Yesterday

 I had a rather good day yesterday.  

Neither knee was troublesome.  Wearing the compression brace for a month helped.

Went grocery shopping again.  I was out of most fruits and I love those for "dessert".  Blueberries, raspberries and blasckberries were on a "buy 2 get one free".  Strawberries are expensive lately, but these were "perfect" so I bought a container anyway.  Found actually ripe Golden Delicious apples.  The grocer thinks "green" is ripe usually.  But still waiting to see peaches, plums and bing cherries...

I finally found egg roll wrappers again.  It had been a couple weeks.  Still looking for cans of straw mushrooms though.  Supply-chain problem, I assume.

Filled the bird-feeders.  The thistle seed feeders for the goldfinches is easy enough.  I buy a 50# bag and store them in gallon containers I keep in the basement refrigerator.  The black oils sunflower seed feeder is harder to fill.  I have to drag out an 8' stepladder (which is getting harder every year) to get high enough to pour a bucketload of seeds into the feeder.  But the cardinals and many other "nice" birds love them, so I do it.  Also refilled the 2 suet feeders.

I grow lettuces and celery and bok choy in trays under lights in Winter.  They are "cut and grow again" crops.  But they eventually die, so I had to replant.  Some red and green lettuces were getting to harvestable size, so I carried the trays upstairs to the Southern exposure plant stand (and I assist them with a light).

Did 3 loads of laundry.  Might not seem like a lot to some of you, but that was a lot to me.  Going up and down the stairs was a pain (literally), but got that all done for a week.

Dinner was stir-fried chicken with bok choy, mushrooms, green and red bell peppers, and onions,  Sauce was chicken broth, cornstarch, minced garlic and ginger, a few minced hot peppers, and sesame oil/soy sauce added after.

Played "toy-toss" with Lori after.  She is the only one who likes toys much.  Laz likes wand toys sometimes, but only to chew on the strings.  

Cleaned the litterboxes.

Do I lead an exciting life or what?  LOL!

An Unusual Day

It started last night.  I had been struggling to adjust to the 1.25" towing attachment on the new Subaru.  The hitch pin from a local store was too short, I had to use force, had an traier ball for a 2" hitch,  finally bought some parts on Amazon.  Yadda, yadda, yadda. 

I discovered it was simpler than it seemed and I asked Amazon if I could return some.  They said "OK", offerred me a printable return label.  Good, thank you...  But I noticed returns were free at some "Kohl" department stores.  IF I returned it today! 

So there I was playing Civ 2 (downloadable/playable to a Mac only from some Russian site (OMG!) through some iffy "portal kit").  Well, I have "best" antivirus/firewall stuff and made sure it was "up-to-date".  I checked to make sure nothing funny was going on on the Mac.  And I will offload the app to a stand-alone later today.  That was 6 am.  So I decided to stay up at a discussion board until I could do early errands.

The Kohl's store opened at 10 am.  I had things to buy at Walmart which opened at 9 am, and grocery shopping to do.

Went to Walmart and found most of the things I wanted (kitty litter, cheap store brand stuff, and "on sale" brand name items.   Got back home and put it away.

Went straight to the nearest Kohl's store.  Never been there before (and wn't be returning (their prices are way too high).  But I was relieved to see a "Amazon Returns Accepted Here" sign on the door.  Wrong door of course.  I had to haul the box of heavy metal around to the side door downhill and over a rock bed... 

On the other hand, the return was a breeze.  It was so easy, I was almost suspicious.  But they gave me a printed confirmation and a 25% purchase coupon for "today only".  Even that left the prices too high.  Hey, I'm selectively cheap.  Some things are worth spending money on, some aren't.

So I had the cheap stuff bought at Walmart put away at home, and the Amazon return done.  And I realized I was going to pass my favorite grocery store (Safeway, great produce selection).  And (not coincidentally) I had my spreadsheet grocery list in my wallet (I'll show a link to that soon but it needs updating).

So I stopped and bought groceries.  Told the produce manager their egg roll wrappers were junk.  Well, their old brand was great.  A dusting of cornstarch between each wrapper and and rolled up nicely (I like to make shrimp eggrolls sometimes) and the new brand (Wing Hing or something like that) was all crumbly and impossible to roll.

