Learning how to grow potatoes Part 3 by A. Nonymus

Planting Idaho Russets

The volunteer russets got re-planted in large tree tubs and in about a week they are already full up with soil mix to the top, and the plant stems still rising about 18-20” above the lip!?. I can see now that much deeper containers would be better, but so far they seem to be thriving quite nicely, although the tops are so 'leggy' now that some are starting to lean and fall over with apparently with no damage.

Yield should be, according to the information, about 5 good potatoes from each stalk. I have about 10 stalks in each burlap bag with fingerling potatoes. I'm hoping for a yield of about 50-ish fingerlings from each bag. The tubs of Idaho's only have about 5 large plants each, so I'm hoping for about 20+ per tub, although some sources suggest that grocery store potatoes, if they grow at all, never 'grow right'.!?

Everything I read reminds also to keep some as starters for next year. We shall see. Harvest time is best in September and October, so plenty of time to grow. I'm reminding myself however not to 'count chicks before they hatch”.

Next year I will likely try the 'garbage can' techniques for the large Idaho Russets, but continue to use potato bags for the smaller fingerling and gourmet 'taters'. Online I found a specially made bag just for potato gardening. It's designed to provide air and drainage, and is reusable. It's apparent even now that the burlap bags will probably be a one time use, as the burlap is clearly wearing from water, sun, and weather, although – so far - they are keeping the dirt and potatoes enveloped, and appear strong enough to make the whole season.

The potato harvest endgame is, theoretically designed, to just dump the bag or container out and voilà ... ya just collect the potatoes!

[Editor's note: This story is Part 3 of 3 and was written by A. Nonymus.]

In an old country song, "The Arkansas Traveler", there is a talking narrative between musical verses, where the city slicker is dialoging and questioning the farmer on the porch, and trying to be friendly he asks the farmer...

“How did your 'taters turn out?”... and the old curmudgeon farmer replies... 'They didn't turn out... I had to dig 'em out!!”

Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Learning how to grow potatoes Part 2 by A. Nonymus

Planting Fingerlings

I pre-sprouted the fingerlings in an old egg carton in a process know as 'chitting' – a way of creating green sprouts prior to planting - it was recommended to separate by colors and not let them touch each other. They had been mixed when I got them, but I separated by colors. It only took about a week for the fingerlings to begin sprouting in the egg carton. The yellow and red sprouted quickly. The blues didn't sprout but they got planted anyway.

Once they started showing shoots in the egg carton, I planted them in the 3 bags, one bag with the yellow, one bag with the red, and one with the blue. I rolled the bag sides down, like old socks, and filled each with about 6” of garden soil and straw mixture.

From the very start, the yellow fingerlings seem the more robust, with the reds not far behind. The blues are much slower and may not do so well.

After about 6 weeks, it's time to add more soil to the bags to keep the stems covered. And this is the brilliant part: roll up the bags as the dirt is added to keep the stems covered constantly as they grow. When the bag is completely unrolled and filled to the top with soil/straw mix, the stems will have been kept covered to the 'max', which in theory, provides maximum yield. So far everything is going to plan.

I'm not really sure yet when to harvest potatoes, but one source suggested waiting until the top growth is dead, and another source suggests harvest as they grow to induce more tubers. I'm leaning toward the view that its best to just wait until the plants and leaves die completely, which provides maximum energy and growth time to the tubers... and lets face it, it's a lot easier on the harvester too.

[Editor's note: This story is Part 2 of 3 and was written by A. Nonymus.]



Fingerlings

So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

A. Nonymus

We have a robust and vigorous garden this year – with some special projects and new frontiers to conquer. Everything is in containers and the garden is thriving.

In spite of crazy Gulf Coast storms, unseasonable cold and early heat, bad techniques by the farmer, false starts, sundry bugs, birds, over watering, and haphazard fertilizing, the container garden is just thriving beyond any reasonable expectations, reminding me of the line in Jurassic Park... “life will find a way”!. Ain't it the truth!?

Our containers use commercial garden soil, some also mixed with water retaining soil mix. Most veggies are in good ol' garden soil. All the potatoes are layered in a mix of garden soil and straw. I'm using a granulated (dissolve in water to apply) fertilizer about every 2 weeks (when I remember).

As a first, we have been having fun with potatoes this season. Our first ever effort with potatoes on any 'serious' level. Many years ago I had tossed some seed eyes in the ground, and got a few puny potatoes. The results were so disappointing I never tried again. However, this year – on a whim - I decided to try again with a bit more serious effort.

I'm growing the potatoes in containers; some in large tubs, and others in bags. I'm really focusing on the “bag” system, which so far has exceeded any expectations by a mile. All the fingerlings are in burlap bags, and the Idaho's are in the big 5 gallon containers. I'm really pleased that all of the 'taters' seem to be thriving, much to my astonishment. I have been learning more than I ever expected about growing potatoes.

Happy gardening!



Cucumbers



Learning how to grow potatoes Part 1 by A. Nonymus

In researching how to grow potatoes in a container, I found a lot of great information online, and discovered that one person had great success with fingerlings in bags. I scrounged up 3 old burlap bags and followed the instructions on a YouTube video, filling the bags with a mixture of straw and garden soil to about 6” deep to start. The plan is to add soil and roll up the sides of the bag as the stalks grow. Then we planted each whole fingerling about 10 per bag, and covered by several inches of soil mix.

