My Accomplishments This Week

It's been a beautiful week in the Mid-Atlantic.  Our leaves turned colors with a vengeance over the past week.  They're dropping quickly now.  I've got the spot staked out for the new strawberry patch, and we're going to move the raised garden bed.  We've decided to move it up to the front of the house, along the front walk into the house.  It has wonderful access to water, and because it is visible, I will remember that it's there and keep better track of it!  Now that the leaves are falling, we'll begin to layer out a lasagna garden bed this week.  I'll take pictures as we go, and share with you what a lasagna bed actually is!  (Think: lots of layers!) 

When I was talking with DH about the spot for the strawberry patch, he decided that we should put at least one more bed up front, for the herb garden.  It will have closer access to the kitchen, and the water.  We think we might have space for one more bed beyond that.  I'm not sure what we'd plant in that bed... Since it will be right in front of the house and facing the street, we need to make certain that it isn't overgrown and leggy.  I'll have to think on that one.  We have too many bunnies in the front yard to put out lettuce.  I do love onions. Maybe I'll put an onion bed in there.  Or possibly move the rhubarb.  We're going to go ahead and start layering the beds this week, and I'll think about it all winter long!

This has been a fairly productive week!  These were my goals from last week:

1) Caulk the windows.
 

2) Clean out the window wells.
Started this, but I found a snake skin.  A BIG snake skin, in the window well.  I don't know how recent this is, but it was enough to make me stop cleaning.  DH says he'll take care of the window wells next weekend.  (This is why the windows didn't get caulked.  WHERE is that snake holed up?)
 

3) Keep working on daughter's cross stitch.
Closer to being finished!  I don't think I'll finish this by the end of next week!
 

4) Get load of stuff to Goodwill.
I have a corner filling with items from the basement, and will run them to Goodwill before Thanksgiving.
 

5) Clean out the chest freezer, use the old upright to store what is still edible while the chest freezer defrosts.
Whoops!  Not done yet, however I did finish cleaning out the chest freezer.  I need to shift and defrost this week.
 

6) Get the oil changed in the Honda.
 

7) Start looking for yarn for oldest child's sweater vest.
Well here's an interesting turn of events.  I didn't find yarn for the sweater, but I did find squares for a quilt for him that I started last year.  I had lost track of the squares and didn't know where they had ended up.  While cleaning out the basement, I found them carefully wrapped into a Ziploc bag, with the directions and a picture of what the final product should look like.  Hmmm... once I finish up daughter's cross stitch, I'll start working on this quilt.  I have no idea how long it's going to take me to get this done.   We'll see!
 

8) Get out and exercise 3 days this week.
 

9) Prime the birdhouses for daughter's Gold Award workshop this weekend.
The bird houses were primed, the workshop held, and it was a roaring DH handled the power tools, and he and daughter worked together to assemble the bird houses over the past month.  They built blue bird and wren houses.  She and I will be putting our three blue bird houses up around the house.  We have several others that we are going to attempt to place around the community in the coming weeks.
 

10) Set up a spaghetti garden in the back yard for next year.
The location has been found and staked out.  I'll start layering it over this coming week.

Goals for this coming week:
1) Continue working on daughter's cross stitch.
2) Caulk the windows.
3) Clean out the window wells.
4) Continue piling up the load to take to Goodwill.
5) Move stuff over to the tall freezer, defrost the chest freezer and clean it out.
6) Begin work on quilt for oldest child.
7) Get out and exercise 3 days this week.
8) Start layering the lasagna gardens in the front yard.
9) Cut up and steam the pumpkins for pies and breads.
10) Spend 15 minutes a day, twice in the basement cleaning up and sorting.

And one last thing:  Another girl from my Girl Scout Troop is hosting her Gold Award Project this weekend, on Saturday.  As leader, I will be there for her, cheering her on.  I'm so proud of these girls!