He promised to look into it (yeah, right).  I often have to help the produce guys.  Seriously, they can barely tell one apple from another.  I'm not in the "oh damn, here he comes again" reaction yet, but they do notice when I point out the labels are wrong and they are selling "Red Delicious" as "Staymans".  And I try not to bother them often. 


I smile to myself when the sales clerks ask if a head lettuce is "cabbage" or beets are "radishes.  I shouldn't because it means that they aren't familiar with fresh veggies in their own lives.  OK, come to think about it, let's say I'm more sad than smiley... 


Pushing my cart to the car, I noticed a woman poking around at the hood-up engine and mostly looking at the battery.  I put my bags in the car.


An older guy does not approach a strange woman carelessly.  There is no telling what the reaction might be.  But I went back and asked if she needed a batterry jump.  She did.  I could tell she was hesitant about a stranger asking for help.



I just recently bought a new car.  And it was partly because the battery in the 2005 Toyota wouldn't recharge well.  The dealership couldn't find the problem.  They said the batterry seemed fine and the charging system checked out OK. 

So I bought a "batterry-minder" to keep it charged in the garage, but I never was sure it would start again during errands.  So I bought a portable power-pack for emergencies.  *I* never actually needed it, but it came in handy today.    It is "the mother of all rechargeable batterries". 



In spite of having a new car, I kept it in the car.  There's room for it, and "you never know".  So I carried it to the woman's car (and noticed a scared little girl inside).  The woman was probaly afraid I would ask for money.  Nah, I'm the Boy Scout type.  Hooked up the clamps, told her to start the car, everything worked.  I told her to make sure to drive the car at least 20 minutes to recharge the battery (and maybe have it checked by a professional).  Batteries do fail.  And I wished her a good day and left.




I've gotten help from strangers before.  My first personally-purchased car once died in the dead of night in a bitterly freezing 1980 Winter on a major highway.  It was SO COLD, my roommate and I were exchanging the one good coat every 5 minutes to stay SLIGHTLY warm.  The ONE person who stopped to ask if I needed help was a Reagan conventioneer.  He asked who I supported and I said "Carter".  He smiled and not only called AAA to tow my car to a repair shop, but drove us home (way out of his way).  Good people do good things. 

Remembering that, I try to pass it on.  I could have just driven home from the Safeway store.  But how hard is it to help another?  We are all of us in this world together fighting off the cold and sadness.



So today, I was my 16 year old Boy Scout again, and did my good deed for the day.  And I thank the opportunity more than the deed...  The deed was fine, the opportunity was priceless. 

The Aquarium

I have a 30 gallon with community fresh water fish.There are some bottom-feeders like Corys and an algae-eater who keeps the glass clean.  There are a couple of Tiger Barbs and maybe a dozen Minor Serpa Tetras.  There are also pair of Marigold Platys. 

Platys bear live young.  The young never survive in a community tank.  They get eaten by the other fish nearly as fast as they are released.  I have come to hate that.

But I also have live plants and the "anachris" floats on the surface in a rather dense mat.  Baby fish hide in there. 


I disturbed the surface a month ago, and saw "something" dart out that was immediately eaten.  I realized it was a baby platy that I chased from its sanctuary among the floating plants.  I felt horrible about causing it to flee and be eaten by my action.

So, 2 weeks ago, when I opened the top of the hood to feed the fish, I happened to notice 2 tiny little eyes among the shelter of the plants.  It was a baby Platy that had survived its first few days.  With my reading glasses on, I saw it in various places for several more days.  Little black eyes hiding in the plants.

I've bred various fish in my life.  Bettas, cherry barbs, gouramis, and fancy guppies.  They each need special conditions, but most of all, safety from other fish.  There are even V-shape tank add-ins for live-bearers so the babies fall through and Mom doesn't eat them.  I should buy a new one.

Because Mom looks gravid again.

I haven't seen that Baby Fish for 3 days.   And I feel guilty...

