Powell Cottage

Super Bowl Sunday

2011-02-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl Sunday stopped meaning much to me when Troy Aikman retired, but this year it completely left my radar. In fact I thought that the playoffs were the Super Bowl. I knew there was an important game happening that weekend and it was the end of January. Isn't that when they always played the Super Bowl? I owe my lack of awareness to my lack of a TV.

When the new digital requirements came in for TVs I was at my financial low. I have never had cable, but I wasn't even addicted enough to television to bother and try to find the money for the $45 digital kit. I just turned them off and spent more time at the library and more time listening to audiobooks from the library and watching youtube and listening to podcasts. Let's be honest if there was anything that I really wanted to watch I could see it online anyway. So, all in all, it's been a really good thing. I still have a TV tho' that has my VCR and DVD hooked up to it for movies. "VCR", you say. Yes! VCR. I still watch tapes I really like.

But no TV online or otherwise today. Today I planted my first seeds for the 2011 garden year. I planted a few yellow pear tomatoes, a few cherry tomatoes, a few peach tomatoes, a bunch of spinach, some chard, some dill and some fennel. I also planted two blue berry bushes in large containers, and 5 containers of strawberries (two late season, and 3 midseason).

I also listened to a lot of podcasts about beekeeping. I am so interested in beekeeping, but it just hasn't made it to the top 5 list of things to do in this garden year. Of course things could change! One nevers knows. The top 5 for this gardening year are: 1) fix the greenhouse construction and cover with appropriate plastic that will last, 2) constructing an outdoor shower, 3) getting angora rabbits (manure makes this a garden project), 4) making a solar oven, and 5) including my front yard bed in food production.

We had a cold week this week, but it's back to reasonable football weather in time for the big game.

The photo above was the view of my backyard on Saturday. Cold but beautiful here at Powell Cottage.

It's that time again; time to stop playing Farmville & get to Farming

2011-01-27T21:25:00.000-08:00

Truth is in Texas you never really have to stop farming, and I haven't really. Early January is just not a very busy time. Now's the beginning of the 2011 season and my peas are in the ground. I have just spent the day moving and organizing all the plants in my den/greenhouse to make room so that I may get to the shelves that my seedlings will be placed on to receive the maximum amount of light. To be honest my Spring juices are beginning to flow. They always do this time of year. To start off I need to figure out what needs to be started indoors and so even tho' I have loads of books on the subject; to the web I go.

I remembered seeing something in all of my blog reading about a good tool that was on-line, so off I go to look back at all of my starred postings. It pops up on Henbogle a great blog that I follow with a really terrific new snow filled banner picture. Here I am directed to Johnny's Selected Seeds where I enter my estimated last frost date and "Voila!" my planning is done for me. I copied my calculated info and pasted it into Excel, and it worked no editing required.

It made me wonder what other tools are out there. It also made me wonder if a really good urban farmer already has this stuff memorized. Something to work on I guess.

As it turns out I got quite alot of hits on my "Vegetable Garden Planning". Better Homes and Gardens was at the top of the list, but I don't think that Vegetable gardening is what BHG had in mind. Their garden planner was more about shape and design than about "what and when" like I had in mind. Their was another "advert" site at the top of the hit list called Grow Veg at growveg.com, but I am not willing to pay to find out. Could be great tho'. Let me know if you try it and think it's the bees knees.

I have found though a terrific garden planner that encompasses both timing and physical design. Check our Mother Earth News' garden planner. It is terrific and has video instructions. Really great!

In the photos there you can see my Artichoke. First in the Summer and now in the Winter inside the tubular tent that I made it of plastic, chicken wire, 2 bales of hay on the outside that you can't see and when necessary a couple of blankets. I have a soft spot in my heart for this Artichoke and I will do everything I can to get it thru to the next growing season and then on to even better things!

25 Things that I do to live more Sustainably

2011-01-17T20:04:00.000-08:00

1. Have a garden: Okay, I do this because I like to and it just happens to allow me to live more sustainably.

2. Have chickens, also because I like them, but still free eggs and manure a great combination.

3. Raise rabbits for wool, not doing this yet, but it is sooo in the plan for this year.

4. Compost, there is just some thing special about that bottom 6 inches that makes composting addicting as well as green.

5. Harvest rainwater: the more I collect, the more I want to collect. It's always good know that no matter what catastrophe hits I will not be dead in three days from thirst.

6. Drive a small car, and looking forward to a small e-car in the future.

7. Conserve on my use of electricity, I feel bad as I write this because there are two lamps on when not even one is necessary, but only two lamps, one alarm clock and a refridgerator, not bad for a suburban home. Oh, yea, and the computer...it has a battery, but it's on the grid as I type.

8. Only heat the rooms I use, I have lived for the past 3 years using my gas fireplace alone for heat. In the winter I pare down the rooms I use and keep the doors shut and the drafts blocked and it has been amazingly comfortable. Especially when I dress like it is winter.

9. Insulate my windows with bubblewrap, I did this in my bedroom this year. I know sounds crazy, but it really has worked. Also, I hear the plasticky sort of sound occasionally and I know it is a breeze of some sort that my plastic wraped windows have blocked, so that's good. Also, my roman shades are made of a relatively sheer white cotton so the sunlight still filters thru while the bubbles are hidden.

10. Use both my front and back yards for crops, this one is basically a front yard thing. I have Artichoke, Comfrey, Thyme and Rosemary growing in the front yard. This spring I think I will add some purple kale (real kale, not the decorative stuff), and some swiss chard.

11. Save my pee and use it as fertilizer and compost jump starter. I also do the "if it's yellow it's mellow" thing with the toilet, but I learned last year what a good source of nitrogen pee is and I have used it and it works.

12. Grow perennial veggies, okay, yea, this is just an extension of gardening, but perennials feel so different, sort of like undeserved bounty. I have figs, pears, peaches, blackberries, persimmons, asparagus, eggplant and peppers. Yes! I said "eggplant and peppers". They are perennials and I have them in pots that come indoors in the winter. I have 3 kinds of peppers with fruit on them in the den right now. Oh, and one eggplant ripening.

13. Keep a wormery, another thing that is so low maintenance for the benefit. My black tower comes in during the winter and other than putting my food waste and some shredded newspaper in it every week I do very little and reap very beneficial worm poop!

14. Use CFL bulbs, boring but true.

15. Have an outdoor shower - my building project for this summer. I can't wait to get this going. Showering outdoors after working in the yard all day - HEAVEN!

16. Buy food locally, well, at least as a first choice, and I am trying to eat more and more within the season. That actually makes all of the season's meals more special.

17. Eat less meat, especially beef...wish I could live without beef, but every once in a while I just have to have a hamburger.

18. Use rechargeable batteries. I bought a solar recharger on Ebay and it works great and it wasn't very expensive. The batteries are more expensive obviously, but hey they are rechargeable!

19. Use solar lamps. I bought a solar lamp from Ikea last week, I wrote about it in an earlier post. I brought it home and we haven't had a sunny day since! So even tho' I saw the one at the store working, I haven't seen mine work yet, I will report back later.

20. Use a solar oven, don't have one yet but this is one of this year's plans.

21. Use water bottles as a heat sink, I have 2gal water bottles stacked 2 high lined up along my 9ft southern facing window sills in both the den and the dining room. In the dining room they are mostly hidden and in the den they were hidden, but since I turned the den into a greenhouse they are more exposed. They help moderate temperature changes between day and night.

22. Recycle - my city has just started accepting ALL plastic for recycling. It is amazingly easy to recycle when you don't have to filter it yourself. I am very happy about this.

23. Reuse. I love old stuff, so I am lucky, reusing is my thing. I have a door stop that was my grandmother's actual iron IRON, if you know what I mean. My utensil holder by the stove is one of her butter crocks. Most ... in fact, all but one of the chairs in my house were inherited, as are the two beds, and most of the tables. My house was built in 1948. I feel most comfortable surrounded by things that are already broken in. Exception to this rule: Toothbrush. That's just something that you really want to break in yourself.

24. Wear appropriate and adequate clothing. Wearing a soft scarf around my neck indoors on a really chilly evening does not bother me at all. If I didn't want seasons I could move to California.

25. Dry my clothes on the line. I a not a radical about this either. There was no sun this week and fog & drizzle to boot. The load of laundry went in the dryer, but that is the rare exception. As well as my lines outside, I have lines set up over the bathtub that get used during all weather.

