It Just Gets Worse

The computer situation is getting worse.  It all started when Verizon announced it was stopping its email service.  You could switch to their new partner AOL (and keep the Verizon email addresses) or go get your own (and start with new email addresses).  I started the procedure to switch to AOL; I can always get a new email service later, and the only assistance Verizon was providing was the transfer to AOL

It has all gone horribly wrong.  I mentioned the hours online with Verizon's overseas call center techs, but it is worse.  Well, yes, I can receive email addressed to cavebear2118@verizon.net on AOL's simple and unhelpful system.

But I have been using 3 sub-accounts on my Mac email where previous emails were sent to Verizon and forwarded to my Mac email.  Except 2 of them seem incapacitated now.  I may have caused that myself, but I'm not sure how.  Just know that the passwords in my "keychain" don't seem to work anymore.  And Verizon says they can't help me with anything on my Mac email.

So, I decided the only thing to do was restore my hard drive completely from my backup system (called Time Machine on Mac).  I've used it before for specific files and folders, even recovered my Word and Excel for Mac, and once to completely copy back the entire drive.  It takes time but it works.  

Time Machine backs up new files hourly, saves weekly, saves monthly.  Older backups are deleted when the external drive it saves to is filled.  There are dozens.

Except yesterday when I tried to restore the entire drive, there WEREN'T.  All gone except the most recent 2, which were from AFTER I switched my email from Verizon to AOL.

It may have been a new security program I purchased (and highly recommended at several sites).  It made some small annoying changes (like setting my security to demand a password everytime I opened the computer even after it merely went into sleep mode after 10 minutes.  But the first time it ran, I had it do a complete scan and cleaning of duplicate files.  If that allowed it into my backup drive, it might be why all the old ones disappeared. 

I don't know the cause for sure, but it doesn't seem to be reversible.  All my backups are lost, just when I needed them most.

My Mac email is perfectly willing to let me into to my subaccounts (cavebear2118, marksmews2118, and yardenman2118 - those are my personal email, my cat email, and my gardening email respectively).  IF I can type in the passwords.  Which I haven't had to do for years to access them, so something ELSE has changed.

I found a file called Keychain that stores passwords for every website I visit, my email accounts, and some various other kinds of sites.  Entering my Admin password allows me to display the specific passwords one at a time. 

There were upwards of a dozen email accounts with different passwords on various dates and I do recall having struggled with email accounts before.

None of them worked, or they did and I didn't know the right place to go after that.

The strange thing is that marksmews2118@verizon.net seems to work for receiving emails, but I can't send from any account or receive from the other 2.  I can receive emails at my new AOL page, at least from some sites.  But I can't send any to myself.

My Mac emails are still stored in my accounts, so I haven't exactly lost them.  I just can't seem to send anything.

I'll fight with this for a few more days before doing anything drastic.

BLAH!

Who ever said things can't get worse had a happy life.  Trying to adjust to AOL email, I managed to completely screw up the emails I did have!  My Mac Mini finally died, and replacement I had stashed away had no power cord.

Well, of COURSE it was different.  Apple changes everything as fast as they can.  If they could make household current suddenly change from 120 volts to 150 volts, they would.

So I went of to buy a new power cord.  About 5 years too late, it seems.  Apple went back to the cord for the Mac Mini I have that barely runs a few years ago.

My old Mac Mini is still running after cooling down for an hour., but it took another hour  to get the restore feature working.  It has worked easily before, but apparently, it get relly confused trying to over-write the new email system.

I've lost 1/3 of all my old emails.  Verizon said they were sorry (I was talking to them will I typed this.  I'll be trying to recover them.

But I may be absent for a few days.  I have only so much time I can spend on the computer and I've spent over 24 hours at it today.

The cats need attention, I need to eat, and I need to sleep.  Hopefully things will be better in a few days but I wouldn't bet any money on it.  I'm  p***sed.  And tired...

And I just got several legit emails warning of increasing Mac viruses. 

And I just learned the power cord costs $100.  That's it, I'm going back to a PC.  

My ISP Is Cheating!

I just received notice that my ISP - Verizon - is no longer going to be providing email service!  This seems bizarre.  It is one of the basic things they do.  Its a bundle - TV, Computer, Telephone, Email...  Pretty basic stuff.

I guess they ARE merging (or acquiring) AOL because I can keep my verizon email address is I switch to AOL.  I haven't looked into the details yet, but AOL has never been any favorite of mine.

It is possible that all it means is getting an AOL account.  I hope.  But I'll bet there are some problems that come along with doing that.

I have had my Verizon email forwarded to my mac email for 8 years.  The user name and password are long lost.  I spent 2 hours on the phone with them and they couldn't provide it.  Not "wouldn't", couldn't.  They sure tried.

   ********************

It took 4 hours on the phone with Verizon techs to get my email switched to AOL.  3 hours overseas to no result. An hour with local  Verizon folks and they had to kick it upline twice.  The conversion was managed.

And now on AOL, my only goal is to  get OFF it ASAP.  It is a piece of crap, drowning in ads, and not permitting me (so far) to maintain separate accounts for personal, cat, and gardening purposes.  And that's saying it nicely!

All email now comes into one account, the sender names are abbreviated,  and they all look the same.  Our email may be really screwed up until I figure out the changes.  I don't know when I will figure it out.  I'm not as good at understanding this stuff as I used to be.

I used to read all the blog comments by email.  I'm not sure how to do that right now.  I'll figure it out eventually, but I might not be online until I do.

I am researchibg alternate email systems today.

Forgive me if I get obsessed for a few days.  We all have our ways of dealing with changes and mine is to just research the HELL out of them until I find a solution I like.

See you then...

Late Hard Freeze

This mild winter helped the Saucer Magnolias to build huge buds, full of promise.  The hailstorm last week knocked off a lot of buds, but most were left and it promised to be a spectacular flowering this year in spite of that.  Possibly the best ever.  The forecast was for no freezing remperatures for 2 weeks.

But surprises happen.  A twist of weather brought 2 nights of temperatures down to 20F.  They were all killed!

Absolute mush!

Not a single one will open.

Last year they bloomed nicely, but 2 weeks later.

 Here is the backyard tree over the fence gate...

And the early daffodils were good.

But they are all knocked down.  The flowers can stand the cold, but not the stems.

So sad...

Some Road Construction Is Not Good

I live in a neighborhood with one road out.  20 years ago, the County considered bypasses around my town.  Option A ran through my front lawn.  Option B was a parkway (meaning no traffic light) at the front of my neighborhood that meant none of us could ever get out due to traffic unless we made a right turn and travelled for a mile before doubling back to local stores.  Option C was a bypass on the other side of town, which they built.

Today, I saw signs of road construction suggesting they are also doing Option B.  OK, that's better than having the bypass go through my front yard but it means the neighborhood will be just that much worse for driving.  It already takes 15 minutes to get 3 miles!

ARGGGHHHH!

If they make the neighborhood completely impossible to live in after all the yardwork I've done the past 3 years, I will positively SCREAM.

