, dyeing it (two colors), and knitting it. And I only got to enjoy my efforts for about a month. So sad.

Sewing projects, snow

Starting from the top, here is my simple draft excluder. Those buttons I bought for Franklin's coat? Well, they came from an ugly women's jacket, 60% polyester, 40% viscose. Since it was rather a nice color, I used its sleeves to make this.
We got our first snow of the winter (technically the second snowfall, but the first didn't actually land in our garden, strangely; it landed in our neighbor's two doors down, but not ours). Here's a before/after picture of my garlic bed.
That tall grass-like plant in front is actually a bulb iris.
First snowdrop, too!
I made a small cushion from a hat belonging to my grandmother Patrisha, who is no longer with us. I don't have many of her possessions, just a few pieces of jewelry and this hat. Though I love the colors and it's likely she crocheted it herself, this hat just isn't my style. Rather than keep it hidden, unloved, in a box, I stuffed a small round pillow and covered it with her hat.
Why yes, that is a lobster.

I at last have the backing fabric and woollen batting to finish the quilt for Franklin's bed. This means I need to get to work before it's too warm for a wool quilt! Perhaps this summer I will make a wholecloth quilt for our bed, using two cotton sheets and some natural-fiber batting. I've always wanted a luxury duvet, but could never afford a commercially-made one.

Turnip disaster, draft excluder, making of a quilt

When turnips are seedlings, slugs like to nip off all the leaves, killing the plant. Then when turnips grow bigger, slugs can't be bothered with the leaves and turn their attention to the root. I learned that this winter with the remainder of my turnips left in the ground; about half of them had been completely mined out by slugs. Rather disgusting to pull up a nice fat turnip only to see a slimy invertibrate poking out of a huge hole. And that's after the cabbage root flies got to them. Sigh.

I sewed a quick draft excluder for our front door; that door can let in a terrible draft in winter. It actually works! I basically sewed a big tube and a small tube; I stuffed the small tube with brown rice then put it in the big tube, which I filled up with polyester stuffing. The rice makes the excluder a bit more sturdy. Dried beans or lentils could work, too.

I've been piecing together a small quilt for Franklin's bed made from old wool jackets and coats. At the moment the quilt top measures 40"x49". I can't decide if I want to piece together the smaller scraps and make a border (adding another 4-8 inches all around) or to finish it this size. I certainly have lots of scraps left. It's not in the least professional-looking, but it's warm and fuzzy. Each of the jackets I paid £1 for (love that shop!), and all of them are at least 80% wool.

This quilt needs a backing however. I've been on the lookout for thinner wool items, like skirts or trousers and while I have a couple things, it's not enough. As this is for a not-quite-fully-potty-trained toddler, I'm sticking to wool as it repels water and also doesn't hold odors like other materials. Plus it's warm!

Garlic, daffs, bread, birthday

My garlic grows so tall! It's nice to see something growing out there, for a change. However, as far as winters go, this one's pretty mild compared to the last two. No snow yet, and only a few hard frosts.
In fact, it's so mild I even have a daffodil flowering. I took its photo last week and it's now opened fully.
I go through phases of breadmaking. This month I've made it nearly every day. Partner and I bought a small, round cast-iron casserole dish which makes a fantastic crusty loaf. Partner made the first loaf in it; the contrast amazed me. I hope my next loaf compares to his.

Partner's birthday this week. We're spending it in London with his parents. Even though I had planned on gifting them and other London family with some Christmas baking, it seems so long since Christmas I just don't feel like making the effort. After all, they're all probably on New Year's diets now, and sick of the sight of Christmassy foods. I am.

More of the same, really. With socks.

A new year with new plans and dreams. I have some big dreams for this year. For instance, I dream that starting in about June/July, we will stop buying vegetables, permanently. Partner and I put up another raised vegetable bed this weekend: a tall one intended for carrots. I hope to grow a year's supply. I've put in my order for potatoes and a few other vegetable seeds, so this dream is already becoming a plan.

I also dream of chickens out back. As soon as we have a hen house, we're putting in an order for three or four hens. I'm excited!

