Tuesday 2-Do List

The woodstove has been cranking, bringing in wood is a never-ending need these days but with the impending storms again, the wood crib needs to be filled (and we are really hoping we have enough wood this year — we should plan some holz hausen for next year!)
Time to make bath soaks and teas for gift baskets (and myself, I’ve a good supply of dried red clover, calendula, bee balm, st. john’s wort, rose hip, raspberry leaf, lavender, white pine, milky oats, and self-heal), with aluminum-free magnesium salts, sea salt, oat milk or powdered buttermilk, or clays (bentonite or kaolin)
Which also feeds into our health tinctures: I’ve set up st. john’s wort, hawthorn, evening primrose, and cleavers tinctures. i also have dried elderberry, mullein, and lemon balm for prevention
Reminding me I need to make toothpaste this week. I prefer just a coconut oil base with baking soda, charcoal, and a little tea tree oil…I feel so much cleaner. Sometimes when I run out I’ll try regular Tom’s Mint (sans flouride) and I can’t stand the sweetness or foaminess. I’m too lazy to make my own soap so I rely on the goodness of either J.R. Liggett’s for shampoo or my new local find Rabbit’s Foot Farm from the Augusta Farmer’s Market which is making me very happy
Grant and article writing for the week begins tomorrow…getting random ducks in a row or so. We’ve got some educational homestead plans to organize
We also have to plan our Imbolc celebration (my favorite festival), and a simultaneous art show from wild apotropaic at the shop (still much to do on the latter, many collective thoughts to unfold in a short span of time)
I’ve been looking into basket-making, especially for the baker. The banneton baskets used for proofing the bread dough wear out and they can be expensive so I’ve been considering willow or cotton substitutes (though I have to say, basket-making is not really high on my personal desires but it is a necessary thing that I could contribute)
And we’ve still yet to plan the gardens for this year — we’re doing a bit of an overhaul, especially since the recent storms have brought down what we thought were semi-permanent structures/trellis and fencing. I’m kind of excited about this, and daunted by the task. I dream of a little group of folks who want to sit around and nerd out on garden planning and drink foraged/herbal tea (hint, hint) — I picture a big table with all of our various maps, circles of cups in the corners, open landscaping books, seed catalogs, valuing the merits of companion planting, permaculture zones, and aesthetic desires…it’s a rich fantasy life I lead
Which leads to the final task of the week I should at least start — cleaning out the front porch/seedling room. Our essentially 2-season north facing front porch but outfitted with large shelves with heat pads and lights for starting seeds. J brought in an antique 2 bay washing trough/sink that I mix growing mediums in and use a couple of boards as a makeshift potting table on top of it. It works, sort of, enough but I need to start making some seedling decisions