Random Repairs: Garage Door Weather Seal Edition

This is what my view was for about 30 minutes straight last night:

I went cross-eyed several times.
And my right knee fell asleep. It was not comfortable.

Strawberry Bed: Revisited & Revised

Remember back in May, when I made this for the strawberry plants that my students had planted (then abandoned when school ended) in the spring of 2013?

little strawberry plants, all tucked in - they're practically lonely with all that space

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We're in the midst of the annual September Ski Camps here at school. The Nordies are across the pond in Italy. The Alpine crew is down in Chile for some spring skiing. I went along to Chile as a studyhall proctor and injured-kid wrangler a couple of years ago. While it was a great experience - you can't beat skiing in the Andes above treeline - spending 15 or so days "landlocked" at a resort that is shutting down for the summer and that is a 2 hour bus ride from Santiago wears on you.

I certainly wouldn't turn the trip down again (hello, skiing in South America?!), but there's something appealing about staying home and having a quick break before the craziness sets in. And yes, it pretty much sets in from the moment the students all get back and doesn't let up until graduation in June. This year it was extra crazy as the Chile trip happened unexpectedly early (as in, the trip was moved up a week or so as we started the year. . . we spent the first week of school not knowing when they would actually head down!). The plus side is that we get an "extra" week in the fall before the November Colorado trip happens. The minus side is that I actually had the semester planned out before school started and the early departure threw a wrench in those plans. That's what I get for being prepared for the year! It's nothing I can't adjust for, but annoying nonetheless.

ONE YEAR!

So technically the official year-iversary isn't until mid-October (when the paperwork FINALLY went through and I actually owned the place), but it's been one year of living here. It seems kind of crazy, and I still can't always believe myself when I tell someone I own my own home (who does that??), but it's exciting to know I've made it this far, and when I look at the mortgage bill every month the balance seems to be a little bit less.

then. . .

New Shelves! The Backroom/Man(less)cave edition

The backroom/man(less)cave has become a catchall for storage bins, paint storage, recycling center, pet feeding zone, yard-sale pile, and general miscellany collection area. There is some semblance of organization, but nothing substantial. Basically, just zones where things that are kind of similar in theme are generally placed. The biggest issue has been the stacks of bins and tubs against the back wall. I've been stacking them a two or three high, but they've started to inch their way forward into the rest of the room. Add a bunch of stuff my sister has begun moving in ahead of her move and it was finally time to do something about the space.

this place is a little out of control. . . good thing I don't actually want to get
anything out of those tubs right now!

Kitchen/Dinning Area Update

I have a minor obsession with vintage Pyrex and have slowly been acquiring random pieces over the years. I definitely use some of them, especially at the holidays or when going to potlucks, but quite a few have been tucked away in cupboards, unused and unseen. I love the patterns and have been debating adding a shelf to the kitchen/dinning area to display the pieces.

Earlier this summer I grabbed a board from the collection of wood left in my dad's barn. It's a 1 x 8, about 6 1/2 ft long. The brackets are 6 inches on the short side, 8 on the long side. The board was primed already, and I wanted it to match the rest of the space so I added a few coats of the cupboard and trim paint. The board was sitting in the garage for a few weeks until I finally got motivated Friday night and Saturday morning. On Friday night I initially hung the brackets too high, so Saturday morning I started over. A little measuring, leveling, and drilling, and the shelf is up!

This & That: Catching up and Making plans

still getting strawberries!

It's been a busy month; I've been working most days, had a friend visit for a weekend mid-month, and just this weekend attended a wedding of a friend/coworker. It's a rain day from work (like a snow day, but for gardener's in the summer), so I'm trying to motivate to get some things done, or at least organized. I haven't been very crafty lately - it's hard with the weather being so nice, and there being plenty to do in the yard (lots of free plants from work!), and the loooong list of house things I should/want to be doing. At the very least, here's a little update of craft & house projects I have been working on (or plan to be!).

Hanging Out

This:

thank you REI dividend!

The Veggie Garden Update & Flower Beds Tour

Nearly two weeks later, and the veggie garden is coming along. Almost everything is starting to come up, although I replanted some cuke seeds, added some pea and bean seeds, and the spinach. The cukes, peas, and beans are new seeds this year whereas the spinach are a few years old. One hill of beans are coming up and about half the peas are, so it's not a big deal if the other respective halves don't make it. I can always find greens at the Farmer's Market, so I'm not so worried about that seed stock, either. The carrot seeds seem to have migrated between the rows, so I might add more of that in the next few days, too. I've added some onions, leeks, a pot of mint (absconded from an out-of-control patch at a gardening job), and as of this weekend, sweet basil and nasturtium. I also put down burlap bags over the garden cloth, they were free, which beats buying wood chips! All-in-all, everything is pretty happy so far!

Fashionably Late to the (Veggie Garden) Party

I've been meaning to get a couple of veggie beds in for a while now. I even staked one of the plots out when I set up my strawberry bed. Now that we're past Memorial Day, when it's generally safe to plant, I have been feeling more motivated. And then I went and bought these the other day, which obviously need a home:

seeds!

So after several weeks of staring at the front lawn, and twice mowing the area I'd selected, I decided it was time to commit. My neighbor had offered to come over with his tractor and tiller attachment, but we never seemed to have the same 10 minutes available. Another friend offered the use of their small garden tiller, so on Wednesday I finally went to pick it up. On Thursday evening I did a quick go-round to scratch up the grass on the surface (and make sure that I could get the tiller to work).