Tomato Water and Tomato Sauce

Word of the Day

Schwiggle - The amusing rotation of one's behind while sharpening a pencil.


Woodtick Count of the Day - 42

After releasing the raccoon...on Thursday, I came back home and decided to go fishing. I fished from ~11 AM until 5 PM. That's a long time sitting out in a rowboat under the hot sun. No, I didn't get heatstroke. Amazingly enough, I didn't even get a sunburn. However, I was wearing my fishing hat so that might have saved me. Next time, I plan to bring some water along if I plan to stay out in the boat so long. I think I got a little dehydrated. However, I was having lots of fun. I caught a mess of really nice bluegills...perfect for smoking.

I called my Mom to get the brining recipe for smoking fish. Then, I called my sister to get the brining recipe for smoking fish. She chewed me out because she was in the midst of packing for a trip and she and her hubby were leaving first thing on Friday morning. Then, Mom found the recipe...and Sis found the recipe. I got the recipe. I decapitated and gutted all the bluegill, cleaned them, and then set them in the first brine...the salt brine. Then...at around 9 PM, I washed them all off and set them in the next brine...the salt/sugar brine. That's about all I could manage for one day...oh...wait...I carried the bluegill remains ("fish heads, fish heads, rolly-polly fish heads") down to the dock and baited my crayfish traps.

Friday morning, before breakfast, I checked my crayfish traps. I was a bit disappointed to see only a dozen or so in each of my traps but... The plan for the day was to bring the brined bluegills over to my folks' place where we'd use their smoker to smoke the fish. I decided to bring the live crayfish over while I was at it...not for smoking. Mom and I boiled up a pot of crayfish while we set the bluegill out to dry on the smoking racks. Smoking fish tends to be an all day project. Dad had already soaked the wood. Sis and her hubby had brought that and some charcoal up from their place...before they left town. It was really too bad that the weather was so drizzly and I think we should have let the fire burn down more before we added the wood chips...but...we ended up with smoked fish by around 5 PM that night. Twenty-four hours after I'd returned from my day's fishing.

Yesterday, HTP and I went to the Rutabaga Festival. HTP's sister and hubby were going to be there to see the hot pepper eating contest so we decided to join them. Despite the cold and drizzle, we sallied forth. It felt more like late October than late August. Oh well... I'd never seen an actual hot pepper eating contest in person. I've seen a hot pepper eating contest on TV but those were raw jalapenos. The hot peppers at this hot pepper eating contest were actually hot Italian peppers which I'm told are HOT but...they also cook them. They each had to eat a pound of the cooked peppers which looked pretty slimmy. Ewwww! They were timed as to how fast each of them could down their pound of peppers. Ewwww! The crowd roared and cheered and drank beer. I suspect the enjoyment of watching this pepper eating thing has more to do with the beer but...that may just be me. On the plus side, I got to enjoy a bag of those tiny donuts that they sell at the fair, and I also enjoyed some cotton candy. Yummy! Oh...and I had a beer, but not until the taste of the donuts and the cotton candy had a chance to clear my palate. I do have some standards. I'm not sure who won the hot pepper eating contest. There was one guy who had eaten his peppers in 12 seconds, which was the fastest time when HTP and I decided that it was time to leave. It's not that we weren't enjoying watching the whole thing and all but...after seeing ten or twelve people down cooked hot peppers...well...you've pretty much seen it. They all pretty much used the same technique...and both hands. Ewwww!!!! However, it didn't ruin HTP and my appetites for dinner. Prime rib at the Prime Bar. Yummm!!!

We didn't get any frost last night. It did get pretty cold. 40 degrees when I woke up. I'm told that it's supposed to get even colder tonight. I'm waffling over whether or not to cover the plants out on my deck tonight. Frost in August? Have you noticed that it's become Global Climate Change instead of Global Warming? Regardless, after breakfast, HTP and I decided to split some more logs for the wood pile in our garage. I suspect that he wanted a fireplace fire last night because I wouldn't let him turn on the furnace but...he felt too guilty about raiding our log pile in the garage to actually light a fire. We split and loaded enough logs to fill our SideKick from top to bottom, from guggle to zatch. I don't think we could stack any more wood on our pile in the garage. Team effort. Go us! We can now have a guilt-free fire in our fireplace...well...aside from the Global Warming/Climate Change thing.

