Okay, that title is untrue. I just got out of the shower. We have been slowly getting the garden ready, with seeds already planted for the veggies that did not mind 40°F soil. (It is almost 60°F now.)

 Oh! I found a cool site:
Soil Temperature Maps

You can get a good bead on what your soil temps are in your area, (you keep clicking on the map to get closer until your tiny hamlet is shown). I plant by the moon, and with this addition, it really helps, especially if one is impatient like I am.

I digressed, as usual. When I come in, usually no later than 2 p.m., I am filthy. My gardening shoes protect my feet from little stones and leavings of pine cones, but not from my socks filling with dirt. The rest of me is not very tidy, either. I am usually smiling when I come in, except if I was bombed by pine cone missiles from the (cuss word) ponderosa pines have not been harvested yet. Himself agreed that we can have all giant pines and firs removed, including the ones that line the driveway. The ponderosas push out all other trees, being an invasive, nasty pine variety. With them gone, the other firs and pines can properly grow.

I am getting fruit trees, (that thrive in our area), instead. Yea! with drooling. Apples, pears and cherries will go in. There is supposed to be a peach that thrives in cooler regions. I have not researched it yet.

What about the moose, elk and deer eating the fruit trees? The area will be fenced off. It is the only way. We tossed a few pounds of buckwheat seed on the slightly wild, (we refuse pie-zoning of the area), slope under the power lines and more on the wilds area we leave alone for the critters to use (it is also one of their paths). It is great for the soil and gives them something more interesting than my garden. This is an experiment, btw. Deer will eat tobacco plants down to the ground, they will come back nightly if the area is not fenced off. (So goes that theory it would kill them.) Deer, when hungry, will eat anything, even the "deer resistant" items. There is no such thing as "deer proof", though, if a male will pee around the planting area daily, it holds them at bay. That is the only "cheap" barrier that actually worked. Himself does not carry that much urine. Our beds and plots total up to over 1660 sq. ft. now.

The lettuces and spinach are already sprouting. Yea! I think one of the kale came up, too. The onions and garlic were planted last fall. I had to move some when I redesigned the garden for optimal placement of various veggies, those survived the shock well. Did you know that if you cut the leaves down to 2" a few times while they are maturing it quickens them into bulbing? Rather cool trick I read years ago. Even the garlic gets a "haircut" when the leaves get a good 6" to 8" long. Sadly, the leeks at the nursery are not in yet. I will not get to enjoy them until late fall.

For our greenhouse plant starts, we have tried all sorts of things. In the house, there is no longer room for tables and lights or even a little pop-up greenhouse unit. The garage was a failure. Cement stays cold, competing with the grow light warmth, even if the plants are also in a small pop-up greenhouse. I have an old EZ-Up unit from my pottery/sculpture craft and Ren fair days. The top rotted years ago. Replacing it is more expensive than buying a new unit.

We came up with The Hillybilly Greenhouse©. (grinning- not really copyrighted...) We bought clear gardening plastic. Too big, because I was not sure how tall the sides would need nor how much on top when the peak thingie was used. I could of gotten away with 8'x25' (I got 10'x25') for the sides and 12'x12' (I got 20'x25') for the top. With some clipping for the entrance, the overly big top still works. Our clips are on their last legs, they will have to do for now. We put in lights for night use only to keep it warm inside. They have kept the greenhouse over 60°F at night. Not bad. Our normal summer is around 80°F during the day. I hope it does the trick.

Enough of that for now...

I am filling in the background on the dragon locker hook rug I posted about the last time. It is going well. I am watching Chinese movies as I work. I love the old kung fu movies. Netflix is our one splurge. They have a limited selection, luckily half are the mythical tales ("fairy tales" to Americans) of their old culture (when they were used to be allowed to have one).

Once the garden is all in, I will be able to start back at my sewing. I plan on making myself pants and dresses. I am still looking for decent blouse recipes. I found an old stocking recipe, as in old fashioned leggings with feet or "pantyhose", for those who do not know what they are. Oh, and some directions for making leggings. Mine will not be spandex, but of a weave that has some give and warm enough to wear under dresses in the winter. They will be worn under dresses or long, tunic-length tops. Only children should wear leggings in public with short tops. On adult women.... gads- People of Walmart moments. It will be nice to have some well-made clothes again. I am sick of the garbage at the stores. Did you know that the sizes at the stores are called "vanity sizing"? They changed the numbers to half of standardized pattern sizes so women can think they are thinner than they are.

Coming soon:
The BEST Lard Soap recipe I came up with, along with a lard-based lotion or cream. (I am still testing the latter.)  The lard soap is great in the hair, I have normally oily hair, so that says something about the recipe, no?