A Surprise Storm

It's one thing to have a 40% chance of a thunderstorm and quite another what we had here this afternoon.

I am glad I took pictures of the first 2 daffodil blooms and a few new crocuses before the storm.

 Because they aren't there now...

The rain started a bit sooner than forecast, but that was no great surprise.  Maryland, being between the Appalchians and the Chesapeake Bay east/west, and the northern and southern weather patterns, is considered one of the trickier areas of the US for weather forecasting.  We get unexpected swirls from all directions.

I was appreciating that there would be some rain; we have had only about 1/2" so far this year.  So I was watching the first few raindrop.  Then the hail came down!

We don't get hail often here and it is usually the size of peas when we do.  It falls straight down, bounces around oddly and lasts about 5 minutes.  The hail around here is usually the size of peas; this stuff was grape-sized.  Not much compared to what some people get elsewhere, but surprize is whatever is more than you are used to. 

Today, we had a hail-blizzard!  I've seen snow going almost sideways in serious blizzards before, but I have never seen hail do that.  The hail didn't bouncely politely of the roof; it smashed into the windows and doors.  It was so heavy (briefly) that it just looked like a thick fog outside (moving rapidly sideways).

The sound was deafing on the side of the house facing the wind and I am hoping that when I can see it in the daylight, there is no dented or broken siding.  It was exciting in an odd way (meaning I couldn't stop it, so might as well observe it for the experience).

And then the power went off.  It came on a few seconds, went off a few seconds, and then went off for 3 hours. 

It wasn't yet dark enough to need candles, but I did go around the house and collect battery-powered stuff in case it lasted a while.  I have several radios with rechargeable batteries,  a couple lights that operate off cigarette plug in cars, 2 portable battery packs with plugable outlets, several maxlite flashlights, and even a crankable emergency radio.  And multiple-wick emergency candles.  We do sometimes have hurricanes here.  And I always make sure to have dry wood and a couple bags of charcoal for cooking outside if things get bad for more than a day. 

I am SO boy-scoutish...  LOL!

The radio said we had wind gusts up to 60 mph and heavy hail.  There was a possible tornado reported nearby, so the wind gusts made sense.  I don't keep a rain gauge up in Winter so I don't know how much precipitation fell, but in the 30 minute storm the drainage easement was running higher than I have seen it for years.  I a thankful for 2 things about that.  First, that I raised the level of my lawn around it by 2' 3 years ago, and second, that I got the County out here to clean the imbedded debris in the storm drain at the end of the easement.  Otherwise, the street would have been inundated!  Even so, my front lawn near the street had standing water a foot deep.  Even a storm drain has finite draining capacity.

There is temporary damage.  The only 2 first 2 daffodil flowers were crushed, I think most of the crocuses are beaten down.  Perhaps most sadly, I lost a few 100 saucer magnolia buds that were about to bloom due to the warm weather of the past weeks.  I'll take heart that so many are left.  And the unopened daffodil buds seem undamaged.  Flowers are fragile; buds are tight and tough.

The deck...

The new edged front island...

The backyard...

Keeping to good thoughts as much as possible, the hail will melt slowly into the ground.  The ground needs water. 

The power came back on in time for me to re-heat a pre-cooked frozen meal (pulled pork with jalapeno peppers in roasted tomato sauce with noodles) and M/W sweet potato and a big tossed salad.  Good thing too, because I was staring at a can of beef chili and considering using the hibachi to heat it...

What irritates me the most (aside from the loss of the saucer magnolia buds really) is that I was JUST going to the basement to plant my tomatoes and peppers and cole crops when the power went out. 

And stranger?  It is dribbling hail.  Just started as I typed the last sentence...

Never...

slam the microwave oven door when you are annoyed at the news... It can stop working. 

So here I am with a selection of frozen meals (all home-made) to select from.  I'm not even sure I remember HOW to thaw and re-heat a frozen cooked turkey drumstick.  I haven't actually BAKED a potato in 15 years  (Nuke it 5 minutes, instant "baked" potato).

The cats are horrified: "How will he heat our canned food", they wail (sit can in hot tap water for 5 minutes. 

 I can't imagine reheating a turkey drumstick wrapping it in foil for 30 minutes.  It seems so wasteful of energy.  Maybe I'll simmer it in broth in a pan on the stovetop.  Or maybe I should finally order a pizza for delivery.  Do they still do that (its been a few years)?

I've ordered a new one and should arrive Saturday.  Just actually heating water in a pan tomorrow for my morning green tea is going to seem odd...

I better turn on the oven if I want to eat tonight...  LOL!

Sunday Outside

Today was even better than yesterday!  It reached 70 in midday!  I spread more compost in the wildflower bed.  I went light on it yeterday, not knowing how fr it would go, but I barely used 1/5 of the trailerful, so I was more generous today.

I have about 1/2" overall now and enough left to cover the seeds when I broadcast them tomorrow plus some to spread VERY lightly over them afterwards.  The need light to germinate, so they relly only want a sprinkle on top. 

And THAT leaves half the trailerload of compost for use elsewhere!  I have an surfeit of compost and what gardener does not want more compost? 

I will spread the remainder on the Spring Bulb bed.  As the worms work in into the soil, it will feed the bulbs roots and make them stronger next year. 

And I have good news about the bulbs!  I went to a lot of effort in Fall 2015 to plant tulip and hyacinth bulbs in wire cages to protect them from voles and squirrels.  The tulips came up fine.  But not a single hyacinth emerged.  I was ready to dig up the hyacinth cages and replant last Fall, but decided to with them another year.  Sometimes bulbs take some time to grow roots, and I had planted the hyacinths late.

Guess what I saw today?  Hyacinth shoots emerging from the soil!  I don't know how many will emerge and bloom, but however many come up will be good.  And THIS year, I will cover the spots where they grow with cardboard cut to size so that I will know where not to dig this year. 

And I am thrilled to see daffodils emerging from 2 years ago AND last Fall's plantings.  Just this one bed should have 4x as many as last Spring.  I now have 200 early daffodils, 200 mid-season daffodils, and 200 late-season daffodils!  Plus the usual old plantings of various daffodils around the backyard. 

I prefer tulips and hyacinths for color, but you can't beat daffodils for dependability.  I have some that are 30 years old now and still blooming.

And I've seen the first tulip leaves showing up. More than I thought I would have.  The wire cages seem to work as protection against the voles.  The unusually warm weather is bringing them up sooner than usual.  If it gets cold again, I will cover them.  But it is sure good to see them emerging again.  Tulips are my favorite flowers.  Especially the multicolored ones. 

Daffodils and hyacinths can't match THAT!

Another Nice Day Outside

I can't believe the mild weather we are having here.  It reached 70F here and in generally forecast to stay in the upper 50s to low 70s for about 10 days, never dropping below freezing.  This is weird.  It's MID- FEBRUARY!  There should be snow on the ground and daffodils huddled just below the surface waitibg fir decent weather so they can emerge in March.

