What I Learned in 2019

     1. I learned to be a better crocheter.  I didn't set out to become better.  It just happened as one skill built on another during various projects.  I have a feeling that Happy in Hainesport might be featuring a lot of Beverly's crochet projects in 2020.

     2.  Getting your nose cauterized doesn't hurt.

     3.  Vaseline has magical, healing properties.  My friend's grandmother prescribed Vaseline for everything from scrapes, to headaches, to menstrual cramps.  In the past couple of years, doctors have gotten on the Vaseline bandwagon.

     4.  Plastic bumpers pop back to their original shape when heated.  It doesn't always work out, but the damage from many minor fender benders can be resolved with a heat gun.  Check this out:

     

     I learned a few more things, but I'm keeping that knowledge to myself for now!

     Happy 2020!

Counted Cross Stitch Mini-Pillows

     My sister is an expert cross stitcher.  She whipped up several small Christmas designs that I turned into little pillows.  I donated the pillows to the Smithville Mansion Christmas Boutique.
     Here they are:

The bigger snowflake on the blue aida cloth, is the largest at 10" X 10". 

I used polyfill and leftover cotton fabric to make some pillow inserts.  Then I used leftover decorator fabric (satiny white and a plush dark red) to make the pillow backings.  There you have it. 

Grow Your Own

     Besides growing another container vegetable crop in 2020, I will continue to gown my own impatiens from the seeds I gather and dry this fall.  Impatiens are a staple of the suburban landscape, and it's extremely easy to harvest their seeds.

Pretty!
I grew these impatiens from 2018's seeds.

Impatiens produce seed pods at the end of the season.  When the pod gets plump and develops distinct ridges, it's time to carefully pinch it off the plant.  Use a light touch because pressure will cause the pod to explode, spraying seeds all over.

I spread the pods out on paper towels and I cover with another towel.  The pods with dry and pop.  The towel that you placed on top will keep the flying seeds contained.  After the seeds have dried (I usually forget about them for weeks and weeks), separate the seeds from the dried green pod material, and store the seeds in an envelope.

You can separate by color.  If you pick pods from a red flowering plant, you get a red flowering plant next year.  I haven't observed any deviation from that, but I suppose there could be some cross pollination that produces a color that varies from that of the parent plant. 

     Impatiens are like weeds.  The seeds germinate quickly, and they grow fast.  Oh, you can also snip cuttings off of a mature impatien plant, stick them in some dirt, and they will take root.

     Cool Fact:  Impatiens are also know as Busy Lizzie plants because of the way the seeds shoot out of the pods.

Dog Shaming

Pretty much says it all.

Underground Railroad Museum of Burlington County

     Louise Calloway founded the Underground Railroad Museum and operated it for several years in Burlington, New Jersey.  After the museum closed in the spring of 2013, the Burlington County Freeholders announced that her collection would be permanently exhibited at Smithville.  The museum is a part of the Burlington County Parks System.
     I recently visited the museum.  The displays inform the visitor of the Afro-American experience in the Americas, from indentured servitude to slavery to establishment of the escape network known as the Underground Railroad to the American Civil War and elimination of slavery.  The Underground Railroad ceased operation during the Civil War.  From this point, the museum's displays feature stories of prominent Afro-Americans up to the present day.
     The museum hours are Friday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Admission is free, but donations are accepted.  Picture taking is usually not allowed inside the museum.

     Here is a link to a document about the Underground Railroad published by the New Jersey Historical Commission:

https://dspace.njstatelib.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10929/24563/h6732002.pdf?sequence=1

Th Underground Railroad Museum of Burlington County

Some local safe havens or "stations" on the Underground Railroad were the Elisha Barcklow House in Moorestown, Dr. George Haines House in Medford, and the present day Burlington Pharmacy in Burlington.  Many other local places are rumored to have been part of the escape network. 

The Museum's Brochure

Container Garden - Part 3

     Summer is winding down, and it's time to make the final report on the container garden project.  Here goes.

