Gymnastics And Heat.

It's been rough, today.  All kinds of rough.

It started when I stayed up late Monday night to watch Clark Kent turn into Superman and win the bronze medal for the men's gymnastics team.  Then last night when I stayed up to watch The GOAT Simone Biles and the women win the gold. 

And by "stayed up" I mean,  I was laying in bed watching on my Kindle.  I'll admit I kind of dozed off a few times, but managed to catch at least all of the US women's routines.  And they did show all of them, unlike with the men when they just showed a few.  You know, someone mentioned that men's gymnastics isn't that popular.  Well, maybe it would be if NBC would actually...you know, show it. 

Still, I regret nothing.  The men's team was absolutely lit, and Simone...well, she was Simone, and we all felt a little like Snoop Dogg watching her.

Speaking of Snoop Dogg, they did random drug tests out at the plant this afternoon and I know they got at least two people.  Then they had a meeting telling us all that since somebody got shot out in the town, people can no longer bring their lunch bags to the assembly lines.  I asked the HR lady specifically if the clear bag policy meant we can't bring our personal coolers into the plant any more, and she said we could put them into our lockers.  I said, "What about the ones who don't have lockers?"  She said, "Well, they can't bring them to the lines."  But what are they supposed to do, then?  

It's bad enough that we can't bring our insulated cups, but now we can't even have a small cooler of ice to keep a bottle of water or Gatorade in?  And they can't figure out why no one wants to work there...

As if that weren't enough, three were three brazers out today.  Well, technically four, because they never replaced the one who quit a month or so ago.  Then two more left at 9:00 AM.  So that leaves us with 6 brazers -- or 50% manning.  Did they send us any help?  No.

Did they cut us some slack knowing we were very shorthanded and stayed off our butts about not having headers?  Also no.  

Every time I turned around, one of the supervisors was up there looking for some headers.  We did the best we could, but you can't get 100% work out of 50% manpower.  They don't get that, though.  I guess they think if they yell and scream enough, we'll somehow miraculously pull completed headers out of thin air.  

Then Group Leader Shark came around and told some of us to come in at 4:00 tomorrow, so maybe we can catch up.  What gets me is how in the world is counting their parts not a job requirement in tubing?  They say it isn't, and never has been.  Why in the world would they not be required to count?  Or check to see if they're correct, for that matter.  But apparently, neither one is required based on how many times we brazers have to re-order stuff because we didn't have enough parts, or they weren't done right.  

But look!  They filed down those screws that were sticking through the bathroom partition in that one stall.  

In other news, it's the last day of July, and after the little break we had last week, summer is back in full force. But there is hope on the horizon.  

Candy corn hit the stores this week, and there will be football on the TV tomorrow.  

Oh, and I almost forgot.  The fence guy finally called me back.  He apologized for the delay, and is coming out tomorrow afternoon to give me an estimate.  Woo Hoo!

Now, I'd better get to bed.  Goodnight. 

Addicted

I told you it was like an addiction.  Canning stuff, I mean.  Yep, yesterday afternoon, I cut up, pickled, and canned those colorful peppers I'd bought Friday.  

I kind of wish I'd mixed the colors up a bit more when I was putting them into the jars, but I didn't think of it until just now.  But there they are.  I had just enough white vinegar left to do four jars, and coincidentally, I had just enough peppers to fill four jars-- with two of the yellow peppers left over to put into the chicken salad I'm going to go make here in a little bit. 

I had a bit of a scare when I opened the canning pot after the proscribed time to find one of the jars had tumped over in the water.  Nothing seemed to have leaked out of it, though, and it sealed up just fine, so I think it'll be OK.  I did a little research and some folks have suggested putting lidless empty jars into the canner to fill it up, so I might try that next time I only have a few jars to do.  

I've spent most of the weekend switching back and forth between watching an old BBC hospital show called The Royal and watching Olympic events.  I'm not going to comment of the controversy of the opening ceremonies because it's already been hashed and re-hashed to death, but I do want to support the American athletes.  They had nothing to do with what France cooked up, and shouldn't be punished because of it.  

NBC, of course, still has the absolute worst sports coverage ever.  I was trying to watch men's gymnastics qualifying rounds, and they only showed like one or two routines on each apparatus.  I wanted to see the whole meet.  If you don't have to work, you can watch events live on several channels, but I'm going to miss out on that because I do indeed have to work.  I think I'm going to have to stay off FB until it's all over, because there are results being posted everywhere for everything.  That's one advantage of having a memory like mine.  By the time I get to watch any of it, I'll have already forgotten. 

