Almost the end of the month and my vacation

And my 'to do' list has had several items crossed off, several things added but it has been a good week off with very important progress made, both inside and out.

I like the new patio and now can look at building that landing so in time we can step out the kitchen door onto a 4 foot deep landing, then probably 1step down and then step onto the patio.  The paver patio on the south will need another row of blocks but I can do those a few at a time.

Finances are snug, debt load grew with the much needed truck repairs but it is still a better choice to repair than replace and have payments along with repair bills.

Pal Julie and I spent some time together yesterday afternoon, ran to Jacksonville to eat and brouse, we did very little shopping but I came home with new hand sewing needles, long and very find, 1/2 yard of era appropriate fabric that will go into my needed waist pockets and a new dish for my bug coils as the 1 I had managed to get broken, think the dog might have helped with that, but I want to be able to sit out and enjoy my new, paid for, patio that I had saved so long for and waited so long for.

I am to the ribbing on the tops of both of my period appropriate stockings and had Julie pick a skein out of my stash for socks for her.  I will get it turned into 2 equil balls before going back to work.  And the brace sock that Shadow chewed the toe out is now repaired and in the hamper for washing.

The furnace gets a clean filter today, the watering outside has been done, on line bills paid, and I priced thread for using in bobbin lace on line, not much chance to buy any locally and very little comes with the kit.

I got the bobbin lace kit for $21.50 including shipping and as it prices at $55, that is a good price.  Not the best quality but good enough to start with and I can add a better lace pillow later and more bobbins.  It comes with 24 bobbins, acceptable quality and a usable, needs covered with green or blue fabric pinning board and ok quality lace pins.

The sky is overcast with 30% chance of rain today and 60% for tomorrow.  I can live/work with that.

And I am still not sure what will end up fitting on the patio, it is not big, I have to plan for the space the landing will take and the dog house lives on the northeast corner.  There is the path coming around the north side of the house to consider and the path off the southeast corner to the parking, bikes and so forth to need free of stuff.

I do have my tiny round table and single chair there now and the $25 yard sale find glider, that no longer crowds the bike patio, was in the way of the utility space doors and made snow removal hard.

And I like the glider but think in time it will replace the wooden one that lives on the front porch.

A picnic table is high on my 'think will work' idea list, and I am looking at grills but no funds at this time for one and I am not willing to put it on credit.   Too bad I could not talk anyone at work into trading that 55 inch flat screen that I won for a new, reasonable priced grill.

The June meeting for the doll club is the annual trip down to the Edwards area, am undecided about going as know my funds for play will be tight, so if I go, it has to be a bike trip, and as it is on a Sunday, that limits the shops that are open, so there is a very good chance I will not go.  

I need to take apart the bathroom sink drain to clean it out again, this will make the 2nd time in 6 months for that job, which is double the number of times I have needed to do it in the 9+ years before.

It is small irritations like that adding up that have me hoping for the day Jake moves out.  It is not just Jake's use of that sink that is the problem, it is the living here too girlfriend that helps create the issue. And adds to the clutter, the higher utility bills, which is finally caught up, and the noise levels being a lot higher.  But she is in Jacksonville, working this weekend, Ben is here, and he and Jake game most of the time, so I have NO bandwidth for internet use, and as I pay that bill too, and AT&T Internet sucks and went up $10/month, I am glad the boys are asleep still and Shadow is with them.

Gripe, gripe, whine, whine, complain, but I do know my life is good and I like it.  And I am not going to let any one change it, this is working for me, I am gaining slowly on my debt load, the old house and tiny yard is gaining in needed work/repairs/cleaning and I will cope, tolerate, handle all that needs done or survived or fixed.

Vacation week and rambling

I had a great weekend, Saturday was cool at Clayville but I enjoyed the day there, Sunday was warmer, I gladly folded up my shawl and enjoyed not wearing it all day but didn't find my layers too warm unless I sat in the sun long.

I learned walking fast had my drawers wanting to wind around my legs, think my long wool socks helped this along so I either learn to walk slower or find a cure for the winding drawers.  And I sure wished I had already made my caps and bonnet, the purchased bonnet was just not a good fit and the fabric way too modern for an old woman in 1824.

Broadwell's Inn and stage coach stop/team change opened that year, so it is the time frame I picked for my period wear, the start of our new settlement, the early years of getting it open, trying to get garden plots and planting fields cleared and planted, getting a workable routine established so our days had flow and all needed tasks got done.

