APRIL 2023
Sunday 2023.4.30
Where's My Refund?
Something odd happened this week. I got a letter from the California Franchise Tax Board. They wanted more information to verify it was me (it was I?) who filed my tax forms, not someone else. More information? I was suspicious; so I called the regular phone number, not the number in the letter.
I'm wary of mail and email that requests personal information, especially if it involves money. I had to leave a call-back number and they called me about three hours later.
The letter turned out to be legitimate. It was part of the state's fraud prevention program. There is a refund due and they wanted to make sure the correct person was requesting the money.
While I was on the phone with them, I asked about last year's refund. It never showed up in my bank account. The person did some checking and the state never received last year's tax forms. That's the second time I filed electronically and the state failed to get my return. I was told to print everything and write at the top, "Might be duplicate forms" and mail them. I even printed and included the authorization for electronic filing.
There was no penalty for late filing because the state owes me a refund. So I'll be getting two refunds this year, assuming the postal system doesn't lose my envelope.
What's More Boring?
Which is more boring, catheters or tomatoes? They both occupy my mind daily. The tomato plants are growing like gang busters, if that's a proper use of a simile.
It's amazing to see how much they've grown in five weeks. They're up to the first rung of the tomato cage. Later today I'll look at them more closely and decide whether or not they need tying. I'll also give them another spray of Neem Oil. That will be the second of four starter treatments, with follow-up treatments to be applied as needed for aphids and other parasitic insects.
The stems now seem strong enough to support the weight of fruit; so I'm not pinching off any flowers. I also like some of the branches draping over the edge of the planter. It's an ugly pot and therefore it's worth hiding.
One thing I was not expecting is how the plants are crowding the planter. I mentioned in an earlier blog post the instructions to plant them 36 inches (91cm) apart. Depending on how well these do this year, next year I might plant only one in this large pot. Or, if these survive the winter, I might remove one or two of them when the growing season begins again in early spring.
Abortion Laws
I was pleased this week to see some states fail to pass more restrictive abortion laws. I agree with the admonition, "Let the voters decide." I don't think politicians should tamper with women's reproductive rights. If the politicians want to win elections, let them do something to improve infrastructure and schools. Give us benefits we all can appreciate in our states.
And Speaking of Politics
I watched The White House Correspondent' Dinner yesterday evening. I tried to watch it on CNN, but they had someone there, Scott Jennings - CNN Senior Political Commentator, who appeared to be invited to present the Republican conservative rebuttal. He insulting President Biden several times, at least during the time I watched. For me, the Dinner is a fun evening. It's not an occasion to seek revenge against the Democrats for winning the White House and control of the Senate. So I switched to MSNBC and watched it there.
Between President Joe Biden and comedian Roy Wood there were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. They also got in some fairly deft jabs too.
Finally, Weird Dreams
I woke up from a strange dream during the night. I was in school and it was the end of the term. The teacher gave us one final assignment. We had to research someone named Harry Kontg. It was pronounced the same as the musician, Harry Connick, but spelled differently. And we had to write a short essay about three things we learned about the guy. I struggled with the spelling. I couldn't find any source materials.
It was obviously an anxiety dream, but I don't know why. I felt fine when I went to bed and I was sleeping well.
Wednesday 2023.4.26
Infestation
It's not a surprise, although it's a disappointment. The tomato plants are under attack by aphids and other tiny insects. I have a spray that is safe for edible plants. I believe it is called Neem Oil. I gave the plants one treatment on Sunday. The instructions say to treat again every seven days for three weeks, then watch closely. I suspect I'll be spraying every Sunday through the entire growing season.
The aphids don't seem to be stunting the plants' growth. Nonetheless, after seeing what those little monsters did to one of my citrus trees, I want them dead.
The Lesser of Two Evils?