More In The Life

1.  Sometimes the silliness never ends.  I previously mentioned that the new lawn mower arrived without 2 simple bolts and 2 simple knobs (fancy screw-on nuts).  I called the company and gave them the model number and serial number they needed to send me the missing parts.  They arrived.  Well, "some" parts arrived.

They sent me one knob and a "camshaft adjuster".   So I called the company again yesterday.  20 minutes on hold with music that alternated between barely detectable and silent.  I got an agent.  I explained I had received the wrong "missing parts" and gave her the ticket number.  She got that right up on her computer and confirmed my name.

So she checked the details of the ticket and found the original person I had spoken to had mis-entered the model number.  She was very apologetic.  After checking with the technical support office, she confirmed the error and the correct parts.

As part of "customer service", they are sending me a 2nd mower blade along with correct parts (and we discussed exactly what those parts were).  I doubt the additional mower blade will be of much value.  I'm using this small electric mower for trim work, so I doubt the blade will ever need to be replaced or sharpened.  I did appreciate the offer. 

So in a week, I will have the correct bolts and screw on knobs.  I already have the handles secured with blots and nuts I bought yesterday at Home Depot.  Works fine.  But it leaves the bolt ends sticking outward where I am sure to catch myself on someday.  The knobs would cover that.

But the deal is that the bolts were missing to begin with, I had to spend 30 minutes on hold to get the initial request (with was a failure), had to call a 2nd time (20 minutes). 

2.  I have sometimes gotten leg cramps laying in bed at night.  I started eating a banana each day a month ago and taking magnesium supplements (both suggested in a vitamin book I have) and hadn't had any cramps at night since then. 

Until 4 days ago.  My right calf muscle suddenly cramped and it was worse than before.  I remembered that the muscle cream (Aspercreme - contains aspirin) said something about relieving muscle cramps and smeared some all over the area.  The cramp went away almost immediately, but the next morning the muscle was tender and painful when I walked for about an hour.  It actually felt that the muscle was ripped.

Then 2 nights ago, the left calf muscle cramped and it was worse.  The Aspercreme helped but not as well.  Walking around (which usually solves the problem) was only partially helpful.  I had to carefully sleep with that leg fully extended.  The next morning I was limping around an hour.

I feel fine again now, but that stuff is painful.  And it makes it a bit worrisome about what positions I sleep in.

3.  I had some kitchen stuff I wanted, so I went to Bed,Bath&Beyond with discount coupons in hand.  My pepper grinder had broken, a timer had failed, my corn-butterer broke, my wine bottle foil cutter wasn't cutting anymore, I wanted a small slotted spoon to get olives out of the jar, and I wanted a good wine-puller (one on those neat things that you just push on and the cork "magically" comes out).

Oh the hardships of life... 

But I discovered the BB&B prices were idiotic even with the coupons.  $25 for a good salt grinder? Or matching pepper grinder.  And even funnier, buying the 2 together as a set was MORE expensive than the 2 individual.  Those people are NUTS! 

They wanted $8 for a corn-butterer. 

So I went to Amazon and found the same stuff at half the price (but oddly, the corn-butterer at almost 2x the price.  The stuff I want doesn't meet the Amazon threshhold for free shipping, so they sit in my cart waiting for something else to add.

4.  My riding lawn mower collects grass clippings around the exposed belt drives.  Cleaning them all out is a pain.  But I have an electric blower.  I bought it to blow fallen leaves off the screened garden enclosure because last year snow collected on the fallen leaves and actually bent the metal poles supporting the top.  And then I blew all the fallen tree debris off my deck.  Sure beats sweeping.  So It occurred to me to try it on the grass clippings in the mower belts.  Worked great!

5.  I mowed my spring bulb bed.  Mowed the butterfly bed bed too.  The electric mower is impressive.  I plan to cover both to supress weeds.  This year, the weeds took over.

6.  Dug into the trailer half-full of compost.  Filled up 8 kitty litter tubs full in a yard cart.  But they were all soaked with rain in spite of a tarp covering the trailer.  So they will have to sit inside a week to dry out.  I need the compost dry so I can sift it through a 1/4" screen to mix it with peat and sand and vermiculite for seed starting soil next Spring.  The rest will go onto the butterfly bed to improve the soil.

