Vanilla, Just Vanilla

 HeWho's name is Drew has lost interest in the homemade vanilla extract adventure. After I denied his request to open the bottle for a sniff, he stopped shaking the bottle.

I took over and it is coming along. Nice color and it smells heavenly. Yes, I allowed myself a sniff. I am, after all, the cook in charge. After I strain the liquid to be bottled I will let the vanilla bean pieces dry, then add  course granualted sugar to make vanilla sugar. HeWho doesn't need to know this. He will want to taste it every day. He doesn't need to know I sniffed the bottle, either.

Getting ready for cold weather and bringing in all the plants is a messy endeavor. Pieces of plants break off and fall as I re-pot and trim excess off the big pots. I could have just swept it all to the ground and then raked it into the ravine. But, you all should know by now that I am nothing, if not thrifty.

Faced with the challenge of potting the small sprigs after rooting them in water, I went outside to rummage for small pots. I just do not have any and my recent forrays into the retail world have yielded nothing. Well, nothing with-in the price range I wanted. 

I did have small pots that had held many plants I found on sale all season. I had stacked them carefully behind my She Shed to be returned to the nurseries I bought plants at. I found six that were the size I wanted. I checked on my supply of spray paint and found partial cans of spray paints in the two shades of blue.

I have many cans of spray paint that we moved with us. I was always using spray paint at the kampground and they were purchased before the price of paint went so high. I had a roll of twine from the Dollar Tree that was from last year and only cost $1. 

The only thing left was a saucer of sorts to catch the water and keep the plants from dripping. This something you don't worry about outside. In fact I try to place my baskets and pots so that one plant will drip into another. I am clever like that. I found 4 plastic containers for leftovers that hold hardly enough for one serving. I never use them, so I drilled 4 holes in each one, then using my roll of cheap twine, I strung them up to be hung. I needed 2 more, but seach though I did, could not locate any more. I used two plastic bowls, also purchased long ago at Dollar Tree for 4/$1. We used them to serve popcorn and use at soup and chili cook-offs. I have about 80 of them, so won't miss the two I drilled holes in. 

I chose the window in the dining area of my tiny abode. The window is bayed out about 6 inches and seemed like a good spot for indirect light required by these plants. The window is looking out to the ravine from inside the back porch. Looking dreary with naked trees this time of year, so it is nice to see live green plants instead.

Tomorrow will start another round of medical appointments for Drew. Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday. Don't know the time or any details yet. The appointment is with the surgeon's nurse practitioner and I suppose all will be revealed at 3:30 tomorrow. Then I will have more to entertain everyone with .....