K McFarlane

We watched a few videos and read a bit before diving in to our first grafting attempt!

Topworked all 5 types of scion (thanks for your generosity Nancy!) onto our pollarded ornamental Prunus tree. It was definitely a novice attempt (as you can see from the bits of bark we sliced off 🫣) working with baby strapped on and chickens underfoot!

Chickens got to enjoy picking over the bits we removed in the process ☺️

Will post again when we see how they are getting on 😁

It's taken me a while to get around to posting but the weather (and ground) warmed up enough for us to plant the willow cuttings, in front of our chickens as you can see!

Keeping an eye on the tree to try and judge the right time to graft, don't think it will be long now! ☺️

Cuttings arrived safe and sound, thank you Nancy! ☺️

Our ground is still rock solid under ice but I look forward to planting the willow in it's new home and eventually trying my first grafts when the weather warms. 😁

The fleece I'm preparing came from my friends' sheep which sadly has died so I am planning to make some gifts from the wool for them!

I began by lightly skirting and then scouring the fleece (I use boiling water and some eco-friendly detergent (label shown in my dishes BB) for this) a few times and then a vinegar soak. I then dried the wool before carding it with two dog combs because I can't afford proper carding tools :D I don't usually card fibre so this took me so much longer than I expected!

Edit: additional picture where you can see the fibre on the scale, I couldn't get it to stay on the scale loose and don't have anything see through to put it in so hopefully seeing the bag open is enough? :)

I knitted the upper/inner for these from 100% handspun wool (the undyed is my first plied yarn :D and the dyed from my local LYS owner!), the soles are from leather offcuts I got from a furniture maker. I used scrap cotton yarn leftover from a blanket project to sew the soles on.

I deliberately knitted there with a wide toebox as I have pizza slice feet (skinny ankles, very broad foot) and they have been affectionately dubbed as my hobbit slippers :)

Button tore off my wedding dress so I reinforced the area where it was with a patch and then sewed the button back on! :)

I use a citrus infused vinegar for most of my cleaning, made from scraps of whatever citrus I've been using.

I'm marinating some chicken thighs today so this batch is made with orange and lime scraps. I've also included a picture of a finished batch I decanted into a reused spray bottle for ease of use.

As I was gathering up the dishes for the dishes BB I managed to knock a side plate and shatter it all over the floor. I took a deep breath and decided to turn it into another BB!

I used mostly water and some of my homemade natural cleaner (citrus infused vinegar) to clean my bathroom today.

I normally use baking soda in the toilet bowl but I've ran out of it so it was just elbow grease today!
Sink and counter was just water and scrubbing with a cloth, then drying with another cloth.
Floor I beat out the bathmats to loosen any hair/debris before hoovering (I also went into a domestic frenzy and hoovered the whole house!)
Bathtub I sprayed with citrus cleaner and let sit while doing the other tasks, then scrubbed and rinsed.
Mirror I just used water and scrubbed, then dried with a dry cloth to reduce streaks.

I've never had a dishwasher so I always wash dishes by hand. I used Ecover washing up liquid which says it is ok for septic tanks. I used two lots of water in the basin so I have only added the dirty water photo from one round here, but in total used less than 4.5L which is just over 1 US gallon according to google.