Posted on 03/02/2022 8:16:29 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
The Monthly Fiber Arts Thread is a monthly gathering of people that love yarn and fabric of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first project, to experienced fiber artists and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
It is impossible to hijack the Monthly Fiber Arts Thread. Knitting, crochet, quilting, weaving, general crafting - there is no telling where it will go, and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our Fiber Arts Ping List.
NOTE: This is a once a Month Ping List. We do post to the thread during the month. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Fiber Arts fans are welcomed any time!
Ha ha I thought a chicken tractor was some sort of craft item! I understand better now…
I might have to try my hand at some knit chicken sweaters - more appropriate to this thread than the “tractor” :-)
Officially RETIRING. (I think...) That is the current plan, anyway.
I retired in 2016. I highly recommend it! :)
“...and quite frankly it’s impossible to tell the difference.”
LOL! So true!
And since we’re complaining about the ‘men’ in our lives - Beau has been on a pretty good tear with getting things out of the barn and out of the garage.
That said, I told him today I was going into the garage area because I know there were some things in there that hadn’t gone up to the cabin as intended IN SIX YEARS.
OMG! He pitched a FIT that I was going to give it to St. Vinnie’s. But - I won.
I bought him off with a small box of ‘guy junk’ that Mom gave me when her husband passed...and all is well in The Kingdom once again!
That antifreeze I’ve been putting in his coffee is taking WAY too long to work! ;) *SMIRK*
Hurry Spring Fishing Season! Yeesh! This has been a long five months together 24/7 this year! He’s getting pretty squirrely, himself. He needs to get out and catch or kill something for the sake of our relationship! ;)
I am about to embark on the clean out (or clean up, depending on the ‘resistance’) of the little shed where our generator is housed. There is a nice big table in there (stacked with stuff) that would work great for starting plants - it has electric outlets so I can plug in a grow light.
There are some shelves on the wall, loaded with old, rotting books, & a bunch of other stuff, including my brother’s attempts at taxidermy when he was about 12 - some weird looking, falling apart from dry rot ‘creatures’ are what is left. One side is stacked with some “furniture” I can’t identify. There’s a bench I have mostly cleared off where I put my fertilizer - the shed is secure enough that animals can’t get in - they love ripping into bags/eating organic fertilizer.
I’ve been waiting for an opportune time when I can sneak out some stuff to the truck to go to the dump. The weather has been nice enough that a certain party has “been around” outside & would spot what I’m up to. :-) I AM going to have that table for starting seeds!!
I retired in 2008. Every Sunday night, I still take a sigh of relief that ... NO WORK TOMORROW!
My daughter-in-law texted me last Friday night. She said, “enjoy your last weekend, because after next week, it will ALWAYS be weekend!”
I do plan to just chill out for a couple weeks, clear my head, set a few tiny goals to get started. Oh, and get a massage on Monday!
“I do plan to just chill out for a couple weeks, clear my head”
Warning ... It may not happen for you, but it did for Hubby and for me. Instead of our heads clearing, we both went in to a sort of “brain fog” phase for maybe 3 or 4 weeks. Not sure why, but maybe it was the drastic change in structure after 40+ years of strict structure. I thought, “Oh, no. I’m retired and now have dementia!” Five years later, DH went through the same thing.
Thank you for the warning. That would not surprise me, to have that kind of experience. The past 2 years have been SO hard in so many ways, that with the change to retired, I do expect there will be quite an adjustment. I am trying to have very few expectations and fairly low goals, to start off.
Looking at some of the comments here, I wonder if we need a home fixing and projects thread. I am currently working on finishing an attic I had converted with a large dormer for far more space. Contractor walked off the job, I have had to do a lot of new work myself, find an engineer for advice, figure out how to buy, trim and install a French door, etc. Have not had much time to crochet the hats I like to make.
I would join a thread like that. Call it the Handyfreepers thread :)
Unfortunately at 83 I just don’t have the energy to take such a Ping List on in addition to the renovation work I am trying to finish before I can no longer work. Perhaps Diana could ping her lists and see if anyone wants this project.
“Looking at some of the comments here, I wonder if we need a home fixing and projects thread.:
Have at it! Two threads are enough for me to manage. :)
Maybe it could tie in with some of the Prepper threads?
Ping to #34!
I've been meaning to start up again on the prepper threads. That was why I reorganized my profile page. I wasn't planning on adding the gardening stuff aside from mentioning the weekly gardening threads and of course my cloud stuff but then I saw Pete's post so I formatted and added it. Most of it at least. There are some misc items that I'll go through sometime and add.
Prepping and Homesteading go hand in hand and homesteaders are definitely DIYers. Most homesteading types are preppers even if unintentionally and any prepper with some land is a homesteader to some degree. Homesteader makes one think of people making and selling soap and trying to live 100% off the land which is near impossible so maybe call it Prepping & Self-Sufficiency Thread. That would cover the DYI stuff.
We started with a hunk of woods and I proceeded to clear land, build a cabin, shop/barn, clear electrical easement, run electric from new pole to house/shop and install breaker boxes, outlets, lights, switches and wire things up, plumbing, cut fence line and put up fence for meat animals, gardening. I also repair and maintain our vehicles, fix appliances. You could say I'm an extreme DIYer.
Even helped a neighbor install French doors a couple of years ago. He put the second set in after watching/helping me with the 1st.
I don't know what the schedule would be as far as weekly, bi-weekly, monthly. Other prepping threads have been few and far between. I guess I'll try for around 1st of the month. Would be a good reminder for people on fixed income that get a check on or near the 1st of the month. Buy a few extras and put them up.
What do you think about me doing them Saturday mornings? Don't want to take away from the gardening threads but I'm not sure it would. Gardening is not my expertise so I can send questions your way.
Toss together the ugliest thing you can out of whatever and when he complains, build a nice one and he'll say, much better. Maybe?
Do you already have chickens or wanting to get some? Is that his real issue, chickens in general? A lot of people dislike them for some reason. I never really ate chicken growing up because my dad didn't like them. Said they were nasty because they'd eat their own manure. Meanwhile we ate plenty of lobster and they'll eat anything. He was a lobsterman before my time. Some people have had bad experiences with a rooster at some point in their life which made them dislike chickens in general. I had some young hens that scared my landlord. He said "What are those things?" I said chickens. He said they scared him. Some people are scared of birds. Something about the eyes I think. Prehistoric looking dead eyes of a predator. Does your dad like eggs?
Nevermind. I see you answered someone else with all that info.
Something like this but maybe longer so they have more ground and won't tear it up as fast. Bigger wheels to make it easier to roll.
Now that is something I COULD build!! I can “do” wood LOL! It also doesn’t look very expensive .... we have plenty of scrap wood & a large, brand new roll of hardware cloth (I call it “bunny wire” - good for hutches) around that would work. Also, I only want 4 hens max!
Thank you VERY much - it’s a plan I hadn’t run across yet.
BTW, I noticed our massacre survivor is missing just about all of her tail feathers - she had a very close call. She’s in a hyper-vigilant state (chicken PTDS?) while the old retired hen could care less what is going by the chicken run.
This morning, the old dog (all he’s got left is his nose - deaf, all but blind) hit on a really HOT track near the coop & was pulling hard on the leash .... led straight to a very fresh fox poop - looked like it had been deposited within the last hour. The hens were shut up in the coop when the fox would have been nosing around. That rascal ... determined to get the last two!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.