And I dream of a beautiful house, with beautiful things which I love. Perhaps a gentle purge is in order. Already one non-beautiful item has been replaced; Partner found a small hi-fi cabinet on freecycle to replace our old battered cabinet. The units (all five) are shut behind a glass door and the old cabinet is hollowed out, ready to grow carrots. It looks so much more attractive as a raised bed!

I knit myself a pair of fun stripey socks. The yarn was once all the same boring beige color; I changed all that with a few packets of kool aid. I had as much fun dyeing it as I did knitting with it and I've got enough (fingers crossed) for another pair. But at the moment I'm knitting birthday socks for Partner. It's no surprise, he knows about them; he had to try the first one on about ten times during the knitting process to ensure fit. However, as I knit the second sock, I wish it were for me; it's so soft: wool/cashmere.

A few photos

The simple evergreen garland I made. I knit myself this hat from some cashmere.
"Ceremonial" planting of my birthday cherry tree. Partner actually planted it. I did one shovel of dirt, just like the Queen.
Hey, I knit these two hats too!
And the stroller cover. It's so toasty and warm for Franklin.

Catching up

I admit it, I've been a bad blogger. I don't have the "don't bother me I'm studying" excuse anymore. Or even the gardening excuse. In fact, I don't have any excuse at all. So I'll just apologize and try very hard to improve.

I also better apologize for not having any photos. I need to charge my camera batteries in order to take more photos. And I don't have any excuse for that, either.

So, on to my photo-less catch up post. I've been making things! I sewed Franklin's stroller cover. We call it a Cosy Toes. Is that the official name of stroller covers, or is it a brand name or something? In any case, this cover is like a little sleeping bag that attaches to the stroller and which the child gets strapped into and covered up by. I made it from a second-hand women's wool coat with a second-hand fuzzy afghan for the lining. Photos to follow (eventually).

I also made an evergreen garland to decorate the top of our piano. Partner wanted to cut down some evergreen hedge-type shrubs in our back garden. Heck, I even wanted them cut down--but then I thought they'd make great Christmas decor. So they have not been taken to the guillotine, just the hairdresser. I like the garland so much I might make another for the mantle. Or try my hand at a wreath. Or maybe I'll just think about it some more and try it next year. Photos to (eventually) follow.

In my garden, the garlic I planted--was it last month?--sprouted. We haven't had a proper freeze back there yet, though there's been some light frost. My nasturtiums are my frost guide; while they still live, frost has not conquered. And they live, though the top layer of leaves wilted. I still have some cabbages and chard to harvest; they can survive the winter temperatures, so no hurry to get them in. I even have a couple young potatoes plants growing--I guess we missed a few tubers when harvesting. I doubt they'll survive the cold, though.

Speaking of study, I got my exam results back. I passed both. I'm still amazed I passed the math, though it was a bit of a scrape; there are four grades of passing, 1-4, and I got a grade 3. But hey, a pass is a pass! I have to decide if I'm taking one or two classes this next semester. I'm signed up for one already. Trying to get through three (two mid-level and one advanced) last year nearly killed me, and now the remaining classes are all advanced. Could I really juggle two advanced classes and still manage to care for Franklin, get to work at the weekends, and not have a nervous breakdown?

Birthday next week. I'm telling people I'm 25. I was talking to another mother I'd not seen before at our play group. We talked about our kids--mine's not yet two, hers were 5 and 3; then she asked my age. I knew she was younger than me because of the way she was dressed, but I think she thought I was her age (24) because when I told her I was 30, she said "you look well for it." I nearly fell over. Maybe she thought I said I was 40?

Oh wait, I do have a photo! I took it on my webcam, to show my haircut and pin curls two weeks ago (superfluous toddler in photo because Franklin insists on being the subject of any picture taken in this house). So this one's for you, Kathy and Kim; thank you for asking about it.

Haircut, roof, turkey

Partner cut my hair this week. I think he learned a lot about cutting hair. Such as to only cut a little at a time, and to take it slow. I wanted it about two inches below my shoulders but it ended up just on my shoulders. I like it anyway. It feels good; he took off a good eight or ten inches and my head feels so much lighter. My hair isn't dragging me down any more.

It also means I can go back to my pin curl set. You read that right: I like to set my hair in pin curls. I love that Rita Hayworth look but it needs shorter hair. Shoulder-length is just about right.

