JULY 2025
Wednesday 2025.7.30
Vine
I haven't blogged about Amazon Vine lately. Things are proceeding according to plan. I am now limiting myself to three items per week, which should satisfy my quota by the end of October. My next membership review is November 2nd.
Most of the items I request cost less than $10; although, I occasionally order something more expensive if it's an item I need or really want. For example, I saw some stainless steel "hotel pans" that I can use for holding butter on the kitchen counter and for keeping Whaffles in the refrigerator. Those arrived on Monday.
I like the lids because the ants do occasionally get into the butter. The pans are deep enough to store eight to ten whaffles.
And speaking of…
Ants
My ants are getting a real treat this time. I had a piece of salmon jerky in the freezer. It was there too long and started to crumble. It was easy to chop finely and mix with boric acid powder to poison the ants. They swarmed to it and were mostly gone by this morning.
Getting the ratio of boric acid to food is tricky. Too much poison will make the food undesirable. The ants will avoid it. I scrambled one egg (my ants love eggs) and added ¼ teaspoon of boric acid. I then distributed the egg to three bait packets. The ants never went to one of the packets, but they swarmed to the other two. Whatever. At least I now know the ratio is correct.
Lost In the Fog
I sort of get it. I've been trying to work through some tutorials about using Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. If you're young, you might understand that stuff easily. It wasn't too long ago that I could too. About ten years ago I built my latest two computers. My mind was very good back then. I was sharp. Now, I'm starting to see a slight decline.
All I really want to know from Google Analytics is whether or not anyone is clicking the Amazon button at the top of the left panel. I didn't need to know how many times. A YES or NO would have sufficed. I needed to create something called a tag.
My birthday passed on Monday. I wasn't expecting a deluge of presents from my website followers. In fact, I would have been surprised to receive even one. As I've said before, this website gets fewer than ten visits per day.
I got the tag thing to work properly, following a tutorial on YouTube. However, I couldn't find a way to get the results to appear in my Analytics report. I kept trying, until…
At Last!
I finally found what I was looking for. How many times was that Amazon button clicked? I was very frustrated that the data didn't appear in the Analytics home screen. But I knew the tag event I created was working because it tested successfully.
Toward the bottom of the home screen there is a "Suggested for you" section. There are four small panels. However, something I didn't notice before was an arrow on the right side. Click that and more panels are displayed. One of them is "Event count by Event name" and among the events is the one I created — click_gift_list_button (spaces are not allowed). EUREKA!
The last step was to place that panel on my Reports Snapshot, which was easy to do after I watched a YouTube video about it.
On the day of my birthday the button was clicked eight times. Four of those were mine, from testing. And the clicks were from two different visitors on my website, one of which was me. So, one visitor was curious enough to look at my Amazon gift list. Whoever you are, thank you. You made my day in that you demonstrated my button event tag is working properly and you eased my frustration. That was probably the best gift I received on my birthday.
What's Next?
Next I needed to work through my web site pages again and add the new code (for the button click event) to all 401 recipe HTML pages. It was an easy process of copy and paste. The task was completed early yesterday afternoon.
Next I needed to add the code that gets Google Analytics to see my pages (not just the button). That was done later during the afternoon. Then, after dinner, I uploaded all the updated pages to my website. By late in the evening I was seeing additional recipe page visits.
Finally, this morning I added the button and codes to the ten Recipe Archive pages. None of the pages in the Blog Archives have been updated. However, no one looks at them anyway; so, there is no reason to change them.
And Speaking of Birthdays
As is the custom, my twin brother and I sent Happy Birthday emails to each other. We only started communicating again (the last few years); so gifting isn't customary yet. If I were to send Dean a gift, I'd send him a Meta Quest 3 virtual reality headset so that we can play mini golf together.
As is typical of elderly people, we talk a lot about our ailments, aches and pains, pills, etc. He is not doing as well as I am, but he's in relatively good health. My biggest concern is that he is now taking seven prescription medications. I felt bad telling him I take none. His wife is now wearing hearing aids and she'll have her cataracts removed soon.
I feel good about myself. I have a lot for which to be thankful.
Sunday 2025.7.27
Happy Birthday Me
Tomorrow is my birthday. 74 years old. I feel pretty good about it. I have a few physical issues, but very few compared to some people I know. And I knew some people who passed away younger than I am now. I might not feel the same about turning 75 next year.
