You know you've been sewing too long when...

I've spent the majority of today sewing. Clearly, I got a giganto-spool of white thread. I took the morning to cut many pieces, iron them and then get to work sewing all of them at once. Considering the lull I've been in (see previous few posts) this is a great step for me in the right direction. The dogs have been quiet, Mr. Gnome has been putting in some overtime at work - so I get to jam out to some music and have some quality time with my sewing machine.




It's been hours now - subtract the cooking and the laundry (obligatory bothersome tasks, I say), I have probably spent at least 6 hours crafting. Woo! However, I do believe happycat has had enough. I was looking down at my lap, in which several Snack Packs were sitting, tying off loose threads and preparing them for their final iron when it happened. All of a sudden, I heard her cry quite loudly, felt her bound into my lap and promptly plopped herself on my workspace between me and my ornery sewing machine.

I believe this is the most sad picture I have ever had to post of happycat. She refused to move. I couldn't finish my Snack Packs because she had ENOUGH of me ignoring her and, according to her, "it is now time to love the happycat." I can't say that I blame her. And, after all, it was about time to take a break.

SO! I headed downstairs to grab a drink and out springs this brown and black flash, up onto my kitchen stool and onto the counter top.

It's the scaredycat who rarely comes out unless it's to love Mr. Gnome. She started crying, too, looking for lovin and pawing at my hand as I opened the refrigerator door. I moved my hand to touch her head and WHAM! down it went, pinning my hand between her head and the counter. I had no choice but to take my time and give her some lovin, too.

Geesh. You'd think these animals have feelings and needs or something!

:)

I love these adorable fluffernutters.

And yes, I did finish my snack packs.

I'd also like to update you all on my holistics post. I allowed my plants to dry out for quite a few days. In this house, the winter is like a moisture-sucking-vortex for which there is no cure - so naturally, after a few days of not being watered my plants were losing their leaves and screaming out for help. Ok, so we know the screaming isn't true but if they had mouths, they sure would be screaming. BACK ON POINT! After my houseplants were near-death from starvation, I brewed a bunch of chamomile tea and let the bags steep for a good long while so I had enough water with enough chamomile for all of my plants. I then used the (cool) chamomile tea to water the drought-ridden plants. I know many instructions on this state you should drench your plants; I do not have enough pots or tea in this house to completely saturate them, so I just gave them a thorough dampening. Once the water was absorbed, I generously sprinkled cinnamon on the top layer of dirt of all of these plants. Both of these are supposed to inhibit fungus growth, hence stopping procreation of those dreaded fungus gnats as they no longer have any food.

Results:
I have noticed a dramatic reduction in the amount of fungus gnats flying about my house. I see perhaps one per day, now. (I'm not going to tell you how many were flying around BEFORE all of this...) I am considering doing another chamomile drench/reapplying the cinnamon just to be sure I have killed all of the fungus on which they're eating. I nearly killed my chenille plant, however. It's still not happy - many leaves are mottled yellow and green. Both my chenille and passion flower plants love to be quite moist, so I'm not sure how to keep fungus growth down on a plant that thrives on moist soil. Does anyone have suggestions for this?

Recommendation:
Yes, I whole heartedly recommend anyone out there to try this method. I believe it was a combination of all three factors (drying out, chamomile drench and cinnamon topping) that decreased the fungus gnat population. I feel much safer putting chamomile tea on my plants rather than a very strong insecticide - especially considering I have a house full of fluffernutters.

If you try this method, PLEASE let me know how it worked for you. I'd also love for you to give me any tips/tricks of what else you have effectively tried.

Have a happy Sunday evening. Do yourself a favor - squish something fluffy tonight :)

Love,