I continue to search for the answer for my cathing issues. I was in college many decades ago, but I haven't forgotten my science classes. Cause and effect. I never took a philosophy course, but I have heard "For everything there must be a reason." I got the following from the internet:
The Principle of Sufficient Reason is a powerful and controversial philosophical principle stipulating that everything must have a reason, cause, or ground.
As I am prone to do, I did a little research to learn what might be causing the sphincter at the base of my bladder to tighten up and therefore prevent a catheter from passing through. At the top of the list was blood pressure medication.
I'm not convinced the medication is the problem. I actually started taking it more than a month before my TURP surgery. The cathing struggle didn't begin until a few months after my surgery. However, it might be worth an experiment. I can talk about the effect of not taking the med. My blood pressure was staying normal, in the range of 122/74. I stopped taking the pills on Saturday. Sunday morning my BP was 139/92. While not dangerously high, normal is better.
I'll continue the experiment. If I find a marked improvement in my ability to do self-catheterization, I'll speak with my primary care physician about possible alternative blood pressure meds. Meanwhile, I really should lose some weight. That always improves my blood pressure (and excess weight was also listed among the causes of a tighter-than-normal bladder sphincter).
Speaking of Which:
450 disposable single-use catheters arrived on Monday. That's a 90-day supply. I had 180 in stock, technically enough for more than a month. I'm not supposed to order until I have less than a 10-day supply (fewer than 50). However, when cathing does not go well I use only two or three per day rather than the recommended five. Lately I've been using more, trying to use them up.
Here's the thing: It's like a department budget in a large corporation. If the budget is for $300,000 and the department uses only $250,000, the CEO will think they need less; so the budget will be reduced. It's best to spend it all and maybe go over just a little to justify the need.
So around July 22nd I'll order another 90-day supply, even though I expect I'll have a total of about 360 left over by then.
Sunday 2023.4.23
Sausages
As planned, on Wednesday I used the last portion of beef and fat to make more sausages. And, as planned, I used the Polish Sausage flavoring blend by LEM. The flavor is fairly good. I think the manufacturer uses too much pepper, but maybe that's a characteristic of Polish sausages.
The meat and two casings yielded a dozen sausage links this time. And I ordered more natural hog casings. One thing I did different this time was to put the ground meat and seasoning in the food processor and give it a good chop for a finer texture. However, the sausages still seem too grainy. I probably won't use beef again. During my next trip to Costco I'll buy more pork shoulder and pork belly (for the fat).
Camera
Along with my order for the hog casings I ordered two Li-Ion batteries for my Nikon D40x camera to bring the order above $25 for free Amazon shipping. The camera is old, but I really like it. I've always wanted to own a Nikon. The battery, however, doesn't hold a charge as long as it used to. The extra batteries will help, and they're better than the original, which is 1,000mAh (milliampere hours). The new ones are higher capacity, 2,000mAh.
I like having my camera ready to use when I need it, especially now that I have tomato plants to photograph. Speaking of which…
Tomatoes
I can't resist talking about my Early Girls (and it's a lot better than talking about my bladder issues).
They're not up to the first rung of the tomato cage yet, but they're tall enough to need some tying to encourage them to grow upward rather than outward. They're also flowering again. This time I might let a few develop to see what happens; otherwise, I'm pinching off the buds to encourage more growth.
On Friday I removed the cotton strings securing the tomato cage. I replaced them with nylon cords. I'm not much of a boy scout. I had to watch a YouTube video many times before I could tie a "trucker's hitch" knot. The only knot I remember from my youthful days in the Junior Naval Cadets is the bowline knot. "The rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree, and then goes back down the hole."
I pruned off a few bottom leaf branches and added a layer of potting mix to the planter. It's about half full now. Maybe in a month I'll add more mix, nearly filling the pot, and finishing with a layer of mulch to discourage weed growth.
And I bought another wire tomato cage, similar to the one I already have. As I said in an earlier blog post, I'll invert the second one and secure it to the top of the present one. That will give me 96 inches (8 feet / 2.4 meters) of height above the soil. That should be plenty of support for these plants as they grow. If they grow that tall, they might need watering everyday.
