Spring has sprung. Time to get in the greenhouse.

Wednesday... already and the second day of spring!  Great weekend seeing the musical Hamilton and having our Eggstravaganza party, yesterday was Grandma Day. We  watched and crafted Paddington  Bear ... today it is back to work on the homestead. 

We have a dozen hens and are getting eleven eggs a day.  We butchered the roosters at the beginning of winter. It produced a calmness in the hen yard.  The girls are all happy, humming as they lay eggs. 

I washed the eggs , made breakfast and emptied the dishwasher. The goals for the morning before heading to work were greenhouse, card wool and spend time with the dog. 

Greenhouse ... with a beautiful spring morning sky. 

Ugh, what a mess.  Well, simply dig in and begin, right? I turned on the timer for an hour so I would have time for at least the wool later. 

A mess every where. 

Something or someone even got into this bag of seeds. 

I got to work. Norman, the dog, played outside the greenhouse while I cleaned. I did get some cleaning done.  Tomorrow I can find the warming mats, containers and decide what seeds I want to plant. 

And clear out the beds to get them prepared. 

What I am reading. 

Next, I was able to card some of my wool.  I love to card wool. 

This is Wilbur's wool. 

This is some alpaca I had.  

I put it through a few times. It turned out beautiful.  May spin it this weekend or make wool drier balls. 

Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays are meatless days. I made a lentil salad for lunch. 

Used leftovers from the vegetable platter from the weekend party.

Turned out good with garlic, onions, lemons, olive oil, pepper flakes, and balsamic vinegar. 

It was time to get ready for work. I didn't have time to really spend with the dog.  On my dinner hour I went to the store and got him toys so he would quit stealing pillows and blankets. 

He immediately knew they were for him. 

Norman loves fuchsia colored things!

I'd say someone is very happy. 

Until tomorrow... 

peace

Learning to drop-spin wool and time with kids

I went over to my sister's place today. She is a well known weaver and she was teaching me to use a drop spin wool  today.  But before we got started she served a beautiful vegetarian meal.  She has been a veg-head for as long as I can remember. Let me introduce my sister Kip... well, that's what I have always called her but her name is Aneesha.

Our meal seems to be a coming together of Catholic(me) and Jewish (Kip) faith. She made salad, a crepe potato casserole, and challah with butter.  It was filling and very good.

She lives in a tiny apartment but she proves you can still grow beautiful things in small places.

Then I began my lesson in learning to card and drop spin wool. My goal is to use this knowledge to make clothing and crocheting.  It was not easy and I did not do well. My sister makes it look easy.

It proved challenging for me.  First she had me carding using combs to get all the bits of straw and dirt the llama may have picked up along the way out.

It can be kind of dirty job and I can see why many homesteaders had the children do this job.

Time to learn to spin.

  I am a visual person and this is a skill of touch.

Well, I need a lot of practice and in the meantime let me share some of her work...

She is always inspiring and it is always fun to learn at her magical tiny cottage. I will occasionally post more of her weavings. For now I will practice, practice, practice.

Next up...Grandkids!  I spotted some large dandelions that had gone to seed and couldn't wait to show the kids that we can paint them!

They turned out magnificent.

After the paint dries give them another spray but this time with hairspray. This will keep them from falling apart.

Then..... I need bird houses for all the little birds that have been coming to our homestead. I want a lot but we started out with two.

Then we added a bit of magic with some wonderful thinking caps.

Later the kids had an idea they were excited to show me.  Something that explode! They got this idea from day camp.

Take a mason jar, fill with 1/2 cup water, some food coloring, at a squirt of liquid dish soap, about a 1/4 of a cup of baking soda then stand back and add white vinegar! BOMB!  FUN!

It's was really hot and good to not be outside roasting in the gardens. Dude even napped and had ice cream!  yay!

Time for an herbal bath and movie.

Tomorrow ...mass and canning fun.

peace, health and happiness