Sleepy Sunday

OK, it really wasn't that sleepy at all.  I guess after all that flip flopping at work about what time we com in has gotten me used to not having consistent sleep hours to begin with, so the time change isn't all that big of a deal. I'll get more confused in the evenings, because it doesn't feel like it should be that late. 

But today was kind of sleepy in that nothing really happened.   I got my fan set up to blow on my little seedlings.

They are growing so fast, I can almost see them getting bigger by the minute. 

The guy on the YouTube channel I watch says the seedlings need 14-16 hours of light per day, but my timer only goes 12 on / 12 off.  I'm going to try to remember to manually turn it on and off this year.  On when I get up; off when I go to bed.  Nothing complicated.  Wish me luck. 

The only other noteworthy thing I did was to get out most of my sailor hats and give them a wash and dry. 

Yes, I do put them into the washer and dryer, because on the ships, that's where they'll be washed.  If one isn't capable of holding up, I want to know before I send it off to a sailor.  It'd break my heart if his hat fell apart the first time he washed it. This is also why we don't use pastels or whites to knit hats with, because it would be terrible if they got stained up.  

I still need to print off the gift tags, fill them out, and attach them -- not using safety pins-- then they'll be ready to pack up and ship off for this year's Christmas At Sea. 

I haven't cast on a new hat yet, because I decided to finish this scarf, also for the Seaman's Church Institute.  

 It's supposed to look like that, because the scarf was designed to fit underneath their personal floatation devices. The ribbing allows for warmth around the neck, while the flat part fits comfortably under a life jacket. 

I think once I'm done, I think I'll probably have enough yarn to make a matching watch cap, or beanie.  I keep saying I'm going to knit more scarves, because sailors need those, too, but hats knit up so much faster.  

On a similar note, I'm up to season 5 of The Great British Sewing Bee, and it occurred to me...I have a sewing machine!  And though I was never anywhere near being a professional seamstress, I wasn't half bad.  I was thinking maybe I could find some simple patterns for stuff I could sew up and sell at my booth in the Farmer's Market.  Pillows, toys, accessories, things like that.  Nothing complicated.  

Once my seemingly immortal snakes go to that great herpetarium in the sky, I could set up a corner in that room to be my sewing corner.  Once I get the room cleaned out, that is.  There is a whole box of stuff in there that if you snuck into my house and tossed the whole box, I promise you I'd never miss anything that's in it.  But when I start going through it....I keep finding stuff I need to keep just in case I might need it someday. 

It's like a giant junk drawer.  

By the way, if you need a set of discs to reinstall Windows XP on an HP PC, hit me up.  I got you covered. 

 

Y'all thought I was joking, didn't ya?  

Finished!

First of all, let's start this post with a finished object, my latest sailor hat. 

Yarn:  Mainstays

Colorway:  Blue Blend

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8

Now, on to the pièce de résistance, my jury rigged grow light system!  

I put it together this morning, and yes, those are what you think they are.  In case you can't see them, they are used coffee pods and a baking rack.  It gets the grow light about an inch to an inch and a half from the seedlings, which is so much better than the three inches the other one kept it at.  And as the plants grow, I can stack more coffee pods to raise it up a bit.  

Then I added a funnel, so I can add water to the tray without having to take the whole thing apart or splashing water all over the place.  It has the added advantage of not disturbing the little plants, either.

I'll keep a bit of water in the bottom of the tray so the sponges should stay hydrated, even if the tops get dry.  Bottom watering is the best way, because it encourages the roots to grow deep, which makes for a healthier plant. Since I started watching that channel on YouTube, I've been learning so much.  It might make a gardener out of me yet. 

Speaking of, I went outside and piddled a bit in my garden spot this morning before the storms arrived. 

I wasn't going to take a picture at first.  You've seen dirt before, but I gave in and did it anyway.  Because apparently, I don't think you've seen dirt enough.  We got a pretty good rain this afternoon, so we can see how it settles and if there are any more spots I need to work on.  Then, once it dries out a bit, I can put those last two beds together and get them into place and start filling them with dirt.  By then, it'll be planting time!  Mid April is when it's deemed safe here.  

While I was outside,  I checked on my other things, and they're all starting to grow quite nicely.  

