New Beds

No doubt you've seen those videos of all the Europeans here for the World Cup and discovering the US isn't anything like they've been led to believe.   I've been really enjoying watching them discover what we take for granted.  There is this one French man who absolutely cracks me up.  Have you seen him -- the one who said he'd give his left croissant for a Texas brisket?  

Yeah, a bit later on, he's talking about air conditioning.  He says "It's hotter than satan's butt crack" and I totally lost it, because that's exactly what it feels like outside.  Throw in those little spawns of satan called fire ants, and I'm done for the day. 

But I supposed I'd better back up a bit and tell you where it all started.  

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.  Then he created grass.  And that grass would need to be mowed, so he created people and now you know the rest of the story.  Yesterday evening, I decided I needed to mow, and yes, I mowed the whole yard, even the part behind the fence.  There was only a little bit I didn't get finished, and I took care of that this morning.  

I'd stopped to close the back door that the cat pushed open, then couldn't get the lawnmower to start, so I took it as a sign.  Anyway, even though I waited until 7:00 PM to start, by the time I was done, I was drenched with sweat.  

As if that weren't enough, I got up this morning and started putting my new raised beds into place.  The first step was to take all of this compost out of these two beds and move it out of the way. 

Everything was going swimmingly until I disturbed the fire ants.  I got eat up, so much so I came inside and took a Claritin.  After cooling off a bit, I got back at it and got the beds emptied out.  Then I moved the empty beds over beside the zinnia bed.  

I'm going to dig the red clay out from under them before I start filling them up, but that will have to wait until it cools off a bit.  Like October.  Or November.  

That being done, I came back into the air conditioning to put my new raised beds together.  I thought it was a nice touch that they included gloves so you don't cut your hands all up. 

It was a thoughtful gesture, but alas, they were thin, and tore up before I finished the first bed.  And here it is, the first bed:  

It was pretty easy to put together, if a bit tedious because of all of those bolts.  The hardest part was pulling the protective film off.  Once I got that off, the rest was a piece of cake, but I was a bit disappointed at how easily the finish scratched, so when I put the second bed together, I made the executive decision to leave the protective film on. 

You can't really even tell the difference, other than it is slightly less shiny.  Oh, and I know the beds aren't lined up.  That's because of the other bed, the one with the bachelor's buttons and zinnias in it.  The plan is to empty that bed out after the first frost kills off all of the zinnias and slide it down just a bit so I can get the two metal beds lined up.  

It was kind of the plan anyway, to empty that bed, remove the liner, and dig the red clay out from under it so the roots of whatever I have planted there will have more room to grow, so it's no problem to move it just a few inches. 

The last step was to put all the stuff I'd dug out of the old bed back into one of the new beds -- the one I don't intend to move later, that is.  The other one will stay empty until I can get it into its permanent location. 

 As you can see, all of that compost barely made a dent in the space.  Now I understand why they say filling a raised bed can get expensive.  This one is deep enough that I can start planting annuals in it even with it not being completely full, plus it's sitting on natural soil, so the plant's roots can go down into that if necessary.  

I'm going to give it a few days to settle -- or maybe a few weeks, since we're not supposed to get any rain for several days.  We may get a pop up shower here and there, but nothing major.  Then, I'll move my new pile of compost into it.  

By the time I had finished that, I was drenched in sweat and starting to feel the effects of heat exhaustion, so I came inside and took a shower.  I'm going to spend the rest of the day in the air conditioning drinking copious amounts of water. 

I came thisclose to buying a pint of ice cream yesterday, but didn't.  Now I kind of wish I had.  It sure would have hit the spot on a hot day like this.  Hotter than satan's butt crack, as our French friend would say. 

Now for a bit of sad news.  I noticed that the peppers on one of my banana pepper plants didn't look quite right. 

They weren't nice and straight and big like the ones on my other plants.  Then I noticed that the leaves had a bit of a mottled appearance, which also didn't seem quite right. 

The last issue I saw was black spots on my peppers.  

I did a bit of research and came up with a result I didn't really like.  I had a chat with ChatGPT and she -- funny how I think of ChatGPT as a she -- basically verified what I had already figured out.  My plant has what is called mosaic virus.  There is no cure for it, so to prevent it from spreading to my other plants, I made the difficult decision to pull this one up and discard it.  I can't even put it into the compost, because the virus can spread that way, too.  I'll give it a minute or two to dry out well, then I'll burn it in my fire pit. 

Hopefully, I got it removed in time.  My other plants still seem healthy with large healthy looking fruits on them, so I'm hopeful.  

Finally, while I was out doing all of that piddling in the garden, I saw what appears to be a solid black bumblebee on one of my zinnias. 