I'm starting to get enough tomatoes from my deck garden (hope and pray that we don't get frost tonight) to can some of my tomatoes. I decided to use my new steam juicer. I finally broke down and bought my own. I'd been using one that belongs to one of Sis' friends. I'm not sure if I actually liked the result. I'm used to peeling and de-seeding tomatoes and then dicing them up into quart jars before canning. What intrigued me about the steam juicer was that I didn't have to do any of that messy blanching, peeling, and de-seeding. However, the juice that came out of the juicer was almost clear and yellowish. It didn't look like tomato juice at all. Sis warned me about this but told me that the juice really does taste like tomato juice. OK. Then, I needed to toss the pulpy remains from the juicer into my high hat to press out any remaining pulp, for tomato sauce. The thing is...I'm not all that fond of tomato sauce. I like chunks in my sauce. And, quite frankly, the steam juicer and the high hat weren't all that fun to clean up, so, there's still a mess. Canning tomatoes can be a messy process no matter how you do it, and since HTP doesn't like all the chunks.... Oh well...I now I have one quart of tomato juice which they call tomato water, and I've got one quart of tomato sauce. Since I have so many jars remaining of canned tomatoes from last summer, both here and in Arizona, I decided to give this new method a try. Besides, I hear that martinis using the tomato water are very good. Kind of a bloodless Bloody Mary.

Murphyism of the Day

Schick's Lament

It is too bad that we cannot cut the patient in half in order to compare two regimens of treatment.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.

- Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

Raccoon in the Havahart Trap
Actually, this is a photo of the first raccoon. They all look pretty much the same.

Word of the Day

Schweaty - Describing someone who has sweat and other bodily moisture on them that were created during a provocative situation. Being in a moistened state.

Woodtick Count of the Day - 42

Sis and I got all the wine racked yesterday. We're quite pleased with all our varieties and blends this year. After much discussion, we decided to add more sugar to the wines this year. I'm glad we did. It's a bit early to know for certain but Sis and I both thought all the wines tasted pretty darn good...so far. Wine-bottling will commence at about this time next month. I think it would be wonderful if my brother could come to help us bottle his Concord Grape Wine. But...maybe he can design the label.

Eureka! And I'm not talking about the TV show...which...I happen to like but that's beside the point. Eureka! HTP woke me up at around 3 AM to tell me that we've caught another raccoon. Woohoo! Two down. HTP and I will transport the critter to the same spot where we took his sibling. Maybe they can hook up and discuss the perils of walking into Havahart traps. Actually, I think we lulled the raccoons into thinking that the trap was safe. After the last time the raccoons tripped the trap from the side, HTP re-set the trap but...he wasn't too sure how it was done...so, the raccoons were able to steal the bait without tripping the trap. Then, even though I KNOW how to set the trap, after the chipmunk incident...oh...that's right...I never told you about that, well...next paragraph. Anyhow, after the chipmunk incident which I'll tell you about in the next paragraph, I re-set the trap and I didn't get the trigger mechanism set quite right. The raccoons...or something...marched into the trap and stole the bait without tripping the trap. I re-set the trap but...I was going to put some bait in it last night after supper but forgot. Actually, I was a bit surprised to hear that we caught a raccoon without bait but....it's all good.

As for the chipmunk incident... A chipmunk brazenly marched into my Havahart trap to munch on the bait that I'd set in the trap. Of course, the trap was sprung but chipmunks are pretty small. I have a smaller Havahart trap but this wasn't it. The particular Havahart trap I've got set up on my deck was designed to catch larger prey. Raccoons, rabbits, squirrels....not chipmunks or mice. Anyway, the chipmunk decided to make a quick exit through the side grid of the trap only...he got stuck. Gypsy was totally upset. First by the sound of the trap and then by the sight of a chipmunk struggling to remove its hindquarters from the trap. I could just leave it like that. I decided to use the same method that I use when taking off my wedding ring when I'm kneading bread or making meatballs. Oil. I can now add to my list of things that I never dreamed I'd find myself doing. I can now say that I've oiled a chipmunk's butt. Hey! It worked. The chipmunk squiggled its hindquarters out of the trap and ran off without even thanking me. Oh well...such is life. If you wait around for a thank you for every single nice thing you do, you'll end up standing around doing nothing for anyone to be grateful for. Besides, you can't catch a raccoon with a chipmunk stuck in your Havahart trap. Just a bit off-putting.