And one more thing: I found my little UV flashlight. Tomato worms are difficult to see because of their color. They blend into the plant. However, wait until dusk and use a UV flashlight to illuminate them. They glow as if they are radioactive. I didn't have any tomato worms last time, but a former neighbor did (and I didn't tell her because she was such a mean neighbor).
Herbs
In earlier blogs I mentioned the mint plant that I trimmed back severely, remove most of the roots. I planted it in a ceramic pot with fresh potting mix and I've been watering it regularly. The leaves turned brown, but as I hoped, new leaves are sprouting. I pinched one tiny leaf and sniffed my fingers. It is indeed mint.
Meanwhile, during Friday's trip to Home Depot to buy more potting mix I found some chives. I planted those late Friday afternoon, when it cooled down. (The day peaked at around 90°F.) The chives are now situated among my other herbs. That completes the herb garden for this year.
And those onions pushed up two more flower stalks. For the total lack of care, other than watering, they do better than any of my other plants.
And, Less Important
I ordered another 90-day supply of catheters. Thankfully my insurance pays for them. If I had to pay full price, they would cost me more than $6,000. I also tried getting a prescription for one of the sample catheters the urologist gave me. I am waiting to hear if my insurance will pay for them. I only need a small amount to use when the pocket catheter refuses to go into my bladder.
And could it be so? I did some research online about that sphincter at the base of the bladder. What causes it to tighten up? One possibility mentioned on more than one medical web site is blood pressure medication, which I've been taking since last year. I decided to try skipping it to see what happens. It's not a dangerous experiment; my blood pressure isn't dangerously high. I have a monitor. I'll keep an eye on it.
Wednesday 2023.4.19
Big News
Of course, the big news from yesterday was the settlement between Fox News (sometimes known as Fox Noise) and Dominion Voting Systems. Two comments I heard on TV struck me. One was that Fox decided to settle because they couldn't risk their top anchors testifying under oath in a trial. They might tell the truth. Oh my! And the other was that Fox needed to protect their viewers from the truth because that might cause many of them to avoid Fox News, which would result in financial losses for the network. Lies pay well, if you have the right audience.
I thought Anderson Cooper said it best on CNN. "Fox blinked."
The fallout will likely be lawsuits from investors. Fox News executives can look forward to many months, perhaps many years, in court.
The End of an Era?
I'm not sure how much to blog about what is likely to happen in the next few weeks. I've had a sponsor who has allowed me to use his Adobe software to edit videos and maintain this web site. Due to a change in his circumstances, he might cancel his subscription to the Adobe products in May. He was gracious enough to add me to his staff (as an unpaid employee) so that I could use the software.
I've already started putting my stuff away. The first thing to be boxed up was the teleprompter I bought to use when shooting my Kitchen Vlog. I did my last vlog at the end of January. I did my last Mobile Home Gourmet cooking video at the same time. The prompter, thankfully, came with a heavy duty storage case with a handle and wheels. It is now out in the shed.
I've been slowing down anyway. So it seems right to start hanging up my aprons permanently and maybe doing some downsizing. I've enjoyed a good run.
As for this blog, I'm not sure if I'll be able to maintain it or not. I have some old software I can use, but I might want to include this blog in my simplification efforts. I'll know more next month.
Pizza Mach II
I made Griddle Pizza on Sunday. I wanted to try something different. This time I arranged the dough in the hot griddle, toasted it on one side, then flipped it before adding the toppings and placing the pie under the broiler. The pizza crust was therefore browned on both sides. I'm not sure it made much difference, but it was good.
What's Cooking?
