October "Flew" a Mind Meander

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Wow, October came and flew out the window with all the witches and goblins.

I've neglected the blogs---but golly, OCTOBER was busy.

First, I have to be very careful of my shoulder...the cortisone has worn off and each day is good or bad, or really awful, depending on how the crabby shoulder feels about doing anything. Flinging totes and racking leaves, pulling weeds are all on the NOT REALLY list. I try, and then give up quickly.

My Gardening has been limited. The vegetable garden NEVER got fully planted, and the corn, beans, peas, pumpkins, squash we planted, didn't produce for us. TWO beans---out of 4 packages.

Yikes, the worst year ever. Peppers were okay, we did have fresh broccoli, chard, and tomatoes, 

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The last of our tomatoes...ripening in the window.

and fresh cucumbers all summer and into Fall. 

The garden still needs to be emptied and tilled, which is this weekend's project.

Late in October I finally cleared the flower bed by the pond and got new mulch to protect the plants for winter, that was my Spring clean-up. We did get all the bushes trimmed and many branches cut down and dealt with. Hubby has really had to crank as these are the things I usually do.

Socially  we had a fish boil, and three family events in October

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Here are Cupcakes decorated as a family project before a Sunday dinner!

... and we saw a play, and had dinner out four times with friends. That's actually a lot for us. I do get out with a friend to do some 'thrifting' or a fun event during the day, usually once a week, too. Hubby bowls and has breakfast out twice a week and runs errands with a friend.

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Seriously what is more fun then family!

I usually plan an activity when everyone comes---we decorated red velvet cupcakes for Halloween. Lots of fun!

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 My Grand, her grandmother from the Phillipines..we are the same age and have lots of fun together!

In October, our only grand, turned 11, I can't believe that she is already a young lady. Time certainly flies the older you get.

I also did four Mather Institute projects which I will share more in a post. I had to go out and buy an iron to set the dyes we used for projects. 

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The Bulk of my time in October, I spent on listings for my Etsy shop, over 134 different items. So, Figure a minimum of 8 photos each  or 1,072 or more photos, all edited and information researched to verify age, condition, price and more. That is a my own personal record. Goal is 8 more totes or another 75 items for November, which ever comes first. I will be listing some wonderful handmade vintage mold and tart tins Christmas items this coming week.

    

Etsy BarberryLane

Etsy BarberryLane

Treasures from all different times.  

My mom's and my own stashes!

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Some of these are already gone...but you can visit my Etsy shop in the right column.

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And SALES were very good for me in October, with new items always generating interest in everything. 

I did get through over 15 totes of vintage items, family linens and my own craft stashes to get all those new items listed. I'm over the ache of letting things go, it is time to wean and find homes for all the wonderful items my family and myself have collected. I also made several delivery trips to Goodwill and another favorite thrift store with donations. Use it, sell it, or LOSE IT...is the motto now!

We are still dealing with the fruit-basket-upset since the February flood. But, we managed to get all the saved totes out of the garage and, and the tent taken down after emptying and gone through, though some totes/boxes are still on the back porch. More of everything will have to be dealt with this month. 

Doll wise---I attended the October Windy City Doll meeting and had a great time at that. The dolls are happily content to live in their houses and not pester me too much about getting out, for the moment! 

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Our only home decorating for Fall was the buffet, and a few floral arrangements in the house. 

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 I've been terrible about sharing--but there has always  been a stack of something somewhere in some state of disrepair or cleaning that screwed any photo taking. Who needs photos of chaos...when you are living in it.

I attempted to have little spots of normalcy with seasonal touches.

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It's surprising how well the oranges/reds work with all my blue and white!

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My herbs are now in the kitchen

Last week we brought the outside in...and my house plants have moved back inside the house, just in the knick of time. The huge Hibiscus plant was wheeled into our temp controlled garage...it's too heavy to lift at this point, and we have a grow light on a timer hooked up with it. I have three Mandillas that need to have new hanging pots---which will be a project this coming week, I will share.

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Mandillas---set in those clear bowls that will become hangers/Cross your fingers? The did get a bit of nipped from frost I think, I hope they recover.

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A double dracena/pony tail was happy on the front porch, and now shares the windows with my Ivy tree.

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Gnomes seem to not want to leave anything alone. 

No apologies, they are from my Scandinavian heritage...so I just have to let them do 

what they want to do. LOL!

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Waxing the counters is a seasonal chore...!

I never managed Spring cleaning with the mess in my shoulder, so I'm concentrating on a good clean now everywhere. We've had more electrical work done this last month, and now realize as seniors, we may have to have help with more regular things around the house and yard. We are hosting Thanksgiving, but not Christmas.  And, I will be scaling back both holidays in order to deal more of the down-sizing project.

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The angle of the sun changes so this time of year, and my wood tones seem to come to life. I appreciate the sun now when it isn't so blistering hot.

So, that is the plan for November, and I promise to share!

Sending wishes that you all are Healthy and Happy, and please keep my blog and our journey in mind, as I try and do a few posts here and there. 

Starting November cleaning in the kitchen...NOW!

