Friday Favorite: Chores
I’m an active person, therefore I love having things to do around the garden. If there’s not a book in my hand, I don’t like to sit still. During spring and fall, I especially enjoy doing outdoor chores. There’s just something about those days with crisp cold mornings and warm sunny afternoons! It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, it feels good to be active and to be outside.
There are no shortage of chores around here. I’ve been weeding the main garden up on the hill. Half of it was tilled under by the previous owner right before we came, half of it was full of buckwheat going to seed and weeds. The songbirds were loving it, as were the deer. I’ve been slowly working my way through and putting all the weeds in the chicken run. We also cleaned the chicken coop and whitewashed the floor. I’m experimenting with different white wash recipes, when I find a really great one I’ll share.
Today I’ll hopefully be heading to the Fedco warehouse sale (anyone else heading there?) and to Johnny’s Seeds to pick up some Fall Green Manure seeds for the garden. No doubt I’ll return home with more fall chores to keep me outside.
What fall chores have you been enjoying?
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Friday Favorite: Lamps
Mr Chiots and I were talking the other day about how much we love lamp light. We don’t use a lot of overhead lighting in the house because we prefer less direct lighting. We also don’t like a lot of bright light in the evenings.
There’s nothing more cozy that sitting by the warm glow of a lamp in the evening reading a good book (with a cup of tea of course). Around here it has to be an incandescent bulb, no CFL or LED bulbs allowed. As a highly sensitive person, these kinds of lights really bother my vision, give me migraines and cause sleep disruption. I can’t even be on my laptop within an hour of bedtime or I have trouble getting to sleep.
I think that’s one of the things I love about Christmas so much, the warm glow of the lights on the tree and outside.
My #1 favorite light source is the sun, as it’s natural and free, but it doesn’t stick around super late in the evenings, especially in the winter. It’s rather difficult to read by the light of the moon most nights, so lights are needed. Now that we have a larger house, I’m in need of a few more lamps. I guess I’ll have to start looking around for some sconces and lights.
Do you have a favorite type of lighting?
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Friday Favorite: Clean Windows
There’s nothing I like better than sparkling clean windows. Therefore, my windows are cleaned often, at least once a month. The funny thing is that I always thought that was pretty standard until I blogged about it and you all said I was CRAZY! Guess I just really like clean windows.
As you probably guessed, my first order of cleaning here at the new house has been to clean the windows. It’s quite a chore because there are windows of several eras and all of them have storm windows. Since we have no ladder at the moment, I can’t clean the high windows, but many of the lower one I can.
I’ve been scrubbing, scraping, wiping and buffing; trying to get these windows into tip top shape. The razor scraper is such a handy tool when it comes to cleaning windows, especially the extra bits of paint or those things that don’t come off easily with a towel, or those things that get baked on when the windows don’t get cleaned often enough. I wish I had known about before a few months ago, but I’m certainly glad I have one now. I’d highly recommend getting one like for your tool box and window cleaning kit! They also have plastic razor blades for more delicate surfaces. I’ll be ordering some of these shortly.
No doubt it will take me a few weeks to get all the windows clean. Some won’t be cleaned until we can get an extension ladder. Eventually, most of the windows be replaced with larger ones, newer more efficient ones that are easier to clean.
How often do you clean your windows?
If you’re looking for the best way to clean windows, here’s my post about it: Non-Toxic Window Cleaning
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Friday Favorite: These Cats
I’m not much of a collector. You won’t find my house overflowing with collectibles, figurines, or much else for that matter. I even try to keep my book collection to a minimum. There are however a few things around that I love, like these wooden cats.
They were purchased here and there a long time ago. In fact, I can’t remember a time when they weren’t sitting on top of my dresser. One of them I even repainted to look like our old cat Jeffrey. There hasn’t been a new one in many, many years and I don’t actively seek out more.
I don’t quite know what it is I love about these little wooden cats, they’re kind of quirky and cute. No doubt, they’ll remain on my dresser for years to come! Does it count as a “collection” if you only have four?
Do you have any collections?
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Friday Favorite: Meeting You
In this day in age it’s very common to know someone and yet to never have actually met them in person. Every now and then I get the opportunity to meet one of my blog readers and it’s always fun. Earlier this spring , Mr Chiots and I stayed with a blog reader in Maine. She said it was kind of funny to meet me in person because she knew so much about me having read my blog, but I knew nothing about her.
Yesterday evening I had the chance to meet another blog reader. Her and her husband came down to Chiot’s Run for dinner. I made homemade pasta and topped it with garden fresh veggies. She headed home with my cold frame and a few plants for her garden.
We enjoyed good food and lots of great conversation. In fact, it almost got dark while we were talking over empty plates and we almost missed the garden tour. A month or two ago, another reader stopped by for brunch when she happened to be in the area. I truly enjoy meeting and chatting with my blog readers in person, it’s certainly a pleasure to get a glimpse into your lives. If you’re ever in midcoast Maine, contact me. Swing by for coffee, a meal or even a night or two, we’d be happy to meet you in person!
Have you ever met an internet friend before?