I learned that it's important to keep piling soil up around the stem of the potato plant – which induces more potatoes, as the tubers grow from the covered stalk. The bag system is perfect, since you roll down the sides of the bag to start, but then add dirt as the stems grow unrolling the bag upward. In theory, when the bag is fully unrolled and full, you will have a nice yield from each plant.

This concept of mounding dirt around the plant stem is also applied to the 'garbage can' system. Start with a little dirt in the bottom, and keep filling as plants grow. Tip the can over to harvest. Of course the can needs good drainage. Some special tubs are available online, but I think I'll get a 40 gal. plastic trash can and drill good drain holes at the bottom along the sides for next year.)

But just try to find burlap bags!

After asking all around and calling various vendors with no luck or leads, I finally got lucky at a local feed store, and they gave me 3 old burlap feed bags. I was surprised that I couldn't find burlap bags anyplace. Problem solved this year, by a stroke of luck.

I recently found a source online for reusable 'potato' bags made exactly for container potatoes. I'm sure that next year I will give those a try, as it's already apparent that burlap, at best, is a one season use item.

After 2 months, the bags are holding – but just. So next year garbage cans for the big potatoes, and the commercial bag system for the delicates varieties and fingerlings.

[Editor's note: This story is Part 1 of 3 and was written by A. Nonymus.]



Fingerlings in Burlap Bags

So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

A. Nonymus

Our new garden venture this season: The Magnificent Potato

I planted two kinds of potatoes: large Russet “bakers” from Idaho and multi colored “fingerling” gourmet potatoes which were kindly provided by my Chef friend. The potatoes started on a whim, when I found some sprouted baking potatoes in the bottom of the bag, and seemed to have started growing strong and thriving shoots.

These volunteers were some especially beautiful large and tasty bakers, Idaho Russets from Sam's Club. Sis suggested that I just cut out the eyes 'n shoots and stick 'em in dirt and see what happens. I found some old pots, filled 'em with garden soil and plunked in the sprouted eyes, and much to my genuine surprise, they sent shoots up quickly and soon became quite bushy.

In short order, due to this sudden success, I had to transplant them from their starter pots to large tree sized pots. I was pleased to find they transplanted quite well, and the bushy leaves and stalks are now quite tall and robust. I have reasonable hope for a few nice Idaho Russets at the end of the growing cycle.

Nothing beats a great baked potato. I'm already planning to make the garlic, basil, and chive butters in anticipation … Yum Yum.


Transplant Potato

Desks

My desk doesn't have drawers like a traditional desk. It's a table top with a pull out ledge that is only wide enough to hold a computer keyboard. I didn't realize how cluttered it looked until I took a photo of it the other day.

Actually, the clutter is organized. Adding a second computer to the desk top increased the number of cords and plug-ins that had to be pushed aside, but when I added the large flat screen TV that connected to one of the computers, things really got squeezed.

It has taken years to achieve this combination of what I call my 'comfort and proficiency' zone. I can't enumerate the items I have on the shelf above the computers. Some items have been there so long I have forgotten their purpose, but they were important at one time, and they might still be important, so it's best to leave them as is.



My Messy Desk

The Recipe Box: White Yeast Bread

White Yeast Bread

From the recipe box of MrsB/Esther

I baked bread the other day using a two loaf recipe my sister sent me.

Instead of making two loaves, I made one loaf and a pan of rolls. After baking, they looked like a magazine picture and tasted as good.

A few days before I had experienced a miserable failure with a recipe for cinnamon-raisin bread. Using the mixer to knead the dough was a technique in bread making that I had never used before and I hadn't used enough flour. The concoction I ended up with had to be tossed.

Now that I've had some success, I'll try the raisin bread recipes again. Using the mixer is a lot less work than the old fashioned way of kneading dough on a floured board.

Ingredients:

1 pkg active dry yeast
1/2cup warm water
2 tablespoons melted shortening
1tsp salt
2cups warm water
5 ¾ to 6 ½ cups all purpose flour
Note: milk instead of water may be used.
If powdered milk is used mix with flour.

Preparation:

1. Soften yeast in ½ cup warm water.
2. Using a mixer, keep adding flour until dough is smooth and elastic.
3. Place dough in a greased bowl, and grease top of dough.
   Let rise until doubled in bulk.
4. Punch down and shape into loaves. Recipe makes two loaves.
5. Bake @ 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: using the mixer eliminates kneading the dough on a floured board.



Finished Bread

Let me play among the stars

'Let me play among the stars' from the song, 'Fly Me To The Moon' has been running thru my mind since I started sewing diamonds for eight pointed star quilt tops. Three quilt tops to be precise.

This project came about in an interesting way. My sister Esther, mentioned that she had a large number of fabric diamonds cut out for eight pointed star quilt tops and asked if I would like some. Of course I said YES!

