What a difference a day makes!

From yesterday's funk and meteorologic gloom...

Today was one of those perfect September days. Clear, comfortable, dry arctic air, blue sky. Perfect.

My mood changed as radically as the weather as well. Certainly helped that today was the first time in a week or better I didn't have to take Advil!

Life is good.

Ramblings...

Just in a funk today.

My foot is still bothering me, although a lot better -- I'm almost walking without a perceivable limp again. Feels like the Achilles tendon right where it attaches to the heel. I think the way I was favoring my foot caused me to wretch a muscle in my lower back early last week; finally on Friday I took a few very large doses of Advil and slept most of the day which seemed to give it enough of a relief to start heeling. I went from barely able to tolerate walking to now getting around with only noticing a minor discomfort. Sleep has been screwed up since middle of last week because of it, with afternoon naps and staying up way too late at night, after having gone a couple good months of decent, regular night time sleep. Still grouchy and funky, I feel like getting out and doing SOMETHING -- a walk, cut the lawn, do firewood -- but I know I shouldn't push my luck on my heel, plus it's raining out today. Exceptionally tough for me to concentrate on things when I'm like this. In a word, arrrrrrggggghhhhhh!

Saturday afternoon, mostly because I was stir crazy and couldn't concentrate on reading or the 'puter, I went for a long drive up to Kittery. I had noticed during the week driving seemed to help my back (I'm guessing the vibration of the road helps loosen it up), so I figured it wouldn't hurt. I hobbled around Kittery Trading Post for about an hour, then headed north of Route 1 for a bit. I was going through Ogunquit passing a nice looking place called 'tapas and 'tinis (click the pic at right for the review I stole the picture from). It's dusk on a perfect autumn evening and traffic is stop and go in this section of town, and I see a couple young women in cocktail dresses, just a smidge too thin for their frames, leaving the bar. A movie scene where Seth Rogen talks about needing to find the drunk chicks pops instantly into my mind, and no sooner do I think it then one of the young ladies trips out of her sandals -- not heels, sandals. I have to watch traffic for a second, and next time I can look over her tipsy mind is struggling deciding whether to light her cigarette or check to see if she broke the sandal strap -- it's clear she only has the coordination to do one or the other and not both at the same time. Which wouldn't be that humorous if I didn't have Seth Rogen's voice stuck in my head talking about drunk chicks...I guess I found the drunk chicks. As I continued my mission to find clam shack for a lobster roll, I last saw her walking down the sidewalk, sandals in hand.

Not that I even need alcohol to pull off amazing feats of miscoordination. After lunch today I let Oscar out, and he trips over the rack for my gas grill that I took off so I can bring it to the garage to wire brush the rust off. It wasn't anywhere someone, two or four legged, should have managed to hit it, yet he did. No sooner do I finish chuckling at that klutz then I turn around and trip over the cat litter box sitting where it normally sits. *sigh*

Sunday Gardening

About 5# of miscellaneous stuff :) Tomatoes are starting to peter off for the season. Picked the pepper knowing it's nowhere near ripe (and I doubt they'll ripen before frost), I'm going to trying grilling it with squash/onions/beans and see how it comes out.

Times I'm a little slow...

When I'm trying to remember what town Kittery Trading Post is in.

Oh yeah, that's right. Kittery.

Wednesday Garden Update

Picked 7# of tomatoes, brought 10# to the food pantry.

Peppers and Eggplants starting to come in. Have to lookup when the pick my peppers!

Sunday

Blerg...beautiful weekend and somehow I hurt my foot yesterday so I'm hobbling around. It can bear weight, but hurts to walk.

And despite two trips this week for odds and ends at the Stihl dealer, I was out of two-cycle oil when I went to mix some. :rolleyes:

So when I picked 15# of 'maters before I ran up to Tractor Supply in Putnam to pick some up. Hmmm, got one nice squash on September 5th...latest ever! Although it wasn't much, my experiment with planting multiple crops of squash to avoid the squash vine borers seems like it'll work if I pick a little better place to plant them next year. Gave some to Pam, Courtney, and finally Mom:


More orange then a Syracuse home game:


Chainsaw tool box, way too neat:


Got a good amount of the trees I dropped this spring cut into firewood length. Have quite a bit of brush I need to stack up, but with my foot hurting that wasn't going to happen today.

Saws are sharpened...

Sharpened up a few chains for the saws this morning in case Earl makes it up this way. First time in years I've tried hand sharpening, I bought the tool kits earlier this year since the guy I usually have sharpen them has been sick for a while now.

I think I did a decent job, did some test cuts and the chips looked OK.

Picked 7# of tomatoes, brought 15# to the food pantry.

Greening of Godzilla

Nice essay on hypocrisy over skepticism of science:

http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2010/08/28/the-greening-of-godzilla/

Garden

Picked today: 15# of tomatoes & a handful of beans, 5# of Butternut Squash.

I didn't know I planted butternuts.

I don't how to cook butternuts.

Going to have to find a recipe. Wonder if they can be grilled?

People...