7.  Cooked a lot yesterday.  10 chicken thighs marinated in leftover olive juice.  Baked in a roaster pan with 2 sliced lemons, 4 shallots.  Added a cup of olives and some cornstarch slurry the last 10 minutes.  Came out great!

8.  While walking off the leg cramp, I noticed my motion-activated floodlights were on.  I looked out a window and saw a deer frozen in place.  It was looking at my remaining hostas.  I finally snuck out the side door and ran at it yelling and screaming.  THAT got it moving away fast.  I should get my crossbow set up (stringing it is a pain).  Deer don't fear us these days; time to give them a reason.

9.  Need to replace the roof on the old toolshed.  25 years old, and shingles are missing, leading to rain dripping into it.  I originally just put 4'x8' sheets of interior plywood on top with shingles thinking that was good enough.  I didn't know about roofing felt then.  I can't lift whole 4x8 sheets anymore, but I can cut them in half and match the cuts on the roof.  THEN I'll add roofing felt and new shingles.  I have to remove the existing roof first though, and I'm not looking forward to that.

10.  I saved a few Sweet Flag plants from my pond renovation this Spring.  I put them in tubs of water.  One tub just died off for some unknown reason but I noticed there were tadpoles in the water.  OK, I'm a curious person so I netted as many as I could into a bowl of water and brought them inside.  It took a while the shift them from bowl to bowl until the mosquito larvae were gone.  But they are inside and I'm going to watch them develop to frogs.  I added some aquarium plants to the bowl for them to nibble on and put a pan splatter screen on the top (in case I missed a mosquito larva).

A Day In The Life

I wake up and the mews are all around me.  Marley is under the covers, Iza is at a corner of the bed, Ayla is on the other side pushing ito the crook of my knees.  I can't move.

So I pet them all sitting up to let them know I an GETTING up and breakfast is on the way.

The cats are fed, so I do MY morning stuff.  Get dressed, brush teeth, etc.

I walk out on the deck to see what the day is like.  If it looks bad, I go in and check The Weather Channel on the computer.  Stay on the computer for an hour...  I check Statcounter and it isn't working.  All zeroes.  It wants me to reload "code".  I look at the instructions and decide to do it later.

Turn on the TV to see what Trump has tweeted overnight.  Usual nonsense.  Heat water for my green tea.  Make a half sandwich for lunch (with celery/carrot/cucumber strips) and read the newspaper.  I'm 3 weeks behind.  Which is cool because it means I can skip the sports section, read the bad predictions in the editorials, and get straight to the comics. 

Lunch done, go out to see if the bird feeders need refilling, drop a few goldfish flakes in the small pond, stare at the 10th acre of wild blackberries that need to be cut down (someday), pull all the weeds in one framed garden bed.  Pick beans and tomatoes.

Hear a truck in the driveway.  Oh good, my electric mower arrived.  I got tired of fighting to start the gas powered one.  It for trim work.  I still have the riding mower for the bulk of the lawn. 

Drag the electric mower box into the basement.  The instructions are wretched.  Drawings are way too small.  But I'm not new at this.  I figure everything out, except there are special-fit bolts missing.  I call the company.  They want my purchase number, serial number, and model number.  I understand why the last one matters, but why the serial number?  Do they think I would spend 20 minutes on the phone to get 2 free bolts? 

Well, maybe they can track the serial number to the poor sap who boxed my mower so they can execute him and dishonor his entire family (its from China).  But the nice person says they will send my the missing bolts in 5-7 business days.  I could get them from Home Depot for $2 but it is the principle of the thing.  I will will stupidly deny myself the use of this interesting new toy until the bolts arrive.

So I go outside again.  The pollinating flower garden is a coplete failure this year.  Massive weeds.  I decide to pull them out.  After the 3rd mosquito bite in 2 minutes, I go inside and spritz my arms and neck with Deet.  The weeds are 3' feet tall, but pull out of the dry soil easily.  After those, I focus on another variety and pull those.  Last, I get the crabgrass and mock strawberry out.

There is almost nothing left.  A few Purple Coneflowers.  I'll have to start again.  This time, I will cover the bed with black plastic to smother all the weeds and hope that leaves me a new bed for next Spring.