On the other hand, having to get up at 3:30 AM means I can't watch their prime time coverage anyway, because I'll already be in bed.  I guess I'll have to settle for highlight reels in YouTube. 

Anyway, I managed to finish another hat,  

and cast on a new one while doing all that TV watching.  

I've got enough ready to send, but since my printer is still on the fritz, I may have to contact the SCI to send me some.   

Speaking of work, I had a day off today to to my doctor for a follow up about my pre-diabetes.  I suppose I should call it insulin resistance, because my A1C has never really been high enough to be considered pre-diabetic.  It's close, but not quite there. 

Overall, he was pleased with my progress, and my bloodwork showed my A1C was down to 5.8, so apparently I'm doing something right.  I showed him the daily glucose readings and he said they weren't too bad, but optimal fasting glucose is around 80.  We talked about exercise and how important it is.  I said I have good intentions, but right now it's just too hot when I get off work and because I have to be there so early, I can't very well go before.  He suggested I do squats throughout the day, so I'm going to try that, at least until it cools off some.   Like in September. 

He also said I was down 8 pounds from my last visit in April.  I was surprised by that.  I knew I'd lost some weight, but not that much.  I'm not actively trying to lose weight; it's just coming naturally with healthier eating.  We also talked about Christmas and how that's where I struggle.  Every year, I always say I'm not going to go crazy with the sugar, but every year, I go crazy with the sugar.   Eleven months out of the year, I'm fine, but when those Cherry Cordial kisses and egg nog hit the shelves, I totally lose control.  I've googled and there are plenty of sugar free egg nog recipes, but those kisses....they're my Achilles heel.  

I'd had every intention of driving out to the lake after my appointment and walking a Pokémon Go route, but it was already starting to get hot, so I figured I'd better come home and mow before the heat dome settles in.  I got the front and side yards done, but the back will have to wait.  If I can ever get a fence guy to come out and put up my privacy fence, I won't be worrying about the back at all.  I'll mow it when I feel like it.   

Nope, I still haven't heard back from Bulldawg fencing.  I'm thinking I might have to take my friend's advice and go through Lowe's.  I wonder if I can use my veteran's discount for fence materials.  I don't remember there being any restrictions. 

And finally, I've been going through my old t-shirts and tossing the ones that need to be tossed.  That is, the ones with holes in them.  I'm keeping the ones that the design is just faded, as long as the neck isn't frayed or there aren't any holes.  Today, it's the shirt on the left that's going to the great beyond. 

On a whim, I also got the 25 and 30 year anniversary shirts and laid them all out for a photo.  I'm telling you, I never ever thought that place would still be in business after 30 years, but stranger things have happened.  

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd better get that chicken salad made. 

Laters. 

Random Thoughts 💭 Of A Friday Evening

1.  Guess what I am?  Can you guess?  Go ahead and guess...What am I? 

2.  They replaced one of the toilet paper holders at work.  How can you tell? 

Yes, those are what you think they are.  Well, if you think they're the points of the screws all the way through the partition into the next stall, they are. 

3.  I bought peppers.  

I don't know why.  I don't even like peppers, but they were so bright and colorful I couldn't help myself.  Maybe I'll pickle them.  Some of them at least.  I may cut some up and put them into the chicken salad I'm planning on making this weekend. 

4.  Nice try, scammers.  I don't even know what Coinbase is!

 5.  So far, my makeshift scarecrow seems to be working on my one remaining sunflower, which is to say that nothing has ripped holes in the cheesecloth and eaten the seeds yet.  

6.  In case you didn't figure it out, the answer to #1 up there is tired.  Yep, I'm tired.   I'm so tired, I dont' even remember what it's like to be not tired.  

7.  I'm going to bed now, but first, I guess I'd better get that chicken out of the freezer.  

8.  Laters. 

9.  By the way, I started saying that when I watched an old British TV show called The Cafe.  It's up on Britbox, so I've been watching through it again.  I was going to cancel my Britbox after catching up on Vera, but I haven't even finished that show yet.  I did get a nice surprise, though.  I thought it was $12.99 per month, but no, it's only $8.99 per month.  I may hang on to it a little longer.  At least as long as the overtime holds out. 

10.  The fence guy was supposed to come this week to give me an estimate, but he never showed.  Sigh...I guess I've been --well, I can't even say he ghosted me, because he never showed up in the first place.  I'm going to give him a few more days before I go with another fencing company, because maybe all the rain has put him behind.  At least he could have called and let me know something, though.  Oh well, that's par for the course around here. 

