I hate when I think of what I think is a really clever start to a blog post and then I forget it because I didn't write it down right at that moment. ... *sigh*
So, yeah ... I'm still around. I even made a Youtube video last week.
Yesterday I noticed my last blog post was back in March. How did April go by so fast? Well ...
This one is going to be kind of quick and dirty because I'm sort of playing catch up on a few things this week.
The long and short of it is this: I wasn't feeling so great last month and it turns out I had a health thing going on again. Yup, another infection and no obvious signs of something going on. It is *so* much fun being middle-aged veering in to menopause.
There, I said it. I'm middle-age and I'm not too far off from menopause. Fun, fun.
So ... to circle back. I felt not myself for a month and I didn't realize how much I *wasn't * doing until I started feeling better. One thing I noticed when I'm feeling like myself is that I posted a lot more project updates on my Instagram. I didn't do much crafty stuff for most of the month.
In other news, the weather just switched. This past weekend was a fantastic weekend, weather-wise. We got out and did all sorts of projects and we roto-tilled the garden and I planted some lettuce seeds and radishes.
I started a new pair of vanilla socks.
That's about it for now. I hesitate to say I'm in "recovery mode." It's definitely more of a "catch-up" mode and now that the weather has finally changed to lovely spring weather I feel I'm going to be a bit busy for a while.
That's all for now.
Oh, P.S. I know i still need to write up more in depth show notes for my Flosstube #27. I'm not sure how good those are going to be since it's been so long ... and I've recorded another video since then. Something will get written.
Last weekend the weather was nice and enough snow was melted/cleared away from the log pile that we were able to get in there and cut up loads off wood over the course of the week.
We've got a routine down for cutting and moving the wood to it's final destination. Last fall/early winter we had it that my hubby would cut some wood after work. Then the next day over lunch I would split it. Then he or we would stack it. Usually he stacked it because I am just not good at stacking. I'm hella good at splitting, though.
This is what the area looked like the weekend of March 8-9, 2025.
Sunny but still just enough snow to make you go "blech."
It was amazing to see the sun, though.
The holtzhausen that was abandoned when the snow got too deep for working. We threw a tarp on it, temporarily, so the snow didn't soak everything. The tarp was a bit of a bear to take off. You can't see the ice from the melted snow.
We got the tarp off, eventually, and my hubby got to work cutting.
While we were working on the wood project, the chickens were enjoying the nice weather and running from here to there.
I thought this was a fun photo. She was running to the coop to lay an egg. Yes, I know she looks so much dirtier than she really is. Nothing is as clean-looking as clean snow.
The rooster and one of his favorites enjoying the sun on *my* stoop.
I had visitors at the front stoop again.
"Hey, we heard there was a party."
This week I had a few health-related appointments. One was in the new clinic building over in Duluth.
Oh my word. ... If you are familiar with Duluth and the downtown clinic then you understand what I'm saying.
First, I was thrilled that I remembered how to get to the parking ramp without having to drive around the block at least once. Then, I forgot that they knocked down the old building. I got out of the parking ramp elevator and was directed to the new building and one of the helpers walked me to almost where I needed to go.
We went through the skywalk to a different building. The skywalk kind of winds a bit, too. In the different building I had to take an elevator down to the main level. Walk what felt like several blocks to another bank of elevators. Then up to the floor my appointment was on. Leave the elevator, walk what felt like two more blocks to check in. Then walk at least another half block ...
However, the view of Lake Superior from the clinic is amazing.
The famous lift bridge can be seen on the right side of the photo.
I was so focused on taking photos of the lake that I didn't catch there was an almost empty parking lot below us. Come summer that parking lot will be packed full.
I couldn't tell you which floor I was on because Duluth is built on a hillside so on one side of the building might be the first floor, but on the other side the first level might be the third floor.
When I left I took the one elevator down, crossing my fingers I chose the right floor. I did. Instead of taking the way back that I took when I first arrived, I looked for doors to the outside (which took a few minutes) and walked across the street and prayed I remembered which floor of the parking ramp my vehicle was on.
The rest of the week was quiet-ish, and the temperatures steadily increased. That part was lovely. The ice and melted snow was not so lovely. I quickly tired of almost slipping and falling or walking through the water.
Finally, the frost went out and most of the snow is gone.
What a difference a week makes.
This is what's left of the wood pile.
Part of the front yard. I can't wait til the green grass starts popping.
The holtzhausen is all done. My husband put the finishing touches on it this morning.
We have the spot for the last holtzhausen picked out. A few loads of wood ready to be split.
Look at how little snow is left around the she shed.
On Friday after work I had some gardening fun. I hauled out the tomato starts out to the greenhouse and up-blocked them.
I usually have something on the needles, or crochet hooks, but I don't post project updates quite as much as I used to. I started this second vanilla sock on Thursday. This photo is from Saturday morning. I was getting a few rows in before starting the day.
Speaking of knitting, and crafting, I'll have a video out later this week.
This post is a bit in the making so it may be a bit longer and full of nonsense.