This is the orange mint.  Or whatever it is.  

And the Peppermint.

My French Tarragon

Even my Greek oregano is making an appearance.

The garden sage:

I'd originally thought about cutting that big dead looking stem on the left, but as you can see, it's putting out new growth, too, so I'm leaving it for now.  

My lemon balm is really coming on. 

The rosemary is looking a bit ragged, but I'm hoping it'll perk up a bit once summer gets here.  

The celery got bit hard by the ice storm, and honestly, I doubt it'll ever grow enough to make any edible stalks, but hey, it's fun to watch it. 

The garlic looks a bit ragged right now, but I'm hoping the bulbs are OK.  Maybe it'll perk up, too.  

By the way, that empty spot in the middle is where I want to plant another rosemary.  It's a very popular herb.   It'll sell well at the Farmer's Market -- fresh or dried. 

And, it's not an herb, but look at this!  I have buds on my bluebonnets!!!!

 

Hooray for that!

And this crazy thing thinks it's still Christmas.  

On a completely unrelated note, I think I'm going to drop Netflix again.  I picked it up last year to watch that documentary on the Joplin tornado, but really, after the newness wore off, the only thing I'm watching now is Call The Midwife and Heartland reruns.  I did finally finish Squid Game, and started Cobra Kai, but that one isn't holding my interest that much.  Netflix does have some good documentaries, but there are so many free streaming services, I can find plenty to watch without paying for an extra service. 

That's why I dropped it in the first place.  

Eh, we'll see.  

But for now, there is a new season of Call The Midwife up on PBS, so that's what I'm going to watch.  That, and All Creatures Great And Small.  

Bye for now.  

LOOKIT!

Lookit!  My little seeds have germinated already!  

And I only planted them two days ago.  That was fast!

The YouTube channel I've been watching, Next Level Gardening, says once the seeds have germinated, you don't need the heat mat any more, but I think I'm going to give it 24 more hours just to make sure.  I'll turn it off tomorrow evening.  It also says you don't need the humidity dome, so I'll have to figure out how to hang my grow lights, since they snap into the top of the cover.  

The guy says the grow lights should be as close to the plants as possible, but absolutely no more than two inches above them.  With the cover, mine are 3 inches, which is why my seedlings tend to be a bit leggy.  I have an idea that I think might work, and if it does, I'll show you what I did once I get it rigged up. 

He also said to put an oscillating fan on, so that it mimics the breeze outside.  This makes your seedlings much stronger, so I'm going to do that as well.  

By the way, it's supposed to storm all next week, so I'm going to have to wait until it dries out a bit before I get a dirt guy out here.  The silver lining is that I'll be able to see where the low spots still are in my garden spot, and will be better able to fill them in.  On the other hand, that huge wedge of red clay the landscammer piled up behind my house is what is causing the rain water to drain into my garden spot in the first place, so once it's taken care of, that will solve a lot of problems. 

In other news, apparently yesterday was something called International Women's Day, so at work they passed out these little baggies with a pen and a shower fizzer thing.   Wow, I feel so special.   Someone else came around passing out candy bars. 

 I feel so appreciated. 

That new boss...well, let's just say that nothing has gotten any better since he's been there.  He hasn't even shown enough personality to get a blog nickname other than New Boss.   And we're back to going in at 6:00 on Monday.  I wish they'd just pick a time and stick with it.  This constant flip-flopping is really annoying. 

Guess What

Guess what I did today? Go on, guess!

If you said made one of the half a dozen phone calls I need to make, do not give yourself a cookie because I absolutely did not do that. 

I mean, come on!  Let's not get crazy here.  

Nope, I finally got my mini greenhouse out and started some seeds. 

Sweet basil, of course.  Those are all the seeds I have.  Not quite sure why I took a picture.  There isn't anything to see at the moment, but hey, I gotta be me. 

By the way, I turned the grow light off right after I'd taken the photo.  No sense in leaving it on when the seeds haven't even germinated.  I was watching a video on YouTube the other day, and this guy said that once the seeds germinate, you don't need the heat mat any more, either, so this time, I'm going to turn it off as soon as I see sprouts.  He also said you don't need the humidity dome, but I kinda do since that's where my grow lights are. 