11.  I really am going to bed this time. 

12.  Oh, I almost forgot!  There was another earthquake in Texas today.  I wonder if my friends who live in that area felt it.  I must go ask them. 

13.  Laters, for reals.  

14.  I mean it.  I'm going to bed. 

15.  Good night. 

Dear Coworker

 Yes, my hand touched yours, but I can assure you it was accidental incidental contact as we both reached for the door handle at the same time. 

I was not agreeing to marry you, so there is no need to get so excited. Calm down there, buddy. It ain’t happening.

Thank you 

That is all

Prime Day And Birthdays

Happy Birthday, Onyx!  

And happy birthday to the other snakes, too.  Well, not so much.  Onyx is the only one I actually have a hatch date for, so I've made his birthday the default hatch date for all the others, too.  Onyx, Sunset, and Slider are all 20 years old today, and Blaze is 19.  I was going to try to get photos of all four of them, but only Onyx was out and about.  

OK, moving right along....

Last night while I was laying in bed, I had an idea.  I know some people hang up those disposable aluminum pie pans to chase birds away from their gardens, so I thought I'd give that a try.  Alas, when I woke up this morning, I couldn't find a single one in my cabinet.  I'm pretty sure I'd tossed them all out last summer when I was cleaning out the cabinets.  So, I did the next best thing. 

I got strips of aluminum foil and draped them across the flower.  Like so...

When I got home this afternoon, wonder of wonders, I actually found a pie tin -- in the snake room, of all places. I quickly got it hung and hopefully, it'll do the trick.  

While I was out there, I also noticed that it's time to replace Old Glory, as she's getting a bit ragged. 

On a completely unrelated note, I have no idea why I have Edinburgh in my world clock. 

Honestly, I didn't even know it was there until I accidentally opened said World Clock while trying to see how close it was to quitting time.  

Oh, look!  I did a vlog!  Heh, I had a brief moment of panic when I checked the video and there was no sound.  I couldn't figure out what I'd done wrong.  I'd double checked to make sure the microphone was on, but still....then I remembered I'd turned down the volume on my phone.  

Whew!  It has sound!  I did it right after all!  Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. 

By the way, my friend Marcy has a blog at Amnicon Studio, and a YouTube Channel by the same name.  Go check her out, if you don't already follow her.  

And here is all my stuff lined up boringly...

And this, which wasn't a Prime Day purchase, but they put it into the same box anyway. 

 By the way, I already tried the salted caramel popcorn protein shake.  It's pretty good.  

But now I need to go get some solid food to go with it.  

Laters. 

Dang, Again!

Well, dang it again!  I came home from a very long, hot, tiring, frustrating day at work to find...this. 

Something had clawed through the Walmart sack and got my sunflower seeds.  It's got to be either a squirrel or a raccoon, because I don't see a bird doing this much damage just since yesterday.  I've still got about half of the seeds left, but they don't look or taste ripe to me. Yes, I tried one. 

I put what's left of the flower in a vase of water, hoping the seeds will go ahead and ripen, but I don't know.  We'll have to see. Meanwhile, I put some cheesecloth around the last sunflower I have left and soaked it with NEEM oil.  Maybe that will stink enough to keep away whatever keeps getting my seeds.  

I have absolutely no explanation for this, so let's just move along, shall we?

And finally, 
 

As if everything else going on isn't enough, there was an earthquake in Texas and an eruption in Yellowstone. 

What a time to be alive!  

Bummed

Well, I had a completely different post all planned out for you today, but when I got home and saw my sunflowers had all been broken off, all that went out the window. 

These were my favorite ones, too!  I have some serious bummerage going on here.  For perspective, this is a photo I took Saturday afternoon. 

 Could have been birds, or squirrels, or even the deer.  Or maybe that raccoon I saw a few weeks back.  

Whatever.  I think I'll just sit here and knit. 

Laters. 

Quiet Weekend

Well, I'd intended to go out to the lake after work yesterday and walk another Pokémon Go route, but by the time I got off, I was just too tired.  It wasn't even that hot, but the recent rains had driven the humidity through the roof.  Oh, I had good intentions...but you know what they say about those. 

So, I came on home and made six jars of pickled jalapeno peppers. 

I liked the recipe I found, because you measure the spices and stuff directly into the jars before adding the peppers, so you don't have to estimate how much of the spice mixture you need to mix up.  The original recipe said it made four half-pint jars, but I had enough peppers for six, so that took the guesswork out of mixing up those spices.  I did have to adjust the vinegar mixture, but that wasn't any big deal, once I knew how many jars I'd need.  