I began during the first week in March.  I cut a hole in the lid of a plastic bin and used Gorilla tape to attach a mylar window.  I drilled drainage holes in the bottom of the bin, added commercial potting soil, and planted radishes, lettuce, and spinach.  I left the bin outside, even during snow storms.  I had home grown salads at the end of April.     

What's better than a fresh green salad?

I like radishes, and I tended to pull them when they were very small.  I just couldn't wait. 

I saw this brainy idea on the internet - turning toilet paper and paper towel rolls into tiny seed starting pots.  You start the plants indoors.  Then you transfer the seedling into a bigger pot when the weather is warm enough to put the plants outside, and the paper roll is supposed to decompose during the growing season.  I found that the paper grew white, fuzzy mold.  Some articles said the mold was harmless, and other articles issued dire warnings.  Everyone agreed that the cure was to sprinkle cinnamon all over the soil and seedlings.  This worked like a charm and smelled nice, too.  Since my seedlings sat uncovered, under a sunny window, and were not over watered, I blame the mold on the toilet paper rolls.  My advice is forget about recycling TP and paper towel rolls.  Just start seeds in a bin of potting soil or use plastic cups.   

Two baby tomato plants and a corn stalk.

Green beans are the first plants to produce.  They flower and produce beans all summer long.

My zucchini plants were duds.  These plants produce male and female flowers.  Insects do the job of fertilizing the female blossoms or you can do it yourself by rubbing the male blossom onto the female blossom.  I had insect activity, and I also tried pollinating the flowers, but I had very few squash.

I had a bumper crop of parsley.  I inspected my plants every morning when I watered.  In August, I noticed an army of striped caterpillars devouring my parsley.  It turns out that the black swallow tail butterfly lays its eggs in carrots, parsley, and other herbs in this family of plants.  Since I had dedicated myself to raising plants without insecticides, I spent a good half hour picking these little nuisances off and tossing them into a plastic bag.  I found a few more caterpillars in the days to come, but no where near the numbers of that first infestation.  

My corn was a complete failure.  My eggplants are probably also a flop.  I'm still holding out hope that I might harvest one or two eggplants.

I had a lot of delicious tomatoes. 

Vine Ripened Maters

This is a tomato hornworm.  They attack tomato plants.  They are voracious eaters and can defoliate a plant quickly.  I picked a few of these guys off my tomato plants, using gloves, of course.  Big, green, and disgusting.

The pepper plants produced even more fruits than the tomatoes.  This pepper is almost finished turning from green to red. 

My Garden
I have to admit that this year's vegetables came at an outrageously high price.  Now that the garden is established, I will take the lessons I learned and grow a more productive garden next year.  How many years do you suppose it will take to break even?

Nancy's Things

     I'm a big fan of  https://freecycle.org/   It just makes a lot of sense to recycle, reuse, and repurpose. 
     In March or April 2019, I posted a request for stainless steel pots that I could dedicate to making candles and campfire starters.  The lady who responded to my post was cleaning out her mother's home since her mother had relocated to assisted living.  She would set aside the pots, and she asked if I had any other requests.  I decided I would not be shy.  I asked for an assortment of craft related items.
     Sunday, July 14th was the big day when I finally met Lisa who presented me with two big, plastic bins and a grocery bag full of her mother's things - Nancy's things.  There were pots, lids, big spoons, muffin pans, cooling racks, stainless steel bowls, measuring spoons, and knitting needles.  The grocery bag was full of dozens of crochet pattern books.  Later, I sorted out some things that I would not use.  Lisa told me I could re-post on freecycle or donate the items, so I added them to a pile that I plan to take to the Virtua Thrift Store.  There were some well used 1950s era aluminum pots that I decided to take to Americycle for proper recycling.  I got $1.62 that I put in the yarn kitty.  The crochet pattern books will first be offered to the ladies at the crochet guild.  If they cannot use them, I will donate them to the Friends of the Burlington County Library for the next book sale.
     Thanks, Nancy.  I hope that my plans for your things will do some good.