May 2021
Sunday 2021.5.30
Memorial Day
Tomorrow is a day to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. It's also unofficially the beginning of barbecue season in many areas of the USA. Costco will be closed tomorrow, but during the weekend they are selling prime beef rib-eye steaks for $14.99 per pound, "while supplies last." I won't buy any, but I did notify a friend. He's a beef fan. I'm more of a lamb sort of guy.
I have no plans to light up the BBQ tomorrow. I'll probably do more work in the yard.
My Yard Passed Inspection
I might have mentioned the trailer park where I live has a new owner. I met him. He's a really nice guy. An inspection of all spaces was scheduled for Thursday of this past week.
I felt fairly confident I would pass without any issues. I keep my space really clean (and I rode around the park, looking at other spaces, and they were in bad need of cleanup). However, there is always a nagging doubt that maybe I'm not aware of something and how much it might cost me to fix the problem.
All went well. I was working outside in my yard and the inspectors, actually the new owner and the park manager, said there was nothing in my yard that needed attention. All was good.
A Day of Rest
I don't like fighting with things. If there is anything that makes me feel frustrated, it's when something is difficult to do.
Like most homes, mine has rain gutters along the roof eaves. There are downspouts at the corners. There is one that connects to the gutter at the edge of my awning. At the bottom there is an additional piece to convey water away from the deck. It runs parallel to the ground. The Dymondia had grown over it and, oddly, that caused the aluminum to rot away in several places. That needed replacing.
I had to go to Home Depot anyway to buy more mortar mix; so I picked up a length of gutter downspout. Cutting it was easy enough, but try attaching it to the elbow at the bottom of the downspout! I fought with it for a while and after some bending of metal and a little hammering with a rubber mallet (and some cussing), it got it into place.
Additionally, I fabricated a clamp to secure it at the end. It was never secured before and I didn't like that. The clamp was easy to make. I cut a strip of aluminum from the leftover spout and shaped it into a strap. A little drilling, a couple of screws, and the pipe is secured in place.
After that ordeal, I felt a day of rest was necessary. So on Friday I didn't do any work on my yard. No digging up Dymondia. No clearing the gaps. No grouting the gaps with mortar. Just sitting on my deck in the warm weather and listening to classical music on my FM radio.
Saturday I was back at it. There were a couple of areas that needed a little more attention to complete. I'll continue to work the side yard. It's a big area. And the space behind my shed needs working. It's been gnawing at me.
Wednesday 2021.5.26
Hissy Fit!
Okay, Sunday evening I suffered a real meltdown. I was watching an episode of Worse Cooks in America on the Food Channel. Anne Burrell was teaching the contestants to make meatballs topped with ricotta cheese. To make her ricotta she curdled milk with an acid. That's when I lost it.
First of all, the word ricotta is Italian. It means twice cooked or recooked. The cheese is made from the whey left over from cheese making. There are proteins in the whey, which is allowed to sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours to build up acids. Then the whey is heated to near boiling, which causes the proteins to form curds. The curds are then captured by filtering them out of the whey after it has cooled. That's ricotta cheese.
Burrell made a rough version of cottage cheese by mixing an acid, typically vinegar, with milk, which curdles the milk. Commercial cottage cheese goes through additional processing to separate more whey from the curds, which are then seasoned with salt. Some cream is added for texture and flavor.
What can I say? I love both cottage cheese and ricotta cheese. Each has their own flavor and each has its purpose in cuisine. Burrell, on the other hand, lost my respect.
The Work Goes On
No one can accuse me of being lazy in my old age. I work in the yard every day. Warm sunny days have made the task less pleasant; however, I try work in the shade where possible. I'll have a graphic to show the progress soon.
Little Electric Skillet
The 8-inch electric skillet I ordered from Amazon arrived a few days early. It isn't bad. Actually, the size is quite good for cooking one or two pieces of fish outside on the deck (and thus keeping any fishy smell out of my kitchen).
It does suffer from one serious flaw. I followed the directions in the user's manual. Lightly coat the pan with oil and then heat to 300°F. Then turn off the heat and let it cool. Finally, wipe with paper towels and the skillet is ready for its first use.