Into the canning bath they went, and fortunately I found a recipe that gave step by step directions on how to do a proper water bath, so I think I got that part right this time.  It said once I got them out of the water to leave them alone for 12 to 24 hours, so that's where they sit.  

I tried to print some labels this afternoon, but my printer is messing up.  I've tried to do the head cleaning thing like ... four times, and it's helped but hasn't completely solved the problem.  I've also changed out two of the ink cartridges, so that's not it.  I finally got frustrated and gave up for a while.  I'll try to figure it out  later.  Like maybe tomorrow. 

Alas, now I'm out of stuff to can, and that's too bad, because I think I'm hooked.  

I used to have a canning pot years and years ago, back when Cody was little.  James and Beverly had some pear trees in their yard, and I canned some of those every year, until the poison ivy got too thick and the trees stopped producing.  Maybe once I get my new fences up, I can plant something that will bear something I can can.   

By the way, someone came out and looked at the house next door -- the one that's up for sale.  I was outside checking on my sunflowers when they drove up.  That's the only reason I knew someone had come by.  I don't know if they've come before and were just taking a second look or what, but they only stayed about ten minutes.  That house doesn't have central air and only has one bathroom, and the kitchen seriously needs updating.  They've already dropped the price once, and I'm thinking they may need to drop the price even more before it'll sell. 

On a similar note, the fence guy is supposed to come Tuesday.  I'm going to get the privacy fence on that side first, because that's the side I feel most exposed on.  That was always the plan.   I was just waiting until I didn't have any dogs to put it into action. 

I didn't do much else today, other than watching TV, knitting, and trying to get some rest.  I'm almost ready to begin the crown decreases on this one. 

I'd thought about going back to the lake this morning, but I didn't make it.  Maybe tomorrow...

An Unexpected Day Off

Unless you've been living under a rock today, you likely know that Microsoft went down today, causing all kinds of disruptions, including out at the plant.  We couldn't clock in.  We couldn't confirm our work.  We couldn't even pull up a print of our parts.

Still, they wouldn't let us go home.  We muddled on, doing the best we could, but basically flying blind -- so to speak.  I guess it was around 8:00 local time that all the computers came back up.  It was around 8:45 that they finally sent all of us home.  

Go figure. 

Only I didn't go home.  I went out to the lake and walked that Pokémon Go route, and got my first badge. My first route badge, I mean.  Then I went up to the Visitor's Center and took over the two gyms up there, leaving my own Pokémon to guard them.  I've discovered that you're supposed to want your Pokémon kicked out of the gym, because that's how you get coins in the game.  But you can only get 50 coins per day, so it doesn't do to put too many into gyms at the same time.   On the other hand, the longer a Pokémon is in a gym, the better items you get when you spin the gym photo disc, so it's an either/or situation.  

Even so, I got some exercise, which is always a good thing.  There are so many nice walking trails around here, out at the lake and at the Lee Tartt Nature Preserve, I really have no excuse not to get out and walk more.  Except that I'm tired and I'm hot when I get off work.    

Which segues nicely into my next topic,  I finally managed to get my fasting glucose back down below 100.  It had been high all last week, which I think was from eating bananas every day.  By the way, I had been looking all over town and even online for the calibration solution for my glucose meter, and I finally went to the ReliOn website to see if they had it.  Turns out, all you have to do is fill out a form and they'll send you some for free.  Pretty cool...

After taking my walk, I came home and put the lunch I had packed for work back into the refrigerator for tomorrow, then went to Walmart and got my shopping done.  I finally remembered to get extra Jalapeno peppers and the water bath canning pot thingy, and some extra jars.  I was going to get one of those jar lifters, but found a set with a jar lifter, a funnel, and a head space gauge for less than just the jar lifter itself, so that's what I got. 

I debated for a long time whether I needed to process the pickled peppers I'd put up a couple of weeks ago.  I mean, the recipe had said to let them sit for a couple of weeks so the flavors could develop, but it didn't specify whether to process them before or after that time.  I guess they assumed experienced canners would already know the answer to that.  I'm assuming they meant before, but it wouldn't have mattered at the time, as I didn't have a pot to process them in anyway.  Besides, I'd sterilized the jars in boiling water before I put the stuff into them, and boiled the vinegar solution as well, and the lids had already popped.  That's the way we used to do them back in the old school.  So, was it even necessary?  