Well, I'll take advantage of the nice weather!  Today, I spread compost over the wildflower bed.  Wildflowers are new to me, and as they are generally self-sowing (hence "wildflower").  Apparently all, the seeds want is want is some soft soil to land on so they can get sunlight to germinate and grow. 

I spread compost thinly today.  It went so well, I think I will spread more tomorrow.  I have had this neat gadget for that for 25 years and seldom used it.  It is a wire mesh barrel on a handle.  You fill it with compost and pull it around.  It distributes the compost evenly and thinly.

I could have dumped compost on the new wildflower bed and raked it around, I could have dumped compost on the new wildflower bed and raked it around,


I could have dumped compost on the new wildflower bed and raked it around,  but there are some wildflowers from last years seeds and I didn't want to injure them.  The thin layer of of compost spread by this just rolls over them.  I can add more, I think.

Then I'll spread the seeds with a handheld spreader.

You mix up the small amount of seeds with sand or vermiculite of bulk to help with even distribution. 

I'm cheating a bit.  I also bought separate seed mixes for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.  Those won't last many years but will get things started faster and shade out the grassy weeds. 

More Even Randomer Thoughts

1.  Star Trek: Voyager joke - He was SO dumb, they called him 9 of 7...  If you get that one, let me know.

2.  So I was randomly checking out channels and found Star Trek: Voyager, and got the first episode with 7 of 9.  Watched it of course.  Cool about "being human and not".  And how one can not be either at some point.

3.  Then realized that they were showing the episodes IN ORDER, so I had to watch more.

4.  THEN realized that there were very basic themes like in the original Star Trek.  Really, I never got into Voyager at the time.  Loved Janeway and Tuvok et al, but couldn't watch a "voyage of the damned" so to speak.  Bad timing for my karma at the time.  I like it better now in my peaceable older age.  Makes more sense.

5.  Kes and 7 were both demanding the right to chose paths.  Kes to expand her conciousness and leave; 7 to return to Borg if she didn't like "human life".  Janeway was arguing opposite decisions for each one.  Fixed it, of course.  Kes left, 7 stayed.

6.  Then next episode, Betanna (sp) and 7 were both struggling with issues of aloneness.  One half Klingon and one trying out humanity.

7.  And BTW of the above, not unlike Fry and Leela on Futurama both "out of place".

8.  I understand them...

Grocery Store Frustrations

I shop mostly at one grocery store.  They have the most extensive variety and the best quality (until you get to organic stores where broccoli is $9/lb).  But it has a few habits that drive me crazy. 

The first is minor.  They offer strawberries at $3/lb at the front of the store and $4/per 2lbs further back.  I can deal with that trickery.  I just leave my 1lb container among the 2lb containers so they know I switched.  Minor sneakiness...

Another habit is mixing up produce.  They have Granny Smith apples labeled Yellow Delicious (They suppose any apple that isn't red must be "yellow"?) .  The parsnips were labelled "rutabagas" today.  The individual bags of fresh spinach, collards, kale, and cut cabbage were are labelled "collards at $3lb even they they were actually 3 different prices. 

Worse, when you can FIND a produce clerk and ask a question, they always have to take a sample back the storage area to check.  It's because they don't know what the produce is and have to ask the Produce Manager.  Most of them have never eaten half the stuff they sell. 

The worst habit is lack of pricing labels.  It drives me crazy!  I go to the store with a list, but I'm always open to good deals.  Conversely, if what I have on my list is expensive, I'll change.  I like almost all veggies and fruits, so I can shift.

More than once, I have found the actual Produce Manager out on the floor and led him in a brief tour of all the several above errors.  I suppose I am annoying...

Today it got seriously annoying.  I like yellow peaches over white ones.  Yellow ones separate from the pit easily and are sweeter.  The bin had 2 shelves and one label marked "yellow peaches". $2/lb  One shelf had smaller riper peaches than the other shelf.  I chose mostly those, but there were a few larger ones that seemed ripe, too.  I also bought some plums.

At checkout, I watch the register display carefully.  The clerks punch in the product codes from memory (and they are quite good at it but not infallible.  When there is an error, the price is usually the same and I don't care.  Sometimes it is computer errors back at the programming center.  If THEY somehow call item #4043 white peaches instead of yellow peaches I don't care if the price is right.

But today was weird.  I bought a bag of peaches and a bag of plums.  As I pushed the cart away, I noticed the receipt said I had plums, peaches and nectarines.  So I pointed that out the the cashier.  What followed was 15 minutes of confusion...

Taking the plums out of the picture, I was charged twice for my peaches.  Seems straightforward, but they were different weights and prices.  Well, the cashier had been having a problem with the scale.

We finally figured out (to the extreme annoyance of the other people waiting in line) that my bag of peaches had both yellow and white peaches (from a single bin that had 2 shelves and only one label).

I know this cashier. She is a very nice friendly and helpful person.  But she is easily confused by problems. 

I suggested the easiest way to resolve the confusion.  Refund me for the nectarine charge, refund me for the mixed bag of yellow and white peaches, and I would just go buy another bag of all-yellow peaches (now knowing the product code) and I would pay for them separately in an express line.  She said she could do the refund action easily.  Nope! 

That was too confusing...  She had to go to another cashier several times for every step.  (Where was the cashier manager?")

If the glares from the customers behind me in line could kill, I would not be writing this post now...

It eventually all got sorted out and fixed.  But the whole problem was created because the Produce people can't manage to keep their produce labelled!

 **********
And there is an afternote:  I had 4 cloth shopping bags.  2 are cheap store crap.  2 were cherished handmade gifts from a deceased sister.  I know I had them in my cart when I went in the store.  One was missing at the checkout.  Someone snatched one the the bags while I was shopping...  The service desk said none were turned in but I will check again next time. 

The Wristwatch, Part 2

I still miss the look of the old Phasar watch.  And I'm keeping it in case I find a good repair site.  Not that I expect to, but the little watch doesn't take up much space in a drawer I keep weird stuff in.

Here is a picture of the new watch from the selling site...


Ignore the resin watchband; that's what I tore off.  But do note that the display shows time to seconds, day and date above, and 'PM" to the left of the time (not shown).  I don't have to push any buttons to know everything I want from a watch.

There is still too much unnecessary junk wording around the top and bottom,  but that was the simplest I could find.

The new band is a double velcro type that is hard to find.  But it is also black, and that suits me.

I expect to have to change the battery soon.  Very oddly, the watch came with a notice that the installed battery was for testing and evaluation and may not last as long as a new commercial battery.   Somehow, they managed not to mention that on the sales site.   Well, that's OK, I have the tools to replace it.

I am actually quite pleased with the new watch.  Black suits me, the small amount of blue is not especially obvious in daylight, and the replaced velcro is soft and comfortable. 

Here are pictures of the assembled watch and bands...

The Wrist Watch

I have been wearing the same wristwatch for about 40 years.  It is so old, there isn't even one on ebay.  It is a Sears Phasar digital watch.  There is a Phasar 1000 and a Phasar 2000, but not the original unnumbered one. 