Murphyism of the Day

Hodgins's Homily

A miracle drug is any drug that will do what the label says it will do.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it.

- H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

Hiking the Logging Road - Sis 2008

Word of the Day

Scholarshipping - 1. The act of an organization giving out awards. 2. The act of a student actively hunting for scholarships to finance their education.

Woodtick Count of the Day - 42

Sis and I went out hunting yesterday. Hunting the wild blackberry. Unfortunately, our hunt wasn't all that successful. We "might" have picked a quart of berries but...there wasn't nearly enough to make blackberry wine...or even jam. That makes three years that the blackberries haven't produced. In the past, we've been able to pick pails full of berries. Last year's drought, last winter's REALLY cold temperatures, a late frost this spring, not enough rain this summer....all these may be reasons for Sis and my meager findings. Oh well...maybe next year. Sis will be spending more time figuring out her new Blackberry than cleaning its namesake berries.

We've got rain! It's so dark outside right now, you'd think it was evening instead of morning. I almost didn't bother getting out of bed this morning but the livestock needed feeding. Gypsy and I slipped outside for her morning walk during a break in the rain...a very short break. My non-digital rain gauge is registering an inch and a half of rain...and the rain is still coming down. I'm not complaining. We really need the rain. Besides, it's Laundry Day. However, I'm glad Sis and I did our hiking yesterday, albeit unproductive, because today wouldn't be the day for it.

Speaking of whining, which I wasn't, Sis and I need to rack the wine this week.

Murphyism of the Day

Matz's Warning

Beware of the physician who is great at getting out of trouble.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

Word of the Day

Schnoobs - Desribing something or someone that is exceptionally or unbearably cute, so cute it makes one feel warm and fuzzy inside. Comments of this sort are usually said amongst friends and expressed with their tone of voice raised a few octaves.

Woodtick Count of the Day - 42

After several days of dreary, drizzle and rain, the sun has finally returned. Actually, it returned yesterday afternoon...just in time for HTP and me to spend some quality time away from The Lake.

I didn't forget. Yesterday was HTP's birthday. We spent the day kicking back and doing pretty much what HTP wanted..or..we didn't do anything he didn't want to do. We drove to the town his folks grew up in and toodled around a bit, and then stopped at Louie's to pick up some of our favorite Italian sausage. We finished off our day with an early supper at one of HTP's favorite Fish Fry buffets. Yummy! OK. I'm not a fond of fish frys but...there was shrimp and chicken to make up for it. Hey! It wasn't MY birthday. Besides, there was a pitcher of beer....and they gave us some ice cream.

Murphyism of the Day

Warner's Prescription Principles

1. Only adults have difficulty with childproof bottles.

2. You never have the right number of pills left on the last day of the prescription.

3. The pills to be taken with meals will be the least appetizing ones.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us.

- Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680)

My Farm...so far.

Word of the Day

Schnibbel - Any tiny piece of paper that is lying on the ground.

Woodtick Count of the Day - 42


Sis pointed out that it's been a long time...days...since I last blogged. Well...you didn't really think I could blog on the day that HTP and I went to The Big City. However, there's no real explanation or excuse for the rest of the days. I got back to The Lake on Sunday and found that "something" had invaded my deck garden, picked and ate a couple of my first almost ripe tomatoes...leaving the remains sitting on the railing of my deck (just as an additional slap in the face) and whatever it was knocked over two of my tomato plants. While the cats are away, the squirrel will play? ARGH!!!!!

