Good morning, Rural Sprout readers, it’s Friday!

It’s been the kind of week where just when I have a firm grasp on what day it is, it’s time to go to bed and start all over again in the morning. “What day is this?” I’ve been busy! Cooking, crafting, planning for the holidays, and even some gardening. (But I’ll save that for the big Sunday newsletter.) 

I wanted to share an “oopsie” with all of you. 

I’m always on my boys about picking up tools when they’re done with them. We have mottos in our house. (More for my sanity than anyone else’s.) 

“Don’t put it down, put it away.”
“Clean as you go.” (when cooking)
And finally…
“The project isn’t finished until it’s picked up.” 

They love to point out when I don’t follow my own mottos, which is often. Hey, we’re all doing our best here. So, they were extra pleased when my pair of hand pruners that went missing earlier this summer turned up recently, and I was the one who had left them outdoors. 

Yuck! 

However, tools like these are designed to be durable and, yes, even withstand being left out in the rain all summer. (What little we got, anyway.) So, I took them apart and cleaned them, with a homemade rust-soak. No elbow grease required. Wait until you see what they look like now. (You've got to click the link to see the transformation. Even I was shocked at the results.)

So far so good with my two cacti, but from our Facebook page, it seems many folks are dealing with dropped buds.

And, just for fun, I thought I would share this. I've been making tons of them as pins to give to all my friends, and I'm finishing up a long garland of them (strung every few inches on twine) to hang along my bookshelves. I can't get over how cute they are.