Monday, November 18, 2013

That was the weekend that was

When I wake up in the morning, it takes me a minute or so to figure out what day it is and what I'm going to be doing. Saturday that was easy - it was manure day! I wasn't sure I'd be able to get manure from my usual source, but we finally made contact Friday night, so Saturday was a go. My SO and I fetched two loads and spread one in the garden and the other in the area formerly known as the meadow but now designated as the incipient orchard.

Saturday was also leaf day. I don't have any leaves to speak of, but my neighbors do. Friday I made arrangements to be on the receiving end of one neighbor's leaves. This did not seem to entail any extra effort on their part - they pick them up with a riding mower and instead of dumping them at the edge of the street for city pickup, they dumped them on a plastic tarp and I dragged them into my backyard. Most of them went on the aforementioned incipient orchard, a few on the paths in the garden.

Then I performed the final mow of the season, picking up grass clippings and using them to cover the manure in the garden. That night it rained, which fortunately damped down the leaves so none of them blew away the next day when we had near-tornado force winds.

So Saturday was an outdoor day. Sunday was an indoor day. People will be here, in my house, in November and December, so it was time to attack the cobwebby corners and mop the acre of linoleum that stretches from family room to kitchen to mudroom to laundry. Today I did a bit more - we can now see through the patio door (beagle nose prints are particularly difficult to eradicate) and kitchen window, and at least some of the dust has been vanquished. There is more to do - there is always more to do when it comes to housework - what gets done, gets done.

Today was supposed to be fiber day, but I actually started on that last Friday night, when I blended ALL the KoolAid-dyed roving. I literally did not get off the couch for two hours, that's how engrossed I was. And sore - is there such a thing as blending shoulder? Too much repetitive movement with my right arm. Tonight I spun a few of the rolags. Interesting, to say the least. And fun.

I intended to do more fiber-oriented activities today, but there was that bit of cleaning mentioned above and some gardening to get me off the couch and into the fresh air for a while. The garlic is planted and the Brussels sprouts harvested (yes, the groundhog did not get them all). The container plants have been relocated to the garage. Just like housework, there is more to do, and again, what gets done, gets done.

The rest of the day was spent wrestling with turning a heel on a sock, the second sock of a pair, so you would think it would be easier, but no. Between the two socks, I turned a heel four times. I'm knitting this pair of socks toe-up with a short row heel that involves double wraps, and I think I am done with toe-up socks for a while. I have proved I can do them if necessary, and now am going to return to top-down for a while. Maybe then I will get more that two or three pairs knit in the course of a year.

1 comment:

  1. Funny you should write about leaves today, as that was my topic last night. I spread composted manure on my wretched lawn last week, in hopes it will become less wretched. Saturday I went to get firewood at the city recycling center, and Sunday we watched the wild storm blow by.

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