On Monday, I was able to move the Earthbox with the two tomato plants that were knocked over to a more secure location and tied them more securely to the deck railing and I sprayed all my tomatoes for blight...again, because it had rained on Sunday. Then...I re-baited my trap....and waited, and waited and waited.... While I waited, I picked the beans and made two quarts of French-cut beans, three pints of dilled beans, and one pint of pepperoncini.

Tuesday was Laundry Day. I re-sprayed my tomatoes because...it rained. Nothing new to report there. Still waiting....

Finally, when I got up on Wednesday, there was a squirrel in my trap. Vengeance is mine! I transported the tomato-eating critter to the back of beyond. Of course, HTP tempered my glee by asking me if I was sure that this particular squirrel was the only tomato-eating thief. I re-set my trap. We'll see. Meanwhile, I've picked and eaten four ripe tomatoes. I didn't spray my tomatoes again even though it had rained because more rain was expected.

Today? It's raining...again. No storms, just rain. I was going to start a fire in the fireplace but decided to bake bread instead.

My free time? I've been spending way too much time working on my farm in Farmville. However, in Farmville, there are no critters to steal your crop....and you can plant raspberry bushes and pick the crop in just two hours. How cool is that? Sis and I tried to get our Dad started on his own farm in Farmville but...he's already let his strawberries die and I'm pretty sure he forgot to pick his eggplant. I haven't had the heart to go and check.

Sis has further tried to distract me from blogging by introducing me to Farm Pal...and then she released a plague of bugs onto my crops? What's with that? Not to worry...I stole some of her crops and returned the bug favor. I suspect I'll probably stick to my Farmville farm. What with Farkle and Pogo and Farmville...I think I'm spending way too much time at my computer. I'm beginning to neglect my life away from the computer.

Tomorrow? I'll need to make a birthday cake. It's HTP's birthday tomorrow. I think we'll go to one of those All-You-Can-Eat Friday Fish Fry's that HTP loves.

Murphyism of the Day

Lyall's Principle for Patients

Just because your doctors have a name for your condition doesn't mean they know what it is.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.

- John Wanamaker (1838 - 1922)

My First Ripe Tomatoes - Scarred by Critters but, they're the first.


Word of the Day

Schnelling - The act of adding a comically bad German accent; Injecting the following words or non-words into conversation: "yah, unst, dah, isnt, yavol, uber, dost", etc.; Adding a 'z' sound to any noun.

Woodtick Count of the Day - 42

My raccoon count remains stubbornly at one. The remaining raccoons have learned how to trip the trap without getting caught. However, I've reset the trap and am trying something that I hope will work to block their methods of tripping the trap.

HTP and I are driving to The Big City tomorrow to attend a family reunion. I made Italian pizzelle yesterday to bring as our food contribution. I'm bringing some jams and jellies for the silent auction. I was going to bring a bottle of Italian wine but I only have the one bottle of Italian wine and LOTS of jars of jams and jellies.

I picked my first peppers from the deck garden. I canned three pints of Hot Pepperoncini Pickles and three pints of Hot Cherry Peppers. I fried up four batches of Italian peppers with onion and garlic. I ended up freezing four 3-cup containers of it for future use. I kept the fifth container in the fridge and enjoyed some of the fried peppers this morning with my morning toast.

I've got almost ripe tomatoes on my own tomato plants out on the deck! Woohoo! Finally! If the raccoons pick them before me, I'm getting a gun. One has to draw the line somewhere.

Murphyism of the Day

Levine's Law

You always urinate just before they ask you for a urine sample.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Seize opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind.

- Bulgarian Proverb

Pizze Fritte

Word of the Day

Schmuckspert - One who is considered an expert on clumsy or stupid people.

Woodtick Count of the Day - 42

HTP dug out an old recipe from his Grandma Z's recipe file that HTP had scanned into his computer. We've got a family reunion coming up and he's been remembering many of the foods that he enjoyed as a child. Pizze Fritte. Pizze Fritte is a kind of fried raised donut with raisins. Italian, of course. HTP remembers his Grandma's pizze fritte with great fondness. Unfortunately, her recipe, written in her own hand, isn't exactly clear on some things. Like...exactly how much flour does one need to use? She wrote that you keep adding flour until the dough isn't sticky. OK. I'll buy that. And engineer like HTP finds such lack of detail a bit crazy-making. And when something makes HTP crazy, he tends to try and make me crazy.

I told him that, judging from the amount of liquid in the recipe, the amount of flour that we needed would be approximately 8 cups. He doesn't like approximate. I won't go into the whole crazy-making episode of him trying to use his engineering skills to translate his Grandmother's recipe but I will tell you that I was ready to kosh him on the head a couple of times. He wanted to know how many pizze fritte that recipe made...his Grandma didn't say. Judging from the ingredients, I figured...LOTS. He wanted to know the exact temperature of the oil. He wanted to know how many ounces a package of yeast had in it...and how many teaspoons. Why? Some things you just know. He wouldn't believe me when I told him that there was approximately 2 tsp. of yeast per packet. I actually measured it one day. Three medium potatoes. Define medium. *sigh* You can't totally engineer cooking. I left him busily engineering as much as he could while I peeled the potatoes and got them boiling. The recipe called for three medium potatoes, boiled and mashed and a quart of potato water. That's a lot of liquid. I was close to the amount of flour needed in the recipe...but...we needed 10 + cups of flour. LOTS of flour.

My poor mixer couldn't handle the amount for this recipe. I ended up having to finish the mixing process on top of my counter. I suspect Grandma Z has a HUGE wooden bowl that she used for making this amount of dough. I actually had to split my final dough into two parts so it could rise until doubled. That horror flick, The Blob, came to mind. In the future, HTP and I will either have to half this recipe or find a HUGE bowl in which to make it. By the way, I thought my bowls WERE huge. Hah!

I ended up having to divide and conquer. I worked with half the now doubled blob at a time....working in the raisins and forming the donuts while the oil was getting hot. How hot? I tossed a tiny scrap of dough into the hot oil. It immediately sizzled to the surface. HTP would have to be satisfied with that. The oil was hot enough. Working as a team, HTP and I formed and fried up four dozen pizze fritte...and then I tackled the second blob. We ended up making 8 dozen pizze fritte. I'm thinking that HTP is going to have to engineer the recipe down to half. There's no way that we can or should eat 8 dozen pizze fritte....no matter how good they are. And they are...very good. I know this because we taste-tested. We had to make sure they tasted like the ones HTP's Grandma Z. made. Ours weren't as greasy. HTP thinks his Grandmother fried hers in lard. Ain't happening. All told, it took us five long hours to complete our task from peeling and boiling the potatoes until my counter top was clean and shiny again.

HTP took some of the pizze fritte with him today to take to his folks. He's going to be spending the day in the big city. Eye appointment.

Me? I've already eaten four pizze fritte this morning. Two before breakfast. Yummy....unfortunately. I'm going to have to give some of these pizze fritte to my folks and my sister. I still have to make some pizzelle for an upcoming family reunion this weekend but that'll have to wait until my window-washers are gone.

Window-washers? Yup. I've got window-washers here today. We'd planned to have them come earlier...in June...or even July but had to postpone. These guys come in from a big city over 1 1/2 hours from The Lake. The only way Sis and I can get them to come out this far is to arrange that they come to wash the windows for both of our houses at the same time. It isn't always easy to arrange a joint window-cleaning date for when both of us are available.

I wonder if we'll have Kamikaze birds attack the windows again this year. Last summer, after window-cleaning, I had a quail nearly break one of my freshly clean windows. Poor thing broke its neck. Dual-pane windows aren't all that easy to break.

Murphyism of the Day

The Clinic Principle

The longer you spend in the waiting room, the greater the likelihood that you will be sent to another room to begin waiting again.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Science may set limits to knowledge, but should not set limits to imagination.

- Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)

One Raccoon Down, Three Raccoons to Go

Word of the Day

Schload - A large quantity; a lot. A shitload.

Woodtick Count of the Day - 42

Have the raccoons learned their lesson? I think it's really too soon to feel certain of this. I can say that we didn't hear or see any evidence of raccoon activity last night. The trap remains at the ready to receive any critter who dares enter.