The Meadow Bed has problems too, but at least there are flowers growing.  I'll try to pull weeds tomorrow.

I collected rainwater for a few days in large trays.  So, before the mosquitos find the water, I transfer it to smaller containers.  Those 12# kitty litter containers are good for that.  And I found a few large funnels on Amazon once that make it easy to fill them.  The funnel is the size of a  helmet.

The saved rainwater is for my 6 Venus Fly Traps.  They need pure water; tap water is poison to them.  So I have about 12 gallons of rainwater now, capped and stored in the basement.

Back in the basement, I find a large envelope on the floor.  Not addressed to me.  Huh?  Don't even recognize the address.  Must have been stuck to the lawn mower box.  Great!  Now I am obligated to return it to UPS.  I saw the truck go down my street, and went to get it to hand it over.

But OF COURSE, I had left the car outside on the driveway for the first time in several years so I could clean the garage a bit.  So I had to go back upstairs to grab the car keys and get the envelope out.  Missed him by "THIS MUCH" (shades of Maxwell Smart).    5 seconds...  And I had stood inside for 10 seconds debating whether I could flag the guy down...  He who hesitates...

So I went back inside.  A few things to do there.  I wanted to rearrange some stuff hanging on the bedroom walls and add some.  So I needed my small container of picture hanger hooks.  Which were nowhere to be found. 

They were supposed to be in the kitchen junk drawer where things like tape, batteries, flashlight bulbs, birthday candles, bag clips, etc are kept.  Not there.  So I had a mental picture of them in a small drawer of one of those storage boxes you get from hardware stores.  Checked them all.  No hangers.  I KNOW I have a lot of pictures hangers "somewhere.

I ended up reorganizing my shelves of odd nails and screws while searching for the picture hangers.  Did a good job too!  Old bags of nails are now in small boxes and labeled.  All the different toggle bolts are together in a plastic bag.  Weird stuff like old deadbolt locks (with keys) are in plastic bags.

But no picture hangers.  So I had a list of stuff that was cheaper to buy at Walmart (butter, milk, ginger ale, etc).  So off to Walmart I went.

Found almost everything on my list (they didn't have a small slotted spoon for scooping out olives from a jar).  Walmart just recently reorganized the local store.  Couldn't figure out where most stuff was.  A clerk showed me the picture hangers.  I found a nice little set of 200 pieces of various sizes.  But they were goldish-colored and I thought that might be weak aluminum.

So I went to the kitchen aisle and found a magnetic refrigerator clip.  Brought that to the picture frame hangers and learned they were steel!  So I returned the magnet clip to the proper spot, and bought the hangers.

Getting home, I decided where to put the day clock and the remote minimum/maximum thermometer display.  Picture frame hangers can be a pain.  The nail has to go in at an angle.  I measured the spot carefully and went to tap it in with a small hammer.  The nail and hanger went flying!

So I had to get down and search the carpet.  While I was there, I was looking at a doggie bed I bought for the good old days when Ayla and Iza napped together thinking "room for two" would be good.  Of course not, but the thing has sat in the bedroom ever since.

So when I removed it looking for the nail and hanger, I saw that there was a lot of cat fur bewhind the u8nused bed.  I carefully brushed it away (didn't want to suddenly stick the loose nail into my hand).  I ended up with a football-sized fluff of cat fur... 

And no nail or hanger.  Oh wait, there is the nail!  Half solved.  So I went and got a magnet and moved it around the carpet.  CLICK!  Hanger found!

THIS TIME, I tapped the nail in slightly on it's own.  THEN put the nail in the hanger and tapped it.  Worked great.

Added the min/max display below that.  Now I have a whole bedroom wall to add other stuff to.  And that is a project for another day.

Because it was time for dinner.  Mine.  Don't worry, the Mews got 3 meals during this whole day, and 2 or 3 more coming.  Since I was pretty worn out from the day, I kept it simple.  Thawed out a BBQ chicken thigh, made a quick tossed salad, heated up some thawed cooked red beets, and tossed an ear of corn in the M/W for 3 minutes.  Dessert was mixed chopped fresh fruit.