The temperature dial on the heating element is not the least bit accurate. Again, set to 300°F, which I did. There is no "300" by the way, but halfway between 275 and 325 should do. I like to work with thermometers when cooking. It's best to be accurate, right?
The temperature peaked at 541°F. Not even close! I left a negative review, with photo, on Amazon. However, I won't send the pan back. I can work with it. That's the value of having an instrument like an infrared thermometer gun. I cooked some fish and it came out excellent.
Sunday 2021.5.23
Good News
I was working outside in the yard Thursday morning and I noticed a bee buzzing around the tomato plant. At least one bee found the flowers. Maybe it will go back to the hive and tell its relatives.
On close inspection, there is indeed one little tomato growing. It isn't much, of course, but it's my first tomato.
I know this about determinate and indeterminate tomato plants: A determinate, like the Roma I grew last year, grows to a maximum height, produces one crop of fruit, then dies. An indeterminate will grow and grow, and produce fruit throughout the season as long as the climate is favorable for the plant. Here in Southern California the risk of frost in winter is very low. This plant might still be viable next year.
I also did more work bending the plant a little around the tomato cage. I have some thin, flexible, non-adhesive, stretchy tape. I bought it to experiment with grafting (which failed, despite my repeated efforts). I tied a loose loop around a stalk, leaving plenty of room for growth. Then I threaded a piece of kitchen twine through the loop and tied that to one of the wires of the cage, pulling a little to persuade the plant around the cage. It's sort of like the work of an orthodontist moving teeth — a little at a time.
Meanwhile, the onion flower stalks continue to tower above the tomato plant. Out of curiosity, I decided to measure them. They are currently two feet tall, and the flower buds haven't opened yet. What happens when the flower blooms and seeds develop? Does the entire plant then wither and die? I'm not concerned. I have several onion plants in red cups below my grow light. I do want the seeds though. It might be fun to grow some onions from seeds.
Who Knew?
In the shed I have a second roll of green tape. It's not like the grafting tape mentioned above. I don't remember buying it, but I must have purchased it last year when I was growing a Roma tomato plant. I do remember tying that plant to a stake.
I went onto Amazon to learn a little more about the tape. I was surprised to see plant taping machines. They hold a roll of tape and a supply of staples. I watched some YouTube videos that showed how to use them. They're sort of like a big stapler with a roll of tape in it. You fit the machine around the stem of the plant and a stake or cord, then squeeze the trigger. The device secures the stalk with tape, then staples the ends of the tape together before it cuts the tape from the roll. It's a neat idea and costs around $35.
Needless to say, I did not order one. It would be an excellent convenience in a large nursery or on a farm where there are hundreds of plants to stake. It's also useful for someone who is working with thorny plants and needs to keep their hands away from the thorns. I have only one tomato plant that might need an additional tie every few weeks. It gave me an idea though.
When I need a more permanent tie, I can cut a piece of green tape, wrap it around the stem and a wire of the tomato cage, and then staple the two ends together, leaving plenty of room for the stem to thicken. I decided to give it a try. It works.
And Another Thing
In an earlier blog I mentioned watching a YouTube video about growing tomatoes. The host said little branches will grow out of the joint where a larger branch joins the main stem. He said to snip those little growths off, as they will only waste some of the energy that would go into growth.
Back on the 5th of this month I wrote about experimenting with one of those growths. I let one grow. Not only did it form leaves, but there are also flowers on it. More tomatoes! I also wondered what might happen if I cut off the leafy branch in favor of the smaller flowering branch. I'm not quite ready to experiment with that yet. The leafy branch is large and must supply the plant with good energy from the sun. However, as the plant gets larger and fuller with leaves, it might be worth experimenting.
Finally, a Dilemma
I like eating fish, but I don't like the smell of cooked fish in my home. Even fresh fish leaves an odor. I tried using my electric griddle outside on my deck, but it's too large for cooking such a small piece of fish. I also tried cooking vegetables on the griddle, but I prefer to use a skillet so that I can toss them occasionally to cook evenly.
There is a little 8-inch electric skillet on Amazon for less than $27. I've been thinking about it for a while. Cost is not the issue; storage space is my concern. I've been doing some recycling lately, getting rid of things that no longer add value to my life. I cleared enough space inside my home to store my Instant Pot on a shelf. There will soon be room for a little skillet. So I ordered one this morning. Maybe I'll do an unboxing video for my Kitchen Vlog channel on YouTube.