I haven't chosen a birthday present to give myself yet. I'm looking.
Tomorrow will be important for another reason. My twin brother and I will exchange birthday wishes, and we'll check in with each other about our health. I'll have good news for him. No new issues and my weight continues to go down, albeit slowly.
On the bright side, I received another 90-day supply of catheters. If I had to pay, they would cost me $2,263.50. I pay nothing. My insurance pays for them.
Recipe Pages
By Wednesday evening I finished adding the Amazon gift links to all my recipe pages, all 401 of them. Will they be fruitful? It depends on how much traffic (if any) my website gets. With that in mind…
Stats
I finally joined Google Analytics. I'm using the free service, which is for small sites like mine. My site isn't very small. A check with Windows File Explorer reported 1,797 files. Some of them are not website pages. For example, there are 402 PDF files. Plus, there are graphics, such as those buttons you see in the lefthand column, and food photographs. I have around 765 HTML pages.
So far, the Home Page, Blog page, Recipe Archive and three recipes are tagged for analytics. If they prove to be informative, I'll add the tags to other pages.
After one day, the data wasn't what I hoped to see. There were only 16 page views— Home Page (10), Blog (4), Recipe Archive (1), and Fish & Chips (1), from two countries, USA and Serbia. Of course, one day doesn't present an accurate picture. I'll know a lot more when I have a month's worth of data. However, it confirms my suspicions. This website doesn't get hardly any traffic.
And maybe worth mentioning: Summer is always the slowest time of year. Web traffic will increase in the fall.
Best Recipe Yet
I continue to work on my Whaffle recipe.
The recipe and the PDF are updated with my latest edits. I don't anticipate any further adjustments will be necessary. Yesterday, I used two of them for a cheeseburger, which was delicious.
South Park
I watched the premiere episode of the latest season of South Park. It left me speechless. The following day, the episode was reported on CNN. Thankfully, I recorded it. I'll watch it again.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are fearless. But Trump is ruthless. I can't see this ending well.
Is My Age Showing?
Are jars becoming more difficult to open? Or am I getting weaker as I get older?
On Friday I struggled to open a jar of pickle relish. Even with a pair of strap wrenches it was difficult. Someone needs to invent a better way. I imagine a pop-top on the lid, similar to the top of can of soda. Pull the ring to release the vacuum, then the lid would be easier to remove. There is one drawback to that idea. The lid would become useless, as it would have a hole in it.
Weight
I suffered a temporary setback this week. My weight jumped up by 4½ pounds in 72 hours. Water weight. Then it dropped by nearly three pounds in 24 hours. The culprit? Hotdogs. They ruined my weekly average, and they increased by blood pressure a little.
I bought some Polish sausages for an experiment with making corn dogs in a waffle maker. One link contains 680mg of sodium, 30% of the recommended daily allowance. I ate several. Then, I drank plenty of water to flush the salt out of my system. In one day my body shed 2,350cc of fluid, the equivalent of 79.5 fl. oz., or nearly five pounds of water weight.
On the positive side, although my weekly average jumped up by nearly half a pound, the overall trend is still downward.
Yesterday I rode my scooter to the grocery store. It isn't as much exercise as stairs, but I feel the effort to stay balanced and in control while moving is good for my legs.
With more exercise opportunities, I changed the way I record them. They could be stair steps, miles on my bike, or arm exercises. The arms don't amount to much right now. When I first started stairs, my legs couldn't do much. I was doing 120. Now I'm up to 900 often, and my next goal is 1,000. My arms will eventually get stronger too.
Wednesday 2025.7.23
Venting Time
Why are some things so difficult? Google "honey to sugar converter." Every site shows how much honey to use in place of sugar. I don't want to use honey. I don't have any. How much sugar should I use in place of ¼ cup of honey? It's difficult to find an answer. I tried asking the question several different ways, but all the results are for using honey instead of sugar. Grrr. Okay, enough. Well, maybe a little more.
Are My Cooking Days Over?
I feel like I lost my finesse in the kitchen. I made what I thought would be cornbread. Instead, it was more like a corn cake — cloyingly sweet. I think I was supposed to use 1/3 cup sugar in place of ¼ cup honey. I used 2/3 of a cup. That might be because of the difficulty in trying to use a recipe found on the internet. I made a second loaf, this time following the recipe on the back of the box of Albers Corn Meal. It came out much better.