She mailed me enough cream colored diamonds to make 20 stars and enough diamonds in a beautiful rose color for 20 stars and enough in a lovely blue print fabric for 20 stars. She also cut out and mailed me the squares and triangles from fabrics she had on hand that goes nicely with each of the three star colors. Each star has to have 4 squares and 4 triangles to make a quilt block. It takes 20 blocks in rows of 4x5 make one double bed quilt top.

So you can see that I'll be playing among the stars for some time to come.

Esther is also sewing eight pointed stars for a quilt. We like to work on similar projects at the same time so we can compare notes in our computer chats. We live miles apart now, but in the past, we often working together on a quilt. Once we got our assembly line organized there was no stopping us as we took turns cutting out the pattern and running the sewing machine.

Sewing eight pointed stars can be tricky. All the center seams of the star must come to a point and the Y seams of the triangles must also match. If not sewn properly, there is a lot of ripping and re-sewing. I've had enough practice ripping in my life time, so I am being careful and sewing as precisely as I can.



Fly Me To The Moon

The Recipe Box: Green Chicken Chili

Green Chicken Chili

From the recipe box of MrsB

While Esther and I talked recipes, I told her about a soup I had when I lunched at Luby's the other day. It was called Green Chicken Chili . I Googled Luby's for the recipe and discovered they have several variations of the recipe. The kind I had was White Green Chicken Chili with a creamy milk base.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
3/4cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk
3cups chicken broth
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1//2 cup chopped green chilis
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of garlic powder

Preparation

1. Over medium heat, melt butter and stir in flour. Add milk and chicken broth, stirring to avoid lumps.
2. Reduce heat, add chicken and chilies. Bring to simmer and serve.
3. The more chilis added, the spicier the soup.
4. Optional: Heavy whipping cream and a can of green enchilada sauce.

Green Chicken Chile

And they say dogs are dumb by KimB

Spring doesn't last long in the central valley of California. The summer is already announcing it's arrival with temperatures reaching the 90s.

We've made some adjustments to the house in hopes of avoiding the worst of the 115F heat to come. We added some fans, some new honeycomb window coverings on 3 windows that face west and get the full blast of the afternoon sun.

There's no other way to say it.... It's Just Hot!

As transplants from the cooler ocean side of California it always amazes us at how people here handle the heat, or rather don't. Both Allen and I lived in Arizona and we retain the old custom of "walk in any shade you can find."

It used to be a standard joke that you could tell people from Arizona because they would walk from one tiny bit of shade to another, even if it meant walking an extra 50 feet. When we get out of the car at a mall, we walk from one lollipop tree to next lollipop tree just for an extra 3 steps of shade.

For some reason, people here seem oblivious. They by pass any shade even if it's 1 foot away. They go out in the hottest part of the day. They run and jog and do parkour even when the trees are wilting.

The worst part is they take their dogs with them or rather tow the dogs with them. It's so hot the dogs are leaning towards any shade they see. When the owners stop at a crossing to wait for the light, the dogs are picking up their paws because the sidewalk is so hot. An owner stops for 100 pushups and the dog lies down, tongue hanging out, at the farthest end of the leash, to get to some shade. The owner just keeps doing pushups in the full blast of the heat of the day. You can almost hear the dog say to their owner, "Yeah, just keep on doing those pushups, I'm cool over here, you get all hot if you like."

The owners come dressed for heat. The standard attire here all year round consists of shorts and a tee, sandals/light weight sneakers. Hats are optional. Even most businesses recognize shorts as standard business attire. The dogs are not always so fortunate. Heavy coated Huskies and St. Bernard's get towed thru the worst of the heat. The local pet groomers do a landslide business in shaving long haired dogs for the summer.

There seems to be an inverse correlation between heat and sense. The dogs know to get out of the heat, the people don't. And they say dogs are dumb....

[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB.]



Spring in the Central Valley

Between a rock and... a potato? by KimB

I'm a city kid. My family came from farming backgrounds and I like to pretend I'm a “country girl” but really I'm just a city kid from the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Like the story Game of Thrones, I “know nothing John Snow”, about gardening. Everything I've learned has been from books or by trial and error. I have had some pretty good luck with all that book learning for growing things, except for one: I cannot grow potatoes (hangs head in embarrassment).

The long epic story of potato growing attempts came from years back, when I watched a TV gardening program, that showed “how easy” it was to grow them in a container.

“OK,” I thought. “That's the ticket. I'm growin' some spuds!”

Well, years later and my spud growing attempts have never been all that good. Yet, I keep trying. I go for the challenge now. Hope is a marvelous thing.

I've tried a number of techniques over the years, based on tips from other gardeners who claim they get huge spuds. I think these stories of “giant spuds” must be akin to the “giant fish that got away” stories that fishermen tell. Yet, I duly note down new ideas or things to do to help with the taters. Nothing much has mattered so far.

I recently, asked a friend from Belarus, how do they grow potatoes there.  Everyone knows they grow loads of potatoes in that part of the world and her family has a small farm where potato growing is a necessity for food.

We went down the list of things I was doing. Dirt – yes. Potatoes for planting – yes. Fertilizer (organic) – yes. Water – yes. It didn't seem there was much I was missing, except the output part: actually getting more potatoes than I started with.