If you are out there and I hope you are, tell me about the things that you do to live sustainably.

My New Hero

2011-01-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

Novella Carpenter is my new hero. An educated, articulate, and slightly irreverent urban farmer. Okay, so I am a little slow getting to her book Farm City. I have to wait for books to get to the library so give me a break. I had seen Novella Carpenter on Chow.com at YouTube, so both her name and her picture on the back of the book were familiar to me and let me know that I would probably like this book and I did.

There is something so 'taken for grated' about the way she chose to move to a scary part of Oakland, her neighborhood was nicknamed "Ghost Town" and squat garden on the vacant lot next door. She makes it all seem so natural. Her great respect for her animals on the other hand makes her point of view very special. I don't know that I will ever be able to dispatch the animals that I eat, but I have to admire her for her ability to do it and to it with such decency.

Novella steps so easily into the new situations that she finds herself in, like suddenly becoming the student of a talented chef to learn his craft to make the most of her pig's meat, is inspiring. As an independent person I often take steps that I don't actually consider adventurous or risky, at least other less independent friends tell me that I do. Now tho' my horizons have been stretched even further by another who seems to take her boldness in stride.

Being late to the Farm City fame tho' does have some good points. I believe there is another book in the works and I won't have to wait as long to read it as those who found Novella Carpenter early on. Between now and then there is her blog Ghost Town Farm.

2011 -- It's going to be a very good year!

2011-01-01T19:34:00.000-08:00

Last year's number one goal having been accomplished (finding a new and full time job) made the assignment of choosing this year's list of focus items much more enjoyable!

I love my new job and after quick look at Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs, I understand why everything and I mean everything seems better in my life.

No. 1 on the list of needs is of course air/food/water/shelter. I had all of these things but each was in jeopardy until I found a full time job and a real salary.

No. 2 is protection from the elements/security/stability: My house keeps me out of the elements, but I was in fear of loosing my house and that did a number on the security and stability.

No. 3 is Belongingness: workgroup, family, relationships -- this one is kind of funny, because had I not been in such dire straights for the last 12 months I don't think I would have appreciated the friends and family relationships that I have. There were many times when I had to go begging (literally and figuratively) and always, ALWAYS my friends and family not only came to my rescue, but made me feel good about myself with words of encouragement and understanding, and they continually reminded me that this was a situational problem and not 'who I was'.

At the same time I found a work family that has made me feel very at home and valuable, needed and respected. These things are No. 4 on the list: Esteem -- mastery/independence/status.

No.5 is Self Actualization. This item consists of realizing personal potential, self fulfillment, personal growth and peak experiences. I am living in a house that I love, working in a job that I am excited about and trying everyday for self fulfillment and personal growth. This blog is one of my ways of doing this. Peak experiences tho'...I am not sure what those are, maybe my peak experiences just aren't those usually associated with the word peak. I don't want to climb Mount Everest or land on the moon. For me I guess a 'peak experience' is sitting in a warm living room, after a day of working in the garden, and walking the dogs, having eaten a nice meal typing in my blog.

Items for Focus this Year are:

1. Improve my fiscal security.
2. Improve my health.
3. Continue to work on my Healthcare Software Analyst Certification
4. Increase and improve my food production.
5. Improve my water reclamation system and my water conservation methods.
6. Begin to raise Angora Rabbits.
7. Continue to clear out the clutter and take on small interior improvements.
8. Experiment on a small scale with solar power.
9. Blog regularly and enthusiatically.
10. Learn, learn, learn.

I am feeling pretty Peaky here at Powell Cottage, Happy New Year!

I've been gone, but good things have happened.

2010-10-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

Below are my list of goals from December 2009. I happy to be able to report good news on many of them.

1. Find a new permanent job. DONE! I have a new exciting job working in a new and exciting place, and doing new and exciting work. I am very, very grateful and happy!

2. Increase and improve my food production. I have increased my food production, but not nearly enough!

3. Find ways to make money at home. Haven't worked on this so much, been too busy getting/learning the new job. I have begun fighting varmints in a big way and will continue to improve on my methods more here later.

4. Improve water reclamation system. I have done very little to improve this, but I have still had a really good return on the work I had previously done. I have used very little city water this year even though it was a hot summer. The water that I have collected has worked very well for me.

5. Learn a great deal more about solar power and ways to use it. Still working this, and still determined. I have noticed a small 12v collector in an ad for outdoorsman apparel, I haven't checked into this yet, but it is on the list of things to do. IKEA has a solar lamp (see above) that I am going to buy as soon as I have received my first full paycheck!

6. Increase my knowledge of webpages and their administration. I have a new website to take care of at work. Yeah! My earlier learning has come in very handy.

7. Have a party. Not for a while.

8. Clear out significantly more clutter. Have done so, am continuing to do so, and I am amazed at how much there is. I intended to clean out my bedroom closet this weekend. I use the past tense because I haven't completed the job. One old fashioned, non-walkin closet, filled my bedroom with stuff. Most of which has found a new more appropriate home and some of which has hit the trash, but there is still a little more to go before I can consider that complete. Unbelievable how much can come out of one closet.

9. Convert the dining room into the office and the den into seed production and breakfast area. This goal has completely changed. As I think I have mentioned earlier, I built a green house for my plants last year. I did not fully complete that goal because I could not afford the plastic for the walls and I just used plastic sheeting that is often used for painting drop cloths. It worked, sort of, but it wasn't expected to last and it hasn't. Meanwhile, I have decided to downsize. Downsize! you say! Yes, I am down sizing within my own home. I have determined that I do not need two living areas. My den was my living room and my living room was my just for company room. Well, not any more. My den has a concrete floor, while the rest of my house is pier and beam. My den has access to the front yard, the back yard, the garage and the kitchen, AND has two 6ft by 9ft windows in it. The curtains have been removed, shelved have been put in place and my den is now my greenhouse. My second bedroom will continue it's roll as large closet and storage area. I will be using the rest of my house as a small apartment within a small house. I have already converted my dining room into a second seating area and I moved my computer into the bedroom. The space left outside where the greenhouse was will become another growing bed. So far it's all good. As more clutter moves out more options open up.

10. Learn, learn, learn I have begun my Healthcare Software Analyst Certificate training. And, of course there is plenty to learn in my new job, so this goal is covered!

Well that's all from Powell Cottage for today!

Okay, a little more about me. Augh!

2010-03-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

Now that I have two blogs. I guess I am going to consider this blog my more personal blog and Ideas on Living as my more public blog. What that means...I have no idea.   But onward ~

I have another idea for my garden, my financial picture and my food production for this year. No new stuff, other than maybe seeds if necessary. I am going to try to grow my garden using only things that I already have, that I find, or that I may be given. For example, I found a package of 4"x4" square netting about 6' long and 4' wide in my garden shed. Still in the package. I decided last year that it would have been nice to have larger openings in my netting for my peas and beans because the 1"x1" netting that I was using made it very difficult to get the peas/beans that grew inside the V.  With this new size netting I will at least be able to put my hand in one side of the V through to the middle for easier access.

Yesterday beautiful, 74 degrees and sunny I worked in the garden preparing a bed for something I am not sure what yet???   Bad planning I know, but I will get there. It could be my new tomato bed or squash and cuke bed. We'll see.

My electricity bill has lowered significantly this last couple of months, and I think that it is truly due to my conservation. Believe it or not! I have been more vigilant about turning off lights when I leave rooms, and making sure that everything that can be is turned off. Such as, the computer, the printer, the speakers...etc. I have unplugged the TVs since I only use one of them for DVD/VCR watching and I can warm it back up on my own time when I choose to watch a movie or something...which is rare.

I am a bit ashamed of my wastefulness in the past. I don't think I even thought of myself as wasteful until I saw the drop in my bill. I look at rooms now before I leave the house to see if anything is on...anything. In fact as I sit here writing I am thinking about my microwave...(and you wonder why my writing is so disjointed--you should see my brain). I am going to look for a surge protector or something similar that will allow me to turn of my toaster oven and my microwave after use. I don't need a microwave clock, it's never on the right time anyway. :o)

As I look down the rest of my list I see that this was not a very productive week except for getting the new blog up I haven't accomplished much else. Under achieving this week here at Powell Cottage.

Progress has occurred!

