Spring Cleaning

Guest Author Girl-Child here, providing a weekend update! 

As mom is in the final stretches of her National Board, I've offered to update the blog when I do projects. 

      The weather has been doing some soul searching and has yet to make up its mind. Hail, sun, rain, partly sun, gorgeous day, ice rain, mist, sunshine- sheesh! Luckily, this past sunday was a gorgeous and sunny day. Having got ahead of my school work for once (narratology leaves my brain leaking out of my ears more days than not) I opted to get outside and conquer the... dun dun dun POTTERY SHED. 

        So the Pottery Shed has pretty much been sitting since we moved in. As things were unpacked, they went into the shed and as mom revved up for last summer, more things got added. It has shelves running three of the walls, has a nice big farm sink, and a overhead rod for hanging plants. I don't think mom ever had a spare moment to actually arrange and set up the shed to her liking after moving in so upon opening the door, I discovered a menagerie of spiders, dead plants, and higgledy piggledy pottery.

First order of business- I pulled everything out and organized it on the lawn by type/use. The chickens ran around investigating everything, nipping at cobwebs and taste-testing ceramic. When I was through, I mixed a 5 gal bucket with distilled white vinegar and hot water and brush/washed all the shelves. We had a slight flooding problem- I turned on the water to the farmer's sink (there's a hose spigot on the outside wall) and the whole pipe started leaking. This is of course the moment our up-hill neighbor chooses to introduce himself. It was great to finally meet him- but by the time I was able to turn off the water, the floor was pretty flooded and we had a nice bog around the outside. Half hour of sunshine later- it was clean and dry! 

 I adjourned at this point to consult with with Boss about the Proper Placement of Pottery Accoutrements.
 Mom has quite a collection of pots, both ceramic and plastic, as well as some more decorative, painterly ones. The end result was a workable space where everything is Mise en Place. To the left, under the hanging planters, are empty shelves for working. All the bigger pots are in the far right corner, plastic pots in the back and ceramic monsters up front. There was this empty three-drawer plastic tower hiding in the corner that I repurposed to hold gloves, knee pads, misc plant paper (receipts, labels, etc), and seed packets.

       

 All that's left is to hang the tools! Mom and I couldn't decide if we just wanted to hammer straight into the wall (there's a few already in there) or add some sort of cork/plastic backing like what dad has in the garage. But that's for another weekend entirely!

See you next weekend!

Snap Shot Saturday! Guest Post

     Guest Author Girl-Child here with a quick update! Mom's still sequestered with her National Board projects, but most weekends (weather permitting) I've been able to get a few projects done around the homestead. I guess what that means is to expect updates from us again! At least on the weekends :)

This week's Snapshot Saturday is about the new man in my life- Voce

          

          Last October, this cat just showed up on our back porch. He was so badly emaciated he couldn't walk except hunched over and limping. He was extremely skittish but also very talkative- indeed it seemed he wouldn't stop talking! So we dubbed him "Voce" or "voice" in Italian. We put food out for him and during the winter we put a dog bed for him in the bbq/pizza hut. Over time, he became more and more friendly, sitting in our laps and chatting at us. We were hesitant to bring him inside because we had no idea where he came from, if he had any communicable issues, if he would be too aggressive with the cats we already have. 

Berlioz and  Bijoux deciding that homework is irrelevant, kittens come first

This spring, with the onset of a potential puppy, we were able to get Voce to the vet. He received a clean bill of health and weighed in at a hearty 14 lbs. A far cry from the skinny boy on our doorstep! 

Given the green light, we finally brought him inside. 

         Now he is more talkative than ever and we are privy to all his other quirks. (He drools when he's happy, being the most startling of them.) We know he's some kind of Siamese, the bulk and head shape suggest "Apple Headed" and his coloration suggests "seal" but this is all Google-search fed speculation.

 So ends our quick Snapshot Saturday! Come back tomorrow for another, more substantial, update!

Crazy busy with life

Greetings and Salutations,

The reason for the extended break in posts is that we have been insanely busy with life.  My sailor did finally come home and we have been very protective of our time together. The new school year began, and with that comes all the time-eating responsibilities that comes with being a dedicated, responsible teacher.  On top of that, I decided to take on getting my National Board Certification in teaching. SO, any time I might have had to post goodies and projects related our Our Hillside Haven has been devoured by NBCT requirements.

When I get back to it, these are some of our "Projects in Progress":

• greenhouse goodies
• building a fence "in Ireland"
• getting ready for puppy
• maintenance projects and plans
• the search for broken pipes
• popcorn for the Yeti :)
• power for the tree house

Stay tuned. We will be back. In the mean time, please enjoy perusing our past projects!