Today I climbed back up on the garage roof for another patch job. Remember the last one--more than two years ago now? Not such a nice day for it this time, but it had to be done. With the wind whipping, I had a few precarious moments climbing on and off the ladder, but all's well that ends well. Partner wants to replace the entire roof with semi-transparent corrugated plastic; that's definitely a summer job. A big summer job.

It being Thanksgiving, Partner, Franklin, and I celebrated very quietly with lots of turkey and pie. In fact, the next day we even had turkey pie--all the leftover veg and some turkey in a white sauce, topped with mashed potato and baked for about half an hour. Partner's specialty, and quite superb.

The coat

Here it is! It's a double breasted overcoat, around size 2T (big on Franklin, who is still in 18 month size). The coat is made from a 75% wool, 15% cashmere, 10% nylon blend, and is lovely and soft and warm. It's also fully lined with a 55% cotton, 45% polyester lining, and has eight big buttons.
I added about ten inches of ease in the body of the coat, and five inches of ease in the sleeves. I also added an extra four inches length to the sleeves. This is a good coat for growing in!
The original coat was diplomatically called an old lady coat by Partner:
And the lining was one of Partner's old dress shirts:
Franklin's coat has a total of three functioning pockets: two welt pockets and an inner patch pocket. It also has a little loop sewn on the inside collar so it can be hung up easily on a hook.
Before I cut out the new pieces from the old coat, I ripped out the original lining. I dislike acetate linings; I find coats can get too hot and sticky with that kind of lining, because acetate doesn't breathe. The new coat has the added bonus of being machine-washable, too.

References:
Bag Your Jacket Lining - Threads

Adventures in sewing, vegetable dreams

Franklin's winter coat is finished! Photos to follow. I found a large gray women's wool/cashmere overcoat at a charity shop for £1, and cut the pattern pieces from it. I bought a large red men's shirt to use as the lining at the same shop also for £1, but ended up using one of Partner's dress shirts, dark gold, instead. Finally, again for £1, I bought a women's blazer for the eight big buttons it had. I already had the thread and interfacing at home. Total cost for this coat: £3. Total sewing time, from cutting out to finishing: 7 days.

It's not perfect, but I think I'm the only one who notices its flaws--and even I don't notice them unless I'm looking. Franklin wore it for the first time today and received several compliments. Parter said he looks like a proper little gent. It made me glow inside.

Next up for my sewing adventures, is a wool stroller cover for winter use. I've already got my wool, and you guessed it: it cost me £1. I love that shop. All the clothes there are £1; I think it's where they send all the stuff that wouldn't sell for normal prices, so a lot of it's kind of out-dated and/or ugly/slightly damaged. But that doesn't matter if you're just going to cut it up!

Partner says he's going to dig up some more lawn this winter to extend our vegetable bed. I've been calculating how much veg we'd need to grow to be self-sufficient throughout the year. For instance, we use about one head of garlic per week and about four or five onions. That's a lot! I've planted around fifty garlic cloves this autumn, in hopes they'll grow into big fat bulbs next summer. I haven't had much success with onions, but I'm going to give it another shot next spring.

We also use about one or two kilos of potatoes a week. Next year we're planning on growing most of them in those big sacks, and maybe a few in the ground. That should leave room for other vegetables to grow in the beds, like zuccini, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, and beans. Finally, my neighbor promised I could use her greenhouse next year, so if it's still available, I will pack it with tomatoes.

New and improved life

Strips of our old carpet cover the earth in my new raised vegetable beds: weed suppression.

I divided my lilies and moved about half to the front garden. I hope they like it there. I originally planted five bulbs each of four or five varieties, but I definitely moved more than 25 to the front. I love propagation--especially when it requires no effort from me.

So very busy these past few weeks, but it's all self-imposed now. Cleaning my house, sewing, knitting, art, gardening. Oh and laundry. Before Franklin (BF), I washed it about two times a week. Now I wash at least one load a day, and sometimes more.

There's a lot of things I took for granted BF. Like I always assumed my career would be the most important aspect in my life, even if I had children. Well that certainly went out the window! BF I got to sleep in on my days off, and Partner and I could stay in bed all day if we wanted. BF I could go out with Partner on a whim. BF I never cleaned poo off a shag rug.