Murphyism of the Day

Davies's Law of Medical Relativity

If your condition seems to be getting better, it's probably your doctor getting sick.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

If there were no God, there would be no Atheists.

- G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936)

One Down, Three to Go

Word of the Day

Schlitzstop - A person that thinks they can play baseball and drink a beer at the same time.

Woodtick Count of the Day - 42

What with Farkle and Farmville...who has time to blog? I'm having enough trouble finding time to cook, clean, take care of my real garden and harvest the raspberries.

Critter capers continue. I've added a raccoon to my critter count. HTP and I transported/deported one very angry raccoon this morning. One of four. I've reset my trap. Last night the quads stopped by my deck for a visit. One, obligingly entered and tripped the trap. The rest drained my oriole feeder and one of my hummingbird feeders. HTP had to chase off the trapped raccoon's siblings twice. Peta doesn't need to worry. HTP and I found a nice bit of woods near a pond where we transplanted our captive. Hopefully, it was far enough away so that I won't see four raccoons up on my deck tonight. My trap is baited in hopes of adding to my critter count.

Murphyism of the Day

Stoeker's Lemma

If your time ain't come, not even a doctor can kill you.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.

- Rita Mae Brown

Two Fawns

Word of the Day

Schlattwhapper - The window shade that allows itself to be pulled down, hesitates for a second, and then snaps up again.

Woodtick Count of the Day - 42

Critter sighting...sightings. Unfortunately, neither HTP or I are as quick as we'd like to be when it comes to grabbing a camera, and, even when we are quick enough, the resultant pictures don't always turn out. However, they are what they are. We missed the picture of the otters cavorting across our driveway this morning before breakfast. We even missed the repeat performance that the otters gave us after breakfast. However, we did catch the family of deer that visited us this afternoon....as well as we could.

On another critter subject, I'm going to have to set a trap out on my deck. I suspect that it's a squirrel that has been visiting my deck to harvest green tomatoes and hot peppers. This cannot be allowed to continue. Whatever it is, takes one or two nibbles and then tosses it aside. I cannot tolerate such waste.

Gardening continues. Despite all my best efforts my tomatoes are showing the telltale signs of blight. However, I refuse to give up. I sprayed all the tomato plants again this morning. My green beans aren't doing as well this year as they did last year. However, though I haven't harvested enough for canning, I have been able to pick several meals of fresh beans to go with meals for HTP and me.

Murphyism of the Day

Old Grey's Law of Photography

There is never a camera available or ready when an Kodak moment presents itself.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons.

- R. Buckminster Fuller

Word of the Day

Schlank - The liquid that comes out of a brass instrument after being played and then left in cooler temperatures.

It's summer at last! The hot and humid weather rolled in just before I went outside to pick my raspberries this afternoon. I always wait until the plants have a chance to dry off from whatever precipitation or dew that may show up over night or in the early morning hours. By the time I'd finished picking the berries, I had body fluids dripping off my nose. Women don't sweat, they glow...or so I'm told. Well...I was glowing so much that I was creating precipitation.

I made three more batches of jam/jelly today. One batch of sugarless raspberry jelly, one batch of sugarless rhubarb jam, and one batch of raspberry jam (from which I removed over half of the seeds). I seem to be making a great deal of jam and jelly this summer. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any evidence of a large crop of wild blackberries this year. Of course, I haven't hiked the logging road. Today was NOT a good day to undertake this sort of exercise. Hot and humid weather doesn't lend itself to strenuous activities. Heck, I didn't even bother to pick the beans today. Picking the raspberries was enough to wear me out.

HTP and I enjoyed our first taste of sweet corn for the season. It wasn't the best sweet corn that I've ever tasted but it was still quite tasty and hit the spot. Although I grilled steaks for both HTP and me, I enjoyed a meat-free supper tonight. HTP never understands the concept of having a meal that consists merely of one item...SWEET CORN. To him, it's just a side dish. Sweet corn was never treated as a mere side dish in my family. Sweet corn WAS the meal. And what a wonderful meal it is. Of course, HTP doesn't understand the simple enjoyment of having herring on toast for breakfast either. Poor man.

