Thanksgiving Day 2014

I'm thankful for a lot of stuff, but I mention those things as they happen.  Today was TURKEY DAY!  I often don't bother cooking a turkey, for several reasons:

1.  I assume a standing invitation to visit my sister for Thanksgiving day.  Sometimes I visit, but 2 hours driving each way is a lot for me (I hate driving at all) and I especially hate holiday traffic on crowded interstate highways like we have here. 

2.  I used to cook Thanksgiving Dinner for all my single friends, but over the years, they have gotten married, left the area, or gradually faded away.  It was a habit from when I had apartment roommates for whom a TV dinner was a challenge.

3.  The smallest whole turkey is about 10-11 lbs and that's too much for 1 person (even with 3 cats)

4.  A turkey breast is smaller, but white meat is not my favorite.

5.  I prefer the dark meat, but turkey thighs cost $5 a pound this year and chicken thighs (my most regular meat) is only $1.29  and turkey isn't much different from chicken.

But I decided to go for a turkey this year.  Partly, I wanted to hickory-smoke a whole turkey, just because I hadn't for years, and partly just to fully participate in a holiday for a change.  So I had the frozen turkey all thawed in the fridge for 4 days, brined it overnight; and injected it with a mixture of apple juice, cinnamon and spices. 

Most of the smoke gets in meat during the first couple hours so I did 2 hours and then let the briquets die down til it was 200F in the smoker and transferred the turkey to the pre-heated 250F oven.  It was slow...  But I wasn't on a schedule, so "whenever done, its done". 

I did it a bit fancy for just me after that.  Baked brussel sprouts with grated nutmeg, asparagus with grated cheese and melted butter, small potatoes, a nice tossed salad, gravy, and a can of "sweet potatoes in syrup".  Zinfandel wine.

Well, one bite of the canned sweet potatoes in syrup and that went straight to the compost bin.  YUCK!  The rest was good.  Well, the packaged gravy was salty.  I had it sitting around for years so decided to use it.  I make it better myself.  The brussels sprouts were good, the new potatoes (home-grown) were good, and I always love a tossed salad with italian dressing.

The turkey was PERFECT!  Probably the best I've done.  The smokiness was just right, the brine kept even the breast meat moist, and the injected flavors were just right.  I am convinced that 2-3 hours of smoking outdoors and finishing up in the oven at 250 is the way to go.  And I do that thing of cooking it breast side up half way and turning it breast down the remaining half.  It makes a difference.  "Breast side down" the last half of cooking keeps the breast moistened by thigh meat fats dripping down the sides.

To be fair, the 450F oven cooking for 30 minutes and then lowering the temp to 350 works pretty good too and I've usually done that for faster cooking (and more reliable timing), but the slow-cooking is best.

I don't set out a whole table display (its just me), so there isn't much to show, but the turkey had a beautiful mahogany skin, so I have a picture of that. 

I hope all of you who went the turkey path today had great dinners too.

A Little Computer And Some Garden Problems

COMPUTER:  Well, first, I KNEW everything wouldn't be perfect on the new old laptop.  The thrill of connectivity deceived me.  Oh, it's not terrible news, but the "M" key came loose right away, and my feedly.com reader list keeps disappearing from the sidebar.  It sticks on the desktop but not the laptop.  I'm sure I'll find out how to stick it permanently, but haven't so far. 

And there are other annoying problems.  I'm sure most can be fixed, but some may just be part of using a laptop.  I was expecting that since I was only using the laptop for reading blogs (at the moment), what did I care about security?  There's nothing ON the laptop.  But then I started getting unending, nearly constant ads.  It was like "Whack-A-Mole"!  Close one, another pops up.  I went 15 minutes doing nothing but closing ads at one point, and even closing some of them seems to have generated some email responses to the ads even though I don't have any email set up tat I know about.  Probably some basic gmail embedded in the computer.

I went into the system preferences and made some adjustments which reduced the ads but haven't eliminated them.  I was hoping not to have to buy MacKeeper for the laptop (it can prevent pop-up ads among other things.  I may find free software that does that.  Apparently, I'm going to have to compare files on my desktop to the laptop, see what I can copy over, and maybe buy some simple versions of other software.

