With winter coming, what are some of the indoor, cold weather projects some of you are considering? Right now, we have two projects in work for the winter, the first is shelving and cataloging my library, the second project is a wind generated power experiment my son and I are thinking about. Those are mine, what are yours?

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), October 27, 2000

Answers

Winter projects, let's see. There's a bunch of flannel and denim squares waiting to be sewn together, brooms to make, soap, finish my magazine article index, I made one a couple years ago, but it wasn't quite complete. We're working on the house we're going to move into next fall. Try as many new recipes as possible. Crochet a new bedspread. Learn to knit and tat. Use the "this book belongs to" stamp in all my books. Plan next year's garden and start planning on the one where we'll move. Increase my workout. Sewing. Reading. Try to find a part time job. (Not easy with the allergies) Sleep, watch the snow fall.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), October 27, 2000.

well, I have to finish my dehydrator, started it, but didnt work well, so I have to remake it. And make somemore beehive equipment

-- STAN (sopal@net-port.com), October 27, 2000.

I want to finish my basement so we have a work-out place. I'm moving my washer and dryer down there too so there is more room in my bathroom for storage. And since I'm going to have more storage, I'm gonna clean out that pantry. (dangerous area, falling objects)

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), October 27, 2000.

Crafts. We do wood carving and plaques and such. We have to make ALL the Christmas presents, it's a mad flurry of sawdust in December! But none of the family have ANY idea what's inside their packages and we love surprising them. This year we are going to make the nieces and nephews 'Camp Chairs' from the Boy Scout web site! We will carve their name in them. No batterys required.

And our new web site, lots to do there. I do Christian Graphics and Stationary, and have the crafts on there. It's so much fun. Got lots of pictures back today of the place and the animals and my garden before it died. I have learned how to do the pages and send them up and everything. But I am hoping it won't get cold in Kentucky this winter, just skip right by us and go straight to spring!

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), October 27, 2000.

My winter project is some indoor remodeling, and some basic wood working with my oldest son. My wife plans to craft, and work on an idea for a book she's been toying with for about 2 years now.

-- Eric in TN (ems@nac.net), October 27, 2000.

quilting and writing freelance articles. hope to have one in CS soon! oh yeah and building a chickenhouse.

-- juno redleaf (gofish@presys.com), October 27, 2000.

sort through the boxes created by the last three forced marches. Organize now that I don't have garden/outdoor chores as much with the cold weather. Think with longing about putting feet up.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), October 28, 2000.

Fencing...Build walls in the house...Kitchen cabinets (Please?)...Put a finish on my yellow pine floor...Maybe plumbing.

-- Teresa in TN (otgonz@bellsouth.net), October 28, 2000.

I'm going to go through stuff and decide once and for all what to keep and what to get rid of. I have magazines from 15 years ago that I've moved with 4 or 5 times. Clothes that still have the tags on them, that I know I'll never wear. I'm going to pack all this crap up and take it to the flea market in the spring. If I start now, I should have a few boxes ready in time. I know what will happen... I'll end up looking through every darn magazine!

-- Cathy Horn (hrnofplnty@webtv.net), October 28, 2000.

Shovel snow. Yes we've had to do that inside, I won't go there. Think long and hard about who really, really owes us, figure out how to get them out here, and move the big upright freezer to the basement. It was enough of a job to get it up into the house, taking it back out then down into the basement isn't going to be easy. Work on the wind generators. Build some shelves and storage things. I really want a good bobbin lace pillow, maybe this winter I'll get it built. Work on whatever is broken down and/or froze up. Shell corn. Bring wood in and get it transfered and stacked in the furnace room. Build a couple a screen doors for the house. I don't know that we'll get much of the above done-except for bringing in the wood-but we'll stay busy. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), October 28, 2000.

