The behemoth comes to town.

Saturday started out in a quiet manner, putting the second coat on several porch spokes and a third coat of paint on the railing.

Then I went to pick up the monster tiller.  It comes on it's own trailer, requiring driving 45 mph all the way home.  It took 2 hours and a long nap to bolster my courage so I could run this thing.

It weighs more than an elephant and is twice as cantankerous.  How many times did it shut down, perhaps 144.  After that I lost count.  How many times did I have to pull the start cord, about 287. After that I lost count.

How many times did it get TOTALLY STUCK in the new garden that is covered by 9 loads of alpaca manure, TWICE. After that I pretty much gave up.

The good news is I lost 13.2 pounds just pulling / pushing it up and down the yard and making U-turns.

You can imagine how much expostulating occurred when I returned it.  Explaining just which garden area I tried to till and how it would NOT do anything.  Thankfully, they refunded my money.

And  . . . as the big strong fellas lifted it up off the trailer when it was running, guess what came pouring out.  You guessed it, a ton of #%&*.

Turns out the tiller mechanism was clogged and the only way to tell was to lift the darn thing all the way up.

Sorry fellas, I did not take my superman pills this week.

The moral of this story is, find a tractor / tiller guy who will actually show up and pay whatever they ask, it's worth it!

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Excerpts of my summer vacation. . .

  . . . and why I did not go anywhere.

Four years ago I used Olympic deck cleaner on my front porch before painting and it annihilated the wood. It may have been applied on too hot a day, but whatever the reason, it's been going downhill ever since.  Cracks, splinters and serious fissures abound.

 So I rented a drum sander, hired a sanding guy for 4 hours, and then spent 3-1/2 days using a palm sander, a 3" belt sander, and hand sanding everything else.  A long and tedious process to be sure.

 Many of the spokes were loose with rusted out nails at the bottom and required Gorilla glue.

 Serious fissures.

Painting with Rustoleum 2x on the rails and spokes was a smart choice.  It filled in a lot of problem areas.  More serious problem areas received Bondo, an autobody filling compound prior to painting.

Three base areas on the french doors were also rotted out and required layering treatment with autobody compound.

Serious layering, eventually sanded down.  This took 4 hours.  After each layer, everything was left to dry for 15 minutes.

The covered porch ceiling required extensive long-handled brush scrubbing using various chemicals not certified by the EPA.  My cervical vertebrae C6-7 will never be the same.

Side bar:  Always wear a hat when scrubbing mold reduction chemicals on a ceiling and try not to look up while anything is dripping.  Oh, and before starting such activity, make an appointment with your chiropractor.

On Monday, Memorial Day, I got the first coat of Rustoleum 10X on the porch deck, taking great lengths to fill in the multiple fissures.  Five hours and 6 gallons of paint later, the first coat was done. I returned to the store for 6 more gallons.  Now that it's raining, I'll wait until everything dries well before putting on the final coat.

Meanwhile, I've had time to read the reviews on Rustoleum 10X and discovered some very unhappy people not to mention a class action lawsuit.

Will the paint live up to it's hype not to mention a 120-pound pup?  Only time will tell.  I'll take plenty of photos and keep my receipts just to be sure.

Let me know if you've had good or bad luck with this product won't you.  Perhaps on my next vacation we can house swap, but only if you live in Maui and have a really good chiropractor.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

A tiny glimpse

of phase I, renovation.

Fabric filled cabinets, all 4.

One consolidated bin of cut squares - different sizes, 4 containers of baggie projects going back 30 years, one bin of solid colored pieces for 2 different projects, one large flat bin of string piecing paraphernalia, and one bin of strips.  The gold bin is baggies.

The very last batch of fabric to be ironed and folded.  When I can get to it.

Sorted and categorized lights, strips, and a box of triangle units.  Can you hear my feet dancing.  The organizing is almost complete.

And to celebrate,

I took a Saturday off to work on an old project.

It's a good feeling, being this organized.  Yes, it took 8 months, and I'm not quite done.  However, this is a good stopping point while I take time to refinish my porch, paint some windows, put up some fencing, build a few gates, and work on the garden.

Of course there's company coming in too.  One a college friend I've not seen in 35 years.  Where oh where has the time gone?

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

The Merry Month of May!

Since May is not only my birthday month, but also includes Mother's Day, graduation, and Memorial Day,

I'd thought I'd share this wonderfully decadent, easy to whip up chocolate cake recipe.  As a matter of fact, it's so moist, you won't even need to make icing for it.  Unless of course you want to.


Triple Chocolate Cake

Cocoa powder for dusting.
1 - 18-1/2 ounce box deep chocolate or devil's food cake mix
1 - 4 ounce box instant chocolate pudding mix
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup toasted, chopped almonds
4 eggs
3 tablespoons almond liqueur
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup chocolate chips

(Note:  I usually leave out the liqueur and replace the almond extract with about 1 teaspoon of mint extract).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 10-inch bundt pan and dust with cocoa.

Place all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a large bowl and beat for 2 minutes with an electric mixer on medium speed.  Mix in chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until cake tests done.  Cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Place warm cake on serving dish and drizzle with glaze or dust with powdered sugar.

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon almond, vanilla, OR mint extract

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl.  Let stand at room temperature until ready to glaze cake.

This is a time tested recipe.  If you keep the chocolate cake mix and instant pudding in the pantry, you can mix this cake up and have it in the oven faster than you can say Happy Birthday.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Spring has sprung.

Can you see the trees bursting forth in bud and bloom?  It's a good thing we've had rain for 5 of the last 7 days.  It's washing the pollen out of the air.

 Slowly, the sewing room is being re-assembled.  Bins of strips are now on the shelf.

I've worked my way through ironing/folding 2 bins of florals.  Now it's time to finish up 2 bins of browns.  Many of which are getting washed to freshen.  The cabinets are getting full.

While the ironing/folding process continues, I'm cutting the 14", 16" or 18" long fabric pieces in half along the fold line.  One half goes back in the stack, one half is starched and hung on the design wall to dry.

Jo Morton recommends cutting strips vertically, parallel to the selvage, for piecing small blocks in her books.  I've been waiting a long time to make some of Jo's patterns and this will help me get a jump start.  

If you happen to save your strings for stuffing dog shelter dog beds, the big W-M store carries these "ice bucket" containers in several colors.  I think mine was $5.00.

The opening is nice and wide to catch pieces coming off the cutting table.  I'm working on my second big bag of strings, which I'll hand off to a friend involved in the project.

If you're not familiar with the dog bed for dog shelter project going on, just look it up.  Some bloggers even have tutorials for assembling beds.  It's a great way to use up batting bits also.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .