That Great Light In The Sky

 What is that great light in the sky?

Oh, it's the sun!  It's been so long, I'd almost forgotten what it looked like.  It was so sunny, I was able to put Marty Mac outside for a while after work.  

He seemed to really like it, since they are a full sun plant.  Once it gets warm enough -- as in, it stays above 40-50' even at night -- I'll get out my old baker's rack that Beverly gave me when I moved into this house, and put him on that.  That is where he'll stay until he goes into his Fall dormant season.  

I think he's recovered from being re-potted, and is even growing some new traps.  I joined a group on FB for beginners, and have gotten some really good tips from them.  Maybe, just maybe, I won't kill this one. 

Unlike my poor bluebonnets.  Out of 72 peat pellets, this is all I got.  

Some of those aren't looking so good, either.  I took them out of the starter tray, so I can put them out into the sun during the day.  I'll probably be leaving them outside all the time, unless it's supposed to get below freezing.  

I'm going to leave the others out on the porch, too, because in the wild, bluebonnets sprout in late summer/early fall.  Maybe some of them will germinate later on the year.  

Don't worry about all the condensation, either.  It's there because I'd just put a little water into the tray.  They don't stay soggy all the time.

In other news, I finished the leg of my sock. 

I started working on the heel flap, too, and am taking pictures as I go, for my friend who wants to knit a pair for her husband.  I'm not going to post them here, though.  I'll wait until she's at that point, then do a whole post about knitting a heel flap and turning the heel. 

On a positive note, remember a few weeks ago when I posted that my sewer lines were backed up, but then they weren't?  Turns out they were.  They were draining, just very very slowly.  I got my trusty Drain King out, only it was too small.  

I tried to use it, but it wouldn't expand enough to seal the sewer line, and the water was backing up into my house.  Naturally, I did what any red-blooded American would do. I got online and ordered a larger size.  It arrived Thursday, but it was too cold and rainy for me to try it until Sunday.  When it was still cold, but at least not rainy. 

I ran the Drain King down my sewer line, and turned it on.  Aaaand, apparently, it was a big clog, because I could see water running through the other clean out (I have two in that sewer line), but it still wasn't draining correctly.  In desperation, I got the old sewer snake James gave me and ran it down there as far as I could.  A couple of spots I could feel resistance, but I pushed it through.  

Since it was still in the 40s out there, I went inside to warm up, and when I came back outside, the sewer line was clear!  I keep running outside to check it, and after two showers and multiple toilet flushes, it's still clear.  Maybe, just maybe, I solved the problem.  I'm paranoid, though, because I had to have all that whole sewer line replaced shortly after I moved in to this house.  The whole thing had collapsed.  Now, every time something happens, I worry that it has collapsed again, even though the plumber said he'd fixed things so that it wouldn't.  

I'll just have to keep an eye on things and see how it goes. 

And finally, your Texas history moment for day 6 of The Siege.