I used to like cooking for people. An invite to a potluck picnic was a treat. Now I think I'm going to purchase already-made foods sold in the grocery stores. At my age, 74 next week, I write better than I cook.
Of course, one failure doesn't mean I've lost my touch. However, some recipes confuse me. When I used the recipe on the back of the box, I read it again and again to make certain I was following the instructions correctly. Mostly, I did.
So, my plans for cornbread waffles — that will need to wait for another day, if ever.
Pot Luck
Sunday's pot luck wasn't a good day for me. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by too much noise — several people talking at the same time and a terrible background music song that looped again and again, ad nauseam. One person has a laugh that is so loud, it's almost an assault. I was glad to be home early in the evening. I went to bed to wind down. The remainder of the evening was fine.
Everyone has good days and not-so-good days. I was just having a bad day. I know what to do during those times. Say, "Excuse me. I need to go take care of something kind of personal," leave, and not go back.
Whaffles Again
I am experimenting with Whaffles again this week. And just in case you haven't kept up with this blog, I call them "whaffles" with an H because chaffles are made with cheese. I'm not using cheese in mine. They're supposed to be more like white bread. Thus the H comes form "white."
My experiment this week was with Kirkland Signature egg whites (another excuse to use H) purchased in cartons at Costco. I didn't know Costco stocked them. But there they were, right alongside the regular eggs.
The flavor of the whaffles made with egg whites is superior to those I've made with whole eggs. I wouldn't go so far as to claim they taste like white bread, but the flavor is neutral.
I edited the recipe again because the volume of batter wasn't enough to make four full whaffles. As I continue to experiment, I'll probably adjust the recipe a few more times.
Midway
Yesterday morning I reached the halfway point of adding the Amazon gift button to my recipe pages. When I wrote about the project on Sunday, I said I am keeping my expectations low. My website gets very little traffic. Almost all the interest is on my YouTube channel.
If no one responds, I will understand. Everyone wants more. Two former dentists tried to sell me crowns I don't need (I got a second opinion). My urologist tries to bill me twice. My former primary care physician dropped me because my insurance doesn't pay him enough. It's easy to become overwhelmed with all the requests for more. But, I'm adding the gift links anyway because occasionally (once or twice a year) someone sends me a little something in support of my web site.
The project is going faster than I expected, thanks to copy-and-paste. I should be done before the end of the week.
The Tomato Chronicles
As the season winds down a little, there isn't much new to report. There are still several green tomatoes on the vines, and a few flowers too. I'm keeping the plants watered and fertilized to maintain their health until I'm ready to harvest clippings for this fall.
Sunday 2025.7.20
Whaffles Revisited
On Wednesday my new Cuisinart Breakfast Central waffle maker arrived. I think I mentioned earlier that it comes with four plates, two for waffles and two for pancakes. I tested it. It's very easy to use. When turned on, a red light comes on. When fully heated or when the waffles are done, the green light comes on. There is also a beep tone.
The waffles look very good. They were a little browner on one side. I suspect I didn't put enough batter on the plate and thus the top surface didn't come into full contact with the upper plate.
I really wanted to test the pancake plates for cooking eggs.
Each pancake well is deep enough to hold one large egg. I like that they're round (I like an egg on my cheeseburger) and I like that they come out of the cooking plate easily. No sticking. I did brush the plates lightly with a little oil, just in case. I used one for an egg and cheese sandwich. The others I placed in a glass storage dish and put them in the refrigerator for later. And, so far, everything is low in carbs.
Potluck
As mentioned earlier this month, this afternoon there will be another small potluck gathering of the neighbors here in the trailer park. The theme is Mexican food. I don't eat Mexican food. I volunteered to bring cornbread. I also have another plan. I'll make extra batter and sweeten it with sugar for making cornbread waffles. I also saw a video in which to cook made corn dogs on a waffle iron. I'll try that too.
Something New
You might have noticed something new near the top of the left-hand column. With my birthday coming up next week, I am trying an idea again. It didn't do any good last time, but I am seeing it sometimes on other web sites — an Amazon gift button. I hope it is not in bad taste. I don't want to be accused of cadging for freebies (I get enough of those from Amazon Vine), but it might be worth trying again.