Murphyism of the Day

Law of Supercession

In court, Murphy's Law supersedes local, state, and federal law.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.

- Flannery O'Connor

A Morning Visitor to My Deck Garden

Word of the Day

Schizzle - A non-profane version of @#hit.

We really should have taken pictures...or had someone take pictures. Sis and I made cavatelli (aka "rats") yesterday. We used a recipe that HTP's Italian Grandmother used. By the time we rolled the last rats off our forks, we'd gotten the hang of it. I'm sure that it'll be a lot easier next time...if we can remember the technique. We ended up splitting 3 1/2 pounds of our endeavor. I cooked up some of my split for supper last night. Yummm!!!!!

We had some computer difficulties this morning. No Internet. And...of course, we couldn't work on the problem because we had an appointment in the city. However, it wasn't long after we returned home (4:30 PM) that HTP managed to discover and fix the problem. It was a router issue. I don't know what caused the problem but HTP fixed it and hopefully it will remain fixed.

Needless to say, I didn't get a chance to go out and pick raspberries today (a daily chore). However, I did water the two containers on my deck that tend to need the most water. I'll water the rest tomorrow. I suspect that one of my Earthboxes has developed a crack in its bottom. I can't do anything about it right now. However, I've started to compensate by watering the two plants that currently inhabit that Earthbox from the top, treating that Earthbox like one of my other planters that have drain holes in the bottom. Next spring, I'll check for cracks and see what I can do to fix the problem. My other Earthboxes seem to need watering every other day. My other container plants need watering on a daily basis.

Murphyism of the Day

Rosa's Law Office Laws

1. Clients calling for appointments never have their appointment books in front of them.

2. The phone never rings until you've just dialed a number on the other line.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.

- Christine Bovee

Word of the Day

Scarcasm - Sarcasm that really, really hurts.

Yesterday was Laundry Day. Unfortunately, my dryer wasn't working all that well. When it took two hours to dry the jean/towel load...and it still wasn't dry, I knew that something had to be done. I still had a load of whites in the washing machine, waiting for its turn in the dryer. So...

HTP and I pulled the washing machine out so we could pull the dryer out so we could get at that silver hose thing that runs from the dryer to the wall to the outside. While we had the washing machine and dryer pulled out, it seemed like the ideal time to sweep and mop where I seldom have to the chance to sweep and mop. My laundry room floor is CLEAN. HTP and I pulled out some lint from the silver hose thingy but there wasn't all that much...at least...not enough, in my humble opinion...and HTP's opinion...to stop the dryer from doing its thing (drying clothes). So, I decided to check outside to see if there was a problem at the other end of the silver hose thingy which you really can't see from the outside. Outside, on the other end of the silver hose thingy, there is a white cage like contraption that allows the air to vent to the outside. The cage is there to keep creatures from coming into the house via dryer vent. Anyway, the cage was chuck full of lint. I'm surprised we didn't end up with a dryer vent fire. Of course, in order to empty the white cage contraption, we had to haul out our 10-foot ladder. After removing the cage, I discovered that there was even more lint than I'd thought. Good grief! I pulled it all out but soon realized that I wasn't wearing appropriate attire for cleaning out a dryer vent. What a mess! Plus, I'm not sure why I didn't take the time to turn off the dryer before I decided to clean out that vent. Lint blew out all over me. Not a pretty sight. Oh well...my dryer finally managed to finish up the last two loads of laundry in a much more efficient manner. In other words...it's working.

Me? Remember how I bailed out the boat the other day? Well...it rained again...so...yesterday, I ended up bailing out the boat again. Unfortunately, by the time I'd bailed out the boat, picked the raspberries, fixed the dryer vent (with HTP's help) and finished up doing everything else that day...I didn't feel up to going out fishing anymore. *sigh*

So? I went out fishing after breakfast this morning. Woohoo! I caught my limit of bluegill. We've got fish! I cleaned them all up and HTP helped. He sharpened my fillet knives. Then...I dragged out my crayfish traps and baited them. Waste not, want not. Hopefully, I'll end up with some crayfish in my traps by tomorrow morning. This will be the first time this season that I've gotten my crayfish traps wet. I'll keep you posted.

