New Years Eve

 I normally celebrate New Years Eve with a small fire.  I don't have normal firewood this year, but there is a pile of kindling, so I will do the best I can with that.  It's symbolic anyway.

I hope 2024 is better than 2023.  I had better years.  But there is always the promise of "tomorrow" and I will go with that.

I think of the Roman god Janus on New Years Day.  He looked both ahead and behind.  Its a good time to think of both the past and future.  

I bought a ribeye steak yesterday.  Too large for one meal, so I will divide it.  One part for New Years Eve and the other for New Years day.  That gets both years.  ;)

Happy New Year!

2023

2023 was eventful.  It seems easiest to just make a list...

1.  I lost 2 cats but gained 2 new ones.   Sadness and happiness at the same time.

2.  I got my flu, covid, and RSV shots.  On separate visits to Safeway because they are free and they give me a 10% discount each visit.  

3.  Speaking of Safeway, they give me a 10 cent gas credit at their pumps for every $100 I spend there.  I got 80 cents per gallon off a couple days ago!

4.  I'm slowly getting better after the 2021 ladder fall.  2021 was bad.  But sometimes this year, I noticed a few odd pains vanished.  The separated right clavicle remains, but as the doctor said "you can get used to it".  He has one himself and he was right.  I hardly notice it.  The body adjusts...

5.  My knees are still a problem.  I have velcro braces for both.  After a few weeks of wearing them, things are good.  But they are annoying.  The knees issue predates the ladder fall.

6.  Spring was horrible for the garden.  Kept staying too cold for my transplants randomly.  And then we had a minor drought.  So planting my heirloom tomatoes were delayed.  They never caught up.  I got like 6 good tomatoes from 10 plants.  The cherry tomatoes did well though.

7.  I receive checks sometimes.  Odd stuff.  My Government Thrift Savings Program (TSP) says I have to start cashing out gradually, but I always forget, so they send one anyway.  My electric co-op sent a check for reducing my usage and another as a rebate to all customers.  The Maryland State Government sent me one to correct a tax error.  I stuck them on the refrigerator and then put something on top and forgot about them.  Now I have to call about getting some reissued (some are still depositable).

8.  The Subaru Forester I bought in 2020 has 2,400 miles on it ( don't drive much).  So gas prices don't bother me.

9.  In the Spring, the 30' diameter daffodil bed bloomed nicely.  The deck flowerpots bloomed well all Summer and Fall.  And I have a 10'x6' bed of pansies that will bloom all Winter.  It is good to have colors in the yard all year.

10.  I bought a lot of stuff in 2023.  Some of it useful and some of it whimsy.  Useful means a good new kitchen or gardening tool or new high-sided cat litter boxes (Loki pees standing up and overshoots the old ones).  

Whimsey means "just cool".  

That's a plush tardigrade (aka Water bear).  They are the size of pinpoints, but can't be killed easily.  They can be frozen, heated, exposed to the vacuum and cosmic rays of outer space and recover.  This one is 8" long and sits on my car dashboard.  Hey, some people have bobbleheads, I have a tardigrade.  LOL!

I bought 2 cat jigsaw puzzles made of real wood.  If I ever put them together, I will mount them in a frame.

I also bought a bomber jacket.  But it has too much specific unit identity on it.  I will return it.  I don't want people thinking I served in those units.  I never served at all.

11.  I think I finally learned how to make a decent pizza at home.  My own dough. In a small sheet pan sprinkled with cornflour (for automatic raised edges) ON a baking stone at 500F (highest the oven will go).  

12.  Got better at discussion forums.  Ignore the angry fanatics, respond to rational people, give facts...

The older I get, the more tolerant I become.  By the time I die, I will have things just about right.  👌

A Couple Of Good Productive Days

Some things have not been going well around here lately.  Nothing life-altering, but when things go wrong (broken birdfeeder pole, lettuce plants died inside the house,  roof shingle blew off in a storm, etc) it adds up, it can get pretty annoying.

So I am happy to mention a few successes!

1.  I cooked a standing rib roast a couple days ago, and I don't think I've ever done that before.  I marinated it overnight (red wine, garlic, onion, herbs) and cooked it to "rare". I don't eat meat rare, but I was slicing it in 1/2" pieces to freeze and reheat later (so that it wouldn't be "well-done" after reheating.   Came out great!

2.  I went grocery shopping (hence the standing prime rib) and also bought a spiral sliced ham (for slicing and freezing for sandwiches).  I check the receipt before I leave the store to make sure I got my Safeway loyalty card discounts and the digital ones from their website.  They were there.  But when I got home, I realized that they had charged me for the ham twice.  

I wasn't sure how to prove I hadn't bought 2 hams.  But in the middle of the night, it occurred to me that the repeated price of 2 hams would be exactly twice the cost on the label.  Which would be really unlikely if I had bought 2 different hams.  So I brought it back to the store (in a cooler with ice-packs around it) and explained it to the customer service manager.

She finally agreed and refunded the cost of the "2nd ham".  Yay!  If she hadn't, I would have demanded they check their videotape of the purchase.  I'm glad a didn't have to.  Actually, it occurs to me just now that I benefited from the refund more than I should have.  

I used a 10% discount coupon I got from them for getting my RSV vaccine.  And I got credit toward a future gas purchase (every $100 spent there gets me 10 cents per gallon off at their gas station).  I don't think I will go back to complain about that because I think it would just be too difficult to calculate and it would be about $2 at most.

3.  A very minor thing, but I advised 2 different people that they had dropped a glove, and a 3rd person that they had dropped their covid mask.  Little things matter.

4.  I've mentioned having laser printer color problems.  The Canon agent finally concluded (after an hour-long discussion and fix-attempts) that I most likely needed new toner.  So I bought some.  And when I got home and looked at the boxes, suddenly I saw similar ones in the computer room.  I had already bought new ones!

So yesterday, I went to return them.  I was concerned they would accept toner back.  But the boxes were unopened and pristine, and they didn't even argue about it.  But when they scanned the receipt on the 1st (black) box, it refused to register.  I figured there was a special policy refusing toner returns.  Bt when I suggested scanning the actual box bar code, it was accepted.  As were the color boxes.  

That was a great relief.  Toner lasts a lot longer than inkjet cartridges but is more expensive per cartridge.  If they had refused the return, I would have been out more than $250!  But it all worked out and I am very happy about that

5.  My good neighbors gave me a small box of Xmas goodies.  I had already bought a small box of chocolate-covered cherries for them and was waiting to add some banana/walnut muffins.  I finally made the muffins last night.

I was delayed on that because I kept not quite having all the ingredients.  Banana/walnut cake is a rather complicated recipe usually cooked in a bundt pan.  It came to me via Mom from Dad's mom.  I've loved it from childhood to the present.  Mom said she would only leave me the recipe in her Will, and she came darn close to that.  Thankfully she relented when she realized she couldn't cook any more.

It is sort of like a spice cake, but only like a standing prime rib roast is like a rump roast.  There is the usual flour and sugar and baking soda.  But you have to separate the egg yolks and whites.  You have to chop walnuts.    You have to mash 2 ripe bananas.  You have to "sour" some milk (milk plus some vinegar).  You have to whip the egg whites.

Then stir various ingredients together in a certain order for a couple minutes each (and it is thick and hard to stir).  Finally, you gently fold the whipped egg white in.  Add that is just for the bundt cake method.  But I wanted to make cupcakes/muffins for the neighbors present.  

I get in over my skills sometimes.  Muffins cook differently from cakes.  I had to look that up and got so many different instructions.  350F vs 375.  15 minutes or 20.  Cupcake papers or parchment paper circles on the bottom.  Top oven shelf or middle.  Fill 1/2 way or 2/3.  I went with cupcake papers and averaged the rest.

Because there is always "the toothpick test"...  The final arbitrator of doneness, LOL!  I was nervous about the results the whole time they were cooling.  After an hour, I finally gave one a taste-test (I had 22).  It was perfect...

I don't bake desserts often.  Brownies or tollhouse cookies a few times a year.  I hadn't made a banana/walnut cake in 5 years.  I 'm not sure I had made them as muffins before.  You experienced bakers may smile, but I feel insufferably pleased!  For me, that was a big deal.  And they worked out.😁

6.  And finally, I did something that might be useful to all cooks.  I've been frustrated about where to place my recipe cards while using them.  I've previously propped them up on the back of my cutting board, but stuff gets splashed around sometimes.  I wanted something better.  I could have glued a plastic clip to the base of the cabinet door above where I do my food prep.  But that seemed ugly.

So I stuck a small piece of double-sided tape in the center of the bottom of the door.  Then I stuck a small refrigerator magnet on the tape.  Then I put a small magnet with a handle on that.  I just take the top one off and trap the recipe card between them. 

 

So I've had a great couple of days.  Successful returns, error-adjustments, cooking a few things, and a nice little invention.  

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice is my favorite day of the year.  Sure other holidays are good, but there is only one day of the year where the days start getting longer again.  It means more daytime.  As a gardener, I cherish that.  It means Spring is coming.  A new start and a hope for a good year of fresh veggies and new flowers.  

It is one of the 2 days of the year where day-length reverses direction.  But who cares about the Summer Solstice?  When the days are long, a slight change doesn't really matter.  LOL!

Winter Solstice mattered more through history.  Cold short days mean you aren't growing food and you are seeing the supply dwindle slightly.  Will there be enough to last to the first new harvest?  I don't have to worry about that myself, I have grocery stores that collect food from around the world.  But fresh from the garden is always great.  

But it used to matter a lot.  It meant new food was going to start growing soon.  It meant the cold days would end.  To hunter cultures, it meant the migrating mammals would be arriving locally.  To herders, it meant there would be new calves/kids/piglets, so they could eat a few of the adults.

Not to get into religious matters, but a lot of religious holidays occurred a few days after the Winter Solstice because it took a few days to be sure the days were getting longer again.  And that was worth celebrating!  And whatever day after and for whatever reason is fine with me.

But for myself, I go to the original.  

Happy Winter Solstice!

Ailments

 I aged slowly, but age is catching up with me now a bit suddenly.  Leg cramps, calf cramps, ankle cramps, rib cramps.  Left pointer finger has developed "trigger finger".  

And my fingers go all clenched up sometimes.  Mom developed that around 80 as part of developing Parkinson's.  I hope there are less-serious reasons for that.  For me, it seems to be a delayed reaction to gripping things for some time.  I do yardwork, I prepare a lot of fresh veggies for dinner; and it seems to happen a couple hours later.  

I use a 4% lidocaine ointment and sometimes Aspercreme.  It helps eventually.  I will add this to my list of Doctor questions.  

But it means it is getting hard to type these days.  I better look into voice dictation apps.  I read about them years ago, but I thought they would be better by now, but they don't seem to be.  What you see on my blogs and emails is heavily edited for spelling errors (manually, I don't trust auto-correct).  I type very badly.  But I may have to soon.

Don't get me wrong.  90% of the day, I am just fine.  But I really can't write legible script anymore and manual print has become more of a slight art than a way to write quickly.  You should see me trying to write a check.  Every letter and number is individually-created carefully.

I think I actually don't get enough salt in my food.  I prepare everything fresh, and I don't add much to my food.  But if I drink some pickle juice, the fingers get better within minutes.  Another thing to ask my Doctor!

I get cold too.  I went shopping the other day and it was 45F with a brisk breeze.  I was wearing a winter jacket.  And I saw some young guy walking to the store in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt!  I suppose I was like that once.  But it was really annoying!

Getting old can be really annoying.  But I feel like it is happening too suddenly.  Sorry for complaining.  So many people my age have serious problems.  But these are mine and I live with them.  😡

Printers Drive Me Crazy

 I don't print a lot of color images or documents.  But I do usually make my own cards for the Winter Holidays and for family birthdays (it is actually quite easy to do in Excel and if anyone wants a general description, I'll be glad to email them).

But I had problems with color printing last December and I am having them again.  The Printer Gods seem to hate me!  Different printers, but same non-results.  I made both Family and Cat cards for this year, but all I get is grey and some pale yellow.  

I spent an hour on the phone with a very helpful Canon agent.  He had me try everything about the laser toner printer (a Canon 644 Color Image Class) that I could do (short of actual mechanical repairs).  Eventually, he concluded it had to be the toner cartridges.

My printer status said they were still half-filled, but I suppose even toner doesn't last forever.  I went out and bought new ones the next morning.  I put them in today.  Black actually works, but no colors.  I tried to copy a magazine cover because that is completely within the printer.  No luck.  I made a Word document that repeated "This should be in X color",  repeating it for all the standard rainbow colors.  

That just showed black as normal and pale yellow.  I'll have to do some research (and find the printer manual).  It is quite maddening.

So I have a small box of commercial cards for family and close face-to-face friends (many of whom don't use a computer, so I can't email them e-cards).  I'll be sending e-cards to everyone on the Cat-Blogosphere card exchange list this year.

Ann, of Zoolatry, sent me a nice graphic I can use.  She does such wonderful work.  I'll send out a email with that incorporated into it.  But I better do the smail-mail cards first thing in the morning.  My fingers don't work very well in the evening (after a long day's use).

I need to mention that my email address on the card exchange list is wrong.  I'm sure it was my fault when I signed up for the list this year.  But it should be "verizon", not "verixon".  If you got an "undeliverable" notice, that's why.  Sorry about that...

Hoping to do better next year!  😞

Two Busy Days - Monday

Errands and shopping. Monday.  And I have to consider items that are temperature-sensitive.  Milk, ice cream...

So I went to PetsMart first.  Marley needs his kidney care diet food.  And PetsMart has been a bit low on the varieties lately.  So I visit whenever I am near.  I was able to get 2 more flavors.  If Marley has to eat this less flavorful stuff, at least I want him to have some different flavors.  

Since the cat food is stable in the car, I went to Walmart next.  Some things Walmart sells brand name things very cheap.  I buy those there.  Got a bag of walnuts, bag of pistachios, milk, eggs, green olives, dark chocolate-covered cherries, Cokes, some other stuff.

But since I had milk, I drove home to refrigerate everything and went to Safeway for fresh produce afterwards.

Got my RSV vaccine shot there.  They are wonderful about shots with superthin needles,  I didn't even know they gave me the shot until they put the bandage on afterwards.  But it is no charge and I get a 10% discount at the checkout!  And got lots of fresh produce at discounted prices with my "Safeway For U" app.  

Brought out all my compostible containers to add to the pile.  The temperature dropped since last week, so I need to turn the pile back to the first bin.  Mixing things up causes heat again.

Washed out a dozen 6"x6" plastic mushroom bins.  I'll use that to sort out cat toys.  Right  now, they are all sort of spilled out of a big box.   

Two Busy Days - Saturday

 Saturday and today were busy.  I just sort of blew off Sunday (I got up late and had to real "get up and go").

Saturday was outside stuff and not much went well (some did).

I started by soaking the ground around the birdfeeder pole, using a 5 gallon bucket with a small hole drilled in the bottom so that the water would drip slowly but deeply.  And then did it again.  When I installed it, I had the thought that a base of 10" black iron pipes in a square would keep the feeder pole upright forever.  Not quite, as it turned out.  It tilted any way.  Frost-heave, I suppose.

The idea was to get the soil muddy at the base so I could wiggle it level again and then use stakes and rope to hold it level while the soil dried.  It is said that "everyone has a brilliant idea that will not work".  This did not work.

