Aye! There be Mycelium in me kitchen and a Hawk in a tree!

Mycelium: Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae.

Hyphae: A hypha (plural hyphae) is a long, branching filamentous cell of a fungus.

I've made several different methods of growing my Oyster shrooms. The first method (Photo 1) is on PDA (Potato Dextrose Agar) that was inoculated with a spore syringe that came with my Mushroom kit from sporeworks.com. Ironically I used regular sugar because I didn't know what dextrose was or where to get it. I now know that it is available through brew shops and we just happen to have a local wine and hop shop!

I inoculated two jars like this, but only this one seems to show any growth. And wow...what growth it has! It keeps growing and now...just a few hours later, the mycelia is growing up the sides of the jar! How cool is that! I am preparing grain to transfer a segment of this luscious growth to, and then...I will transfer the grain spawn (grain colonized by the mycelium) to a basket full of pasteurized, chopped, straw. Sounds like a lot work right? Not really. It happens in stages and the straw stage is still a few weeks off. I also plan makes some transfers to agar and attempt to gain hypha as this is just cottony growth that may, or may not fruit well. I shall keep notes and post me findings. I am loving this! I even built myself a positive air glove box with a $30 hepa air filter machine from Farm and Fleet. It seems to work really well in keeping contams (contamination like mold spores I don't wanna grow...like green mold or black pin mild....ichy stuff). I'll have to post about excursion that next.

The second photo if the Mushroom grow bag that I ordered from sporeworks.com. The white patch you see on the grain is Blue Oyster Mycelia growing. It too is taking off like a bat outta hell!

Third photo is of a transfer I did from a Pearl or Phoenix (not sure which) Oyster I purchased at the local farmers market. The cheapest way to expand my 'shroom culturing! This is what is termed as "cloning" in Mycology. The wispy white strands coming from the piece of fungus flesh is new mycelia growth. YAY! I took the biggest shroom of the bunch I got and cloned it. If anyone who reads me blog cares to get into Mycology and wants a free culture, just ask! It's easy as pie...although some kinds of pie are a lot of work...but this is a no-bake kinda deal...LMAO!! Pun-pun-puUUUuuun!

The fourth photo is a BRF-Tekmethod of cultivating shrooms. Lots of growth here! This can be crumbled and spread out on another substrate to colonize and fruit.

Fifth photo is of a red-Tail Hawk that was just outside our apartment, perched in a tree. There was all sorts of racket coming from a few Robins and Cardinals so I went out to investigate. WOW! What a beauty!

I'll keep this up to date as my shrooming adventures continue! I love summer!

I went and purchased some diatomaceous earth to put in the garden today because the leaves of my bush beans are getting chewed on by slugs I think. Several seedlings have been destroyed. I'll post photos of zee garden tomorrow as a well. I also bought a venus fly trap plant...I love them things...and maybe this time I can keep it alive over-winter!

Until next time...

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Okay...I'm addicted...big time...

I finished my first second tatted piece in two days time.

It is actually supposed to be a six petal flower but ended up being five because I misunderstood that the "very large picot" really did mean VERY LARGE. I could only fit five petals in, but hey! It looks swell none-the-less! I love it! I think it would look great on a barrette.

I have been browsing the variety of tatting shuttles out there and my-OH-my how tempting it is! I've purchased two sets of Buffalo bone shuttles hand made by craftsmen in India. The seller says "These are not mass produced. They are each made individually by craftsmen in India. The buffalo are domestically raised and the skin and meat are also consumed." Yeah! Way to support the small farmer aye?

I am currently working on a snowflake from the book Easy Tatting:

It is a bit of a challenge with all the turns it has. I have found when I am working the self-closing rings that I run out of threat. I have a hard time drawing more through the stitches because the thread has an iridescent strand that likes to get caught on everything. So, to solve this small issue, I take a lot of thread of the shuttle so that I have more than enough thread to finish the ring. I wrap the extra thread around my pinky like I do when making a chain.

My co-worker took me to one of the local thrift stores and I found some green crochet thread (I wanna make clovers for St. Patties day) and a "Clark's Big Ball" of #20 purple & white variegated thread. This will make pretty hearts for earrings! I also found a pretty & small sewing box to keep my extra shuttles and tatting supplies in.

While I was out today, I stopped by the bead shop on the east side and picked up some coin shell beads to make a pair of earrings. I have been planning on making these with coin pearls but I cannot seem to find them anywhere at the moment and the bead shop down the street (Bonjour Beads) is closed till February. The owner is taking a "hiatus" from running the shop. Always when I want beads for a project I tell yeah! LOL So I will have to wait till she reopens for those and I hope she has them still. The other bead shop that I would have gone to closed last summer. The rock shop might have them but they charge too much. My other option is purchasing online, but that can get expensive too!

Then I took the 40% Internet coupon for Hobby Lobby and bought a Carnivorous plant growing kit. The bowl of dirt with seeds sprinkled on top has to sit in the fridge for six weeks, and then germination could take upwards of 4 weeks. They should start growing just in time for spring!!

