The gardens are ready to nap, the bees are bedding down

   Ran around like a crazy woman last night snatching the last beans, a couple squash and a few tomatillos and cucumbers from the gardens before the freezing temps set in.  It was supposed to go down to 28 last night - and while I did not check it, I believe it may have made it that low.  I threw sheets over all the flowers, a few remaining herbs and pepper plants with a few more fruits on them, and I covered a couple of the garden bound cotton plants.  Three other cotton plants - the ones in pots - came in and are now finishing their life cycle in the dining room and living room.  Again, I see why we have no great cotton plantations in NY!!
    I fed the bees yesterday, their only supplemental feeding this fall, as they have hive bodies full of honey. This morning we put in the entrance reducers, drilled a hole in the upper deep of the blue hive and decided to wait until next weekend to wrap them in tar paper which will help keep them cozy and draft free in the winter months. So far, both the flower and the blue hives look strong.  Have treated both with one round of ApiGuard, since I saw some varroa mites on the drones earlier in the season. After wrapping the hives, it is up to Mother Nature and the girls themselves to decide if they will make it through the winter.
    Last night I treated myself to a wonderful old movie.  Once the wee lad was in bed and the older two settled, Drew and I put the pellet stove on and watched Blue Skies.  It is a sweet musical with Fred Astaire dancing and Bing Crosby singing. It has Irving Berlin songs and Billy De Wolfe as the comic relief and  it is a joy. I felt like I was visiting old friends. This was one of my favorite movies while I was growing up.  Fred Astaire was truly incredible in this film; perfection in tap shoes! A lovely way to spend a chilly autumn night.

3 square feet

Just observing things in a small area - taking note.

garden neglect

remnants of childhood

garden spider web

garden spider

More Monday

     I finished up my nine page costume list for Arabian Nights - LOTS of pieces for this show.  I need to do some more drawings.
     Came home from the elementary school where I found I may have added more to my list of responsibilities by saying I would help with the PTO.  The past president, who has been doing it for 4 years - turns out he was only supposed to do it for 2 - pounced upon me when he saw me, telling me how pleased he and the principal were to hear I was willing to participate.  With my child in kindergarten, they are thinking longevity. Why do I think I will be getting more than I bargained for?
     Got home to find my eldest had taken the bus home, since it was raining, and he assumed the cross country team would not have practice.  I drove him to school - we saw no one and he assured me he did not see any of the coaches' cars.  I was supposed to be driving another student home - we did not see her, either.  We drove  to her home and her dad said she was at school - supposed to be getting a ride home (that would be from me!).  Once more, we drove to the HS and saw my daughter coming out of swim practice with her friend - daughter dumped her bags and went to Jazz Band practice, I took friend in the car to drive her home.  A few more minutes and we found the other student we were driving home, and once more we headed down the hill and back to her house, other friend being dropped off first.
    Eldest went to horse back riding with dad, and one more time I drove back to the HS to gather my daughter, and at the last minute, one more of her friends, who had no ride.  I was not thrilled about driving across town from our place to drop her home, but how can you leave a child in the rain??  So a few more miles on the car, a few more trips across town, but everyone is home and I am finally here - sniffing into more Kleenex, taking more cold medicine, and wishing I had had more sleep.
   More tomorrow...
(Did I mention we are getting more rain, too?)

Monday Madness

   Taking a quick break from the 1930's housedress I am building for  Of Mice and Men.  The collar is being noodgy (nu -djee) and I have had to take it out twice.  It is not difficult - I am just tired and distracted by the usual Monday needs of meeting the school bus, picking up children (mine, not random ones off the street)  or arranging to have someone else pick them up, getting supper, washing enough socks to get everyone through the week and making supper.  Both of the older children have meets tomorrow, so we are carb-loading on spaghetti this evening.  I am not complaining - it is fast, easy and no one will turn their nose up at it.
    Rainy today - the type of day that makes you want to bake bread, but sewing works as well for this type of weather.  I have a really good book that I would rather be reading - called The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.  I bought it thinking the title sounded familiar -  I may have heard a review on NPR, but I really just got it on impulse.  So far, (only on page 63), it seems to have promise.
    Okay, I have food in my stomach, so back to that collar.

Thursday thoughts

    I do not know why I thought that, with teaching three classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, it  was a good idea to move my Girl Scout meetings to Thursday nights!  Whew!
    Of course, after a first meeting tonight,  I have to miss next week's meeting due to the final dress rehearsal for Of Mice And Men at CRT.   Such is my schedule these days.
    Tickets are going fast for the show, so get them sooner rather than later.
    Below are a couple of images from another CRT show I did this summer, The Last of the Boys.

       The cast of this show was amazingly sweet to work with, especially Steven Patterson, who played Jeeter, and who is as talented as he is nice. I am a fan!
     Here are a couple from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) - also a CRT production (I am the costume designer, so I do all the shows).

Titus Andronicus as a cooking show

Romeo shying away from the sword swinging Tybalt

     Lots still to do to get ready for the opening next week, but, as Scarlett O'Hara might say, "Tomorrow is another day."

Happy Birthday, Leonard Cohen - a day late!

Yesterday was this amazing song writer's birthday. Leonard Cohen  was born  9/21/1934 and the music he has given the world  seems to be his gift to us. Thanks, Mr. Cohen!

Hops, harvests, and happy boys

   The hops are in.  We are new to this, so we think we did well - but who knows.  We got several ounces (when dried) of the Casceade, and the Nugget is still downstairs in a room with the dehumidifier, drying on a screen.

The hops, close up and personal

hubby and his hops

      I must say, as a non-beer drinker, I think they smell disgusting - a cross between marijuana and cat pee - but my husband assures me they smell citrus-y and piney - just as they should.

    After the drying the next step is brewing - I will let him do that project.  I'll stick to making wine!

    One of the nice things about living near Cooperstown, NY - aside from the baseball Hall of Fame - is the Farmer's Museum.  Every year they offer classes - my beekeeping classes were taken there, have fun family events like the Sugaring Off Sundays in March celebrating the maple harvest, and we have the Fall Harvest Festival.  This year I worked at the Harvest Festival as a volunteer.  What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!  My assignment was to be traffic control inside the grounds.  Basically, I kept folks from walking in front of the horse drawn hay wagons.  I was amazed at how many people were willing to risk their safety by crossing in front of a pair of Percherons!  These are BIG horses, no Shetland ponies, yet people would race across the lane, rather than wait 30 seconds for the wagons to pass.  Hmm...

      I had lost the chord to my camera so forgot to download shots of the last day before school.  My youngest had a friend over and the highlight of the morning was wrapping themselves in a cocoon of hammock and swinging each other the extreme angles.  Even my daughter got into the fun!

getting ready

extreme hammock swinging!

big sister's turn!