The End of Another Month

.
It's already the end of another month in 2009. It doesn't seem that long ago when it was New Year's Day.
.
I accomplished no where near what I'd set out to do for April. Had a lot of down time though. But-- I did manage to finish up a quilted pillow top for a new pillow for my chair at the sewing table. What is so damn frustrating is knowing that what would have once taken me a weekend to complete, now takes a couple of weeks!
.
Enough said; as I do not wish to give my health issues any more power than they already possess.
.
I finished reading Hex Breaker, by Devon Ellington, but still need to key in my hand-written notes and then write a proper review. But-- my favoritest character returned to save the proverbial day!
.
One of my goals for April was to work with my food dehydrator. Well, I didn't get the first thing dehydrated, but I did do some research on the subject and found an excellent series of videos, Dehydrate2store, by a woman who truly knows her stuff! ANYway, after watching the first few videos, I went about looking for and just purchased [online] the 100cc oxygen absorbers. While I wait for those to arrive, I picked up a case of wide mouth canning jars and laytex gloves. I forgot the lemon juice, but I'm not working with anything right now that requires that kind of treatment.
.
Tuesday, I found the first of the season Vidalia onions and have them ready to prep for dehydrating. I also picked up a bag of organic celery hearts. I like to cook with celery salt and thought-- hey, now I can make my own. There's a couple bags of frozen organic corn in the freezer, that I can work with as well. So, I may not have written my article yet. But I'm not shy on research.
.
Yesterday, I drove out to the local garden center and picked up a tray of Everbearing Strawberries. Since I can no longer handle gardening in the ground, I though I would try a few hanging baskets. And, this is also something I can dehydrate and store for later in the year. I may pick out a few herbs next month; sage for one.
.
Though there's no real excuse for not having written my article about Sprouting, after reviewing a few more YouTube videos, I know what I did wrong as regards the soaking of anything one decides to sprout. I also didn't consider the casings of the chickpeas. Another thing just learned; though not that I saw it as an issue. More on that later.
.
I also finished reading through knit & purl ~ 250 stitches to knit, from Interweave Press, and have drafted out my review in a Word.doc. There's the matter of picking up a skein of fingerling weight yarn, and practicing a few new stitches. Just something I would like to include as a sampler in my update.
.
Did a little shopping on ebay this week, and won the bid for a basket of rose/gray alpaca roving. This gives me reason to get my antique saxony spinning wheel in better working order. I need to see if it will take one of those new elastibands. More on that endeavor.
.
I also picked up a vintage millinery hat frame. The explanation for that purchase will not be immediately obvious, but suffice it to say it goes along with a current work in progress.
.
Almost forgot about setting up an Etsy account. I know it's the hottest thing going online for artisans and crafts people. So, I need to study up and determine how best to use it.
.
And sad, sad news this week, as regards a local fabric store [in both Dayton & Columbus OH] going out of business. The Stitching Post has been a mainstay in this area for 50-some years, and I couldn't believe it when I received an email about it's Going Out of Business Sale. I figured I could finally take my Viking machine in for repair [end of this month], but now I need to look for another shop for servicing. I loved that store. Due to my limited income [after going on LTD], my patronage fell short. But knowing it was there--- Well--- Very sad day!
.
OH! I also changed out my Soul Echoes header; again! I like the texturized background better than the stark white. Let me know what you think.
.
That's it for today. I've got laundry to switch out, hang, fold, and/or bring updstairs.
.
Blessings