I love that watch.  It loses about a second per day, but it does NOTHING other than show time and day/date.  But is a little line at the bottom that underlines the day of week.  There are 2 buttons.  One selects something to change, the other changes it.

Simple, straightforward, and the buttons are so small you can't activate them by accident.  It was a gift from my parents the day I got my first career job in 1975.  I have had the battery replaced about once a year, and every 10 years, the velcro band has worn out and I replace that with my favorite watch band "sharkleash".  It has 2 velcro straps, so working while wearing it, it doesn't loosen.  Watch and band are so part of me.

The watch finally died.  Well, gee, who would imagine a cheap digital watch from 1975 would only last 40 years?  ;)  A jeweler replaced the battery and it only worked when cold; arm-warmth stopped it.  So, time to replace it...

WAAAHHHHH!!!!  I loved that watch...

But everything good goes away eventually, so I looked for a decent replacement.  I learned that I hate all modern watches.  They DO too much.  Alarm features, Stopwatch features.  Even "foreign time zone" features whatever that is.

All I want is time, day, and date.  And small is good.  I don't want some big clunker on my arm.  I would happily wear a "ladies" watch, but they are too small.  Having to put on my reading glasses just to read the watch sort of defeats the purpose.

So I found one that didn't have too many features (and WOW had the sharkleash band), and it arrived a couple of weeks ago.  I struggled for 2 hours to program it.  The manual was only on line and deciding which manual to use was iffy.  No specific model identifications on any of the manuals.   Utter frustration.

I barely got it to show time, but every time I touched the darn thing, it seemed to change displays.  I got permission to return it to Amazon.

But before I did that, I really had to find a better one.  I found one that seemed better at Sears, a Casio Illuminator with a simple resin watch band.  It had fewer features and one less side button.  I went to Sears and bought it.  But I hate the watchband.  Its a buckle type and I LOVE the velcro type.  But it just takes popping the watchband pins and replacing the band.

Wrong!  This watchband doesn't have the old removable pins.  The pin is solid and would not be removed.  Internet searches suggested you could just push the pins out, but these were unpushable.

I DON'T GIVE UP EASILY!

I have a set of watch repair tools.  They didn't get the solid non-spring pins out.  OK, I have bigger tools.  With a small slot screwdriver, I bent the damned pins and pulled them loose with a vise-grip plier.  I was only risking $16 if I destroyed the watch anyway.

The watch repair tool kit has, among other things, a bag of dozens of spring watch pins.  I found 2 that would fit in place of the solid rod pins.

So I ripped the damned solid pins loose and that got the stupid resin buckle band off.  My sharkleash band was wider than the watch so I used a pair of surgical scissors I got from the doctor who removed my appendix in 1968 (I keep everything that seems useful) and cut a notch in the sharkleash band to fit.

It only took 15 minutes of fighting with the spring-pins to get them in.

But now I have the simple straight-forward cheap digital watch I preferred on the watch band I preferred.  It only took 2 online orders, a trip to the local Sears store, and about 3 total hours of work, but I have what I wanted.

For $16 for the Casio watch and $15 for the watch tool kit, I can return the $49 clunky watch I hated to Amazon for free.  And I don't care about the money.

I'm a persistent type, LOL!  I got what I wanted at the end...

Storm Drain

I have the misfortune to live at the bottom of a gradually-sloping neighborhood.  There are several drainage easements ending on my street.  The major 2 both combine at my yard in deep-well storm drains.  One works fine.  The other brings an unending supply of tree debris and general trash down.

When I chose this lot 30 years ago, I considered many things.  A drainage easement wasn't one of those things I had any knowledge of.  I SAW it, of course.  It seemed to work fine.

I signed the construction contract and moved in on Labor Day 1986.  The month after, the serious Fall rains hit and the drain got covered with loose twigs, branches and debris.  I cleaned the covering grate off each time. 

It got worse as years went by.  After a hurricane, the entire street around my house was covered by drainwater.  I got really tired of cleaning the drain top.  When I called the County office back then, they told me the property owners were responsible for that.  The drainage easement is exactly on the property line, so my neighbors were equally responsible.  But their lawn was 2' higher than mine, so I got all the water; they didn't care.  So I had to keep it clean in self defense.

One year, the drain top got cleaned mysteriously and I thanked my neighbor.  They said they "knew a guy" at the County and he arranged for the cleaning as a favor but only that one time.

They moved out and another couple moved in.  So the County "in" was lost.  I asked the County on several occasions for help in cleaning the drain.  No luck.

3 weeks ago, I asked again, using an online site.  Imagine my surprise when I glanced out my front windows and saw an unfamiliar reflection of the storm grate top!  The County had come by and scraped it clean and made some further digging to improve drainage! 

I didn't even hear them doing it!

Before...

After!

Win!

Absorbant Dish Towels

I bought various types of dish towels over the years.  None of them (100% cotton or not) would wipe water cleanly.  I was frustrated.

But I knew something that would!  Old cotton t-shirts.  Cleaned every drop of water in a single wipe!  So I decided to convert them.  And you can too!

Tools:  Pinking shears, 2 identical sized pieces of plywood, 4 clamps, old worn cotton t shirts.

The pinking shears were a laugh.  I recalled my mom decades ago mentioning to me that they were for making cloth cuts that didn't fray.  So I went to a craft store and asked for one.  They had no idea what I was describing.  The clerk brought me to the fabric expert.  She thought they were for decorative cuts.  I actually had to demand to know where the scissors were.

I found a pinking shear (Fiskars, good brand).  It said right on the package :for non-fraying cuts".  I showed it to the "expert".  She was surprised.

Where do they find these people?  It was a specialty store!

Anyway, I went home with the pinking shears.

I cut 2 pieces of plywood (plywood stays flat) smaller than the T shirts. The identical size is important.

So, I placed a plywood board on a bench (raised for easy rotation).

Placed a T shirt on top

And the other plywood board on top.

Clamped them hard on the corners.

Cut around the edges of the plywood...

Voila' - 2 pieces of non-fraying cotton dishtowels...

I have 12 of them.  Just the first has stayed unfrayed and amazingly absorbent after a week's use.  They aren't for cleaning, just water-wiping.  Use those bad dishtowels for cleaning.

I am quite pleased with myself.

Besides, I hated the grey T shirts, LOL!

My next project is a mailbox delivery notification device.  There are commercial products and some DIY devices I've seen online.  I can do better.

UPDATE:   Megan asked a good question in her comment (as she so often does):  "Why was it so important to you to cut the cloths the same size?"

Answer:  It wasn't; it was only an outcome of my process.  To explain...

I cut a piece of plywood sized to maximize the area of usable T-shirt (4th picture above, avoiding the seams at the arms and neck).  I cut an identical sized piece of plywood in order to hold the T-shirt firmly between the 2 pieces.

I did THAT only so that I could cut cut the cloth easily using the edges of the plywood as a guide.

The result was identical-sized pieces of cloth from each T-shirt .  Not important, just the result...