Well going by the above responses homesteaders don't just prop their feet up by the old woodstove sipping hotchocolate. We're no exception. We just moved onto our dream place and the house was in the process of being remodeled. So I will be putting down ceramic tile, tearing out walls (yippee), putting in a sub-floor, redoing some lousy plumbing, rewiring, and lots of painting. The old fence here is falling down on the job so that will get redone too while all the snakes, ticks and chiggers are sleeping. Oh yes and of course I will be gathering compostable stuff like crazy since we will be starting a new garden in the spring. I think I will have to have most of my firewood delivered this year but I will be cutting some for next year. Oh yes and hubby works a lot of overtime to finance the whole thing (which also means I have to do this by myself). At least we won't get bored. :o)

-- Amanda S (aseley@townsqr.com), October 28, 2000.

Cut brush along the creek and take out dead and dying trees, cross fence pastures and cut and burn more brush. Build a new chicken coop and a pen for feeder lambs. I have to tool up the shop so I can make a few gift for xmas. All these things will begin as soon as the broken foot I sustained 2 weeks ago heals and of course there are a few fall projects that did not get completed yet.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), October 28, 2000.

Finish school. Spin wool, spin wool, and then, oh maybe, spin wool. My bunkhouse looks like New Zealand in spring! I also pledged to paint the hallway in the house(the paint has been sitting here for 6 months). I painted my kitchen red and my living room green last year and it looks great, except I need to finish it up by painting my hallway green. Then we can put the light fixture up so I can actually see where I'm going! However, we have to move the gun safe (all 1200 lb or so of it) to get behind it to paint. So...I've conveniently put it off...I would also like to make soap, crochet scrunchies, and make quilted pictures for Christmas presents. Realistically, I think if I can get school done, I will have accomplished something!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), October 28, 2000.

Finish a couple of sewing projects (historical reenactment costumes), make the tent I promised hubby I would make for him, CLEAN the house (I'm talking washing walls and ceilings, etc.) to get it ready for a FOR SALE sign first thing in the spring, help hubby move a couple hundred cement blocks from the front yard to the cellar and then build a wall with them, figure out the rest of the Christmas presents, sort and dispose of stuff in preparation for moving next year (hopefully), get up enough courage to open the computer case and clean out the dust in there before it really malfunctions!! Try to keep the house warm (the wind is really blowing today, and I can feel the cold seeping in, even though it isn't really all that cold outside). Make lots of lists and plans to try to make our next move as smooth as possible. (That's the fun part!)

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), October 28, 2000.

One thing I look forward to this winter is having more time to spend on this forum but with all the other things I want to do, I'm not sure! I plan to make soap, make cheese, bake bread and do more cooking. I want, with hubby's help, to build some shelves to put in the basement with lights on the underside to start my seeds in for next years garden. I'll also spend a lot of time reading the seed catalogs and like Cindy, planning my garden. I'd like to make some birdhouses and make a quilt. I also want to make some Christmas gifts for the grandkids - stuffed animals and dolls. They love things I make them. Cindy in Ky. what is your website address? I live in Ky. too and from what I've heard we are supposed to have a colder winter than the past few have been. Actually we are due a cold winter and I wouldn't mind (except when I have to get out in it!). It might help kill off some of the bug populations. I also spend a lot of time reading in the winter, don't watch much television. I will probably get out all my old Countryside magazines and reread those and dream! Someone mentioned they were getting rid of some old magazines. I hope they aren't Countryside - I'd never get rid of those. Also have some very old (20 years and more) Organic Gardening magazines I enjoy rereading. They used to be a lot like Countryside. I'm tired just reading back over this post! Probably won't get everything done but still need to set goals or else nothing gets done!

-- bwilliams (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), October 28, 2000.

Lynn just took over half of my computer room/ library to start a quilt. She says this will give us more family quality time as DJ and I spend so much of our free time in here. DJ said he thinks she wanted the big room and recycled kitchen table we have in here.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), October 28, 2000.

Work on the house(sheetrock at the moment), learn to warp my rug loom, quilt, and get organized. Just thought I'd throw that last one in for giggles!

-- Peg (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), October 28, 2000.

My site is http://solidrockranch.worldlife.net Some of it is done and some is not. The farm and animals pics aren't there yet, hopefully this week. But some of the crafts and graphics are. I think you will like all the little 'country people'! I am by Elizabethtown, and I am still hoping for a MILD winter, our house isn't very warm in the winter.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), October 28, 2000.