When I wiggled the post, it seemed to move slightly.  But then the pole broke!  The feeder fell to the ground and also broke.  The seeds spilled everywhere.  Really, both the top and the base separated from the seed box part.  I laid on my back (the weather was decent and I was warm), watched clouds passing overhead and asked to myself "why me"?  Why now?  I had other things to do...

I shouldn't have been surprised at the collapse and breakege.  I built it 25 years ago and have made a few half-assed repairs on it since then.  Not to say "sour grapes", but I was planning to build a new one anyway.  Now I just have a more immediate reason to do so.

The bird feeder is back up, temporarily.  I pounded a 6' metal rebar stake into the ground 2' and used some zip-ties to attach the birdfeeder pole to it.  Then I applying a heavy layer of outdoor wood glue to the base and fit the seed box onto it.  Scooped up all the seeds I could and added them in.  The top was actually undamaged so that fit back on.

Then I used rope around 2 trees to triangulate pressure on the new support stake to get the birdfeeder pole level again.  It should last the Winter.  By then, I will have built a new one.  Same design, I like it.

The barrel and flat disc defeats the squirrels completely.  The board across the center bothers the blackbirds and starling somewhat (because they are large and don't fit under well) and the overhanging top keeps the seeds in the tray dry.  And it is made of cedar, which discourages bird mites.

And that was just the start of the day!  The weather forecast is for a snowy Winter.  So I decided it was time to bring the snow-blower into the garage.  I pulled it out of the toolshed.  I pulled the starter rope a few times and nothing happened, but it also has an electric starter.  

So I dragged out my heavy-duty outdoor extension cords.  I could find the snowblower plug.  Fell free to laugh, but I had pulled out the roto-tiller, which has no electric starter!  I sure had to laugh at myself about that one.So I got out the actual snowblower.  Plugged it in.  It started right up.  

Which matters, because it is heavy and is nearly impossible to move unpowered.  I had to make space in the garage (which seems to get more clutterred every year).  But there is a usual space for it.  I just had to move the stuff that was there to "elsewhere".

Got the Holiday lights (blue) lit again.  They stayed up last year.  Partly, I was lazy, and partly my neighbor (who helped me so much when I fell off the extension ladder almost 3 years ago) screams at me if I so much get on a 6' stepladder.  But I plugged them in an outdoor outlet, and set the timer.  They come on right at dark.  

I also had a female (the ones with berries  -  some people don't know that) holly tree with some drooping branches and I pruned them.  One big branch is hanging on the front door.  I put 2 smaller ones per side of the mailbox post.  I tend to try to look natural.  

Speaking of holiday decorations, I have seen people driving around with wreathes on the front of their cars.  I used to laugh, but I found a white one with pinecones at Walmart at a decent price and decided to do it.  I like it!

And that wasn't the end of the day.  The street end of my driveway is "barely" lower than the street and lawn.  Rain collects there.  I use a small grub-hoe to scoop a path into the lawn for drainage.  I really have to set in a perforated pipe there for better drainage.  But Sunday was not that day.

I ended Sunday with 3 loads of washer/drier loads.  Then made dinner.  After that, it was just TV and cats on my lap til bedtime.  And two joined me there all night.

Oopsie!

 I didn't mean for yesterday's post to appear.  I had written it and moved it forward because it wasn't complete.  Then moved it forward again to adapt it for Laz.  I lost track of it.

Ayla was buried a month ago and I have a brick to mark her place.  I haven't buried Laz yet, but will soon.  And then I will build their Memorial Boxes.  Yes, things are rather confused and disorganized here at the moment.

From cats going over The Bridge, 2 new ones, Lori hissing, Marley suddenly not liking his kidney care food, Loki coughing/choking, Binq clawing me (from enthusiasm), 2 vet visits, Binq attacking the bed monsters (my feet), and Marley suddenly hiding for 2 days...  

Trying to get Marley to eat his kidney care stuff is not working the past few days.  Getting Loki to eat anything (the ear gel appetite-stimulator Miritaz ointment is prescribed and is  easy), the cleaning the dried eye goop and applying more eye ointment is not.  

Loki needs the smelliest food I have, but it barely works.  I meant to buy canned sardines and tuna at the grocery store today, but I forgot.  If I don't add something to my shopping list, I never remember.

I have some leftover calming pills from Laz and Lori is getting them in hopes it may help her accept the New Mews.  I assume they are as safe for Lori as for Laz.  At least she accepts the pill in her food.

I am a bit worn out, so I missed a scheduled post I intended to move ahead in time once again to be re-written reflecting the situation on that day's date.   

Forgive me for confusing anyone with it.😩

I will just write a new post when I dig a hole for Laz (soon) and make 2 Memorial boxes.

Ayla's Special Spot

 TBT:  Not my usual kind of post...

I have never been so reluctant to bury a cat in the Memorial Garden.  Or had so much trouble trying to do so.  And I have to relate a sad story.

I recall doing it for Iza in Summer 2020 and it took some effort then.  Not the burying (with love and respect) but the mechanical difficulty.  It is not easy to dig a hole 2' deep and 2' across in hard soil.  There were some tree roots in the way.  It took an hour of cutting through and Iza's death was new, so I was crying all the time.  