A typical day...



In the pouring rain...  Yes I had an umbrella. 
But I had left the 

Sunday Snow Aftermath

I have lived in various parts of Maryland since 1963.  In the NE part til 1968, at Univ of MD  til 1973, and around Washington DC since then.

The worst single snowstorm I experienced in Maryland was in 1966 where is snowed for 4 days.  The accumulation was only 20", but the winds whipped up snowdrifts covering the ground floor windows.  And Mom was about to have a baby!  The neighborhood roads were not plowed.  Dad and I shoveled 20" of snow a car width wide for 150' to the main road behind the house.

And off Dad and Mom went by car seeking the local hospital (which had a maternity wing of course).  At 15 (I keep thinking 16 because it was 1966, but I wasn't really 16 until May), I was left behind to take care of my 2 younger siblings.  For 2 days.  It was quite an adventure...  It's a good thing I could cook.  And apparently, I would have made a good parent (if I do say so myself); peace and calm abounded!

7 Mothers delivered babies in Harford County that day.  The other 6 Mothers were brought to the county hospital by helicoptor.  Dad drove...  Determination and self-reliance (to a point) is a family habit.  And school was closed for a WEEK!

So that was a really serious snowstorm.  And there have been some bad storms since then, but mostly several close-together storms with recovery time between.

But this one was BAD.  I think it is now considered 2nd or 3rd worst in the Washington DC area (that 1966 one mentioned above slid north of DC so they don't count it here).

So here are some more pictures of THIS one...

The wind collected a lot of snow near the house on the deck.  It was 3' deep in the drift Saturday afternoon.

 And it got worse as the day went along.

The sunflower seed birdfeeder was standing tall.  I had cardinals, sparrows, juncos, titmice,  nuthatches, chicadees, purple finches, and goldfinches there at various times.  I could have done without the sparrows (they get i seeds and kick backwards, shoveling seeds out of the tray.  It is their successful "scratching the ground" habit, so I can't exactly blame them.  But they sure are unwelcome at a seed tray.

But then the outside unit of the heat pump failed overnight.  Probably because the sides got covered by snow preventing air from getting in.  I assume it shut itself down because of the lack of air flow.  I'm on "Heat2" right now.   That's less efficient than the usual heat pump process, but I don't know exactly what it is doing.  All I can tell (from the manual) is that it is not "emergency" heating (which would be like turning on an electric oven with the door open).  It will probably be more expensive, but not like I have much choice.  The repair company is busy with true failures and at least mine is keeping the house at normal temperatures (operating constantly).  There ARE priorities of repairs.

So the first thing I did Saturday morning was to dress up warm* and shovel the snow from around the sides of the heat pump.  That didn't get it started again.  When I looked inside, it was all full of snow.  I know it is SUPPOSED to "de-ice" itself when that happens.  So I tried some simple repairs.  I loosened the grid on the top to scoop out the accumulated snow inside.  NO GO!   I couldn't remove the grid because there is a heavy duty electrical cable stuck to it.

But I WAS able to lift up the opposite side and scoop most of the inside snow out.  That didn't get it going either.  So I poured bucket after bucket of VERY HOT water into it to melt the remaining snow. and ice around the working parts.  Well, those parts are exposed to rain all the time (water drains out the bottom), what harm can water do?  But that didn't get it started either.   I removed and replaced the outside unit circuit breaker.  No success there either.  I suppose some part has failed at the worst possible time (like there is ever a BEST possible time?) and I will have to call for service.

But I am still getting heat from the inside part of the equipment, so it is not an emergency.  I keep hoping to hear the outside unit suddenly come on though...

The snowdrift on the deck is probably about its highest. 

And the snow on the roof is slowly sliding off.  It should start to fall on the deck soon.  I have a specialty tool for pulling snow off the roof, but I have to get out on the deck to use it and that snow drift is too deep for me to even push through wearing my trout-fishing hip-high waders.

So I am just going to wait things out.  Which could get awkward.  The Weather Channel says it will get down to 8F tonight!  There isn't going to be any melting for a few days at least...

Did get to use the snowblower though.  More on that next post!

