Play dough & more garden rambling

Snuggle Bug was introduced to play dough today. He tried to eat it a few time and then decided it was more fun to squish against the table. I figure if I make it a regular activity it may serve to help build his fine motor coordination. It is one of a list of activities that were suggested by his occupational therapist.

On Tuesday, we had 'homework time' after dinner. Snuggle Bug was given a coloring book and crayons. Cuddle Bear and I practiced writing the letter 'I'. I figure since the preschool is sending Cuddle Bear home with activities to do, I may as well get the boys into the habit of sitting down after dinner and doing 'homework'. I think it will make it less of a shock when school starts sending it home.

Yesterday we went down to the hardware store. The boys really like going in there and saying hello to the owner. He and his staff enjoy having their smiling little faces pop in regularly and make a point of giving them lollipops when they've been good in the store. The visit to the hardware store wasn't just about being social. I was also buying some supplies.

I had been reading a few different websites on how to make your own greenhouse. One of them talks about making a frame and covering it over with plastic sheeting that is typically used to cover windows. I've a frame from when we lived at the old apartment in Lima. (The one with the drug dealers next door.) The plastic cover for that mini greenhouse got destroyed over the winter. I've decided to make a new one with some plastic sheeting and duct tape. It is probably going to look pretty ugly, but I just want it to be functional.

I have cut up plastic bottles over the seeds that I planted early in pots. Right now, all of my potted plants are inside. The weather turned cold and I didn't want to have them get burned by frost. The warmth of the apartment seems to be doing the plants good. I wish I had more light in that back hallway, but I think this is going to just be for a few days.

Fortunately, we're near the lake which helps keep the air warmer then it would be on the top of a hill, like at my parents-in-law's place. Looking at the weather maps and such, I am optimistic that by the end of the weekend it will be warm enough for me to put the plants back outside. I'm hoping that we don't get any snow accumulated over the next few days. I'm just tired of cold weather and want it to finally be spring.

Gardening Notes & Rambling

I have several pots of plants out front. In them I have:

• Dianthus (seeds)
  
• Tulips (pink in one pot, random color in the other)
• Lavandula officinalis (seeds)
  

In the partial sun bed, I have:

• Tulips (random color)
• Daffodils
• Narcissus
• Hyacinths
• Impatiens (seeds)
• Forget-Me-Not

In the deep shade bed, I have:

• Narcissus (which *really* needs moved)
• Coleanthus (seeds)
• Columbine (seeds, which may or may not grow)
• Impatiens (seeds)

On the back deck, I have pots with:

• Geraniums (pink and orange)
• Ivy
• Dwarf marigold (seeds)
• Pansies (seeds)
• Nasturtium (seeds)
  
• Strawberries

I've yet to fill my remaining pots with soil. I plan to grow:

• Roses
  
• Tomatoes
• Peas
• Squash
• Peppers
• Basil
• Mint
• Thyme
• Blue berries (if I can find one that'll grow in a pot for me)

I've spoken with the landlord and he is willing to supply the materials to make a circular raised bed where the fire pit was. Area of the circular bed = 20 ft It is a partial sun spot that get's predominantly morning and afternoon sun. I will need to do a little bit of planning for that spot. I must, however, not forget to discuss with him the acquisition of mulch and a few other plants for the deep shade bed. I'm fairly sure that a good number of the seeds I planted are not going to do very well in that bed. It is in the shade all day.

I may, however, get lucky. He just might be willing to spring for a bleeding heart or something else equally showy for the hanging basket by the front door. I am considering planting some morning glories and training them up the side of the building. We'll see if he goes for that concept or not. And if the seeds I saved from a few years ago are still even any good.

yarn.

I'm currently working on getting myself ready for the Tour de Fleece. I did it last year and spun a full mile of thread. This year, I am going to focus on getting the braid of pink roving used up. Currently, I am working on getting back into practice. Part of what I am doing is spinning up fiber that I've had stashed for a while. My goal is to have only the pink roving that I got at Yule left to be spun. As such, I have taken the approach:

All Yarn Is Perfect!

Currently, I am spinning up some white Corriedale. Or atleast, I think it's Corriedale. I may be incorrect in my recollection. It's been almost a year since my MiL gave me the bag of fiber. I'm doing a thick-thin yarn and I'm calling it Frigga's Handwork. I'm trying to bring out the fluffiness of the yarn in the thick sections and sort of evoke the fluffiness of the clouds (which Frigga spins with her spindle). I am not thinking about what I am going to do with this yarn. I'm just focusing on spinning it and getting the technique right.

I've spent so much time over the last year spinning lace weight and cobweb weight singles that I really needed to get involved with something with more texture. Thus, this yarn. I'm not sure if I'm going to leave it as a single or ply it with something else. I'm a bit undecided on that front right now.

Right now, I am just spinning and not focusing on making the yarn smooth and even. Because this is an Art Yarn and all textures in it are perfect as they are.