I had a lady on Ravelry beg me to do a basic spinning tutorial video so I will be working on that this weekend. I had planned on going to an intensive this weekend, but I did not get paid from both jobs because of winter break so I do not have the money to spare for this one this time. I have plenty to keep me busy here anyways!!

Karate has been kicking my butt. Trying to get back into the habit of going twice a week (three times a week for the next 4 weeks however to make up for 4 missed classes). Mr. Shaub has worked us hard! Yesterday we did crunches, push-ups, sit-ups, lunches, jumps....OOOOooo do I hurt!! I didn't sleep well because every toss I made I was in pain. WHEW!!

Well that about sums up the last week. Back to tatting!

Until next time...

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Mystery Shawl Progress and Flower Power

Here is my progress on the Mystery Shawl 5. I am LOVIN how the yarn is coming out!! It looks like rays of fall sunshine!! LOL

With the cooler temps my Morning Glories are in the mists of a flower-athon, racing to produce as many flowers as possible, it seems, before the first frost hits. This one is accented with rements of a soft, fall morning rain.

This week has been very hectic for me. The yarn shop called and asked if I could work twice a week between the routes of the other job for a couple of hours in addition to every Saterday. At first I thought they meant everyday and I just didn't think I would have the energy for it all. I think I can handle twice a week. Right now I am so worn out and tired. My driving job has been nerve-wracking as no one seems to have a sense of self-preservation...and seem to be absolutely bent on going around me-to get in front of me- to get no where quickly but race to the stop lights. *pulls hair out*

Then there is a new person who keeps wanting to be my friend, too much so, and my "freakdar" is buzzing. Just something about this person is not right and I trust my instincts and I have not been at all nice to the person. This company hires just about anyone, from what I have seen. Which just blows my mind considering what we do. Yesterday, this person came up to the van as I sat waiting for the school to let the kids out and started talking to me while I tried to pay attention to my knittings. Asking me a bunch of small talk questions...the same ones she asked two days ago. I don't want to talk. I want to knit because I get very little time the way it is now to knit. I totally gave the person the cold shoulder which is very uncharatistic of me, but something is not right with this one, so I am making a point to not be friendly. They probably think me a bitch. Oh well. Shit happens. I have had this fowl attitude all week. I need a break already! LOL

Until next time...

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Jar Dyeing results, tarot baggie, Call me "Ms. Fix-it"!

Pictures!! We have my jar dyeing results drying in the sun *drool!!*, a tarot baggie knit out of the cotton/wool blend I made, a picture of the Velvet Purple Miniture Lilly that is blooming fantastically in my patio area, and the brown yarn is shetland and yack down blend which is superly soft!

Just call me Ms. Fix-it. I upgraded the tank components in the toilet to stop the slow leak because of old and warn seals. The toilet no longer leaks water! Hurray for saving water!! But something must have settled when I removed the tank to replace the seal under there because after I put it all back together, the toilet didn't want to flush right. The water would swirl but never go completely down like it is supposed to. So upon pondering and reading up on removing the whol damn toilet from the floor to clean the gate before the flap inthe floor, found a better way. We live in an apartment building so getting the water turned off is not an option. I have no problem doing the simplier repairs because the man that is supposed to do these things has shit for brains.

So I went to Menards (for the fourth time starting this project) and got a toilet auger and a super plunger. The auger got a whole lot of something stirred up and loose, and the super plunger must have forced it down the drain as the toilet flushes properly now. YAY! Go womyn power!! I really love how when I asked a Menards employee (much younger than myself even) if there was a tool to aid in removing the old flushing valve, he said "It is super simple to get off but there is no specialised tool for it." *eyebrow raised* There is no plumping tools to help me aye? As soon as he walked away, I went one isle down and found a shit load of plumping tools...and oversized "wrenches" for the very job I asked about. What is up with that shit? Don't tell me there is no specialized tool for it...there is a specialized tool for EVERYTHING!!! *snicker-snort* Did he think I would not find the tools or comprehend how to do the job, or that I was not capable of doing the job because I lack a penis between my legs? Typical male bullshit.

So I have also fixed the sagging chicken wire on the garden. I dunno why it was sagging but I added another peice of wood to the center to keep it up and support the center of the wire incase we get anymore hail this year. Last year the hail made a huge dent in the wire and it has sagged ever since. While I was outside with the electric staple gun, I also fixed the sagging fabric on the bottom of the patio above us. It's there for more privacy than anything, but it helps contain his mess of bird seed as well.

Today I am ficxing a cabinet door that needed new hinges. I need another set of hands for that one so I have to wait till the BF comes home from work to help me. One of these days I will look into fixing the damned leak in the kitchen shink drain. I drained a gallon of water out from the bucket under the sink. A gallon in three days...sheez!

Until next time...






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Use unwanted fleece to control garden pests!!!

I have found, by sheer coinqidink, that the fleece I would normally throw away due to being soiled or with heavy VM can be used in the garden. The benefits are three fold.

One is that it helps keep moisture in when laid down thickly so that it eventually creates a felted mat. That felted mat in turn helps control weeds and other invasive plants from growing OR sprouting from seed.

