Years ago, when I was interested in learning to knit (and yarn was a LOT cheaper), I picked up a lot of knitting needles and a quilted holder for all of them, but none of it hs seen much use in recent days, and I don't seem to have either the time or the patience to knit anything  as complicated as a sweater. I do, however, have a desire to have warm throws to use in cooler weather, and still remember the toasty knitted afghan that my grandmother used for years. Real wool yarn is rather expensive, and the synthetic yarns don't have the warmth of wool, so I've actively started reclaiming the wool from old sweaters that have outlived their usefulness as clothing. The first one to tackle was an old Irish wool cardigan.

Finding the seams in the old sweater was the most challenging part as the sweater pieces were held together with the same yarn as the body of the sweater, but eventually I got the whole thing de-knitted and rolled into balls. Those balls, in turn were wrapped into skeins and gently washed in the bathroom sink and hung to dry over the bath. Once dry, they will be rolled back into the balls of yarn I prefer to use and stashed in a bag to keep them clean.

I'll never have any many plants as I would like, so every year about this time, I start thinking about which plants I already have that I want to propagate so I can enjoy more of them.

• Lavender - the lavender in our front yard finally gave up the ghost last year after the heavy snows broke most of the base branches off, but I have three new plants growing in its place, 2 Munsteads and a Grosso. Hopefully, they all do well enough to provide cuttings to expand my stash! Ultimately, I would like to plant quite a few of them across the top of the hill in the back yard.
• Philodendron - I have a nice big bushy one that needs a trimming.
• Bleeding heart - the age-old favorite is getting pretty old, so I want to be sure to make some cuttings this year when it re-appears. Gotta love the perennials!

I'll be adding to this list as time goes on...

For all but the first few years that I have lived in my house, I have had a composting bin in the back yard. Some years, it's done better than others, usually based on how careful I am to balance the mix of brown and green materials properly. Just for a reminder for myself and my readers, here's a breakdown of materials:

Green/Wet:

• Veggie and fruit scraps
• Tea - bags and loose
• Grass clippings (fresh)
• Weeds
• Egg shells
• Table scraps - no meat, dairy or bones

Brown/Dry:

• Dried leaves or grass
• Wood Shavings and sawdust
• Coffee grounds and filters
• Twigs
• Pine Needles
• Wood ash (cold only)
• Nut and shells
• Shredded paper
• Hay
• Dryer lint and fabric scraps

Shortly after I bought the house in which I live, I planted a Clematis to grow by the mailbox post, choosing a jackmanii variety because I love the vivid purple of the flowers. Over the years, it has grown well and I usually have to trim it back a bit to keep it from engulfing the mailbox completely. This past week, I spent some time cleaning it up and removing some of the grass that has grown too close to the base of the vine. Apparently, it liked the attention and promptly went into bloom.

I need to give some thought to where I might plant some more of this splendid purple plant as it really is striking when in full bloom.