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Please don't remind me that I'm poor; I'm having too much fun pretending I'm simply "living green" like everyone else these days.


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Thursday, March 4, 2010

On the design wall

This is on my design wall for a few days. Of course they are not in the final spot of the top. For now all I'm doing is getting the blocks sized to fill the space. Yes, they are sideways. It's the only way I could do my design wall and view it completely. The design wall is behind my machine which means it would be hidden if turned the other way.




Today I'm spending time with my brother. This time it's not for talking about things he has on his mind. Today is for me. He's going to go with me as I get things for my garden. We may stop at some thrift stores as well as garden centers. Right now all I'm really looking for is bags of compost, peat moss, and seeds. We may look through some thrift stores to see if I can find some interesting books or get some tools.
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Tomorrow is the day my SIL wants to go grocery shopping. That means I'll get little quilting done for the next 4 days. All necessary things and at the same time frustrating. Some how I've got to get my "mind" into a slower quilting pace. I've spent so many years working 12 hours a day for 6 and 7 days a week that I feel lost when I'm not racing to finish quilts. Slowing down is what I want to do.... now if only I can convince my mind to slow down too.

5 comments:

kathi said...

ENJOY your shopping trips. Stop and think how GOOD it is to NOT have upteen plus quilts there waiting to be done. the actual pressure is off. Yes, your mind is still racing, perhaps some good thrift shop exploration will get it to race in another direction.

lw said...

I think working outside on the garden is a good way to help your mind to slow its pace. My seeds came up last week and this week snails ate up the lettuce and the pole bean sprouts. So I put down bait and I'm replanting.

It may also help to think, "I'm working on our happy memories" instead of just working on the material things.

Quiltin' LibraryLady said...

I think that's a big problem for a lot of newly retired people....the getting the mind to settle into a slower pace. All our lives it's push, push, push, and when we retire it's hard to get used to not having to live that way. Some retirees have no interests outside of work and don't know what in the world to do with themselves and they are delighted to be given some little job or chore to do. You, on the other hand, have so many things you want to do that you still feel the push. I fear I will be the same way...so many quilts to make, so much genealogy to do, so many books to read, so many scrapbook pages I want to make. At least it should keep my mind active. I just hope my body can hold up to get at least some of it done. I notice my list is all sedentary activities...guess I should work a little exercise in there somewhere.

Anita Estes said...

Thank you ladies for your encouragement. I agree with all of you.

Do any of you do the square foot garden method? That's what I plan to do and now I'm all excited about it. I want to start now! But the right preparation is important so I'll be patient.

Hmm... snails? I hadn't thought of those. Will beer bait work?

lw said...

I use the square foot method-- I try to produce just enough for me and my husband with a little extra for guests and neighbors.

My garden is about 5 feet by 16 feet, and it's fenced to keep the dogs out. It's like an island in the middle of my backyard, this prevents possums and raccoons from raiding it, since the dogs would get the critters if they did come into the yard.

I usually don't need to plant tomatoes anymore because they reseed and come up as volunteers. Favorites for us are cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce. I grew two broccoli plants last year, when you keep taking off the heads to eat, it grows more. I tried artichokes, but it took up too much space and took 18 months to yield. Zucchini was super generous and one plant fed us and our neighbors. I also have pots of (invasive) kitchen herbs in there-- the pots keep the herbs from taking over the garden but the pots don't dry out because they're under the ground. I've got mint, oregano, rosemary and thyme.

I put out deadline last night and this morning I had twenty dead snails. Yuck! I need to get the safe version of deadline (called Escar-go!) from Gardens Alive. I hate using chemicals out there.