So, we moved along from the growing part to the harvesting part. For the biggest ones, harvest when the plants die back - check. Small ones you can get when the potatoes bloom - check.

After that she was stumped. “That's all there is to it.” she told me.

I said, “There must be something else? Something that I'm not getting right? I plant them, fert them, care for them and water them. There's something not right. If I were living in Belarus, I would have starved by now!”

Then after a pause, she said, “Well, you don't have to water them too much.” LIGHT BULB!

After a quick review of my watering routines, she determined that I was giving them too much water. Of course, I was pretty sure this really wasn't the problem but I agreed to cut off the water to see what happened.

Soon the plants died. Great! Or maybe not... Just dried old sticks in a pot. How attractive.

On a whim, I stuck my hand into the dried out compost left in the pot, just to test. The first thing I felt was this large rock. I wiggled my fingers around this rock, it was pretty good size rock. I couldn't figure out how a “rock” got into one of my planting containers. Did someone throw a rock in when I wasn't looking? How could a rock get in here? I wiggled my fingers around the rock to remove it from my pot. I was pretty annoyed that someone, some how, had put a huge rock in my pot.

After a good yank, I got the rock out.... I nearly fell over in shock with what I had in my hand: A potato! A REAL potato! And there was not just one, but a lot of potatoes! And more and more potatoes kept coming out of the container!

Addendum:
It tasted WONDERFUL. Just nuked with a bit of butter. And, I have another container of potatoes that I'm looking forward to rock hunting in.

[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB.]



Potato Harvest May 2013

Sewing Machine Woes Update

My trials and tribulations with my sewing machine continues.

I anticipated sewing with my new $80 machine with the re-designed spool spindle sans frustration, but it wasn't long before I was spending more time 'fixing' the machine to sew than I actually sewed.

The project of sewing diamonds together to form 8 pointed stars should have gone smoothly, but I had to re- thread the machine as each diamond was joined.

At first, I thought adjusting the various dials according to the manual was the solution, but, alas, that was not the answer. Perhaps a burr on an internal casting either cut or broke the thread every time I re-positioned a diamond to sew on another.

What to do Percy? What to do?

I liked the machine and thought an exchange at the store might be in order. What were the odds of an identical machine having the same problem? While pondering this question, a friend, who restores and sells Singer Featherlight machines, offered to sell me a Singer 301A for a reasonable price.

No need to ask What to do, Percy? What to do? Before he could change his mind, I accepted his offer.

This machine is the best sewing machine ever made and I”m lucky to have one. It only sews a straight seam, no zig zag stitches and it lacks an automatic needle threader, but for my quilting purposes I couldn't ask for a better machine.

I'll find out if my sewing woes are over when I get the machine and start sewing.



Singer 301a Sewing Machine

So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

Kim

A picture is worth a thousand words... I wish there were a thousand bites to share.



Mini Zucchini

Sewing Machine Woes

My sewing machine broke, but I didn't realize it was broken. I thought a thread jam was the reason it wouldn't sew, but after cleaning the bobbin race, it was obvious something was wrong, possibly broken.

I hoped what ever the cause, it could be repaired, but the clerk at the repair shop said that labor and the replacement part would cost more than a new sewing machine and suggested I just buy another machine.

A new machine similar to my broken one was $74 at Walmart and the bill at the repair shop would have been $100. The decision to buy new was a no brainer.

After diligently comparing the stats of the various machines, I chose a later model of the same brand as my old one, and was a happy camper as I looked forward to working on my latest sewing project.

New features in design promised ease of sewing, but the 'updated' changes in the design of the bobbin race were too radical for me. It was frustrating and I longed for the old style. After researching sewing machines online, I found one, but it too had 'updated' the spindle for holding a spool of thread.

I finally resigned myself to acceptance of the world wide penchant for changing what works to what 'modern' technology calls progress. I returned the $74 sewing machine and purchased the $80 model I had seen on the net.

I'm back sewing on my project, and so far, so good. The sewing is going smoothly and the machine is enough like my favorite old fashioned style that I can cope with the spool holder as needed. I don't see the reason for having changed it, but I suppose beginner seamstresses will think it the best style, never having known the best, original design that never failed until some bright person thought a change was necessary.



Sewing Machine Bobbins

 

Othello the Fine Fellow by KimB

Othello is nearing 2 years old now. We got him from the local shelter a year ago and he's a wonderful but quirky addition to the house.

He is really attached to Allen and follows behind as Allen does chores. He likes to keep an eye on things to make sure everything is "just so".

He has a play toy that he carries around and brings to Allen when he wants to play chase. When he was younger, Othello did all the chasing but now, he runs just a short way then stops to wait for Allen to come and pick up the toy to toss again. I think, he wants Allen to have "fun" chasing the toy too.

He loves to run up the stairs with me in the morning to my computer room. He has a cat tree with a box on the top that sits under a window. In the mornings, I pick him up to put him in the box and we snuggle together looking for the morning birds flitting outside the window.

He's learned to sleep on our new recliners. At first, he was a bit scared of the motor sounds, even though they are quiet. I think he was perplexed by the movement more than the sound though.

