Wooden Spools and the Pickle Jar

Hello, I'm back!  Hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas holiday.  I've been quite busy and haven't posted in a bit.  Some of you noticed.  I have quite a lot to catch up on, so I'm going to break it up into several different posts.  Today, it's recycling because this happens to be the first picture taken since I last saw you...

You know how I love these old spools.  They come in handy for so many things around here.  These are super heavy, with double two-bys on each end.  When sitting flat on the ground, these spools are about bar height.  One of them is going next to the high side of the pool.  I'll probably add some weather-proof stools and an umbrella.  Look for the finished project some time this century.

A fellow country person saw these and said that he knew a guy that used them for quail pens.  He cut a large hole in the center for a shelter, and then covered the ring with wire.  So now Mr J wants to raise quail!  Geesh!

This is a project I'm working on now.  (Yes, after Christmas.)   I found this small tree skirt while putting away some Christmas stuff.  It fits perfectly over one of our smaller wooden spool that I use to elevate the tree.  Plus, I'll have secret storage during December!

The gold thing is the base of our fiber-optic tree.  I will be cutting away the skirt from the center so that the fabric doesn't get too hot from the bulb in the base.   If you enlarge this one, you can see a small hole where the cord for the base comes through.  It was already in there!  How perfect!  I will stain the wood in the center and put edging on the skirt where I cut it.  I'll try to remember to post a picture of it when it's finished.

We haven't yet finished the walls in the basement.  Mr J wanted storage for his pool table supplies.  He added a few drilled holes and some left-over paint...

The smaller spools are from our fence wire and rope.  Being the perfect size for a five and three-year-old, these have been claimed by the youngest grands as stools.  I guess I'll pretty them up and upholster the tops to match the living room decor.

OK, I did promise a pickle jar...

I've been relearning to knit and crochet.  I had one skein that would not pull from the center, so I had to pull it from the outside.  (Knitters will understand.)  I don't like tossing the yarn around, especially when their are shedding animals in the vicinity.  I remembered this pickle jar.  A full 5 or 7 oz skein fits perfectly and feeds out very easily, keeping the yarn clean and tidy!

I love reading blogs about how you all have recycled items that would otherwise be tossed in a landfill.  To me, finding a way to use old items is a fun hobby.  Let me know about some of your favorite repurposing.

Recycled Dust & Old Neighborhoods

We had some business in Dayton this week, so while we were in town, we decided to stop at the shop and load up on sawdust. 

We know some guys that have a pattern shop.  Their trash collectors do not allow them to put their sawdust in the trash, so we told them we could help them get rid of it...  We use it in our stalls.  You know how I love to recycle!

We have to make sure we know what kind of wood it came from.  Some wood shavings aren't safe to use with horses.  And sometimes it's too dusty, so I just spread it around outside.

Looks like the dust collectors blew up before we got there!  Normally, most of the sawdust goes into this collector system:

Those black trash bags on the left are filled with sawdust, as is the door under the big funnel-shaped thing.  We ended up with seven large garbage bags full of pine dust and shavings.  That will top off our bin and get us through the winter. 

We don't keep our horses inside much.  Maggie stays in at night unless it's really warm out., and we keep her in during heavy rains.  The other two only stay in if it's icy out.  They have a run-in shelter in the paddock.  They don't let Maggie in it.

After we left the shop, we decided to drop in on a friend I used to work with.  He lives one block over from my old house in the city.  No, I wasn't a country girl until six years ago!  I loved the city then.  Now, I can't imagine going back!

 I always loved the big trees that lined the street.

 Fourth house on the left. 

It wasn't much, but it was mine!  Built in 1907, it was a DIY dream.  I left it for the burbs in 1999.  Then, after tying the knot with Mr J, we bought some old farm land outside of Xenia.  The rest, as they say, is history...

A bit of this, a bit of that...

Hmm... Is it bigger than a toaster?

Almost...
These potatoes grew so large they burst open!

OK, this is the last you'll hear about the sweet potatoes... (that is, until my Farmer's Market Challenge post.) I wanted to show you the storage rack Hubby built for them, using wood from skids. You know we love to re-purpose. This room in the basement is behind the stairway. It is dark and cool. We will have to expand the rack next year, as Hubby is already talking about 3 rows instead of 1.

Speaking of re-purposing... notice the Christmas candy bag? Makes a nice way to keep garlic.
Being confined to the AC put me way behind on the stairway garden project. Hubby finally took over for me and stained the new steps the other day. Don't they look great? Since the red crushed brick flows down from above to the stone steps below, the wood color adds to the continuity. (Note the chives I planted next to the wall.)

I wasn't out there to harvest the chives when they were small. Better late than never!

This bad boy is huge!
It reaches all the way across the sink!

They still taste great. I'll be chopping and freezing some for use over the winter. They don't keep their flavor when dried. These are onion chives. I will add garlic chives next spring to the other side of the steps. I'm thinking about putting some in a flower pot to see how they do inside over winter.

My dining room table is really wide.

This shows better how huge this thing is...

Of course, I couldn't resist posting a picture of Sadie.

Here is her happy face...