If anyone has Mac desktop and laptop equipment and some of those things sound familiar, please drop me an email with any useful advise, please!  Reattaching the "M" key is actually a priority, but the other long term stuff is more vital.

GARDEN:  We had an unusual 70+ day today, so I set about constructing the 5th of 6 framed beds.  I thought it would go fast, but NOOOOO....

I mostly have to laugh at all the surprises a project can offer.  Well, it doesn't help to complain.  Not that I don't both laugh AND swear sometimes.

I got out in the garden at 1:30.  First, I had to carry the precut boards  (by me, not the Home Depot guy after the first bad experience).  I carried one out to the garden, then decided to try using the dolly to carry 2 at a time.  Didn't work, they were too tall and awkward.  So I carried them all out one at a time.  2"x8"x7' preservative-treated boards are heavy, but on my shoulder one-at-a-time worked.  That part was fairly expected.

So the 5th frame was to go 2' from the last and since there had been old beds there before (full of good soil), I only shoveled soil enough to lay down the new boards (different sizes from the old and 90 degrees in rotation).

Dragged out all the usual tools from the shed, connected the 150' of electrical cord, set up the radio on Classical, and started to dig some trenches where the new frame would set level.  There are invading vines from a neighbor, and I have been digging them out as I go.  Dig, pull, toss, dig, pull, toss...  Only one looked odd out of the corner of my eye, so I looked at it.  A poison ivy plant!  Sure, why not?  I haven't seen a poison ivy plant in the garden for several years and I was holding it in my bare hands.  Might as well find one now. 

So I dropped it in a remote corner where it could die peacefully and went into the house at once to wash my hand.  Holding the hand up so that I wouldn't touch anything in the house with it, I got safely to the bathroom and washed with soap for 5 minutes (hurray for pump soap).  Then I washed again with rubbing alcohol.  If I'm not complaining of poison ivy in 5 days, you'll know it worked.

So I was back out at the garden and set out the corners for the 5th bed.  Which meant clamping a long straight board to the end on the previous bed so that they all stay even with each other.  Naturally, I had brought the small clamps back to the house for a different project, so back to the house I went.  That 150' of walking back and forth adds up!  So I clamped the "straight-edge board" and set some corner bricks to support the lower lever of the frame.  Yes, I've developed a routine after the first 4 beds.  Experience accumulates.

The distance to the far end of the 5th bed was farther than I eyeballed it, so I had to rip out more of the old frame boards and dig off more old garden soil into the existing beds than I had expected.  More time gone.  And then I hit a 3" tree root from my neighbor's junk trees.  And I mean "junk".  He just let whatever grew, grow.  None of them are good trees, just invasive ones that grow thickly and unhealthfully.  Someday, I may ask him if we can just cut them down and plant nicer smaller ones like dogwoods and crabapples or whatever he likes.

But it meant I had to find my ax to cut the invasive root, which was back in the house, of course (for a perfectly good reason).  Then I remembered that the ax was a bit dull, so I had to sharpen it.  And the bench grinder on a stand was behind a bunch of stuff moved when the insulation guys worked in the basement, and by the time I got access to it and sharpened the ax to "OK" that was another quarter hour gone.  And of course, the root was loose in the ground so chopping it with the ax took some time.

An hour and a half and I still hadn't gotten the first board in place for the 5th bed...  I used some bad words.

But I was finally able to start with the frame.  Previous frames, I leveled first and constructed later.  I tried constructing first this time.  If you place bricks angled at all the corners, you can get all the board corners to match.  That worked pretty well.  I got the lower layer of the frame attached in only 30 minutes.  That sounds long, but I am obsessed with getting all the corners matching as perfectly as possible.  These beds should last 20 years and I'll be looking at them a lot, so why not go for the best appearance?

To construct each layer of the framed bed, I set the long boards on a brick at the corners.  The brick also holds the short end boards at the same level.  After that, I can use long clamps to loosely hold the 4 boards together.  After that, I tap the boards until the square ends match up.  Sometimes the boards are not exactly the same width, so I wedge one up to match the next.  I used little twigs on the first few beds but realized the axe blade was very good for that.