Like most cats he loves snoozing in the sun and we learned he likes bath towels so snuggle up in. So, we put one on each recliner so he can have his "blankies" as he moves from chair to chair.

Like our previous kitty, Zazu, he's learned all the places the sun hits and he heads there for long naps. Like her, he knows what time the sun will be at the top of the stairs and when it is at the bottom. He even knows when it is time to move to the recliners for optimal sun bathing.

His quirkiness shows up from time to time by getting into "attack mode". It seems to overcome him occasionally. He gets a hard look in his eye and fixates on something: usually Allen. In a flash it's a hard grab with all 4 paws and enough teeth to make sure you know, "I've got you!!!" He's very strong and you can hardly unwind him. Allen has a rattle-bottle nearby in case of "pending attack". We've learned to short circuit most of these episodes but once in a while he gets through. When Allen spots him starting to have "that look", he scolds Othello and the episode often passes with a hop into his lap and a snuggle and head rub.

While we still miss our Zazu, Othello has brought a lot of joy and a fair amount of mischief to our house. We wouldn't want it any other way.

[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB.]

Othello the Fine Fellow
2 years old

The Big Six O

A few days ago I started wondering how we determined that sixty minutes made an hour. Why wasn't the number fifty or seventy chosen? We could have chosen any number, so how did it happen that it was 60? When we learned to count why did we pass ten and chose a higher number?

Our lives are divided into segments determined by hour units of 60 minutes each, which in turn measure 60 seconds. Our circadian sleep rhythms adjust to 'daylight saving' in springtime by moving the hands of the clock forward an hour and in the fall by moving the hands of the clock back an hour.

Our activities are determined by the 24 hours of clock time. Jobs are measured by hours spent at work. We plan school semesters around calendar days of 24 hours. Television programing is scheduled in hours of clock time.

My knowledge of math is shallow at best, but at some time in my past, I learned that zero did not exist in ancient numbering systems, but does that fact have anything to do with The Big Six O? It's a mystery to me. So... I did what computer users do...I went to the internet to search for the answer. I googled.

There are bones and other artifacts with cuts in them suggesting tally marks that date back to 30,000 BC, but the beginning of counting is speculative. The invention of number forms occurred in India and transmitted thru Arab cultures into Europe.

The Babylonian numbering system started about 1800 BC but it was developed from the much older Sumerian civilization. Babylonians used only two symbols representing the number one and number ten. They did not have a zero.

They used two ones for 2, three ones for 3, four ones for 4, etc. They could use these two symbols to count to 59 but the number 60 looked like the number 10. The Babylonians never had a symbol for zero, but they used the idea of zero by leaving a blank area or space or a small wedged apostrophe between number characters. Using only two symbols, Babylonians could represent any whole number, however big.

Babylonian numerals

We use nine characters, plus the symbol for zero. We do not have a symbol for ten. They developed a positional system listing numbers in columns with the power of 60 rather than ten like we use. Base 60 is a very good system. Many numbers will divide into it, 2 3 4 5 6 10 12 15 20 30. We use base 60 for hours, minutes, degrees in a circle, etc.

Phoenicians who originally used cuneiform script later invented the alphabet which is the basis of our modern alphabet.

Our modern numbers derive from the Hindu–Arabic numeral system. The designs of the numbers have changed over time to the ones we currently use.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0 (zero)

Window Washers

What a wonderful surprise patients at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee got when three window washers, dressed in Spider Man costumes, waved to them while washing windows.

The men spent four hours waving and shooting silly sting at the children as they cleaned the windows on each floor of the building. Smiling children waved back; the distraction a momentary forgetfulness of their problems and illnesses.

A similar event took place at the Children's Hospital in St Petersburg, Florida when Spider Men window washers made several trips from the top to the bottom of the high rise building waving to patients as they worked. What a lovely gesture bringing smiles to patients and staff alike.

Patients in Pittsburgh were barely awake one morning when Spider Men window washers, rappelling down the facades of the building from roof tops 12 stories high, started waving to those inside.

Super hero window cleaners deserve a medal for bringing a little fun and pleasure into the lives of sick children.



Spidermen suiting up

Spiderman on the Job

The "New" have arrived! by KimB

Our new Bodie Power Rocker Recliners have arrived and we've been giving them a good workout.

We bought the rechargeable batteries, 1 for each chair.  The batteries are about the size of a 1lb block of butter. The charge lasts about 2 weeks and it takes 4-5 hours to recharge. The battery has a cord that you plug into wall outlet so you can use the chair while it's recharging. The batteries have a LED light that changes to green when the battery is fully charged.

The batteries also make a "beep" when they get low on power so you know to plug them in.

The first time though, I thought it was a smoke detector low battery warning beep! We were running around the house trying to spot the failing smoke detector. We couldn't figure out why the smoke detector was going off as we had recently changed all the batteries.  We figured it might be a bad battery, so we ran around looking and listening. When we couldn't find which one was failing, we went to sit in our new chairs and the "smoke detector" went off every time we sat down.

Pretty soon, we figured out: It's coming from the CHAIRS! Allen and I, both had a great laugh about it.

[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB.]