It was smaller than a normal bumble bee, so I don't know what it was.  It was pollenating, though, so I left him to it.  

I guess that's it for today.  I'm going to go bring my laundry in, then spend the rest of the evening recovering from heat stress, dehydration, and a butt load of fire ant bites. 

Laters...

They're Here!

The first two items from my Prime Day spending spree have arrived, and those are some raised beds for my garden.  I didn't take a picture, because as of this moment, they're still in the boxes they came in.  I didn't think that would make a very interesting photo...boxes and all.  The last of the raised beds is supposed to arrive tomorrow, so I'm hoping that early Saturday morning, I can start putting them together before it gets too hot.  

I really wanted to at least start getting things in order this afternoon, but it's just too hot right now.  I don't handle the heat as well as I did when I was younger.  And since I get up at 2:30 in the blessed ay em, by the time it's cooled off enough to work outside, I'm already in bed.  

I don't plan on planting anything in them this year, so there really isn't any rush, although I may have to stick a tomato plant or two in some of them, since none of the ones I've planted have died.  On the contrary, they're all thriving.  

Once I get the beds all into place, maybe I can finally get that vlog done for you.  But don't hold your breath on that...

In other news, I finished reading Bunker Hill. It kind of took me by surprise, because I didn’t realize how close I was to the end.  The bottom of my kindle kept saying 3 hrs 45 minutes left in book.  Imagine my surprise when the next page said EPILOGUE.  I've read enough of this author's books that I should have remembered he always adds so many extras at the end -- things like paintings of the main characters accompanied by a brief biography, and in this case, paintings of Boston that had been done during that time.  I pretty much skimmed through all of that, since I already know what George Washington and Samuel Adams looked like.  

Now I'm reading A Single Captive Spark, by Emberly Ash. It was another one of those First Reads freebies -- a fantasy, this time.  I'm only one chapter in, so I don't yet know if it's going to be good or not.  I can already tell it's not going to become one of the great classics, but it might end up being an enjoyable read.  I'll be sure to let you know. 

That's about it for today.  This getting up in the middle of the night is taking its toll, but in a way, I kind of like going in early.  There's only three brazers who come in at 4:00, and one of them has been on vacation all this week, so it's only myself and Demi-god.  There's a sense of freedom and relaxation with it only being a few of us.  I hope you know what I mean. 

The downside is having to go to bed in the middle of the afternoon, which it now is, so I'm going.  

Goodnight. 

Prime Day

I spent way too much money on Amazon.  OK, one of the things I bought was a new pair of work jeans, because some of my older ones are getting pretty ratty, even though they weren't on a Prime Day deal.  I was shocked at how expensive they've become.  Fortunately, they had a coupon offer so I only paid $37 instead of $57, but let's just say I hope they last a long, long time.  

The other things I bought were for my garden, and I'll show you those when they get here.  I am still planning on doing a vlog, if I can ever get my act together and get it done. 

As if that weren't enough -- spending, I mean -- my sister contacted me this afternoon because my mother still doesn't have a headstone on her grave.  It had never occurred to me that she hadn't gotten one, because she had done the whole pre-paid funeral thing and had even planned her own service.  I guess I'd thought that would have been included, so I didn't think about it. Anyway, sis wants to get one, and has contacted us all to see if we would split the cost.  Of course, I said I would.  Eh, I can live without a dryer for a few more weeks.  But then, I kinda made that decision when I ordered four new raised beds on Prime Day deals...oops, I guess I spoiled the surprise, didn't I?  Sorry 'bout that. 

I am wondering though if when I reconnected the dryer after disconnected the generator after the ice storm, I messed something up, but I don't think so.  If I'd done that, I would think it wouldn't have taken 6 months to start tripping.  It's probably just the motor is old. Or the rollers and bearings are worn out.  

In other news, this morning at work, Cuz got all the brazers together and gave us a good chewing out because our production has dropped here lately.  I just wish I could make them understand that we can't braze if we don't have parts, or if those parts are wrong and we're spending half our day walking over to tubing putting in a re-work.  So here's the deal, if they'd keep up their end of the bargain, we would get them more headers than they know what to do with.  

Their end of the bargain is this: 

1)  There must be completed orders available to be brazed at all times.  If any brazer has to pick up a broom, or find something else to do because there's no work, the deal is off.

 

2)  The orders must have the correct number of parts in them.  If it is a 12 piece order, there must be 12 of each part -- not 11, not 13.  TWELVE.  If there are too few, then I have to stop doing my job, step away from my stand, and walk over to tubing to order a rework.  Then I'll have to go back to tubing sometime later and get the part I ordered.  When I'm doing that, I'm not brazing.  If there are too many parts, I have to stop doing my job and fill out a scrap ticket, then track down a supervisor and a group leader to get it signed twice, and finally, walk over to the scrap area to put it into the bin over there.  While I'm doing that, I'm not brazing. If any brazer has to either order a part or write a scrap ticket because they can't make tubing count their parts, the deal is off. 