I'd like to get one of those setups where the grow light is on a chain and can be raised and lowered as needed.  The debate, though, is that I don't usually start enough seeds to put a bunch of money into any kind of fancy stuff.  If I had a really big garden, then yes, but with just a few raised beds to plant each year, I usually just buy the pre-started stuff from the garden center.  I do like starting seeds, though.  I'd just have to figure out what to do with them once they've outgrown the seed trays. 

I've actually thought about starting my seed trays outside in the direct sunlight, if I had something to keep them secure from the wildlife.  A greenhouse of some sort is definitely on my wish list, once I get this yard cleaned up and the rest of my fence built.  By the way, they're predicting we might get a frost next weekend, but that's not unexpected.  We can get frosts until the middle of April.  

On a similar note, my peppermint is starting to come out. 

And whatever mint this is.  

 The tag said orange mint, but it doesn't smell even the slightest bit orangey to me.  I think it's just a sweet mint, or even a normal mint.  Whatever.  It'll make good tea.  Or extract.  

Now, if you'll be so kind as to excuse me, I need to go check my seeds. 

Even though I only planted them an hour ago. 

I still need to check them. 

Laters...

Got Away

Yesterday’s post completely got away from me, and I ended up not talking about half of the stuff I wanted to tell you about. 

For example, I was going to tell you that I used my new Dutch oven to make some red beans and rice, but not from scratch.  A while back, I'd bought some of those boxed mixes for Jambalaya --Tony Chachere's, Zatarain's and the like --to see if any of them were any good.  To be honest, I wasn't impressed.  They were all way too salty for my tastes. 

But I also bought a box of red beans and rice, which is what I made Sunday in my Dutch oven.  That turned out pretty good, even though my beans were a bit crunchy.  Overall, though, I'd say it was a success.  

There was something else I wanted to tell you about, but right now, I can't remember what it was.  I didn't sleep well last night, and my brain is a bit numb.  

Not much else to talk about today.  I tried to take a few photos of the eclipse this morning while I was getting ready for work, but they didn't turn out too well.  

I kinda wish I'd taken a vacation day so I could have stayed home and watched the whole thing, but I didn't.  I've seen eclipses before, and unless it's a total solar eclipse, they all pretty much look the same. 

This is going to be short, because Group Leader Shark told me to come in at 4:00 AM tomorrow, so I'll need to be getting to bed soon.  By the way, they sent Inspector Gadget to the production side.  

They'd sent him back there Friday, but we all thought it was because only one supervisor had shown up.  But they sent him back there again yesterday, so I don't know what's going on.  Then this morning at the meeting, Group Leader Shark said Uncle Supervisor was going to be our supervisor for a while.  I hope it's a long while...

I did hear that Inspector Gadget was back there with his arms crossed and scowling at them, the way he did us.  

Finally, this song has been on my mind a lot lately. 

Man, I sure miss Toby.  He was a true American patriot. 

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go raise a red solo cup to his memory. 

Cheers.

Well, Now...

Word around the plant is that they're wanting to open up a second shift by the end of this month.  I kinda hate that, because I like not having someone on my stand on second shift.  I like coming in in the morning and knowing that my stand will be neat and tidy, just like I left it -- no jigs piled up, no scrap laying around, no having to track down my rolling table or parts trays...no having to quite literally put my work station back together before I can even start working.  

Sometimes, I think second shift comes in and just throws stuff up in the air and where it lands is where it stays.  

Still, the bright side is it means that work is picking up.  The not so bright side is that I don't know who they are going to find to work on that second shift.  I don't think they brought in a single new hire last week, and there were only 6 the week before.  The plant is getting quite the reputation as a place people don't want to work. 

I was talking about this last week with Production Manager Cuz.  I told him, "Don't be surprised if you lose a lot of employees over this [metal detector].  People don't want to work for someone who treats them like common criminals.  When you make me walk through that thing, you're telling me that you don't believe that I'm a decent human being.  You don't trust me to be a good person.  Why would I want to work for a company that thinks so little of me?  You have to treat your employees with dignity and respect."

I also told him that I turn 62 in November and was seriously thinking of retiring at the end of the  year. 