I have 2 drills for the project.  One is a standard electric drill for drilling pilot holes for the long screws that go though both boards at the corner.  The second drill is a cordless drill with a screw setting (has a slower speed and a torque control to not overdrive the screws in).  But most importantly, it means I don't have to keep changing the drill bit for the screwdriver bit.  And I'm using lubricated star-drive screws designed for preservative-treated boards.  Those resist the P-T board chemicals AND go in easier.  They are worth the very slight extra cost.

I got the lowever level of the framed bed finished and saw bad news.  The sun was on the horizon!  It was only 4:15!  But my horizon is not flat horizon.  The land slopes up radically on my west side.  But I had all the tools out, the 2nd level of boards ready, and I wanted to finish the 2nd level today.  It supposed to rain tomorrow and get colder.

And wouldn't you know it, my box of screws was empty.  Back to the house...  I thought, and correctly, that I had another box of them "somewhere".  Took only 15 minutes to find them.  Yes, they were in an obvious place, but not obvious to ME today...  LOL!

So back outside in the fading light.  Fortunately, the 2nd level of boards is WAY easier than the first.  And I found a few quick tips to make that easier.  I had used a square piece of 4"x4" to establish square corners on the first couple of 4' wide framed beds.  I found that using 4" bar clamps on the 3' wide 3rd and 4th beds was easier.  I tightened them loosely, tapped all the corners flush, then tightened the claps more and drilled the holes.  Worked great. 

Except the 5th and 6th beds (like the 1st and 2nd beds) are actually 4'3" wide and the 4" clamps are JUST too short.  Well, guess what, you can hook 2 clamps together!  So I attached a 4' clamp and a 12" clamp across the beds at both ends and locked all the corners tight after making them flush in all directions*. 

After that, and with the sun over the local elevated horizon, I got the last of the screws in!  The framed bed isn't complete.  The 2 levels are not attached to each other.  I uses a 1"x6"x6' P-T board for THAT.  I attach it on the inside of the long boards.  Half the width above the seam between the frame boards and screw it on.  Then attaching screws in that 1" board below, draws the 2 levels together beautifully!

Tomorrow isn't going to be as nice as today.  50 degrees vs 75.  But 50 is OK  I might get the last  LAST, LAST LAST framed built finished tomorrow.  If it doesn't rain...

So close to the end, and chasing the decent weather to the finish, LOL!

But you know, if there weren't surprises all the time in a project, it probably wouldn't be worth writing about it.    Seriously, how exciting would it be to just write "I built 6 framed beds this year"?


* I still had to tap boards around in all the corners until the matched up evenly horizontally AND vertically.  THEN I tightened the clamps hard and drilled pilot holes for the screws.

Pictures in a few days when I finish...

Bleh!

I KNEW it wouldn't be easy gettig a laptop to just connect to the wireless router,.  The laptop asks questions I can't answer.  Verizon said it would just ask for a "SSID and a "WEP KEY".  Yeah, ROTFLMAO!  Worse, it offers options I don't understand.  Even WORSE. I think it is offerring me connections to all the neighborss' wi-fi  (and one is either very innocent or downright dirty).  I don't want to know that stuff.

But I can't get the laptop  working and I used up the battery earlier, so it is charging again (and I'll leave it connected).  I'll call Apple after it is charged.  I think I know the right details for Verizon.  Its the laptop questions I need help with. 

This is why I didn't do this before.  Any two pieces of computer equipment do NOT want to talk to each other...  And I'll mention again  MY BAD LUCK on minor things like this...

Need to do live chat with Apple and that typing kills me.  I bet they tell me to talk to Verizon.  That  makes me the bouncing ball between the two of them...

ARGH!

UPDATE!  With the hour-long struggle with the Verizon tech help (as opposed to the USELESS TWO hours of non-help from Apple)  we have achieved LAPTOPNESS!  I have to say that no matter what the problem and whether it was actually a Verizon issue or not they have helped me through thick and thin.  And yes it is 11:30 AM here and I've been up ALL NIGHT again, struggling with computer challenges , but it was worth it (as it usually is when successful)!

And I have to say my $200 cheapo refurbished MacPro 13" laptop is acting SUPERBIO-PRIMO!

The next comments you get are going to be laptomese and I think The Mews will love it too!

A New Piece Of Equipment

Well, having a desktop computer being my single piece of high tech equipment since my first Commodore computer in 1983, I have LEAPED into the 21st century!

