6-20-25 Fri/Log

 W: 318.0                  BS: 136

• Dishes
• Vacuum
• Laundry
• Finish stock
• Straw
• Groceries at 1
• Farm supply
• Chuckin pens
• Sink drain seal?
• Start yogurt?
• Start Sourdough?
• ?

Mid-80's today, then temps in the 90's for as far out as the weather is forecast.

Yesterdays storm knocked down the couple dozen corn plants in my little 3-sisters patch.  Now we are coming straight into hot/dry weather, which is a perfect chance for the corn to recover.... if it can.  It will be interesting to watch that happen, or not happen.

Yesterday's sourdough. This is getting closer to what I am looking for.  Good rise, good bake, nice open crumb.  Needs just a bit more 'sour' in the sourdough.

6-19-25 Thur/Log

 W: 317.2                BS: 98

• Dishes
• Vacuum
• Chk grocery sales
• Trim in the AM
• Pick turnips in the AM
• Re-plant turnip spot
• Make stock?
• Bake sourdough
• Collect eggs
• Jewelry cabinet
• Laundry room
• Trash
• ?

9:30 am, 82 degrees, but already a swamp. 20-25 minutes outside working and off to the shower I went.

Chicken dinner math:  Into the Instant Pot: One discount roaster chicken ($4), a carrot, some celery, an onion, and a few bay leaves.  P-cook for 50 minutes, and then cool completely.  Pick the meat and set aside.  The bones and whatev go back in the Instant Pot along with water and it runs for 2 more hours.  Strains the remains and jar up the stock.

One $4 chicken and some stray veg supplies chicken for several easy meals and at least 4 quarts of excellent chicken stock.

Is this real, or is it Memorex?  The thing is, the way cowardly lies run out of that region we really don't know, do we?  NOTHING reported from anyplace in the Middle East can be taken at face value.  Not even the simplest things.   We Americans are rank amateurs at Pravda compared to those folks.  We've only been lying to each other for centuries while they went pro millennia ago.

Yeah, I know.  Not changing a single thought in a single head... assuming there are any there to begin with.

I like the idea behind the Juneteenth 'holiday'.  It should be remembered, and remembered accurately.  It is s simple thing, commemorating the act of Lincoln sending a Union general and troops to Texas with the job of freeing people unlawfully enslaved. We should also have a day of remembering when the world found out about the the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.  It began under Hoover and ended under Nixon, after some 40 years of watching black American men die for no reason.

A Giant has moved on.

 Frank Brownell has passed.

6-18-25 Wed/Log

 W: 317.6                BS: 112

• Dishes 1
• Dishes 2
• Make breakfast and lunch
• Taxi 
• Dairy store
• Trash
• Jewelry rack?
• Pick up laundry room?
• Tend garden
• Vacuum down & up
• Wipe & Dust
• Make the bed
• Shot
• ?

Another day.  Warmish, so AC is running.  Looks like the daily heat is on for the near future. Mid 80's to mid 90's.

6-17-25 Tue/Log

 W: 317.4                BS: 142

• Dishes
• Pantry rack cleanup
• Taxi the (COMMENT REDACTED)
• Vacuum
• Chuckins & eggs?
• Clean bathroom
• Garden
• Lunch soup
• Dinner thing
• Dust
• Laundry
• ?

Obligatory 'ouch'.   That over, let's get a handle on this day.  A bit in the rainy and gray side for much outdoor chores.  I heard a rumor we will have sun next month.  Maybe.

There's something so welcoming about a bowl of traditional Irish porridge. Steel cut oats simmered slow with milk and water, a pinch of salt.  After an hour of simmer and stir, bowl up with a pat of butter and a spoon of maple syrup. 

A punny by Jim Curtis that got me thinking. "In a democracy it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism it’s your count that votes."

In out last election we had a candidate put into the race by overwhelming input of the people voting.  The other candidate was appointed to the race, with zero input from the people.  A small cabal of party royalty placed her in the race.

Now, the irony of that same small cabal screaming about defending democracy as if they invented it.  The shade of Goebbels must be thrilled.

'Appy father's day to me!

 I'm going to enjoy these this Summer.

6-16-25 Mon/Log

 W:  319.2              BS: 150

• Dishes
• Deliver laptop to repair
• Thrift store
• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• Vacuum downstairs
• Jewelry cabinet
• Mop kitchen and bathroom
• Chuckins
• Garden
• Bake sourdough
• Extra Lasix ?