Everyone wants more money. My urologist charges a $30 copay each time I visit, then his office bills me an additional $30, which I don't pay. My former dentist always tries to sell me a crown I don't need (I got a second opinion and I don't need another crown). So, I feel a little justified asking for more.
Meanwhile, I've been adding items to my gift list. I chose a few that cost very little and some that are expensive, with several items in between. I am keeping my expectations low to avoid discouragement. This web site gets hardly any traffic. It all happens on my YouTube channel. None of the items are things I need immediately; so, they can stay there a while.
Clicking the button takes the visitor to my public Amazon gift list. So far, I only added it to a few recipe pages, Fish and Chips, Salmon Jerky, and Beef Sausages, which are my most popular. I'm thinking it might be an alternative for those who are uncomfortable with the PayPal donation thing. During the next several months, I'll add it to my other pages.
Weight
I finally broke through the 204 barrier. I saw mostly 204s since July 5th, even though I behaved properly with my diet. This week I saw a few 203s and yesterday was my first 202. The week's average didn't change a lot. I did better last week, but I'll accept any progress.
My exercise routine went well. And I added an errand to the grocery store on my scooter. I admit, it doesn't give me the same exercise as I get on my bicycle or stair stepper; however, I believe using my legs to stand and keep myself balanced through the ride does me some good. It's better for me than using my car.
Wednesday 2025.7.16
Whaffles
I am still making slight modifications to my Whaffles (white bread chaffle) recipe. I think I have what I want. Feeling confident, I printed and laminated a copy to go into one of my kitchen recipe binders. I laminate permanent copies so that I don't need to worry if I get wet ingredients on them. They easily wipe clean with a damp cloth.
Maybe worth mentioning: I have watched many YouTube videos about white bread chaffles. There is some variation in the online recipes; however, they are all basically the same. The recipe I use works for me. And some people say they shouldn't be called chaffles because they don't contain cheese. I agree; therefore, I'm sticking with "whaffles."
My long-range goal is to make them in bulk and freeze them. With that in mind, I am also considering a toaster. The one thing I like least about toasters is cleaning them. There is a crumb tray, but I wish they opened up easily for cleaning. Maybe my air fryer will be good enough to toast my whaffles.
I still plan to do a video. I won't spend a lot of time on making the whaffles. There are already too many chaffle videos on YouTube. Instead, I want to show the various ways in which I use them.
Meanwhile, I've been experimenting with sandwiches. One was chicken and cheese. I think the cheese was Monterey Jack. The chicken was a piece of thigh I flattened for easier cooking and to fit better in a sandwich. I wished I had used a mallet to flatten it more and spread it out better. The sandwich was delicious.
Monday evening, after enjoying a healthy salad, I made a grilled cheese sandwich with the remaining two whaffles. It was good, but maybe two slices of cheese would have been better.
Yesterday I made a lot more Whaffles, a double batch. I got ten. Most of those went into the freezer. I set aside two for a cheeseburger.
I haven't yet determined how best to defrost them. I'll do some research on YouTube. A toaster might be nice. However…
Toaster
Why is buying a toaster almost as difficult as buying a car? Actually, when I bought my 2025 Nissan Rogue back in February, it was easy.
There are several identical toasters on Amazon. They all look the same, they're all 900 watts, and they all have the same model number, TA1428-UL. The prices vary from $45.99 to $139.99. The pretended "list" price varies as much. But they're all the same! Have I been taking stupidity pills?
I decided I don't want nor need a toaster until I see one for free on Amazon Vine.
Better Quest 3
The corrective lenses for my Quest 3 arrived on Monday. The lenses were manufactured according to the prescription from my latest eye exam. They make a noticeable difference. Everything is sharper, in better focus. While playing mini golf, I want to pause to look around at the scenery. The lenses don't improve my golf game much, maybe a little, but they do make the game more enjoyable. I am really impressed with them.
Vine
I ordered something a little different on Amazon Vine this week. It's an upper-body exerciser for arms, chest, and back. I need to change the way I track exercise. So far, I've been recording my leg exercises. I'm thinking of alternating between legs and arms, every other day. Both types of exercise I can do while watching TV.
