How does my garden grow...

Hmm, vegetablegarden.info actually lists seeds by Zone (10b=us) instead of vague zone (Goldenrod) like the other plant guide (that I like but may not be specific enough). WHOLE different planting schedule. This one says everything I planted was put down too early for 10b. My Turnips seem to be doing fine, but might explain why everything else gave up. Does mean I should be able to sow the seeds I already have & try them again. (Pfft says Cauli shouldn't be seeded til Oct!! /fingers crossed..
I want to try to eat some Turnip leaves. They're fighting hard because they're all so bushy. Bet they'd do just fine one-leaf-less each. Since my original schedule says my turnips should be done next Wedesday I'll pull one up to see how big it is. I can always put it back, probably.
I'm going to try to move the wee beets to their own square, overshadowed as they are by the turnip leaves, and seed a few more down. I don't like them much, but I can probably add them to one of the processor soups.
Added pix of the Conquering Turnips & the poor shaded beets. The SugarDumpling squash flowers are so pretty before the ants get them: they've already killed two squash. I need something stronger than my organic bug killer /frown/. Also, the cukes after I trellised them. They were unhappy, but it had to be done.
The woman who saved a snail last week committed mass murder on caterpillars eating cucumber leaves the other day. I stopped counting, their wriggling green bodies getting plucked & tossed if they were large, and shmooshed if they were tiny. Some were creating lil silken caccoons out of leaf edges. Eeeeeevil. I think I have one tiny cuke growing.. Pix later!!
I give up on my set-up for seedling. Need a proper one or none at all. I have only weeds a mushrooms now. That one possible cauli stalk gets taller & taller, but grows no True Leaves. Hmm.

Rosemary Turkey Salisbury steaks

Rosemary Turkey Salisbury steaks in Jalapeño Jack sauce, topped with broiled tomato and mushroom. Side: Half a baked Delicata Squash.
Tonight, baked a Banana Bread while doing some dishes, the counters, cupboard faces, half the stove, sweeping, and swiffering. I mention this because it's not as routine as you think: the place looked like half a platoon of medics had a spaghetti sauce party. Unthinkable I can get that mess with just ONE medic in the house... /grin/

Also: Discovered there were only 11 A's on that Soc exam, Highest Grade was a 96%, there were only two of them. /toots own horn.
120 students enrolled, 11 A's, 40 B's, 35 C's, 21 D's, 8 F's.

Rosemary Turkey Salisbury steaks:
(Adapted from Grilled Turkey Salisbury Steaks, in Runner's World Mag, August 2010.)

1.25 lb ground turkey breast
3 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
S/P, Olive oil spray
2 tomatoes, 1/2inch slices
1 med red onion, 1/2 inch slices
1 cup evap skim milk
1 tbs cornstarch
1/2 shredded sharp provolone cheese.

(Mine, 1 night's dinner)
1/3lb grnd turkey
1tbs ground rosemary
s/p, olive oil spray
3 tomato slices
handful of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 c Fat free evap milk
1 tbs cornstarch
1 slice Jalepeno Jack cheese, torn in small pieces.

The original recipe has you mix the rosemary and turkey, and make 4, 1inch oval patties. I made three 4x3x0.5 patties. Salt and Pepper, spray with Olive Oil, patties and vegetables.  Grill meat and onions 4 mins per side, tomatos 2 min per side. I broiled the patties 4 mins per side, but they puffed up & stayed raw in the middle, so I ended up baking them 15min. A little dryer on the outside, but great in the middle. 10 might be fine. Broiled the tomatoes and mushrooms on the same sheet, turning the tomatoes at 2 mins, and just stirring up the mushrooms.

In a saucepan whisk evap milk into cornstarch. Bring to boil, whisking constantly. Reduce to low, cook til thickened (about 1 minute) *Took about 5 mins for me. Whisk cheese into sauce til melted. S/P. Pile all onto patties, spoon cheese on top.
Originally: 290cal, 15carb, 42pro, 6fat. Not sure what mine became.

Served along side half a baked Delicata (halve, spoon out seeds, bake face down in 1/4inch water at 350 for 30 mins. Slab of butter in the cavity and away you go!)

Ga'Hoole Plushies!!