It's time again to make more sausages. I've used up all the pork shoulder and pork belly I had in the freezer. I have one 2½ pound portion of beef tri-tip (bought on sale at a great price) and fat. What flavoring should I use? I went online and looked up recipes. Then I decided it was easier to use one of the flavor blends I already have. I decided to use a Polish Sausage blend by LEM (available on Amazon.com).
One thing I'll do different this time is to put the ground meat and seasoning in the food processor and give it a good chop for a finer texture.
A Little Off the Sides
Monday afternoon I gave myself another haircut. I've blogged about it before. My father was a barber. I inherited his tools. I've actually been cutting my own hair for more than 50 years. I set up a second mirror to do the back. The sides and top are easy. I don't fuss. Short is good enough. One of these days someone in a store will ask me, "Who is your barber?" and I'll explain I cut my own hair and that's why it doesn't look professionally done. I'm too old to be vain now.
One Update
In Sunday's blog I wrote about using relaxing music with the hope of making it easier to cath. It worked once. As I suspected, that was just a one-off success. The music hasn't helped since then. Of well. It was worth a try.
Sunday 2023.4.16
Tomatoes
Although I wasn't planning to tie the tomato plants to the wire cage until the end of the month, I noticed one of them growing a little too much to one side. If I remember correctly, tomato plants are vines that grow along the ground. Where the stalks rest on damp soil the plant will form new roots. The tomato plants will spread through a garden and that's one reason they should be staked or caged to grow upward.
I have two types of plant tape. One is rather strong, the other is more like a thin film, not unlike the plastic film we use to cover foods. Both tapes are elastic, although the strong tape requires more muscle to stretch it. And this reminds me of a story from my past.
One From the Past
I grew up in Mystic, Connecticut. When I was a child, the street on which we lived was a dead end. At the top of the hill were the woods. Later they extended the road and built more homes, but the deeper part of the woods remained. In the woods there was a stream that ran all year. We once traced that stream backward to discover it came from two springs that issued from the base of a rock formation.
Near the stream in the woods there was another rock formation, evidently created by the Ice Age. A huge and flat slab of rock rested on three large boulders. It looked like a gigantic table. Together, they formed a kind of shelter, and we could sit inside.
In another part of the rock outcropping there was another large boulder with a crack in it. One summer I noticed a small tree had germinated in the crack. Every summer the crack was a little wider as the tree grew. One summer, half the boulder was no longer there. It was pushed over the edge of the outcropping and fell to the ground below. That's the power of a tree. It can move more than a ton of rock. So I'm not concerned about the elasticity of the tape I use.
Back to the Tomatoes
I'll use either tape to train the plants to the cage. Although the film tape stretches very easily, the tomato plant can stretch the other one. Nonetheless, when I tie a stalk to the cage I give it plenty of room to expand. It doesn't need to be tied tightly, like your shoe laces. A loose loop is enough to guide the growth upward along the cage.
The Future
These Early Girl plants are supposed to grow quite tall, like 6 to 10 feet. The cage extends only about 40 inches above the rim of the pot. During one of my trips to Home Depot I'll buy a second cage, which I'll invert and secure to the top of the current cage with UV resistant plastic wire ties.
And Speaking of Childhood
I mentioned growing up in Mystic. The town's major landmark is the iconic Mystic Bridge, built in 1922. A restaurant near the bridge has a live cam. I check it occasionally because I like to see the drawbridge raised. I got lucky this week, I not only saw the bridge being raised to allow a boat to continue up the river, the vessel was a tall sailing ship, very likely heading to the Mystic Seaport.
I believe the ship is the schooner L.A. Dunton. As a child, I hopped the fence many times to play in the Seaport during warm summer days. I knew most of the boats. My favorite was the Brilliant.
The Seaport has a ship restoration yard on site, the largest on the East Coast. Other museums sometimes send their vessels there to undergo restoration. I'm not sure why the Dunton was not at the seaport. I did some research online and the ship has indeed been undergoing restoration. Perhaps some of the repairs needed to be done at a different shipyard. It was beautiful to watch the boat on the river.
