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Post by binnylou on Jan 12, 2023 12:58:51 GMT -5
martywny, be watchful as you saunter by those seed racks. I recently came home with a pack of Burgundy Blanket Flower seeds. I swear, when I went in to that store we were looking for wild bird food and work gloves for me. Never crossed my mind that I needed/wanted to grow Blanket Flowers this year.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jan 12, 2023 21:55:21 GMT -5
I've often talked about my wonderful, kind neighbors. This evening, the long-time neighbors next door came over and said that we are the best neighbors one could hope for. Guess I did something right. I was humbled to tears. Made my day.
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Post by centralilrookie on Jan 12, 2023 23:23:29 GMT -5
This morning after taking sweetheart to a drs appointment in Bloomington and stopping at Tractor Supply for dog treats/ toys for Josie I made the decision to take a trip to Kelly Seed in Peoria. I have been debating in my mind the last few days the merits of starting onions. Going against my better judgment I decided to start a flat as a challenge to myself to offset the shame of last year’s failure. Since sweetheart and I were the only customers in the store a couple of ladies were trying their best to talk me into waiting till their slips and bulbs came in. This is where things got interesting, when I told them about a lady from Iowa that is starting hers this week and that she’s a knowledgeable, hard working, multi talented person who also makes it a point to stop in this very store when she’s close the girls couldn’t believe it. Before we left I had repeated this story to the owner, his sons and a couple of other employees. They all had a glow of pride and satisfaction on their faces when they heard of their Iowa customer. It was a very good day……
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Post by Mumsey on Jan 13, 2023 6:00:31 GMT -5
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Post by emmsmommy on Jan 13, 2023 16:23:48 GMT -5
centralilrookie, while my onions weren't huge last year, it was the biggest onion harvest ever and I'm still using those onions. The Ailsa Craig's will need to be used up or dehydrated soon, but the others are holding up well.
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Post by desertwoman on Jan 13, 2023 19:11:20 GMT -5
Another day in the 50s. I did more flower bed clean up!
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Post by Mumsey on Jan 13, 2023 19:28:44 GMT -5
centralilrookie I’m at my sisters. Told her the story of my seed store visit. We laughed and laughed. She asked if I wanted to go. It’s only 156 miles from her house! Lol. Not this weekend, maybe sometime before end of March. FOR REAL!!!!
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Post by centralilrookie on Jan 13, 2023 23:10:05 GMT -5
Mumsey, that would be great!! Let me know and I’ll buy you girls lunch…..
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Post by centralilrookie on Jan 13, 2023 23:45:47 GMT -5
This morning I went to see a dr about my little finger and ring finger on both hands that has been locking up. He can mask the problem with injections or do surgery and repair the problem properly. With a funeral on the 21st and plans for a Texas trip to see my life long friend leaving the next day the earliest I feel comfortable with is 1/31. With his recommendation of 8 weeks between operations I should be healed up in time to start in the garden and help with the planting of the farmer’s crops.
Tomorrow sweetheart and I will be traveling towards Chicago to watch her son and grandson compete in a jujitsu competition. Having never seen this sort of competition before it should make for an interesting day.
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Post by emmsmommy on Jan 14, 2023 9:51:58 GMT -5
Kiddo's dentist appointment went so well that I seriously wondered if the cooperative child in the chair was indeed my daughter. Next appointment is in July and thankfully we won't have to worry about school then. Stopped at McDonald's and treated kiddo to her favorite-french fries and then a quick stop at Michael's to use my rewards voucher. From there we stopped at my aunt's to exchange Christmas gifts and she and I spent a lot of time talking about dealing with grief. I explained that my uncle has only been gone a month and that it takes time. She works from home and her workload is abnormally small right now. She wants to find a local support group but unfortunately not finding any. From there we spent about an hour at my parent's house and then I headed home to drop off kiddo and go to quilt guild meeting. It had already gotten dark, was raining, and I forgot about the rush hour traffic from 5-6pm. It's a small town but only one way in and out from this direction and the glare was so intense I considered going back home. Made it a few minutes late. but left with a few bags of scraps and volunteered for the quilt show committee simply because no one else would. I explained that I wasn't the most knowledgeable of categories but was willing to learn. Yesterday kiddo had a three-hour school delay for administrative reasons and we seriously thought school might be dismissed early as the snow was really coming down whe she got on the bus. I tackled a few loads of laundry and started tackling the fabric scraps, ironing and sorting. I need the equivalent of a jelly roll (40 2 1-1/2" strips) for the quilt class and pulled at least ten from the scraps. Also found a larger cut of fabric that I really like and can cut three or four from it. I do have some coordinating strips in sets of 20 that I could use but saving the for a project that really calls out to me (and I think one of those may be another quilt in the book). We made a pizza when kiddo got home as she enjoys helping so much and spent the evening relaxing.