Wednesday 2021.5.19
Where's the Data?
There was news on Monday about the Nurses Union disputing the mask recommendations of the CDC. Where is the union's research? Where is their laboratory data? Is it just an opinion? I've said it often: Anyone can have an opinion, but having an opinion doesn't make someone an authority; it just makes them opinionated.
I'm fully vaccinated. I received my second Moderna shot on April 20th. What is the danger to me if I go into Costco without a mask? Just to clarify, when I went into Costco recently I wore my mask. I also wore my "I'm Vaccinated" lapel pin and I had my laminated photocopy of my CDC Vaccination Card in my shirt pocket. I didn't think a mask was necessary, but I chose to wear one for the sake of others — not to keep them safe but to help them feel safe.
I have nothing negative to say about nurses. They provide a valuable service. But they are not doctors, scientists, immunologists, etc. I trust the scientific research of the CDC more than the exchange of opinions around the water cooler at the Nurses Union offices. And that's my opinion.
Fall Update
It was that time of year again. This computer (the one on which I write this blog and do everything else related to my web site and my YouTube channel) is almost never connected to the internet. That seems like the best way to keep this computer safe. And I even do regular backups onto hard disks and Blu-ray disc blanks that I keep on a shelf here in the office.
Twice a year Microsoft offers a major update to Windows 10. They used to call them Feature Updates, but now I think they're just security updates. And so on Monday I connected this computer to the internet and updated the operating system. Then I disconnected it again.
I don't do software upgrades. I know there are updates and newer versions available, but everything I have works. How does that expression go? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
I once had a computer geek friend who insisted on updating my computers with all the latest versions of drivers and software and whatever. He cost me a world of problems. The new versions were supposed to be better, but if they are no longer compatible with my old printer and scanner, how is that better?
He and I are not friends anymore. In fact, it has been more than ten years. I know because we parted ways a few months before I began my retirement. I don't miss that friendship. It had far more liabilities than assets. That probably isn't a very nice thing to say about a friendship, but really — he mostly used me for food, eating at my home at my expense.
More Basil
On Sunday I blogged about having moved six basil plants from beneath the grow light to an ugly planter outdoors. That left six empty cups. I still had plenty of basil seeds, more than 40, so I refilled the cups with potting mix and planted all the seeds.
I learned something new about basil this week. They'll tolerate shade outdoors, but they really need full sunshine to develop the oils that give the basil its flavor. Do I detect another experiment?
I'm thinking of growing one crop beneath the grow light and another outside in the planter. This is the time of year when the sky is overcast nearly all day nearly everyday. (It's cloudy now as I write this.) The grow light is lit at full brightness everyday for 12 hours. I suspect it will help produce a better batch of basil.
And I learned something new, and potentially important, about seeds too. If the seeds are really small, like basil seeds, they shouldn't be planted in the soil. Just sprinkle them on top and cover with a thin layer of soil. Keep them moist, as the top tends to dry out quickly.
Maybe that's why one of the basil seeds I planted in early April sprouted five weeks later. It was probably too deep. And maybe that's why one sprout didn't survive. It used all its energy to get to the surface of the soil and had nothing left to help it grow.
Landscaping
I can report a little something about the landscaping project. All the sandstone between the front of the shed and the end of my driveway was cleared of Dymondia during the past few days. The cloudy skies in the morning and early afternoon made it easy to work outside for long stretches, which is required to pull up the ground cover and clear the gaps between the stones.
Yesterday and this morning I filled the gaps with mortar. I used 60 pounds, an entire bag, of mortar mix yesterday and 75 pounds today. The area is now done and I can move to another area. I continue to work around the tree and I started clearing the ground in front of my home.
Sunday 2021.5.16
COVID-19
You will have heard by now that on Thursday the CDC eased the requirements for wearing masks in public places. Masks are no longer required in most settings if the person is fully vaccinated. Local restrictions might still apply. They do here.
There was something in the news a few weeks ago about the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card. "Should (or Can) I laminate my card?" The recommendation was "No" in case more information needs to be added to the card later, such as booster shots. However, I don't see any reason why we can't laminate a copy.