3)  The parts tubing sends to the brazers must be correct, that is per print.  When I have to stop doing my job, step away from my stand, and walk over to tubing to order a re-work because management didn't make them  do a first piece inspection, that's time I'm not brazing.  Every minute I spend beating an adapter tube into place, or stretching one, or re-rounding the ends with my needle nose pliers, that's time I'm not doing MY job.  Every time I have to scrap and reorder a leg because it was smashed flat in the machine and the operator sent it down the line anyway, that's time I'm not brazing.  If I have to re-round the holes in the headers because they have burrs, or simply weren't re-rounded, that's time I'm not brazing. If any brazer at any time has to reorder a part because it wasn't done per print, or has to take time to manipulate that part to make it fit the jig, or do anything that should have been done before the part left the tubing department, the deal is off. 

Point is, they can't just stand there and yell at us if you're not willing to give us the management support we need to be successful at our jobs.  Well, they can, but they'd just be wasting their breath.  Someone is going to have to actually solve these problems, or nothing will change. That's the main problem out there.  They're looking for scapegoats, not solutions.  

Wow, I didn't really mean to get off onto that rant, but it's just so frustrating.  Especially when you've been told that management considers your department low priority, but still expect you to put out nit-picky perfect parts with the jacked up garbage that tubing sends us.  

I can't wait to get out of that toxic cesspool, I'm telling you.  

How's about let's end this post with something more pleasant, shall we?  My knitting progress:

 Yarn:  Euphoria Knits

Colorway:  I don't know, the label is illegible

Pattern:  Sockhead

Needles:  US 2.5 / 3 mm

And my new favorite song:  

Whatever my lot -- even if it is a frustrating dead end job in a toxic work place -- you are still my God.  

It is well...

First Harvest

There I was in the garden, just a puttering away, when I saw...

cayenne peppers!  It's my first harvest of the year! 

After I brought them inside and washed them, I think I probably should have left a couple of them on the plant just a tad longer.  

Oh well, they are strung up and hung up to dry.  Next time I won't be so impatient.   Let me rephrase that, next time I'll try not to be so impatient.  

And look!  Some of my banana peppers are starting to fully ripen, too. 

You can actually pick them while they're still yellow, which is what I did last year and the year before.  But, one of the gardening videos I watched said that if you let them turn red before picking them, they'll be sweeter and not have that peppery tang.  My mind interprets that as they'll taste less like a bell pepper.  

I don't like bell peppers.  I have gotten to where I can eat them, but they're not my favorite.  When I was a kid, I hated them so much I used to tell people I was allergic just so I wouldn't accidentally get something with bell peppers in them.  I do like sweet banana peppers, though.  They add just the right amount of crunch to a chicken salad.  Most of mine will end up getting pickled, though.  I've got more than I'll be able to eat before they spoil.  

In other news, I had a bit of insomnia last night, so I made the best of it and finished reading The Museum Of Second Chances.   I really enjoyed this one -- much more than I thought I would.  It's going to be released July 1, but I got an early copy through the Kindle First Reads deal.  Now, I'm back to plodding my way through Bunker Hill:  A City, A Siege, and A Revolution, by Nathaniel Philbrick.  I'm about 100% sure this will be the last of his books I read, and I'm only reading this one because I'd already bought it.  Oh, it's not a bad book, but it's not exactly edge-of-your-seat reading. 

At work this morning, Group Leader Shark went on a tear in the morning meeting, and it's about time if you ask me.  What had happened was, one of the other brazers had gotten an order in which one of the adapter tubes was bent wrong.  The funny thing is, last week, I had two orders with the exact same part bent in the exact same way.  

We decided to go tell GLS, and she said something about needing to get someone to check the programs in that particular machine.  I said, "Yeah, but if they'd done a first piece inspection like they're supposed to, they'd have caught it before running the entire order wrong."  Then the other brazer said, "Or does that whole first piece inspection requirement only apply to us (brazers)."  To which I added, "Because it sure feels like it," and pointed out that Demi-god also had an order with parts bent wrong that he was going to have to get re-done. 

 So, at the meeting, GLS said that from now on, when we get an entire order done wrong, we have to put the re-work in through the dispatcher so that the quality department can keep track, and for us brazers to take the parts back to whoever did it wrong, and they can write up the scrap tickets.  She said that if they get tired of writing up their scrap, they'll learn to pay attention.   She told them, "It's not fair for them (the brazers) to have to keep writing up your scrap!" 

