What is this {pretty, happy, funny, real} you speak of?
~ {pretty, happy, funny, real} ~
Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
Mostly {real}…
Because I was not joking that there are two bathrooms that were beyond the point of “um, could we get attention” and well into “you need to accept that you've lived here long enough to do something about this already” territory.
But… mess… and disruption… and showering in the mudroom… and snow… and boots through the house… and money…
As you know, I never complain and also it's super over the top to complain about renovations, because things are getting better, right? Still, waaaahhhhh….
So despite the seriously retrograde action we experienced early this week:
… complete with high winds and temps in the teens — not that I'm complaining, who would complain about that! — I did more of this:
So far this is what I've started, up there on the board. (The indoor seeds are tended by Habou who has a sunny window in her studio. This is a boon, as I have not one window out of my 54 (!) that works to grow seeds.)
Yes, lettuce twice! I have planted some things right out in the garden already, during that nice warm week we had. I think they will be okay — it's all cool-weather things like peas, kale, lettuce, beets, and the fava beans which are a cover crop. The garlic is coming up fine but I seem to have lost the rhubarb somehow…
And next week I think we can split the hive. With sheer will-power, we will cause Spring to do its thing!
And I think I will replace the oddly out-of-date and quite heavy buttons on this fine, light-weight merino sweater I found in the fall, at Marshall's, for a song ($20! Talbots!), with some pretty shell ones.
I think I might have the right size and number… I have so many buttons, but finding seven all the same is often tricky.
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Laura says
Similar temps and winds here too so we’re hoping for some warmer weather next week in order to get our garden going.
Yes, the buttons – so true!
Kimberlee says
Ah yes, more dirt in cups is always a happy remedy for the non-cooperative freezing weather. It’s getting hard to walk in my sun room with all of the flats of seedlings everywhere. I like your cute chalkboard of progress! I keep track of my planting in a notebook I’ve had for years (though it doesn’t say No Smoking). 🙂
Hope your renovations go quickly and smoothly! It looks Serious. Be careful on those plastic covered stairs – they look like the kind of thing I would go sailing down, feet flying out from under me.
And may your snow melt fast!
Annie says
Whoa, that’s a lot of real. I thought for a minute, though, that your seed planting was some sort of chocolate concoction- that would have lessened the blow, for sure! Happy melting.
Lisa G. says
That’s what I thought!
Laura Jeanne says
How funny! I took some pictures of our upstairs bathroom just two weeks ago looking just like that – we had to remove the floor right down to the joists, as it was entirely rotten underneath the toilet. My husband had to put down a new subfloor and we are just about to put in some new ceramic tiles. It was terrifying for a few days having a gigantic gaping hole in the bathroom floor, looking down to the diningroom below!
It turned out to be such a big job, because my husband also replaced all the old cast iron plumbing, and level out the floor, which was tilted because at some point (I’m guessing the 1940s maybe?) somebody cut chunks out of the main beams to make room for said plumbing. Yes, our house is so old it originally had no plumbing at all. Amazing. The old well is still at the corner of our property although we don’t use it for anything.
Stephanie says
OH MY! I love the picture of your deck and outside seating with the snow on it. It is like the furniture is waiting. I feel like someday I will have the words “cover crop” in my vocab, I am always impressed by a home garden! You always have such beautiful pictures of your veggies! God bless and GOOD LUCK!
Dixie says
This is my first time growing anything outside from seed and we have had ridiculous late frosts and snow this year. Next time I will plant later. But I did plant mostly frost-hardy things, thank goodness, so I am happy to see that lots of the seedlings seem to have survived! Hurray! The California poppies, though, I think, will need to be resown (surprise — Virginia is not the desert, turns out). And I don’t know yet about the fruit trees, which I can’t do much about, anyways.
It is a big endeavor but it is so nice to have something to work on together outside instead of me getting mad because the kids want me to play with them instead of read my book in the sun. Maybe this is obvious to others, but I am always looking for ways to do things with my small children without constantly focusing my attention on them. We can spend hours out there working together but not using up all of our (my) emotional energy with constant interaction. It is perfect group project for an introvert! And I mostly solved the problem of the toddler digging in the flowerbeds by giving him his own half of a flowerbed to dig in to his heart’s content…definitely worth the loss of the bed.