So on Thursday I scanned my card into my computer and printed a copy. Then I laminated it. I plan to carry it along with my "I'm Vaccinated" lapel pin (now a magnet).
I was very pleased Thursday evening. I felt like I won an important victory. I had successfully dodged this pandemic. It wasn't easy. It wasn't fun. But I got through it.
Tomato Update
The Early Girl tomato plant continues to grow very well. In fact, the growth surprises me. The stalk is thick — so much so that I began to worry I might not be able to train it around the cage without breaking it. So, working very carefully, I attached my first tie to the plant. It isn't much, but I suspect it will help bend the plant a little as it grows. Meanwhile, I continue to feel amazed it is doing so well in a five-gallon bucket.
The flowers I mentioned earlier this month are opening. Now it's a waiting game. Are the bees finding them? Will there be fruit? How long before I know? It should be fun to watch.
I probably shouldn't count my tomatoes before they hatch (or whatever the verb might be), but on one bunch I see the potential for seven. Meanwhile, further up, there are two more bunches of flower buds developing.
What about tomato worms? I remember seeing one on a neighbor's tomato plant a few years ago. One can damage a plant quickly. But they are so green, they easily blend into the foliage. However, I learned on the internet they have one fatal flaw — they glow brightly when lit by a UV light. So I ordered a small UV flashlight from Amazon.
Buddha's Hand Citrus Tree
You might remember my mentioning in an earlier blog that I bought a new fancy planter. I won't go into the long story, except to say four of the five pots I have were given to me and I felt obligated to accept the gifts. However, I wanted something fancier, like the planter my orange tree is in.
Thursday was not a good day to work on the yard. It had drizzled overnight and everything was too wet. I tried sitting on a sheet of cardboard, but the water soon soaked through. So, I used the time instead to transfer one citrus tree, the Buddha's Hand, to a new pot.
I kept the root ball intact; so hopefully it will survive the repotting. As for the old planter…
Basil
As planned, I set aside the old and ugly planter for basil. It's about the same width as the planter mentioned above, but not as deep. So it should serve well enough as a container for growing basil (see below). My hope is to have enough fresh basil by late fall to make a batch of pesto for freezing.
That same day I also transferred the remaining two rooting basil plants from their jar of water to cups of potting mix. Some of those are almost ready to be snipped back and the cuttings to go into water for further rooting.
But here's an interesting development: You might remember I planted a dozen basil seeds on April 8th. From what I learned on the internet, they were expected to sprout in five to ten days. Four sprouted within that time period. A fifth one sprouted a little later, but failed to survive. Then, to my amazement, five weeks later, on May 14th, I saw another seed sprouting.
During the afternoon I drove to the Home Depot Garden Center and bought another bag of potting mix. I couldn't resist — I bought another of those fancy planters. There was a time when I hoped to have five in my yard. This now makes three. I'll transfer another citrus tree to a fancy pot and use the old planter for maybe some onions, as I should have some seeds soon. The bulb onion plant in the same bucket with the tomato plant is really pushing up flower stalks, almost like it's competing with the tomato for the highest height (and it's winning).
Meanwhile, I've been watching the flowers on the green onion plants. They're not brown enough to release seeds yet, but they're getting close. So I'll have those to plant soon too. And I can't help but wonder what the garlic plants will do. Will they flower? It was time to do some research on the internet.
Garlic is better grown from cloves taken from a bulb. Growth from seeds is not recommended.
Basil Two
I decided the time had come to move some of the nursery basil (growing under my grow light) outside to the ugly pot mentioned above. I used an entire 2 cubic foot (56.6 liter) bag of potting mix to fill the planter, and there was still room to spare. The soil depth is about a foot (30 cm). That should be enough.
As mentioned in an earlier blog, basil is a biennial. It lives for two years. During its second year it flowers and therefore produces seeds. The best flavor comes from the first year of leaves. Most of the old plants can be uprooted and discarded, but it's a good idea to keep one or two for seeds to start next year's plants.
One of them was tall enough to snip, giving me a clipping to start rooting in water. I'll watch the others for possible future clippings. Also, I'm hoping they'll grow tall enough to let me snip off the lower leaves and fill in the space above the soil with mulch to discourage weeds from growing.
Meanwhile, I planted more of the seeds I gathered from my old basil plant. Those are in a little plastic pot beneath my grow light. Hopefully, they'll sprout soon.