In the end, I figured better safe than sorry, so I got them out and processed them anyway.  

 

They seemed to do OK, and all the lids have popped again, so I'm guessing they're now shelf stable for a while.  At least I hope they are.  I don't want to be poisoning my child and siblings for Christmas!

Now, I'm tuckered and I think I'll wait and do the jalapenos tomorrow.  I found a general pickled pepper recipe that they say you can use with any kind of peppers, so that's what I'm going to try.  I think it's a lot like other recipes, as in there is a lot of variation.  

While all that was going on, I picked the remaining seeds out of that sunflower I'd cut day before yesterday, the one the birds got to. 

I got a good many, but the birds got about 60% of them. Oh, well...the irony of that is, I was saving the other seeds I'd gotten from some of the other varieties to feed to them this winter.  If only they would have waited.

On the way home from Walmart, I took the long way around and drove through the town square to look at that building that blew down yesterday. They got most of the bricks cleaned up out of the streets, but the whole front of it is gone.  I didn't stop and take a picture, but I will another time.  Maybe next month when I have to go down that way anyway to pay a bill. 

All I can say is, it looks loke something you'd see in a war zone.  

Speaking of, I'm watching the new series on Discovery Channel called In The Eye Of The Storm, and the very first story is about the Rolling Fork tornado.   The second story is on the Little Rock tornado a week later...

It looks to be a pretty good series so far. 

Especially for a weather geek such as myself. 

What A Night!

Somewhere in the night last night, I was startled awake by a very loud noise -- sounding like thunder, but not quite like thunder.  As I lay there in my bed listening to the storms rolling through, I thought, "It must have been a very loud clap of thunder.  Strange sounding thunder, but still..."

I drifted back off to sleep, not thinking any more about it until this morning when I was getting ready to leave for work.  I opened my Facebook to see if there were any comments on yesterday's post that I could respond to before heading out the door, and I saw this on the local newspaper's page. 

The strong winds last night completely blew this building apart.   If you want to go look up the post about it on the Grenada Downtown District page on Facebook, there are more photos in the comments, but I didn't want to share them without permission.

Anyway, this is what it looked like the last time Google Earth drove through town a few years back.

I remember when I first moved here, it was a really nice place.  It had a clothing shop on the ground floor and a couple of apartments on the upper floor.  I seem to remember a couple of Juliet balconies on the windows as well. 

It had gotten pretty run down here lately, and had become a real eyesore.  Several people had offered to buy it, but for some reason, the owner flat out refused to sell it, or was asking way too much for a property of that size.  So, there it sat, becoming more and more dilapidated...until last night.   

What they are speculating is that because the windows had been boarded up and the roof had partially collapsed, when the winds came through, there was nowhere for the air pressure to go.  It just kept building up until the entire building exploded.  That's sure what it sounded like.

Now, nobody knows what's going to happen, or how long the mess is going to sit there -- or if the taxpayer is going to have to pay for the cleanup, since the owner obviously isn't that concerned.  We shall see. 

At least we got a good bit of rain out of the deal, which has really brought out the Cosmos.

  

In other news, things are going from bad to worse out at work.  Today they brought around a paper asking for people to volunteer to work Sunday.  I heard they want to run three lines.  Well, I say good luck with that.  Ten years ago, I'd have jumped at the chance, but not any more.  It's too hot, we're already working too much, and I'm getting too old for this.  

Then they turned around and let some of the lines go home early.  Go figure. 

Speaking of heat, they've started putting up these giant fans around the plant. 

Since they can't get the air conditioners working, you know.  Blowing all the hot air down from the ceilings will certainly solve everything.  Whatever.  

Now, for a bit of good news, I saw three deer behind the fence this afternoon, plus the fawn.  I tried to get a photo, but the little one is understandably skittish, so this is the best you're going to get for now. 

And finally, I remembered that Librivox has an app, so I downloaded it this afternoon and listened to the first two chapters of Les Miserables in the original French.  I understood very little, but managed to catch a word here and there.   I figure the more I listen, the easier it'll get. 

Hopefully...

Dang It!

Dang it!  The birds and or squirrels got two more of my sunflowers!  The one on the right has been completely picked clean, but there's still quite a few in the one on the left. 

I'll let it dry until tomorrow, the pick the seeds out.  I was hoping to use them as Christmas gifts, but now I'm not sure there will be enough for what I had planned.  I can still give them, I'll just have to limit who I give them to.   Definitely my nephew and his wife, and maybe my sister.  I'll have to figure out how to roast them, but that should be easy enough, and I want to save some to plant next year.  