I hope that clarifies things.  :)

 

Groundhog Day

It's a little late, but I had some thoughts about Groundhog Day.  I know the basics.  It started in Europe with Germanic tribes paying attention to when Bears and Beavers came out of hibernation.

And there were folk-sayings about "If the shadows are bright on Candlemas Day, Winter will be long" (Candlemas Day was halfway through Winter same as Groundhog Day is).

Somewhere along the line, the beavers and the shadows and Candlemas Day 1/2 through Winter got connected.

And let me note that Groundhog Day results are completely random in results.  There is a 33% random chance of the groundhog being "right", and it actually is 37% (no meaningful difference).

But what really confuses me is why bother with the groundhog.  People cast shadows too.  So why not just step outside and see if you have a shadow YOURSELF?  Do people think the groundhog will have a shadow and THEY won't?   LOL!

What?  It's just a fun thing to do?  Oh.  OK, "never mind"...

Computer Software

When I worked, the office used Windows, so I kept my home computer to match it.  When I retired, I switched to Mac software because my home Windows software kept crashing.  At work, the network kept Windows working (mostly).  At home,  it crashed daily.

So I learned the Mac software.  The office-type software (Pages and Numbers) are AWFUL!  Few of the features I was used to on Windows.  Let's just say I am a control-freak about arranging things in documents and Mac software didn't provide what I was accustomed to.

So I bought Windows Office 2008 for Mac (in 2008) and thought I was back in familiar territory.  Wrong!  Windows Office for Mac had more features than Mac software but less than Windows on a Windows computer.  I sufferred with it, setting my old Windows computer up as a stand-alone for special projects.

Then last year, Windows Office for Mac simply stopped working.  It wanted to be re-installed.  Memory said that I downloaded it online, but I checked all my software boxes just in case.  I couldn't find it.

I could have bought a new version, but everything new is now an annual subscription and I resent that.  So I sufferred with Pages and Numbers...

And THEN, I found a dusty box lost behind other stuff at the back of a shelf.  Windows Office for Mac 2008!   Hurray.  I reloaded it.  Now I have it back.  I still can't do all the things I want to, but more than I could with just Mac software.

Example:  One thing I am very used to doing is copying website or word document charts into Excel so I can make changes.  Things like sports schedules or garden-planting documents in column format that have TMI so I can delete the junk.  Copying into Mac Numbers or Pages won't do that; copying into Windows Excel will.  So a chart with teams, dates, TV channel, logos, ratings, site , etc can be reduced to date and channel.  Hurray!

Example:  I love to make cards in Excel.  Excel lets you import pictures, rotate them, draw, add borders, all kinds of stuff.  I missed that.  It's why I didn't send home-made cards this year.  Now I can again!  Hurray.

Mac almost never crashes, but the software I use most does less (I do love iPhoto though).  Windows software on a PC does more, but crashes.  Windows Office for Mac is mostly better parts of both.

I am thrilled to have it back and working.  I changed a 3 page University of Maryland Mens and Women's basketball schedule to a 1/3 page that fits on the refrigerator...  Next up is drawing the framed beds in my garden so I can can print out blanks for writing where the veggies will go in Spring.

It may not matter to anyone but me, but I feel insanely pleased about that right now.  LOL!

Random Thoughts

Sometimes connections occur to me.  Sometimes they make sense, sometimes not.

1.  I watched a new commercial a few days ago for Butterfingers.  It mentioned "crispety, crunchy".  And I immediately thought, no that should be "crispety, chrunchity", for logical verbal balance.  And sure enough, at the end, it said "crispety, chrunchity".  I may have missed my calling in life.

2.  My garden seeds finally arrived in the mail.  I have a boatload of new ones.  Well, my old seeds weren't going to last forever even refrigerated in sealed containers.

Sometimes, you HAVE to buy new ones even when there are still old ones in the fridge.  Germination rate is always important.

3.  I've been designing a new compost bin.  Yeah, any circle of wire actually works, but I like to build things and I put almost ANYTHING that will degrade into the compost.  Some of it attracts pests.  So it is time to make one they can't get into.

It is a 2-bin system.  The sides and back are hardware mesh wire, the front is removable slats.  I made one for a friend in 1992 with dado cuts for angled front slats.  It was amazing (and BTW, I saw it copied in a gardening magazine 6 months later) but it was some unnecessary work.  I figured out a better one.  But it is just the design right now, since I can't actually build it in the frozen soil right now.  But it is good to have all the parts figured out now.

4.  I clipped some azalea stems 3 years ago when I had a ridge leveled.  Some were white, some red, some purple.  They won't grow in the small planter cells, so I need to transplant them to larger ones.  But some bloomed a few days ago.

I have a corner of the back yard where nothing is growing but weeds; they will go there.

5.  The old perennial flower bed is going to become a cottage garden.  Random flowers that self-sow everywhere.  I have NO idea how it will work out, but there will be pictures regardless.

Yard Work

I've been busy outside in the unusually decent January weather.  We went 10 days here without it getting below freezing and THAT is a rare event.  The average low temp is 26F here now.

So I took advantage of the weather and got a trailer-load of compost from a local nursery.  I load the stuff into buckets in a yard cart and use the riding mower to haul it to the destination.  Buckets are easier to dump than shovelfuls...

And spread it out.  There are some weeds poking up, but most will be smothered.

This is where I planted annuals for several years, but this year it will be for heirloom tomatoes.  Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, and a few new ones.  The cages are ready to use.

I have been meaning to set up an island planting are in the front yard for 20 years.  I planted that saucer magnolia tree and the big rock there years ago with the island idea in mind.  I FINALLY got around to doing the island edging. 

 I was amazed at how well digging the slot for the edging went.  When I moved here 30 years ago, the soil was all clayish.  Planting crocuses 3" deep in the lawn was a struggle.  But I have been leaving the lawn clippings stay on the lawn all those years.  It really matters!  My edging spade went down 6"with almost no effort.  30 years, 6" of good soil!

The neighbor has a maple tree planted between our houses.  Maples are nice trees, but not next to houses.  They have surface roots and are famously foundation-breakers.   I mentioned that to the previous neighbor and they cut the tree down.  But maples are hard to kill and it came back with multiple trunks.  I should have poured Roundup on it when first cut down to kill it, but I assumed it would die on its own.

Bitter laughter...  It came back as a multiple-trunked tree.  I am going to use my "Saws-All" to cut the roots at the property line this Spring, pour in some Roundup hoping to kill the tree, and put cuttings of leftover edging against the roots hoping to keep then from regrowing to the existing roots in my yard.

But meanwhile, the tree dropped all its leaves.  I had 2 thoughts.  First, the heavy layer of leaves would kill all the grass on my side yard and the neighbors.  The neighbor abandoned the house in foreclosure, BTW...

Second, I would have to look at all the dead grass on the neighbor's lawn (I raked all the leaves from my lawn).  So, I raked up all his leaves too.  He doesn't care; he is gone.  And I could use them...

I filled up the edged area around the Saucer Magnolia after I set in the edging, and I will move the leaves I raked up from my yard to add to that. 