And I have been debating on it, but at this point, I just don't see how I can swing it financially.  I know the "rich people trick" of retiring early, because in the long run, you'll draw more from social security by collecting it longer even if you get less per month, but if I do retire at 62, my monthly benefit will only be about $1500.  I don't think I can pay my bills on that.  

People have said, "Well, you can get a part time job."  But if I have to keep working just to pay my bills, I'm not really retired then, am I?  I mean, I was thinking about looking for a part time job anyway, just to have something to do with myself, but I don't want to have to be dependent on that income to make ends meet.  And what happens when I get too old to work?  Once I retire, those social security benefits won't go up any -- other than very small cost of living increases.  I have to be able to pay my bills on what I get without having to pick up another job. 

What about your 401(k)?  I don't think I have enough in it to make up the difference, not if I retire early.  That's one thing I regret was not doing the managed account when I first set it up.  I finally switched it to a managed account sometime last year, and it's grown so much in just that short amount of time, I wish I'd done it sooner.  I'd have so much more in it by now, but all I could think of at the time was I wanted to keep all of my money.  My money...my own....my precious...

But now, I don't have enough in it to last that long.  And I'd like to have a little legacy to leave Cody when I'm gone.   

Another thing I regret was not buying a house when I first moved here.  Don't get me wrong, I loved living next door to my cousin and having family so close, but I keep thinking that if I'd bought my house back then, it would be paid off by now.  If I weren't still carrying a mortgage, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.  But probably the only smart financial decision I've made in my entire life was to pay extra principle on my mortgage every month, and I've stuck to that no matter how tight things have gotten.  You can save so much in interest by doing that. 

I've also thought about taking money out of my 401(k) to pay my mortgage off, but I've been advised not to do that.  I'd end up with more money by leaving it in the retirement account than I'd save in interest payments.  However, if I did, at least I'd own my house free and clear -- except for the annual rent I have to pay to the government to keep my own home, also known as property tax-- and at least I'd have a place to live.  

One final thing I have to take into consideration is that in an average year, about 25 -30% of my annual income is from working overtime.  That's going to be a huge pay cut no matter what age I retire, because there is no overtime in retirement.  That monthly allowance is all you get.

Plus, the overtime is what I'm saving up to fix up my house, because I sure don't want to go into more debt at my age.    

Boy I sure didn't mean to get off onto that tangent, but it's been something that I've been considering here lately -- once it hit me how close retirement has gotten.  And I do like the actual work I do.  I just hate the toxicity of my place of employment.  I mean, Cuz was telling us they'd spent -- I think it was $2 million on a machine for the production side, plus half a mil on a machine for tubing.  Meanwhile, we brazers are still having to jury rig brazing jigs because they claim they "can't afford" to buy us the ones we need.  

I keep saying they could sell those stupid metal detectors on Craig's List and buy us at least some of those jigs we don't have.  

Which brings us right back to where I started.  Where are they going to find people who want to work for a company that treats them so badly?  Seriously, it wasn't that long ago that the HR director we called Crazy Karen made it company policy that we couldn't have anything to eat or drink but plain water outside of our normal lunch break. 

When we pointed out that some departments were coming in at 3:00 AM and would have to be working eight hours straight with nothing to eat or drink, she literally screamed at us, saying, "This is company policy and it will be followed!"   

(AI generated image, but it looks surprisingly like her.)

I know they don't really enforce that policy any more, but it's still official company policy, and it's a horrible way to treat your employees.  

Well, this post has completely gotten away from me, so I'll just with my fellow Texans a Happy Independence Day, 

and I'm going to go watch my sewing bee show and knit a bit. 

Laters...

Unbelievably Beautiful

Today was one of those unbelievably beautiful days.  Sunny and warm, but with just enough breeze to keep it from being too hot.  Naturally, I stayed inside and knit all day. 

Yarn:  Mainstays

Colorway:  Blue Blend

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8 / 5 mm

Just kidding!  I spent most of the day outside, enjoying the daffodils and the blue sky while I finished reading Much Ado About Nothing.  

Hard to believe just a few short weeks ago, we were buried in ice.  Now it's almost warm enough to turn the air conditioning on.  Almost, but not quite. 

My main project was to shave some more off of the high spots in my garden spot, then start moving this pile of dirt

into the back corner of the yard

where it will be out of the way for now.  When I finally get someone out here to scrape up all of that red clay, I'm going to tell him to haul it off, but I do want to keep some for future projects.  