As a precaution, I tied Walmart sacks around the other two.  

I hope that will be enought of a deterrent to the critters until I can harvest them.  

In other news, they haven't cleared any more of the woods behind the house.  

I don't know if they're just taking a break, or if they plan on leaving a little tree line back there.  I'm hoping the latter -- at least until I can finish getting the yard fenced.  The doe and her fawn are still hanging around for now, but I haven't seen any of the other deer.  I kind of expect them to move on, too, once the baby is a little older. 

One silver lining coming out of all of this is that the cat seems more content to stay inside the house -- at least while the heavy equipment is out there.  The less roaming she does, the fewer ticks she drags into my house.  And I do keep Frontline on her, but that doesn't seem to stop them from hitching a ride on her fur. 

Speaking of roaming, I was going to drive out to the lake after work and try to walk one of the Pokemon Go routes, but decided it was still too hot.  That cold front is supposed to come through during the night tonight, so maybe tomorrow it'll be cool enough.   I want to see if there are any other friendly gyms out there, too.  Last time I went, they were all held by rival teams, and I didn't really want to fight...although the way to earn coins is to get your Pokemon kicked out of the gyms, and there isn't any benefit for leaving them in longer.  Go figure...I've got one that's been in a gym for 8 days.  I reckon I ought to stop feeding him, since the most coins you can get are 50 no matter how long you leave them there.  

And finally, I discovered yesterday that the free audiobook site Librivox.org is still up and running, and that they have books in French.  And lots of other languages, too, so if you're trying to learn, that might be a good resource for you.  

In fact, I think I'm going to go figure out how to listen to one on my Kindle.  

Bonne nuit.  

Almost Gone

They are back to tearing down the woods behind the house.  

They've been at it for a couple of weeks now, and alas, my woods are almost gone.  I don't know where the deer will go.  This one doe is the only one I saw today. 

I think she's still here because she's got a tiny fawn that may be too young to travel far.  I saw it out in the woods, but couldn't get a clear photo of it. 

When I got home and saw how close they were to completely clearing the woods, the first thing I did was to put in a message to the fencing company.  He is going to come next week to give me an estimate.  This isn't just because they're tearing down the woods.  I've wanted to replace those fences ever since I've moved into this house, because they're in pretty bad shape.  And I want privacy fence because I want privacy when I'm in my back yard. 

The second thing was to go ahead and take down the squirrel feeder and bring it up to the house.

I'd already brought in the trough, so that was all I had left behind that fence.   I don't know how close they're going to come, or if that pecan tree is even in danger, but I thought it was better safe than sorry.  I think I'll just toss that feeder, since it's looking pretty ragged by now, and get a new one.  I'll have to figure out where to put it, because I'm sure the squirrels will still be around. 

When all that was done, I came inside and started fermenting a new batch of Tabasco peppers.  

I know there aren't that many in there, but there are several more on the bush...plant...whatever it is... that are almost ready to harvest.  I'm going to add peppers as they ripen, which is why I only filled it halfway with the vinegar.   And this time, I decided to use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar.  One of the recipes I looked up called for it, so I thought I'd try it.  I'll have to see which one Cody likes best. 

Not that it matters, as I don't think I'll be growing tabasco peppers next year.  I think I'm going to stick with one kind, and it'll be either jalapenos or banana peppers.  Something that's easy to pickle and preserve that way. 

And finally, look at next week, y'all!  Look at next week! 

I drove out to the lake after work yesterday thinking maybe I could walk one of the Pokemon Go routes, but decided it was just too hot.  Maybe I can go next week when it's much, much cooler and get me some route badges.  Oh, and exercise, too.  

Exercise is always a good thing. 

How On Earth

How on Earth did my day off go by so fast?  And more importantly, why can't work days go by this fast?

It all started yesterday evening when I was mowing and I thought to myself, "Boy I'll bet all this walking is using up all my blood sugar."  Then when I got up this morning and checked, my fasting glucose was 87.  In other words, normal.  

Exercise, then.  Exercise is the key to keeping it low.  I have to start getting more of that exercise stuff.  The problem is, after a 10 hour shift and in this summer heat, I just don't want to go walking or anything.   However, I think I might have found myself a motivator.  

I have discovered Pokemon Go Routes.  There are a few out by the lake, so this morning before it got too hot, I drove out there with the intention of walking one, and putting a few more of my Pokemon into gymns while I was there.  Neither of those went as planned.