I'll never return to Mystic. I don't really like the place, even though it is a beautiful location. Besides, there is nothing associated with me there any longer. Everyone I knew has since either passed away or moved away. There are two things I miss though. I miss the beautiful ships. And I miss the seafood. I have fond memories of catching flounder or smelt, bringing them home for cleaning (which I did myself), and enjoying a delicious New England dinner.
I'll Try Anything
Yesterday evening there was an outdoor party across the street. No point going to bed and trying to fall asleep. Thankfully, those parties happen only once a year. I put on my noise-cancelling headphones and connected to a relaxing music channel on YouTube. Very nice. Then I got to wondering. Would the music help me to relax enough to succeed when cathing? I brought the laptop computer into the bathroom. With eyes closed and listening to the music, I gently inserted the catheter. It went all the way in. No problems.
Of course, it's only one data point. I need to see a month of successes before I can reject the null hypothesis (a statistics thing). But when the party shut down at about 12:30 I was able to go to bed. I slept peacefully.
I tried it again this morning, but it didn't work. So, maybe it was just a one-off success. I've seen several of those. However, I'm not giving up yet. I have a YouTube Downloader app. A few years ago I gave the developer $35; now I get updates for life. I used it to download the music as an MP3 file so that I can listen to it with my little audio player rather than carrying my laptop computer into the bathroom. I'm listening to it now as I write this. It's nice.
Wednesday 2023.4.12
Doctor
On Monday I went to see the urologist. It was only a scheduled visit, not for anything important. Although, I did tell him about my cathing issues again.
He suggested a trick that works for someone else who has a similar problem. He said to push really hard, cough, then relax. That supposedly helps relax the sphincter at the base of the bladder, allowing a catheter to pass through. I've been trying it. It doesn't help.
He also gave me a few samples of different catheters. He wants me to try each one to see if they make cathing easier. But there's an issue. With the catheters I am using now I get lucky often enough. What if I am successful with a different catheter? Did I get lucky? Or is this a type of catheter that is better suited for me?
I tried one of them. It worked, but I had to use more force. That's how I caused bleeding last time. The catheters I've been using go in easily, when they go in at all.
I think trying to relax the muscles deep inside my pelvis is probably my best hope for the immediate future.
Tomatoes
The Early Girls are doing well. They're thriving in their pot. It has been only two weeks, but they've grown a lot.
Probably by the end of this month I'll add a layer of soil to the pot after trimming off the bottom few leaves. The stems that will be beneath the soil will form additional roots. By then, maybe the tallest of the plants will be ready to tie to the wire frame. When they become that large they'll be strong enough to support tomatoes.
Herbs
As for the herbs, they're doing well, most of them.
The leaves of the mint turned brown, but I don't know what is going on with the roots. Maybe they are re-establishing themselves and once healthy they'll push up new leaves. If not, it's not a big loss. The mint plant came from a neighbor's yard and she has plenty more.
The marjoram is green, but it's looking rather weak. It might survive the transplant; it might not. It isn't an important herb. It is closely related to oregano, which I also have. The herbs I bought from the Garden Center are all looking healthy and vibrant. I have one empty pot that will fit between the rosemary and parsley. That's the one that will get chives, if I can find them.
Sunday 2023.4.9
Happy Easter
When I was a child in Connecticut, Easter was an important holiday. Maybe it was because the family was Roman Catholic. When I was a child my grandmother made a cake shaped like a lamb. We always looked forward to receiving some of the Greek bread made for the season. There was an egg in the center, the shell dyed a deep red.
A Fan Fan
It might seem a little silly, but having fans is important. I don't mean fans of this web site blog or of my YouTube channel — I mean fans that blow air. I had one for several years, until the motor burned out. I used it for my laundry.