Woke up to odd bits unfriendly.  I had to look up 'Coccyx', so who knows what my search history will do now. The chore list has been chopped, and become optional for the most part.  Let's see what the non-hurty drugs and coffee can do.

Zuchs, peppers, corn, beans, and squash.  The zuchs exploded, and I'll have to move the peppers.

Two 'walls' of tomato plants.  14 plants total, I think it was. 4 different kinds. I'm trimming hard now.

Herself's lilies. A bit late blooming this year, but promising a firefall...

The herb bed.  Packed with goodness and flavor. This is a happy thing.

Pole beans on trellis by the porch.  First year they grew!

Countless green tomatoes. 

6-15-25 Sun/Log

 W: 316.6                    BS: 158

• Dishes
• Vacuum up & down
• Clean kitchen
• Lunch out?
• Chuckins and eggs
• Garden?
• ?

Herself brought me a present from paradise.

 

6-14-25 Sat/Log

 W: 319.2                BS: 119

• Fetch the Missus
• Feed da pipples
• Dishes x2
• Laundry/put away
• Vacuum downstairs
• Dust
• Wipe down kitchen
• Chuckins?
• Clean up laundry room a bit
• ?

Next time I catch up to Farmer Daryl I'll ask him what the weather is doing to his plantings.  I imagine he has everything in, but hard to do anything in a field of mud.

USAID criminals plead guilty to misdirecting $550,000,000 in contracts in exchange for bribes.  Say that slowly.  HALF. A. BILLION. DOLLARS.

6-13-25 Fri/Log

 W:  319.6                BS: 156

• Double lasix
• Trash
• Dishes x2
• Vacuum and mop bedroom and bathroom
• Vacuum living room
• Dust and polish
• Laundry
• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• Groceries
• Tend garden
• Dry greens
• Chuckins
• ?

I done do'ed it with the arthritisy hand.  Bugger is a bit swelled this morning.  Think I will have Tyluprofen and an ice pack with my coffee. OTOH, the best way to attack weight and sugar is to stay as active as possible.  The hand doesn't hurt *that* bad I suppose.

Weather.  Starting tonight, overcast and rainy solid through as far as NOAA predicts weather.

Herself gets a fancy vacation, and I get a pack of quackers.  Seems fair to me.

Nothing these feathered gargoyles like more than a fresh clean pond full of greens.

Iran has long been a primary sponsor of radical Islamic terrorism around the world.  Now that they are (FINALLY) getting smacked in the nutsack for it, it's a fair thought they may try to up their away game. I expect the usual useful idiots will line up to do their part, just as they always have.  In between scurrying to perceived safety, from one luxurious hovel to the next, the ayatollahs may take a moment away from diddling children and order some interesting feedback for the USA. 

As the cat above says.... watch this space.

6-12-25 Thur/Log

 W: 318.4  :-(                BS: 182  :-(

• Trash
• Finish yogurt
• Dishes
• Vacuum up & down
• Chuckins & eggs
• Chk grocery sales
• Pay a bill?
• Tend garden
• Boy to doc
• Cabinets?
• ?

Gov. Ron DeSantis says that Floridians are legally allowed to drive over protesters in the street, if they feel like their life is in danger..

"And we also have a policy that if you're driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety. And so if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that's their fault for impinging on you. You don't have to sit there and just be a sitting duck and let the mob grab you out of your car and drag you through the streets. You have a right to defend yourself in Florida."

Guess what Florida does NOT have in 2025? Protesters blocking roads and holding drivers hostage.

6-11-25 Wed/Log

 W:  316.4                BS:  152

• Dairy store
• Make yogurt
• Dehydrate onions
• Gurl to doc
• Dishes
• Put clothes away
• Vacuum Up & Down
• One loaf of bread (FAIL)
• Chuckins
• ?

2 Tylenol, 2 Ibuprofen, 2 Aspirin. Magic black juice to activate it.... Any... Minute... Now.

6-10-25 Tue/Log

 W: 318.2                BS: 156

• Dishes
• Laundry x3
• Make and use furniture polish
• Chuckins & eggs
• Vacuum down & up
• Mop kitchen and bathroom
• Double the Lasix & Tyluprofen
• Roast chicken and greens
• Rest a bit... not so good at this one
• ?

