It's a dark, wet day here on Silk Road. I'm stuck here at home awaiting delivery of the new sink*, so I've been puttering with several small projects.
1.This place has two bathrooms--a novelty for us. We finally settled on which one will be the "master" bath, the one with the newest tub and least gross sink. The other one has an absolute horror of a bathtub so that has become storage.
It did look weird to see boxes of junk in the tub, so I decided to make a curtain to cover it. We had an extra shower curtain rod but no brackets to hold it up. However, what we do have plenty of is... canning jar rings! So I took two, spray painted them white, and screwed them to the wall. It doesn't look fabulous but, for now, it works.
2. My favorite seed catalog, Pinetree, usually has a pre-season sale in November. So in anticipation, I inventoried my seed collection. Seeds are probably one of the best bargains available, as well as almost miraculous. For instance, two Herb Marigold seeds from a $1.95 packet, grew into this:
A three foot tall bush still bravely blooming after three frosts. Best bang for your buck around.
3. And more about seeds. Most of what I grow is open pollinated, so I can save the seeds from those plants to grow next season. I'm not as diligent about this as I could be (note to self: remember this for next year) but I did save the seed heads from some lovely Cosmos and sorted them out this morning.
A bit tedious but the gorgeous flowers will be worth it.
4. Almost everyone has a bag stuffed with seeds or rice or cherry pits that can be heated in the microwave for use on sore muscles and aching heads. Tom bartered for one at a craft show over 30 years ago and it's still working fine. I have made at least 10 replacement covers for it since then; here's the newest version:
The fabric is leftover from some insulated drapes I made, using fabric I got at an auction.
5. "I've got sunshine, on a cloudy day." Well, not exactly, but we will have a brighter shed when we get this solar powered light installed in our non-electrified shed:
This arrived yesterday and I put the solar panel inside by the window. Even though it was overcast, the bulb still charged; this bodes well for the next few months when sunshine can be scarce around here. A light in dark places for a mere $14.99.
What thrifty projects occupy your rainy days? I'd love to hear some adventures from my fellow bargain hunters!
*The sink did arrive but the drain assembly, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE INCLUDED, was missing. Customer service got it ordered quickly and even gave me a small refund for my trouble. So until next week, we are still toting dishpans to the bathroom.
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