2010-03-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I have been working on a new project for making money and expressing myself. It's another blog that I am going to partner with a friend on. I finally got it up last night. I am proud of it because I used alot of new knowledge to put it together. I have been reading Google Blogger for Dummies, I do not love a title that insults me upon reading it, but as it turns and out it is a pretty good resource and all the library had to offer.

I will use some of this new knowledge on this blog as well, so look for changes soon. On the progress front: I had a second interview for the position I am trying to land and it went very well. No blathering this time. Thank goodness.

As far as food production goes I have tons of seedlings sprouting, this weekend after I do the taxes, I will spend alot of time getting the seedlings set up in the greenhouse and getting more planted.

Moneymaking, well hopefully the new blog will help and I am thinking that a garage sale if imminent.

Nothing has happened on the water reclamation front, but if I get a real job then that is a basic priority. Meanwhile fixing the leak in the toilet will have to be my water reclamation project...I think I can afford that.

Solar power -- does opening the curtains count. Less gas heat is used! It's the best I can do this week. I have seen a magazine that I am interested in called HomePower, I think. I don't see it on Amazon, but I have seen it on the web somewhere and I think I even saw a copy at the library. The more I keep this kind of thing in front of my face the more progress I make on it.

Webmastering...absolutely!

Party...not for a long time to come.

Decluttering - nothing so far this week, but this weekend!!!

Dining Room / Den conversion...we'll see.

Learn, learn....that's what I am trying to do here at Powell Cottage. Hope you are too!

Progress, never as fast as you want it to be.

2010-02-23T17:28:00.000-08:00

Hello, from gloriously snowfilled Dallas. Not today tho', the snow passed us today. It has been a beautiful. We had our first white Christmas in years and years and then we had a record snowfall in February. I can't complain, it feels like winter...some winters down here don't.

Reporting on my list of things to do/improve on in 2010.

1. Job search - I had a job interview, the person was very nice, I feel like I blathered all the way through it tho' so... I will be disappointed if I don't get it, but not surprised. Ugh! The longer it takes to get a job the more nervous I seem to be in the interviews that I do get. Gad!

2. Food production - well even tho' we are having a real winter this year, I sat on the floor, with seed starter, seeds, a permanant marker and small plastic cups AND started planting. I have lots of south facing windows. And even tho the snow on the greenhouse roof fell off onto my hot beds and broke all the glass I will not demur. I will plant my seedlings inside this cold winter and replace the real glass on my hotbeds with plexiglass (better for hail storms - which we have many more of than blizzards).

Lots of things have sprouted: chard, lettuce, collards, broccoli and brussel sprouts!

3. Water reclamation...who knew that I would want to shovel snow to reclaim the water, I didn't but I should have :o)

4. Solar power, except for sprouting seeds I have done nothing in that arena. I have no excuse except cold and laziness...but when I am lazy because it is cold outside I do get a lot of knitting done.

5. Webmastering - So far so good. I have been able to do everything on my clubs website that I have been taught how to do plus some!

6. Party -- this one is a long way off.

7. Decluttering - funny about this one, I seem to have slowed down, but I have definitely not stopped. I think cold weather and gray skies just slows me down in general, because the other day when the sun came out I perked right up and got a lot done. I spent this weekend working on the kitchen as priority and I would say that I am only about 1/3 through. I feel motivated tho'. I really have plenty of space space as I declutter I keep finding more. I just have to get it organized in a way that I think I can consistantly keep up with.

8. Dining and Den conversion...this is still in the thinking stage and it will probably stay that way until I see how this summer goes. If I find that I would rather be on my computer in the dining room this summer than in the den I will move forward. Probable will, but you never know what other bright ideas I might come up with!

9. Making money at home - I have been discussing another blog to partner with a friend of mine on. She has just figured out exactly what I am talking about and is considering it. I might go it alone if I think it is a worthwhile idea. Maybe I can make money that way.

10. Learn, learn, learn! I am feeling behind on this one. I ususally am learning stuff all the time, but the last few days I have been low on that score. I think that I will go to Google Reader and read others blogs, just to see what I can learn!

It's not snowing here today, but I hope that you enjoy the snow pictures from Powell Cottage!

Spring is about to POP!

2010-02-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

We should be awash in yellow blooms soon, here at Powell Cottage

The pond should be frozen again this time tomorrow~

2010-01-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

Our email system is down, so I have a few minutes to write. I started a new knitting project last night. It is a blanket for my brother and his wife. They just redid their den/kitchen so that they are now more of one big room then they already were (sort of). Anyway, I am happy to be into a new project. After my tragic affair with my sweater, of many stitch types, that turned out to be the size for a linebacker with pads on. I have frogged that one and now have a large store of maroon yarn that will make something some day. In my greif I knitted kitchen towels out of pure cotton. It's what I do until I am struck by another must do project. Enter the Harvest Blanket from Bernat, being done with Vanna's Choice solids. It is multicolor/patchwork.

I am trying to fit this blanket into my goals for this year. For which my updates are sadly lacking. Guess I will expound on those below, but as for knitting. It seems like a good indoor sport for a sustainable type such as myself. Another hobby by which I end up with something useful, and that is my goal. Spend my time and my money only on things that are useful! Oh, yeah, or chocolate. Funny how I come to that now! I could have used this kind of inspiration a few years ago, but then progress comes in its own time.

Okay, onto the years goals...what were they again???

Oh yeah,

1. On the job front I have put in several more applications since my last update. I have also communicated with my supervisor at the temporary job that I have now and she says their are things on the horizon for me to apply for. So that's good.

2. I have nearly finished the veggie bed in the front garden. It just needs a little more compost and it will be ready for planting.

3. I have sold a couple of things on eBay this week. Not enough to really brag about though.

4. Nothing on the solar power front.

5. I did get another lesson from my website guru for future website administration.

6. Clutter.....I have cleaned up some things, but I don't think anything new made it out of the house. Maybe that will be a priority this weekend.

7. The switching of the dining room with the den. That is the low man on the priority list, so not even the vaguest thought about it has passed through my mind this week.

Plans for this weekend:

1. Laundry, laundry, laundry ..... ugh!
2. Clean up the bedroom and the bathroom, and then do some laundry.
3. Knit, while doing laundry.
4. Send eBay items to auction winners.
5. Work on DOGC website.
6. Go to the library.
7. Clean up the living room and the den.

Just a great list of stuff for a cold weekend indoors here at Powell Cottage.

10 Things I Like About My Home

2010-01-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

I was reading a post from Melissa @ Inspired Room called 10 Things I Love [about Farmhouse Style]. I decided to post about 10 things I love about my home. It's not a Farmhouse, but it is my suburban home and I feel like celebrating it.

My house in general. I fell in love with it when it had nothing but grass and dark brown trim. I love it more even now.

The stone my house is built out of. The first thing that caught my eye and the best part of the exterior of my home.

My dining room wallpaper. 20yrs old and I still love it and all its color.

My kitched even with its old fake butcherblock formica counter tops I still love it.

My bathroom tile. The '50s weren't kind to many people regarding bathroom tile color, but they were great for me. I love my blue tile.

My mantle was hidden under many things when I came to look at my house for the first time. I was so pleasantly surprised when I moved in and saw how terrific it really was.

My front beds, very new to me and a terrific addition to just plain grass. I am grateful to friends who showed me that a front yard can be more!

Hotbeds, not quite yet finished, but I have high hopes for the increase in production these should add to my garden.

My water reclamation system. Some working and some standing by.

And to finish off these 10 things, cuz there are many others. I love my access to public transportation. That sign post two yards away near the curb is how far I have to go to catch the bus!

Well that's the first 10 of may tens of things that I love here at Powell Cottage!

New Garden on the Horizon

2010-01-19T15:30:00.000-08:00

According to the calendar it is time to plant Carrots, Leeks, Leaf Lettuce, Parsnips, Radishes, Shallots and Spinach here at Powell Cottage. The Leaf Lettuce and maybe even the Spinach will be going in the new veggie bed in the front yard...which means I had better finish it! Carrots, Leeks, and Shallots will go in the bed with the newly planted Onions.

I am going to mow the yards this coming weekend. No, the grass hasn't grown, but the latest set of Red Oak leaves have fallen and I am going to use the mower to cut them to bits before using them as mulch.

I need to put start some seedlings in my hotbeds, too. They aren't too hot right this minute, but they will be soon.

