The manlet has been working like a madman lately, mostly on his garden. He built a fantastic raised bed & has been experimenting with a couple water bottle gardens. We’ve got peppers, eggplant, okra, artichoke, spinach, long beans, bok choy, thai basil, lime basil, oregano, spearmint, strawberries, blueberries & watermelon all growing already.

He also has been working on getting our front porch stripped down. Someone actually painted over the porch with a really ugly blue/gray paint years before I bought this house. I had spent hours & hours on my hands & knees trying to get the paint off, with little success. Turn the manlet loose on it for one day with biodegradable paint remover and a pressure washer & magic happens!  ♥

Not quite done – here you can see the awful paint that covered the entire porch.  O.o

Still a bit more work needed, but you see? STUNNING! Why on Earth would anyone paint over it?!

On a hilarious side note… we recently changed the locks on the front door. I keep forgetting this & I’ve locked myself out of the house about 4 times now. Usually I have my phone with me & I’m good to go – call a manlet & get rescued.

Today? Not so lucky. It was just me & my trusty camera. I decided to see if the gate on the fence was unlocked & thank heavens, it actually was. I was able to get back into my own house through the garage door. When I turned to lock it, I discovered this sight – yet another thing they don’t tell you when you get a Great Dane – you need to clean things you normally don’t think to clean.

These spots would be from Leonardo jumping up & tapping his nose/mouth on the window. It’s amazing he hasn’t broken this window (he’s broken 4 windows thus far).

Running

I’ve not been for a run this week yet. I’m still reeling from Boston. My heart goes out to the wonderful people there & all those that ran towards the explosions to help. What a senseless tragedy -horrific. Almost as bad have been the inhumane comments that people have been making online. It never fails to amaze me how such terrible events bring out the best – and worst – in human beings.

Reading

Long Time Dead by Sarah Pinborough – yes, I am also a Torchwood fan (shocking, I know). Not as much as Doctor Who, but I do really enjoy the show. Sure wish it would come back for more series, but that could be a whole post by itself.  LOL

This novel is about Suzie – OMG, does she never properly die – Costello. It takes place before Miracle Day, but after Children of Earth. Now, mind you, I’m not a Suzie fan – but I’m even less of a Gwen fan…  there is no Gwen in this story, so that alone makes it palatable for me. If you are looking for a happy ending finally for Suzie, then move right along, this isn’t it – but if you don’t mind a tragic ending, pick this one up – the story is actually quite good & enjoyable. Even without Captain Jack. :D

Knitting

Well, I’ve actually been crocheting instead of knitting! :)  A friend of mine is about to become a grandma for the first time – a fact that I just found out about. So I decided to crochet up a baby blanket for her. An online Ravelry friend turned me on to this pattern – and I LOVE IT!!

Today’s Ravelry Search

Today’s patterns are all free or available in books/magazines, in keeping with the rest of the theme. :)

Garden apron!

Cushy pad to kneel on!

I think I might know someone that would like this one in yellow & green… :)

SO cute!

Drawstring bag for laundry or clothespins!

How CUTE is this??

Recycle old CD with some acrylic & beads for a really cute & handy basket!

Seriously, it doesn’t get much cuter than this for your clothespins!!

Garden bag!

Ok, I seriously have to make one of these. Use short pieces of yarn (3-8″ long) in preferably natural materials (wool, cotton, alpaca, etc). You can add bits of straw, raffia, leftover fabric strips as well!

Lego doorstop in crochet…

…Or one in knit!

Beer cap hotpad! How cool!

Recycle those awesome Target bags into a bag you can use over & over again!

This pattern reuses mesh onion/garlic bags to make super scrubby cleaning cloths!

Ever have one of those lovely mesh bath poofs for scrubbing your back? Eventually, they all do start to come apart… when that happens, turn it into a super scrubbing cleaning pad!

Happy Thursday, all!