Garden Notes

Overnight low of 26 degrees.

Yesterday's high was 68 degrees.

Today is a permissable burn day so I think I will work on that.

High noon and I got a lot done this morning. I cleaned the goat water trough and got them some sparkling new water.  I watered the North Zone.  I burned 4 piles of brush.  I got the asparagus in the ground along with some more compost.  I got some more of the compost fluffed up and turned over.  I got a bit of water on the compost pile.  I turned off all the water in the back and turned on the water for the front garden area.

The weather is nice with just the occasional puff of 10 MPH wind.  Break time and then I'll see what else I can get done.

Front and back zones watered.

Emitters replaced in West side or Street zone.  The old bobblers were wearing out and/or I put quite a few one gallon per hour drippers on that zone and that was a mistake since the last elm tree, way at the end wasn't getting any of the water.  The water just wasn't making it all the way to the end.  I already tightened up this zone a bit but it needed more work.

So, I tightened up the back half of the zone.  I took off a couple of more emitters off that weren't watering anything [the plant either died or got moved].  Five or six sagebrush were getting two half gallon emitters and they would be happy with one half gallon emitter so I changed those up.  When a bobbler [emitter] gets worn out the water streams out instead of dripping out and that lowers the water pressure on the line so I checked for that situation and replaced those that were a problem.  I replaced almost all of the one gallon per hour emitters.  I ran out of new half gallon emitters towards the end of the line.  I need to order some more.

I cut some more of the flat tubing.  I have 25 lines cut now and I need about 30.  Looking at the roll, I think we will have enough flat tubing for this year.  I am reusing the flat tubing from the old garden set up, as well.

Did dishes.  Cooked dinner.  Yeah, that should be the other way around but I didn't do dishes earlier today so I had to do dishes and then cook dinner which means now I have to go do more dishes:)

Tired but proud

I am tired but proud of the work I did today.  I picked up that new cleaning job and am happy to have gotten it.  I think they are a lovely family.  It is a big house and there are two dogs but I will do my very best to get it shining around there.

I ran to Costco since I was halfway there anyway.  We had some ham in the fridge that wasn't opened yet and it had blown up like a balloon.  Did not seem safe to eat that is for sure.  They took it back, no problem.  I got some milk, some cheese slices and some replacement ham, some apples and, my favorite, a Danish.  Oh yeah, they had the pepperoni pizza on sale for $3 off so we are having easy eating tonight!!!!!

Goats

I did it.  I got the goat pen cleaned out, the straw in the goat hut cleaned out, the water trough scrubbed and filled with fresh clear beautiful clean water and new straw in the goat hut.  I am so proud of myself.  I am dog tired but it had to get done.  Those animals are counting on me.

I got a call for a new cleaning job.  I have to be there tomorrow at nine since their cleaning lady they hired didn't show up today.  Then, they will want every other week.  Let's see if they balk at my price.  I am not driving 45 minutes each way, bringing my own supplies and cleaning a 2 bath, 4 bedroom house with four people living in it for less than the usual $75 every other week.

Rested up and then got four plants into the ground.  Two rosemary.  Several people have told me they will make it through the winter here.  I put them up front in the warm part of the garden.  One Pineapple sage - I don't have a clue if it will live here but I put it in.  I love the flowers on sage plants.  This one has brilliant red flowers in a delicately shaped oblique tube with a fringe on the outside edge.  One German thyme - I know that one will grow here since I already have some.  Put it in on the south patio where it will fit in nicely with all the other heat loving plants.

Of course, I fed the goats and the dogs.  Loaded up for tomorrow's cleaning job.  Now, it is time to make sure I keep resting up.  I must do a good job tomorrow.

Lots to do and less time to do it!

Today is a catch all day.  I put a few screws up in the stringboards enclosing the front of the shed.  I lopped off a number of smoke bushes.  They are everywhere and I don't mind unless they pop up in the more domesticated parts of the yard. I finished getting rid of the antelope salt bush next to the faucet for the goats and the garden.  I raked up the leaf litter and put it into the compost piles and turned the sprinkler on for an hour.  That compost needs to finish up.  Maybe I'll make sure it all gets turned over a bit next week.

I fed the goats some melon rinds and some crappy corn that I blanched and froze and didn't want since it was over ripe.  I guess I can tell Hubby I tried.  They also got some bean plants and I pulled a bin of millet grass and tumbleweeds from the driveway iris/day lily strip garden.  Oh, and a bit of dried rice grass.

I got a load of laundry done and hung out.  I am also washing the bathroom and kitchen rugs today.  I got the inside of the toilets cleaned but the outsides still needs the professional cleaning moment.  I also need to scrub the sinks, tubs and counters and floors.  Won't be too bad.

The kitchen got a good wipe down yesterday but the floor needs some sweeping and mopping.  Also, the vacuuming needs to get done.

So, today is cleaning the house day whether I like it or not:)

Lovely lunch of salad with our fresh tomatoes, cukes and carrots.  A couple of burgers on some delicious burger buns from the fancy bakery in Carson City.  Had a lovely nap after Hubby left for work.

Got moving again and went over to the neighbor to give her a couple of irrigation items and some produce.  Also directions for heading out to Slate Mountain.  Told her to call me if they get stuck.

We both headed down the road to C's house.  I have been trading her veggies for eggs.  Ended up with two dozen large size and one dozen cute little banty chicken eggs.  Not bad!   Guess we need to have some eggs for brunch this weekend.

I dug out a greasewood shrub from the new veggie area.  The burn pile is getting huge this year!  Also dug up an antelope salt bush shrub which I fed to the goats along with some rice grass that has to go so that we can get this new garden area rototilled.