And also BF, I never had a person to call me mama; or met anyone who loves to hear me sing and asks for encores; or had someone who is always unconditionally happy to see me; or felt such a deep, fierce love for another person.

BF was good, and I remember those days fondly, but not as good as now.

October produce and projects

Exams are over. I have free evenings again!

The temperatures outside have dropped and my zuccinis have given up the ghost. We're still eating cabbage, chard, potatoes, and beans. What's left of my turnips are all pretty small still, and I've discovered they've been attacked by cabbage root fly. I never heard of this pest, but apparently it attacks all plants of the cabbage family, including turnip and broccoli. Which may be why my broccoli was a bit of a washout. I will take preventative measures next year.

Partner and I built a raised bed for vegetables. I salvaged the wood from a neighbor, Partner cut it into 4 foot lengths, and I dug over the bed and we put up the sides. We may make a second this weekend, if he's willing.

I made the preliminary mock-up of Franklin's coat. It's well-fitting, but as I wish him to wear it next winter, I must grade it up a size or two. Back to the drawing board. Luckily I've lots of scrap material to cut and try things out before I make the final project.

Also made this past week: seven new pairs of undies and two new pairs of woolly pants for Franklin. He's grown out of the last batch of undies I made, and the woollies are for night time, to keep his legs warm and dry; I'm trying to get him out of diapers completely. I took an XL 100% wool ankle-length skirt I found at a charity shop, put it through a hot wash and dry cycle to shrink and felt it. Then I cut out some simple pants and put elastic in the waist. They're so thick, warm, and fuzzy--I wish I had a few pairs too.

Franklin keeps trying to feed these berries to our dog. I think it's a pyracantha. Not poisonous to humans, and the dog is still alive so I think it's canine-safe, too.

More seeds, proud of my body, proud of Partner

My seed collection has doubled or maybe even tripled; every kind of seed I can find now rests in a little paper packet in my cupboard. I'm particularly excited about my lobelia, nicotiana, and cosmos. I don't know if they'll actually grow, but I can't wait to find out.

I'm so happy it's actually been warm this week. Hot, even. Franklin and I had a chance to wear our summer clothing, finally! We played in the hose for the first time in his entire life; no sprinkler, but I set the hose up so it sprayed an arc at about my waist height. We then proceeded to run through it, and under it, jump into it, and splash in the subsequent puddle. I wore my bikini; Franklin wore his birthday suit.

My bikini, which I have not worn since I got married, is about ten years old. I'm no more than five pounds heavier than I was then, so it fits me pretty well; however, I now have a mummy tummy, so I bulge a bit around the navel. Still, I am proud of the fact that I grew a new person myself, so my mummy tummy is a medal of honor.

I have some fabulous end-of-season flowers like this magenta dahlia. Perhaps I'll see if I can let them go to seed for collection.

Partner has been looking for a place in a band recently. I'm not sure how many bands he's seen: maybe four so far. He used to be a full-time rock'n'roller, back when he didn't have to pay rent. He wants to play part-time now, to have fun (90%) and to supplement our income (10%). I think he wants to play bass, but he's also excellent at guitar, both lead and rhythm (listen to our song, "Hopscotch", on youtube: Partner wrote and performed all the instrument parts in the music track: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar). Oh, and he plays the mandolin, piano, trombone, and sings. And did I mention he composes orchestral music as well?

My life is essentially just like your life; I like to make stuff

I thought I'd like to explain that while I normally blog about the cool stuff I do (you know, all that cool weeding and statistics and pooey bums), my life is far from perfect. Take my house. My neighbor came over to visit me and Franklin last week and I was so embarrassed by the state of it--normally it's moderately tidy, but I had two days worth of dishes, laundry everywhere, and only one chair without piles of stuff on it. She was very diplomatic about it, but I worry she'll never come over again; this is the neighbor with the fruit trees so I need to stay in her good books!

And my child gets whiny, and I lose my temper with my dog, and Partner and I occasionally have disagreements. When we actually see each other, that is. Mostly I'm drowning in schoolwork and he's at work. So you see, my life is just like anybody's life. I just happen to make stuff in between.