That's exactly what I've been saying since we started this!  Will it work?  We shall see...

And finally, I still haven't watched a World Cup game, but if I did, this would be me. 

Anybody know how the American team is doing?  

Success!

I guess it's true what they say, the seventh time is a charm.  

Yes, someone messaged me late last night saying she wanted the kitten, and unlike the first six who'd done so but didn't follow through, she actually took him!  

In all fairness, two of the first six were in Michigan, so I probably shouldn't count them.  One of my old schoolmates had shared my post, but neglected to specify where the kitten was. 

I met them -- her, her daughter, and a handful of grandkids -- at Walmart, and they just oohed and cooed over how cute he was.  They thanked me profusely, saying they'd been looking for a kitten, and I thanked them for giving him a home, because I did not want to take that sweet baby to the pound.   I feel like a tremendous weight has been lifted off my shoulders. 

For what it's worth, there is a rescue here in town, but it is full to the brim and not taking any more animals.

Other than that, it's been a very quiet day.  I've spent most of it watching Cranford on the Roku channel.  I love period dramas, and that is one I can watch over and over again.  That being said, there really isn't much else to say, so I'll just leave you with this. 

My Viking ancestors crossed the Altantic in an open boat, using a makeshift compass. 

Today, things have come to this...

Word is, they've confiscated so much ranch from carry-ons, they could restock an H.E.B.  Oh, it's been so much fun watching them discover the real America, not the false image they've been fed by the media.  

And with that, my post for today is done.   Back to watching Cranford...

Laters.

I Don't Understand

Here I've been posting on Facebook for four days trying to find this kitten a home, practically begging people to take him, but so far no one has wanted him.  Even the people who have said they'd take him have ghosted me when I ask where I can meet them to bring him to them.  

So this morning, someone else posts that they'd found two kittens doing a DoorDash delivery and did anyone want them.  Almost immediately, someone responds that she wants those kittens.  I don't understand what I'm doing wrong.  Why are these other people getting responses, but I'm not?  

Then, someone else calls me satanic for saying that if the kitten is not adopted, it will have to be put down.  Believe me, I do not want to do that.  Just the thought of it is making me so sick I can't even eat.  Still, what are the alternatives?  But this person says she doesn't understand why tom cats can't just be allowed to be strays instead of this satanic killing of our modern satanic policies -- whatever that is supposed to mean.  

Apparently, no one ever told her where baby kittens come from -- not to mention that if I put this kitten outside, because he's way too young to fend for himself, he would almost certainly starve to death, if he didn't get run over or killed by a dog or coyote first.  Then, if he did somehow survive to adulthood, he would face a life of hunger, parasites, disease, and the risk of being run over, all while fathering a few hundred more unwanted kittens that would also need to be rounded up and most likely euthanized.  

I'd said I was going to get up and take him down to the farmer's market and see if I could find someone there who would take him, but right about the time things were getting started, some pretty strong storms rolled through.  They actually did still have the market, but I didn't go.  Maybe if no one has gotten him by next Saturday, I'll try again, but sadly his time is running out.  If I don't find a home for him soon, I'll have to take him to the pound, and we all know what that means.  

I'm really starting to regret picking the little thing up in the first place, and I'll tell you one thing, I'll never do it again!  

Because of the rain, I didn't really get much done today, but I did get a hat finished. 

Yarn:  Red Heart Bitty Stripes

Colorway:  Crayon Box

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8 / 5 mm

I haven't really done much else today, except laundry, and I'm sure you don't want to hear about that.  I suppose I really ought to make myself eat something, but I don't know what I want.  Has anyone ever tried Factor?  I've been thinking about it, because I really need to eat better, but when I get home from work, I just don't feel like cooking.  Some days, even the thought of putting something into the air fryer is simply too much for me.  A healthy, microwaveable meal would be just the ticket.  

OK, I just looked up how much they cost, and wow!  I won't be going with Factor.  Let me go see if I still have a Banquet in the freezer...

And put on an episode of Cranford.  

Laters...

Two Main Projects

So, yeah, I had a day off work today.  If you'll recall, I had to use some of my ETO hours because I was about to max out.  However, for those of you who have memories like mine, my plant has a policy that if you get perfect attendance for the month, you can earn two hours of earned time off -- or ETO.  It's pretty much the only bonus -- if you can even call it that -- we have left. 

We used to get much better bonuses.  Even our perfect attendance bonus was better.  Back in the day, it was the equivalent of a day's pay every month.  I told Demi-god that once, and he said, "If they brought that back, I'd never miss another day of work!"  This thing they have now isn't really much of an incentive, though.  As one of my coworkers pointed out, you have to get perfect attendance for four months just to get one day off.  And of course, they cap at 24 hours, or three days.   Mine would max out at the end of this month, so I had to use some so I could keep earning more.  I picked today just at random.  