I made a good start, but I have to remind myself that I'm not as young as I used to be and I have to be careful not to over do it.  Even so, it's not supposed to rain again until next weekend, so if I move a wheelbarrow or two every day, I should have most of it done before then. 

In other news, I used my silicone air fryer basket thingy to cook some pizza rolls, and it worked a treat.  Clean up was so easy!  I was going to use my Dutch oven to make some red beans and rice, but forgot until after I'd already started cooking some fish, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.  For now, I'm going to pop some popcorn and watch a production of Much Ado About Nothing on YouTube.  

I Splurged

I wanted a Dutch oven.  

Can you believe I've gone my whole life without never having a Dutch oven?   I have, and I decided it was time for that to change, so off to Walmart I went to get one.  And to do my regular weekly shopping while I was there, but that's not pertinent to the story. 

I don't know why I wanted a Dutch oven so badly, but I did.  I found them on the shelf, picked out the one I wanted, and then looked slightly to the left and saw....

an entire cookware set for just $6 more than the Dutch oven cost by itself.   Naturally, that seemed like a much better deal, but did I really need new pots?  Why yes, yes I did!

My reasoning was that all of my pots are 30 years old, and even though they are still in pretty decent shape, by golly I deserved some new ones.  

By golly.   

I didn't really need the skillet, as I have an 8" cast iron skillet already, but on second thought, it might be nice to have one that isn't quite so heavy.  Especially as I'm getting a bit older now and my hands aren't what the used to be. 

This, on the other hand, was a complete impulse buy. 

You know how after a while the burned oil builds up and your basket ends up looking all gunky and the stuff is impossible to scrub off without taking your non-stick coating off as well?  Yeah, I'm hoping that this will make cleanup much easier.  It can't possibly be any worse. 

I'm going to try it out tomorrow and I'll let you know how it goes.  

In other news, I've managed to fill up one section of my new raised beds. 

It took two of the big bags and one small bag of garden soil to fill it, but I expect it will compact a bit after a few good rains.  I'm planning on this being a bed for annual flowers, so I can add more dirt next year if it's needed.   

And look at this!  My French Tarragon is starting to come up. 

I've read that this is a short lived perennial, which means it will live 3-5 years, then die.  This year will be the third year, so soon I'll have to decide whether to grow the same thing again, or replace it with a different herb. 

Last night, we were predicted to get heavy rainfall with a chance of hail.  I think the worst of it went to the north of us, but when I got home from work yesterday, I got out and shaved some of the high spots off of my garden spot.  

Alas, all my hard work was for naught, because we barely got enough to wet the dust.  Well, not for naught, as I've got to get this spot levelled out anyway.  That's going to be something I work on this weekend.  

I was originally thinking I might run up to Lowe's in Batesville, but I think I might change my mind on that.  It's still early in the year, and I don't want to go buying a bunch of stuff only to see it nipped by a late frost.  Best not let myself be tempted.

I might get my two 4' x 4' beds put together and into place instead, so I can start getting them filled up with dirt.  

Oh, and I just realized, Sunday is March 1, so I can start some seeds!  All I have right now are some sweet basil seeds, which I want to plant with my tomatoes --and some marigolds-- but that's OK.  I can get them started, then transplant them into the bed once I get my tomatoes in. 

That's it for today.  I'm really tired and can tell I'm rambling nonsensically, so I'm going to go to bed now. 

Good night. 

Back To Normal...ish

I had planned on telling you that I feel like things are finally starting to get back to normal -- from the holidays, the ice storm, the Olympics, being sick, and Fiber Fun In The 'Sip, but then I got to thinking, what about my life has ever been normal?  

The only normal thing I've done so far this year is to finish another sailor hat. 

Yarn:  Red Heart Super Saver Bitty Stripes

Colorway:  Crayon Box

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8 / 5mm

I'm going to have to wash some up and send them off soon, because I'm running out of room in my gift drawer.  I'm going to send them 29 this time -- for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.  I'm pretty sure I have enough done already.  I just need to label them and find a box.  

On a similar note, Saturday at FFITS, Amy was telling us about this show she's watching called The Great British Sewing Bee.  Wonder of wonders, I found it on the Roku channel!  Watching season one now.  There are 10 of them on the Roku Channel-- seasons -- so it looks like I have a new show to binge. 