The new greenhouse has been somewhat of a success, but I am still going to have to use the windows to get all my seedlings started. It's mid January and I need to get a move on.

So much to do, so little time here at Powell Cottage.

Peas and plumbing!

2010-01-17T15:30:00.000-08:00

The onions and the peas are in, yeah! It was a beautiful day to plant today and clean up a little bit around the garden. I transferred compost into the new veggie bed out front. It is 5:24p and the sun is still above the horizon so that's a good thing.

Today I read more about an outside shower. I am giving it serious thought. A 5 gallon bucket painted black and a little construction doesn't seem to difficult.

Time for an indoor shower right now tho.

It's sweaty work being an urban farmer here at Powell Cottage.

Worms in the Compost! What could be better?!

2010-01-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

Today, I decided to start using all of the precious chicken manure I have built up in the chicken run to give the new veggie bed a little push. To my surprise there were a load of worms in the most composted area of the run. And in one of the pictures you will see actual worm holes in the chunk of dirt I dug up. Very cool!

Okay, for the working on goals report:

1. I put in about 8 job applications between the middle of last week and the end of the week.
2. To increase my food production...well...it was the coldest week in a while here, so I only got outside just today and the worms will have to do for this goal.
3. Ways to make money at home. Augh! I haven't done a thing....next week!
4. Improve my water reclamation...nothing...not really the right kind of weather for that lately. Unless you consider that I should have saved the water that dripped off my frozen window when the thaw occurred!
5. Solar energy: I have a few books from the library and I requested a Harbor Freight catalog, aaaannnnddd I have going to do more internet research.
6. Increase about my knowledge of webpages I have further training scheduled with my website guru and I did work on the Dallas Organic Garden site and my work was successful which makes me very happy!

All the good here at Powell Cottage.

A couple of pictures of the new bed in progress.

2010-01-04T17:28:00.001-08:00

The results are in.

2010-01-04T05:49:00.001-08:00

The results are in to my new year's beginnings and they are:

1. The frame for the new vegetable bed in the front garden is there tho' not yet held together with anything. and most of the ground is covered by cardboard and hay.

2. I bought 60 small plastic cups for growing seedlings in @ $2.89.

3. I went to Harbor Freight, but now I am going to see if they have a catalog, because they did not have as much solar stuff as I was expecting.

4. I did nothing to switch the den and the dining room, but I was sick all weekend and I am going to use that as my excuse.

5. I did clear out more clutter if you consider trash clutter.

6. I did laundry, but three loads really hasn't made a dent.

Things that I did this weekend that weren't on the list.

1. Reduced the dogs floor space to just the den. No more going into the kitchen unless on their way to the bedroom. What freedom I felt cleaning the kitchen without dogs under feet!

2. I put up the poles to the trellis in the back garden.

3. I cut out this week's coupons.

4. I looked for a book about solar systems (enery, not universes), but didn't find one that satisfied me.

That is it for results here at Powell Cottage.

Okay, 2010 here I come

2009-12-31T21:05:00.000-08:00

It is the 31st of December. Final decisions about what the new year should be focused on have to happen today, in the next 11 hours in fact.

1. Find a new permanent job.
2. Increase and improve my food production.
3. Find ways to make money at home.
4. Improve water reclamation system.
5. Learn a great deal more about solar power and ways to use it.
6. Increase my knowledge of webpages and their administration.
7. Have a party.
8. Clear out significantly more clutter.
9. Convert the dining room into the office and the den into seed production and breakfast area.
10. Learn, learn, learn!

Things to do on this holiday weekend to get the ball rolling.
1. Put the new vegetable bed in the front yard, and fill it with hay and compost.
2. Work out cost and pricing for some of the 'make money at home ideas'.
3. Go to that 'Harbor Freight' store that has all the solar stuff.
4. Move the desk into the dining room and the dining room table into the den.
5. Clear out more clutter.
6. Laundry...more of a weekly resolution, than a yearly one ;o)

It's a little early for resolutions, but...

2009-12-17T07:56:00.000-08:00

I usually refrain from making New Year's Resolutions, but this year they keep coming to mind. I haven't got anything major that I want to change and maybe that is what makes the resolution seem like a reasonable idea. The 'I will lose 50 lbs by March' sort of resolution seemed so fraught with looming failure I never wanted to go there. This year tho' I don't have a huge amount of things and need changing, just improving and improving it natural and part of the forward motion of things.

In the year 2010 I would like to find a permanent job. I have various things that I would like to have in that job, but they are various and do not all have to be met in the same job for me to consider finding a job successful. I am currently doing temp work in a hospital. I have never worked in a hospital before, so I had no idea how much I would like it. The work is important and the importance is brought home to me every time I type the words "oncology" or "labor and delivery". I would like to work nearer my home, but if I end up in a hospital not so near home then at least my need for feeling that my work is important to people is met. I would like to work near my house to allow me more time to work on my self sustainability and if that kind of opportunity comes along then I will meet more of my household goals and that is good, too.

I want to expand my vegetable garden, the plans for this resolution are already in the works. I have priced the wood for my raised beds and for the organic soil that I will need to buy to fill them. I want to improve my green house in a couple of ways. I would like to increase the amount of gravel on the dirt floor, I would like to add more structure for hanging plants over the winter, I have ideas to increase the weatherproofing/heat keeping properties of the structure, I would like to put together additional candle heaters, and finally I would like to build shelves for seedlings. (just a few resolutions for the greenhouse)

Water! I want to increase the rain gutters on my house to add to the water collection that I do for the garden. This includes a gutter along the west exterior to collect in or next to the greenhouse, and a gutter along the south exterior to collect at the southeast corner of the house for the shade garden. There are alot of improvements that can be made to the collection system that I already have around the shed as well. I need to put a leaf blocker over the gutters to prevent the buildup of gunk. The drums that I have need to have spouts connected to them so that I can connect them to a hose.

Chickens! I need to dig out the chicken coop, that is valuable guano and it needs to be placed in the compost pile. I would like to come up with a better way to feed and water the chickens and I think that they are out there I just need to find them. I need to work on weatherproofing the actually coop as well to prevent rain getting in when a serious storm occurs.

The Shed! Man this needs so much work I cannot even imagine it all. Number one is just cleaning it out. I don't even remember what is in there. Then it needs to be reorganized in some way that makes sense. I do not have any idea what that way might be yet.

The Garage! It is coming along, but still needs work. More things need to be removed and then...maybe insulate it a little bit and then put up peg board. Too much to know right now I will wait for inspiration on this one.

The Den! I am constantly re-inventing this room. Right now it is the dogs room, the VCR/DVD room, the Barbie doll room, the knitting room and the seedling room, oh and the office. It must remain the dogs room, and I would like it to remain the seedling room, but every thing else if up for grabs. In fact it would not hurt my feelings to turn the dining room into the office and the dogs room into a breakfast room of sorts. This idea appeals to me. Since I generally watch TV programs on the computer and use the TV to watch DVDs which I actually do from the kitchen or while really sitting on the sofa and concentrating on what I am watching. (This happens very rarely.) This means that the dining room becomes the office and that would require a little redesign for electronics purposes, but it has potential. :0)

I think that there are enough resolutions for the entire year of 2010 at Powell Cottage.

Getting the Stuff Out

2009-12-04T09:04:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night, I went to my den and living room and looked for 5 things from each room to give to the Kidney Foundation Drive. I did find 10 things. I found about 15. This was basically unplanned clearing of stuff that worked better than expected. I do not know where this will lead, but I am very happy about the direction.

The winter months are a little more difficult for me because of my lack of central heat. I am working on baking more which actually keeps the kitchen warmer which in turn keeps it cleaner, cuz I will stay there longer. The bedroom is just fine and the space heater in the den is good and I have the new space heater in the bathroom which is good as well. The closet room feels like a deep freeze, but that's okay with me.

I am working on using my space more effectively. This is very difficult for me for some reason. It goes along with my difficulty of finding a home for everything. Both of these things motivate me to move forward in may getting rid of stuff. My wish is that once a lot of this stuff is gone, homes will spring into view for the remaining items.

I find that I can clean out an area, drawer or pantry and then a few weeks later clean it out again. On the second go round I suddenly see new things that I no longer need. These things were there the first time, but for some reason my subconcious can deal with reducing only so much stuff at a time. It's okay. It's slow going, but it is going and that is for the good.