And then I will add 3" of compost from the nursery on top.  Compost on top of decomposing leaves; the worms will love it!

I'll plant some deer-resistant annuals there this Spring, but the main plan is to fill the bed with daffodils, ivy, and any perennials that deer don't like.

And anything that means less mowing is always good!

President Trump

I won't hide the fact that I don't like President Trump.  I don't say that (or anything to follow) to mean that others can't like him or that he has nothing to offer.  Just that *I* can't stand him and will say so for as long as he is in office.  And keep in mind that it is my OPINION, not some absolute fact of his incompetence. 

This past week has proven my fears about him to be correct.  I live in a world of evidence, proof, and fact.  To me, it seems his supporters live in a world of unsupported hopes and promises, decieved by a demagogue.  My apologies to those who like him.  You have the right.

Since President Trump was inaugurated, he has signed many Executive Orders intended to implement policies he promised while campaigning.  I never thought he would actually do that.

They are, so far, both poorly-written and unnecessary. 

The Order to the military to develop a plan within 30 days to defeat ISIS was laughable.  What does he THINK they do all day?  Plan how to stop another attack on Pearl Harbor? 

Proclamation 9570: National Day of Patriotic Devotion - Does the term "Fatherland ring a bell?

Executive Order 13765: Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal - A first step toward eliminating health insurance to millions of needy Americans.

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies: Regulatory Freeze Pending Review - To stop all Federal Agencies from issuing new regulations.  Never mind emergencies and any good rules to protect the public.  All must stop.


Presidential Memorandum: Withdrawal of the United States From the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Agreement - Oh good, our year's-long effort to create an economic alliance of Asian nations to restrain Chinese expansion shot to Hell!  The Philippines have just given up on us and surrended to China.  Others will soon follow.  The Donald wants to re-negotiate trade agreements with Asian nations one-on-one.  Loser move!

Presidential Memorandum: Mexico City Policy - The US will withhold funds to any nation or organization that assists in abortion services for any reason.  Any reason...

Presidential Memorandum: Hiring Freeze - Both Federal Civil Service and contracting hires are stopped.  This might be OK, contractors have long been used to make up for Federal hiring freezes.  But contractors have historically over-billed the government for services and been free of oversight and produced less than contractually-required.  In my government career, contractors have been scan-artists stealing billions of public dollars.  But freezing both will mean less government services and the public will learn that the "gummint" actually does good things that they will miss.  I always laugh when thinking about some conservative protesters who demanded that the Government "keep your hands off my Medicare".  Who do they think was providing it?

Presidential Memorandum: Construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline - Oil from Canada transported to New Orleans to be shipped overseas.  We don't get that oil (we have our own).  But we will get the environmentally bad oil spills (estimated at one per 5 years by the oil companies).  We don't need that. 

Presidential Memorandum: Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline - See above.

Presidential Memorandum: Construction of American Pipelines - All pipes used in the US will be made in the US.  OK.  But "America First" was a rule when I was starting in Government in the 70s and it caused all KINDS of bad problems.  It is one of those things that sound sensible but don't work.

Executive Order 13766: Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals for High Priority Infrastructure Projects - Every President tries this.  It never seems to have any practical effect.



Presidential Memorandum: Streamlining Permitting and Reducing Regulatory Burdens for Domestic Manufacturing - An attempt to allow businesses to do anything they want.  Who cares about the public, anyway?

Proclamation 9571: National School Choice Week, 2017 - A strictly ceremonial proclamation, but it represents anti-public-school thinking. 

Executive Order 13767: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements - BUILd THE WALL.  Only the US will actually pay for it.  It can't really be built, and it won't stop anyone from getting past it.  Ask the Chinese about their Great Wall.  It didn't work.  BTW, if you like investments, consider Mexican ladder and tunneling equipment companies.  There might be a boom in sales.

Executive Order 13768: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States - This is an attempt to force local police departments to enforce Federal laws at their own expense.  That isn't their job, and they don't have the resources to do it anyway.  The idea seems to be that harassing illegal immigrants will cause them to leave.  That doesn't work.

Executive Order: Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States - This is the cause of recent and ongoing protests in the US and internationally.  The Order was so BADLY written that even naturalized citizens and Green-Carders from the 7 designated nations could not return from US military duty or legitimate business abroad.  IDIOTS!  And the Trump administration is backing off (screaming and kicking) about it.  They are still trying to hold on to the basic idea of keeping all Moslems out of the US though.

National Security Presidential Memorandum 1: Rebuilding the U.S. Armed Forces​ - Some plan to "bolster the military" but I can't figure out what the purpose is yet.  Something about the Office of Management and Budget helping to restructure military pay?

Executive Order: Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Employees - A lifetime ban on lobbyists joining the Trump Administration and then becoming lobbyists again.  Only it applies to those who weren't lobbyists before.  So it seems this is some restriction on media, military, and scientists from ever becoming lobbyists later.  The purpose seems to be to prevent non-politicians from lobbying for general causes (like say science or environmental funding) efforts later in life.  Might even apply to protest organizers or people like Al Gore.  Not sure.

National Security Presidential Memorandum 2: Organization of the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council - Trump has kicked several Security officials off the National Security Council and added a political ideological representative (Steve Bannon) to it.  Obvious watchdog/approval move.  This is unprecedented.  Does the phrase "Politburo" ring a bell?

National Security Presidential Memorandum 3: Plan to Defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - A repeat of a previous Order, but with some recommended changes to any United States rules of engagement" additions.  Meaning water-boarding and other internationally-forbidden forms of torture.  Yes, Trump has approved torture as a means of collecting information.

Executive Order:  Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs - Agencies would have to eliminate 2 regulations for each new one.  This could be silly or it could be horrible.  The main problem is that most regulations exist for a reason.  Business routinely cheat for profit and regulations exist to eliminate or at least reduce that.  If you want your chicken to be 100% contaminated with bacteria or your car tires to "only" blow out 10% of the time, you will love this one.

And that's just the first 10 days!  Get ready for illegal abortions, illegal protests, guns in every school and bar, and a super-conservative Supreme Court. 

Sorry For Being Away

I haven't posted for 3 weeks.  Not that I had nothing to say, but being on the computer, typing, thinking, typing, thinking is hard without cigarettes.  It's like writer's block.  I've been smoking for 47 years.  And when I smoke, I stay up late.  When I smoke and stay up late, I keep sipping at the wine glass.  That doesn't usually lead to brilliant posts, but I have become skilled at correcting for that.  Delayed postings and some editing the next day...

The annoying thing is that I don't seem to be chemically addicted to the cigarettes.  I didn't have a cigarette since Jan 3rd and physically, it didn't bother me a bit.  I'm habituated to the process of smoking.  Without a cigarette, I sit at the keyboard and want to do almost anything else.  THAT is annoying.  So I haven't been posting here much.  I've done fine on the cat blog though.  Writing about the cats isn't writing about me, and I can do THAT.

So yeah, I have a cigarette in hand...  And wine...  I just HAD to post again here and that was the only way.