* Warm meant thermal underwear under heavy jeans, extra thick socks in the 16" rubber boots, thick flannel shirt, ski mask, insulated rubber gloves, AND a hat with ear flaps!  And of course a long insulated jacket you could explore the Arctic in...  I don't play around with cold windy weather.

Busy Day

It was unusually nice weather today (partly cloudy, dry, 30% humidity and 80F).  I won't see many of those again until September.  So I was up early, for me;  10:30 AM.  I know many of you cringe to think of that as "early",   but an advantage of being single and retired is setting your own hours.

So I started the day with an English Muffin and a cheese/bacon/bell pepper omelet, a glass of green tea, and a glass of V8.  I've been cooking for so long now that all my cast iron pans are utterly non-stick.  They are wonderful!

Fed The Mews first, of course.  AND after.  When they haven't eaten for 10 hours (because I've been in bed), they need a 2nd breakfast.  I'd just give them more at first, but Iza can't keep it down all at once.  And normally, I would let them out afterwards, but it was lawn-mowing day.

So I went out and mowed the lawn.  Takes about an hour for mowing and 30 minutes trimming with the new string-trimmer.  There are a lot of places I just can't mow closely, so I finally bought one of those new 18 volt lithium battery trimmers and it works GREAT!  When they say "it's like a gas one", they are darn close!  I need to get a shoulder strap though; its not one of those little 2 lb jobs...

I let The Mews out after the mowing was done and the fence gates were shut...

After that, I decided to attack some of the brambles that have been invading the more civilized part of by back yard.  My "poacher's shovel" is great for that (think of an industrial-strength 18" trowel on a shovel handle).  I need the narrow blade because the brambles are among plantings.  I got about a dozen dug up.

Then I needed to do some watering.  All you sufferring from drought, forgive me, but we have had unusually frequent rain here and I almost didn't notice we had finally gone a week without any rain.  I started the watering because the annuals I still have in pots looked a bit wilted.  And once I get a hose in my hand, EVERYTHING gets watered, LOL!

Not that I water everything by hand.  I have a tripod with a fan-nozzle attached that I build a few years ago.

This original had a shower spray nozzle, I replaced it with one that spreads more sideways.  I use the shower head nozzle for hand-watering now.

And then I had to water the enclosed veggie garden.  I'm not used to the tight spaces yet, so it is a bit awkward.  I'll get the tricks for worked out this year.  Watering the 6 new raised beds takes a good 30 minutes.

And THEN I had to water all the deck containers.  I tried just filling and re-filling a watering can to water them, but that got pretty tedious.  I thought I would try either one of those super limp hoses that collapse back into a small container, or one of those coiled types that stretch out and fit back in a metal holder.  You've seen them on ads. 

But I was at a D-I-Y store and I noticed they were using the coiled type themselves.  So I figured they probably have some experience with their products, and bought the Melnor green coiled one.

So far, it is working very nicely and sure doesn't take up much space.  I screwed the wire frame to a piece of exterior plywood and attached the plywood to the side of the deck.  A short hose reaches to the multi-outlet water outlet.

For the record, I use one outlet for the hose to the deck, one for the hose to the nearby lawn, one to an industrial strength hose that goes 150' to the back veggie garden, and one for a jet nozzle right at the spigot that is useful for many things (cleaning buckets, hands, boots,  etc).  Dragging hoses all around the yard is both difficult and damaging to plants (I have the entire area around the spigot planted).

So I came back in at 6 PM and decided about dinner.  I decided I'd earned a steak.  I buy them in bulk from the local meat store, cut them in half, and freeze them in sandwich bags (wrapped in a bigger bag, wrapped in a heavier bag - no freezer burn).  So I stuck one bag in a pan of hot water (gentle thawing), made a nice home-grown tomato salad (with some minced onion, chopped cucumber, and shaved carrot), sauted some wedges of red and green bell pepper, M/Vd a potatoe, and poured a glass of wine while I sauteed the steak (its more stovetop-roasting in the covered cast iron pan). 

Dessert was cut-up fresh fruits (cantalope, green grapes, a plum, a navel orange, and some prunes).

Life is good...

Now I need to consult with The Mews about what they want to post for tomorrow.