Spring at the Little House in the Little Woods

Under Construction

The annual bird's nest is under construction just above our door at the little house in the little woods.  The bird...it may be a tufted titmouse...got the thing started before I noticed.  I tried to get a photo of the occupant while it was sitting in the lilac bush next to the house but he flew away when the dog came outside.  I'll have to carry my camera with me every time I go to the door and try to get his photo and post it!  This will be the 5th or 6th year that a nest has been built in that location.  We had an 'Uncle Sam' flag holder underneath it who's flapping flag helped keep scavengers away from the nest but it fell this winter and is beyond repair.  Have to start looking for something to hang there...the spot looks empty.  Maybe I'll even try to paint around it this year instead of waiting until the birds leave!
   Jeff showed me what wintered in the garden boxes this year.  These are carrots he found in a box in the front garden and there are onions and garlic in

those boxes, too. And in the back there are red cabbage growing nicely under leaves in the big boxes.  I think we're going to skip planting tomatoes and cucumbers this year.  The blight always gets the tomatoes before we do...and that seems a lot of work for very little harvest...and we got a large harvest of cukes last year and have enough pickles to last several years.  Beans and greens, and potatoes head our list right now.

Garage Sale Finds

   We went to a couple of garage sales Saturday and I got a Welbilt Bread Machine for $5...without the booklet so I've been searching the internet for one.  Jeff recommended YouTube and I found videos galore and copied a couple of recipes (bookmarking those sites, of course) and plan on trying my luck at machine bread.  I also got an electric tea kettle...for $.25, (I wear them out quickly) and Jeff got an old-fashioned double-boiler for $.50.  He's going to use it to melt wax to take fire-starters and candles.   Maybe my pots and pans will last a little longer. 

Spring Clean-Up

    Jeff's started spring clean-up outside by raking leaves off of the deck.  He's afraid the leaves will rot...with all the snow and ice that falls on them and the decking will rot...especially close to the house.  But that's not what happened.  The floor board just to the right of the handrail at the top of the stairs gave way and Jeff went thru...right up to his oh-oh's.  His foot hit the ground and he sat down on the deck before he hit the board!  Scrapped his arm on the post on the way down, too.  He was lucky.  Good thing the deck wasn't any higher!  He said today that he was surprised that he wasn't feeling the effects of the fall.
   We have decided that the decking will have to be replaced...if one board is rotten, more may be.  I think we'll probably make the deck smaller...just big enough for a couple of chairs and a small table.  I enjoy having morning coffee out there and don't want to give that up completely but we don't need a big deck since we're over by the garden when we do sit outside. It's always something, isn't it? 

It Happened Again

   About 2 weeks ago I spent $95 to have my PC cleaned and rebooted because it wasn't working.  It worked beautifully for the 2 weeks after I got it back and I enjoyed watching British TV on AcornTV streaming on my pc.  That ended Sunday night when the damn machine refused to boot up.  Jeff tried and tried and got no results.  He ended up putting the netbook online...but it suddenly didn't have any audio! ...and it's no fun watching a movie without sound.  Besides, the  Caps control key is acting up again and I can't type in an email address.  Jeff hopes that the PC will straighten itself out by being unplugged for a couple of days.*  We'll see or it looks like I may be buying a new computer after all.
  I got my handicap parking sticker renewed and the police voided the parking ticket I had gotten with the expired one.  The folks at the Town Office...where I got the new one...told me not to pay the ticket but I was afraid to just ignore the fee.   But the police said the same thing...we can void it...when I went to pay it so it worked out and the fee was cancelled. And I was lucky...it was only a $20 ticket not a $70 one!
   The shop is doing well this spring. I've sold better this April than any other year!  It's hard to keep up...one knitter can only do so much...I've developed a stiff neck from knitting too much but I'm how can I stop?  Just got to plan my time a little better.  I thought I was doing that...watching AcornTV to relax but I found out that I can knit and watch the computer since I moved a comfortable chair there.  Oh, well!
   Jeff's tried to work the garden boxes but the weather hasn't been very cooperative.  The ground is still frozen...it's snowing right now!  Spring is here, right?

*for some reason unplugging the PC... and leaving it completely unplugged for a couple of days before rebooting... straightens it out and the problem is gone. There is no reason we can find why this works, in fact, most techs say it shouldn't work, but it does. Don't know how long it will stay away but I'm willing to give it a try...anything to delay spending $400 for a new PC!

Spring in Cooperstown

Why am behind this counter?