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Post by raphanus on Jan 14, 2023 18:01:22 GMT -5
Spent about an hour carefully pruning the ryegrass lawn with hedge shears.
Up-potted indoor tomato seedlings from 50 cell trays to 4-6” pots.
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Post by desertwoman on Jan 14, 2023 18:18:06 GMT -5
Up-potted indoor tomato seedlings from 50 cell trays to 4-6” pots. I'm envious It's 53º at 4PM and I just came in from another day of cleaning up beds. Cut back the dried up oregano, tarragon, fennel and thyme in the herb bed and guess what I found? The first daffodils poking up out of the soil! Several things are waking up. It's 2-3 weeks early but that is the new norm here. Our winters are definitely warmer.
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Post by centralilrookie on Jan 15, 2023 7:16:59 GMT -5
Yesterday we were up early for our trip to Chicago to watch jujitsu. The weather was great and traffic wasn’t too bad so the trip was quite enjoyable. With 10 mats of wrestlers going all day this competition really does generate excitement. Being the first time watching this type of event I noticed that the scoring was similar but there are a few differences from high school wrestling that I competed in many years ago.
This morning we’re up early, smoking some link sausage, as sweetheart’s dad is coming for breakfast.
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Post by emmsmommy on Jan 16, 2023 3:15:24 GMT -5
Woke up early, cleaned the seed shelves off and moved new heater into the dining room. We enjoyed a long Sunday visit with my parents and had both dinner and supper with them. Sunday visits are usually short and rushed in an attempt to get kiddo in bed early, but since there's no school today we took advantage of it. One organization mom and I belong to is putting an emphasis on Appalachin heritage and cooking so mom and I brainstormed some ideas as I'm passionate about anything concerning Appalachia. One suggestion in the training materials I received suggested encouraging everyone to have a sort of show and tell of something that is cherished or envokes fond memories and I'm hoping to set a few minutes aside for that every month. My goal is to compile everyone's contributions in a booklet at the end of the year.
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Post by Mumsey on Jan 16, 2023 7:56:46 GMT -5
Had a good weekend at Sis's. Spent Saturday in Cedar Rapids, went to Habitat Restore, sis needed a small piece of countertop. Scored that. Looked at used bathroom vanities for brother's bathroom project. Found 2 36" ones, Dad said no, has to be 48". Told him good luck. Went to Sam's Club, not much there interested me except a giant box of 200 kitchen garage bags. Went to Natural Grocers, they had a few eggs, free-range brown for $2.99 with N-Power perks, used to be $1.99. Limit is now 2, down from their previous 4. We each got 2. Went to Hobby Lobby, picked up hand quilting thread for $.99, on sale from $3.29. Good thread, I've used it before. A few more stops and we headed back. Watched movies and called it a day, Little Boy and Dog Gone.
Stopped at Dad's on the way home, had a chat about vanities. He's always in slow gear when doing things, always looking for that rock bottom price. Told him he's not going to find a new looking vanity and top for $100, a better deal won't be found. Then the flooring, he thinks it can be painted with this old paint he has, which isn't floor paint. He said a vinyl plank would cost him $250, not bad IMO. Now he's on the fence about that. Thing is, gotta get flooring in before toilet and vanity......
This morning brother called, now Dad wants 36". Go figure. I'll have sis go there Wednesday and see if it's still there, get it and bring it in her truck. She's a lot closer to Restore than I am, and I have no way to haul it. Stay tuned!! It will probably be gone anyway. It was pretty nice for the $$.
When I got home The Princess was beside herself, as usual after I've been away. Glued to me like a cockle burr. Started watching a series on Netflix "How To Get Away With Murder". Then the smoke alarm started beeping, which made Princess nervous, she wanted outside. So had to go to the garage, get the 6 ft ladder since the alarm is at the peak of 11 ft ceiling. Got it disconnected from the hardwire and took it down. Will put new backup batteries in today. Just what I wanted to do at 11 pm!! Then Princess wouldn't come in, put on my boots, grabbed flashlight and had to drag her in. Fun.
Rain all day today, so odd for January. The snow is melting.
Shallot seeds came from Pinetree, will start those today. The onions I planted a week ago are all up, lettuce looking good in hydroponics.
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