I've been trying to get pieces of art out of the files and cupboard where I have it stored and onto the walls. One place to find nice little wooden frames is garage sales, and I picked up a few this morning for under $2.

In the kitchen I have a few plastic items that I've been meaning to replace with metal, and I did that, for $2. I found a stainless steel mesh sieve (12 - 14 inches across, 6 inches wide, 4 inches deep) that has extension sides to fit across the sink. I had a cheap plastic version that kept breaking out pieces. This one needed a scrub with a scratchless pad and it's like new and on my sink (I am guessing that I'm not the only one who doesn't want to put my clean veggies down in the sink when I'm cooking--I want them to drain and stay up out of the way of the sink I'm using for other stuff.) I also found a stainless steel colander. I'll get rid of the plastic and the aluminum ones. I don't like using aluminum directly with food (I know the hazard aspect has been debunked, but still. . .) and the plastic is probably going to be re-purposed in the the craft room.

Also picked up a spec piece to sell on eBay, an old meat grinder but I've done a search and I'm not sure. It is missing one piece, but it looks great. I'll see what I can do. Other stuff listed has watchers or is selling, and I stopped by the library recycle bin and picked up a bunch of cardboard mailers.

I decluttered the living room cabinet this morning where I keep the TV and stereo and all of the connected entertainment stuff. I cancelled DishNetwork a while back so I took the receiver box out and reattached the cables to the new HD converter box and now my VCR/DVR works very nicely with the TV and I can record again. The VCR even sets its own clock from the HD receiver. How nice! I was spoiled by the DVR (in the other room, not disconnected yet) and have to go back to old fashioned VCR tapes for a while. I think I'll probably get a receiver card on the computer and record digitally and burn DVDs that way in the near future.

Re skunks: My dogs are so very happy to see people, and their coats are soft, but they still stink. Imagine Charles Schultz's Peanuts character PigPen giving off skunk instead of dust. :-/

I've been thinking about what I told you about no-till beds. I'd like to put in some raised beds here, if I can find an affordable way to build the frames and buy the dirt. You could lay newspaper on the bottom of a raised bed area and put fill it with soil and amendments down and not break up the soil beneath.

Lovely weekend coming up. Lots to do. One goal is to rearrange the living room so that there is a comfortable seating area with chairs and reading lamps in front of the fireplace.

SRS