This dig for Ayla is harder.  There is a neighbor's tree just across the fence and the roots have grown larger.  The tree is my fault.  It is a mulberry tree seeded by one I had 20 years ago.  Mulberries are messy.  I cut mine down.  I didn't know at the time that a new one had started in the neighbor's yard.  

The roots have grown through my flowerbeds and the Memorial Garden.  I spent an hour trying to dig the roots for Alya's Special Spot.  The roots of the tree are soft and dont get cut with a shovel.  Or a spade.  Or an ax.  Everything just sort of bounces.  I finally had to crush them with a pruner until they gave up.  

Which still left hard rocky soil underneath.  I soaked the soil to loosen it.  Which left mud.  And I managed to step in the hole.  And because I was in there with one foot, I had to stand in with the other.  And catching the toe on one foot, I fell over.

I just sat there and cried for a few minutes.  Why couldn't the sad task of burying such a beloved cat be "just" a little easier?

But it was obvious I wasn't going to finish digging the site that day.  So I basically crawled out with sore knees and hands pressing down on thorny vines til I reached the lawn.  Took off the muddy workshoes in the basement and went upstairs.

That was 3 days ago.  Yesterday, I cleaned the workshoes.  That may sound odd, but you have to start somewhere.  They were caked with dried mud, but I needed them to stomp on the shovel.  And I kind of thought they ought to be clean for digging more of Ayla's Special Spot.

I got down another foot.  It was ridiculous.  Small rocks everywhere that needed to be pried out one by one.  The wheelbarrow has more soil in it that could possibly come out of the small hole, but it did.

I'm active, but old enough to know when I am over-exerting myself.  The rest of the dig will be tomorrow.  2' deep will be enough.  Her body will rest on a blue towel.  And then I will cover her in the earth I dug out.

So now I have to build the Memorial Marker.  That will be both sad and happy.  Sad for the reason, but a last act of what I can do.  Happy with every sawcut, drilling, and screw in the memory and love of her.  A last act...

I couldn't find a brown resin 10" cat statue like those for Skeeter, LC, and Iza.  But I found a teak one 8" high that has a nice little necklace.  That will have to do.

And then, she will just be there with the previous Mews.  A wooden box on the surface above her with her name in brass letters and a small statue on the top showing she was a cat.  

And all my memories of her...

Compost Bin

 After turning over the older compost and adding new material to it, the bin is finally heating up. It is 120F now and I expect it to get to 160 in a week or two.  

I had little compost last year (mostly just kitchen scraps).  But even that turned into "soil".  This year's batch will be much better.  

And I am adding more each week.  The English Ivy along the fence is mowable.  And I have 4 trash cans of shredded fallen leaves.  They make a good combination.  Both just grow themselves, LOL!

I am constantly amazed at how a pile of green and dead leaves turn into soil!

Bulb Planting

 My daffodil bed is all yellow and white.  The red tulips died out a few years ago.  So I decided that purple tulips would look good.  I planted 25 in groups of 5 yesterday.  

And I planted 50 hyacinth in groups of 5 in the front yard.  They are unusual-looking. and supposedly deer-resistant.

I was bit worn out.  The drill auger helped.

Both the purple tulips and the hyacinths will be great to see next Spring.  And the hyacinths will spread fragrance all over the front yard.   It was worth the effort.

The Pansies

 First, here is the spot emtied of the dead tomatoes...

And here is the Winter's Pansy Bed in the same spot.  Might as well use it for something...

That was a lot of plantings for one day!

They are basically triangulated and I tried to not have the same colors next to each other, but I had a LOT of yellow ones.  And they look a bit weak right now (got a bit dried), but I watered them for 15 minutes, so they will perk up tomorrow.  And will grow.

Some had no flowers, so I don't know what color they will be.  That will be fun to watch.

I have saved a dozen for the deck pots...  Some of the best.  You'll see them growing and blooming soon.

Fire Across The Street

 I was at the computer a few hours ago and heard a dog seeming to be barking in fear.  So I looked out the window.  The toolshed of the neighbors (whom I don't know well) across the street was burning.

I ran for the phone and called 911.  They knew about it.  Said firetrucks were on the way.  Good.  

I pulled my garden hose out hoping it might reach the fire, but I heard the trucks arriving, so I pulled back so as not to bother them.

The toolshed was on fire.  And the shed was next to the house.  The fire spread to the house.  The neighbors have 2 cars.  Both were driven onto the street.  One was badly burned on the back end and there was some concern about the gasoline catching fire.  They were driven/pushed next to a field.

The terrified dog seems to be loose.  It bit one person.  I hope it returns, and more calmly.

Pictures...  Not all of them very good, but I processed all of them slightly.  Perhaps some might be useful to the authorities about the fire.  But I show them all here without regard for duplication.  They are all in time-order though.

There were a dozen fire trucks with lights flashing.

Some of the hoses didn't fill properly at first.  The nearest hydrant is 2 yards away.  Maybe it was blocked from lack of maintenance.  Or they were depending on the watertank trucks.  I don't know.

I saw a firefighter frustrated at not getting water from a tanker truck into a different hose.  He kept trying some levers with no success.