Wishful Wednesday - Deck Decor

As I mentioned in Saturday's post, I've been able to do some finish decorating in some areas.  I'm really happy how things are turning out. For today's post, I wanted to share a total splurge purchase. I'm trying to convince myself that I need it and not just want it. I mean, it would go a LONG way in supporting my breathing therapy, "In. Out. Let go. Repeat."

This gorgeous chaise if from Pottery Barn, and I have no claim on the image (it's from their catalog). The frame is made of moisture resistant eucalyptus and the cushion is from Sunbrella. It's on summer clearance, regularly about $1300 for the frame and cushion, on clearance for around $900 which makes the purchase tempting.

I LOVE that my sailor and I could curl up on it together and cuddle, read, listen to the river, or just take a nap. Making the purchase VERY tempting.  It's even tall enough for my guy, at 90" his feet wont hang over. LOL!



It would definitely be a splurge purchase, so I will defer until when my sailor gets home (someday). If he says yes and it's still in stock, then we're meant to have it.  So don't by the last one, OK?

To Do List Tuesday - Garden Notebook part 2

I'm continuing my To Do List project from last week. Now that I have my fabulous new Garden Notebook, I have been fervently working to transfer over the notes and cut outs, and plant lists I had tucked in my marble notebook.

I realized in putting the pages together that I needed to move the form around a bit to give more room for the care and instructions part. I want to be able to have notes at a glance on overwintering or end of season care. I'm finding this layout works much better.

It's a slow process, but will worth my time - especially since once it's done, I'll only have to add pages for new plants and it will be a book tailored to Our Haven.  It will be  a work in progress, but when it's done, it's done.

I'm thinking it might be a better project for the winter when things are dormant. For now, I'll work on it a bit here and there as I have time or need a diversion from other projects.

Mystery Plant Monday

My Mystery Plant of the week is a variegated vine with heart-shaped leaves. It's spreads low to the ground and grows is shade to dappled sunny locations around Our Haven.

It's called Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegatum' and goes by several names including Bishop's weed, Bishop's Wort, Bishop's Elder, Dog Elder, Dwarf Elder, Ground Elder, Goat's Foot, Goatweed, Farmer's Plague, Garden Plague, Ground Ash, Pot-Ash, Jack Jumpabout, English Masterwort, Pigweed, Eltroot, and a list of others.

No wonder people have a hard time identifying it!

 At first I thought it was pretty - very woodsy and it seemed to have little cream flowers. I thought, "What a neat ground cover."  HA! Little did I know.

As the season progressed, I started calling it "The Blob" because it spread quickly, swallowing everything in its path.  Now - it's a weed taking over the one flower bed I worked so hard to purifying and rejuvenating this spring. It went from a small section around the stump pictured above, to covering over 1/3 of the bed.  It is no longer "cute" but a weed and I want it out.

I have always been patient with weeds - after all, they are only plants growing where gardeners don't want them. However, according to my research on this darling, removing it will be a battle, and one I probably won't win.

One of my favorite comments was from This Garden is Illegal

DISCLAIMER: If you are ever offered this plant, run, do not walk, run quickly from the area before you are talked into taking some home.Bishop’s Weed is an avid gardener’s worst nightmare. Worse yet, it is sold in garden centers and big box stores with no warning label. Really, before they are allowed to take this stuff home, people should be required to sign iron-clad contracts that requires them never to pass this plant along.

Here are the good things about it:

• It is a vigorous ground cover great for shady spots.
• It's fast-growing and easy to care for (little care needed, really). 
• It's deer resistant. 
• It tolerates poor soil and conditions where little else will grow. It's like ivy in the respect that you can plant it and let it be and not have to do much. This is great for those wanting low maintenance. 
• It's good for erosion control.

It grows best in zones 3-9 (so just about everywhere) in part sun to shade.
It starts at 12-24 inches tall and 12-48 inches wide (but doesn't stay there - just thing "the Blob"

It blooms early summer and the flowers rise above the foliage, seemingly floating in the air.

Bishop's Weed has been used medicinally for bee stings, burns, and the treatment of gout and psoriasis. That might convince me to grow it in a container out of harms way - but I don't want ti where it is now, no matter how woodsy it looks. It's about to choke my poor roses!

I'm not one for herbicides. I have been able to maintain pretty much all weed growth I need with a mixture of white vinegar, salt, and water.  This lovely however just laughs as the salty shower.

Next in my battle plan is conscientious pruning to keep it at bay until the spring. Because it's perennial, it will die back for the winter. I plan to cut it to the ground and cover it in black plastic tarp. Hopeful that will do the trick. If not, I pull out the big guns.