Now then, onto making stuff: once I take my two exams, I'm sewing a winter coat for Franklin. We have a charity shop in the nearest town that sells everything for £1; I bought a big wool coat which I will cut up for it. I actually had a choice of about four different wool coats at that shop; I chose the one with the biggest panels and fewest seams--and it's a wool/cashmere blend. Fancy! I don't think a little boy's coat should be too hard to make, and I'm hoping to make it a bit large so it'll fit next winter, too.

More thoughts on keeping warm this winter, as it's now equinox and the temperatures fall: I want lots of warm clothing for myself and Franklin. And Partner if he desires, though he doesn't get as cold as me. I already knitted this woolly vest. Woolly socks are definitely on the list--I've got some, Franklin doesn't. And maybe a few nice woolly blankets for our beds (I will probably not knit these, however). My mother sent me an amazing alpaca blanket last year; I love it. And I bet a sheepskin would keep Franklin cozy in his bed; it'd certainly keep me cozy, but Partner doesn't seem too keen--he says he likes a cold bed; last winter I got out the down-filled quilt but he didn't want it on top of him.

This paving stone is surrounded by little cabbage seedlings, from where a cabbage plant expired last month. I gathered a little paper packet of those seeds, but it looks like I shouldn't have bothered!

Partner made a disparaging noise earlier when he saw the photo of himself in the previous post. He told me it's a page three item--implying it's about time I put up a new front page. Done.

Pond, plums, homemade frozen yogurt

One of the other jobs Partner managed on our week off: he drained the pond and pulled out the liner. We now have a deep hole where the fish used to swim. I'm committed to filling it with garden trimmings--hopefully it'll be full by next spring, and I can put some dirt down on top of it, and maybe grass or decking. As shown in the photo, the hole is about three feet deep, and at least six feet across--that's a lot of filling.

I submitted my last two assignments for the year, and now only have two exams to look forward to. Huge weight off my mind, though one of the exams I'm quite nervous about (the math). Still, all I need is a pass.

Partner and I were lucky enough to have a neighbor over to babysit while we went to a wedding last week. Only the second time we've been out since Franklin's birth, it felt nice to have some grown up time together. I wore a new dress and even danced a few dances. We came home early, and the neighbor said she would be happy to come over again.

That was the neighbor with the plum tree. I ended up making about ten jars of plum jam--not my favorite but it's not bad. We'll eat it. I also made four big jars of whole plums in syrup; I haven't tried them yet. And to finish off the last of those pesky plums I made a crumble. I have a feeling if I go visit my neighbor again she'll offload some more onto me. But then again, she's also promised me apples, which should be just about ripe now...

To go with the plum crumble I also made some frozen yogurt. I read about a method which involves a large outer ziplock bag filled with salt and ice, and a small inner ziplock bag filled with flavored yogurt. After tumbling the bags around till the ice melted (I wore gloves), the yogurt was partially frozen but not quite ready, so I popped the small bag into the freezer to finish, and gave it a squeeze every half hour to break up the big ice crystals. It took half an hour of tumbling and an hour of freezing to be perfect. Oh, and this was yogurt I made myself, too.

Household accomplishments, turnips

This week while Partner's been off work, we've been so
busy!

• Franklin's bedroom and the office have now been switched--mostly Partner's work, but I helped a little.
  
• Partner tiled above the bathtub in the bathroom.
  
• I made two jars of wild blackberry jam and bottled four jars of plums (from a neighbor's tree).
  
• We (all three of us) picked another batch of blackberries to make more jam--hopefully tomorrow.
• I razed 3/4 of the weeds in the vegetable patch.
• We had a full day of shopping in York where we bought some new clothes.

Altogether it's been fun, especially spending so much time with Partner. Since I work weekends and he works weekdays, we never have full days off together.

I've kind of neglected my garden for the past month or so. Franklin and I still go out and play there, but this time of year I always seem to get very bored of weeding; I've only deadheaded my flowers and harvested my vegetables these past few weeks.