Wednesday 2021.5.12
Landscaping
The work of removing the Dymondia and replacing it with cement (in opposition to the gophers) continues. Some days I clean the gaps between the sandstone; other days I fill the gaps with mortar. Yesterday I did some of both. It was an excellent day. I used up an entire 60-pound (27kg) bag of mortar mix and I still felt fine afterward.
The weather is cooperating. It has been overcast nearly all day every day, with bright sunshine later in the afternoon.
I can report one area as done. It is a wide strip from the end of my driveway and alongside my shed. That started as a practice area because it isn't very visible. I could hide my mistakes. I got the hang of working with mortar soon enough. So I finished all that area.
I also worked a lot of the area beneath the juniper tree in my yard. When the sun shines, there is shade to one side. In the afternoon the shade is on the opposite side. I prefer to work in the shade; although, lately there hasn't been much sunshine.
I have a long way to go. The next area to begin goes from the end of my driveway to the front of my shed. I think I said in an earlier blog I expect this project to keep my busy through the summer and into the fall, perhaps through to the end of the year.
This week I also cut more branches from the juniper tree that drops debris onto the awning over my deck, which fills the gutter and is horrendously difficult and dirty to clean out. The park rented a very large container we could dump stuff into to be hauled away. They never notified me it was there. Maybe my yard is so clean they thought I didn't need to know. But I saw it and got busy sawing off a few more tree limbs.
Normally, I'm limited by the size of my trash bin. Dymondia also goes into the bin; so I can't do a lot of tree trimming. I expect I will also be slowly and gradually trimming that tree during the next several months.
Comedy Stuff
A friend recently got me hooked on a British comedy show called Taskmaster. Each series features five comedians as competitors. The emcee gives them silly tasks to complete, such as eat the most watermelon or stack lemons as high as possible. The shows are funny, but it is also very amusing to see how some complete the task by working around the limitations. "You must remain standing on the red rug." So, standing, they shift the rug to get closer to the target.
Living in Southern California, I don't have access to British TV. However, the shows are on YouTube.
And Ants
I am dealing with ants again. Normally, I see them in the fall when the winter rains begin. It's odd to see them indoors during this time of year. They're not looking for water. There has been fog at night and the ground is moist in the morning.
So far, there hasn't been a major infestation, but I'm seeing them, a few at a time, in my kitchen. I suspect my mortar work has disrupted their habitat. Indeed, I uncovered several ant colonies, eggs and all. Maybe they're looking for a safer place to live. Thankfully, the gophers haven't tried moving into my home.
Sunday 2021.5.9
Happy Mother's Day
If you're a mother, I hope you're having a special day. If you have a mother, I hope you gave her a special day. Those of us who longer have a mother might do well to remember her today — maybe make one of there favorite recipes in honor of her.
Risky Business
Wednesday afternoon I took a chance I probably shouldn't have at my age — I climbed up onto the roof.
Here's the thing: There is a beautiful juniper tree alongside my home. It's beauty, however, stretches too far over my home. I have a deck on that side of the house and I enjoy sitting out there. The tree provides some shade; the awning does also. The two are not truly compatible. The tree drops leaves (needles, I guess) and berries onto the awning. When it rains, all the debris flows down into the gutter. There is no easy way to clean out that gutter. The last time I did, I made a horrible mess. That was last year and gutter is full again already (and we had very little rain this past winter).
I don't want to remove the tree, but I really need to cut it back until there are no branches overhanging the awning. A juniper tree on the opposite corner is just the right shape. It looks like a full shrub on top of a tree trunk. It's the perfect size and shape. My plan, eventually, is to shape my tree little by little until it looks like that other one. Meanwhile, I should probably get a younger friend to work with me.
Moody
I've been moody since Thursday. I blogged about it in the past. I am not a bigot. I am not prejudiced — except in one area. I either can't or won't do anything about it. I have issues with ignorance.
Someone I know (I won't call him a friend) sent me email about the earth's equator ("a razor thin line" he said — actually, it has no width at all) and how water goes down a drain in one direction above the equator and in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere. Bull! I know that isn't true.