So, if you love your garden, and like your neighbors, this is not the plant for you. It's known to spread  most auspiciously because people pull it up and toss it in the woods or even compost where it takes root and takes off. So be mindful with it - if you must have it, contain it.

Simply Sunday

Snapshot Saturday

 I have been putting the finishing touches on decor at Our Haven, a room at a time. My latest project was a wall hanging for our bedroom. I saw this knot design I really liked and my brilliant artist-daughter helped me tweak it and add the phrase I wanted.  I really love how she made it look three dimensional and yet kept the sketch aspect of it. I had it canvas printed and it is exactly what I wanted!

 It looks great on the wall above my bed. The next thing is a furniture project - a pair of twin antique wrought beds from 1920's. I'm going to refinish them in a hammered bronze and join them together for our Cal King bed. 

This is the view that makes me not want to get out of bed. 

I also have to celebrate a fabulous find - summer season clearance plus $30 off for a great bistro set (I paid $60 for a $250 set). The chairs swivel and rock and there's a cute little table, too. You can just see the edge of one of the chairs in the picture above. 

I took these pictures from my balcony vantage point enjoying my new find with a cup of homemade lemonade-tea.  

I practice breathing daily, "In. Out. Let go. Repeat" and I think it's finally starting to work. Too bad I have to return to school next week.


Thanks for stopping by!

Therapy Thursday

My therapy project today was an extension of my Garden Notebook.  I really wanted a chore list available at a glance for family members to reference but didn't see anything I liked at the stores or online, so I made one. ^.^

Here it is all finished:

It took me longer to make my custom lists than it did to put it together.

Basic info:

• The font is Jane Austen - I like it even though I'm not an Austen literary fan.
• The lists are printed on resume paper for a parchment look.
• I bought a 12x36 poster frame with glass  - important if you want to use dry erase on it) for about $15 at the store 
• I raided my fabric stash for the backing and 504 spray.

With my materials all laid out, I got started.

I trimmed the fabric to the board with about an inch and one half extra all around. I pinked the edges so they wouldn't fray.

I sprayed the 504 on the wrong side of the backing board and smoothed the fabric onto the surface. Then I flipped it over and sprayed the 504 along the edges.

I pulled the corners in first and then did the sides to make a nice edge. Then I worked from the center out to the edges to pull the sides down. I didn't need to tug much, I just wanted to keep it smooth and not wrinkle.  You can see from the picture above, I wasn't really worried about perfect lines with the spray glue (5o4). No one is going to see that side anyway. 

Sorry it's a bit blurry. Here it is ready to flip and add the checklists. 

I did a little math to center the pages, put a touch of 504 so they don't slip and then it was ready to frame.

In the frame the metal turn downs will hold everything in place.

All I have to do now is mount it. I'm going to put it in the laundry room along with a dry erase marker. The expectation is that when people do chores, they will be able to check it off and initial. I'll be able to see what's been done and what needs doing and I don't have to maintain the list in my head. Win on both accounts.

To Do List Tuesday - Garden Notebook part 1

Updating and creating a "good" garden notebook has been on my list to do for quite awhile. I just wasn't sure what I wanted or needed in it.

Until now, my garden notes have just accumulated in a composition notebook. That's fine - everything is in one place. The down side is that it's not as organize as I'd like and it's hard to find something without having to page through it all.

Today, I sat down with a cup of tea, a few of my gardening books, and my laptop and put one together. I think I mentioned I'm a bit neurotic with organization - I like everything to have and be in its place. I think this notebook will allow me to do that.

I will put it in a vinyl 3 Ring Binder, use page protectors where appropriate, and dividers for the sections. The beautiful thing is that I saved it as a PDF and can just print pages as needed. I also have it as an open file so I can make changes and tweak things as I see the need.

The notebook is divided into 5 parts, detailed below:

Planning & Projects: pretty self explanatory. In addition to the forms I created, plant tracking (what was planted where), a project tracker, and planter design pages for box and barrel pots, this section will include graph paper for drawing plans.

Maintenance & Chores: I created forms for seasonal and monthly maintenance/chores with check lists as well as amendment/fertilization record page

Reflections: I have a choice of a weekly Observation/Note page or a week-at-a-glance page with daily details.

Plant Profiles: Annual, Perennial, Orchard, and Veggie - color coded

References where I'll keep images of planting charts, or plant identification charts and other reference photos.

That's my To Do for today. Let me know if you think I have missed something. I think the next notebook I need to tackle is for house and equipment maintenance. But that's another day.


Thanks for stopping by!