Winter Gardening, Bathroom Is Done, Pot Roast and Thrift Shop Finds

Winter temps have set in now in Wisconsin, We have been down in the 20's some of the nights, so the outdoor plants are totally kerput. I love my coleus because they are my favorite colors of fuschia, magenta and green.  They add color immediately to the flower beds in the spring, because the leaves are the full riot of colors. The flowers are an added plus in the later summer of pale lilac blooms on thin stems.

My coleus cuttings that I talked about in recent posts have been safely ensconced in quart canning jars to grow some roots. It only takes a few weeks and they are ready to plant.  I have been doing this since the early 1990's since my friend Connie gave them to me.  I have shared them with other friends over the years as well.

The roots were filling up the jars, 

 so it was time to plant them in the dirt! 

I used three long plastic window boxes with no weep holes in the bottoms (don't want water on my hardwood floors!) I use moisture control potting soil over a layer of pea gravel for drainage.  With careful watering all winter long, they will be ready again for next spring.  I put the trays in the south facing guest bedroom window for the best exposure.   

I smile when I put down the layers of tin foil on the old wooden tv tray tables.  Fond memories of my Grandma Kafehl putting tin foil down on her end tables before she sat down her pots of african violets and cactus plants.  Ahhh I miss her.


Steve was done with driving today around noon. He started at 5 am ...ack!  He wanted to finish up the floor in the bathroom this afternoon.  A few days ago, he spread floor leveler over the patched in area of the floor where the old tub piping had originally been.

Now that it was dry, we could cut back the old flooring, carefully tuck a new piece under the edge back under the shower pan, and lay it out to do a "double cut" for an almost imperceptible seam. Once the seam was cut, we could use some vinyl flooring tape slid underneath and press it down firmly.  The third side got tucked under the tub and the last side along the wall will be held down by the baseboard and quarter round trim.  You almost can't see on the flooring seam where the patch job took place!

Here is Steve's corner with his shower.... and my little table and antique lamp set between the shower and the tub. Don't worry, the lamp is not even plugged in, nor is there an outlet nearby.  I like it for the flavor and decor...

We mounted the lip edge of the tub now firmly to the bead board walls (now that the flooring is tucked underneath the tub)  The tub is settled securely into place anyhow with the circle shaped feet and support brace on the bottom, plus the plumbing held into place.  All we needed to do now was to attach the lip edge that is held by six little screws. Steve attached the lip edge with the screws and used these handy little screw cap covers that snap into place. Looks much nicer than an ugly screw or having to put a trim strip over it.  See the screw to the left of the corner that the cap hides the screw nicely.

I don't like big towel bars, nor do we have a lot of wall space anyhow.  We have some moveable plexi hooks that we hang towels from the shower stall when they need to dry.  But when I am in the tub, I wanted a big hook, like a robe hook, to hang my two towels on to be within easy reach as I get out of the tub.  (I need one for my hair, and one for my body).

We stopped at Hobby Lobby and found two big wrought iron hooks that would work for my idea. There was an online coupon to bring up on the phone at the checkout to get 40% off for ONE item.  The nice lady at the checkout let Steve use the coupon on my phone for his hook, and then let me use the same phone coupon for my hook.  Deal!

We hung them on each side of the window frame and they will only be used when I am actually in the tub and want my towels within reach.  The other one on Steve's side is for his towel or washcloth he uses near the sink while shaving.   Like I said, they won't be hanging there all of the time, just when in use.  Don't think we have some weird decor theme of towels used as side curtains on the windows... LOL.

Sooo there we have it done!  My birthday isn't until next week, but the tub is finished and we are happy to say it looks more balanced and fits the space well.  We had wanted to do this tub 6 years ago and didn't at that time. I am glad we did it now....   Complete with the tray, pillow and towel hooks, we are finished!

This afternoon was cool and crisp,

but sunny....   we took a walk to the post office

and stopped at the little city center park.

Yesterday I had plopped a big ol pot roast in the electric pressure cooker.  We LOVE LOVE LOVE our electric pressure cookers!  We have an 8 quart Go Wise USA cooker in the motorhome and an 11 Quart Nesco one in the house.  You can do food so fast and so flavorful in a short time.

I add an envelope of onion soup mix and a few dollops of Andria's steak sauce.  40 minutes later it is fall apart tender.  Then I add a pile of peeled potato chunks, a bag of baby carrots, and a sliced up vidalia onion.  15 more minutes on high pressure and the meal is finished!   It was sooooo good that we re-heated leftovers tonight for supper. Yummmmmmmm!

Oh, yesterday I was also on an errand, and stopped at one of my favorite thrift shops in Plymouth WI.  I saw this interesting little juice pitcher.  I picked it up two times and set it back down.  I didn't really need it.  But passed it by. Then the third time I saw it as I passed that section, I put it in my cart. It was only 79 cents, and I could not resist.  Hmmmm  Maybe for a pitcher of ice water, lemonade or iced tea while I am sitting in my tub?

The other big "bargain" I stumbled on was a huge 9 yard hunk of quilting fabric for only $7 (worth about $90) and a bunch of fat quarter bundles for only $1.29 - 1.49 a bundle.  Each one is worth about $10-12. Score!

I am working on something that I will post about in my next blog... when the time is right. But I am glad to say that family is going to be fine, and healing takes time. Thank you for your prayers and kind thoughts.