I now have a cheap refurbished 13" screen Mac Laptop.  Its cosmetic condition is way better than promised by the seller (on Amazon.com).  It's sole intended purpose is to visit my (and the Mews) blogging friends.  I figure we can visit our friends on a more regular and timely basis if we have a laptop out in the main part of the house.

I talked to my ISP and confirmed that my existing router should accept a signal from the laptop, and I have the information they SAY is sufficient to connect.  It is charging now, and I will see what happens tomorrow.

According to the seller, I have 30 days to decide if I like it, but I should know on the first day.  It was cheap enough to give it a try without much concern.  Security is no concern, as it won't actually have any information on it.  I mean, it has a good basic set of software, but I won't be keeping any files on it.  If I understand correctly, just reading blogs and not even email won't leave anything to be read except my blog-visiting history, and I can't see what good that would do anyone (though I will add firewalls and such anyway if they aren't already on there).

I do think I want to download a manual for it (wasn't included) to see what I can do with it (or should not do with it for security reasons).  It's portable of course, but I don't plan to use it that way.  I just wanted a remote station to read blogs and possibly browse during TV commercials.  It won't have connectivity to my desktop computer (I will check on that because I don't currently WANT it to).  Mostly, I need to start with one feature and see how that works. 

It seems a reasonable good deal for $200.  The keyboard isn't full size, but it is close.  And I bought a cheap wireless mouse  to go with it.  I typed on it a bit before I started to charge it up and I'll have to be a bit careful.  But its not like I would have to use  it for extensive typing.

And who knows, maybe  this will get me into more of a wireless world.  Which is a bit ironic, because from 1988 to 2006, I was the Telecommunications Manager at a Federal Agency overseeing policy and operations for all the landline and wireless voice services, yet never used any of the wireless stuff myself.

Looking forward to the powered-up laptop access tomorrow!

Football

Thank you, The Washington football team, for being so embarrassed by the lowly Tampa Bay Bucanneers.  Now I don't have to even THINK about watching the homie team for the rest of the year...

Fun With Lumber

Or I could title this "I have bad luck on minor things"!  I went out and bought the lumber I needed for the remaining 2 framed garden beds a few days ago.  Back at home, I decided to back the trailer up to the garage so I wouldn't have to carry the heavy preservative-treated wood from the far corner of the front yard where I store the trailer.

I'm sure anyone who has some experience in backing things up with a car knows that the longer the hitched item is, the easier it is to back up because the directions don't change as quickly as with short items.  Well, my trailer is only 8' long, and I couldn't even see it in the rear view mirror, or by opening the front car door and looking out.  I finally had to go in the garage and clamp a board upright in both rear corners of the trailer.  I think I will attach a couple of small flags on dowels attached to the trailer corners!

But I got the twelve 8'x2"x8" boards unloaded into the garage and the trailer put off into the yard corner.  Today, I set about cutting them to size.  The preservative lumber is odd.  They are not a full 2" thick or 8" wide, but thy ARE longer than 8'!  Perhaps that is so the poorly-cut ends can be recut better.

Anyway, I needed most of the boards cut to 7' long, so it didn't really matter.  Except the few end boards which I wanted to cut into two 4' long boards.  Still, the extra length made that not a problem.  I carefully measured each board's length before I made any cuts, and they were all 8'1" long.  Perfect.

Except one board.  Which I failed to measure.  Which was one of the few boards I chose for the two 4' pieces...  So I got a 4' board and a 3'10" board, which just won't make a rectangular framed bed!

Think about it.  For 8 of the boards, it didn't matter (they were getting cut to 7').  For 3 of the remaining 4 boards, I measured (and they were all at 8'1").  The ONE board I didn't remember to measure NEEDED to be 8'1" so that I could square the ends with good smooth cuts.

So the ONE short board had a 1/3 chance of being among the 4 boards that HAD to be over 8' long AND a 1/12 chance of being the only board I didn't measure.  Giving a 1/36 chance THAT board was the only one I didn't measure AND was too short.  Which means that, with 36 sets of identical boards, I would have NOT had a problem 35 times and a problem only once...  And I managed to achieve that "1 in 36 times event".

I have the worst luck with minor things!!!

So now I have to go back to buy 1 board.  Grumble, grumble, grumble...