The Third , and the best part is, placing your unwanted fleece around your veggies keeps the pests at bay! I found this out by sheer accident when I was simply using it as mulch. The slugs and other various nighttime leaf munchers of my beans ignored the ones that had fleece around them and instead attacked the exposed beans.

I placed some fleece around a bean that had it's first set of leaves completely eaten, but the plant is still able to survive because the growing nub in the middle of the stem was untouched. By putting the fleece around the plant, the pests never bothered it again. WOW.

So now when my veggies sprout, I get some of that unwanted felt, fluff it a bit, poke a hole through the center of the fluff, place it around the seedling, and lightly push it into the surrounding soil to anchor it in place. When it rains again, the newly placed "fleece ring" will felt and cling to the soil around it keeping it firmly in place. Amazzzing! Do I sound like an infomercial yet?

It seems that ants and pill bugs get stuck in the fleece and die.

In other news, seems that the bus company I work for is having finacial issues. I went to fuel up the work van and they told me the account for the company was on hold and no one is able to get gas. Wow. So much for job security-that just went out the window. I heard a rumor that my former employer (whom I like better and has more experince in this field) may be getting the school routes back next year. Oh Goddess! Say it is so! I miss them so much. I miss the benifits, the quirks, the extras. They know how to treat thier employees and make them wanna stay there-unlike my current employer who refuses to give raises, uphold senority, does not have road support (so if our vans brake down, we are so SOL), and no extras as an incentive to stay. I am better than that! I have a perfect driving record and I deserve more than this!

Until next time...






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Garden Testings: Very Low Potash...

According to this self testing kit, my garden soil is very low in potash which is essential for flower and fruit development...which explains why my pumpkins and cucumbers last year droped their flowers and never developed any fruit as a result. Nitrogen and Phospherous are very high, and that explains all the lucious leafy goodness all my plants had last year. All leaves and no fruit. I turn the garden soil every spring so lots of organics get into the soil. My soil is so loomy and black! Perfect for most veggies. The high N and P explains why my spinach is growing sooooooooooo well!

Thanks Mavin for the recipie idea! I went and bought me some skinless, boneless chicken breasts-split them in half and did what you suggested for the spinach. I added some chopped fresh tomato too (which is expensive this time of year!!). OMG....and on the formen grill it gets cooked just right...OOOOOoo we were having taste-bud orgasims!! The BF GOBBLED it up! HA! Pun intended!

But that does not explain why my tomatoes did so well last year!! I had sooooooo many cherry tomatoes that I was giving them away!! This year I am trying some Big Boy and Big Boy Hybrids.

I have no idea how to add potash to the garden, so I will need to call the greenhouse and ask them.

Until next time...






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I found Alpaca camping in my garden...

Alpaca yarn that is and I kind a placed it there. *snicker-snort*
Two pictures in one. My spinach is growing loverly and I dyed this freshly spun two ply alpaca laceweight yarn for this month's project spectrum's challenge. Yellow, green and pink...a triad. The pink came out more red...oh well. Not really something I would pick in color combinations, but at least I got to experience it. Kinda reminds me of cotton candy actually.
The purple birds nest is some purple died alpaca HAND BLENDED with burgandy dyed silk caps. I like the sploches of burgandy here and there from the un-uniform silk roving.


Next is the soap cosy I knit out of a one ply thick and thin yarn that was one of the first I spin up. Nice! Eventually it will felt up and when the soap is gone, I will make a special charm pouch out of the felted material. Nifty Aye?!

And the last picture is of my precious Dwarf Lilac bush. It is absolutely FILLED with leaves this year! I am so happy it bounced back from last year. Last year I kept it inside over winter because I feared the roots would dye if they froze. I guess not. There are only a few flower clusters, but that is enough for me because the anticipation of the upcoming frangrance explosion is driving me mad!! I love lilac!!

Until next time...

Crafting, Gardening, and other things of goodness...

I found a nice peice of precut wood plaque for the head board to my belt display. It's actually a house number plaque from menards, but HEY it works!!


The spinach seedlings are growing away! It will be time to put them in the garden soon!!!

Here is my outdoor Bast Altar. It is in the garden space.

Then there is Zarnan who, for some odd reason, is wanting to do nothing but bury himself in his diggin box. Wierd tort. I hear this is normal behavior this time of year so I will not worry too much about him. It's still strange that he wants to bury himself at the beginning of warmer weather. Wierd.

Not much to write on today. I am VERY sore from yesterdays Karate practice. Mostly in my hips from round kicking so much. Then I am VERY tired because the BF's fucking midnight fidgeting woke me up. I am sleeping on the sleeper sofa tonight. I am sick and tired (LITTERALLY!!!!) of not being able to get enough sleep because this MAN does nto want to see a doctor about this. His night fidgeting has never been this bad.....something is wrong. But being a MAN, he doesn't want to do a damned thing about it and it is angerying me so!! He has employer provided health insurance. He ought to use it while he has it.

I WANT SLEEP DAMNED IT!! SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!! UGH!

Until next time...