Quiet Day, Disaster, Starting Exotic Plants

It is very quiet around here today! Thomas, Melvin & Christopher left around 7 to go south of here a couple hours. They have three overhead doors to install today near Dorcas, WV. You have to wonder where that town got it's name. 

When I finally scratched myself out of bed I noticed the water trough for the cows was running over. Someone started the water and forgot to turn it off. When I went to turn it off I passed the washing machine.

Here was a startling sight. I just purchased a 128 load jug of laundry detergent on Tuesday. I had it on the shelf above the washer because it has a dispenser knob on it. It had fallen down and over half the detergent was out of it.

I'm not sure where all it went. Some was definitely in the washer which, thankfully, was empty! I spent a good bit of time scooping soap up out of the washer with a medicine cup, into a Solo cup and back in the bottle. (Not easy to do with a pregnant belly!) For some reason a lot of it was mixed with water. I put that in a separate bottle.

See the dispenser bottle on the shelf above. I filled the bottle on the washer nearly half full of watery soap. How did the dispenser bottle fall? Why did it fall? I don't know!

I don't know if you can see how the wall is blue behind the dryer? I guess it's time to do the cleaning in the washroom that I've been procrastinating.

After washing a load of laundry with the soap that remained in the washer, I went to put the load in the dryer. It wasn't spun out very well so I put it through the spin cycle again. It was still quite wet, suds were oozing from the washer pores, the clothes felt slimy with soap and the washer smelled hot. Oh dear! Why is this happening?

I hung the clothes out on the line to dry. Maybe it's time for the new washer I've been wanting (and thinking I need). If I had a bigger washer, I don't think the laundry would take so much time. Maybe I'll call the local appliance shop.

Today I want to share Melvin's projects with you. He has taken a real interest in growing things from seed that you don't normally grow. Enjoy the show...

An avocado seed that's sprouted

And one that's a little further along

A pineapple top that's rooting

And a pineapple plant that Christopher had started in the same way

Ginger that's sprouting from a piece of ginger

Grapefruit plants that he started from seed. He has 4 of these pots with two plants per pot.

A peach tree he started from seed

Cherry seeds he's been soaking

These are maple trees. I'm not sure which boy decided to grow these. We have hundreds of maple seeds fall around here in the spring.

And this was an idea I had from someone else. They said you could plant sweet potatoes in soil and they would sprout just like they do when you put them in water. We planted some and after waiting a long time for sprouts finally gave up on them. One of the boys planted a couple maple starts in the pot and then the one sweet potato decided to put out sprouts. I'm afraid it's too late to root and plant these. ???

Just know that if you will give your children liberty to explore life in this way, your house will not be in pristine condition! Sprouting seeds, pots of plants & etc look rather dirty and unkempt. Pursuing ideas (even beyond starting seeds) isn't always neat and tidy and most times it's just downright messy.

So that will be the extent of this post. I need to go fold a pile of towels, clean the washroom, clean up the kitchen and whatever else I might be able to accomplish.

Have a blessed day!