I really should go out and pick the raspberries again but....I think I've done enough for today.

Murphyism of the Day

Bergen's Law

There's nothing worse than a stupid law.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

The more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to laugh at it.

- Bill Nye

I need to bail out the boat again. Maybe tomorrow.

Word of the Day

Scantwitch - The act of repeatedly trying to scan an item in hopes that one does not have to enter the UPC code by hand.

Woodtick Count of the Day - 42

And so we go from cold and crisp fall weather to mid-summer hot and humid weather...not that I'm complaining. We really need some warmer weather. Plus, I'm enjoying the chance to wear a pair of my capris, one of my sleeveless shirts and a pair of sandals. It's a bit sticky today but I got my gardening done before noon and we closed up the house before it got too oppressive.

I trimmed a lot of the green foliage from my tomatoes this morning. There was a gardening program that recommended getting rid of excessive amounts of foliage. This practice allows better air circulation which can help to keep blight under control. Yes, I've seen a few indications (tell-tale yellow spots) of blight. I've removed any of these leaves that I see and am spraying all my plants with anti-fungal spray but after losing all my plants within a week last year, I'm taking not chances.

We got more rain last night...of course. I bailed out the boat yesterday so...

Murphyism of the Day

Another Old Grey Frog Law Regarding Weather Prediction

If you bail out your boat, it will rain within 24 hours, thus making it necessary to bail out the boat again. This is a self-defeating, circular law.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it.

- Alan Saporta

Word of the Day

Scanter - A brisk, yet leisurely pace. Slower than a gallop, yet faster than a leisurely stroll.

Busy, busy. Yesterday and today were spent catching up on all the things that I haven't been able to take care of for one reason or another. I got my blueberries picked and the netting removed from most of the bushes. I only left two bushes covered which still had enough unripe berries to make it worth the effort.

The raspberries demanded picking and I had to tie up an area of bushes where the raccoons trampled them. The raccoons also emptied a hummingbird feeder and my oriole feeder (same nights that they trampled the raspberry bushes)and ate off a couple of the little yellow nectar flowers on the hummingbird feeder. Thankfully, I had some spare yellow nectar flowers so I was able to repair the damage. Of course, both feeders needed to be refilled. Even with the raccoon damage to the plants, I'm still getting over a quart of raspberries per picking. Regardless, the raccoons have got to be stopped!

On the night of the trampling and feeder vandalism, I actually caught the perpetrators, in flagrante delicto, out on my deck, grubby paws grabbing for the birdseed feeder and exploring my container gardens. I'd forgotten to bring in my birdseed feeders and had gone out to collect them. There were three of the masked bandits and only one of me. However, I was able to grab my sturdy walking stick which I used to thwack and poke at the vandals and thieves while I echoed their hissing with some hissing of my own. I was a bit miffed at the time. Stupid raccoons! I'm hoping that my spirited defense of my property will have discouraged the miscreants. We've had two nights, sans raccoons. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they won't return. You know, it's times like this that I wish I had a gun. My Mom recommended a sling shot but I'm thinking that a BB-gun or a pellet gun is more my thing. In the meantime, my walking stick remains where I can easily grab it should the masked bandits return.

Bread-making was a priority for today. With only three pieces of bread remaining from the last two loaves of bread I baked, it was time to bake more. I really should have made some hamburger buns too but decided to hold off a bit on that project. I don't like to bake too much bread stuff at one time. I'd rather bake it as we need it. Baked goods get moldy pretty fast here at The Lake and after a week need to be stored in the fridge. Since I only have limited refrigerator space, I don't want to load it up with baked goods.

I'm making BBQ ribs tonight for supper. Yesterday, I picked and cleaned enough lettuce from my window box gardens on the deck to last us for a while. A nice garden salad will go well with the ribs.

Murphyism of the Day

Billing's Law

Silence is one of the hardest things to refute.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

It's just a ride and we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money, a choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one.

- Bill Hicks

I bet Bill Hicks doesn't have to worry about wolves and vandalizing raccoons! I don't need bigger locks, I just need a gun.

- Old Grey Frog