The Tomato Chronicles
The growing season seems to have ended. The plants aren't getting any taller. If anything, they're a little shorter. I do see a little new growth, with flowers. So, the fruit production season isn't over.
The plants are producing enough ripe fruit to put in my salads each day. I know I'll miss the flavor of vine ripened tomatoes when the season ends this fall. I think September might be the last month for fruit on the vine.
Next comes the project of rooting clippings and growing them in small pots during the winter. The best of them will go into the large planter outdoors in the spring. Meanwhile, that clipping I rooted as an experiment is still surviving. It even produced a few flowers.
Sunday 2025.7.13
Scorcher
I knew Thursday was going to be a scorcher. The weather forecast was for 80°F (27°C). By 10:30 that morning it was already 85°F (29°C). I set up my office air conditioner to keep my computers cool, if needed. Usually, above 89° is too warm. By 12:30 it was 90° outside. One computer started beeping, warning me it was getting too hot.
During the afternoon I ran the office air conditioner. Besides keeping the office cool, it gave me an opportunity to test something. Several months ago I ordered an insulating wrapper for the exhaust hose. In the past, I was concerned about the hose radiating heat back into the room, reducing the AC efficiency. The bare hose gets quite warm, up to 145°F (63°C). With the insulator covering nearly all the hose, the heat is supposed to go outside. It works. The blanket never got very warm during the day, only around 100°F (38°C). Not perfect, but a big improvement.
Too Easy
Hurray YouTube, again!
I recently blogged about getting a trailer hitch for my Nissan Rogue. I wanted to use my bike carrier to bring my e-bike to the Pedego dealership up in Los Olivos, about a 1-hour drive. However, I looked again at YouTube to see if there is a way to adjust my hydraulic brakes myself. This time, I found the answer. It's too easy.
My brake lever would pull up against my bike's handlebar and that would reduce my braking efficiency. I was afraid of getting into a crash if unable to stop in time. There is a little screw on the brake handle that adjusts the angle of the brake lever. Turn the screw inward and the lever adjusts outward. With a few turns of that screw I was able to adjust the lever away from the handlebar, thus fixing the problem and saving myself a long trip to Los Olivos.
I'm glad I have the trailer hitch anyway. When I bring my car in for service, I like to carry my bike with me. While they are servicing my car, I can ride around the area, getting some exercise and enjoying some of the local scenery.
And I discovered one advantage to the new hitch: It's lower to the ground. When I wanted to put my bike on my old Nissan Pathfinder, I had to lift the bike a lot. The bike is heavy, even with the battery removed. My old muscles struggled. This new hitch will make it easier to put my bike on my car.
Whaffles
I think I finally found a chaffle recipe I really like. Although it is called a "chaffle," it is made without cheese. The creator calls it a Wonder Bread Chaffle. Others call them White Bread Chaffles. To me, it ain't a chaffle unless it's made with cheese.
I was surprised to learn the recipe has been around for several years. They're not as old as your grandmother, but they're not new either. One YouTube creator said they first appeared in 2019. They're new to me. I'm still testing variations, such as using only egg whites to reduce the eggy flavor.
I have two issues with chaffles. They're either too cheesy, or they stick to my waffle maker. I found the Wonder Bread Chaffle to have the best flavor and it didn't stick. I put a recipe in the Archive, but it's easy to find it on YouTube and the internet.
I used two of them for a cheeseburger and it was really delicious. Meanwhile, I ordered a better waffle maker from Amazon. It's a Cuisinart and it makes four waffles. I chose it because it had the best ratings on a trusted consumer reviews website and I really like that the cooking plates can be removed and washed in the sink or a dish washer.
Maybe worth mentioning: I doubled the ingredients in the original recipe found online because my new waffle maker will accommodate four. For hamburgers, I will still use my maker that cooks round waffles. They're perfect for my cheeseburgers. The new waffle maker will make square chaffles and I think those might be good for hotdogs and Polish sausages.
Now, here's the thing:
I'm thinking of making them in a new cooking video. However, I don't like the name "chaffle" because they don't contain cheese. They're promoted as being close to white bread. Ergo: if I do a video, I will call them "Whaffles."
I used two to make mini pepperoni pizzas. They were delicious. And low in carbs.
Meanwhile, the new waffle maker was shipped yesterday. It will be here this week.