I went over to help a friend clean up her stuff a few weeks ago. She had gotten to that "can't see the floor" place in her bedroom. We worked for two days and, yes, the carpet was still there. Basically this was a "home for everything" issue, with some junk mail and store receipts thrown in. I was in such empathy with her tho. It seems like life is so full and the time to decide where everything should go is overlooked and then it just snowballs. I do it, I do it all the time. At one point she said that she should be embarrassed by me seeing her mess, but she wasn't (good to have friends like this) and I told her that if she started feeling embarrassed then we could just go to my house and do the same thing in my places where the hurricane hits and she would feel all better.

My 2010 goal will be to remove "places of the hurricane" from my house. I almost have this accomplished, but there are always set backs and I want 2010 to be the year the "set backs" are set back, here at Powell Cottage.

2009-09-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

Today a hawk landed on my dead tree. It was amazing. I was washing dishes and I looked out the window and thought, 'man that is a large bird'. Then I grabbed my binoculars (which I keep by the sink for this very opportunity) and I checked it out. I grabbed my camera and walked slowly towards the already open back door! Snap! I had proof. Now I don't know why this hawk landed in my yard, it was only about 10 feet from the chicken coop, but that is completely enclosed so no fear for the hens. The hawk did jump over to my brush pile and check it out, but mice in the middle of the day - I don't think so. Maybe lizards. It flew away and then came back again. I keep that dead tree for wildlife purposes and it just made my day!

2009-09-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

When I arrived here at Powell Cottage, nearly 20 years ago now, it was late December 1990. The grass was brown the trees were bare, and the stone cottage that I fell in love with was trimmed in a harsh brown against white clapboards and beigy/yellow stone. I knew at once that the dark brown had to go. I spent time picking out the paint colors so that the house would be softer to the eye and not outlined as if in a coloring book for children. I changed the brown to a medium taupe and the white to a light taupe and that was the beginning of my influence at Powell Cottage.

The front yard had only one tree. It was a about 4 feet tall and as it was Winter it was leafless. In the Spring I discovered that it was a Maple. It was on left of center in the yard as you looked at it from the street. I had no preconceived ideas about trees at that time so I thought that I would just let it grow. In the backyard there was one Pecan tree at the center and very back of the yard. It was relative large and the only large tree on the entire 1/4 acre. There were several old and spindly peach trees scattered about the yard, but they wouldn't last much longer so I didn't give them much thought.

Twenty years later I look back at it and I do not know when each change took place. It is an organic process in every way. I would always be an organic gardener and the creation of the gardens of Powell Cottage would be organic as well. I was moving towards sustainability, maybe even permaculture back then and I had not even heard the terms. When left to our own devices I believe that most of us will move in that direction. You might even call it laziness. The natural happens. If you could find a way to take care of yourself and your family without needing to keep up in a capitalist society then I think that the ways to do that naturally are in fact the easiest. As I sit here the back door is open I have one ceiling fan whirling above me imitating the outdoor breeze. I am easily more comfortable than when I am in the same temperature brought about by air conditioning or heating.

Back to the Maple tree. I let it grow for a year or two longer. It never seemed to get any larger. Then one evening I got a wild hair and decided to move it to the back yard. Now, I cannot remember what made me do this. I worked for a very long time digging the hole around the tree deep enough to encompass the roots as best I could. I remember that it was dark when I finally pulled it from the hole leaving some roots behind and I recall. It was dark and I truly don't remember how I stored it for the night, but I did plant it the next day in the back yard and now it is over 15 feet high.

That tree if over 15 feet tall now, and even after all of that trouble, this tree will be coming down soon. As my Pecan tree continued to grow and two of the neighbors Oak trees have grown as well the Maple is scrawny and branches out in a weird distortion of Maple growth just to get to the sun. That was however my first foray into transplanting success. Moving that tree less than 100 feet changed something and it began to grow at a much quicker rate.

That first transplanting success is one of the things that keeps me going here at Powell Cottage.

And The Fun Begins!

2009-05-08T05:37:00.000-07:00

May 7, 2009
Okay -- Inspired by simple mom 's Spring Cleaning Party I am going to join in with some caveats. I work full time so my spring cleaning will be spread over weekend days. I will post before and after pictures even tho' the "befores" will humiliate me. It's tough for me on the cleaning and organizing front, as I have stated before.

One of the concepts that I have a problem with is the "everything should have a home" concept. It's not that I don't believe in it, nor is is that I don't agree with it. It's that it has taken me at least 4 books on organizing and many websites worth of reading and podcasts worth of listening to even hear the term OUTLOUD in my head (if you know what I mean). One day very recently I said to myself --- OH! Wait! You don't just mean what room should it go in or how do I sue this item, but in what actual drawer or on what actual shelf does this particular item should this item always be found and returned to! A place that if I went so far as to print a label and stick it to that particular spot, in six months not only would I probably find the item there, but I would still agree that it belongs in that chosen location. Ooooohhhh!

CONCEPT HEARD AND FINALLY RECEIVED!

This has opened up some thoughts for me. The decluttering has been working somewhat, but the step further to determining -- why what is left is where it is and should it be there -- is a much bigger deal. I have just started working on that part of the picture and man I have a lot of work to do along those lines. A lot of thoughts to process, first I have got to clear out spaces in my brain for all of the "no kidding" comments that I am anticipating to be stored. Augh!

A Little Success

2009-04-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

ORGANIC GARDENING - ANIMALS - BEES - WORMS - WATER - WILDLIFE - KNITTING - FRUGALITY - LOW CARBON FOOTPRINT - LEARNING

My garden is going very well. I planted 3 kinds of peas: English, Snap and Snow. All of them are producing excellently. I planted them in early January even tho' all the information I read said to plant them on Feb 1st. I am glad I was too impatient to wait.

My tomato seeds -- all heritage -- also have done really well. I have 18 tomato plants in the ground. 16 of which I grew from seeds. The other two I bought at the March Dallas Organic Garden Club meeting.

My tomato varieties are as follows: Russion Black Krim (from the DOGC mtg), Beefsteak, Yellow Pear, Sweetie Cherry, and Brandywine. All are doing great. In fact last night I got the soaker hose in place, so all that is left is for me to feed them -- then they can feed me.

My Brussel Sprouts look suspiciously like 2 - Brussel Sprouts and 2 - others (?), to early to tell for sure, but I am thinking maybe brocoli or cauliflower. Lettuce is going great as are my potatoes. My potato tower is 3ft high now.

I got two new chicks. They are Heidi and Helen. Heidi is a Buff Orpington and Helen is a Silver Laced-Winged Wyandotte. The are nearly completely feathered now and have been making daily treks (on the weekends) out to the yard. I have them in a pen so that the other three: Hester, Hilda, and Hazel can get used to them.

The worms are doing fine, but wormeries are a little slower going than I had realized. Other than a few ounces of worm tea, the wormery still hasn't earned it's keep, but I have high hopes. And, the worm tea did go on the peas which are doing great soooo.....

I have decided against rabbits. Rabbit poo that could immediately go into the garden would be great, but I have old chicken poo to use in it's stead. They are not necessary and would be an added expense so frugality wins.

The swimming pool for the duckweed is cancelled for the time being. I haven't quite figured out the right spot for it.

Guppies are needed for the pond and a new air pump. Sounds like an expense for a future paycheck.

No knitting going on -- it's gardening time!

Cutting electricity -- I need to work on this goal. I have just read about a very interesting power strip on sale thru my electric company. It notices when your computer goes to sleep and it turns off your peripherals automatically.

My water bill should improve this year. I have completed the guttering around the garden shed and I currently have 2-30gal drums piped together collecting rain water. This is in addition to the 20gal drum by the front porch. This is just the beginning of the rain catchment system planed for this place and I have already noticed some improvements that I need to make before the entire 6 drum system will be working in unison.

Cooking outdoors -- I've done nothing to further this goal except buy a sun tea jar. It is in my thoughts though and the BBQ already exists so it's really the solar oven than I am pondering. I have done some research. It's a project for the future.

Couponing is a real boon for me! I have cut my spending by 40% I bet, and I have built a bit of a stockpile. I am feeling really good about that.