It probably comes from the fact (true) that hurricanes and cyclones rotate in a counter-clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise south of the equator. I think it has something to do with Newtonian physics. The rotation of the earth affects the atmosphere. Big storms are affected because of their size. Drains, however, are too small to be affected.
I tried to explain his urban myth to him. No, he insisted. It was demonstrated on a cruise ship that crossed the equator. As the ship crossed from one hemisphere to the other the water going down the drain changed direction. (I hope he didn't pay money for that demonstration.) What is a guy like me supposed to think?
I like laws of physics. I'm particularly fond of the law of gravity (until something falls to the floor and rolls under the refrigerator). That guy (I'll call him "that guy") believes in a lot of what I call hoopie-doopie bullsh*t. Fine. When he can hover above the ground under his own power, without the aid of ropes, pulleys or a lever, in defiance of the law of gravity, I'll exercise faith.
I should probably add that most of his emails, maybe 90%, go into the trash folder without my ever reading them. My mood is my fault. I should never have read his equator email.
Videos Revisited?
A cooking friend gave me an idea. Several years ago I agreed to do 45 cooking shows for a local TV station. I wasn't paid, but there was hope something lucrative might develop. It didn't; so I didn't agree to a second season.
The shows had to be between 28 and 30 minutes in length. I put most of those programs on YouTube, but the length might have discouraged some people from watching them. A few people went so far as to complain about the length even though I explained the necessity of their being so long.
So, the suggestion was that I load those videos, a few at a time, onto this computer again. Record new intro and outro clips. Then edit the videos to a more acceptable length. I like the idea. It might be worth a few experiments.
Wednesday 2021.5.5
A New Record
Sunday I set of new record for my mortar usage. I used an entire 60-pound bag. I did 30 in the morning and 30 in the afternoon — and I felt fine afterward. That's how I'm coming out of my winter pandemic hibernation. Speaking of which…
Returning to Normal, or Not?
The university where I used to work closed most of the offices during the fall and told the staff to work from home. Now that so many people here are vaccinated, the school is trying to open the offices again, but the staff is resisting. They don't want to go back to work.
I saw an amusing political cartoon in which a man in his t-shirt, boxer shorts and socks is leaning against the water cooler in his living room. He says to his cat, "Heard the one about the guy who got so used to working from home he didn't go back?"
The guy across the street was attending religious meetings through Zoom. He liked it because he only needed to wear a shirt and tie. Below the waist he was in him pajama bottoms. He told me on Sunday that he stopped attending those Zoom meetings.
A former friend of mine, who works for the university, moved to Bakersfield during the pandemic winter. While he works from home he sits in front of the TV all day. I was told his department is trying to decide what to do with him. Force him to come back to work or fire him, or just leave him on the payroll as a useless liability? They'll probably increase his work load until he quits.
Going back to the old normal will be difficult for many people. I'm happy I am retired. Returning to my old normal means working out in the yard more and sitting on my porch when the weather is fine.
Basil
The basil continues to thrive under the grow light. The first cuttings I rooted are now in potting soil. They're doing well. Two more clippings, cut from the plant as it was dying in its original container, are rooting very well. They'll go into soil this week. And five of the 12 seeds I planted have sprouted and are beginning to grow leaves. I have more seeds.
When I transplant the Buddha's hand citrus tree into the new pot I bought for it, I'll use the old pot for basil plants. They should do well in a large planter outside in the sun.
How About the Tomato Plant?
When I think back to the little plant I bought at the Home Depot Garden Center, it amazes me the plant has grown so much in so little time. It was only a month ago when I potted it outside.
It's almost up to the first rung of the tomato cage. And it's leaning in the best direction. Soon, if I work carefully, I hope to train it around the cage. Supposedly, if I break the main stalk, that stops any further growth. The plant wouldn't die, and it would still produce a few tomatoes, but it wouldn't grow any higher.
Little branches grow out of the base of each branch at the main stalk. Those get nipped off. I wonder what would happen if I were to break off the branch and favor that new little growth. Would it become a new stalk? Hopefully I won't need to find out. However, it might be worth experimenting with only one of them. Maybe when the plant is bigger and stronger.
Flowers are budding on the main stalk. I'm watching them closely. When they fully open up I'll take some photographs. And, of course, I'll photograph tomatoes as they develop.