Some Internet Appreciation
When playing Walkabout Mini Golf, my screen occasionally goes blank. Why? I saw one tip that said adding a silicone mask (I did that) can occasionally blank the screen. If it slips down a little, it blocks the forehead sensor. No forehead, no video.
I removed the mask and all is well again.
Dist. PD
I learned something new this week. On my eyeglass prescription there is a number, Dist. PD = 67. I had to look that up on the internet. It's the distance between my pupils, 67mm. That's handy to know because on my Meta Quest 3 VR headset there is a distance setting. I never knew for sure the correct setting. Now I know. Speaking of which…
Last month I mentioned ordering corrective lenses to fit inside my Quest 3. It was my retirement anniversary present to myself. They were shipped this past week. With real prescription lenses in my headset, I expect my mini golf game will vastly improve. Or, maybe not.
Chicken Wing Hack Cancelled
I changed my plans for the chicken wing hack video. Yes, clipping the cartilage makes it easier to separate the two bones in the wingette (AKA the flat) to get to the meat between them. However, when they're throughly cooked, the two bones are easily separated anyway. So, there is no need to clip them.
Now that I'm getting my weight down and I'm feeling better, I want to do more cooking videos. I need to find some recipes that would be delicious without too much work. I might weigh less, but I'm still old.
Weight
I recorded some excellent numbers this week.
I continue to read that book, Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé. She makes a good point. Not all calories are the same. 200 calories of butter is not equal to 200 calories or romaine lettuce. I used to think it was all about calories in, calories out.
And speaking of calories: While I was waiting for my trailer hitch to be installed, I walked to a nearby coffee shop. I ordered a bagel with cream cheese. OMG! I hadn't tasted a bagel in more than a year, since I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. That bagel was sooooooo good!
As for exercise, this was not a great week. However, I did a lot of walking and now that I have my bike's brake problem sorted out, I plan to ride more often. I enjoyed a good bike ride yesterday. I didn't go far — only six miles, but I felt secure with good brakes again. And this morning I ordered an upper-body exercise device I saw on Vine.
Wednesday 2025.7.9
Another Potluck
Another potluck gathering of the neighbors has been tentatively scheduled for July 20th. Among the possible side dishes listed was cornbread. I grabbed that one first because it's cheap, easy to make, and I can make it the day before.
One of the problems with cooking for a potluck is the timing. When will people actually sit down to eat? I'd like to make my heavenly Serranitos Flautas, but they need to be served hot and fresh. I don't want a plate of them to sit on the food table for two to three hours.
The theme of the potluck is Mexican food, which is another problem. I really don't like Mexican food. I grew up in a small town in Connecticut. There were no Mexican food restaurants in Mystic. There was Archies Grill, two pizzerias — Angies (still there) and Italian Pizzeria (now Mystic Pizza because of the movie) — and a diner (now the Noble Smokehouse) near the train station. We never ate there. I had never heard of Mexican food until I moved to California.
I grew up on Italian food. My mother was Italian American. Both her parents were Italian immigrants. Besides the flautas, there are several recipes for Italian food in the Recipe Archive. There is a recipe for Beef Burritos, which, again, should be eaten fresh, and Beef and Bean Chili. And, for course, there is my Real Texas Chili, but that is Texan (maybe Tex-Mex), not Mexican.
And then there is the other elephant (me) in the room. I'm fat. I'm trying really hard to lose weight before my birthday toward the end of this month. So, I'll probably eat a large salad before I go to the potluck. Another alternative I read about in a book would be roasted broccoli. I'd pan sear it.
At Last
I finally got around to ordering a trailer hitch for my Nissan Rogue. With tax and installation, it came to $364.25. There won't be any wiring for towing a trailer. I wanted only the 2-inch receiver to attach my bike carrier.
The plan is to eventually drive my bike to the nearest Pedego dealership to service my hydraulic disc brakes. It's way up in Solvang. The dealership here in Santa Barbara closed a few years ago. On the bright side, it will give me a good opportunity to test my car's GPS navigation system. Speaking of which…
Try to find a YouTube video that simply explains how to use the navigation system on a Nissan Rogue. They go through the entire touch panel, explaining every feature and setting. All I want to know is how to set my system to go from point A (my address) to point B (the Pedego dealership). I think I might have figured it out, but I won't know for sure until I'm ready for the drive.
