Jury Duty Again?
I must be of the perfect demographic or something because I’m always being called for jury duty. A couple years ago I was on a federal grand jury. That meant that every fourth week I had to drive to Cleveland, a one hour forty-five minute drive) for 1-3 days during that week. This went on for 18 months. Needless to say, it was a HUGE hassle. Some things I heard were interesting and eye opening. I’ve taken an oath of secrecy and can never talk about them and they burned out notebooks after our stint was over. Last year I was summoned to state jury duty up in Akron for a 3 month period.
Just last week I got jury summons for Sept 2012-August 2013 for our county. I was also called for county jury duty during my term of federal grand jury so I got off the hook a few years ago. I’m not sure why I get the ‘privilege’ of being called all the time, Mr Chiots has never been summoned for jury duty. I am more than happy to participate as my civic duty, but it’s getting a little ridiculous.
Have you ever served on a jury?
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Asparagus and Beans – A Winning Combo
In the past couple years I’ve been reading a lot about permaculture. As a result, I’m always searching for more effective ways to implement it’s ideas into the garden. This spring I was reading a non-permaculture article reading recommended a higher nitrogen fertilizer once harvests stopped and the foliage was allowed to grow.
Instead of adding a high nitrogen fertilizer, I was going to underplant the asparagus with clover. This would both provide nitrogen and protect the soil. Before I got it planted, I ran out of space in the edible garden for my green beans. Off went the lightbulb in my head and I planted them by the asparagus. The asparagus greened up nicely once the beans took root. When the beans are done producing they’ll be pulled and laid around the asparagus to provide an overwintering mulch to protect the soil. If I have comfrey to harvest at that time it’s leaves will be added as well.
I love discovering ways to maximize the small space by layering edibles. An added bonus is saving money by not having to buy a fertilizer. Any time I can keep the circle of the garden closed I’m one happy gardener. Like what goes on my plate, I like knowing exactly where every input in the garden comes from!
If you’re not familiar with permaculture, I’d highly recommend reading about it. Check your local library to see if they have a copy of Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture. I had our library’s copy so much that I finally just purchased one. Mr Chiots is reading our copy of this book and is loving it (not bad for a guy that’s not really interested in gardening). He’s already talking of implementing the apple guild next spring in Maine. Perhaps I’ll have him write a blog post about it this winter as he’s planning!
Have you ever heard of permaculture? If so, are you implementing any of it’s principles in your garden?
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Quote of the Day: Stone Walls
History is about leaving our mark. The old settlers’ mark is a bunch of tilting gravestones and some broken down stone walls, and I wonder if, as they heaved rocks onto the intricately fitted walls, they thought about us, the future, or were they just trying to get those stones out of the field. Whatever their motive, they left a mark with their lives. And we leave one with ours.
Linda Tatlbaum from Carrying Water as a Way of Life: A Homesteader’s History
I always notice stone walls when we’re out and about, especially the old ones. Perhaps it’s because I’m a stone wall builder myself. When I build a stone wall I’m not necessarily thinking about it being here in a few years, I’m more doing it because I love the look and I have a ton of rocks on hand.
Gardening organically is something I do with future generations in mind. I know not using chemicals in the garden is healthier for me, but I know that it will make a big difference to the generations that come after me. They are also on my mind as I blog to encourage others to go organic.
What kinds of things do you do for the sake of future generations?
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New Laundry Room and an Update
Many of you have been asking about the lady that just had to come look at the house. We never heard back from her, so I’m guessing the house was a little out of her price range. We’re moving forward with a few other jobs, namely the laundry room, the office and the upstairs.
The laundry room was one of the first rooms that was painted back when we first bought this house over 10 years ago. The paint was starting to show it’s age, it was faded, dirty and just looked a little drab. I had painted red halfway up the wall and the door was painted red as well. We repainted all of the exterior doors black a while ago when we painted the shutters.
The flooring was also old vinyl that was really showing the age both in wear and style. Since we had leftover hardwood in the garage from doing the rest of the house, we decided to install it here as well. We didn’t put this flooring down in the laundry room originally because Mr Chiots didn’t think it would hold up to all the traffic, since this is the main door we use. We’ve been really impressed with this flooring and the way it holds up, so we went ahead and put it in.
I used extra paint leftover from the living room and leftover black paint from the shutters to paint the cabinets. Now the walls are a happy green which help balance out the black door and cabinets. A rug from the attic was thrown on the floor and the job was complete.
The results are really quite impressive. It took us one day to finish the job and was a day well spent. The best part is that it only cost us about $5 for the glue for the floor. Not a bad room makeover for a day of work and $5 spent! Unfortunately yesterday was dark and cloudy so the photos don’t really do it justice.
I’m always amazed at how a small things can make such a big difference, not just in how nice the room looks but in the size. This room looks so much bigger than it did before, I don’t know why but I like it! The room is much brighter and happier than it was before, which is really nice since this is the entrance we use 100% of the time.
Do you use you front door, side door, back door or other door for your main entrance?
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Friday Favorite: This Old Blanket
I have this old blanket that I can remember having on my bed when I was as young as 3rd grade and I’ve used ever since. A very simple quilt, made by sewing two cotton king sized sheets together with a flannel sheet sandwiched in between. It’s tufted with that multi-colored yarn that was so popular back in the day.
This quilt was made for me by a group of older ladies in the church. Every time we’d come back to the States from Colombia, they’d present us with beautiful quilts, some very intricate and pretty, other’s crocheted from yarn and some plain and simple like this one.
This blanket is one of my favorite things because it’s the perfect weight for summer. It provides that comfortable weight that helps me sleep better without being too heavy or too hot. It’s also a great layer in winter, we usually add a heavy woolen blanket on top of it.
It’s not stunning, beautiful, intricate or pretty, at least not in the usual sense. I still LOVE it and it will be on my bed until it’s fallen into threads, not likely in my lifetime since it’s already almost 30 years old and shows no signs of wear. No doubt, many of the ladies that worked on it are no longer living and that makes even more special. I wonder if they realized when they lovingly stitched this blanket that I’d still be using it as an adult?
Keeping it around reminds me that it’s not always about surrounding yourself with beautiful things. Sometimes utility trumps beauty, and yet that makes something beautiful in it’s own way! This quilt will never be in a magazine, but it’s worth it’s weight in gold to me for the comfort it provides.
Do you have any items like this that you love?