Long day is long.

Today, I overslept again. As such, Cuddle Bear did not go to preschool today. It made for a long day. I did get a little bit of the housework I wanted to do today done. I was thinking about possibly washing some more laundry but decided that it wasn't worth the effort.

The things we did today were:

1. Go for a walk and look at where the town had been doing some construction work. Snuggle Bug was especially charmed by the excavator. He kept reaching out to touch it as we were walking past it. Cuddle Bear had fun jumping over where they had flags marking out where they were yet to dig. Fortunately, no flags were disturbed and it didn't cause any problems. We passed by when they were going on their lunch breaks. A few of the construction workers chuckled at the boys.

2. Grabbed a quick bite to eat. I had half of a Ruben sandwich and fries. The boys split a turkey club sandwich between them. They nibbled on the tomato and ate half of my fries. I saved the leftovers and that was what the kids had for dinner. It was so hot today, I just didn't have it in me to cook anything.

3. Looked for flowers on our walk home. This included looking about the yard when we got home. It was nice to see that the dog violets are up. I am also delighted to report that my hyacinths are blooming. Small purple-blue flowers, but flowers none the less. I don't think the poor things get enough light where they are situated.

4. Did some 'educational' efforts while Snuggle Bug was napping. Cuddle Bear practiced writing his letters and we practiced counting. Cuddle Bear is getting better at picking out the correct number for what he wants to say. He's finally making the connection between what he has counted out loud and the squiggles on the paper. I'm really pleased with this development. Now to just get him willing to work on writing his name.

5. Wandered around the front yard. Snuggle Bug decided that he and I had to walk around the yard to look at the flowers. I made a point of showing him and Cuddle Bear how the trees were getting leaves on them and the tiny flowers they had. Snuggle Bug wasn't that impressed but Cuddle Bear seemed pleased. I got to do a little bit of weeding in one of the flowerbeds on the eastern side of the building. Snuggle Bug insisted on trying to go up to the back deck. When I had enough of that nonsense we went inside. Fortunately, it was time for dinner.

After dinner, the boys watched videos on Youtube. For a while, Cuddle Bear and Snuggle Bug were both sitting in my lap. It was sweet that both of my boys were feeling affectionate. It was also sweltering because it was 75 degrees and I was sitting in front of a sunny window. They had been somewhat whiney and a bit cranky for a good portion of the day. I am inclined to blame the heat.

Supposedly it is to be a good ten degrees cooler tomorrow. I'll believe it when I see it. Theoretically, it is also supposed to rain. I hope it will because I have plants and seeds that needs it. If it doesn't, however, Friday evening, I'll be out with my watering can. I hope to have a better year with the plants this year.

I hate my brain chemistry issues.

It's a beautiful day outside. I don't have a ton of housework to worry over. It just looks worse then it really is due to all the toys scattered on the floor. In fifteen minutes I have gotten the kitchen 90% done. So why do I feel like Sisyphus? Why do I just want to go hide somewhere and cry?

Oh, yeah, I'm bipolar and hormonally off because of my menses. I hate this. I really, truly, and honestly hate this feeling depressed and worthless for no goddamn reason.

I'm trying to trick myself into feeling less depressed by listening to my happy music. It doesn't seem to be working at the moment.

Stomach bug and such...

So, I managed to catch the stomach bug that is making the rounds over here. It made the last few days miserable. Beloved was an absolute angel and minded the kids most of the day today so that I could nap. It's done wonders for how I'm feeling. Now to just get the rest of the nonsense with my stomach sorted out and I'll be all good.

It's amazing how nice it is to eat solid food with out fear of it coming back up. :P

All of that said, I've taken to knitting when I am anxious or doing crochet. I had an appointment with my psychiatrist last week and didn't have any knitting or crochet with me. So I took the few minutes that I had to spare and stopped in wally world. Picked up some extra bulky hot pink yarn and some big needles. Just finished knitting that scarflett (mini-scarf, whatever) this evening as I was waiting for the kids to fall asleep. I also knit several rows on the shawl I'm working on.

I feel a bit disappointed. I am already bored with this thing and I haven't gotten even ten rows done on it. In all fairness, I am knitting a hundred stitches per row so it does get a bit tedious. I may switch from just knitting this to doing some sort of a lace pattern. It is worsted weight yarn, so it will not look quite as airy as it would with fingering or lace weight yarn. At the same time, the lace pattern would keep me from just shoving this thing into a drawer and forgetting about it for days on end (which I have done since I started it a few weeks ago).

Between minding the kids when they were sick last week and being sick myself, I kinda fell of the FLYLady wagon a bit. I'm going to give myself a pass, however, because it wasn't like I really had an option on that front. Puking children don't mix very well with cleaning house, never mind maintaining said clean house. Thankfully, Beloved hasn't caught this thing. Gods willing, he won't. It's a nasty little bug.