And today a friend who does mowing will come get my mowing done, I really need to replace my mower as I am happier when I have done the job myself, when I want/need it done and how I want it done.  Yes, world, I am very territorial about my little bit of sand here.

Sayer Designer Concrete will also be here, our vehicles are out of the way, the rebar and wire mesh go in and the concrete finally gets poured.  I will mention that last night the Weather Channel had us at 0%  for chance of moisture for Monday-Wedensday and early this morning it had changed to 30% for today.

Last week we had rain, and some more rain and every day, a bit of rain in this area.  Our river is not at flood stage but we are not short on moisture at this moment.

Ok, back, took a quick break to take Shadow out and get myself into clothes for the day, before the concractor's truck is here.  

I did some on line pricing for the drywall I am buying and forcing sons to help me get up in the attic, and i do mean, up, not just from the ground floor to the attic, but installed where it goes.  6 sheets is my goal for this week and Ben has agreed to help, Jake and his gal pal seem to live here and be between school sessions so they have no choice, if they want to continue staying under this roof.

My vacation plans are for work here, and this does include Jake's sewing project and cleaning up my attic space so I have order of some sort again, getting the mountain of clean work t-shirts folded and put away, jeans folded and put away, plants moved and the north end of the city parking strip filled in, leveled and some grass seed tossed in.

This weekend I learned that without strong control, I would become 1of those dreaded 'period correct attire police'.  Fortunately, I am well aware that while I will research, and sew for myself for Clayville, I have no right to impose on any others.  And financially, Pleasant Plains Historical Society needs all the venders, volunteers, friends, playmates, we can get, and what they contribute, do and are willing to give, both in time and donations is very important.  A 'period correct police' attitude would be like drilling holes in the bottom of the boat while we are a long way from shore.

But all the research I am doing is fun, I am learning so much, and what I am doing as a member does matter and is already making my life richer. I am a happy minion, and I want to stay a minion and stay happy, and continue to be the one who walks the drainage tubes to clean up human trash and plant growth needing cut back. The 1who tends the gardens, both during events and during those long weeks with no events so weeds have no chance to run wild.

I will keep working on my own wardrobe, maybe sew a bit for some others and be glad we have this group and this historic site for our 'play'.

I will need to post some photos here from our event, and get busy with my day.

Mother's Day

And my youngest sons are here, Jake's jeep is down with electrical problems and died at Auto Zone so he will have to get it towed to the shop down the street and wait for Bruce to get time to fid the problem.  Good thing his girlfriend has wheels and it is bike season so Mom can lend out her truck (again).

I want the first 2 corner posts set for the chain link fence, have the materials and a borrowed fence post digger, first hole was 22 inches deep when I quit last night, I want it 32" but that might be a huge battle with tree roots. The north corner posts both will be battles with tree roots but on the other side, the sand makes for very easy digging.

And it would have been nice to have the patio pour done and the patio usable, the glider on it and the bags of mulch off the glider and spread out, but it will happen, and I will get some more plants moved and some sand moved and the work on the retaining wall finished up.  Just not all this weekend.  But I have a week of paid vacation time in a week so will get old house stuff done here.

Shadow is going through another spell of obnoxious dog attitude, Kid did not have this problem so it makes a challenge and he is challenging the pecking order here.  But he will not be on the top of that pecking order, it is my home and I am top dog/human/boss here, and have that established with my human sons, I will have it established with the dog child too.

Period sewing is making progress but I need to take the hem out of 1pair of drawers and lengthen them a bit, they have a wide hem so it is a simple task, just some time and needle work.  The inner, privacy petticoat has the waistband done and now it is tack down the French seams and do the hem, it is already pinned up.

And I now have a full face helmet again so plan to put the gray helmet up for sale, it is the loosest of my helmets, too loose on my small head for comfort and does not give me as much eye and face protection as I like.  I was not planning to buy a full face helmet yesterday but it fits me correct and was on sale for under $50, and that worked far better than waiting, ordering, paying a lot more and then maybe having to send it back because it did not fit.

No one is quite sure how it works, layers of proper wear for pre-1830 and the Rebel for transportation but I am sure I can manage the shift from time zones, that 'pony' will get me there and home cheap, and I can keep my layers there, or most of them. But I want to sew my "Bernadette's Closet" label in them and have a fabric(so it breaths) clothes bag to store them in.  I am sewing to fit me, and I really do not want other people wearing my clothing, but I will sew for others in our Historical Society.

Well, my scones are eaten and I wants to get busy with my outside projects before the day gets hot off to play labor.