A hose did finally fill.  Maybe 15-30 minutes after first try.  Glad it filled eventually.

There were a LOT of trucks!

The fire-fighters did their usual good job.  I admire those people.  

They got up on the roof and chopped a hole in it.  I assume to let smoke out...

They say no one was in the home at the time.  But they said 1 adult and 2 children lived there.  They are probably wrong about that.  There were 2 cars, I've seen 2 adult women there (driving both cars), and I've seen no children there ever.  

Regarding possible causes for the fire...

I advised one of the firefighters (who seemed to be observing and recording into a phone) of the possible residents and pets.  I advised her that I've never seen the residents lighting a charcoal fire or  using gasoline equipment.  

I also advised her that the residence had been visited by some sort of house and lawn service so there had been gas-powered equipment there that afternoon.  It may not be important, but it might be.

3 hours after it started, the trucks are all gone.  I haven't seen the residents back.  When I do, I will offer help.  What a horrible event for those people!

Compost Bin Plans

 I meant to mention yesterday that if any DIYer or handyman has any questions about details, feel free to email me at cavebear2118 at verizon dot net.  I will be glad to take additional pictures of areas where the existing pics were not as informative as required.  Or explain why I did some particular piece of work.  I've thought of a few improvements...

And I can give some general guidance on composting in general...

Compost Bins

Marcia mentioned "compost bin envy".  So I thought I would discuss it.  I built a really bad one many years ago.  It kind of just fell sideways...  Who wants a bad compost bin?

So when I decided to build a new one, I gave more thought to structure and support. That time, I drew on paper, saw weaknesses and corrected them.  Sometimes, I can just "build" something, sometimes, there need to be plans...

So that time, I thought in terms of repeatable pieces.  So I thought of 2 backs, 2 outsides and a middle one, all the same.  Easier construction; just make the same thing 5 times.  And since I had a 4' roll of 1/4" wire mesh, that defined the size...

So I made 5 identical frames of 2" framex4" pressure-treated wood and attached the wire mesh.  After looking at them, I decided to add an angled 2"x2" diagonal braces to each.  

The corners are 4'x4" posts, buried about a foot deep.  I dug larger holes for those than required, but it gave me some wiggle room for bad measurements.  Nothing actually ever fits quite like the measurements suggest they will.

The pieces in front had 1" boards to create slots for removable front boards.  So I could slide them up and get at the lower compost.

Then I built hinged tops with more wire mesh in frames.  Those were kind of heavy.   But it occurred to me that counter-weights on the back would balance the weight of the tops.  Two more 2"x4" boards attached to the tops supported 4"x4" posts on the back.

Mike McGrath (former editor of Organic Gardening magazine) had a once a week 5 minute radio spot at the time and mentioned building compost bins.  So I sent him pictures of my new one.  The next week, he mentioned mine saying it was the best one he ever saw!   High praise.

I only mention all this because someone might want to build (or have someone build) a similar one.  It really is a gem.

I posted about the entire process of building it at the time.  If you want to build a similar one, here is the starting link...

It starts at compost-bin-part 1 and moves several posts forward from there.  I hope the explanations of the construction are clear enough.  An average DIYer or handyman can easily follow the steps.

It is easier than it may seem from all the pictures.  I tried to be very detailed about it.

If you build one or have someone build one, I sure would love to see the pictures...

Busy Lately Outside

It is the end of the outside gardening season.   We had hard freezes 2 night in a row.  I covered the tomato plants because the next 10 nights are forecast to stay above freezing and I was hoping to get a few more tomatoes to ripen.

But they all died.  Well, tomatoes are actually tropical vines.  So I picked all the green ones.  There are some recipes for using them.  Fried in batter is routine, but I saw one for Tomato Parmesan and will try that too.

The Coleus and Mum pots were safely in the house, so they can go back outside for another week.  I will be bringing them and all the salad trays indoors after that to limp them through Winter.  Any color inside and any salad cuttings are good.

I disassembled the tomato bed today.  Not the simplest thing.  Pull out thge cage support stakes, remove the cages, take up all the labels, pull the plants, pull up the black landscaping fabric that kept the weeds smothered.  The fabric is all trash.  It seems to fall apart in 6 months.  

But at least the grassy weeds are all dead this year.  I'll be planting most of the Pansies there next week (a few will go around the mailbox and some in the deck pots this year).  

Did some serious compost bin work the past week (there are 2 bins).  

I bought a self-propelled battery Ryobi mower a few years ago and it is wonderful.  I have it set for mulching, and I can still use the bagger attachment (easy to attach and remove).  I shredded/mowed leaves all over the yard.  

Filled the empty bin 6" deep.  Then filled 4 trash barrels and 2 trash bags with leaves for future use.  There are more leaves in the trees, but I will shred them in place on the lawn as free fertilizer for both grass and trees.

I had too much green stuff for proper composting, so the leaves were nice to add.  Yesterday, I started turning the existing greenish pile into the other bin and mixed it with more shredded leaves 6" at a shot (the layers compress).  Found I had some good worms in the existing pile.

I got half of the old piled moved but it gets tiresome.  So the rest will get moved tomorrow.  Between the existing green stuff (kitchen scraps) and the newly shredded browns (leaves) and watered a bit, the new pile should finally heat up nicely.