By the way, Demi-god was late Tuesday morning.  Oh, his truck was in the parking lot, but he wasn't in the work area.  We were all like, "Where is Demi-god?" Only we used his real name, not his blog nickname.  I said, "Maybe he fell asleep in his truck."  Someone else said, "No, he's probably in the bathroom."  

About 4:15, he came wandering in...he'd fallen asleep in his truck.  Then Wednesday he wasn't there at all.  We were all saying, "Did he oversleep?"  We were hoping that was all, and nothing had happened to his kids.  

He came in Thursday morning and told us, "You don't want to know where I fell asleep this time." The story is, he'd gotten up at 2:00 AM to get ready for work.  He went into the bathroom and sat down to make a deposit into the porcelain bank, and the next thing he knew, it was 4:30 and his wife was waking him up.   He started to come to work anyway,  but she said, "I don't want to get that phone call telling me you were in a wreck because you fell asleep driving to work!" and made him go back to bed.  

I can't really say as I blame him.  He's got two small kids, ages 6 and almost 1, and his wife works the 2-10 shift at her job.  He's home with the kids all evening, so he doesn't get much sleep.  I feel for him, because I remember those days from when Cody was little.  There would be weeks on end that I would only get 2 to 3 hours of sleep per night.  I was working second shift then, and I had one babysitter who would put him to bed at 7:00 every night.  I begged her to keep him up later, but she wouldn't.  He'd be up bright and early at 5:00 AM, and was too young to understand that I needed my sleep, too.    

All that to say, I took today off for the sole purpose of using up some of my ETO because it was about to max out.  I didn't really have any big plans for the day, other than to get my new mortgage account set up at the new bank.   They bought out my old bank, the one I have my mortgage with.  It was pretty easy.  All I had to do was enroll on the website, and they already had all my information.  

My main project for the day was to find this little guy a home, which failed miserably. 

When I first got him, I posted in some of the local groups, and had three people say they wanted him.  Not a single one showed up to get him.  This morning, I packed him up and took him up to Walmart and sat in the parking lot for like three hours, but no takers.  Then I took him to the vet, because every time I go they have a cage full of kittens up for adoption.  But no, they said they don't do adoptions, and they wouldn't euthanize a healthy animal.  

By that time, I was hungry and needed to pee, so I came on home and put the kitten back into the dog kennel.  After taking care of the two previously mentioned issues, I went back to Walmart sans kitten and did my weekly shopping.  I didn't really need that much this week, but had to wander through the garden center anyway.  There I saw a bumble bee on a flower, and snapped a photo for you. 

While there, I bought some plant supports for my zinnias.  Once the frost kills them off this November, I'm going to empty that bed and remove the liner from the bottom.  Then I'll dig out the red clay underneath and re-fill it with good soil.  That way, the zinnia roots will be able to go deep and may provide more stability to the plants.  

I keep saying I'm going to film a garden journal for you, but whenever I get ready to do one, it starts raining.  Eh, one day I'll get it done.  Hopefully before first frost, but no promises, OK? 

Speaking of rain, I'm glad I went ahead and bought that larger clothes horse.  I have it set up in the spare bedroom, and even with it raining, I've been able to get most of my laundry done today.  I have the afghan that the cat puked on drying on it right now.  It's probably already dry, but I'm done with laundry for the day.  I'll get the rest tomorrow.  And maybe one day, we'll have enough sun I can move the clothes horse out into the sunshine and fresh air. 

My second project for the day was to start cleaning out and organizing my shed.  Alas, that was also a failure because of the rain.  Maybe tomorrow, since I'm not going anywhere, I can get out there for a few moments.  I'd been debating for years on whether to rebuild the existing shed or tear it down and put up a pre-fab in the back corner.  Here lately, I've been leaning toward rebuilding the existing shed.  It definitely needs a new roof, but the slab and frame seems solid.  If I can get a new roof and external walls up, that would be a start.  

Instead, I decided it was time to up-pot my tomatoes, since the roots were starting to come out of the bottom of their seed cells.  I put them into some old Bonnie pots that I saved from plants I bought at Walmart, which ought to hold them until it's time to put them into the regular bed.   This time, I used an idea I got from Ben at Grow Veg, and put a coffee filter in the bottom to stop the dirt from washing out the drain holes.  I don't see why it wouldn't work.  

Once they were in their new homes, I brought them inside and put them under the grow light to recover from transplant shock a bit before putting them back into full sun. 

