That took long enough

I'm on sabbatical, and working as hard as ever.  I discovered that circumstances are no longer hindering me from doing housework at a fast pace:  "Housercize".

I finally figured out how to semi-stabilize the cabinet of my spare sewing machine.  The cabinet is large and nice, but its support structure was absurdly inadequate.  The legs insert into the cabinet, and are supposed to be steadied by laminated wood arcs, connected by a wood rail.  The layers had begun to separate after years of being stored in a barn, and wouldn't hold the pegs from the legs.  At one point, the whole thing collapsed.  I shoved the legs under it horizontally so the plywood protecting the sewing machine compartment wouldn't be crushed, and left it that way for months, while thinking vaguely of making a pair of short bookshelves to support the cabinet at the ends.

I eventually noticed, in my excavations in the garage, that an oak chair back I had saved from a broken roadside freebie would be just about the right size to replace the underframe.  It turned out to be exactly the right size, more exactly-right than needed because the legs have lots of wobble in them.  I had no trouble in drilling peg holes into the sides of the chair back.

The worst of it was having to set it all back up.  I enlisted two of the sturdier children to lift the cabinet while I connected everything together.  It is still wobbly, but it will do until I find or make the right little bookshelves.

Another project is a computer chair mat, using leather scraps from the surplus store.  These scraps are very thick leather in several different colors, and I bought two boxes' worth.  I am following the same modular-width/free-length design as I did in my last quilt, for efficient re-use of materials.  Three pattern pieces, for width only:  full-strip-width, half-strip-width, quarter-strip-width.  The problem of how to connect them is yet to be solved.

I also covered another chair seat with utility leather.  The first one I did went from a suede-y dull green to a very polished brown after a few months of use.  It shows some scratches.

Sorting it all out

Although I am on sabbatical, I have been working hard. It is a time to take a break from expanding, in favor of evaluating, refining, resetting, and maintaining. And sometimes even resting.

So I mended two of the kids' little quilts...there was a materials failure in one of the fabrics that I used, which wore right through while the other fabrics didn't. I sewed patches over those squares, mostly by hand. I also mended several items of clothing.

I harvested my broomcorn tops, combed out the seeds, and have them drying in a vase (although flat and outdoors in the sun would be better). They add an organic vertical element to the decor; I am enjoying the effect.

We've been almost keeping up with raking leaves this year. I have some helpers that are eager to earn money.

I misplaced my organizer notebook for two days, but I got along all right without it.

I've been refining my household routines so that I go through the main rooms and put things in order daily. This always falls by the wayside with a new baby, and takes me some time to re-establish. Same thing with exercise; I just added another 5 minutes to my workout time.

The petunias and calendulas that I grew from seed this year are still going strong and putting out a lot of flowers. Next year I'm going to give echinacea another try; no luck with it this year. The local permaculture enthusiast says that you can diagnose your soil deficiencies by what weeds are flourishing; supposedly these weeds will replenish the soil if you let them. I'm going to have to test that one out a bit.

Granny's secret

Ever wonder how those little old ladies got to be so strong? One reason is that they stirred doughs like this cookie dough by hand. (The recipe makes ten dozen cookies.) Even a half batch takes muscle to stir.