Those who have been reading this blog long enough will know I have a Haier portable washing machine. I roll it into the bathroom and hook it up to my shower. The drain hose goes in the tub. It makes doing laundry easy. But I have no dryer. Instead, I have a clothes line in my office, out of the way of most of my stuff. I use it to hang my laundry and a fan decreases the drying time.
This week I looked for a fan in Costco. This being springtime, the stores are beginning to stock summer items. Finding a fan was easy.
And because I have little more to talk about than a fan, I guess you can tell I couldn't think of much to write about this week. But wait…
SNL
Yesterday evening I watched Saturday Night Live again. The opening monologue with "Trump" talking about Easter and the Last Supper was hilarious. And the two guys who do the Weekend Update, which is always funny, had me laughing out loud. I'm happy I recorded it.
That's another advantage to living on the West Coast. SNL broadcasts live on the East Coast at 11:30PM. That's 8:30 here in the Pacific Time Zone.
Wednesday 2023.4.5
Trump
The big news this week so far has been the indictment and arrest of Donald Trump on Tuesday. I watched the spectacle, from his flight out of Florida on Monday to his returning home yesterday and his speech from Mar-a-Lago. Some thought it might be a circus. It was. At one point in the day yesterday someone said there were more news media people on the streets around Trump Tower and the Manhattan courthouse than Trump supporters.
When I was listening to his speech after the event I couldn't help wondering, who is counting the lies? There was very little that was new in the speech. We've all heard the claims that votes were stolen. No one believes them, except those who want to. The only new information was the attack on the judge in New York.
Hypocrisy ruled the day. There were those in government, mostly Republicans who need Trump's voters, who defended the ex-president. For a party that was once known for upholding law and order, the opposite was on display. Some claimed no one should be above the law, except a former president, as if once holding the office allows him to break the law with impunity. At one point I thought, yeah, he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in New York and get away with it because there would be those who would say, "The victim got what he deserved. He sneered at Trump."
For me, one of the most significant comments made during the day was, "Today he goes from reality TV to reality."
If people think the events of yesterday were crazy, wait until the other investigations are completed.
I can't help wondering if Trump regrets the day he entered the presidential race back in 2015. It made him a wealthier man, but it attracted way too much scrutiny of his conduct as a business man, philanderer and campaigner.
As of yesterday the pundits were predicting Trump would likely get the Republican presidential nomination next year. Again, there are many in the GOP who need his voters. However, would he win another term in the White House? Probably not. He still has his base, but the majority of independents are opposed to him now. He would need their votes to win, but many of them are sick of the spectacle. It's time to move on.
If I might be allowed to be a pundit for a moment, I think he'll continue to campaign because he wants the donations. He claims he's earning millions. When the poll numbers start to become real and it becomes clear he would never win the election, he'll withdraw and claim the system was rigged against him, and then ask for more donations.
Tomato Cam
As mentioned in Sunday's blog, I positioned my tomato plants where I can see them with my door cam. (See below for an explanation of that door cam.) Mostly I was concerned that the plants would get enough sunlight because my driveway, where the planter is situated, is in the shade most of the day.
The planter starts to get sun around 10:00 in the morning and it is fully in the sun by 11:00. That's kind of late. Tomato plants need at least six hours of sunlight each day to flourish. However, the sunlight is good until around 5:30 in the afternoon; so, that's 6½ hours of sunlight. It should be okay.
As the vines grow and they are trained upward along the wire tomato cage, the leaves will be in sunlight earlier and earlier in the day. They should begin to get full sunlight by 9:00 in the morning. And as the sun's position in the sky changes northward as we near the first day of summer on June 21st, the sunlight will fall on the plants even earlier in the day.
I'm feeling somewhat doubtful about the spacing. I read the little plastic tag that came with the plants. It says to space them 36 inches apart. Where they're planted, they're more like six inches apart. Oh well. Next year, if I do tomatoes again, I'll put one in this wide planter.
