Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Jim I love rat terriers. Have had 2. Hope to get another one in the future.

Barb Trixie is doing well. A few shenanigans, but nothing too bad yet.

 

[Callender Girl]

I appreciate that I have friends who are willing and able to do projects for me, but I'm also glad to have my house back all to myself, dealing only with my own schedule and levels of tidiness.

Nearly everything on my lengthy to-do list got done, and we added a few things just so we could cross them off and feel more accomplished.

There were a couple of heart-stopping incidents. For several hours, it appeared Tom had accidentally let one of the cats escape when he opened the mudroom door. Of course, it was Jinx, the one labeled "feral" by my vets. I still have no idea where Jinx was hiding; he showed up the next morning.

And, Tom was trying to fix the handle on the storm door, because it didn't always catch when the door closed. At one point, after working on it for more than an hour, he announced, "It doesn't close at all now." I, apparently, took that badly since it was in worse shape than before he started (also, that wasn't on the list; he took it upon himself to "fix" it). I apologized twice for my unhappy reaction, although I think it was at least partially justified, since not being able to close the storm door is a problem.

The "good news" is that all I have to do is use a screwdriver to pop out the mechanism that is supposed to catch and hold the door shut -- Every Single Time I Use the Door. At least, I can close it.

 

[jvls1942]

Barb, glad you have such good friends.
Storm doors have a flimsy spring in the handle that like to come off their pins. or break. sometimes a squirt of 3in1 oil will fix it if the spring is just stuck.
if all fails, after you get sick of using the screwdriver, you can just replace the handle. easy job.
i think i have a real buyer for the chicken plucker.
we will see after this afternoon. he acrually stopped in to look at it on Wednesday. he called this morning. can I trust someone who owns 2 rat terriers ?
Annie had her semi annual check up yesterday. then we went our for breakfast. On the way home we stopped in at a country bar that we have driven past for 60 years. we always said, we should stop in there for a beer someday. the 60ish man said the bar is over 100 years old. he took it over from his parents. it is more of a liquor store. the bar is tiny compared to most bars. i have never seen such a variety of booze and beers. lots of German beers. at least it is off of our bucket list
we came home and i took an unexpected nap. then Annie woke me up and asked if I was hungry. Not really, but I agreed to go to Schulz's to split a shrimp dinner. of course we had to have a double old fashioned, . $3.oo apiece. they tossed in an extra bowl of creamy potato soup. had another old fashioned after supper. came home and took another nap until bed time.
I told Annie that the day was fun. Only, let's not do it again for awhile. lol

 

[Callender Girl]

Ah, Jim, you're right; the storm door spring is no better than the ones in ink pens. The door handle has been replaced twice in the last year. Problem is both times the person "helping" me went to Menards and bought the same model and brand. Fortunately, the handle is getting a bit more cooperative and will sometimes close properly. Sometimes is better than never.

I'm a big fan of potato soup. I was planning to make some for the group, but someone brought a vat of really good veggie soup so we had that instead. And, since a couple of the guests left early for a funeral, I have plenty of leftover veggie curry that I will be enjoying for the next couple of days.

I should put away all my yard art (although most of it didn't come out of storage this year) because I know the weather is going to turn soon. Today, I hung the heavy duty (and seriously overpriced) tarp on the Omlet run.

Still dragging my feet on turning on the furnace. It will really be winter then

 

[jvls1942]

cool start to a nice day. 47F / supposed to get into the 60F's today, will be our last "warm" day for awhile .
i pulled all of the radishes and took them to my sister. i don't know if they are woody or not. she will let me know.
i did sell the chicken plucker. glad to get rid of it and glad it will get used.
it is in Winter, Wisc. I doubt i will ever see it again.
we bought it used from a chicken processor who was retiring, 60 years ago, it had lots of "patina" but it works as good as new. it certainly is not a toy like the ones they are selling today.
he had to cut the angle iron legs off of it to fit it into his tiny car. will weld them back on at home.
the Packers squeaked one by again. they should give each team 21 points and then let them play for 5 minutes.

 

[Callender Girl]

Congrats on your Packers. Interesting idea on "improving" the game, but I doubt it will catch on

Today looks like the last day for 60-plus-degree temps here, too. I guess I will need to turn on the furnace. It was only 60 in the living room this morning.

I managed to MacGyver a chicken-wire protective cover for my garlic this morning. Squirrels, attracted by the layer of mulch, have been burying walnuts in the bed.

 

[jvls1942]

i tried sending pictures with my phone a couple of times. i don't think they came thru.
this is the chicken plucker i just sold.