Strawberry Jam and Pouring Cement

Got lots and lots of strawberry jam canned this weekend. Now I can expect my brothers to be knocking on my door. Pretty sad. Oh well, if they want to come all the way here to get yummy homemade strawberry jam, they will just have to put up with going for a bike ride!

Got more tomatoes canned. These will be yummy in spaghetti sauce, chili and goulosh in the middle of winter.

Got laundry all done and hung out. And it rained. Good thing hubby likes the smell of rained on laundry. Either that or he doesn't know where I keep the dryer and he's good with that!

Got BUNCHES of knitting done, not on my festival sweater, cause I well, lost the pattern and had to reorder it, but on a new pattern that I've had yarn for forever. It's done in blues, teals, greens and a touch of purple. Sunrise Circle jacket. Want to have it done for festival (in 3 weeks!) so I can find some really cool buttons to go with it.

Got NO cleaning done, but that's ok, I'm very ok with that.

Got the greenhouse plans moved up to the front burner, now to scrounge the materials that I need that I don't have.

#1 being enough cement to not only put the aquarium on, but the whole addition. That will be the biggest thing. I'm going to keep a running total on everything we spend on this, just to have an idea. People LOVE to hear about others' recycling and using up stuff, as long as it looks nice before, during and after. Usually not possible. If it was, there would be a long long line of people waiting to get on the "green" remodeling shows. Those people and sponsors usually have the money to make it look nice. I'll make it look nice, but just having the stuff to use laying around doesn't fare well in certain others' eyes.

Don't care!

Here's a rundown of what we'll need:

• I have the logs already (no cost, yet, will cost some for the gas for the sawmill to flatten the tops and bottoms).
• Already have most of the windows, still scrounging there.
• Already have the framing and roofing (all left over from other projects), will still need some nails and screws.
• And we have a door. (nice sliding glass door, scrounged from a neighbor!).
• Have the cement blocks already that we'll use for the "base of this project". Can't put the logs that close to the ground, they'll rot.
• And, we'll cover the blocks with leftover manufactured stone from other projects. If we don't have enough, I know how to split stone and lay it up with mortar, and we certainly have enough rocks in this gravel pit!
• Have the stain, sealer and chinking left over.
• The dirt for the greenhouse is free, we make it every day!
• And the lumber for the shelves and containers is already here, already sawed out, again, from another project.
• Oh, and the construction equipment to flatten out the floor? Done. Hubby's got all of that and he's itchin' to use it.
• Again, will take gas and diesel. That may end up being our biggest expense!
• We have the ability and materials to run electricity out there, and plumbing if I decide to do that.

I know we can't do this for totally "no cost" due to the fact that we'll need nails, screws, gas, and electricity, but we'll do it for a heck of alot less than most. If we have to buy anything major it will be the cement, and I'm willing to bet we can work out a deal there too. Have an old cement mixer that used to be my dad's and before that, my grandpa's. It's kind of a pain to use, but the history makes it worthwhile.

I LOVE scrounging, and the best scrounging sites in the world are your local freecycle groups. We have 6 of them here in an area that I would consider driving.

Now, gotta start scrounging again, but first, gotta go to the butcher's and pick up our fall beef. Yummy! I smell a pot roast tonight, with home made bread...