   I was scheduled to work in the shop yesterday...a cold, gray day, and Jeff wasn't feeling well so I decided to take Fanny with me.  Jeff's doctor's tweaking his meds and that always makes him cranky...effects his sleep and appetite.  And besides, Jeff's apartment is on the 4th floor and when Fanny's there she wants to go exploring...or at the very least to sit by the door waiting to go out.  So I thought it would be better/easier for both of them if she went with me.   Fanny isn't the kind of dog you can leave home alone for long.  Maybe she should have been crate trained but that's not our way.  She starts off with a nap but when she wakes up and realizes she is alone she goes thru the house looking for her family and taking the house apart...garbage pail by waste basket by knitting bag by tool box (and yes, she has destroyed the handles on screwdrivers...Jeff was not happy).  It's easier and cheaper just to take her with us.  She rides well and sits in the car without barking at other dogs or people who come close.  In fact, she tries to hide in the back seat from anyone who tries to talk to her thru the car windows!  Anyway, the ride down was uneventful,  she sat in the backseat and looked out the windows.  When we got to the shop, we walked around a few minutes before going inside...in case she needed to...but when I shut the door behind us and the aromas from the handmade soaps and beeswax candles and everything else hit her she backed up to the door, her nose in the air and her tail tucked between her legs!  And stayed there!  I did the opening routine and since she was still leaning against the door decided to put her back in the car.  I could see her...and she could see me...thru the windows and with a treat and a bowl of water she seemed comfortable.  After lunch I walked her around the parking lot for a few minutes and then took the bowl of water and her back into the shop with me.  There weren't any customers in the shop so we walked around the store for a few minutes and then I took her behind the counter with me and told her to lay down and take a nap.  And she did...well, with one eye open.  And that's how we spent the afternoon.  She just stayed at my feet and looked at the few people who did come in...no barking or getting up to investigate what was happening.  Oh, Fanny didn't like Cooperstown's water, either...only took 2 or 3 laps out of the bowl but when she got home she drained her water dish!

    This is part of my display.  You can see the new hat rack in the
background above the sweaters.  These are skirt and sweater sets done in a Pima Cotton and acrylic blend in size 1 and behind them to the right are ladies hats and tank tops, also in the Pima Cotton and acrylic blend.  And this photo
shows a corner of our new dedicated kitchen area with  a couple of my tea cozies.  Hope they sell.  So far it's been hats...a baseball hat and a ladies flower cloche. 
     I have to work again on Wednesday and I think Fanny and Jeff will stay home together.  He's talking about planting potatoes early (!) and wants to start working in the garden and Fanny just doesn't want to be a shop dog.  By the end of the day the aromas had gotten to me, too and I was wheezing and having a hard time breathing.  Happens every year...too much good scents with the door closed and the heat on!

Advantages to Turning 65?

   My pc is 'scrubbed cleaned' and back on line! Today Jeff made sure I could 'stream' and now I can watch my British mysteries on Acorn and everything I've missed on PBS...in fact, this afternoon I watched an episode of 'Call the Midwife' that I had never seen. I've rearranged the furniture in the living room...which is becoming the computer room...so I can sit in comfort in the other wing back chair and watch my computer screen. (No way was I going to sit in my computer chair to watch an hour or two long program!) I've already moved one of the wing backs into my bedroom so I have a comfortable chair to sit in and read...or play cards on my netbook...in there.) Jeff still wants to use the Raku his sister gave us but first we have to get an attachment to plug the TV into the computer.   In the meantime, I'm satisfied with the way things are set up. Now he has to check out the printer connection...maybe it will work, maybe it will have to be replaced. 
   So far I'm glad I gave up Time Warner and saved some money. My pc is thru Earthlink...and yes, I know that's still Time Warner but the price is lower. (Time Warner is all there is around here except for satellite connections and this little house in the little woods has too many trees around it to get a signal.) My phone is Verizon (315-866-1021) and because of my age and income, it's only $25 a month. Together that's a saving of over $75 a month. My health insurance...now medicare and a supplement...went down about $125. Anytime I can save $200 a month I won't complain. Maybe there are advantages to turning 65. 

p.s.  The shop had a fantastic first 2 days sales rush before settling down to the usual early spring sales slump.  15 out of the 18 members sold something in those 2 days but I had to wait until one of the slump days before finally selling something...a baseball hat.  Oh, well, what else would you expect from a baseball town?  I'm scheduled to work tomorrow and the weather's suppose to be pretty good...maybe sales will be, too?

Easter

      Yesterday was Easter and Jeff's sister Sherry and my cousin Ed joined us for dinner.  Jeff got a large bone-in ham and I cooked a pretty decent dinner. Fanny knew something was up because of the good smells coming from the kitchen...and because I was running around cleaning house!  She was excited when Jeff left her run around the house, and later when he went out for firewood and she went with him and got to run around some more.  Sherry is one of Fanny's favorite people...reasons to follow...but she's not too sure about Ed.  She kept an eye on him all day...either from beside Jeff or from under the kitchen table.  When it was time for dinner Fanny was already in her regular place but Sherry sat in Jeff's usual spot.  That worked out fine for Fanny cos Sherry was soon passing bits of ham down to her!  (That's why she likes her so much!)  By the end of the day when everyone had gone home we were both exhausted.  I decided to sit in my room and read before bed while Fanny went straight to sleep...practicing her 'Princess and the Pea' routine with my pillows.  She was good until 11:30pm when I was ready to sleep and she was ready to go outside...but she did sleep the rest of the night! 

It's exhausting being a good dog.