My short falls are in decluttering and cleaning. I donated two boxes full of items to the church garage sale, but that truly doesn't begin to make a dent. And the cleaning, well...it's still in a desparate state. Obviously I am not giving these aspects of my life improvement enough emphasis - since they are not even in my headline. That will have to change.

I still have a goal of having my garden on the DOGC garden tour in 2010. Hope my house will be clean enough by then so that people can come in a use the bathroom if they need to.

I still panic occasionally about keeping all of the balls in the air, but when I write it all down it looks like I am making some progress here at Powell Cottage.

It's Time for the Fog to Clear

2009-03-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

Assuming that I have 15 years to live, what do I want to do with them? What impact do I want to make, or for that matter not make?

I want to live lightly on this world, but I also want this world to live lightly on me. I don't want the weight of the world to be on my shoulders. I can't carry it. I would happily help someone or many people who are in difficulty carry their weight as well, but that is all. I cannot provide a solution for the world. I can only provide solutions for myself and by example for others.

Enough philosophising! What are my intentions to make this happen - to carry my own weight. Organic gardening, animals with use, bees, water, wildlife, knitting, low environmental impact, frugal living, learning - constant, continual learning.

How am I faring so far? My garden is organic and begun for the year. Most everything started from seed. Organic and frugal! I have 3 chickens about to become 5, eggs and manure make them useful. 2 cats - no use whatsoever, but I am committed to them until they pass. 5 - Cocker Spaniels - no use again, but they are my family and they keep me sane. Worms - working away in their wormery - very useful. Bees! Not here yet but I am determined. There will be bees in my life in the next year or so. Rabbits are next on the list, I am not sure that they are necessary, but they might be fun. :-)

I have a pond in two sections the larger is for the dogs to swim in and the smaller holds the water lily and the pump. I am about to add a small swimming pool to the mix to grow duck weed and provide more water for my backyard habitat. Oh, and guppies would need to be added for mosquito control.

Wildlife is just for fun and entertainment, but necessary!

Knitting is for me and my warmth needs, and for gifts, and for decoration, just general homespun work.

I have already cut out my natural gas for home heating bill, and it wasn't nearly as difficult nor as cold as I thought it would be. Amazingly it also wasn't very expensive. My heating only the portion of the house that I lived in with electric heat didn't raise my electricity bill very much at all.

Next is moving my cooking to outdoors. That will include my BBQ, and definitely a solar oven, but it may also include some other kind of oven. I am not there yet though. If at any point in time I get a new job closer to home that would cut my gasoline consumption, too. My water catchment system is coming along. Last weekend I bought 6 containers to hold the water. This weekend I need to build up the places to raise the containers off the ground and to gutter the house to get the water to the containers. It's a process. :-)

Couponing is a whole new world for me. I knew that this world existed. I just didn't have the knowledge about how to use it. I am gaining that knowledge with the help of the internet and things are looking very promising on that front.

This is part of the learning. I guess that means that I am doing pretty good on carrying my own load, but I don't feel that I am doing very good on being an example. That is the next big area to explore.

Living the full life here at Powell Cottage.

Oh My Goodness Remember This When Canning

2009-03-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

It is about 18 hours since I last threw up. Not a very appetizing beginning I know, but I am writing about it to remind myself about how careful I will need to be when I start canning. I did this to myself, but I think it was the chinese lunch from the day before yesterday that infected me. I am just now able to concentrate long enough to even get on the computer. Yesterday, I just got sick and then slept and got sick and slept from 4am until 10pm. I had one worse experience with food posioning than this one about 10 years ago. I slept on the bathroom floor during that lovely event - for two days. Well, that's all the concentration that I have in me. By the way the new computer is here and it's great! Hope your healthy, from Powell Cottage.

2009-01-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

This weekend was particularly productive at Powell Cottage. I planted peas, and onion sets, and seed potatoes, and tomatoes, and peppers, and beets, and radishes, and spinach, and kale, and brussel sprouts, and lettuces (lots of lettuces) and other things that I can't think of right now. Seeds and sets, all the window sills are full and the onion bed has about 100 onions planted, and the potato tower is started. The shed is cleaned out. Oh, oh, oh and the asparagus is planted. I have high hopes for this asparagus. I have organized a place for the new raised bed by placing loads of large, leftover, plastic pots side by side in the area where the new bed will be. I am thinking that along with a new deck I will build a new trellis as well to shield the sun from my window but not necessarily from the ground so that the ground can still be productive. It's a theory anyway. Also my comfrey root and salsify arrived. I will open them when I go home. January is feeling really good right now! Really Springy!

My house is doing better as well. The den is better, but not great. The kitchen is better, but not great. The living room is not great. The bathroom is not great. The guestroom/closet is not great. And the bedroom is horrible. ...after writing this it doesn't look as if my house is doing better, but unfortunately this assessment is better than it was. Ugh!

My energy level is up. I am attributing it to my better financial status, and my improved outlook. Now it give myself pats on the back for coming up with free ways to do whatever it is that I want to do and I spend time working on what I have already got going on and not thinking up new things to start. This may be the best thing that comes out of hard times.

I also prepared the way for my shed water collection system this weekend. My plan is to gutter the shed and have the water flow into water barrels along the back of the shed. That's the plan anyway.

I seem to have lots of ideas these days. I evaluate them on whether or not they will save me money. No gas heat in the Winter is saving me money I think. The electricity bills will tell, but if heating 2 rooms with a space heater turns out to be cheaper than heating a whole house with gas; that is what I will do from now on.

Becoming self sufficient on my little 1/4 acre is the ultimate goal here at Powell Cottage.

The Narcissis are Blooming!

2009-01-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

And the daffodils are coming up. Spring seems to come so fast after Christmas in Texas. Tonight it is supposed to be 27 degrees outside, so the temperature will seem like Winter, but it should be near 60 on Saturday. As I have said before Winter is a roller coaster ride.

I noticed on the weekend that the violets are coming up in the portion of my 1/4 acre that I consider the natural area. I have many areas in my yards. In back there is the lawn area which gets smaller every year and the shade garden area, and the back corner cover in Vinca Major and marked by my stone wall, then there is the shed, behind the shed not yet identified for use but I am thinking green house, there is the chicken yard/coop, the brush pile, the compost stable, the natural area under the pear trees, the clothes line area, the vegetable garden area which expands every year and the pond. The area near my back door currently has a very small deck but I have dreams of a screened in porch. That pretty much covers the back yard....the front yard is another story-for later.

I have been watching the GardenGirl online now for a few days and I really think she is inspiring. I have going to try to put a link to her on this blog...but it you don't see it then I didn't figure out how. Wishing you a deep Winter's sleep and dreams of Spring from Powell Cottage.

The Peas Are In!

2009-01-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

Today the high was 53 degrees, but planting peas made it seem like just the right temperature. I planted 3 types of peas and I innoculated the seeds and I have actually recorded the types and mapped their location so I might really be able to make a decision about how they do.

Under my hoop house there is lettuce, and parsley, and cilantro, and spinach, and grass and henbit. Ugh!

I put up a potato tower, but my nursery didn't have seed potatoes yet, so it is loaded with a layer and hay, and leafs, and some beautifully aged compost. It ready whenever the seed potatoes arrive.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be warmer than today, but then a strong cold front should be coming thru. North Texas Winters are always a roller coaster ride.

It's always a ride here at Powell Cottage.

Winter is Here

2009-01-11T20:15:00.000-08:00

It has be cold here at Powell Cottage this week. In my part of the world cold means lows near freezing. I bring the chickens in when the cold is near freezing. Yes, my Dad, the farmer, thinks I am nuts, but I only have 3 chickens and I put newspaper down on the washing machine and they roost there quietly all night.

This year I am trying something new at bedtime. I have started using bed curtains and I am amazed at the difference it makes. The house can be much colder than I would have normally accepted and I am all warm and snuggley. Of course, there is the additional heat of up to five dogs inside my bed curtains and they help.

This weekend I will check under my unoffical green house and see how everything is going. We shall see.

I am planning on buying many of my seeds this year from Seed Savers. I want to join and I will as soon as I have the extra few dollars. I am excited about growing heritage vegetables and saving my own seeds for next year. The way I see this is every year I can buy a few new and interesting seeds to try, saving my old seeds from last year, and eventually I will have all the seeds I could ever want and just have to spend money on some new find if and when that occurs. Always thinking of ways to save.

