Rub a Dub Dub…a new home for the tub

Meet my claw foot tub. He is one of the treasures which came with the house when we bought it 19 years ago.

The last couple of decades have been a little dry for tubby. Relegated to the dog kennel to collect leaves and twigs and wait for the day when his services would again be needed.


That day has finally arrived.



We spent last weekend scrubbing and rubbing, priming and painting. Spiffing him up for his new job.


Tubby has a new lease on life and doesn’t he look happy? He is now the focal point in the center of the expanded garden. Next spring he will be bursting with flowers, standing proud and showing the world what a grand old guy he is.

Abundance of Summer

Wow, been almost a month since my last post. Too many things to do in the summer so computer time is taking a hit. Things I have accomplished in the last month...

Finished first pass of a new pattern for the etsy shop. Here is how it turned out. I have some changes I want to try on the next one before the pattern is ready for publishing.

Read the final book in the Harry Potter series. I really enjoyed the ending. I will say no more in case any of you are still working on it.

Garden produce is everywhere. I have been distributing zucchini and cucumbers at the office. Canning of the beans and pickles is done for the year. I started freezing beets and peppers this evening. Sweet corn is almost ready. Husband has started digging up the red potatoes. Noticed my first orange tomato tonight so we are getting close to salsa, spaghetti, soup and pizza sauce time. Half of the onions have been dried and stored. Waiting patiently for the first cantalope to be ready for picking.


Finished spinning my purple fleece and made my first 2 ply. Still need to wash it to set the twist.


Cotton plants are flowering. I saw my first flowers on them last night and they are lovely in my opinion. Color seems to vary from light pink to deep rose on the same plant. Not sure if this is an indication of how long the flower has been opened or just the way it is. I will have to keep an eye on them for the next couple of days and see what I can learn.


Finally, this years fun project has been eating up a considerable amount of time. We have had a flower bed next to a wall on the barn hill for about 15 years. It's main purpose is to hold the cement wall which holds the dirt on the hill. Maintaining and weeding of this area has become impossible so my husband suggested converting it into the water feature I had been hinting at for a couple of years. It only took us about a week to start digging in. Lots of shoveling and rock arranging later this is where we are currently at. Still working out the kinks on the pump which the water can also flow through and pour into the bucket and we will probably be doing some more digging to increase the size and depth of the bottom pool so it is deep enough to house fish. Those modifications and some more plantings to disguise the mechanics of it and I think we will have this one conquered. Next year, we are talking about a covered bridge.

Growing cotton in Michigan

About 9 months ago I got an opportunity to buy a used Louet spinning wheel which I jumped at the chance to purchase. Spinning wheels are one of those things that have fascinated me since I was a small child. Through the Middle of the Mitten group I have also met wonderful ladies through whom I can purchase wool, alpaca and angora roving for spinning but even with these sources I wanted to have my own source of spinning material. I thought about rabbits or a goat but my husband wasn't keen on the idea and I admit I don't really have time to take care of animals. So I found a used copy of the book 'A Weaver's Garden' by Rita Buchanan which tells how to grow many plants for fiber. Flax and hemp are mentioned as being very easy to grow in Northern climates but the preparation of the plant for spinning was somewhat involved, not to mention growing hemp (or marijuana) is illegal and I don't think they would allow my wheel or needles inside the cell with me.

So my next choice was cotton. But I live in Michigan, definitely not cotton growing country but
nothing ventured, nothing gained so off I went to investigate using my trust worthy tool, Google. I found an article by Nev Sweeney describing small scale cotton growing. He described how he had broken several rules of cotton growing but was still successful in his endeavor. With Nev in my corner I found a source for cotton seeds at www.earthlyseed.com (Google again), purchased some peat pots and potting soil and away I went.

Placed the planted seeds on the windowsill about mid March.
It took 2 - 3 weeks for the first little guys to poke their heads out.

At about 10 weeks after planting, I moved the plants from the windowsill to the screened in back porch to prepare them for the fluctuations in Michigan's weather and at 11 weeks I moved them to the selected location in the yard.



Like a hen with her chicks I have been checking them at least daily making sure that they are doing ok and nothing is disturbing their growth. If all goes well I will have 3 kinds of cotton to play with by September, a standard white variety - Upland, a green cotton and Nankeen - a red cotton. Gotta go check on my babies now.