I don't know when we'll get more full sun, though.  They're predicting rain all week.  On the bright side, maybe we'll get out of drought conditions finally. 

The not so bright side is, by the time it's dry enough to mow again, the grass in my back yard will probably be waist high.  Good thing I did the front when I did, or it would be in the same state. 

I reckon that's all I have for today.  I think I'll go make some popcorn and watch a nice documentary.

Laters. 

Well, Now

This post was going to be all about my new winter hat, which I got on a deal for only $10.

It gets so cold in my work area, and with a fan blowing on me all day, I need to wear a hat -- and scarf and jacket -- to keep from freezing.  I've been wearing my knit hats, but they tend to ride up and not keep my ears warm.  Last winter, a couple of the other brazers had these types of hats, and I thought, "Hmmm..."  So when this one came up in a deal, plus a $5 off coupon, I couldn't pass it up. 

And I've been wanting a Navy garden flag, so I tossed this one into my cart as well.  

But, as I was leaving the plant, I saw crouched in the exit lane a tiny little kitten, and people were just driving over it like it wasn't even there.  How the little thing hadn't gotten run over is beyond me, since I typically wait until most of the traffic has cleared out to even leave.  And I mean it was right smack dab in the middle of the driving lane.  

As soon as I saw it, I shouted, "Hey!  That's a kitten!"  I slammed on the brakes and jumped out of my car, and with the help of a couple of other employees, I finally caught the thing and hoisted it above my head like Simba in The Lion King. 

Then, since I didn't have a way to safely drive home with it, I put it into my lunch box until I got to the house.  Basically, I went full redneck, but the situation demanded it. 

It's such a teeny little thing, but I can't keep it. 

I don't even want the cat I have.  I certainly don't want another one.  I've advertised it in a couple of local groups, but so far no takers.  In the meantime, I dragged out the old dog kennel and set it up a place to stay.  

Hopefully, someone will want it and I won't have to take it to the pound.  

It looks like it's about 4-6 weeks old, and is already eating solid food.  It's shy and scared, but I think it will tame down pretty quickly.  

Anybody want a kitten?  

Oh, Me

You know, I had a blog post all planned out for you this evening, but it looks like it's not going to happen.  I'm tired and the words just aren't coming.  I had a long day at work, during which every single order I got had something wrong with it.  From orders not having enough parts, to entire orders of adapter tubes being bent wrong, I told Group Leader Shark I was getting really flustrated.  

Yes, I did say it just like that.  

But at long last, the work day ended...and I came home and mowed.  Just the front and the side yards, though.  The back is going to have to wait until another day, because I'm all in.  I was going to mow yesterday, but I didn't feel like it.  I didn't really feel like it today, but we're supposed to be getting some heavy rains this weekend from that tropical system that's wandering around in the Gulf, so I needed to get it done. 

Then I came inside to change clothes only to discover that the cat had puked right in the middle of my bed.  Not a great thing to happen when I am without a dryer!  One nice thing about piling fifteen blankets on the bed is that at least it didn't soak all the way down to the sheets.  OK, it's only five.  Blankets, I mean.  Hey, that window unit in the bedroom does a bang up job.  I need all those blankets!  

Speaking of, did you hear about the earthquake that hit Japan this morning -- or late last night, I'm not sure which.  I found out this morning when I was getting ready for work.  Funny thing is, one of my old college buddies is in Japan right now and she was right in the middle of that quake.  She's ok, just a bit shaken up. 

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

OK, I'll stop now.  

Not only that, One of my lifelong friends' son is in Japan with his church on a mission trip.  He is OK, too.  He said it was weird.  

We didn't have an earthquake here, but the hanger at the municipal airport fell in this morning.

  It has been falling down for several years, and if I'm remembering right, it had been damaged in a storm.  I thought the city had gotten a grant to fix it up, but somehow that money ...um...got put to other uses... Yeah, let's say it like that...

I wish people in this town understood that you can't expect anything to change if you keep on voting for the same old same old. 

But let's end this on a positive note.  I've got tomatoes!

Which I need to go water before I get ready for bed.  

Laters...

No Market Again

I did it.  This morning, I actually got dressed and drove down to the farmer's market on the square.  Alas, I had forgotten about the BBQ cookoff they have during Thunder On Water weekend.  Oh, they still had the farmer's market, but their booths tend to get pushed off to the side.  Not only that, they had the entire street leading to the square blocked off, so I couldn't even drive down there.  

Yes, I could have driven around and parked on the South side, but I didn't want to.  I turned around and drove right back to the Lee Tartt Nature Preserve and walked the Bottomland trail.  I'd made it almost to the .8 mile marker when I saw stretched across the trail the most perfect little spider web I ever did see, with a teensy little spider sitting right in the middle.   