I need to put gutters on my garden shed. My plan is to use rain water to irrigate the small wild patch in the southeast corner of my garden. I might sound like a good spot to grow something, but it is very shaded by a 6 foot fence on the south, and oak tree on the east, and the shed on the west. Mostly is is covered in Vinca Major, a Red Bud tree, and some daffodils in the winter. The Vinca Major looks very scraggledy in the Summer, so rainwater is my answer. Maybe if I collect enough water I could plant some shade loving plants that need more water than we have naturally.

I guess that's all from Powell Cottage today. Cheers!

Today's Report

2008-12-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

Today's forecast was for a Hi of 68 degrees, and Lo of 36 degrees and mostly clear. Tomorrow's forecast is for a Hi of 67 degrees, a Lo of 52 degrees and partly cloudy.
I haven't checked the seeds, but I get home after dark, so that probably won't happen until Saturday.

The New Garden Begins

2008-11-30T15:12:00.000-08:00

No, the new year is not here yet, but today I start to think about my new garden. I have had some luck with my all-of-a-sudden, bet-I-could-make-this-work green house that I threw together. I have marigolds, lettuce, peppers, celery, cilantro, and fennel still growing under it and I through out some spinach, and lettuce seeds today just for fun.

This year tho' it's all about the planning, and I have high hopes.

We had some rain yesterday and lots the day before so everything is moist. I don't believe that we have had a frost yet...if we have it was just some fluke, one time, just barely sort of thing. Today's forecast was for a Hi of 59 degrees, and Lo of 40 degrees and partly cloudy. Tomorrow's forecast is for a Hi of 51 degrees, a Lo of 35 degrees and mostly clear.

My thrown together green house consist of 3 sections of arcs shaped out of hardware cloth and tie wrapped to some kind of black pvc sort of piping that was wrapped in a tight circle to begin with so the arc was sort of natural. The two end sections have a hardward cloth ends so they fit together over my raised bet in sections. The idea about covering them in plastic came to me the first time I thought about a frost and for a few dollars I bought painters drip cloth and covered my entire assembly (twice).

On the knitting front I have socks for my Dad nearly 2/3rds complete with pleanty of time before wrapping. I have also done about 1/4 of my afghan, so that's good.

All animals are healthy and accounted for. I do have plans on adding 2 new chickens to my flock this year. Definite layers are going to be picked from my choices at the Roach Feed Store. I like my Ameraucanas, but I would rather have eggs.

No, this is not a curren picture of my raised bed, but that is just a picture of plastic - boring. Here's something from a couple of months ago. :-)

2008-09-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

Autumn has arrived, on time, which is unusual for this area. I have two tomatoes planted and two serrano peppers blooming and producing. And, my cotton plant is still looking good. I grew a seed on my window sill...trouble is I have no idea what seed it was, so I planted it in the garden bed hoping that it will grow into something recognizable.

I have also started knitting another pair of socks, just straight rib stitch socks with new yarn from the Woolie Ewe. I have only started, because they were ripped back twice yesterday until I came up with a discipline that will stop me from knitting on the wrong sock (I am knitting two on a loop). I have a stitch holder literally pinning the other sock so I can't knit it and when I finish the sock I am on I move the stitch holder to it, thus not allowing me to go back and start in error again. The yarn is a golden sort of khaki. I think I am knitting to a more accurate size this time, so I hope to keep these and not have to send them to the Mavericks to find someone who will fit them.

The flower garden in the front yard is looking pretty good. I have white zinnia's, and salvia, obediant plant and other stuff that I don't remember the names of . . . but now I will make sure and write down the names 'cuz I feel silly not knowing what is already growing in my own garden.

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Items that I can't live without: My computer for obvious reasons, My sewing machine for creative reasons, My TV for occasional reasons, My radio, disk player, and iPod for listening reasons,

Things that I can't stop doing: Gardening...don't know why exactly...it's in my DNA, Knitting - can stop, have stopped, don't want to stop again.

Reading or as I put it in the 21st century, Listening - books on CD keep me going.

And of course working, working is the thing that really keeps me going in many, many ways.

After making this list my needs seem so much smaller, understanding that electricity is a big thing and potable water is a BIG thing.

I am going to evolve my living space to fit into the person who has my can't live without list. You might think haven't you already done that? Isn't that what adults do? And I say, no that isn't what adults do. Adults have to evolve to who they are sans their childhood inputs for...well forever I would guess. Constantly honing who they are from the inside out, working away from who they are from the outside in - the projections of parents, and grandparents, and siblings.

I think that those adjustments might be very subtle, but to make your heart happy the subtleties are important.

Thank God for Dogs and other things . . .

2008-07-10T03:10:00.000-07:00

I suffer from panic attacks. I have ever since I was in my teens for sure, maybe even earlier. I didn't know that is what they were exactly until I was having one and called a friend for support and in my describing why I was calling she said, "It sounds to me like you are having a panic attack." In my head panic attacks were like on TV: lots of emotion, lots of acting out, having to sit down, nearly fainting, or breathing really hard. My panic attacks are very internal and except for a shortness of breath (which is very faint compared to those re-enacted on TV) no one would know it was happening. She said Xanax (sp.) was the answer. My doctor didn't agree, but she prescribed something less addictive, which I appreciate.

The interesting thing is now that I have a name for what happens, and now that I consider is a "thing" and not just overwhelming nebulous feelings taking me over, I can deal with it. Obviously I can take the drugs my doctor prescribed and don't get me wrong: I DO! But, also, I feel the symptoms starting, I identify the feelings as "outside the norm". I can say to myself, "okay this is happening, but you can breath through your nose, don't make any rash statements, take a pill and give yourself 30 minutes to calm down". Sometimes when I am busy I get caught up in the feelings before I get a chance to analyze them. Things seem so out of proportion when this happens, but as soon as a breather comes and I can say "wait, I think I know what's going on" there is a calm (slight, but real) that allows me to deal with the panic, both emotionally, intellectually, physically and chemically. For those of you who don't suffer from panic attacks (which a year ago I would have said was me) it is hard to explain how all of this is going on inside and very little of it is identifiable to the outside world. You might see a dust up with a co-worker as just that when actually something has put that person or yourself in the throngs of a panic attack and the dust up is just a reaction. You or the other person might come across as aggressive or angry or very confident, when in actuality you or the other might be dealing with some very strong internal emotions that are making the reaction seem like this, but it isn't choice or strength of personality...it's just underlying panic. This is all very easy to see after diagnosis and chemical balancing, and nearly impossible to see before.

So, how do Dogs fit into this? Well, I had a panic attack today . . . stressing over unidentifiable dollars in a billing situation at work. Money is one of my panic buttons, but usually not someone elses, that is unless I have to justify something that happenened 6 months ago on a bill that is literally 5364 lines long and I can't seem to find the answer. Anyway . . . that is a long boring story, but the panic begins and I am not aware of it until just before my drive home. My doctor says you really shouldn't be driving during a panic attack...I just laugh...when you have been having panic attacks as long as I have . . . well I couldn't count how many times I have driving during one. Anyway, I am in the car and I know that I just need to get home where there is something to drink (water or coke, not alcohol) and take a pill. When I get home tho' there are dogs to take care of. Cats and chickens, too. But dogs jump up and greet you and sit in your lap and lick you face and bound around the yard and then back to you and for a while the panic is just gone. No, I was not cured I still took the pill.

I am trying to wean myself from this behavior. I am going to try to use dogs, and knitting to ease my panic naturally (when I am at home, I don't have this luxury of time and space at work). My plan is to breath through my nose, play with the dogs, take a pill, pick up my knitting. Trick my brain into thinking that it is the knitting that is calming the panic not the pill. And using that transference make my knitting take the place of what the doctor prescribed.

We will see how that goes here at Powell Cottage. Ta ta.

Being an Adult...ugh!