Allen in his chair

At the AT&T by Richard

Frances and I went on Feb.7th to the AT & T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Golf Tournament, in beautiful Carmel.

We were in luck, because it didn't rain, but it was cold. The sun felt good when the clouds passed by.

We set up our chairs on the 3rd green, all wrapped up and watched all the players go by.

We enjoyed hot coffee and lunch and left for home about 2 o'clock. On the way home we stopped at the In & Out for a great hamburger and more coffee.

It was a long day and we were glad to be home in our warm house with our dogs.

[Editor's note: This story was written by Richard]



AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

A. Nonymus

Houston Garden Report - #1
The First Day of Spring – March 21, 2013

How-dee from H- Town! Well it's that time again!!

I've been putting in this years attempt at a garden – again... I'm reminded of the classic definition or 'insanity' … repeating the same actions... but expecting different results.. [lol].

I had been planning to give another try at a garden this season – and in recent days, whilst pondering 'n cogitatin' on it as the weather got nice, I got a bit of a shove when I found 44 miniature roses in 4” pots on clearance .. and after a bit o hagglin' got 'em all for $25!! … the basic garden I had seen in my near future, had jumped out and grabbed me, moving near future to right NOW!! Hopefully, this future, doesn’t put me in the 'past-ure' [wink]...

I gathered the roses up, and got'em home. This greatly accelerated and necessitated the need to rapidly dust off the sundry accoutrement and remnants of our previous years container gardens, and I quickly lined out a revised battle plan of attack. The small container garden of veggies would now encompass color and flowers !!

This was quite a push, as my gardens have a mixed history - with some having been very nice and productive – and others … well, not so much.. see previous comment on 'insanity' [wink].

Now the flowers are an exciting new feature this season … and hopefully will add a nice bit of color and character to our usual cast of veggie suspects – tomatoes, peppers, squashes, cukes, herbs etc.

This year we are also toying with onions, garlic, and I'm quite excited about experimenting with fingerling potatoes. I received a wonderful selection of fantastic fingerlings donated by my Chef friend; lovely yellows, red, orange, black & blue skins – and about the size of extra large eggs. I found some great videos on YouTube on ways to grow fingerlings in burlap bags – perfect for small / container gardens.. I'll add the links below. I've also put in some Idaho baking russets from the store that had sprouted – separated in an old bin. It will be interesting to see what turns out.

I'm going with a nice simple and basic herb bed – the traditional basics – Cilantro, Basil, Mint, and Spearmint – with onions, and garlic in the separate potato bin.

We're trying out a “Topsy-Turvey “ tomato kit - you know the one on late nite infomercials. It's a hanging upside down earth filled bag, planted with a nice hardy cherry tomato, which is already thriving and has many tiny flowers. This bit of fun seems quite promising. My gardening friend had one last year, and marveled & bragged at the results. So we're enjoying the promise of a long season of cherry tomatoes.. and hopefully won't have to fend off the birds, possums, and various critters that may be laying in wait for those most delicious morsels of goodness.

Another first: We are trying to grow some items from seed. I've never done well at germinating / sprouting, but the feed n supply guy said they are almost foolproof ...usually [wink]. From seed we are going for – cukes, Asian small eggplant, and 2 exotic bushing squash.

There is a nice variety of peppers from starter plants; Mammoth jalapeno, Bell – red n yellow, banana, gypsy, jalapeno, salad cherry peppers, and one volunteer hot jalapeno that survived from last year.

Keeping the lineup simple in the tomato department – cherry [hanging basket], grape, Big Boy, Lemon Boy [yellow]...

Gardening tips
New information to me, and worthy of experimentation...

Just learned about growing potatoes in a burlap bag … wonderful stuff, and excited to give it a go... see the links.

Another green thumbed friend suggested I add Epsom Salts and a multivitamin tab in each pot as cheap fertilizer. She swears this is like magic! Apparently, the Epsom Salts are especially good for roses, tomatoes, and peppers, but makes all plants lusher and greener. My friend insists that the yield and quality was amazing and I was highly encouraged to pursue this. After Googling this, it seems to have merit and the folk lore has been around for years with good scientific and anecdotal results. Use the cheapest products, which is usually available at the 99 cent store.

So now we're off to the races... the garden is pretty much in place – Here are some photos, and a few links that I found with great information on growing potatoes , the basic 411 on Epsom salts, and using human multivitamins for the plants.

That’s about it for now... I'm reminded that a battle plan is only effective until the first shot is fired, then gets tossed immediately out the window [wink] ... hopefully we will not have too many curves in the road. The regular problems are planned for – as best as possible – the heat, drought, mosquitoes, bugz n critters... oh and laziness – rofl!

Ciao for niao – H-Town signing off until next time.

Links:

[Editor's note: Some of these sites have mandatory preview ads or other merchandising on their sites. Please exercise good computing practices when visiting any of these links.]

Videos:
Potatoes in a bag.
Fingerling Potatoes
Epsom Salt as enhancer for color and yield

Blog:
Multi-Vitamins as enhancement

[Editor's note: This story was written by A. Nonymus.]