Amazon Vine
Vine is one of my fixations, besides my weight and my tomato plants. I've been very good about ordering no more than four items per week (to meet my quota of 80 by November) and mostly under $10.
Got Batteries?
In past blogs I mentioned how much I like clocks, especially digital clocks. I also have a thing for rechargeable batteries.
For a while it was NiMH. Now it's lithium. When I see them on Amazon Vine, I can't resist. I ordered another eight, with charger, yesterday.
Chicken Wing Hack
For the first time in eight months I shot a new video for my Mobile Home Gourmet channel on YouTube. It isn't as much of a cooking video as it is a quick hack for chicken wings.
I find the wingette, also known as the flat, a little difficult to eat. To get to the meat between the two bones, it has to be pushed out with the fingers. Okay, chicken wings are eaten with the fingers anyway; so, what? I like to snip the cartilage between the two bones at each end of the wingette. Then, when they're cooked, the two bones separate easily, making the meat more accessible.
I looked on YouTube, but I didn't see anyone else doing it. Maybe it's a dumb idea. But I like it. So, I thought I'd do a video.
However, the first attempt wasn't very good. I did okay, but I can do better. It has been eight months. I'm bound to forget a few things. I have plenty of wings; so, I'll try again, probably this evening.
The Tomato Chronicles
I'm assuming the growing season for tomato plants has ended. My plants aren't getting any taller. Now seems to be the time to concentrate on fruit production. I am enjoying vine-ripened tomatoes on salads. The tomatoes available in the grocery stores look like tomatoes, but that is their only resemblance. They don't taste like tomatoes.
Sunday 2025.7.6
And So It Begins
It's July, and it seems like the beginning of fire season. The weather here has been cool and overcast most of the time; therefore, no fires have started here. However, about 45 miles north of here there is a large fire raging in the wilderness area. It is currently almost 80,000 acres and about 30% contained. It's moving westward. There is no danger of it affecting the area where I live. However, when the wind is blowing toward the south we see some ash on our cars. It's minimal.
I worry when a fire starts in the mountains just north of here. That is where the power lines are. A fire beneath them knocks out electricity for a while, sometimes a few hours, sometimes a day or two. I haven't prepared my oil lamps yet, but I'm watching the fire news.
Happy Fourth?
Friday was, of course, the Fourth of July, Independence Day, here in the USA. The local town used to have a fireworks display in the park behind Costco. I could watch the celebration from my back deck. Covid put an end to the event and it was never restored. Whatever. I watch the fireworks in many locations on my TV.
Outsmarting the Machine
The next several paragraphs get technical, maybe too technical; so, feel free to skip over this section.
The new straight stitch needle plate for my Janome MC9850 arrived on Thursday. It was almost exactly what I wanted. And it taught me more about my machine. I was wrong with my previous assumptions.
Inside the machine, there are two switches beneath a corner of the needle plate. Let's call one the inner switch (because it is nearer to the center of the machine) and the other one the outer switch. On the underside of the plate there is a tab. On the zigzag plate that came with my machine, the tab engages the inner switch. That tells the machine a plate is in place and all is well. The machine won't work without a plate.
The new plate also has a tab, but it engages the outer switch. That tells the machine not to zigzag, which is okay, but it also prevents the machine from doing a stretch stitch. The option is grayed out on the control panel. The whole point of getting the new plate is to do stretch stitches on knits without the needle pushing fabric down into the bobbin case, jamming the machine.
Fortunately, the tab is attached with only one screw. The tabs are not 100% interchangeable because there is also a little peg and dimple that is different for each plate. However, the difference is so minor, it really doesn't make any difference.
I was able to switch tabs with the plate I modified (that worked, but not very well) and install it on my machine. Voila! I can use the new plate for stretch stitches. I've heard it said, guys hate to buy underwear. I wouldn't know. I haven't bought any for decades. I tailor my own. Thus the need to have a machine that does a stretch stitch on knits. And, having such a project helps keep my mind off of food.
The important difference between the two plates is the hole the needle goes down through when stitching fabric. On the regular plate the hole is wide for zigzag stitching. That hole is too wide for fine knits. It allows fabric to be pushed down into the bobbin. The new plate has a small hole (actually two) where the needle goes through. The hole is small enough to keep fabric out of the bobbin case.