That's Why They're Named "Early Girl"
I potted my tomato plants on Thursday of last week. On Sunday afternoon I tried something different to secure the cage (more below) and I noticed one of the plants already blooming. The two other plants had buds on them as well.
I needed to do some research. Should I sacrifice these blossoms in favor of early plant growth? What does the internet say?
Yes, the flowers should go. Flowering and fruit production use a lot of the plant's available energy. A young plant doesn't have many leaves; therefore, there isn't a lot of energy to go around. Pruning those early flowers encourages the plant to divert its energy to growth and stalk development. The stalks need to be strong enough to support the weight of fruit. The plant needs many leaves to gather energy from the sun. Plus, what you don't see underground are the roots. Early pruning also allows the plant to develop its roots. And so those flowers were removed in favor of what will come later.
As for securing that cage. It was okay with two strings attached, but as the plant gets taller and trained to the cage, the weight will increase. I felt I needed to make the cage more stable. So I drilled four holes in the planter (it's ugly anyway — a few holes won't make it any worse) and tied the cage with four strings. It's only cotton string. It won't hold up well during the season. In my next trip to Home Deport I'll look for nylon cord.
Horticulture Therapy
It has only been about a week and I'm already enjoying my little bit of gardening. I can understand why many people like having a garden in their yard. It's fun and we can enjoy the fruits of our labor rather than relying on the stuff in the grocery stores. I say "stuff" because some of those vegetables, especially the tomatoes, hardly qualify as produce. The tomatoes are harvested green and artificially turned orange with gas. Even the organic ones aren't good. That's why farmers' markets are so popular.
There is yet another reason to have new herbs and tomato plants. You probably know about my physical issues. As I like to say, I have my good days and my not so good days. Some times can be a little frustrating and depressing. I think of Maude in the movie Harold and Maude. One of her lines is, "I like to watch things grow." I can now relate to that. Maybe it's time to watch that movie again.
Onion
One of my most amusing plants is an onion. Someone gave me this a few years ago, dug up from their garden. I put it in a pot and only kept it watered, maybe giving it a little plant food occasionally. It keeps going. This spring it developed a flower stalk and I'm wondering if I can gather some seeds. I don't know if I want to, or need to. The onion is looking good and I don't have any use for it anyway. I like the green spears.
If I could get an onion to grow from a seed, I would probably plant it in the middle of my tomato plants. Supposedly, it helps keep pests off the plants. With that in mind, I secured a plastic bag around the flower ball. I'll check it occasionally for seeds that might drop off.
During my next trip to the Garden Center I'll look for chives. I can use those.
Done and Dusted
I did it. Finally. On Sunday afternoon I completed my federal and state tax forms. The state was easy because it is all done online. There is nothing to mail. The IRS forms needed to be mailed, which I also did. I'm good until next year.
Sunday 2023.4.2
Spring Is In the Air
It's beginning to feel a lot like springtime. The days are getting longer. The nights are getting warmer. It's possible we could see more rain here in Southern California, but the rainy season is coming to an end.
I've been working outside more. One of my goals was to remove the herbs from most of my pots outside and start a new crop with fresh potting soil and plants from the Garden Center at Home Depot. Thursday morning I bought some herb plants — oregano, parsley, sage, and (accidentally) two identical thyme plants. Oh well, no biggy.
I also bought three Early Girl tomato plants. Two years ago I bought one and grew it in a five gallon bucket as an experiment. It did very well. Last year, what with prostate surgery and the pandemic, it wasn't a good year to work outside. I still have one of the ugly planters I never wanted. I'm hoping that planter is wide enough to accommodate three tomato plants. It's not a good idea to crowd them; they need soil for their roots to grow. As spring progresses into summer, I'll know whether this pot is wide enough. I can always sacrifice one or two.
One trick I learned about tomato plants is to start them in shallow soil. Look at the stems. They're fuzzy. That fuzz will become more roots if covered with soil. As the plant grows, remove the bottom leaves (if they don't fall off on their own) and add more soil until the planter is eventually full. All that additional root growth will produce heartier plants.