Container Row



Tomatoes Roses Peppers Cucumbers

Herb Box

Ski videos

There are some extraordinary ski and snow boarding videos on the internet. I never get tired of watching the expert twists and turns with the magnificent spray of powder snow as a skier swerves to change direction or come to a sudden stop.

I marvel at a skier's ability to keep their balance as they glide down steep mountain slopes. To successfully fly thru the air when taking one jump after another is a skill that looks effortlessly, but it requires perseverance and courage to master.

It's one thing to ski down a hill or mountain with a ski on each foot, but some do it on one board ! As if that isn't accomplishment enough, they also take jumps to become air born so they can do somersaults and all manner of maneuvers in the air before landing upright. That is really pushing the limits!

One of the web sites with ski videos is that of Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort in Whistler, BC Canada. You can tool around their site and see other interesting things like different web cams and info about snowfall etc.

Whistler Blackcomb video The Wonder Reels: Episode 4 - The Deep is an astounding video showing two skiers on a mountain run, one is on a snowboard.



So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

Kim

The race is ON! Spring has sprung and the race to the first tomatoes is going at full speed.

I bought some more seeds that are special for container gardening and also some unusual seeds to try out. I bought some miniature eggplant, miniature bell peppers (yellow and red). I also bought some seeds for tomatoes that are red, orange or black. Plans are for more container zucchini and cucumbers too.

The miniature watermelons were not successful last year so I'm skipping those.

I've already planted multi-colored carrots and the seedlings have started to popping up. The taters are LOOOKING GOOOOOD after the winter too. I'm making notes to myself, to give them lots of fertilizer this year. I even got some fish emulsion liquid for later on.

I've started some of the more delicate seeds indoors using some plastic cold drink cups. First, I used an ice pick to punch some holes in the bottom for drainage.  I found that the ice pick holes are too small for the water to escape well, so I used some pruning shears to clip out a small triangle in the bottom on both sides of the cup.  You can just get the shears to catch on the bottom edge and it makes a good enough hole for the water to drain.

[note: The cut actually forms a diamond; the section on the side is a triangle and there is a matching triangle on the bottom of the cup from the snips.]

I wanted a gentle method of watering them. So, I took a plastic water bottle and punched 4 ice pick holes near the top to use. A gentle squeeze on the bottle and just enough water comes out.

Seedling Cups

Watering Bottle

Spell Checkers by KimB

I cannot type.

I cannot type fast.

I cannot type without making errors.

In the online games I play, we call this "typonese". It comes from a) not knowing how to spell and b) from trying to type a lot of information in a short time to another player. Most players understand whatever it is you are typing just the same.

Spell checkers help but sometimes you have the problem that if you don't know how to spell it to start with you can't find the correct word to use.

Google has started to add a dictionary to search results. I guess they figured out that a lot of people like me, use Google as a dictionary, just to find the correct spelling of a word.

Spell checkers are like GPS systems, they can only take you places you already know about. It's hard to get a GPS to show you the directions for: I-Want-To-Go-That-A-Way. With spell checkers it's hard to get them to show you: How-Do-You-Spell-The-I-Dunno-How-To-Spell-It-Word.

[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB.] 

The Spell Chequer Poem

Eye have a spelling chequer,
It came with my Pea Sea.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss Steaks I can knot sea.

Eye strike the quays and type a whirred
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am write oar wrong
It tells me straight a weigh.

Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your shore real glad two no.
Its vary polished in its weigh.
My chequer tolled me sew.

A chequer is a bless thing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right all stiles of righting,
And aides me when eye rime.

Each frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed too bee a joule.
The chequer pours o'er every word
Two cheque sum spelling rule.

The original version of this poem was written by Jerrold H. Zar in 1992. An unsophisticated spell checker will find little or no fault with this poem because it checks words in isolation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spell_checker

Six Word Stories

Narrating a story in six words never occurred to me but since reading that Ernest Hemingway is credited with the following 'For sale, Baby shoes, Never worn', I've been playing with words and creating my own six word stories.

Composing a meaningful story with such brevity is quite an amazing challenge!

Obviously I've come late to the table because when I googled for examples, I discovered many web sites posting six word stories the public at large submits.

Six word stories reminds me of writing newspaper headlines for my High school journalism class and my attempts at composing English Haiku with seven vowels.

Here are two of my six word stories:

• Ransom asked, Paid, Dog back home.
• Phone call, Winner notification, Wrong number.

OK, so they're not terrific...... lets see what YOU can do.....

For some really great ones, check out the following web site: Six Word Stories

I think you will be amazed.

Six Word Story E Hemingway

Birch Trees

Our sunny winter days hint of spring but the trees beyond the parking lot are still leafless. Rising high above surrounding buildings, they look like thin black pencil streaks; their hard edged silhouettes contrasting sharply against the pale blue winter sky.

Appraising the unbroken line of the tree trunks, I suddenly realized that I hadn't seen a birch tree in a long, long time. Where had all the white birches gone?

As a child, they were as familiar to me as oak and black walnut trees. In those far away days, many groupings of two and three birches graced the lawns of neighbors and dotted the countryside. Seeing bits of white bark, loosened from the trunk and hanging in tatters, was as familiar a sight to me as seeing robins hopping across lawns, hunting worms a few feet from passersby.

