Emmalyn's New Explorations

Sometimes, I have to work too. I argued with Square for a bit and worked on inventory. Yarn got wound and skeins made for another dye bath. It may sound like a lot but I really didn't get all that much done. Databases will just wear you out. I think I finally convinced Square not to charge people 2 different sales taxes. When I did the show in VA, I had checked to make sure VA Sales tax only affected my on-site terminal. Today, the whole website was sure I wanted to charge both VA and PA sales tax, but only on a few items. I am not amused. If you ever have a problem with this, email me first before placing your order.

The umbrella swift was being obnoxious and just getting in the way. I finally got that project off it, using the annoyance as motivation. Four balls of 375 yards each got wound. I hate winding the thread-weight yarn. Now I can get into the food dehydrator. Dried tomato slices got put away. Rosemary is drying right now. Two more squash got weighed. The scale is behind the loom where the umbrella swift was. The loom's back beam is the only place the umbrella swift will mount. While I was winding, I got annoyed at more objects that didn't need to be in the way. A small amount of clearing may have been performed. I need to get the vacuum in there. (I haven't done it but it is on the radar.) Linen leaves lint everywhere. If I drop a ball of yarn, poof! Covered in lint. Therefore, the detritus on the floor needed to go back to their homes. It was mostly my dye stuffs. I still haven't found the black dye I ordered from Greener Shades. Previously, I tore apart the dye cupboard to see where it went. That is what the detritus was.

I have random cones of yarn everywhere too. My ultimate goal is to get that room organized. I also noticed a few spots on the wall where art could be hung to make the room more welcoming. It would encourage me to actually work on the loom. I found the pattern I've been looking for. At some point, I need to order the yarn. I have the weft, not the warp. I am hoping to weave some tea towels over the winter. If I'm a good girl and do my bookkeeping, it will be my reward. Inventory has to be done first.

Technically, for tax purposes, inventory gets done at the end of the year. Since my shows are done for the year, it gives me time to catch up and even start inventory early. Mostly though, I want the online store's inventory to accurately reflect what I have in stock. With hand-dyed items, I may not be able to duplicate a color. Nor do I necessarily have the dyestuffs in stock. It's just a little added incentive. No one wants to disappoint a customer. In theory, Square removes items I sold from the online inventory. In reality, connectivity to the web is not a guarantee at shows, especially in the mountains. More than once, I have sold an item at the fiber show that just wasn't in the list, yet I know I entered it. Connectivity. Possibly also software upgrades on Square's part. Who knows? I try to fix things as soon as I can but it pays to double check. By checking, I also can see what colors I am absolutely out of, like green.

I tried to keep my focus on just that one room. As the sun started to set, I remembered that I was going to plant some perennials. I wanted them in the window box, but the window decided that the casement would not open today for any reason. I went out to the tomato patch. It's had too many plants in the nightshade family in there over the years. There was a lot of blossom end rot. Next year, the plan is to change up that bed. I had to finagle the fencing off of the entire thing (to keep out the ground hog). Then tear out the tomato vines. I dug in some coconut coir and pulled a lot of crabgrass. This was not on my agenda at all. I safely tucked in the catnip and a rosemary plant. Maybe they'll survive. Maybe not. It beats leaving them to die in pots on my front porch. They got watered in. Despite yesterday's rain, the soil was dry.

One thing always leads to another. I didn't do this, but it is also on the radar. The comfrey needs to be cut and mulched onto nearby garden beds and the strawberries need to be transplanted. Thankfully, the sun went away so I was saved from that project.

Tuesday is my day to ship orders. After packing them up, I head to both the post office and visit the library. I just finished rereading Naomi Novik's Scholomance trilogy. If you want a little bonbon of a fairy tale, read The Summer War. I am looking forward to Martha Wells new release, Queen Demon (followup to Witch King). I'll reread Witch King first. It's been a while. Wednesday is a routine doctor's appointment. Chrono's got a gig on Sunday. Not much else will get done at all this week.

This is what it should look like but totally doesn't. Right now, the floor isn't visible.

Today's Goals:
Cut dead wood from front yard tree.
Clear a path
Start a dye bath
Burn up some of the excess wood



I made a fire break around the dye bath. Cleavers had started growing back. Since the fire was smoldering to start and not catching, I turned my back to it and started clearing up the hill. I found a bunch of fire wood under the weeds. Also found a battery, clothespins and a rope. Faun sent me a lovely new tool. I couldn't wait to try it out. It works divine!



The plum tree also lost a dead branch so instead of working on the Japanese Maple mess in the front yard, I worked on the fungus-diseased plum. It's coming back after the mulberry was cut down. It still needs more of a trim. The fire finally took while my back was turned. I got a walnut stew going. I won't dye the yarn until after it has been strained. Nothing worse than picking bits of shell out of beautiful wool.



Tomorrow rain is forecast. We'll see. Can't trust the forecasters. I am trying to build up my stamina. I only worked an hour. I did grab a wood pallet to lean against the fence. It'll keep Sam from coming under the fence. Sam is the neighbor's full size poodle. If I can get out again tomorrow, I hope to get some sawing of wood in. I still haven't put the chainsaw together. There is plenty that is too thick for the chainsaw. I have a hand held blade for that. I also have 2 more pallets to install. Then I want to take down all the steel conduit tubing, used in making trellises for cucumbers and tomatoes, and see how much of what size I have. Basically, I want to inventory it. It'll help me design a fence for next year's garden. I may move the box spring down along the fence so plants get light but the dog doesn't go through. I know it sounds very ad hoc, but pallets are free over at the Freightliner in Strabane. The box spring was an experiment that worked really well and is still useful. With today's prices, repurposing and free wood is nothing to be sneezed at.

There is so much more to do. The baby skunks screwed up my life by not being diurnal. Having them romp during daylight hours totally screwed up my world.

The quince may be decorative as well as tasty and abundant. They blossomed for a very long stretch in spring and into summer. It's a bush that is hedging its bets when it comes to frost. Being high maintenance, it produces suckers and grows very densely. Yes, it has thorns. The deer tend to leave it alone. It needs to be thinned and trimmed - you don't want someone to lose an eye. I imagine it would be excellent in a hedgerow.



The above is only a fraction of what we grew. I made jelly and quince paste. After tasting the quince paste, I decided it would go best on an English muffin. So I made some of those too. Not bad for the first time making them.



The recipe called for making 9 muffins, but I got 11. They were too good to wait for, so I scarfed some while waiting for the next batch to cook. IKEA had these great cutting rings. I am so glad we picked them up.





I wish I could find some crumpet rings, but I'm very satisfied with muffins.



Tomorrow I get to go to the store and see how much flour has gone up in price.