I don't need advice or suggestions.  After 47 years, I'm pretty sure I've thought of or read about all the ideas.

I'll stop again.  I'm just mentioning all this to explain why I haven't posted.

More normal posts to follow...

Flowerbeds

I have tried perennial beds of flowers in small groups, perennial beds of flowers in larger groups, and annuals grown from seeds under lights.  I'm trying something new.

I have 6 flower beds.  The oldest one had perennials that have mostly died out.  The 2nd was for annuals.  The 3rd was perennials that have never grown well.  The 4th, 5th, and 6th are newly edged areas where there used to be a ridge.

The soil in the last 3 is dismal.  Rocky, gravelly, clay, 1/2 sunny.  One got Spring bulbs and daylilies and annuals throughout this first year for them.  One got scatterred seeds of wildflowers and nothing much bloomed.  One was left unplanted because I intended to transplant an invasive purple lychimastia there and never got around to it.

That's one reason I bought a trailerload of compost 2 days ago.  The worms will bring the compost down into the soil, and nutrients will leach down from above.  I am spreading compost around o the new and old beds whenever it isn't too cold out.

So I ordered a packet 500 sq ft of perennial and annual wildflower seedss for the large bed that do well in poor soil.  I have some existing plants the same as in that mix to transplant.  The compost will help.

The second smallest bed gets no help.  If the Lychimatia doesn't survive transplanting there, good riddance and I will try something else (I already thought I had killed them once).  I'm giving them a last chance where I can mow around to control invasive spreading.

The 3rd bed is the Spring bulb and daylilly bed.  It is about 400 sq ft and I will cover that in 2" of compost and then 2" of shredded woodchips leftover from a tree I had removed.  THe bulbs will appreciate the nutrients from the compost as it leaches down to the roots over Winter, and the woodchips will supress weeds and won't bother the Spring bulbs.

That leaves the older 3 beds.

There isn't much left of the oldest 75'x8' perennial bed I planted and added to over the past 20 years.  It needs a whole new start.  I'm going for a cottage garden!  That is one that has a LOT of various self-sowing annuals and some long-lived perennials.  From organized patches of matching flowers, I am going to randomness.  Sometimes you just need to change things.

The 2nd oldest flower bed is becoming a tomato bed next year.  Tomato soil diseases accumulate and fresh soil is good every few years.  I dumped 16 buckets of compost there 2 days ago.  Over Winter, worms and rain will leach and move the compost into the existing soil.

The 3rd oldest flower bed needs the most care.  The original perennials never grew well and grass took over several years ago.  I'm covering it with 2" of compost and a layer of that brown paper that is used to pack stuff from Amazon.  I plan to make that an astilbe bed.  There are a few astilbe flowers there and the like the conditions.  I found a reputable seller that offerred bright red astilbes in bulk at a good price.  Something like 45 seedlings to full the 60 sq ft space (18" spacing).  I love Astilbes!

Come Spring, I'll cut X's in the paper cover to plant the Astilbes.  The paper should decompose in Summer.

Lastly, I took advantage of the 55 degree weather to pull up all my soaker hose.  They were slowly getting buried by pant debris.  They broke in pieces.  Well, it was cheap stuff.  Next year, I will buy better.  Drip irrigation really DOES water the yard better.  I just need to get better quality drip hoses.

Always looking forward to Spring for new and better flowers and supports.

Yardwork

I'm still doing some yardwork.  I wanted a trailerful (about 2 cubic yards) of compost, but getting replacement tires for the trailer in December really set me off schedule.  But it was scheduled to reach 55 degrees today, so I decided it is never too late to put compost around..

The trip was a comedy of errors!

First, I carefully placed the trailer hitch on the back of the car.  I put the tarp to cover the trailer in the back, a rake to level out the dumped compost in the trailer, and lots of bungee cords to hold the tarp down.  Off I went.  Do you notice something I missed? I had to return for something I forgot. 

The trailer...  Yes, I actually forgot the trailer.  Backed the car out of the driveway and drove away... 

Back home, attached the trailer, got to the nursery.  Set my tarp to be held down in the front of the trailer by weight of the compost and ready to fold over the top  to keep stuff from blowing out.

Went inside and placed my request for 2 cubic yards of compost.  Gave the clerk the coupon I had for $15 off a $75 dollar order.  Now, I knew the 2 cubic yards only cost $35.99 each, so I needed to spend $3 and change to use the coupon.  But there is always something cheap to buy.  Spend $3, get $15 off...

I should have known, when the clerk walked off with the coupon, with a puzzled look, something was wrong.  Something was.  They claimed it wasn't their coupon.

I am sure it WAS.  I clipped it out of the gardening section of the newspaper, and (moreover) I wouldn't have if it wasn't that one nursery I go to.  Anyone else, I wouldn't have bothered!   But I clipped the coupons out so carefully, there is no mention of the company offerring the discount.  

I was annoyed enough to want to check.  But NATURALLY, all the old newspapers  (where the ad the coupons were clipped from) were in the recycling box picked up yesterday!

But, on the other hand, I wanted the compost, would have bought it without any coupon, so I just made a slight joke about uncertainties of ads and paid for the 2 cubic yards of compost.  Then went out back to the trailer.

Where I suddenly realized the the covering tarp was set up sideways!  And the guy was there with a cubic yard to dump.  I had to wave him off for a moment, while I adjusted the tarp to fit the right direction.

So he dumped the first cubic yard.  1/3 of it stuck in the bucket-loader.  It had been raining the day before and everything was wet.  He shook the bucket, but stuff was still sticking.  So I showed him my rake and started loosening wahat was left.  I got most of it.

The next bucket was way overfilled.  He was trying to make up for the sticky compost I didn't get in the 1st.  Nice person.  I think I ended up with 2 cubic yards.

So I started to drive home.  After I reached 50 MPH, I realized the trailer was swaying back and forth.  I pulled over immediately.  Such swaying usually occurs when the trailer tires are mismatched in air pressure or the load in unevenly spread in the traile.

But I had specifically checked the air pressure in the car tires and the trailer tires.  And I had spread the compost evenly inside the trailer.  Since the trailer tires were new, I was worried that one wasn't holding air, or I had failed to tighten some lug nuts.

I checked and everything seemed right.  So I put the hazard lights on and set the cruise control to 35 mph while I drove home.  Moat of the time I could drive on the shoulder of the road.  (And rehearsed what I would say to a policeman if I was pulled over...)

Fortunately, it was all back roads the last 2/3s of the drive and I got home safely.  So then I had to disconnect the trailer from the car so I could put the car in the garage.

BTW, the car is a 2005 Toyota Highlander, 26,000 miles and garage-kept).  I obviously don't drive for the thrill of it, LOL!

But after unlocking and unlatching the trailer, it wouldn't release from the car's trailer ball.  That's happened before.  I just have to kick it a couple of times.  But when I did, it WASN'T usual.  The front of the trailer went right up in the air (and of course the back down to the ground.