I grew up knowing Indians used birch bark to make canoes, but just how a canoe was made was a mystery. I never asked and I am not certain anyone would have been able to tell me if I had asked. Now the 'how' no longer remains a mystery. The following fabulous YouTube tells and shows all!

Building a Birch Bark Canoe

Out with the old... by KimB

Allen and I have decided to dump our old leather sectional in favor of a new pair of reclining chairs.

We've had our couch for 20+ years and it's in need of repair. The seats need to be replaced and per some estimates the cost of repairing the couch is very near the price of a fancy new chair. So we decided to go "lookabout" to see what's available.

We went to Sears but they had sold out every chair they had. The place was a zoo and the sales person could barely be bothered to talk to us. So we headed off to a locally owned, more upscale furniture store in town, called Gary O's Furniture Store.

We had a very nice and knowledgeable young man, show us all the ins and outs of the chairs available. There were a lot of choices and options!

The first thing we discovered was that a manually reclined chair was not going to work. Allen couldn't push hard enough to get it into lying down mode and couldn't push the foot rest down to get it back upright. A surprise fact of old age: we are not as strong as we once were. We remembered Allen's mother, Shirley, couldn't recline her chair either and regularly tipped it over trying to get it to lie flat.

So, we revised our view and looked at power operated chairs. Almost every chair is available with a power option, so it was down to basics again. Comfort, usability, size, shape and fit.

Just like Goldilocks and the three bears, some were too hard, some were too soft, some were too small, some were too big. But just like her, in the end we found one that was "just right". We opted for a Bodie Power Rocker Recliner in dark brown leather.

The power option allows us to recline to any angle we want. The leather will be easy to care for and durable. Cloth would have been shredded quickly by the cat, Othello, even though we keep his claws trimmed short. The pillows on the back are very comfortable and are soft enough to adjust to your back when you move the recliner to any position. The arms are just right for us shorties, with nice soft arm pillows for support. There is an optional rechargeable battery that you can get, so that you don't have to have the power cord crossing the floor.

We gave it a good test run and Allen nearly fell asleep in it while at the store.

Our chairs will take about 6-8 weeks to come in, as they are made to order. We are already looking forward to sitting in them and watching all the upcoming episodes of Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones.

[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB.]

Bodie Power Rocker Recliner

So How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

MrsB

This is the first plant actually grown from the many avocado seeds I germinate in glasses of water. It developed twin seedlings and I wonder if any of the seeds that are beginning to root will double.



Avocado Plant

Avocado Plant

Top Secret ?

While I was watching and listening to a YouTube video of bagpipes playing Auld Lang Syne, the words, 'Top Secret' on the right side of the screen caught my eye.

Never having seen anything on YouTube called 'Top Secret', I was curious. After watching a video called Top Secret Drum Corp, I read about them on a wiki page.

Its a 25 member, non-military precision drumming corp called, 'Top Secret Drum Corp'. They are based in Basel, Switzerland. After a performance in Edinburgh in 2009, their fame has increased with performances in Europe, United States and Australia. A movie is currently being made about them.

Although they follow some aspects of traditional drumming corps, they play at a faster rate and are more playful and humorous than military drummers and they come up with new routines. Some have incorporated fireworks and strobe lights.

The drummers and color guard members are highly dedicated drummers with diverse day jobs as bankers, civil servants and factory workers and give their free time to practice every day of the year. The nature of the work is demanding and membership frequently changes.

There are other YouTube videos of the group including one in 2012. The following is the one at Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2009

Top Secret Drum Corps

Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2009

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!



Hourglass

Goodbye 2012

Hello 2013

Happy Winter Holidays

Happy Winter Holidays

Pieter Brueghel the Elder

  'The Hunters in the Snow' 1565



Utagawa Hiroshige

'Night Snow at Kambara' 1833



Ivan Shishkin

'In the Wild North' 1891



Vincent van Gogh

'Landscape in Snow' 1888



Edvard Munch

'New Snow on the Lane' 1906



Claude Monet

'Snow at Argenteuil' 1875

Theater: A Christmas Carol by Richard

Frances and I enjoyed the performance of Charles Dickens', A Christmas Carol at the San Jose Rep. It is a beautifully story about Christmas during the 18th century, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the textile industries; when children labored long hours under poor working conditions.

The cast with their costumes, the music and the dancing was wonderful to watch. It reminded me of the Christmases we all shared years ago back in Iowa Falls.

We are about ready for Christmas at home now. The tree is decorated, the outside lights are up and we are all most done shopping, thank goodness!

We are going to our daughter's house for Christmas Eve dinner, for which we will bring Dungeness crabs and French bread. On Christmas Day, after church, we will prepare a late breakfast for everyone at our house where the grandsons and family will open all the gifts. After everything is unwrapped and the excitement dies down, I will tidy up and take my afternoon nap. That evening, we will have Christmas Day dinner at their house.

After all the hustle and bustle of Christmas events, we will head off to our place in Morro Bay for New Years and a well deserved rest.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[Editor's note: This story was written by Richard]



Dungeness Crab