2008-07-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

My father is staying at my sister's house this week. He stayed at my house the last time that he was ill. He is no longer going to be able to live on the farm. We haven't said this out loud yet to him. We, my siblings and I, have talked about it. I even think that Dad realizes it now. The dynamics of an elderly parent is quite interesting. You see things in yourself and your siblings that other circumstances haven't shined light on before. My sister's blustery disapproval of opinions that she doesn't agree with are made so much like my father's and I had never noticed it before. She continues to say things like "he just needs to start taking responsibility for ... (fill in the blank)", or "he just needs to change ... (fill in the blank)". I have to laugh (not rudely, but...) My father is 82 years old. I don't think he's going to change. To tell the truth I don't think that he could at this point. My mother died when she was still relatively young, 69. She needed care but that was because she was sick not because she was old. My grandmother is the only relative that we have really seen get old and she lived with my Aunt and Uncle. I was the only child in my family that visited her very often. I saw her get old. My Aunt and I dealt with her aging as best we could. She lived to be 88, and even after broken hips and other ailments she did pretty well, but she spent the last 2 or 3 years going down hill. There is a point when we realized that she is just no longer in charge of herself. We would listen, we wouldn't argue with her (except for occasionally when we were just exhausted) and my Aunt, my Uncle and I, would decide between ourselves how we would handle whatever came up in her behalf. It isn't pleasant to see an authority figure in your life become a dependent, but that is what it is. Plain and simple. Just move forward from that place and know that most of America will be moving that way with you.

That is all from Powell Cottage today,

2008-06-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

2008-06-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

Another lost weekend. Laundry, cleaning, organizing. No TV~! well, one DVD. Lots of knitting. I received some yarn in the mail that I ordered on sale 40% cashmere & 60% silk. It was 4 ply and the plys separated easily. I worked a gauge swatch with 2 plys and got a gauge perfect for a sweater that I was interested in making, so I am very happy that I now have plenty of yarn for it. I have also spent a lot of time knitting on my blue variegated tank top. The yarn for that is a fingering to lace weight DMS yarn about 50/50 cotton and acrylic. I really like it and I think that I will use it to make socks in the future.

I hung my laundry on the clothesline this weekend. I really love my clothesline. It brings back my childhood, and it is so much more efficient than my dryer. Not only in energy efficienct, but I also have enough line to hang a few loads of wet clothes and I don't get the backup that comes with having to wait for a dryer load to finish.

I am listening to a lot of audio books these days as well, the real reason I haven't been watching TV. I am so motivated when I can do things and be entertained at the same time. Music does that for some people and I like music, but I love having someone read to me. That takes me back to my childhood as well.....I am spending a lot of time in my childhood lately. Hum???

I read Martha Stewart's blog today about her Chow dying. I sat at my desk and sobbed. I can almost not write about it. The feeling that I will have when Jack dies, or any of my five, but Jack for sure . . . well . . . I can't even describe the pain that shoots through my heart thinking about it. Jack is going to receive way more hugs than he is will want when I get home tonight.

So that's all from Powell Cottage where the tomatoes are looking good and the cotton is high.

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

2008-06-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

It will look like there are two entries for June 17th, but actually the "lost weekend" one is from the 16th. Apparently I didn't get enough sleep during my lost weekend, because last night upon arriving at home and after feeding the animals I went to bed. Yep, 6:30pm and I was out I woke up a few times during the night, but I didn't actually get out of bed until 7:00am this morning. I feel great! Really great! Okay my list of to dos for last night got blown out of the water, but I feel great so I don't care. Eeeek! Tonight I will have to double up.

My beloved pups were so patient with me. No one tried to wake me up until around 6:40am. By then tho' they were tag teaming me trying to get me out of bed. Somehow tho' I slept in between each appearance of a new dog upon my chest. I have learned to tell my cockers apart by weight and feel of the coat. I don't even open my eyes anymore if I don't feel like it. Of course the cats start screaming for breakfast as soon as they know I am up. Luckily Hester, Hilda, and Hazel don't start clucking for attention until about 9:00am if I still haven't fed them by that time. They allow me to stay in bed late on the weekends. I would say sleep late, but the dogs see to it that I don't really get any extra sleep on weekend mornings, so staying in bed is just an illusion of extra sleep.

Radish update: My seeds have sprouted. Yeah, vegetable cream cheese is in my near future.

That's all from the well-rested at Powell Cottage.

Lost Weekend

2008-06-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

This was a lost weekend for me. It happens many times when the paycheck has been deposited, the errands run and I am left to my own devices. There was a moment when it felt like the early 1960's to me. I had just put some clothes on the line to dry and I was cutting up some pajama bottoms that had ripped irretreivably into soft cotton rags. I remember a time when we did not have paper towels in our house, but instead a drawer of dish towels and in the broom closet a bucket of rags. I remember black and white films in school regarding fire safey that showed containers of oil rags going up in smoke on their own. Now, instead of throwing out old Tshirts, or sending unneeded gifted Tshirts to the Goodwill. I actually cut them up to make rags. I still use paper towels, but I am weaning myself off of them.

I spoke to my Dad on Father's Day, and watched golf on TV. I knitted and cleaned and took care of the garden and the animals. I napped whenever I felt like it and of course threw my schedule all out of whack for Monday morning, today. I am not a very good housekeeper. It is something that I work on all the time. I once had a large house and that was just too much for me, and I once had an efficiency apartment and that was just too small. My house now is small but still overwhelming when it comes to cleaning. It seems like you just get with something and something else has gone terribly awry. Somedays I get depressed about it, but I continue to give myself pep talks, because I think that just barely, inch by inch, I am catching up. I have faith. I will get my house cleaned all at the same time at least one more time before I die. AND. . .if it doesn't happen I probably won't care anymore.

Well, that's all for today from the clean livingroom at Powell Cottage.

Working From My Own Desk

2008-06-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

I have a second job. In the evening I enter 4 things to sell on eBay. I know, I know, everyone thinks that this is going to be a gold mine and after a while they are dissuaded of that belief. I have, however, worked through both the ups and the downs of that phase and I am now happily back with my eBay pursuits. I figured out that the second job (that I determined I needed) would probably pay $8 an hour. $32 a night. I am very often able to make $32 a night on eBay and even if I don't the cost of gasoline saved and eating dinner at home allow some leeway on that dollar amount as well.

So, . . . after the dogs have been let out and the cats have been fed and I have changed to my home uniform (shorts and Tshirt) and the garden has been watered, I sit down at my desk and see what needs to be shipped. I used to have on and off spurts of getting my eBay work done, before I came up with my system. You know those medicine dispensers (for want of a better word). The ones that say S M T W T F S on the tops of the individual compartments. I use one to organize and standardize my work. I have 5 small mother of pearl buttons that I put into the compartment for the day I started (again) to enter eBay items. Then as I enter one item I move that button from today's compartment to tomorrows compartment. My rule is I have to do at least 4 a day. I have the 5th button for those days when I get a spurt of enthusiasm. I will do one extra and use that one to make up for the days when I just don't want to be bothered. Unfortunately these days come way to often, but the button procedure keeps me doing my job. How pitiful would I have to be to not enter 4 measly items in one evening (only 3 following a really enthusiastic day).

With this good luck, I get to spend my evenings at Powell Cottage and care for the animals and the gardens. It's a pretty great life!

Have a happy day ~

Carbon and Radishes

2008-06-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

Last evening after looking for radishes at the grocery store with no luck. I chided myself and went home and planted radish seeds. It's those moments that make me think harder about my "carbon footprint". That is the first time I have used that term. I have been hearing it everywhere but it has just entered my lexicon. I have a blue kitchen trash can lined with the blue liner that the city allows for recycling pickup and I have the list of allowables taped above the can. Still I find myself going back to the regular trash to grab back some item that I threw out, but which should actually be recycled. I have just started being this dogmatic about recycling. About time! I think.

So radishes, I have tried a method that was mentioned on a podcast called Tales from Terry's Allotment. He grows carrots in a large deep container (I imagine something like a trashcan). They sometimes are feet long rather than inches. I thought that sounded terrific and even tho' it was after carrot planting time in Texas when I heard the podcast I set up a container for myself. I added some nasturtiums for a trial (long spindlely things so far), and that is where I laid out my strips of radish seeds.

Growing your own food...it is so rewarding in so many ways. Cheaper in sooooo many ways!

Well that's all for now from Powell Cottage.

Powell Cottage

2008-06-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hi, I am Anne. I live in Powell Cottage along with 5 Cocker Spaniels, 2 cats and outside 3 chickens. I have a flower garden and a kitchen garden. I am my family's historian. I am a 3rd or 4th generation knitter. I am hoping that this blog will be a stress reliever. I have always written to relieve stress, but knowing that the world can read your words adds a bit of excitement to it. It is late and this is just my trial entry. So . . .

. . . Goodnight from Powell Cottage