Oops, I seem to have spread more weight of compost toward the back of the trailer...  The comedy of errors was continuing.   With less than my full weight on the front of the trailer, I could push the front down.  I'm guessing it took about 125 of my 170 pounds to do that.  BUT doing that, I couldn't also put anything under the back end to hold the trailer more level.  I tried adding a few cinder blocks on the front, but I sure wasn't going to get to 125 pounds.  And I couldn't lift the back of the trailer at all! 

I could have asked a neighbor, but that's not me.  The one I would have asked was gone (no car in the driveway).  Besides, I love a challenge...

The first challenge was to loosen the tarp folded under the back of the trailer (pinned down by the weight of the trailer).  My shovel was enough of a lever, so while I stood on the shovel handle, I removed the bungee cords back there and pulled the tarp edge out. 

That allowed me to fold up the tarp to expose the back.  I use my riding lawn mower to haul a 3'x4' yard cart.  I used to shovel material from the trailer to the yard cart and then haul the yard cart to the back yard and shovel it back out again where I wanted stuff.  I learned it was easier to use the yard cart to hold buckets that I filled up from the trailer and then manually dump them where desired. 

So I shoveled out the back foot of compost into the buckets, set the buckets into the yard cart, and drove them to the back yard where I dumped them to where I expect to plant tomatoes in a new place next year. 

And as I shoveled out the back 1 foot part of the compost, the trailer gently settled forward onto the front support.  That was a relief!  But it also meant that the amount of compost I shoveled out filling the 8 buckets in my yard cart weighed about 125 pounds.  Since the trailer is 8' long the compost weighed 8x125 pounds or 1200 pounds!  I did NOT realize how heavy the compost was. 

With the back foot of compost removed, I was able to remove the back of the trailer for easier shoveling.  It was late in the day, so I only got to fill up the yard cart buckets 2x before sunset. 

I secured the tarp over the compost so that rain wouldn't wash any away and went inside to clean up.  Wile  was dogn that, I considered why the trailer had started swaying while I drove home.  

There are 2 possibilities (at least).  One is that the trailer tires say to be inflted to 45 PSI and the car tires are inflated to 32 PSI.  I don't think that matters so long as they are the same on both sides.  Uneven pressure on one side would make a swaying, but that wasn't the case.

The likliest thing is that I pushed the compost around in the trailer wrong.  The trailer tires are in the middle of the trailer.  I'm thinking that if too much weight of the compost was behind the tires, it may have caused the problem.  In past loads, the trailer has never tipped up at the front before.  So if the weight is behind the trailer tires, that may have caused the rather scary swaying. 

In the future, I will make sure to keep most of the weight in front of the trailer tires.  I was good at geometry in school.  I can picture the trailer as a triangle of 2 middle tires and a front trailer hitch.  That seems more stable than having the weight behind the tires.

I've always said I try to learn something new every day.  This wasn't exactly one of the things I wanted to learn, but sometimes negative things are educational too. 

Now I just have to empty the other 90% of the compost, LOL!

Assorted Things

1.  Got the trailer tires replaced.  It was hard work.  The tires were never removed since the trailer was bought in 1992.  One tire failed at the sidewall from simple age.  So I decided to replace both tires.  Removing the lug nuts was really hard.  And (naturally) the last one was nearly impossible.  I had used Liquid Wrench rust loosener all over the bolts several times. 

The manual car lug nut wrench was short and not much use.  I have an air-powered impact wrench, but it couldn't move the nuts at all (baffled why it didn't work).  I had to position the manual lug nut sideways and stand on it to move the nut 1/4 turn, and repeat it dozens of times on each nut.

I finally got them all off and the old rims removed.  I had special-ordered wheel on rim replacememts for 3 day delivery.  It took 3 weeks.  But I got them*.  Putting the new ones on with cleaned nuts was easier (soaking the nuts in vinegar loosens rust and an old toothbrush got into the inside threads of the nuts). 

* If I had ordered them through the local tire store, they would have done the whole replacement themselves for the cost of the tires.  But they said it would be a week.  Given that the trailer store took 3 weeks and I had to do the work myself, that was a bad decision.  On the other hand, *I* did the work and I have the pride of doing it...

2.  The 2017 gardening catalogs have arrived.  I looked up the companies at Garden Watchdog, a site that evaluates garden catalog companies.  They have a Top 30 list, and I love those, but most don't sell veggie seeds. But they also keep ratings on the catalogs that DON'T make the Top 30 list.  So I looked up some of those.

Some negative ratings don't apply to what I buy.  If negative ratings apply to purchased plants and not seed packets, that doesn't bother me.  So I took the catalogs of Territorial Seed Company, Johnny's Selected Seeds, and Burpee.

Burpee seems to be declining in quality lately and the seed prices are rising.  So * made a list of desired seeds from Territorial and Johnny's.  I did the Territorial catalog first and got an almost complete list.  Then I started a list for Johnny's.  After 6 equivalent (or identical) seed varieties, it was clear that Territorial (with a better review rating) had lower prices, more seeds, and similar shipping costs.  So I am ordering from Territorial this year.

And it is a big year for ordering.  I have lots of veggie and flower seeds that last more than just a few years (kept in vials in the basement refrigerator) and I keep a list of them including the year of purchase.  Many seeds were just too old this year (even refrigerated) and needed to be replaced.

I'm ordering 2 dozen seed packets this year.  Many more than usual (last year was only 5 packets for seeds I had run out of). 

I'll place the order tomorrow (2017).

3.  I have terrible static electricity in bed.  I have a central air duct humidifier.  It helps "some".  I bought a room humidifier for the bedroom 2 years ago.  It also helps "some".  And this year it has become annoyingly loud.

Well, one solution is to get rid of synthetic sheets and blankets.  I discovered that all my shhets and blankets were 50% polyester.  I changed everything.  I now have all cotton.  From the waterbed up, I have a cotton blanket, a cotton sheet, a cotton blanket, a cotton sheet, a cotton blanket, and a cotton sheet.  Just FYI, you NEED layers between a waterbed and you.  Water steals warmth.

And I have a cotton sheet and a cotton blanket above me.

It took some effort.  Originally last week, I was sleeping between two 750 count Egyptian cotton sateen sheets.  I hated them.  Heavy, rough, and frictional.  Trying to drag one sheet over the other as I tossed and turned at night was like dragging sandpaper over sandpaper.

I like "percale".  It is smooth and slidey.  But what I read about percale said it was 50% cotton and 50% ployester.  And I didn't want polysester because of the static.

So imagine my surprise when I was in Bed Bath & Beyond and saw 100% cotton 350 thread count percale sheets!  Hurray!  And in bright red (everything I found earlier was dull earthtone).

The percale sheets were still a bit stiff, but the adverts said after washing, they soften.  Well, my 30 yer old percale was sure soft.  So I've washed the new percale sheets 20 times.  Just kept the washer setting on "superwash" and kept resetting it to there before the rinse cycle. 

The sheets are softer, but need more washing to soften them further.  2017 project, but they are sure less staticy than the old polyester sheets or the newer sateen cotton ones! 

4.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!