Random Successes

1.  Got the 4th of 6 framed beds completed.  Next job is to fill them halfway with existing soil from where the 5th and 6th of 6 beds will go.  Today is about the last decent day to work outside for a while, so I better take advantage of it.

2.  Accumulating more stuff in the basement to have Salvation Army pick up.  It sometimes seems everywhere I look there is more stuff I really don't need.  Some of it is so odd I am labeling it. 

3.  The new trash pickup service is great!  The fact that they provide company-labeled trash bins is a great improvement.  With the labeled bin, they don't forget me if I only have enough trash to tput out once a month.  If they see their bin, they empty it.

4.  The strong winds this month have been a benefit.  Usually, the basket oak trees hold on to the leaves until January.  But they are almost all fallen now.   I can mow over them several passes with the riding mower until they are all mulched into the lawn.  What falls from the trees seeps into the yard to feed the trees.  And the grass.

5.  Getting ready to have the tub tiles replaced.  After 28 years, they are coming loose around the faucet.  I should have been aware that there was a problem, but some things happen so grdually, you don't notice.

6.  And as long as I have some tile work done in the bathroom, I might as well fulfill a minor design fantasy.  I always loved Rachel Ray's green tiled kitchen.  I think I will duplicate that.  I do love green.

















7.  Dug up 4 Basil plants before the freezes hit.  Will keep them in the south-facing window so I can pick some leaves all Winter,  I hope.

8.  Have 3 planter-boxes of Meslun, Leaf lettuce, and Head lettuce.  Hoping for routine salad improvements all Winter.

Veterans Day

I am not a veteran.  I came of that age during the Vietnam War and I was against that war.  In my 2nd year of college, the draft lottery started.  I gave up my college deferment and took my chance.

My number was something like 254.  They didn't reach that number and I was free of the draft after that.

I will not say that upset me.  I thought the war was dumb.  But I did not think less of those who did serve.  Had my number been called, I would have served (reluctantly).

My father was rejected for service in WWII for heart reasons.  I had many uncles who did serve and valiantly.  Most of them thought the Vietnam war was idiotic.

I sometimes wonder how differently my life would have gone had my Vietnam number been called.  I wouldn't have been a great soldier.  I abhor militaristic hierarchy.  But I would have done my best.  I would probably have been killed, because I do have a sense of getting out in front of situations.  But my number wasn't called and I am here today.  Some people I knew in college surely aren't.

Everyone has a view of how to live and what to die for.  I didn't choose to risk mine in Vietnam.  But I have no doubt that I would risk it to push someone out of the path of a speeding truck or in stopping a fight.  Its all where you decide you would risk death.

I thank those who decide to risk theirs and serve in war.  To each their own...

Energy Use After New Insulation and Other Stuff

1.  Energy Usage After New Insulation:

One month does not prove anything much, but my first post-insulation project usage for October shows that my Oct 2013 usage was 1326 "some unit" and the Oct 2014 usage was only 973.  It is promising, but weather in one month can be different one year to the next.  I'll wait to see the next few bills.

But it does look good.

2.  The framed raised garden beds are progressing.  3 of 6 completed and the boards for the 4th are all cut.  Now that I have the process of building them routinely, the 4th will be easier than the first.  And I am set to buy the lumber for the 5th and( last) 6th  any day the weather is "OK".

3.  I'm continuing to accumulate a pile of donatable items in the basement.  Its not the "usual stuff".  Today I cleaned out the top shelf of the pantry.  Anyone have  a bamboo multi-layer chinese steamer?  I do, and I haven't used it in 20 years.  Onto the pile it goes.  I hope the Salvation Army knows what it is.  LOL!  I keep holding off calling Salvation Army for a pickup because I keep finding new stuff to add to the pile.  I wonder what they will do with a 4" lens refraction telescope, for example.  But that's their problem/good luck.

4.  I'm loving the new trash pickup!  I got rid of 12 bags of kitty litter last Friday and 10 today.  They say they don't accept "lumber", but I have a barrelful of scrap ends, and so far as I can tell watching them mechanically lift and dump the dedicated container they provided, they can't see what is in it.  I can keep cutting the trash lumber into 6" pieces and put them in bags all month until is is all gone.  It sure will be nice to not have to drive to the landfill this winter!  And I have a lot more junk to get rid of.  I'll fit it it into the dedicated Evergreen container even if I need a sledgehammer to break it up.  And I'm not trashing any recyclable or compostable stuff.