The web was so perfect, and the spider was so tiny I just couldn't blow through it.  And with that, my walk came to a screeching halt.   Except I still had to turn around and walk back to the car, so I didn't quite screech.  

But there is one cool thing on that trail.  You can put your phone into a bracket thing and take a photo, 

then email that photo to the address on the sign, 

and it will add it to their photo stream of that location.  Maybe if I start walking that trail more often, I can record the change of seasons.  

It wasn't that hot out yet, but it was so humid that by the time I got back to the car, I was still drenched in sweat, so I didn't do much else the rest of the day.  I had done most of the laundry yesterday, and had to set up my clothes horse in the kids' room because it was raining. 

I'd said I was going to tear into that dryer and see if I could see what the problem was, but truth is I didn't really feel like it, so I left that for another day.  Instead, I told the cat we were going to take it easy today.  I did the rest of the laundry.  I piddled in the garden a bit.  I mended the garden hose -- telling it that this was the last time and if it broke again, it was going into the trash.  I tore up some more cardboard boxes and added them to my black compost bag.  I separated the little tomato seedlings and put each one into its own cell in the tray. 

After I took the photo, I brought them inside and put them under the grow light just to give them a minute to recover from the transplant shock.  I'll put them back outside in the morning. 

In other news, I watched the episode of House Hunters last night, and they actually did show the town.  There were a couple of drone shots of the downtown area, and I could clearly see the gazebo on the square.  Somehow, they miraculously managed to hide that falling down building.  Maybe because they were so high in the air, it wasn't that noticeable.  They showed a couple of shots of the lake, and the husband was very excited about the fishing prospects here. 

The realtors showed them three houses, one of which was in the nearby town of Carrollton.  As you can imagine, I was shouting at the TV, "Oh, come on!  Don't put them in Carrollton!"  Local folks will understand.  

They chose a house in Grenada, and it's funny because I'd been looking at that very house on Zillow.  No, I'm not looking to buy another house.  I can't even afford the one I have, much less a new one.  I just like looking at houses and dreaming.  

Now for something I have done in a while -- a meme debunkeration.  This one is so stupid, I can't even believe I'm having to debunk it. 

It's common sense, really.  Ticks are everywhere, just like fleas and mosquitoes.  They don't need to be "delivered" anywhere, because they're already here.  True they crawl slower than a snail, so how do they get around?  I'll give you a hint:  They bark.  They meow.   They moo.  They neigh.  They cheep, cluck, or screech.  Yes, ticks hitch rides on animals and birds.  I can't believe I even have to say that.  

The reason we're seeing "outbreaks" is because the weather is warming up and the ticks beginning to move.  Or if you're in the south, they're already moving.   It happens every spring.   Seriously, people.  Not everything is some deep dark plot to get you.  Sometimes nature is just nature being nature.  

And finally, your humor for the day. 

I feel this to the depths of my soul.  I miss the days when you turned something on and it worked.  No app.  No account.  No signing in.  You turned it on and it just did what it was supposed to do. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to sign in to my TV so I can sign in to my Pluto account, so I can watch reruns of Digging For The Truth. 

Laters...

I Knew

I knew right away what kind of day it was going to be when I got to work, got my bag out of the back of my car, then tromped all the way across the parking lot to the employee entrance.  I reached for my badge holder that I wear on a lanyard around my neck to scan in, only to discover my badge wasn't in it.  

Oh no!  It must have fallen out in my car.  I turned around and tromped all the way back across the parking lot, opened the car door and....no badge. I looked in the seat, between the seats, under the seat, even in the back seat.  No badge.  I couldn't believe it.  I've worked there for 31 years and have never lost my badge before!

Not a big deal, though.  Demi-god was still in the smoking area.  I'd just tell him to get Uncle Supervisor to let me in and clock me in.  Then I'd have to go up to HR and get a new badge, but as I walked back around the car to go into the plant, I saw it.  There on the ground behind my car was my badge!  Yay!  

As soon as I got home, I got a new badge holder thing from my junk drawer, and my badge is now safely tucked away in the holder and back on the lanyard, ready for tomorrow.  And that is the most exciting thing that has happened to me lately. 

Don't envy me my exciting life. 

In better news,  Group Leader Shark told us at the morning meeting that the plant had gotten some more orders, so we can postpone going to 4 days a week for a little while longer.  I don't quite know when that will happen, but we're all expecting it before the year is out. 

I debated on whether to go to the store today because it's supposed to be raining tomorrow, but the siren song of home was too loud to be overcome.  Alas, with a heat index of 96, there wasn't much to be done but to stay inside in the air conditioning.  

Before I did that, though, I took a few snapshots of my garden.  The zinnias are absolutely exploding. 