Study my Spanish in Mexico. Relax on a beach with my husband, our 23 year old daughter & her boyfriend, and our 3 year old son (yeah, 20 years age difference, that's a long story). And, plan next years garden, livestock, building projects, home business plans, and projects, projects, projects..... but loving every minute of it!!!!!

-- Rose Marie Wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), October 28, 2000.

Finish the basement bedroom and a craftroom down there, learn to spin, make the Christmas gifts, make some window quilts for the north facing windows, as it gets pretty chilly near them. May teach myself to do more than just crochet a chain! Hopefully, organize all my recipies, and give the place a thorough cleaning. Oh, yes, and get the garden planned for next year and do the taxes. I think that going to Mexico thing sounded better, tho...

-- Jan in Colorado (Janice12@aol.com), October 28, 2000.

My wintertime projects is to #1. Get older and healthier! #2. Get richer! #3. Get wiser-[I've given up on gettin purtier!] #4. Find just a little bit more time to write and tinker with some ideas that's been rollin around in my old empty haid!

Cindy in Ky! Hey kiddo--we deliver those outdoor wood furnaces--even to Ky! LOL. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), October 28, 2000.

Hoot, is there a site to look at them? I've bookmarked several I've found on the web and reading about. What are yours called? We've also been trying to find a used one maybe, a friend of mine got one at Goodwill for $75.00, in good shape.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), October 29, 2000.

Finish the living room curtains, they've been sitting on the sewing pile since June or July! Finish the 1 granddaughter's quilt before Christmas, get more done on the other granddaughter's quilt, just finished the garden plan for next year, needed to know where to plant next year's garlic crop. Get our daughter & son-in-law's long overdue quilt started, more sewing, get the hubby goin' on making more shelves for the jars. We still have 2+ cords to split & stack, finished the other 2 cords 2 or 3 weeks ago. "Organize" the sewing area & the spare room. Catch up (?) on some long overdue letters, hope to put them in the Christmas cards I would like to get started on next week. Defrost the freezers once it's cold enough outside. Get the new pens in the barn at least started before next spring. Add to the index the Countrysides that arrived this past year, perhaps will have a little time left over to get a few more articles read. Have a few new (to me) recipes to try out on the family, and get more breadbaking done. I had wanted to get something like this started only Jay beat me to it! I had fun doing this, hope everyone else did too!

-- Phyllis (almostafarm@yahoo.com), October 29, 2000.

Goodness, you people are making me tired just reading your plans! *grin*

Cindy reminded me of one I should be working on now, tatting. Wanted to make a doily for a friend of mine. Come to think of it, after I post this message, should go find thread and pattern. (Cindy, there's a whole pile of tatters online at www.egroups.com/group/e-tatters.)

Things on my list for the winter: making use of piles of accumulated materials, now that I have my sewing/crafts room set up. Playing with the scroll saw and bandsaw, one project is building a plant shelf along the bottom of the diningroom window. Building a "wood closet" for the firewood brought in for the woodstove. Sorting through slides and photographs from the past year, getting them organized. Playing with some of those images on the computer, using some with the T-shirt transfers and greeting card stock. Cleaning out the computer files, printing off a pile of emails. Taking a pile of things I've printed off and put them into binders and duotangs so I can find them when I need them. Painting a hallway. Good grief, now I'm making myself tired! Looking forward to a l-o-o-n-n-g quiet winter.

-- Chelsea (rmbehr@istar.ca), October 29, 2000.

After reading some of your answers, I am considering trying some of them here ( I'm the one in our house used to 18 hr days). I dread the winter months, because most people I know (my wife included) just want to stop for 3 months.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), October 29, 2000.

Cindy in Ky! www.centralboiler.com is the website. They also advertise in Countryside Magazine too. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), October 29, 2000.

We plan to finish the bathroom remodeling project we started LAST November!

-- Jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), October 30, 2000.