How well does it work? Beautifully! In fact, it works better than the plate I modified. I was able to sew smooth, even stretch stitches in knit fabric without any problems. There is one issue of which I need to be mindful: That peg allows the machine to zigzag, but the hole is wrong. If I'm not careful, I could break a needle. So, I need to put the new plate away when I'm done with knits and restore the original plate to the machine.
I can't say I love my Janome again. I love my Singer 31-15 industrial. However, I can say I really like my Janome again. I added more functionality to the machine and I eliminated a major source of frustration. I made 18 pieces of underwear using that new needle plate.
And maybe worth mentioning: The project did not proceed without incident. Yesterday afternoon I accidentally drove the machine needle through the index finger of my left hand. It went through the center of the nail and out the pad. Needless to say, when I reacted with pain and pulled back quickly, I broke the needle. I'm hoping there isn't a piece of needle embedded inside my finger. I'll know in a few days.
Something New
Not exactly new, but new-ish. I bought what I need to make an Italian submarine sandwich without the bread — Romaine lettuce, cotto salami, provolone cheese, and some tomatoes (my tomato plants aren't producing an abundance this year). I tried making a lettuce wrap, but that was too messy to eat. So, I cut things up, put them in a bowl, and added olive oil. I ate it like a salad. It was good, and healthy. It was also good for my weight.
Meanwhile, I've been watching chaffle videos on YouTube. I haven't made any in a while. If made right, they could be a good low-carb option.
Weight, a Big Push
It was a good week. I met my goal of 1.4 pounds lost. My other numbers, while not stellar, are good enough to keep me going. And, considering I'm not taking any medications, I'm satisfied with the results.
Near the end of this month is my birthday. My twin brother and I will email each other Happy Birthday wishes. He knows I am trying to lose weight. He successfully lost more than 40 pounds last year.
I'd like to report a noteworthy success to him, but my weight loss has stalled lately. It's the hunger. That always sabotages weight loss efforts. It's the reason most people eventually gain the weight they lost. It's genetics. I saw a documentary about it.
However, genetics or whatever, I'm trying to work really hard to get my weight down before I email my brother on the 28th. Losing seven pounds is safe and reasonable for one month. So, that's my goal. I'd like to be at or below 200 pounds by the end of the month.
Wednesday 2025.7.2
Done and Dusted
As I said in Sunday's blog post, the shirt I was tailoring was nearly finished. That afternoon I added the buttons and buttonholes. Buttons are my least favorite task. They're tedious. I wish I could get them out of the way first. However, the shirt is done and hanging in my closet.
Another Done and Dusted
Last month I blogged about my Janome MC9850 sewing machine and knit fabric. It's a nightmare. You'll remember I modified a stitch plate to prevent the needle from pushing the fabric down into the bobbin case, jamming the machine. I'm not sure how long the modifications will hold.
I told myself, if I can assemble one knit garment with the modified plate, I'll order a better stitch plate for my machine.
I finished a garment Monday morning. There was some frustration until I got the machine settings correct, but the end product was what I wanted. I ordered the plate. It isn't the correct one, but it will fit. I only need to remember never to do zigzag stitching with that plate, which would break the needle. Thankfully, they are easily interchangeable.
Why all the bother? My Singer industrial is, by far, the best sewing machine. It never fails me. However, it doesn't do a stretch stitch, which I need for knits. Therefore, it was important to do something to make the Janome work properly for me.
The new stitch plate, which costs $85 with tax and shipping, should be here next week. In the past two weeks I saved $90 on items I ordered from Amazon Vine; so, the cost is easily justified.
The Tomato Chronicles
I've been eating tomatoes. They're smaller than usual, but delicious. I made a mistake with my plants this year. I let too many side vines grow. The plants grew sideway rather than up. When I grew tomato plants two years ago, I had only three or four vines, which I trained up the tomato cage. The plants were eventually six feet tall. This year's plants haven't grown past the middle of the cage, not exceeding 3½ feet.
I'd cut the side branches off, but they are laden with tomatoes. I learn something new every year. So, next year's plants should be taller.
Meanwhile, I noticed the beginning of powdery white mildew on some leaves. I have neem oil, with which I sprayed the plants well. I only need to get these plants through the next few months. Then the season will be ending and I can start planning next year's plants.