5.  Last night was the first hard freeze here.  I dug up 4 Basil plants to try to keep them growing inside on the south window.  Picked the last tomatoes too.  A few were at orange, so they might ripen.  For the others, I will look up "fried green tomatoes".

6.  Got out my 3 window box planters tonight.  I can get some fancy mesclun lettuce from them over the winter,  I have just enough potting soil left from last Spring to fill them.

7.  The lowering sun this time of year is now blasting my eyes through the kitchen window.  I found a tension rod to fit across the window and a valance to hang just low enough to prevent the glare as I make my lunch.  28 years and I'm finally getting around to doing that!  I had a choice of 2 valances.  One white lacey and one red.  I chose the red; white lace isn't quite my style.  Red doesn't fit the white wall and black appliance colors, but who cares.  The cats won't complain.  I've been considering having the kitchen tiled in various shades of 4" green and painting the rest of the kitchen celery.  Maybe I'll hang a little label on the red valance "annoying red dissonance".  LOL! 

Actually, I like red/green/black as a color scheme.  My living room is hunter green, the TV room (traditionally the dining room) is dark red, and all the other stuff is black except for the medium wood furniture.  Oh well, I never expected to be displayed in "House Beautiful".  I like what I like.

8.  Next indoor project is to arrange the planting area.  Everything since Spring has just been piled into the grow-light shelves.  Since growing season starts indoors here in 2 months, I better get started on that soon.  Or I'll need to do it fast the day I want to start planting.

Blogblast For Peace, Elections

Can't help it, I just love this one...

And...

 -------------------------------

I can't forget US election day, though.  I won't try to suggest who to vote for anywhere.   But things have been improving since the Great Recession of the middle 2000s, we are out of 2 unilateral wars, and back into building alliances (as difficult and slow as that can be). 

Mostly, though, I just want to say:  VOTE!

Since my first vote in 1972, I have only missed voting in one Presidential or Mid-Term or Primary election.  I skipped the presidential election in 1980 because I couldn't stand either Jimmy Carter OR Ronald Reagan and supported John Anderson.  And with the long lines and the hopelessness of his chances, I just stayed home.  I regret that.

Voting is precious.  If you don't vote, don't complain about the results...

So VOTE!

Waterbed Management

I sleep on a King Size waterbed.  Lots of room for me and the Mews.  And Marley slept the entire night under the blankets at my side last night.


Did you know that water escapes a big thick plastic waterbed mattress?  Yeah, me neither!  It happens very slowly, and I suppose few people have a waterbed undisturbed for 28 years.  I'm guessing some random breakdown of water into hydrogen and oxygen (there was a big air bubble in the mattress), some very gradual escape (even plastic/rubber isn't 100% impermeable forever,and "something else" (its always wise to cover all possibilities, LOL!).  But over 20 yeras, the water in the waterbed had lessened,

SO...  I hauled a garden hose into the house.  I kept the connector to the waterbed all these years (I've had this waterbed mattress for 38 years - talk about a good deal).  Well, the waterbed frame has drawers below it, so it just sat patiently in there waiting to be used again after the 28 years since I moved here.

The hose in through the bathroom window...

The window...

Outside the window...

Hose from the stand...

Looped over the holder...

Inside.  The blue thing screws onto the waterbed fill at the long end.  There is a black hose valve so I can start the waterflow from inside the house...

And finally, towels around the waterbed fill connection.  There is always some leakage as it is detached.

So I connected the garden hose to the waterbed mattress connector and turned it on full blast.  For . 10. Minutes.

That's a lot of water.  The mattress is twice as thick as it was before.  Now you have to understand that the incoming water is cold.  I hope the Very Small Heater can warm it up enough by the time I go to bed.  A cold waterbed mattress can suck the warmth right out of you even through several blankets.

But oh is it going to be nice tonight!  It had gotten to the point where, when I turned over, my knees hit the support frame below the mattress.  That sure won't happen for ANOTHER 20 years, LOL!  And honestly, in another 20 years I doubt I'll notice.  Or I'll have to do it again!


Update,  it warmed up nicely.  I slept like a good baby and I haven't done that for a while.