Thursday, March 22, 2012

Container Garden 2012



It's that time of year again, folks! Time to try once again to grow something on this blasted porch and keep our food costs down, even if just a little. Each year we figure out what works and what doesn't, and for our fifth year, I've decided we're going with what we know we can grow...no more experiments!


The picture above is last year's garden, right before the scourge of the dreaded Tomato Pirahna. I call it the Tomato Pirahna because it skeletonized our peppers and tomatoes within days. Now, however, I've learned that the big honkin' moth I saw flying around the porch last spring was not a cute little wonder of nature, but actually more like Moth Vader, who decided to deposit its nasty little green Stormtroopers all over my porch.


A coworker's elderly neighbor revealed, after her modest crops were also decimated by the green, slimy monster of death, that planting marigolds near the tomatoes will keep them away. That's part of our garden plan. Of course, I'm allergic to many flowers, and no doubt this will make me sneeze like some spastic fool every time I step on the porch, but it's worth a shot.


This year we are only planting carrots, onions, tomatoes, and maybe a few peppers. Last year I froze about 3 quart bags of tomatoes, chopped with the skin on and placed on a cookie sheet and frozen individually. That way I could take out only what I needed to add to my soup, chili, or pasta dish, run the pieces under hot water for a second or two, lift the peel right off, and throw in the pot. Also, there were two storage bags of onions, chopped and ready for cooking. The carrots we grew last year were more of an experiment, just to see if we could have a late summer/early fall crop; turns out we need to plant them sooner, so they're going in between the rows of onions on the table (where the green beens are in the picture). The two quart bags of peppers are still in the freezer, mostly because I never add peppers to anything. They're mostly so Grandma can have some fresh peppers during the summer. We also had fresh tomatoes and onions all summer long.


I have already planted some onion bulbs in the table, and once those are up, I'll throw in the carrots (mostly because I just didn't mark the rows of onions!).


For now the Garden Guardian has only to watch over the sluggish onions of early spring; later--hopefully--he will have much more to protect.

R.I.P., Crochety Old Fuzzball

Well, the Crochety Old Fuzzball has gone to greener pastures...or at least better catnip patches.

Tucker Evinrude Hammer-Wiant, 2000-2012

Thursday, August 18, 2011

What I Did Today Instead of Housework







Today I decided to catch a few photos of the elusive yet noisy squirrel in the butternut tree. He's really chewing through the shells in order to get to the nuts inside, but I have the Goober believing he's really laughing at him and his poor squirrel-hunting skills.

He seems to be saying, "Getouttahere, human! I'm trying to eat lunch in peace. I'll ridicule your dog later."







It's Time to Get Back at it!






Lordy, but it's been a long time since I posted. I've been reading the blogs of others, but not working on my own. Therefore, since I'm officially out of school--and the boy's back in it--it's time to get cracking!


I'm no longer a Homeschooling Mom or Graduate Student (hence the change in my blog title), but I'm still harried, and at times still on the edge. We've added a Husband (see the Tall Bald Guy), a cat (the Feline in Charge of Mayhem) and a dog (Diva) to the mix, as well as a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a job at a local hospital.


Henceforth, the material contained within shall still consist of caffeinated ravings of a different sort...maybe.

Sunday, May 17, 2009



You Redo the Math


The Washington Post
Sunday, May 17, 2009


Recent gossip and a pesky paparazzi ambush have detonated a marital-woe bomb in the world of "Jon & Kate Plus 8," the TLC reality show about Jon and Kate Gosselin, the Pennsylvania couple who have twins and sextuplets. Is he dating around? Is she? Has he finally had it with her nagging? Are they going to stick together? The uncertainty!


While we wait for more fireworks (and the series's May 25 return), maybe it's time for a new show title. Joel McHale of "The Soup" has already referred to it as "Jon Minus Nine." Post readers in The Reliable Source chat room the other day chimed in with the popular "Jon & Kate Separa-8" and "Jon & Kate Plus Dates." Okay, this is a tad cruel but it's fun. What about . . .


Jon & Kate Plus Court Dates


Jon & Kate Mediate


Jon & Kate: Mady's Revenge


Jon & Kate on a Hot Tin Roof


Jon & Kate Plus 8 Things I Hate About You


Jon & Kate: The Shaming of the Shrew


Jon & Kate: Harpy Days


Jon & Kate: The Hatey Bunch


Jon & Kate Plus 8 Plus Appearance Fees Plus Book Deals Times Ladies' Night Drink Specials Divided by Paparazzi Over the Square Root of Scandal = Sweet Schadenfreude


Jon & Kate: Cold Silence


-- Monica Hesse and Hank Stuever