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Midwest Gardening: Back Yard Clean UP and Projects

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Late Fall projects and Backyard Cleanup!!!

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This is our side stairway off the back kitchen door. It was one of the first things we did back in the 80's to improve the house. The original stairs were concrete underneath, crooked, and without railings...hardly to code. We covered it with wood, but it was poor quality and warped, split, and got ugly---the reason I never showed photos of it. 

Originally the stairs curved, but Hubby redid the bottom base in concrete and ripped out all the old wooden steps and replaced them with higher quality (safe for ground/water contact) wood now in a straight line.

 We also have had issues here with nesting animals and wasps...so lots of wood later, insulation, caulk and this is the result so far. 

The railings are still missing, but the wood is sealed and tight now. He is also going to remove the vent as we no longer have a dryer in the basement...again trying to critter proof.

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Before: The adjoining flower bed was shortened to expand the stair base and straighten them and new boards added on the side. We switched out the dirt here, replanted the Iris, Sedum and small Del Oro Lilies. In Spring I will probably add a new vine to this bed. This area is on the East side and is very hot with blasting sun until 2pm each day.

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AFTER: Just a little tweaking and some nice light on the space! I've always wanted to do something with the concrete? But, then flowers fill this area up anyway.

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Onto more clean-up. Our lot is a bit over a quarter of an acre, and we use every inch of it. When you are both in the mid-70's---120 feet back and forth is a lot of work. THIS is my 'workhorse'. This is our second garden wagon---the other one disintegrated. Just a little yard cart that the sides come off of...nice tires and just the right length handle to pull.  I couldn't do all my pots/decor without it. Back and forth to the compost pile a million times during Spring and Fall. 

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Before: The East side of the house was still a disaster...the beds to the right have been basically cleaned out. I pulled out the last of the old stump below the Dragonflies. We needed to add fresh dirt to there. I will plant some 'transplanted' Iris in that spot...should be pretty in Spring. 

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AFTER: I did get all the leaves blown into the backyard late yesterday and Hubby cleaned up all the construction mess. This concrete is beginning to need a facelift---maybe next year!

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Today I planted 5 Iris roots in new dirt. It will be odd not to have a pot or a chair for annuals here next year. I will plant some taller plants or a vine in back.

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Crazy marigolds are still going strong---even after at least 3 frosts? 

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Glaring sunshine, but our Fairy landed here along the fence. The bushes had swallowed her by the porch and she may need another more permanent home again. Perhaps in the front yard? The Zinnias here and there have escaped the frosts.

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Four-feet from those Zinnias are the Giant Hosta and you can see the frost results. We will let the leaves stay until Spring---for the bees to have some protection.

There are so many trees surrounding our property and we have two large Silver Maples, which we had severely trimmed last Spring. So leaves should be about half of normal.

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This is today, while yesterday we had chopped them all up with the lawn mower and then the lawn vacuum sucked them up and bagged them. Seven huge bags went into the compost pile, and this is just from the backyard. 

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With all the garden waste the compost pile is already more than half-full. It was down to under a foot deep with soil this summer, we used so much for projects. I've already dumped 80% of our pots into here. It's work, but really 'free' soil and free fertilizer...one of the reasons all our pots produce such great flowers and veggies.

A totally GREEN thing to do. 

We never burn any yard waste.

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These stairs were blown off twice yesterday...LOL.

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I managed to get the garden almost totally stripped. I rolled up the fabric and collected the stakes for next year. Much of the ground up leaves from the yard end up in here, and then Hubby will till them in later this Fall. We have a forecast for good weather for at least another week or so.

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Once Hubby is done with all his other projects, we need to tackle the inside of the Greenhouse, make it more critter proof and change to a thick foam insulation. Apparently regular fiberglass insulation is just a HOME for mice. 

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Amazing, last of the Roses...9' in the air, and tufts of bedding oozing out of the birdhouse. We have a myriad of birdhouses everywhere on the property...I love all their chatter, and sparrows will land very close to us if we actually sit still. 

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Meanwhile, this flamingo does look out of place amongst so many leaves from our trees.

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This old bird bath was our first backyard purchase in 1984. The birds love it!

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The last crops that are frost resistant, our two types of Swiss Chard and Broccoli.

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Both these were stunted in the unrelenting heat this summer, but have gone nuts this Fall with growth and production. We will have at least one more fab pick of broccoli despite the bugs having their way with it. 

We organic garden---so the bugs just take their share.  I douse my produce in lightly salted water when cleaning and that makes sure we aren't getting any extra protein.

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Hiding along the fence are the tomato cages. Normally, I sort by color---LOL, this year I realized I hadn't---so we have a pastel photo-op for Fall.

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I harvested many blossoms for seeds, but these I left for the birds. The Zinnias here are pretty much done.

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Our giant Marigolds are still blooming strong and the bees were still busy!!! These were all planted from saved seeds.

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We are getting there...how are you doing?

Happy Fall Clean UP You All-

And this is just the BACKYARD! 

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All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, unless otherwise designated. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

Thanks ALWAYS for visiting!

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

Thank you for your cooperation,

 Sandi Magle

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