Booo, so a friend let me know that Ty had plushies out for Ga'Hoole. I didn't know they'd released them before the movie! They were 3.50 before the release, and have of course doubled since.
*Soren and Eglantine are both Barn Owls (one light, one dark), and I wouldn't mind a few more of those!
*Gylfie is an Elf owl, though he looks more like a Burrowing, and I actually HAVE a Burrowing that looks just like him.
*Digger is a Burrowing, but he looks like an Elf owl!! I wouldn't mind him, I don't have any Elf owls.  (I wonder if the page just got their descriptions confused, won't know til I see the movie.

Left to right: Soren, Eglantine, Gylfie, Digger.
The webbie with their images and descriptions: HubPages, Ga'Hoole plushies.

*Update: AH! HubPages DID mess it up :)

Hmm.. need to increase my allowance so I can get some new owl Plushies... >.> Course... I think I need a new shelf for them. They're overflowing O_O

Could an IUD be construed as Abortion?

A question for the Sons of Abraham (excluding Catholics and other sects where birth-control is a sin):

An Intra-Uterine Device prevents pregnancy (primarily) by disrupting the uterine environment chemically and (secondarily *sp) by disrupting the uterine lining to prevent implantation by a fertilized egg.

If life begins at conception, which occurs in the Fallopian Tubes, and an IUD (having failed to prevent it chemically) successfully disrupts the uterine lining and causes the fertilized egg (life) to be shed from the woman...

Is use of an IUD possibly purposefull abortion, and thus murder?

Pardon spelling errors, TreoMail has no spellcheck.

100921 Seed Pots Failure.

So, I've come to the conclusion that my seedlings are a loss. This means I will have no broccoli this time around, as the time to translate a healthy plant has passed now. Bear in mind that the sparseness you see Left is after TWO WEEKS. Pft, almost three.

~The Chives pot grew nothing, not even the little round leafed invader sprouts.
~The two broccoli pots have the invader weeds, and to brought my hopes up a little reddish-stalked sprout.
~The red cabbage pot had a strong looking seedling, but green..
~The two purple cauliflower pots had seedlings, but they looked just like all the others! Until three days ago when something sprouted up SO FAST and grew SO TALL that it fell over! Every two hours I noticed it have MOVED again! I was sure it must have been some green version of mushroom to grow that fast.
~The opal basil pot was my only hope, having a green spout with two "true leaves" beneath it that are kind of jagged.

I hadn't thought to look up what these sprouts were supposed to look like, but I knew two weeks was way too long to get no sprouts. Tonight.. I did so.

My "Basil" versus a true Opal Basil Seedling:

But look! There's a seed casing stuck to the sprout! I'd accidentally dropped a basil seed there, and expected it NOT to grow.. but it's something..  I'm keeping it anyway, just in case the "opal" they sent me were just regular basil, and even though the leaf shape if STILL not right. Sigh.

After generally finding out that most of my sprouts should have little heart shaped leaves, I grew hope for the fast growing invader from this weekend! He has heart-shaped leaves, and maybe he was a seed that only JUST sprouted! But there's still a problem, I have "Purple of Sicily" Cauliflower, and the sprout is completely green! I got both the basil and cauliflower from two different sources, so it's unlikely BOTH send me wrong versions of what I purchased.
Now I'm hoping it's a failing of the greenhouse, causing them to somehow not be colored right (though they are Full Spectrum bulbs). Click the image to see that Sicily should have purple stalks.


I also now know it's an invader in the Cabbage pot.. BUT, the purple plant growing outside IS a cabbage :D Too bad it's too late to plant more of them.

I'm super disheartened. I know my setup wasn't great, I poked holes in the bottom of yogurt cups (probably too-small holes) and filled them with garden dirt. I poked the seed holes with a pencil and didn't measure how deep they were, thinking that in such a "controlled" environment it wouldn't matter so much if they were 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch. The light (left on 16 hours a day and turned off for 8, as instructed) is a full spectrum CFL, that kind I use all over the house. I have a clear plastic sterilite box over the seed cups, to create a kind of greenhouse (also recommended to me by a website). I don't think the light or box was sufficient to warm the cups to cause the seedlings to grow. I thought initially that I wasn't watering enough, but I haven't watered at all since I noticed a pool beneath the cups that isn't receding at all. So, either they aren't drinking (but the soil is staying wet), or I over-watered. Sigh, I have no idea. I didn't want to put money out for seed starting kits just because I couldn't get certain things to start in the garden. So frustrated! Sigh. I haven't watered in a few days: still wet, still a pool, but now the pool is yellow. I'm going to mop up the stagnating water but what do I do about everything else!

