This afternoon, I took a pair of floor length curtains and made them into curtains that fit the window on our side door. This is the extent of my sewing abilities. I can do this, hem pants, and sew on buttons. That’s about it.
All my sewing is done by hand. My mother tried to teach me how to sew with a machine. She didn’t have much luck because I was left handed and she said I did everything backwards. She soon gave up. Her attempts to teach me how to crochet and knit didn’t fare any better.
I did have a bit of success at embroidery. Except for the time I embroidered my project to the blanket on my lap.
I did well at cross stitch and needle point. They are repetitive, so the concept is simple. Sometimes I like the repetitive nature. It is soothing to work on while watching television.
And there is an added bonus to the curtain project I did today. I can use the remaining fabric to make curtains for the bathroom window! I’ll save that for another day.
And suddenly there were cupolas on top of the workshop, where no cupolas had been before. Ok, so it wasn’t all that sudden, but I am very happy with them.
My husband built and installed these cupolas. I am truly amazed at what he is able to do with some wood, screen, and a sheet of aluminum. Not only that but the act of getting onto the rooftop and installing them was monumental in my eyes. And they look nice too.
I learned a lot about cupolas that I never knew before. I thought they were ornamental but that is not so. Or rather, they are ornamental, but that was not their original purpose. Cupolas, are structures added on top of a building, and they are often domed. They are intended to provide light and/or ventilation. The purpose of cupolas in barns is to assist in the drying of stored hay. The purpose of our cupola is to provide ventilation. We needed a way to release moisture and heat, and we weren’t happen with what ridge vents would offer in this situation.
For some reason the cupolas remind me of Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby. Their cupolas are much larger, but there’s no accounting for my mental associations.
Close-up of cupola.
Our cupolas have screens behind all the louvers to keep out bats and other critters. We do have bats around here because of all the dead trees and woods in the surrounding area. While I like bats, I don’t want them in my building, especially when I hope to have an upstairs office there one day. I am perfectly content to have them living nearby though, where they can swoop through the air and eat mosquitos to their heart’s content.
So, there is more than you probably ever wanted to know about cupolas. Enjoy!
One of my favorite things about retirement is the end of the day. I used to put off bedtime as long as I reasonably could when I was working. Bedtime meant that my evening was over. Once I went to sleep, it seemed like no time had passed and then it was time to go back to work.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked my job as an environmental scientist. It just got in the way of my life and what I wanted to be doing at home. Now, at the end of the evening when I am tired, I just happily go to bed, knowing that when I wake up I can pick up where I left off. Or do something else of my choosing. I don’t have to put in 8+ hours at work before I can come home again. It’s like endless summer vacation!
I have talked to a few other retirees about this and they feel the same way. Time freedom is a grand thing!
There are many other wonderful aspects of retirement that I touched on in a previous post. You can read about them here. Retirement: Run by Dogs! If you would like to share in finding out more, don’t forget to like my blog and follow along.
London’s Number One Dog Walking Agency-Kate MacDougall (Non-fiction)
Tales from the owner of London’s Number One Dog-Walking Agency from start-up through move to the country. You will enjoy meeting the dogs and the people too.
2. The White Garden-Stephanie Barron
This book takes place at Sissinghurst Castle during two periods of time. The castle was the home of garden designer Vita Sackville-West and her husband. The plot focuses on determining what actually happened to writer Virginia Woolf during her last days. Was it suicide or foul play? This is a work of fiction and takes liberties with what history records. A fun book, especially for gardeners.
3. Camino Winds-John Grisham
Bruce Cable, wealthy owner of bookstore Bay Books, tries to solve another murder on Camino Island, Florida. A hurricane hits the island causing death and destruction. Bruce finds that his friend was murdered during the storm. He encounters unexpected situations while trying to solve the crime.
4. The Sea Glass Cottage-RaeAnne Thayne
Olivia Harper goes home to help her mother recuperate from an accident and help out with her 15-year-old niece and the family business. She plans to return to her life in Seattle. Many untold secrets surface about Olivia’s family. The truth puts many issues to rest, and plans change.
5. The Pepper Thai Cookbook-Pepper Teigen (Non-fiction)
It turns out that Pepper is the nickname of the author. This is obviously a book of Thai recipes. Many of them look good and it provides handy tips. I will not make many of the recipes because many of them involve fish/oyster sauce and I am the only one here who likes it. I do plan to make the Pad Thai Brussels Sprouts because, hello, how can you go wrong with those two things?!
6. The Book of Hidden Things-Francesco Dimitri
Four friends have a pact to meet each year on the same day in Italy. The leader doesn’t show up this year. I gave it 30 pages and wasn’t into it, so gave up. I have a whole bag of new library books waiting or I might have kept going.
7. Everyone is Italian on Sunday-Rachel Ray (Non-fiction)
Delightful, as are all the Rachel Ray cookbooks I’ve seen. Most of the recipes in this book are ones I want to make when it’s cooler out.
8. Once Upon a Puppy-Lizzie Shane
Unpredictable Deenie Mitchell is always on the move. She stays in Pine Hollow for a while to be with her aging aunt and to help with new programs at the dog shelter. She encounters Connor who has a plan for everything. Both their worlds begin to change and who knows where it will end? This is the second book in the Pine Hollow series, and I have enjoyed them both.
I’m hard pressed to pick a favorite book from this selection. All were good but none really stood out to me. If forced to choice, I would go with The Sea Glass Cottage. Books about relationships and family dynamics always intrigue me.
Magazines: Writer’s Digest, Bird Watcher’s Digest, The Cottage Journal, Everyday Storage, Better Homes & Gardens Secrets of Getting Organized
We hard a large harvest from one of our plum bushes this year! We purchased them from our County Extension Office as pencil sized twigs several years ago. The largest is now about seven feet tall. They are covered with sweet smelling white blossoms in the spring. I recently read that the type we have are called wild plums or sand cherries, among a few other names. They start to bloom after three years and produce fruit after four to six years. So we may have even more fruit next year if our other bushes kick in.
I made our first batch of plum preserves last week. I followed a recipe I found on-line which called for lime zest and juice to be added. I strained the final product through a colander which was a bit of work and had some waste. The result was tasty, if a little tart.
Just after that we went to our neighbor’s barn sale. She will be moving soon and was clearing out a lot of things. We will miss Shirley. She has been a good neighbor. And Zekie has certainly enjoyed chasing the geese off her pond. https://sanctuary-acres.com/2021/03/22/a-working-dog/ My husband and I had found a few items and were ready to leave the barn sale when we saw one last item we had to have. It was the colander type strainer with wooden pestle seen above. Our neighbor said she had used it for making applesauce. We knew that it would be perfect for making plum preserves!
I had four more pounds of plums from this week’s picking, so I made more plum jam this afternoon. This time I made plum cinnamon for one batch and the other was plum ginger with freshly grated ginger root. Both are delicious. I used the new strainer set up to remove the plum skins and it worked beautifully.
Two flavors of plum preserves.
I also made a peach custard pie this morning with peaches I purchased at a local farm stand. It was a productive day and I am happy we were able to take advantage of local produce.
Sanctuary Acres 