I got a lovely surprise when I went out to check on my turnips earlier; the leaves have been partially eaten by beetles, so I was worried about the roots. My quick look turned into an amazed goggle: my turnips are huge! I can't believe it--I only planted them ten weeks ago and already they're at least the size of golf balls. Why couldn't my beets have done that? My biggest beets, first planted in March (so at least 20 weeks) are only the size of marbles.

This week's bouquet includes rudbeckia, sweet pea, dahlia, honesty (seed pod), and peony leaf.

Producing, seed collecting, potty champion

After an exceptionally dry summer, my garden keeps on producing. I have zuccinis growing to the size of bowling pins (I blame Partner for that one. I leave him alone for two days, and look what happens!). My French beans are ten inches long. I have rosebushes with dozens of long-stemmed roses: How I wish I had a whole garden of these right now. Oh wait. I do!

Partner and I both have next week off, so we made a schedule of Things To Do. We're switching Franklin's bedroom and the office; he'll have the smallest room and the office will combine with the guest room. We're also filling in the pond; the fishies all died, poor things, so its day has come. It will be a nice shady seating area. We're even planning a sandbox for Franklin there. Just not next week. The time has come to stop deadheading my sweetpeas. Last year I stopped too late in the year for seeds to develop. I'm not making that mistake again! So far my tally of collected seeds includes:

1. Columbine
2. Lupin
3. Honesty
4. Cabbage

I have beet and chard seeds leftover from last year, too. Perhaps they'll still grow next year. This year's chard is a winner, but the beets disappointed. I don't blame the beets. They got planted in the wrong place: overshadowed and underwatered. I'll be a better gardener next year.My neighbor gave me 6+ pounds of plums from her tree. I'm overwhelmed. I think tomorrow is Jam Day.

This week Franklin understands how to use the toilet. He tells me. I put him on. He uses. I hope this lasts!

A portrait from a wedding, upcoming plans, and a painting

Here I am with my little buddy. We go everywhere together. He's like my little shadow. I knitted his black vest; I've had several compliments on it.

This weekend we went to a wedding in Essex. I enjoyed myself and don't think I embarrassed Partner (designated driver) at the reception. Franklin also enjoyed himself; I've never seen him so sociable. Normally he doesn't like to be too close to strangers, but he wanted to be friends with all the pretty girls there. All wedding photos (including Franklin kissing pretty girls) are here. I was there in my capacity as aunt of the bride (I think I'm about eight years older than she is).

I also enjoyed a quick stroll through a few charity shops while in London. I would love to visit the charity shops in the swanky neighborhoods, but this time I contented myself with the East Side. Still, I came away happy. At the end of the month I'm looking forward to a jaunt through them in York; two winters ago I found my gorgeous Givenchy coat at a charity shop there; maybe I'll find something just as great this time. I could use some fabulous new clothes.

After reading through the schedules for upcoming classes, I find that I have a three month break coming between the end of these two and the beginning of the next. I may just have time to work on a few projects I've been putting off. I've got some decorating up my sleeve, and possibly some sewing, and definitely some organizing.

Speaking of decorating, see Franklin's blog for our newly acquired masterpiece. It needs a suitable frame: I'm thinking big and gold.

Spare time? Knit!

I knit this cardigan myself, from pattern Grandstand from the Red Heart website. The yarn was formerly from a store-bought pullover. It's lovely, soft cotton. I started knitting at the end of April, which means it took me just about three months to complete. I hope my next project doesn't take quite so long--but I did have other commitments (school, work, Franklin) which took more of my time. On the other hand, this washable dust mop cover took me two days to crochet. The pattern is from Craftzine website. It's fantastic. I need another couple--keeps me motivated to clean!
I'm taking part in a knitting/crochet challenge for this month called Cast On Mania. The full challenge is to start a new project every day of the month (finishing them during the month is not required). My mop cover is one of my projects. I've also started a sock, a basket, a hat, and a scarf. I don't have the resources to start a new project every single day, but I'm starting all the patterns I've wanted to knit/crochet for a while. I ought to finish them all by the end of the year. Also on the agenda is another cardigan for myself, the second sock (and possibly a second pair), something for Franklin for this winter, a doormat for our back door, and another scarf.

There's one small problem, however. I've mentioned how I like to unravel items for their yarn: well, half of my yarn has yet to be unraveled so I can use it.