Just kidding. ... sort of.
A few weeks ago we had subzero temperatures and I was sticking close to the wood stove.
Then the sun came out, the temperature rose and the snow started melting.
Wonderful.
You know who else enjoyed the nice weather?
The ladies and roo have been demanding to go out as soon as they hear me step outside. They were cooped up way too long, without feeling the sun on their feathers. The colder weather included grey skies and no sun. I figured there was no point in letting them out and suffer in the snow that was probably too deep for them.
But now, as you can see, the snow was melting away.
I took advantage of the first nice day and went out and cleaned out the coop.
I had photos of the process, but really, who wants to see me dumping chicken bedding in to the compost pile?
There are photos of the fresh shavings in the coop and the chickens not knowing what to make of it. Where did the frozen poop go?
"This can't be *our* coop. It's too clean!
I thought I'd share what the outside looks like with the solar lights that I *originally* bought for my greenhouse. They need it more, so they can venture out in the late evening and have one last sip of water. Not too shabby for solar lights I ordered off Amazon. No idea if I'll ever get them back. If I decide to let the birds keep the lights I'll do something more pretty with them than just lump them over where the water dish is.
While I'm talking about the evenings and those little darlings ...
This is what I see now when i go out to close up the coop for the evening.
At least two girls sitting out on the chute. Every single time.
They jump up there and when I go out I carry them to the run and set them down. They go in for a drink and then venture into the coop for the night.
And while the paths melted and weren't as icy, the birds made to make the pilgrimage to the front door again. I told them they were too late for a flosstube cameo. They seemed disappointed.
While the weather was nice and the snow was disappearing the deer started hanging out in the front yard in the late afternoons.
There's this one deer that I remember from last year. How it is still going and surviving, I don't know, but it is.
Can you see that bad leg?
I see it hobbling and hopping along. It looks so painful. My guess is that it is a doe. No way would it survive a tussle with another buck, I think.
What else ...
This past weekend my hubby and I took advantage of the nicer weather and got back to the wood splitting project.
I split wood for about an hour, maybe. I was worried I was going to be a bit too cold or that I would tired out quickly. Not the case. Then we switched and my hubby started splitting wood and I started tossing wood into the round stack. I tired out pretty quickly. It all goes back to what I've got going on with my body/health right now. Thankfully my son stepped in and helped finished the project.
I recently recorded a flosstube podcast. It had been a while since I last recorded and published one. If you are interested, here it is:
This was just a bit of the mess after recording. If you know, you know. When recording you inevitably make a mess.
I did listen to an audio book over the course of the last couple of months.
"I Cheerfully Refuse" is written by a local-ish author. A fellow flosstuber mentioned reading it. I was all about reading a book that had Lake Superior in the background.
Yesterday while I was in town the fun weather started. Rain. Ish.
Then late afternoon the rain switched to snow. The snow went all night and this morning I woke up to Narnia.
It snowed throughout most of the day. It finally stopped around ... 5 p.m.
The sun came out and this is what everything looked like.
In other news, I started a new project yesterday.
Also, I'm feeling a bit perky right now, which explains the burst of writing. I'm hoping it continues for at least a while.
First garden vlog for the Garden 2025 season. A snapshot of what the garden looks like and what my seedlings look like, so far. I started several seeds back on Feb. 22, 2025 and so many have sprouted!
This year we will be focusing on growing tomatoes and peppers. The garden will contain other veggies, too, but our goal is to put up a lot of sauce and pepper products.
Forgot to mention in the video that a lot of my seeds are from previous years and the tomatoes are showing great germination rates. It's still too early for the pepper seeds. They take longer to germinate.
Seeds started so far are:--Peppers--Jalepenos - 10 storebought / 10 collected from last yearCarolina Reaper - 10 seedsSandia - 10 seedsHatch Green - 10 seedsDynamite - 10 seedsCelery - 20 seedsColeus - 25 - seeds
Thai - 20 seedsHabanero - 10 seeds
Big Jim - 10 seedsTrinidad - 5 seedsShishito - 5 seedsSweet Banana - 5 seedsBell Pepper - 5 seedsOregano - 5 seedsThyme - 5 seeds Sage - 5 seedsRosemary - 5 seeds Chamomile - 5 seedsLemon Balm - 5 seeds Lavender - 5 seeds--Tomato--San Marzo - 13 seedsTiny Time - 7 seeds - Roma - 40 seedsSandwich Slicer - 20 seedsCloudy Day - 20 seedsRoma VF - 20 seedsPlum Regal F1 - 20 seeds - We ordered these seeds after viewing a Minnesota gardener talk about what seeds she was starting this year. Super Sauce Hybrid - 20 seeds Early treat - 20 seeds Delicious Tomato - 20 seeds
Stitching for myself. I know it is going to take years. Story about Porkie is here. The follow up post is here. The story is towards the end of the post. Scroll down.
Previous update
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Project name: Mother's Garden
Started: Jan. 1, 2025
Finished:
Designer/Source: Blackbird Designs; given to me as a gift from my SIL.