So, I guess I’m saying that I recommend gardening to mothers of small children!
Emily g says
Can I ask about your favorite fava bean recipes? Tonight, I made them for the first time, and they were more bitter and than I expected. Is that normal? I want to love them because we live in Rome, and they are a thing here. Any help you can provide is welcome!
Lisa G. says
Doesn’t “cover crop” mean that you turn it under when it grows? Adds nitrogen, I think.
Leila says
Emily, the way we eat them is this, a traditional Egyptian dish for breakfast:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ful-medames-352993
We would have them next to scrambled eggs mixed with some chopped dates.
I haven’t had this for a while, though. My beans were a little old, I thought, to be cooking, so I learned on the interwebs that they make a good cover crop. You let them sprout and grow to about 4″, then turn them under to enrich the soil.
Katherine says
When we moved into our home 14 years ago, both of the bathrooms had issues. One bathroom had a shower that was like a little closet tiled from bottom to ceiling and it leaked, causing soggy floors. So we could not use the shower. The other bathroom had a claw foot tub shoved into a corner with a curtain hung around it. The whole space wasn’t done very well, but it was usable; but one shower/tub for 9 people! At least there were two working toilets. When we finally had enough money and found a contractor who wouldn’t charge an arm and a leg (and my boys were old enough to do demo which saved money), we had the first bathroom redone with a new shower and new floor. Then we could use the first bathroom, dismantle the other bathroom and put aside money for the second bathroom redo. We finally finished it last year. It only took us a dozen years to get two fully functioning bathrooms. One thing I insisted on was taking the feet off the claw foot tub and dropping it into a custom built tiled surround. We all liked the depth and spaciousness of the old tub, but I hated cleaning under and around it. Old house purists might hate it, but I saved the feet and anyone can gaze at them lovingly if they want. And none of this shower/bath combo; there is a shower in one bathroom and a bathtub in the other. I don’t know if we could ever sell this house; it is peculiarly suited for us.
Laura Jeanne says
LOL, Katherine! The image you gave me of someone gazing lovingly at some bathtub feet made me giggle.
Carol says
Sure hope you find some buttons in your stash…it’s crazy what you might pay if you have to buy them now!
Molly R says
Can you do a post on splitting your hive? It seems like we do things in a similar matter–what works with what you’ve got–and I’d like to see how you work your beehives. I haven’t had to split a hive yet, and a practical post from you would be a boon! Also, good luck with the bathrooms. You’re brave to do two at a time. As for the snow: I’ve decided to be happy enough with it, since it means I can focus guilt free on inside projects before the warm outside calls and the weeds start growing!
Leila says
Molly, good idea! I will try to do a post when we split the hives.
The two-at-a-time bathroom deal is just because they are side-by-side so it made sense. Other than being crazy. And the one really wasn’t in use at all, so why not. Other than the crazy mess!
Mary Eileen says
Looking forward to some sparkly “after” pics of those bathrooms! Will you now have a spa-like atmosphere in which to complete your toilette?
I long to redo our bathroom but honestly….it doesn’t need it. It’s just ugly and was very stupidly reconfigured on the last go round. Seriously – who puts the toilet directly next to the tub at the faucet end? You have no idea the contortions I do to bathe the children. Or how many toys have been aimed for the bowl, which beckons them like a water polo net if the lid is up (which never, ever, ever happens).
Leila says
Mary Eileen, the atmosphere we aim for is “not falling through the floor.” We will definitely have pics. But probably not soon, in that even when the workmen go we still have to paint. And by we, alas, I look around and see that I mean me…
Woman of the House says
I’m sorry about the snow! That would be really hard to take in April. And yes, please share pics when the renovating is all finished. 🙂
Cathy L. says
Well, if you can’t find 7 matching buttons, you could always do 7 different, yet coordinating ones. It could be a new fashion setting trend!