Christmas Preparation

Thanksgiving is now history and my hope is that you have all been stuffed with tasty food, had good conversations, and have been filled with plenty of great memories. Now all eyes have turned toward Christmas and the hustle and bustle for decorating, baking, and present buying has begun in earnest for the coming celebration. I’ve started the long process of sending out about 80 to 90 Christmas cards to family and friends. The Christmas letter has been drafted and tweaked to perfection, the cards have been found and sorted, and the writing of personal notes for each card has started. For the next two weeks it will be every spare moment devoted to Christmas cards. I don’t do much store shopping for Christmas. I’m closing down on Christmas number 70 in my life and I’m just not too inspired to shop until I drop. So everyone knows that they will be getting a gift card from me to spend on what ever they want. I was never too creative when it came to finding gifts for people.

The weather continues to be relatively nice with temps in the 50s and 60s on a daily basis. That is way above normal for Nebraska this time of the year. There is a threat of the first snow of the year next week. I’ve still been able to work on garden cleanup. The ground is still soft and moist, which makes for easy turning of the soil. I like to turn the soil once in the fall and once in the spring. Some say it might stir up weeds but that’s why I do it.  I get them to sprout and use a stirrup hoe and a garden rake to easily cultivate the raised bed. After cultivating three times, the weeds that are going to sprout have been dealt with. The rest of the year will be relatively easy to weed.  After cultivating three times a deep layer of mulch is laid down and planting begins.

This winter I want to grow more microgreens under the grow lights until seed starting time. When I get the push for Christmas done, it will be time to start planting the microgreens. I’ve had some success the last couple years but the technique changes every year. This year it will be different again. 

Well, yeah, speaking of seeds, it’s time to start thinking about ordering seeds. Those seed catalogs are overwhelming to me. I for one just can’t picture a tomato any other color than red. I guess I’m just so last century in my gardening. I’m not too willing to experiment with new plants. This year I’ll pay attention to where I buy my seeds. Last year I bought an off brand from a big box store and ended up with all Cherry tomatoes instead of Rutgers. You would think after all my years of life I would have learned that cheap is hardly ever better. I won’t be doing that again. 

Now that gardening is winding down, inside projects are gearing up. There are plenty of projects to work on that have piled up over the summer. One that is top priority is to get my garage cleaned out to allow my truck to be inside during the winter months. I’ve taken one load to the landfill with perhaps a couple more before I’m finished. It’s amazing how just a couple things in the garage can morph into a garage full of stuff just in one summer. The garage clean out has been long overdue and the addition of a refrigerator given to me that has to reside in the garage generated the garage clean out to begin to find a space. So I better get after it before the snow flies.