Seen one morning while I was running errands, an 800# hay bale on a truck cap. That had to be fun going around corners. Well built cap, though.

Is that a squash in your pocket?

Went down to the garden to dig a couple taters for dinner. Washed and put them on the grille, sat down at my desk...WHAT THE HECK IS IN MY POCKET?!?!?!

Oh...I forgot I picked a squash, too :)

Nice one too:



Picked 5# of tomatoes yesterday.

Hopefully pictures of the garden to come this weekend after I finish cleaning it up.

Garden Update

Combined take from Sunday and Wednesday, less what I've already eaten or gave away:



Harvested 10# of Tomatoes & Squash today.

Brought 12# to the food pantry.

8/21
Picked 7#, some green beans + most tomatoes.

Jake

Jake passed away earlier this evening, Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 around 10pm. He had been sick for about a week. Saturday he spent about an a half hour outside in the sun, walking around the yard, but Sunday he stopped eating, and Monday he stopped drinking. Tuesday he didn't even want an ice cube I offered him.



He was curled up under my desk and I had been been stroking his leg with my toes before I went to the kitchen to make a late dinner. It was a later dinner since I had napped this afternoon having been up till four this morning, waiting for a thunderstorm to pass as I didn't want Jake, who had always been scared of them, to be alone as it passed. He normally would pace the house, but in he was too weak to move much in the last couple days. He didn't seem in pain or distress, just sullen and I let nature take it's course rather then deal with the stress of a trip to the vets. When I returned from the kitchen with dinner, he had passed on.



Jake was a year and a half old when he came to me on September 9th, 1999 -- he had been taken from his original owners for neglect. They had left him tied on their porch for a week during the summer when they went on vacation.



Jake and Oscar that first night.





Some more from '99:











(Most of these photos aren't in any sort of chronological order...)







So one night I hear a commotion in the living room, and get out of bed to find this sad sack with his head stuck in a bag:







He was known for his impressive efforts at mischief sometimes...

































These last three are from this year. Settling down in his old age, he accompanied me once or twice a week to the garden. Although he still occassionally like to take off and get muddy running through the swamp and woods.

Garden Update

Picked 17# this morning, delivered 15# to the food pantry.

8/13 Update:
Picked 5#. Tomatoes ripening rapidly! Gave most to Pam. Squash is passing quickly, I'm guessing Squash Vine Borers. Very, very few Squash Bugs this year (and very few Colorado Potato Beetles if I didn't write that down earlier).

8/15:
Three+ hours of weeding and tying up plants...pheew.
13# picked, all the onions, and a whole bunch of tomatoes. I'll have to take a pic tomorrow!

Old Sturbridge Village

Rest of the photos here.

It was a very relaxing birthday.

Amazing

Fresh picked taters and squash, onion was picked a few weeks ago (still far, far fresher the supermarket!)

Put taters on grille, medium x 20 minutes.

Cut up squash & onion, dash of raspberry vinaigrette, dash olive oil, fresh ground pepper. Mix, wrap in foil.

Squash goes on when meat does. 12 minutes @ medium was perfect for the squash. Meat got over cooked at 7 minutes high / flip 5 minutes medium...I didn't adjust for thinner cut.

The squash & onions were indescribably good.

Garden update:
Picked 10# of squash Sunday, delivered to food bank today (plus about 4# last Wednesday if I didn't record that).

Picked maybe 1# today.

Signs of dryness again :( Deer have pretty much devastated the bush beans, and my yellow beans aren't coming in, assume I planted them in too rich of soil.

Rockefeller Quote

(So I can link to this from the quotes gadget)

"I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty. I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master. I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a liking but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living. I believe that thrift is essential to well ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs. I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order. I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a mans word should be as good as his bond; that character not wealth or power or position - is of supreme worth. I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free. I believe in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individuals highest fulfillment, greatest happiness, and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His Will. I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might."

John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Garden Updates

Needs weeding!

First zucchini.

3# of zukes, summer squash, and taters picked today. Having issues with blossom end rot (?) on the maters...but that too shall pass.

Something is nibbling my beans :(

2" of rain since last time I posted rain fall.

It's not just Providence

Summer squash are in :)

4# of squash and tomatoes harvested tonight. Cucumbers from a local stand.

Along with some red lettuce, craisins, croutons, chicken salad, and a raspberry vinaigrette made for a quite nice dinner.

I'm doomed...

Federal Hill, Providence.

I had heard of it before. I never ate there until lunch today.

Not my photo, shamelessly stolen from the 'net:



Phenomenal.

As I'm eating calamari to die for, I'm reading the signs on the poultry store across the courtyard. They offered items like quail eggs, rabbit, and pick your own live chicken.

Walked through one delicatessen before we left with a simply amazing selection of meats, cheeses, and bakery breads. 40 minutes from my house...this is the real.good.stuff.

On a related note, I will at some point in my life own a suit from Marc Allen, the successor to Briggs in Providence.

It's bedtime

And you realize you've had a pocket tee on backwards all day long. Including in public.