I've missed my planting window for broccoli & cabbage (Aug29, to be transplanted/sprouted by Sep26), and missed the transplant/sprouted window for cauliflower (Sep05). I can't get chives to peek inside or out. The beet leaves are tiny and weak (overshadowed by the turnips I think), ants are eating my Sugar Squash flowers (thus killing future squash), and something's nibbling holes in the leaves of ALL my outsides plants regardless of how much organic big killer I douse them with! I'm terribly frustrated.

I think I'll throw this around some gardening websites and see if someone can gives the poor yellow-thumbed noob some advice.




Bibli:
Opal Basil seed photo: OrchardChronicles.com.
Purple of Sicily seedling photo: xobscura's Flickr.
Red Express Cabbage photo: The Illustrated Garden.

100918 Sea March Revel

So with my husband at drill this weekend I was disposed to venture to an SCA potluck on my own. I used to be very able to go places on my own, having been known to take a Scottish tram into the middle of Glasgow to see church's on my own when no one else was interested in going. In the last few years I've been anxious to even drive myself alone to the store! I spent an hour, dress in my fencing garb, sitting at the computer recompiling the persona I want to register (putting away Julianna Wilkins, the Pirate Captain, in favor of Katryn Weir: a late 16th Century saucy Scots-Irish). Finally, after txting my husband that I might not go at all, I put up Rook and ventured out sans Rapier Gear or Food for feast (I had not had time to go shopping).

After a few wrong turns I finally arrived... And sat in the parking lot for five minutes watching the Fighters pack up the erics, and contemplated just fleeing! So much for a Saucy Scot. Hubby finally txted that I better at least go up, and I did.

I said hi to one of the Rapiers, who remembered me from practice (wearing my cat ears helps them remember me I think). I wandered up to a couple women and basically said "Hi! I'm new! I do rapier, archery, and embroidery. Know where I can find people like that?" Name, rank, and serial number much? Banter ensued until most peeled off. Chatted with another newbie til she peeled off as well and found myself sitting alone, stitching, until a young blonde playing Oriental plopped down in front of me. Her father (Bay-luh) joined and we sat babbling two hours away. We ate together. At one point Seamus (the Rapier master) came by and confused me for someone else for a minute (somehow I owe him a Dr Who Robot costume...) but remembered the rest of me for me. I helped him serve Latkas and applesauce to the Queen and her Attendants (glee!) and returned to my new friends.

We parted after dinner so I could get back to Rook, about 9pm. So I'd spent at least 2.5 hrs there. I was glad I'd gone. They don't play here, Bay-luh and his daughter (JR in HS, she was in 2nd grade when I graduated!) but I hope to see them at Yule :)

So thankee-sai husband for making me go. I hope to relearn the confidence I once had: so annoying to be so nervous.

Honor before Victory:
Julianna et Katryn, mka Janna :)

The Overprivelaged Stupid

Is it wrong to hope that the dangerously stupid meet up with persons just as dangerously stupid as themselves?

So I was led to believe today that I may be the only driver oin West Palm Beach who actually follows the traffic laws.. I was almost t-boned today as a black coup with huge shiny rims and illegally tinted windows ran a stop-sign as a crossing where I had none. If I had been speeding, as he was, he would have hit me square in the front passenger door.

Minutes later I stopped at a red light set before a Firestation; there is another light for the true corner maybe 10-20 feet up. They turn at the same times. As I sat at the light (made so that firetrucks could exit with a clear path) TWO cars blew my light to turn at the corner!!

A block up I was in the right lane at a red light as my right-turn was shortly after: an SUV crawled up on the grass and sidewalk to make the right turn!

Who ARE these people? What makes them think they are so important, privelaged, or impervious? Is it wrong to hope they meet with people like themselves and effectively wipe both sets of stupid off the planet??

Here even at work, where people complain about having to comply with ever-changing rules (which would be annoying) but one woman today actually complained that she couldn't park in her garage because there are no basements in Florida. Woman... You have a $1,000,000 home with uncounted rooms, a double wide front door through which I can see your huge foyer and crystal chandelier, yet you can't fit two of your three cars in your 2.5 car garage? OUTRAGEOUS! Too privelaged for anyone's good..

PS: You can remember all you like the day a man would do ten tasks to make you happy, but after a while you simply pray that he'll do ONE, the ONE you specifically asked him to.

PSS: On account, I have no stew to bring to the PotLuck. My own fault, I should have gone to the store early this week. Now I wonder if I should even go... Maybe the SCA is dead for me. My husband doesn't care for it, and I have no friends here.