No official duties today.  Do wut I wanna.   I think I will spend some time relaxing, with ice on some of the bits, and not push so hard today.  Semper Gumby Ya'll.

An osprey landed in a a tree behind the neighbors house.
Safe haven during a heavy rain.

My first time growing turnips, so my first time making 'Greens'.

A double handful of turnip tops and a couple small turnips.  I washed, picked over, and shredded the greens into a pot.  The two little turnips were peeled, chopped, and also went in the pot.  About four ounces of ham steak joined them, and 1.5 pints of rich chicken stock.  Salt, black pepper, Aleppo pepper flakes.

All in all, they simmered for about 90 minutes, and finished exactly as the  roast chicken thighs did.  Dinner it was!

6-9-25 Mon/Log

 W:  316.0                 BS:  132

• Bins!  At least 6  (shoulda got 8)
• Chuckins
• Laundry
• Vacuum upstairs, downstairs, and stairs
• Mop bathroom and bedroom
• Mop kitchen again
• Clean under tables
• Hutch/desk move in
• Move furniture
• Tend garden
• Her corner
• ?

This list is a goal.  Many/lots of hurty bits this bits this morning. We shall see.  Go Go Tyluprofen.

Hideous old beast, isn't it?  I love it!

FB marketplace.  Very, very used.  In fact, I suspect it to be at least 100 years old.  Not a mark on it to help determine that.    The hardware could go either way.  Vintage hand made or rustic old hardware store.  

One thing I'll say, I never saw a machine made slotted screw with the slot off center, like some of these do.

For certain every piece of wood is solid, and everything looks hand cut and shaped.

Whatev, it cleans up nice and will help de-clutter the living room.

Cords.... they CAN be cut.

I decide today was 'The' day to deal with my primary cord cabinet.  Yes, I have primary and secondary, each covering different time spans.

Today's challenge, the cord cabinet in the living room.  It all hides in this semi-goofy kitchy old hexagon end table.  Till a year ago the double doors nicely hid the stash within.  Then, a cord-a-lanch happened.  The doors would no longer close, and people could SEE my collection of manly cords, cables, and gadget boxes.

Today I dragged the whole blessed thing to the middle of the living room and dug in.  Worked up a proper sweat doing it, which is needful this morning (Too much Bourbon last night).

Charge cords, power cords, patch cables, stray electronics, cell phones, boxes, camera gear, software, gidgets, and even a slingshot.

The To-Go pile. An amazing array of crap that at one time seemed worth keeping for some reason.  There's stuff in there I haven't seen in 10-15 years, including my last four cell phones.  The real capper was the slingshot with rotted surgical tubing.  When did I get a slingshot?  Why did I get a slingshot?

The keep pile.  A whole bunch of power supplies from my last decades worth of laptops.  A perfectly fine tablet computer that I used at work years ago, but haven't touched in a decade.  Three, count them, THREE brand new terabyte SSD drives.  All the new 'spare' phone charge cables I keep because the children chew on them in their sleep, and wall warts to power them.  CD's of music I don't want to part with even though I no longer have a CD player.  Just one of the headphone sets, out of at least six I found in there.  Oh, and a miniature oscilloscope I forgot I owned.  Also that danged battery charger I've been hunting for all year.

You see gentlemen?  It CAN be done.  I assure you, it CAN be done.

6-8-25 Sun/Log

 W: 318.0             BS: 265

Last night,  ate bad and drank worse.  I need to eat very little today and work all that off.

(Update)  2pm, 6000 steps, a LOT of household chores done.  Antimatter banks depleted.

• Dishes x2
• laundry x3
• Vacuum x3
•  Garden
• Trash
• Clean tables, cord cabinet
• Fold/bag some clothes
• Chuckins & eggs
• Italian seasoning
• Her corner?
• Mop floors?
• Bins?
• ?

That's TWO pounds of fresh strawberries and hours of dehydrator time.  Just to make 6 fruit roll-ups.

Two pounds fresh strawberries, juice of one lemon, about 1/8th cup of white sugar.  Blend, heat in a pan for a few minutes to sterilize, dehydrate.

Now, I expect they are really, really, GOOD fruit roll-ups, but that is for Herself to decide.  Meanwhile they live in a sandwich baggie in the fridge, marked as 'Poison Cat Urine sample'.

I can't say I ever enjoyed mopping floors.  It takes me way back to my early shop days, when a daily mop-down was an all hands affair at the end of each day.