Apparently, Sunday mornings are raid days here in the ol' G-Town.  Every single gym I drove by had a raid going on.  I only managed to slip one single Pokemon into one just at the last minute before the raid started.  Now, I have no idea what raids are or how to do them.  I'm only just figuring all the stuff going on with this game. 

Even so, I went to the route I wanted to walk...only I couldn't figure out how to start it in the app.   I walked it anyway, so I got the exercise, but it didn't count towards a route badge.  I did find a few new Pokemon to add to my Pokedex, though, so it wasn't a total loss.   By the way, I came home and looked up on YouTube how to start a route, so next time, I'll be ready. 

Then I took a shower, and watched TV for the rest of my day of rest.   Oh, and there was also knitting.

The only other thing I did today was to get my tabasco peppers started fermenting. 

The problem with that was, all the recipes I found called for either a pound of tabasco peppers, which I don't have anywhere near that many, or five ounces of peppers.  Five ounces?  How the heck many is that?  I had no idea, so I just cut up what I had -- well, what was ripe that is.  

Then there were the recipes themselves.  Some said to ferment them in water, then add the vinegar mix later.  Others said to ferment them in vinegar.  Some called for apple cider vinegar -- which I was going to do, but didn't have that much left -- and others called for white wine vinegar, or rice vinegar or some other such stuff.  

I ended up just winging it.  I cut up what I had, put them into a jar, and added salt and vinegar.   I even bought sea salt for the occasion.  

I figure after the fermenting process, I'll just puree the peppers then add back the vinegar until it seems the right consistency.  I don't know.  Cody is the pepper person. I don't think I'm going to fool with tabasco peppers next year. 

Oh, and those peppercorns are for when I pickle the jalapeno peppers.  I seem to remember at least one recipe called for them.  Even if not, I'll have them on hand for when I get some more banana peppers ready to be pickled. 

And lastly, I finished reading Reached, by Ally Condie.  It was one of the better Y.A. dystopian series I've read.   The author did a much better job of developing the characters than so many of them to these days.  Now I'm reading the third book in the Wembrel House series, by Charlie N. Holmberg, The Boy Of Chaotic Making. 

They finally put it on Kindle Daily deal, so I snapped it up.  This is another series I'm thoroughly enjoying.  It's historical fantasy/ghost story type of thing.  

I'd highly recommend it, if you're into that sort of thing.  

Cayennes!

I am sure you will all be pleased to know I made it to work this morning with my driver's license and debit card safely in my pocket.  So after what felt like an interminable day at work, I went to Walmart and did the shopping I didn't do yesterday.  

Walmart, as expected, was an absolute madhouse, but I made it through and came on home.  It was while I was in line, having already loaded my stuff onto the conveyor that I realized I'd forgotten to get extra jalapenos.   Oh, well...I'll start fermenting what I have and get some next week.  I did find the peppercorns I needed for my banana pepper pickles that I made last week -- without the peppercorns because I didn't want to make an extra trip into town to get them. 

So, I come on home, do three loads of laundry, and as if that weren't enough after a 9 hour shift in the factory, I decided to mow.  I'm telling ya, it's been so dry here, and the mower kicked up so much dust I must have swallowed at least a pound of it.  But at least I got it done and don't have that chore hanging over my head for the rest of the weekend.  

And by rest of the weekend, I mean Sunday. 

Speaking of peppers, I got three of my cayenne peppers strung and hung up to start drying.  

And I got a good bit of seeds out of the remnants of the sunflower I cut yesterday. 

 I need to get something onto the rest of them to protect them until their seeds develop.  Maybe I'll get to that tomorrow. 

Friday

"I'm already exhausted, and the day hasn't even started yet!" I said to the cat just before leaving for work. 

Along about 8:00, I discovered just how exhausted I'd been when I realized I left everything at home -- and by everything, I mean my driver's license, debit card, money, pocket knife, lip balm, and everything else I usually keep in my pockets, including the little stack of quarters I like to jingle just like my daddy did. 

I briefly thought about going into Walmart and doing my weekly shopping anyway and seeing if I could figure out how to pay by scanning the QR code, but quickly decided against that.  I didn't want to be in the checkout line with a buggy full of stuff, a line of grumpy customers behind me, and no back up way to pay as I tried to figure out new technology.  

I'm a Boom -A-Ludd, remember.  

I said to myself, "I'll just run by the house and pick up my stuff, then go to the store," even though I knew this was a dangerous proposition.  The danger lies in the fact that once I get home, I won't want to leave the house again-- which is exactly what happened.  