Sunday 2021.5.2
A Taste of Summer
Thursday's weather was glorious and warm. At one point early in the afternoon the temperature topped at about 84°F (29°F). It was too hot to work outside, even in the shade; so I enjoyed a day of rest, sitting on my deck and appreciating the fine weather. Besides, I was out of mortar.
More Mortar
A younger friend helped me get mortar. He was planning a trip to Costco; so we teamed up and also went to Home Depot where I bought eight bags of mortar mix. They're 60 pounds each, almost too heavy for me to handle. He did most of the work of loading them onto a dolly and then into the back of my SUV. Without him I would have bought only two.
He likes lamb, as do I, and he was the one who introduced me to rack of lamb. Luckily, I had some prepped raw Lamb Chops Saltimbocca in the freezer. Unlike the recipe, I prepared these as single chops. There is a method to my madness.
Double chops make it easier to cook the meat without overcooking it. Single chops are easier to cook medium rare if they're frozen. Just toss a few, without thawing, into a skillet and cook over low heat while a side dish is also on the stove. The freeze will keep the inside pink while the outside lightly browns. Cook to about 145°F (63°C) and you have a deliciously tender piece of lamb. I buy a rack of lamb, cut it into chops, enclose each in prosciutto, seal them in plastic and freeze. They're convenient for feeding friends and guests on short notice.
As for the mortar, now that I feel comfortable working with 30 pounds of mortar mix at a time, those bags should last me four weeks. I could work faster, maybe doing 60 pounds in a day, but I need to take time to prep the gaps between the sandstone, pulling out the dymondia and clearing the gap of dirt.
It's also more pressing because the neighbor's squirrel problem is getting worse. I watched one leave her yard and run across mine. I went outside and looked for holes. There were none. It's because they have a bird feeder. The seeds that fall to the ground attract rodents. I can't help but wonder what their mice problem is. Thankfully, I don't have mice. I sealed my home against mice. I keep traps set, just in case, but so far they continue to remain empty.
Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta
One of my friends likes to cook. He and I often toss recipe ideas back and forth over the phone. Sometimes I wish I had taken notes because I can't remember everything we talked about. He was the one who gave me the idea of using my Breville juicer to make pesto. I featured that in my video for Pesto Chicken Saltimbocca.
He was the one who helped me get more bags of mortar mix and I fed him lamb, with which I also included some of that pesto. We have since been talking a lot about basil sauce. One of my ideas was Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta. There isn't a recipe yet, but I'm thinking of writing one and shooting a video.
It's a simple dish. I made the sauce in less time than it took to heat the water and boil the spaghetti. The cream sauce is flavored with pesto. It's also delicious. I enjoy pastas with cream sauces anyway, but this one was especially good.
Computers
I haven't written about my computers in a while. So far, everything has been working well since I changed a central processing unit cooler. Yesterday being the first of the month, I changed all the dust filters. I'm still keeping that up. How long has it been? Six years?
Five years is about the life expectancy of most computers, although they'll work much longer if properly maintained. With Windows 10 the lifespan of a computer is longer because the operating sytem doesn't change so drastically. As the OS changed from XP, 7, 8/8.1 and 10, often older computers wouldn't run the newer OS. Windows 10 has kept computers up to date fairly well.
Eventually I'll need to build new computers. I'm hoping to get at least four more years out of these, maybe longer. Only two conditions would force me to build new computers sooner — a complete failure or an entirely new OS. The prospect of a new OS doesn't seem probable soon, but a computer can fail without notice.
A Few Things New
I was surprised to see a fifth basil seed sprout beneath the grow lamp. If I could see just one more sprout, I could claim a 50% success rate. I have more seeds; so there are still plenty of opportunities.
The onion plant in the same pot with the tomato plant has pushed up another flower bud. I'm really hoping to get some onion seeds.
And the tomato plan is growing well, almost up to the first run of the cage, and more flowers are budding. It will soon be time to start securing the plant to the cage. I have some soft and stretchy grafting tape that I think would work well.
Something I look forward to enjoying this summer is Tomato Salad. It's simply cut up fresh tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. I always use tomatoes I buy in the store. What would that salad taste like with freshly pick vine ripened tomatoes? What would it taste like if I added a little of my homemade pesto? I hope to answer those questions in a few months.