staying busy

We've been doing a lot of yard work lately. Spring is always busy. We have a lot to rake; the first full mowing needs to be done; plants need to be pruned or removed; the garden needs to be started; it's interesting.

The dappled willows in the front did badly last spring and summer. We lost two of the three plants we had. We also lost a couple rose bushes and a peach tree.
I took clippings from the remaining dappled willow, put them in rooting compound, and we'll see if they take.

We have new daffodils I planted last fall.

We just put in new hollyhocks- I got the roots at ChinaMart and planted them in the other half of the hollyhock bed.

We got a new rose bush.

I found a bulb for a blue bearded iris and planted it for hubby. He loves irises more than I do. I hope it does well.

We also have the Rose of Sharon we planted last fall. We got that at the farmer's market for $5, I think.

I have tomato seedlings and broccoli plants growing now. I planted the cucumber seeds two days ago. I have lettuce going but it never does very well for me. I'm not sure why. Maybe I don't thin it soon enough. I also planted some chives.

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The chicks are growing like crazy. Man, can they eat! We went through 50 pounds of starter/grower in under 3 weeks. I know they're growing, but there is a huge difference in feed between 19 chicks and 36. Oh yes...and the poo issue. I have never seen so much poo at once.

They're feathering out now and look really cute. I can't wait till they get big enough to let out in the porch area so they can get fresh air and sunshine, but that will be another 3-4 weeks at least. They have to be fully feathered first.

We need to get a bigger feeder. I'm using two of the red plastic ones and they clean them out in less than 24 hours. I'll do that in a couple weeks when my disability comes in. In the meantime, I'll feed them twice a day. It won't kill me.

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Finally, after a lot of work, I have my bra pattern almost right. I made yet another one, changing the pattern again and using a different technique to apply the interfacing, and the resulting bra was *this close* to what I wanted to see. One more slash and tape session with the cups and I should have it just where I want it.

Here are a couple pics of the bra itself. One is on the hanger, and the other is on me so you can see that there is no fat hanging over the top of the side pieces, which is a major plus for this pattern. It's comfy and supportive, and it fits.


Here it is on the hanger.


Here it is on me.

I like how the black looks with the gray. I was going to do it all gray but really had trouble finding lace the right width and specifications that matched or at least looked decent so I decided black was going to be fine.

Once the pattern is settled, I have some really pretty fabric to make a few with. It gets frustrating that not only can I rarely find bras that fit, but that most of them are ugly and either white, nude or black. Plus sized women want nice bras in nice colors, too. Off-size plus sized women want them as well.

And this is where I've been and what I've been doing since I posted last.