Still Holding On
I admit, my Christmas tree stays up until long into January. Since we travel to Ohio during Thanksgiving and the beginning of December, usually our tree is put up a little later.
I’m always reluctant to chuck it out the door when it’s still going strong. I do watch for dryness and needles on the floor, as soon as that happens it’s in the chicken run. Until that happens, it stays in the living room, bathing our long, dark nights in the gold glow of the big old fashioned lights. I think this little tree still has another week of life or so in it. I have only spotted one or two needles on the floors.
When do you take down your tree?
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My Favorite Houseplant
I’ve pretty sure I’ve mentioned this here before, but my favorite houseplant is this pothos that lives in our bedroom. This plant was on the stage at our wedding almost 18 years ago and has been moving from apartment to apartment and home to home with us every since.
It really should be repotted, it’s in the same pot with the same soil – quite amazing. I give it a little bit of liquid kelp every now and again, but for the most part it’s pretty much an indestructible houseplant. This plants has spawned many an offspring, which are living in the homes of my friends and in other rooms of our home. It’s a fantastic and easy care plant if you are new to houseplants and want something along those lines.
What’s your favorite houseplant?
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Decluttering the Houseplants
I’m one of those people that doesn’t really have trouble getting rid of things, in fact I’m in a constant state of going through the house and taking loads of stuff to Goodwill on a regular basis. The longer I live the less stuff I want to have in my home to clean around and organize. This past weekend I decided it was time to reduce the houseplants. I got rid of plants that I no longer enjoyed. Some were plants that never lived up to their expectations. Like a piece of clothing that never quite fit right, sometimes plants just don’t quite perform as expected. These all went into the compost bin.
Houseplants that were staying also received a good pruning and then a dose of liquid kelp. I have a lot of houseplants that I love, these lovely little succulents in a tiny window in the bedroom.
This lovely dwarf papaya tree lives large on my bedside table. I’m hoping it will produce fruit this summer when I move it outside.
The dwarf banana in the living room is growing like crazy. It will probably be another year or so before it produces fruit. I repotted it a few months ago but it already needs a much bigger pot.
Under a big window upstairs, I have a few containers full of lettuces and herbs. I like to grow a variety of edibles during the winter.
Just like reducing clutter in other areas, getting rid of houseplant clutter gives me more space to breathe. Not only do all my plants look better, I feel better as well. Tomorrow I’ll show you my favorite houseplants, one that I’ve had for almost 18 years.
Have you pruned and reduced your houseplants recently? Do you have a favorite houseplant?
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Amazing, for January
Well, I made what is probably my last harvest from the 2015 season garden, even if it was in 2016. On Monday, I went out and harvesting cilantro, kale, and spinach that I planted way back in the fall. For the past few weeks they have been covered by a blanket of snow. After rain all day Sunday, they were once again available for harvest.
I’m continually amazed by the plants that can survive very cold weather and being covered by a blanket of snow. Not only were the leaves not damaged by the cold, they will be sweeter because of it. Here’s to hardy vegetables that can withstand cold temps and snow and still be available for our plates!
What are you harvesting from the garden?
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Getting There
In our house here in Maine we have much more space than we had in Ohio, probably about triple the square footage if not more. For a while, we had two of the bedrooms set up as guest rooms and I had my sewing machine in a corner of the upstairs landing. It wasn’t great, not only are there no windows anywhere close, there was only one light, and old fluorescent fixture that was super dim.
After we painted one of the rooms (both floor and walls), I decided it would make a lovely sewing room. I started moving all my stuff in there a few weeks ago. There’s still moulding that needs to go up, around the windows, by the ceiling, and baseboards as well. But that’s OK with me, because it’s a much better space than I had. In fact, in the few weeks I’ve had my machine in there I’ve managed to get a ton of sewing done. Probably having light is what does it, it is rather hard to sew without that.
I need to rework the furniture a bit as it consists of things that have been cast off from other areas. A counter height cutting area is going to be put in eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later. I also need a beefier table to put my machine on, as the one I’m using is warped and my sewing machine rocks as I use it. I got a new thread rack to organize thread/bobbins and I plan on hanging a bulletin board and a few metal magnet boards as well. I will also need to get a few other bits to organize things in places they’ll be handy. I figured that using the space for a while would be a good idea before I invest in any furniture or organization items. Once I get a feel for the space, I’ll have a better idea of how I will work best in it.
At the moment, I’m enjoying working on my vintage sheet quilt. It’s made with old pillowcases and sheets that I’ve been collecting. Most of them have been given to me or I have purchased them for a few dollars at the thrift store. This makes for a very inexpensive way to make a quilt, I will probably only have about $25 worth of materials in this kind size quilt by the time I’m finished. I like using sheets for the backing and flannel sheets on the inside instead of batting (I like a think quilt).
Are you working on any creative project at the moment? What creative pursuits do you do when gardening isn’t an option?