Finish really sealing the house so won't have to use as much wood for heat. Build a small greenhouse ( have the window one up ). Build a kid pen never know what Josh and Ginger might be up to. Build another pig pen. Try to get on my feet. Make sure the table next to my reading chair is cleared so will have a place for the seed catalogs. After they come it is dream city but hope to have some dreams come to reality. As I will be appointed as the Libertarian county chairman in january trying to organize and get it going. From the state chairman I can only go up as long as I don't leave the party as I am the only one who said they were willing to serve and he was very evasive when asked how many others were in Wright county. I know that many of the other threads are concerned with the politics and I will not go much further with it here except to say if we want more choices at the national level we have to start with the local races. I also am thinking that the gremlins are alive and well as I had written a much longer message as a reply to another thread that unlike most of my post this one was at least thought out and took over 30 minutes to write. When I sent the message my computer shut down and I could not get on the forum for over an hour. I also plan to spend some of the winter just enjoying being able to walk outside without spending time taking the ticks off when I get back inside. gail

-- gail missouri ozarks (gef123@hotmail.com), October 30, 2000.

Gail, I'm going off topic here, but congratulations to you on your political activism! Bravo for getting involved. Go get the rest of the folks off their duffs, will ya? We have a lot of different political perspectives on this forum, true, but we would all benefit from an informed, active electorate. At least we could have some respect for the process again, if not our elected officials. You are right, you gotta start somewhere! Thank you.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), October 31, 2000.

Spin,knit,spin somemore.make soap,clean my basement,give stuff to goodwill.Start doing stained glass again(after I get the basement clean).keep my angora bunnies groomed,no more matts.watch the snow fall.curse the snow as I trudge thru it to feed the pigs.go to my son's wrestling meets.lighten our lives of all the stuff we own that we don't really need or use.hope that I can actually do some of this stuff! Gayle

-- Gayle Torrey (gayletorrey@yahoo.com), October 31, 2000.

I'm so impressed with all of you, and I hope you achieve your goals. Ive found that if I dont write my list down with deadlines I dont get them done by nov. 15'th paint the bathroon trim and molding and possibly carpet the floor? by thanks giving christmas presents finished and wrapped. By the end of nov. carpet down in the bedroom. By Dec. 5'th kitchen cabnets painted and new hinges and handles. Before thanksgiving all the berries I froze this summer made into jam. By dec. 15th move kitchen stove and build an island. Enjoy christmas and new years. january expose living room celing (beadboard) and paint, also the kitchen. Install wood cook stove in the kitchen hopefully by christmas. Finish wall in the laundry room. jan 30th new back door. January hire someone to frame the garage for an apartment for growing children. Build a large wooden fence between us and the neighbors with in the next two weeks. feb. and march wire insulate and finish the garage apartment. march install raised beds. April time to get busy winter is over. grind venison burger and wrap can deer meat in nov. this list is not in order I wonder if it can really be done given nothing else comes up. wish me luck

-- ronda (thejohnsons@localaccess.com), November 01, 2000.

I am going to get this e-commerence business off the ground through the winter. Summer is so hectic , but now the snow is coming and the fire is warm so I am going to be sitting in front of the computer and make some income.

-- Kathy Mason (kt@hancock.net), November 01, 2000.

Around here, we are planning on finishing the fences, and pastures, training a new horse and exercising the old one in the rain. Finishing raised beds. Gathering the stuff for a new barn next summer, and drooling on the garden catalogs and ordering way more than I can plant.

Right now we are pressing and drying flowers, leaves and herbs for winter projects and gathering all the nature material to keep the kids crafting all winter.

Like Joy, I am going through boxes and boxes of stuff I haven't seen in years of moving and planning that one big yard sale next year.

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), November 02, 2000.

I've got several quilts to finish.Between that, and coping with the Xmas season, and keeping the house warm and us fed, could easily keep busy! Winter is the only time we really get to visit and talk to each other; too busy any other time. So I'm hoping to get some nice chess, boggle, and other board games in during those cold,quiet days. Looking forward to it!

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), November 02, 2000.

Make a quilt.

Make homemade Xmas gifts for everyone

Build some adirondack outdoors furniture

Make a family cookbook that contains all of your family recipes. Replicate it for all family members.

-- Justin Shelton (justinshelton@netscape.net), November 02, 2000.