This little marigold was down to about two leaves before I put the slug baits out.  Now it's bouncing back nicely. 

I'm going to have a bumper crop of banana peppers this year.  All six of my plants look just like this. 

The last thing I did before retreating to the air conditioning was to move my bingo tumbler over to the garden spot.  

It'll be in full sun for most of the day, and the compost will heat up really well.  By the way, I got that bag composter from Amazon and apparently, they've redesigned it a bit.  The new ones have stiff rings that you insert to make the bag stand up better.  I'm debating on getting another one since they're only $18.  

And now for the big news:  a local realtor is going to be on House Hunters on HGTV Friday night at 9:00 PM.  We were talking about it at work, and I said, "I hope they do a better job representing Grenada than Robert Irvine did!" 

For those of you not from here, he did an episode of Restaurant Impossible here a few years ago, and everyone was mad about how he portrayed the town -- or didn't rather.  He opened the episode by driving down a road out in the middle of nowhere, saying, "I see a field.  There's a house, and another field...some trees, where are the people going to come from to eat at this restaurant?"  

I was shouting at the TV, "From the town that you're not showing!" Seriously, he never showed any of the town.  He just made it look like someone had plunked down a restaurant out in the middle of a cotton field, then couldn't figure out why no one was coming to eat there. 

Anyway, I hope HGTV does a better job.  Heh, I had to set my DVR, because I'm pretty sure I'm going to fall asleep.  When one gets up ridiculously early, one also goes to bed ridiculously early. 

Which is what I'm about to do, as soon as I get the Incarnation of Evil back into the house. 

Goodnight. 

Sigh…Again

My new lunch box isn't waterproof.  

To be fair, the tag never said it was.  I just assumed since it was a cooler -- as in, meant to hold ice -- that it would be.  But it isn't, and the way I found out is that when I picked it up to go to the break area at lunch, I discovered that it was sitting in a literal puddle of ice melt inside my brazing table.  

That's a bummer, because I liked it otherwise.  Oh well, on to plan B.  

I do have a hard sided cooler that I think once belonged to Cody, but it doesn't have all of the little pockets and things my old lunch box had.  And yes, I do need ice out there, especially in the summer.  Today, for example, it got up to 87° in my work area, and it isn't even full on summer yet.  I'll keep the new bag, though, and maybe use it for road trips.  

Like I ever take road trips...but hey, you never know.  I could get a wild hair one of these days and just take off somewhere.

Speaking of plan B, I talked myself off of the ledge in regards to my garden hose.  I'm still going to get another mender thing and mend it, but in the meantime, I dragged my front yard hose around to the back and got my spare hose from the shed -- which had nothing wrong with it, it was just too short for my back yard -- and connected the two together. It's plenty long enough to reach my garden spot, so I'm going to use it for now.  

As for the gray hose, I rolled it up, and it will now be the spare until it breaks again.  Three strikes and it's out.    

On a similar note, my new clothes horse arrived Monday, but I didn't even take it out of the box until today.  Once I got it set up in the back yard, 

I washed my sheets and hung them up to dry in the fresh air and sunshine. 

I had to use the small clothes horse to get both sheets hung up, but that's OK.  For regular loads of laundry, it'll do just fine.  By the way, it does come with clips to hang clothes hangers on, so a lot of shirts will fit.  

In other news, the baby tomatoes are getting their first sets of true leaves.  I finally bit the bullet and started putting them outside before I leave for work so they can get a full day of sun.  

It was hard to do, but I've got to let them grow up sometime.  I'm still a bit nervous about leaving them out overnight, but that may change soon, since I have to go in at 4:00 tomorrow morning.   If I'm putting them out at 3:30 ish before I leave, I might as well leave them out all night, right? 

Oh, and this time, I used a potting mix instead of the hydroponic sponges, so when I thin them here in another week or so, I'm going to try to tease the seedlings out and re-plant them into their own cells instead of just chopping them off.   I don't know what I'm going to do with them if they all survive, but I'll figure out something.  I mean, I don't know where I'm going to plant them.  My bed has room for four right now.  If these all survive, I'll have seven --  provided no more seeds germinate.  I could end up with 12!  

The last thing I did before I ran inside into the air conditioning was to move this compost bag into the garden spot so that it would be in full sun most of the day.  

That ought to get that compost cooking.   I think I'll move my bingo tumbler composter over there too...

For your laugh of the day, it looks like Louisiana man might be giving Florida man a run for his money. 

 Seriously, who didn't see that coming? 

And finally, I finished watching Lark Rise To Candleford yesterday, and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself at the moment.   Is it weird to go through something like mourning when finishing a beloved series?

Because that's exactly what this feels like...