I overseeded the lawn a week ago.  The shredded leaves won't bother them when I do that next week.  They will have either germinated or not and they can grow up between the leaf-shreds without difficulty.

Blew all the leaves off the deck.  They don't bother me any, but the cats dislike walking on dry crunchy leaves.  It offends their sense of stealth.  I indulge The Mews.  And the leaves don't do any positive good sitting on the deck.

Put a marinated chicken on the smoker.  Not exactly my old model (fancier shelves), but close enough.

I can never quite get it to fully-cooked in the smoker, but I've read that all the smokey flavor gets in after 2 hours, so I just finish them in the oven.  Sometimes I brush half with BBQ sauce for variety.  I pulled off a whole leg for dinner (with veggies).  It was delicious!

More to do the next few days...

Halloween And Other Stuff

I don't decorate much for holidays.  Once again, I bought a pumpkin and didn't carve it.  But no kids knocked on the door again, either.  It's been like 15 years.  I saw a couple outside, but they didn't stop here.  I was even wearing my wizard costume.  And I had good treats...  Oh well...

I'll set the pumpkin and 4 orange Mums out on the front doorstep to note the season, though. 

The Mums were cheap from Walmart.  The blooms all died, but I cut the seedheads off and they are re-blooming.  They will look good in 2 weeks, but I will have to bring them inside to escape the freeze predicted tomorrow.

I'm thinking of trying to cover and warm the tomato plants.  There are finally a lot of fruits getting ready to ripen.  Next week, the night temps are going to be warmer, so if I can protect them them for this one frost, they might mature.

Covering the whole bed of them is awkward, but I have a roll of 16' wide black plastic I could place over all the plants like a loose tent.  And a single standard light bulb under the plastic would keep them warm enough.  Anything for a few more ripe heirloom tomatoes!

Spread grass seed over the lawn 2 weeks ago.  They need water to germinate.  The forecasts kept saying it would rain, but it never did.  I watered the lawn with a sprinkler and the missed spots by hand yesterday.  Hopefully, some will germinate.

My compost bin is finally heating up.  Not as it should, but at least it is finally hotter than ambient air temp.  It was very imbalanced and dry.  So I soaked it, mulched and bagged lawn leaves and layered them.  Should start heating up seriously soon.

I need more earthworms in the compost bin.  I recall my Dad used to put plastic sheet in a clear ground area that encouraged earthworms to the surface.  He was doing that for fishing bait.  I'm doing that to encourage composting.

 

Marley And the Sub Q Teatment

A few readers here are not cat-people or at least not familiar with some specific cat-problems.  So I'll mention that Marley has some kidney issues and needs subcutaneous fluid injection 2x a week and a special diet.  The vet will do the injections at no cost (though I have to buy the bag of fluids, but bringing him to the vet place 2x a week is a pain.

They said it wasn't that hard to do it myself.  I doubted that, but after watching them do it several times, I decided I could.  But I wanted to do it a couple times under their supervision.  The first time, I spoke the steps out loud while mimicking the procedure with the equipment.  

They said I had it right.  So I did it myself in the clinic 2x while they watched.  I passed, and have been doing it myself since mid-September.  It helps that Marley is a calm tolerant cat.

It has been an odd experience.  I don't mind getting annual flu and covid shots at all myself.  But doing it to a pet feels different.  Thankfully, it is not a muscle shot.  You lift up the scruff of the neck and insert a needle under the skin but above the flesh.

A hanging bag drips fluid into the loose area.  I hold Marley and the needle with a folded washcloth and watch the bag drip through a tube to the needle.  The better-positioned the needle is, the faster it drips.  The faster it drips, the shorter Marley has to sit unmoving.  There are markings on the fluid bag for each dose and a clamp to open or pinch the dripline tube.

It isn't expensive.  A monthly bag costs only $40 and the tubing and needles are included.  At least cost is not an issue.

That's the theory.  The "fun" part is that the needle has to be changed every time.  The needle comes with a protective plastic cover.  It is easy to put a new one on the tube.  The needle fits on easily and there is a plastic screw at the base that tightens easily.  

It's getting the old one off that is a problem.  I've tried several ways.  First, I just pulled.  Then I pried with a screwdriver.  Finally I used needle-nose pliers.  I've "only" stabbed a finger 3 times out of 12 injections...  

OUCH!

OK, I've gotten better about that.  But I was really stupid at first.  I was throwing away the protective cap after I attached the new needle.  So it occurred to me to save the protective cap.  😂

That helped.  Though, to make it even safer, I got the idea of taking a 2" 90 degree metal support bracket.

I'll cut a slot through the top hole and screw it to the subQ station I've set up.

Then just set the needle base in the slot and pull it safely off.

I have plenty of things to do on my workbench and outside, but after getting stabbed a 3rd time on Thursday, it went way higher on my list!  LOL!  I mean, that is a used needle, and it doesn't take much pressure to get stabbed 1/4" deep.

I seem to be pretty immune to general infections and I heal quickly.  But I'd be a fool to tempt fate...  Anything I can think of doing to make the subQ injections easier and safer is high on my To Do list!

Marley will go back to the vet for a blood test in 3 months to see how much the injections are helping.  I have been told it can keep him relatively healthy and happy for several years. 

