May Lotito

Thanks for sharing! I found very little information regarding this breed online so please keep us updated. Does it tiller like teosinte? Does it associate with nitrogen fixing bacteria in the rhizosphere? Teosinte does and the diazotrophs not only help with aquiring nutrient but also increase resistance to stresses in the host. It will be interesting to compare Neisinte with other modern varieties side by side.

Large pieces of fabric can be harvested from old sheets, walking skirts or house dresses and it's easy to turn them into fabric yarns. Not so much comes to clothes with many seams. I collected some wool jackets from the thrift store and found repurposing choices quite limited. I made a quilt top with some cut into squares. I also used small scraps for stuffing but still have a bag of medium scraps sitting for years. I might turn them into a Marimekko inspired rug.

One more group picture of my house plants currently in bloom. I leave them outside in summer time and let the light and temperature cycles naturally induce flower bud formation. When they are brought in before the first frost, one by one they start the show like a clock: first the Thanksgiving cactus, next the Christmas cactus, then various kalanchoes. Next ones in line will be orchid and gardenia.  

I got the braiding done and arranged it to have a preview. I am going to secure it and sew the parallel braids together. I haven't decided how to finish the short edges.

Here are some more details. I started with 1 yd long suiting fabric scraps not big enough to make garments. I did a small sample to get an estimate of how much material to use. To make ripping easy, the strips are 1.5 to 1.75" wide.  Roughly the braid area is reduced to 1/8 to 1/10 from the original fabric yardage. I wanted the rug to be a certain size so I calculated the amount needed for each color. The repeat is AABA'BA'B with the A and A' being darker colors and B the light one. The width, pattern and tension need to be consistent during braiding, otherwise the larger pattern wouldn't be as neat.

I got to rest my fingers for a few days before starting the next project!

Inspired by this thread, I started a braided rug from 3.5 yards of fabric today. About 1/7 done and the pattern is showing. Next one I want to try tablet weaving. I can imagine the threading is going to take forever!

Rag rug from recycled fabric? It can be crocheted, braided or woven. I saw this one in an antique shop:

Welcome to the forum, Heather!  I agree with Anna the pot is getting small for all that foliage and soil is probably exhausted. It is easy to fix. Just pull the whole root ball out and tease the roots apart. Clip away any rotten or dead roots. You can either divide it into more pots or increase the pot size. Regular potting mix would work, though some are of better quality than others. Your peace lily will likely respond with blooming afterwards.

My collection of kalanchoe is growing steadily. They are colorful and start blooming in winter for months.  Last year I bought this one in fuchsia. It looked a bit artificial, maybe the blooms were forced with fertilizer. It has tripled in size and grown into a little flowering bush. I make my own potting mix with clay added so it is heavy enough to balance the weight of the plant.

Here are my lacto fermented daikon and sunchoke. The yellow color is from boiled turmeric water.

I

John C Daley wrote:I am reading about the big storm you have at the moment, why are power poles not made stronger so they can carry the weight of the ice as it builds up?

The power companies have standards to follow regarding the risks of ice storm for each region. Usually power outage is from broken tree limbs overhead, breaking the power line and taking down poles. Power companies would hire companies to trim or cut down trees that might be safty hazard. It's good enough for most cases but not rare and catastrophic events like the 1998 Ice Storm.