The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

Ah, to Wait, and Hope.
How sweet it is, when I finish a novel I loved, to sit and let the feeling of it carry me a way for a few moments after turning the final page. What an amazing book. It is the kind of story that clings to you, and you can tell that your mind may be changed forever.
It was hard not to over-notice the Shakespearean 'Romeo and Juliet' thread, which (though pervading all cultures in history) was probably not so overused in popular novels at the time of its penning as it is now, thanks to popular media. Very interesting was how it started with the perception that Edmond and Mercedes were the Star-Crossed-Lovers. Equally interesting was how I came to almost loathe Mercedes: I have a hard time with masochistic piety. I originally misaligned the hearts of the two (to me) important women, but with the Herreras effectively written out came to adore the end result.
I'm the end I'm very excited to move on to another Dumas novel, but wait until my next shift only so that I might get ANY studying done. I haven't got much at all done, being riveted to the book as I have been.
And on a note to James:
After reading the book I agree: the movie (while still a favorite due to the guys-with-swords thing) IS weak-sauce in comparison. The kind of neutered and mangled it actually...

My Second Anniversary!

Today I woke up to the sight of a dozen roses on the coffee table. <3, this is actually the view from the bedroom door. I had to work overnight, so we connected via phone to wish each other a 'Congrats, you survived me this long' at midnight. He had tricked me, that evil thing! I came home and the house was a total WRECK! I'd asked him to do the dishes, but the kitchen looked like something exploded. I went to bed grumpy (not looking forward to cleaning the house on my anniversary) and tired (yesterday at work being trying enough: the guards aren't the bad-guys, the guards have to enforce the RESIDENTS as well. Hmph.)

When I woke up, not only was the house spotless, but those roses were on the table, and he offered me three different breakfasts! I chowed down on stuffed clamshells a breakfast beer (reserved for special occasions). We had a fairly normal afternoon (I wake at 1400) and set reservations down for Melting Pot! I wore the dress he bought me before our first anniversary, an embroidered lavender halter that I adore!

The dinner was magnificent! I have not had another that was so FUN to eat! I did manage to burn myself several times, but he didn't marry me for my grace. They had a special "Big Night Out" going on, and we ordered that. Lobster, ahi, steak, porkloin, chicken, lime-citrus shrimp, potatoes, mushrooms, omg it goes on and on. The first course of bread, fruit, and cheese dipping sauce was fantastic. That horseradish really gets you after a minute! The salad was actually three open face spring rolls! Dessert was (according to special request) dark chocolate with Chambord. Ab...solutely... delicious. My husband gave me the whole piece of cheesecake, and COVERED it in the raspberry-dark chocolate. He actually 'spackled' the sides! I waddled out of there one fat, happy, wife.

We spend the rest of the night hanging out, though while he fought off insulin-induced-coma to finish an English paper, I'm pretty sure I was racked out on the couch, with the dog, for two hours. He woke me up so I could put him to bed, and here I sit. Married two years, and happier for it.

12 hrs in a running car w/o A.C, in FL.

So the kid who worked Patrol last night was either a moron, or feigned being one so he'd never have to sub for patrol again. Either way I hope he never does.

He waited until none hours in to his twelve hour shift, that is: until two a.m., to announce the vehicle was out of gas. He claimed to not know how to fll it up. Being at the gatehouse I gave him the instructions given to me. When he claimed to not know his PIN, I gave him mine. He left, and ten minutes called me from the gas station claiming it wasn't working. I had yet to fill the vehicle and so couldn't be much help. He kept claiming he needed "two more numbers". I referred him to North Gate. Apparently that didn't work either so he returned to site with three bars (approximately thirty percent) of gas. I told him to take it easy, sit in Cul de Sacs once he was finished with checks, and I would take care of it tomorrow when Lt gave me instructions. (I later had to help him fax his end of shift reports.)

When Lt came in to relieve me at the gate I informed her of the vehicle's status. She was very upset, claiming he'd done plenty of patrols and filled it up plenty of times, and she's tired of him "playing stupid." She informed me of the procedure and gave me her PIN, should mine not work.

When I came in at 1700 I went to go fill it, the young man from the night before now at the gate and telling me the card is locked. Having few other options I went to go try anyway. Indeed, the card is locked. I called Lt and was informed the Area Manager could not come to fix the card until 0200. I was instructed to do Ghost Patrol: no A.C., windows down, drive 10mph, and stop in cul de sacs for 10-15 minutes at a time, idling, to conserve fuel.

