Wow this month has flown by! There have been extreme dry and hot stretches for several days at a time with sporadic reprieves from the heat from the blessed rain. I enjoy rain, I don’t enjoy thunderstorms with high wind that blow my corn over though. I made and uploaded more videos to Youtube this month. As of the time of writing this newsletter I have 15 new videos published this month of July 2023. I hope you will go check out my videos and the channel. I hope you will subscribe to my channel and give likes and comments to the videos. Here are some of the videos below but you can see all of the videos on my channel at https://www.youtube.com/@Gardener-Maker-Maggie/videos
Since the videos don’t show up in the emailed version of this newsletter, many people don’t know to click on the links to go to my newsletter page or to my youtube channel, they only see the newsletter in their email.
I’ve added some pictures of some of the video topics because I know those do show up in the email version of this newsletter.
Potatoes from my garden early July 2023
Corn from my garden early July 2023.
Okra and collards from my garden mid July 2023. See the videos on Youtube to learn more about the 5 varieties of Okra I planted this year.
The bathroom remodel is still in progress. I’m getting ready to tear out that partition wall to expand the bathroom area. Go to my Youtube channel to see the video of the plan and follow the progress.
Last of my peanuts I harvested these mid July 2023.
After a good scrubbing to clean my peanuts I boiled mine with salt and ground hot chiles in oil. I cooked them slow and long, they are so good! See my Youtube channel for videos showing when I planted in garden and the progress of these peanuts growing.
This bathmat is my inspiration piece for my bathroom decor scheme I plan for the remodel. I also have a matching shower curtain ordered that should be in any day.
This book about how to make Shoji screens, doors, lights and other Shoji items is written by Jay Van Arsdale. He is well known in the woodworking community. I buy most of my books used from Thriftbooks, they never disappoint in timeliness of delivery or quality of product! I highly recommend Thriftbooks online store. You can build points and get free books too! If you watch some of my July videos on my Youtube channel I talk about this book and how it will help me with my plan for the bathroom remodel.
This is when I started building the privacy screen to give privacy to my bathroom window as well as screening the sewer connection and view to backyard area that will one day have a lot more recreational yard additions when I move my travel trailer out of the way. I talk about that in my Youtube videos that I made in June and July 2023.
Those concrete pads for the 4×4 posts for my back deck are HEAVY!
Progress on the bathroom window privacy screen.
This was inside my house on the hottest day of the recent heatwave. It was hot but the 41% humidity was a blessing from the overworked air conditioners that were not keeping up with outdoor temperature over a 100F and about 75% humidity, it was a literal steam bath outside and I worked out in it most of the day with several breaks coming in the house so the 90F and 41% humidity actually felt cool by comparison. I explain in some of the videos I made in July that I bought new larger air conditioners but haven’t got around to installing them. I put in the two smaller units last summer 2022 that I had been using at my old homestead that I sold in 2021 when I bought the home I have now. You can look back at older newsletters and video on my YouTube channel to understand more about that sale and move.
This was the very next day after we had a blessed rain come down in a nice light long shower. In this picture I was looking at the book for one of the new air conditioners that I was in the process of putting in. I tell more about this in videos on my Youtube channel.
There it is, the new little 5000 BTU air conditioner installed. I explain in video how I did it and showed steps as I went along. This is just for this room which will actually be a connected part of the bathroom remodel, it will be my large walk-in closet and dressing room with opening into the bathroom, this room will connect to bedroom on other side via a hallway.
As you can see in picture, I ran a #12 wire extension cord to test out the air conditioner, I will be running direct power from the sub panel to it soon. I bought several air-conditioners in 2021 when I sold my old place and bought this place. I just haven’t got around to installing them for several reasons, mostly because I had not settled myself on a remodel plan until last couple months when it has seemed to all come together in my mind. Living in a new space for at least a year to acclimate myself to a new environment and lifestyle was needed in order for me to best plan and prepare for the long-term remodel. I didn’t want to do anything until I ran through all possibilities living in the space.
I hope everyone is enjoying their summertime, before long it will be Fall, my favorite time of year! I am working on garden stuff for my fall garden preparation and getting ready to plant more crops. I have some going that will either stop at first freeze and some that will continue on through winter and into the spring. I will try to be vigilant about making recordings of everything I’m doing around the homestead. Not only to share with family, friends, and viewers but also for my own record of progress. These newsletters and the videos on my Youtube channel are a wonderful record of where I started and the progress through the years here at my homestead that I bought in 2021 in northwest Florida.
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