Light Frost Predicted

It was predicted to get down to the high 30f last night and I'm not sure what temp the coleus will withstand, So I brought them inside for the night.  Those shower curtain hooks make them a lot easier to grab and take off the hangers.  All next week is going to be warmer, so I'll put them back out later today.

I moved the deck pots close to the house.  Residual house-warmth should keep them going.  I cut the balsams at ground level,  They aren't blooming any more.  But I saved the seed pods in a jar.  I don't know if the seeds will bloom but I'll toss them around in early Spring in case they do.

Saved some dried Tithonia seedheads too.  They are supposed to be annual repeat self-seeders, so they should.  Both are in labeled jars in the basement fridge.  It all multiple flowers all Summer and Fall.  I could enjoy more of them.

The deckpot marigolds are showing off well.  After I saved the Balsam seedpods, I cut them off and soil level, so the pots are all marigold.  When they die back, I will add the pansies.  Ans I have enough pansies for several places.  

This is before I cut off the dying Balsam, but you can see the marigolds in there.

Most of the Pansies will go where the tomatoes are now.  They will be dying soon.  A whole bed of 60 is nice all Winter..  Other pansies will go in the deck pots after the marigolds succumb to the cold.  And some will surround the mailbox.  Flowers in Winter are amazing!

I think I will try to keep the Coleus thriving inside.  I will add some ceiling hooks near the deck doors and see if they will last a bit longer.  The deck faces South, so they will get some sun.  I might even add a grow light above them.

Answers To Comments

Today I reply to comments.  I used to do that more often.  Time to do it again.   

To Ceecee - Long time since ECFans!  I miss the place of the early years when all that was discussed was the details of the books.  You can email me.

Marcia -  You asked about red pnsies and changes in distance vision.  The red pansy is posted.  And regarding my vision, I have been far-sighted most of my life.  My distance vision is actually becoming more normal as I age.  I still see well across the yard, but it is slightly less than it used to be.

Megan - You mentioned cheap plants, declutterring, and touch-typing.  I buy small plants (and small fish for the aquarium) because I know they will grow well with care.  My declutterring fees are 1st class cruise ships and pizza on arrival.  LOL!  

I can't learn to touch-type.  My fingers don't talk to my brain.  I can't play a tonette or a child's zylophone.  For whatever reason, I have to see my fingers to do anything.

Thank you all for commenting.  I don't get many here.  😞

At least I have a few dedicated readers...  😂

The Other Deck Flowers

 Its not all just regular potted plants here.  I mentioned I bought some really cheap Mums at Walmart and the flowers all died.  So I snipped them clean, but didn't really expect much.  Well, hurray, they are sending out blossoms!

The buds are pale now, but will bloom orange.

And I have a real gem of a self-sowing annual in 2 pots...

It's called Tithonia and grows about 3' high.  Usually 5-6 flowers on a plant.  I am going to save the seedheads and scatter the seeds around in the meadow bed Late Winter.  If only a few grow, they might spread slowly.  

The meadow bed has not been very successful, but I keep trying.  I'll get in there with shears soon and snip around between where the meadow flowers are "supposed" to be (according to the labels and landscaping flags I stuck near them).  

If I find some, I will surround them with cardboard to reduce competition with the weeds.  And plant new ones next Spring.  It has to start working eventually!

Regular Deck Flowers

Late Spring, I planted Balsam, Marigolds, and Coleus.  They did well.  I am saving the Balsam seeds to scatter around next Spring.  You have to handle the seed pods carefully.  If you are familiar with them, the pods pop open when squeezed, LOL!   But they succumb to cool weather early.

So the Marigolds are showing up better now.

And the Coleus are doing nicely.  I thought they would be gone by now, but I hadn't grown them in years.  They are more hardy than I remembered.

And here is a trick I've recently figured out for hanging pots...

Have you ever had bungee cords that wore out?  Well, save the metal hooks.  They are often useful.  I discovered that if you thread the hook part through the hole in the end of a hanging bracket, the large spiral part works as well as a nut and bolt.  

But you still have to thread the hanging chains of a heavy pot onto the hook which is a couplke of feet over the edge of the deck.

WELL, I noticed a pack of metal shower curtain hangers at the DIY store (and I am very willing to re-purpose products).  Obviously, shower curtain hangers are waterproof.  So it occurred to me that I could thread the pot-hanging chains onto a metal shower hook on the deck conveniently, and then just hang the shower hook on the bungee cord hook.

I'm not sure how well you can see this.  But the saved bungee hook is set through the hanging bracket at the top, the metal shower hanger allowed the pot chains to be easily threaded onto it, and the wide shower hanger made it easy to hold while I reached out over the deck to hang the pot on the bungee hook.

😄

I love being resourceful and reusing old stuff!  There is something about "what else can I do with that", that just pleases me no end...

It's like when I saw a 10" wide plaster spreader and thought "hey I can scrape the cat litter boxes with that"!

Pansies Again

 I went out and took pictures.  First, a group shot of the 96 pansies (for 50 cents each).

And I mentioned they were yellow, purple, blue, white and red.  I haven't seen many white ones, and red is a surprise to me.  I picked among the various 8-packs to get a good variety but I took every pack that had a red one in it.