Picked up some of the wire U's that we use to keep the veggie garden tube irrigation in place.  There is a zillion of them and we need to get them all out so that we can pull the tubing and rototill before the weather freezes.  Hoping for a long fall since we have lots to do in the veggie area like bringing in manure and spreading compost and getting some green manure started.  I like the winter rye.

Swept the kitchen and got up a huge pile of dirt.  Mopped.  Got the bathtub and sink area scrubbed and the toilet is shiny inside and out.  Mopped the bathroom floor.  Need to wipe off the bath scale and the TP holder and get them back in once the floor is dry.

Washed the kitchen and bathroom rugs and they are ready to put down once the floors are all dry.

I am heading out to turn on the overnight water for the Fruit Tree Zone and then I am relaxing on the couch for an hour or two:)

House Cleaning

The neighbor girl, M, came back today and we did another four hours of cleaning.  This time we got the bedroom, the den and the living room done.

We hung all the curtains I had washed yesterday - living room, dining room, den and office.  We put all the light globes and light bulbs back into all the fans in the kitchen, living room, master bedroom, office and den.

I moved the two night stands and vacuumed behind them early in the morning.  The two of us managed to move the two dressers and M vacuumed the whole area and then helped me move them back.  We knocked down cobwebs and then we hung up the curtains I had washed yesterday.  M vacuumed down the hallway while I moved furniture out of the office and dusted.  She then vacuumed the office including the edges.  M volunteered to put the furniture back into the office.

We moved the couches and chairs in the living room. Then M gave it a thorough vacuuming.  We put everything back. While she was doing the living room I managed to get the light globes back on in the kitchen ceiling lights and I wiped down all the fan blades in the different rooms.

I moved the dining room corner cabinet and boy was it dirty under there.  Maybe I haven't moved it in six years since we got here.  M vacuumed under it and I moved it back.  In the meantime, I moved all the furniture in the den.  Took out all the small stuff and moved the couches towards the middle.  M vacuumed the carpet and then she vacuumed the couches.  I got the stuff moved back into place and then M vacuumed the middle.

We put the freshly washed couch covers back onto the couches along with the freshly washed couch pillows.  We put all the freshly washed furniture scarves back in place, made sure all the lamps and houseplants were back in place and called it a day.

I managed to sweep the kitchen and the back porch breezeway.  I didn't manage to mop so I will be doing that today.

Really am pretty darn tired so I will concentrate on pulling a few weeds, sweeping and mopping the kitchen and fluffing up the bathrooms.  Incredibly, the whole house will be clean, all at once, for a change.  Now I am going to pick one day a week to try to stay on top of it.


I couldn't have done it without the help of the neighbor girl.  To try to get everything done including knocking down cobwebs, polishing furniture, washing all the curtains, rugs, table scarves and pillows was just such a big job.  Deep cleaning means moving the furniture and managing to vacuum thoroughly and then getting all the furniture back into place.  All the pictures and mirrors were cleaned.  All the plants.  I spent part of last week and all of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday cleaning.  I am going to spend several hours cleaning today as well.  I am glad I made the decision to pay someone to help me.  M was thrilled to make $5 per hour and she learned a little bit about cleaning and she got things done without being resentful of being told when she wasn't quite getting it right.

House Cleaning

I cleaned so much today that I am half dead.

Watering and fertilizing the West Side Windbreak overnight.

The neighbor girl cam e to the house and helped me clean for four hours.  She did good considering her age and she was a big help.  I am having her come back again tomorrow.   Hopefully the whole house will be done by then.  I might need to clean on Wednesday as well.

What did we accomplish?  We vacuumed all the window tracks and washed all the windows inside and out.

We cleaned the fan and light globes in the guest bedroom and got the globes and bulbs back into the fixture.  We moved the bed out of the way and vacuumed under the bed and around all the edges of the room as well as under the dresser and around the guitar amps.  We wiped down the walls and got rid of the cobwebs.  Wiped off/dusted the shelving and dresser.  Wiped the high traffic areas and doors.  Gave it all a thorough vacuuming.  Put the bed back together with the frame facing in the right direction.  It was backwards.  Made the bed with nice clean sheets and freshly washed blankets and a bedspread to keep the dirt off.

We got all the light globes down all around the house.  I washed them up this evening and they are ready to be put back up tomorrow.  We got all the curtains taken down from all the rooms in the house. We washed the large red drapes for the bedroom and got them hung out as well as the kitchen curtains. I washed the den, living room, dining room and office curtains this evening.  All the curtains and table scarves and such  are ready to go back into place tomorrow.

There is a lot left to do tomorrow but the other rooms should go  a lot faster since they have been sort of cleaned more often than the guest room.  Also, I have already gotten some parts of the living room dining room cleaned.  I also am not too worried about the kitchen since I clean that a lot and it gets wiped down everyday.  I already cleaned the kitchen doo dads, pots and pans above the cabinets and the bowls and canisters on the shelf by the back door so it mostly needs to be swept and mopped.

I have washed all the houseplants over the last few days.  Gave a number of them a trimming. They are ready to  go back into place.

I took an aspirin for breakfast, lunch, snack time and dinner and will probably need one more for bedtime.  I hope I survive one more day of big cleaning.

The House

I have been working a great deal on the house.  My goal is to have the whole house be ship shape by the end of next week.  I have a neighbor girl coming to help me on Monday.  If she is getting the job done I will have her back Tuesday.  So far I have done the buffet hutch with the dishes.  The top of the cook book hutch.  The top of the kitchen cabinets including all the doodads.  All of the walls and plants in each area also cleaned.

I got the first lateral 2x4 up for the lattice and the first piece of lattice tacked up today for the shade cover.  The lattice needs some trimming but the project is on hold for two days while I clean other people's houses.

The garden is doing great.  I picked a bunch of lettuce and some carrots.

Watering the Fruit Tree Zone overnight tonight.