But, there is one thing I really do like about it.  That's the way the house smells afterwards.  Pine cleaner, dontcha know.

Oh, and I'll mention the wife's washable-pad floor mop is the cat's meow.

Now, to enjoy this nice whiskey-soda I've earned myself....

6-7-25 Sat/Log.

 W:  314.4                  BS: 118

• Fold some clothes
• Put my clothes away
• Clean off FOUR tables
• Laundry
• Vacuum
• Dishes
• Make fruit leather
• Trash
• Mop kitchen & bathroom
• Work on her corner
• Tend garden
• Chuckins
• Bake sourdough
• ?

Gray and rainy day outside, so...   Music cranked up and house brightly lit.  Time to get chorey!  Do the things!  Do the stuff! Commit cookery!  But first, the OTC candy that makes things hurt less.

I've been excavating, and discovered we HAVE TABLES!  Four discovered so far, and a couple more suspected.

Resolved:  I shall not ask the Girl child to do chores any longer.  She says she will, but then does not.  Then I am disappointed the chores are not done and hurt because she lied to me about it.  Not once, but 80% of the time.  Disappointed and hurt is not fun and there is no reason to do that to myself.  After years and years of this, I'm done banging my head on that wall.

You can catch all the latest commentary on censorship at the weekly whinefest down at Barnes and Noble.   It's held right next to the huge 'Banned Book' sale table.  2 for $10 this week!

Yesterdays chicken stock, slow cooked all night. So rich!

Two dehydrator loads of veg, roasting in the oven to finish.

Tomatoes!   Tomatoes gone wild!

Chonka the snek appears to be hungry...

Done drying veg, on to 2lbs of strawberry as leather.

All that died and roasted veg above,
Spun in the processor and ready to use.

6-6-25 Fri/Log

 W: 312.8                BS: 108

No more No-booze.  Herself is on a 10 day cruise, and it's a perfect time for me to relax with a glass on a quiet evening.  Not going to miss that.

• Vacuum up & down
• Laundry 1
• Laundry 2
• Dishes
• Make the bed
• Put clothes away
• Load dehydrator.
• Clean bathroom.
• Clean kitchen
• Chuckins & eggs
• Tend garden
• Groceries at 2
• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• Taxi 3
• Make stock
• Shot
• ?

I tend to keep a bowl on the counter for all the small lots that hold temporary company.  That keeps them close to hand when the cookening happens.  Shallots, garlic, jalapenos, tomatillos, lemons, limes, etc.  Those things we have a just a couple of, bought with intent.

This morning I glanced at that bowl, thought to myself "Self, those need used right soon".  A second glance and I said "Self!  That right there is a bowl of kick ass salsa waiting to happen!"

Peel peel.  Clean clean.  Dribble in some olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, cayenne, salt, black pepper.  Spinny spinny in the processor.  Fold in some sweet corn.  BAM!   Fresh salsa for tonight's chicken cheesesteaks sandwiches.

$11.56

A quick hike around the grocery store perusing the last-chance sale racks.  One for produce, and on the other side of the store another rack for everything else but meat.  Meat gets yellow tags, and I can spot one at 30 feet.

Two packs of cold chicken, 8 pieces each.  One of fried and one of roasted leg quarters.  Two small bags of tomatoes and three small bags of onions.  $11.56 for the whole lot.

Boy and I ate the fried chicken for a late lunch, saving the bones.  The leg quarters, fried chicken bones, and all the veggie cut-offs from the freezer went into the pressure cooker for two hours.  I'll probably get at least a gallon of rich stock from that, and we also got lunch.

The tomatoes and onions are now sliced and packed into the dehydrator.  We can always use dried tomatoes and onions, all year long.  A bag of onions and a few tomatoes left over.

So, for $11.56 we got lunch, at least 4 quarts of primo chicken stock, and likely at least a pint each of dried tomato and onion.

6-5-25 Thurs log. Day 17/30.

 W:  316.6               BS: 120

• Deliver Herself
• Check grocery sales
• Dishes
• Bread
• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• Chuckins
• Vacuum
• Laundry
• Trash
• ?

Starbucks has 'Morning Swamp' coffee, or whatev.  WE have what we term 'Hairy Chest Coffee' some mornings, and we loves our precious.

Sweet corn, interplanted with pole beans and butternut squash.  Yes, a 3-sisters planting.  I love the concept, so let's see what real life brings.