"Eh," I said, "There's nothing I need that can't wait until tomorrow."  

So, here I sit, watching Shark Week instead of doing my shopping.  By the way, I had an idea while I was standing there at work about what to do with my jalapeño peppers, so I snuck out a quick text to Cody, "Can you pickle jalapeño peppers?"  

He replied in the affirmative, so I think I'm going to pick up a few to supplement the ones I've grown and will try that.   

On a similar note, I thing I'm going to start fermenting my tabasco peppers this weekend in preparation for making sauce, and my cayenne are starting to ripen.  

The plan with them all along has been to string and dry them, so I guess I'd better dig out a needle and some thread.

As I was walking around my back yard checking on my growing things, I discovered that something had decided to help itself to one of my sunflowers. 

I'd planned on giving it a few more days so the rest of the seeds could develop, but after seeing the carnage, I figured I'd better cut my losses and thus I cut the flower.  I'll let it dry overnight and harvest the rest of the seeds tomorrow.  Now I'm thinking I'd better put the cheesecloth back onto the flowers in the front yard so something doesn't get them as well. 

I'll try to get that done tomorrow after work.

Speaking of work, you know that one line that has been getting off at 1:00 all week long?  Well, today they had to stay until 3:00, oh, and they did get their numbers*, but I'm sure that's just a coincidence, right?  

And finally, for today's meme debunkeration, hurricanes tend to generally follow the same track across the U.S., depending on what point along the Gulf Coast they make landfall.  It has more to do with pressure systems and weather patterns and has absolutely nothing to do with the eclipse.   

Seriously, go check out the tracks from hurricanes during years there wasn't an eclipse, and you'll see what I mean. 

Sorry all you conspiracy theorists, but you're really really reaching with this one. 

* "get their numbers" is plant vernacular for meeting their production quota.  

A New Thing

Apparently they're trying this new thing out at work...to....I don't know what they're trying to do.  Right now, it's only on one line -- as far as I know--, and I don't know if they're going to make it plant wide or not.  

So what is this new thing, you ask?  Well, I'll tell you. 

If the line doesn't meet its production goal by 1:00, they get to go home early.  

Let me say that again for those of you who are as dumfounded as I am.

If the assembly line doesn't meet its production goal by 1:00, they get to go home early.  

They get to go home early. 

Excuse me, what?????

If they don't meet their production goals, they get rewarded by getting off early -- and since they came in at 5:00, they'll still get 8 hours.  Who on Earth thought that that would be a good idea?

If you are going to reward non-productivity, then don't you dare stand there and act all surprised when productivity drops.  What did you think would happen?????

I don't understand that place.  I do not understand that place at all.  

So Shines A Good Deed

 Only I didn't do one.  A good deed, I mean.  I just like the way it sounds when Willy Wonka says it.  The Gene Wilder version, not the Johnny Depp version which I have never seen. 

What I did do was to sell one of my old aquariums.  I was cruising Facebook yesterday evening checking on hurricane damage in my hometown and surrounding area when I saw a post in one of the local groups.  A girl was looking for a tank for her bearded dragon.  I messaged her and told her I had an old 40 gallon, and quoted her a price. 

She said she'd take it, and offered me an extra $10 to bring it to her, so right after work that's exactly what I did.  We ran into a little snag when I couldn't remember my Paypal password, so we had to use CashApp.  I'd downloaded it last year, but had never used it, so it was actually her friend who took both of our phones and did the transaction for us.  

I'm such a Luddite.  And a Boomer at that.  I'm a Boom-a-Ludd!  

Don't ask.  Even I don't know...

Nevertheless, the money changed hands -- or phones, rather -- and the girl's bearded dragon will soon have a roomy new home.  

Since I had to drive through the lake to deliver the tank, I stopped and dropped off a Pokemon in a gym at the basketball courts.  Apparently, I'm on Team Mystic, so I can just put one into a gym controlled by my team without having to battle anything, which is good.  I'm still figuring out this whole gym thing, but apparently you have to put Pokemon into them to earn coins -- or else spend real money, which isn't going to happen. 

Oh, and for those of you who may be wondering, no I didn't drive literally through the lake.  That's just a local colloquialism for driving though the area controlled and maintained by the Corps Of Engineers.  

And finally, this is Shark Week, and I've been so busy these last couple of days, I've hardly been able to watch any episodes, so I think I'll get off here and do just that. 

Laters.