So... On a day it stormed earlier (and may storm again later), at 85°F, 74% humidity, partly cloudy, I'm sitting in a vehicle, windows down, a.c. off, bugs slowly filling the car, while douche-mcgee sits in the guard shack with 70°F a.c., watching youtube and grumbling cause the A.C. keeps numbing his fingertips and the end of his nose.....

I... Am not amused. Two days in a row god has sought to smite me. Whatever I did, I was sorry yesterday. I'm sorry today. And I really loathe that boy...

Cramping on a Monday? No fair..

The first day of cramping, always your Monday, is the day that:

*You'll oversleep.
*Pull your workshirt out of the dryer with more hair on it than when it went in, but with two missing buttons.
*Your apps won't load.
*You leave the house late.
*Everyone drives 5 under.
*The guy in the souped-up piece-of crap stalls at the light.
*The day the old lady, who has to look out the side window cause she can't see over the dash, goes 25 in front of you over the bridge.
*Among other ridiculously irritating little things.

I dunno what I did to piss God off... But I'm really sorry.

100906 Vegetable Garden Exploded, with GREEN

So, while for some reason I cannot get the Blogger or Picasa to play nice, and thus this post looks like garbage, the garden itself BLEW UP in the last four days! LOOK how BUSHY they got! The turnips are almost a shrub in comparison, and the cucumber got so tall it finally fell over and shot out tendrils! I reaaaally need to device a trellis of some sort, and soon. The Bamboo and netting idea got shot down when I learned I cannot attach anything to the siding of the house. The stucco is concrete or something.

Look how it blew up!

The squash, still yellowed, but taller!

The Cukes have tendrils!

Persian Shield in his new pot

My Garden

Soldiers Rock Gaga's Telephone.

In case you guys don't remember the Corpsman bustin moves to Ferglilicious (one of my favorite YouTube finds of all time) Click below for a review.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SK9lhRtkG8

Now, in the same spirit comes another fantastic find: soldiers deployed to Afghan-land with a whole music video to Lady Gaga's "Telephone". Dude with the reflector belt dress gets many points. Omg, I hope none of them ever want to advance very far, though I think they should get promotion points for extreme creativity.



Now if you excuse me, I need to go watch my Corpsman shake his Fergie-Thing again.

Quinceanera

My husband just wrote about the obsolescence of the Quinceanera. In it's CURRENT incarnation I agree; however, I agree with its foundation: graduating a from girl to woman. We have our own "Western" way of it now, High School Graduation, even some Sweet Sixteens. This Sioux Coming-of-Age Ceremony represents what that graduation should be, and used to be.
I may be biased: watching an informal ceremony where a Duke's son was pronounced a man by his father, around a Mixed Weapons fire, by the giving of a dagger and a repeating of the deeds that proved that boy a man... It struck me. Being a Man, or Woman, should carry responsibility, be a proven title, not just an age limit.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129611281

Dumpster Diving.

Is it shameful to go Dumpster Diving after watching a kid get evicted from an $80,000 condo? My New-in-box Cedar & Crystal chess set says no.

I also scored a New In Box 6-Bottle Liquer pourer (should resell nicely) and 2 decorative short Samurai swords.

Win.

Disney's teasing me..

So, I'd gotten behind on my Disney Half-Marathon training. Then, in a rough patch, stopped running. Its been 16 days since I ran. For the last few days it's been poking at my brain; I'm starting to see ads for the Disney Runs EVERYWHERE! I'm getting emails from Active.com telling me to sign up. A three-page-spread in my RunnersWorld Mag teases me. An article in another mag, simply stating "A 'relapse' to an earlier stage doesn't mean you failed!", makes me think they're taking to ME!

Sigh. I wonder if it's too late to pick it back up. I've already missed the first sign-up date. I keep convincing myself I don't have time, when if I HAD motivation I'd FIND time. I really want to run it... How do I get out of this slump!

100902 Vegetable Garden

So, it had been a while since I got to post pics of the little garden. A great many didn't grow: broccoli, chives, Basil. I'm going to try to start them inside, though it's supposedly too late for the Broccoli. The Winter Squash got tall, but there's some yellowing lower leaves. The Thinning of the Turnips and Beets (After Rook trampled a bit) took alright, until she trampled through it again. Now it looks like I may get 4-5 beets and a ton of turnips. I put up this spiky willow thing to try to keep her out, so far so good!

Oooh Ahh!

Winter Squash!

Cucumber

Turnips and Beets

Cabbage?