In other news, I checked the weather and it's not supposed to get down below the mid 40s for at least the next week, so I put my plants out on the back porch for some fresh air and bright, indirect light. 

 

I'll keep an eye on the weather, because there is still plenty of time for a late frost or two, but they'll be happy here for a while.   You know what makes me happy?  These:  

And these:

By the way, I was watching the latest video from Mr. Let's Play Piano Methods on YouTube, and I realized, I only have five more songs to learn -- after the two I'm currently learning -- and I'll be done with my Alfred's level 2 book!  I think once I'm done, I'll go through the Faber level 1 book before I do Alfred's level 3.  

Well, I was going to get all serious with you for a moment, but I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm not going to go into all of that.  I'll save it for a post when I've had a decent amount of sleep.  Right now, I'm going to pop some popcorn and watch these people sew.  

Laters.  

Fiber Fun

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday as Suzette and I headed out to Vicksburg for this year's Fiber Fun In The 'Sip.  

There's not much to say about the drive down there, except that it was largely uneventful.  Very little traffic on the roads, but that didn't stop some dude from riding my bumper for about 10 miles solid.  Why?  I don't know.  He had plenty of room to pass. 

It put me in mind of when I went to my nephew's wedding in Missouri back in 2023.  I was driving through the middle of nowhere.  Not another car on the road for miles -- except this one chick who rode my bumper for about 20 miles.  We finally got to a town and parted ways.  The last time I saw her, she was riding someone else's bumper.  "Better him than me," I said as I bid her adieu.  

But as I said, the drive down to V-burg was largely uneventful.  The most note worthy thing about it was the sheer scale of destruction from the ice storm last month.  You could tell they were in the process of cleaning it up, but there were still branches, limbs, and even whole trees down one after another for miles and miles.  

I'd thought briefly about driving down and staying with Cody and Brennan while my power was out, but after seeing what I saw yesterday, it's a good thing I didn't try to make that trip.  By the way, there are still about 500 people in the state who still haven't gotten their power back on.  

I'm getting a bit off topic, though.  I get there and find the place -- which wasn't hard at all.  I found Leann's booth and a table nearby that she'd saved for us.  It wasn't long at all before Amy joined us and the party got started. 

Leann was busy doing business, so she was popping in and out, but we still had plenty of time to visit.  

You know, I don't mean to sound ugly, and I have no idea what it takes to keep a fiber festival going, and I truly, truly hope this one can make it, but it's not looking good.  It's gotten smaller and smaller every year, with fewer vendors and smaller crowds.  I knew Christi couldn't come, but even her friends Other Amy and Emily didn't come this time.  I'd gotten to where I was looking forward to seeing them, too.  And there were faces in the crowd that had become familiar and they weren't there, either.  Most of them.  

Even the swag was so much less than it was in the past.  

This was it.  A sticker, a koozie, and a chapstick.  I wish I knew what it would take to fix things, but I don't.  I'm not meaning to sound critical.  I've always enjoyed going, and it feels like I'm watching it die a slow death, and it breaks my heart.  

Anyway, Amy, Leann, and I talked about having a get together sometime later this year away from yarn shops or the temptation to buy things so that everyone could come -- even those on a yarn diet.  *cough, cough*  Christi...

I'm hoping we can plan it so that Peggy and Kat can come, too.  

In spite of all of that, there was still lots of beautiful yarns there.  I was good.  I only bought one skein. 

Not sure what I'm going to make with it, since I don't knit socks with it any more, but I'll figure out something.  I might even...*gasp*...make something for myself.  Try to contain your shock.  

Amy and I talked about that for a bit.  I love to knit nice things, especially complicated lace patterns, but what am I going to do with them?  I can't wear a lace shawl to the factory, and I'm sure my family is tired of me dumping stuff off onto them.  So, I stick to knitting hats for charity.  

We had a great time, but all too soon it was time to head home.  We laughed, we cried, and many bitter tears were shed at our parting.  In the meantime, here are just a few photos I took of some of the vendors.  I realized after I got home that I didn't even take a picture of Leann's booth.  Bummer.  

I'll do better next time.