Everything I bought, including a bag of river rock for my planters, cost me $71.20 (see below). How much would fresh herbs cost me at the store when I need them? However, it's the pleasure of having some growing plants around my home that makes the cost worthwhile. They're easier to maintain than trees, and it's satisfying to cook with fresh herbs when I have them.
The price seemed a little high. I looked at the register receipt and he charged me for five tomato plants, but I only bought three. It gave me a good excuse to return to the store and buy another bag of potting mix for the herbs. I potted a few herbs in the afternoon. It was more work than I thought it would be, so I only did a few and set the others aside for later, which I planted the following day.
One plant that really amazed me was the mint. Big roots wound round and round the pot. Some of them, when unwound, were more than two feel long. And it was a small pot. I saved one rooted sprout and planted that in fresh soil, discarding all the rest. Mint doesn't need much encouragement to grow. Just water. I don't cook with mint, but a sprig in a drink or on the side of a plate might look good to guests.
I'm trying another experiment, too. The top of the herb pots are now filled with ground cover wood mulch. Supposedly, it discourages weed growth, and if a weed does appear, it might be easy to pull out before the root establishes itself in the soil below. The mulch helps the pot retain moisture too. When the tomato planter is nearly full of potting mix I'll top it off with wood mulch too.
Meanwhile, I am again watching YouTube videos about growing tomatoes in containers. It's amazing, maybe alarming, how much I forgot in the past two years. If you want to grow your own tomatoes in containers, you might want to watch several YouTube videos first. There is a lot of good free information out there.
Tomato Cam
If you've been reading this blog down through the years, you have no doubt read about my door cam. I have a web cam in one window and on the outside there is a hood with mirror. When I'm working on my computer in my office, which is in the back of my home, I sometimes hear a noise up front. Is it a crow on the roof or is someone knocking at my door? A quick glance at the camera window on my computer monitor answers that question.
A little aside: There was another reason I set up that door cam. A former friend, who has since passed away from a heart attack, used to make the rounds to all his friends, complaining about his wife divorcing him. I tolerated it for a while, then I put up the door cam. If he was at the front door, I could pretend not to be home.
I raised the tomato planter up on additional bricks, hoping to get it high enough not to be shaded by my home. Tomatoes need at least six hours of sunlight each day. I also positioned the planter where I can see it with my door cam. The mirror is only wide enough to show my door and porch. The camera therefore sees part of my driveway too. Now I can check on it from the comfort of my office, making sure it is getting enough sunlight.
Cooking
When I'm having a good day, it's a pleasant time to do some cooking. I made another batch of Marinara pasta sauce to be portioned and frozen. I like having that on hand. My mother's parents were from Italy and therefore I was raised on a lot of Italian foods.
Trump
What would this blog be without at least a cursory mention of the indictment? I was outside doing herbs and tomato plants on Thursday when the news broke. He is the first ex-president indicted for crimes (not that there weren't others that should have been indicted). He is expected to surrender to authorities on Tuesday.
We don't know the specific charges in the indictment. It is sealed and won't be unsealed until the hearing on Tuesday. There are plenty of commentators who have been saying the Manhattan District Attorney wouldn't file an indictment for a misdemeanor. There must be alleged felonies.
Not surprising, Trump is using the event to fund raise. He has his followers and they are willing to waste their money on him.
Also not surprising, there are senators and representatives who are defending him. They don't love him, but they love his voters. Those politicians need those votes. In the last midterm election the GOP won a slim majority of the House, but they failed to win the Senate.
Taxes
And, finally, I promise to get my tax returns into the mail today. I've been procrastinating. I don't owe any money; so, the April 15th deadline doesn't apply to me. I'll get refunds — federal and state. However, I won't get my refunds until I send my forms. So today is the day. Really. I mean it this time.