…and we spent yesterday afternoon hacking frozen ground and moving semi-frozen mulch. Our neighbor now thinks he doesn’t want a wall where we were going to put it, so we had to rip up a wee bit more sod and (in a mild wind) get the newspaper down and then weedcloth and then mulch over a final pile of lawn waste and dirt, so it will compost. Jane did the lion’s share of the mulch-moving, and I laid newspaper and weedcloth and moved a little mulch; plus got the brussel sprouts disconnected from the giant stems of brussel sprouts they had for a bargain at the store. Brussel sprouts are generally so spendy we don’t get them often, but these were two huge stems (read, 3 gallons) of sprouts, which grow like hollyhocks, for 5.00. Couldn’t resist. I brought home these things that look like alien life, and we had steamed brussel sprouts for supper, with cinnamoned ham. Yum. I have enough brussel sprouts to go until Thanksgiving or beyond.
I also got the pump I’d ordered for the skimmer for the marine tank: good thing: I don’t like the tank to be skimmerless for 5 days!
If you wonder what a skimmer does, it’s the surf of a marine tank. When the ocean laps the shore, the amino acids of dead sea life make this froth, which is (in a marine tank) allowed to decay to a nasty green soup, which is then thrown out with some distaste. There was some viral video last year of a beach in Australia where 15′ high banks of froth had gotten kicked up, and people were letting their children frolic ‘in the sea foam’….
Every marine hobbyist in the wide world was shaking his head and going…”Oh, yuuuuuckkkk…”
I am battling brown algae in my goldfish tank. We are suffering a bit from “new tank” syndrome here but so far the little fellas are fine.
My mother in law has given me a Nook as a combo birthday and xmas gift, so I’ll be purchasing many e-books from you guys soon. 🙂
Now if I could only convince ya to do some audiobooks… lol.
Well back to the fishies, water change and scraping off yucky brown stuff.
In a marine tank, algae can be checked somewhat by turning the lights off for 3 days: nothing but algae minds it, and it gives some of your remediation time to catch up. Dunno if it works in freshwater, but it does in salt.
Algae cleaned out and off of tank decorations (man, that’s a pain using only hot water and elbow grease)! Thanks for the tip, noob tank owners here, and so far we’ve only lost 1 of 12 goldfish. We were told to purchase a lot of little ones as it could be expected we’d get a lot of attrition, but at this rate, 3 months after purchase, I’m thinking we may have to get a second tank! Right now they are all 3 inches and under, and so far incredibly healthy and fun. 🙂
We are getting one of the most beautiful first winter snowfalls! Poofy flakes interspersed with fine ones.
I want snow. I’m one of those people who thinks that if it must be annoyingly cold out we might as well have snow too. Looks like ours will come when I am on the road traveling for Thanksgiving though. I have an uncanny ability to plan road trips for bad weather events. The one time I was cutting across Oklahoma I had a band of tornadoes twenty minutes behind me in my rear view mirror the whole way. Every bathroom break seemed like I was risking my life. The giant sweet tea from McDs didn’t seem so smart in that light.
😆 been there, to be sure! You be careful!
[if you get caught in the Great Plains during a tornado or hail outbreak, find a gas station and pull under the canopy, and if it’s a tornado alert, run for the store and get into their bathroom. If you’re really caught in the open, lie flat in the ditch between the tornado and your car—not the other way around.;) ]
This time I am driving the entire length of Illinois. I’ll know when I get there when the language becomes spiced with y’alls and sodi pops. I used to speak Southernese as a kid, but only recently began to appreciate it. My southern relatives get accused of being British when they head north. I’m a little jealous I didn’t retain more of it than I did.
Irony. We had a tornado hit about 7 miles from my apartment today while I was at work. I will no longer take off-season cheap shots at scary weather phenomena. Yikes.
sheesh, poor people!
Yep, winter tornados happen, and they often catch people off guard. That one looks strong—at least F3, maybe 4 from moment to moment. When they form a strong wedge shape, that is serious bad news.
*nods* They are saying F3 and 1/2 mile wide at points. It started east of where I live so I was never in any danger, but I guess it stayed on the ground for 26 miles and went through two smaller towns once it left the initial touch down area on the “gold coast” part of my city. No one seriously hurt which is good of course, but one county’s grain store was hit bad. Modern tech can’t save you from everything. New tornado warning system failed this go around and everyone is pissed.
That is some Tornado; glad no one was seriously hurt. I’ll take hurricanes over tornados any day.
Brussels sprouts! Petits choux! Thanks, that settles one veggie, think I have a nice frozen package, if fresh are too costly or are out. Either plain and simple or a little olive oil and lemon juice…. Reminding myself not to get carried away. 😉
How to deal with iffy or crummy holidays? Fix food for someone else, I guess.
If you don’t want to cook a whole ham, we have discovered that plain cinnamon dusted on ham slices fried in a skillet works very nicely!
AS a completely unrelated Cultural Sidelight, are you and Jane anticipating Skating With the Stars? I wonder how many celebrities actually skate well enough to perform a routine of any complexity, let alone with a partner, and not fall tail over teakettle or just look foolish. Myself, it’s been 4 decades since I was on the ice, and I was never any great shakes to begin with.
The newly acquired secondhand freezer is up and running, and is slowly filling with the turkeys, hams and whatnots that go on sale around the holidays every year. I love not having my tiny refrigerator freezer taken up 80% with a 13 pound turkey which will not be touched for months!
It’s kind of hard for somebody who’s NEVER skated to come from behind, because of muscle tone. It requires the micro-muscles to react, and even people who are very strong and athletic don’t always have those muscles in good form.
The short course on figure skating, for those who want to know: or those who are going to watch this show and want to be able to predict calamity when it’s telegraphed.
Typically, —stance: knees bent, chin UP,head UP—no gorilla stance: shoulder blades pulled not only back, but severely down, so there should be a little hollow under the shoulderblades. Pelvis vertical, no sway back; weight centered on inside just under ankle bone going forward: push of foot is rocked to inside, from below ankle, and drives straight sideways. Whole body weight simultaneously shifts balance to opposite foot. Push-leg straightens to rear while turning out. Then change feet: repeat. A skater often sways like an insecure elephant.
Hands are always (for novices) below waist and fairly close to body. Waving hands about is dangerous, and holding an arm up is apt to send you over backwards onto your head. First thing some people do when their balance tips is to fling up a hand, or straighten knees and stand up in perplexity, and this is really dangerous.
If your weight shifts toward your toes while you are skating forward, this is as good as putting on the brakes—and if you simultaneously stand up, you will engage a toe-pick, which is used for jumping, which you probably don’t want to do—but you’ll go airborne.
Keep your knees bent and you can’t get in trouble, or if you do, you will have a much safer fall.
Skating backward is what happens if your weight goes all the way to your toes without engaging the toepick. You come to a stop and if you persist, you start skating backward.
As you can see, it’s a big bundle of instructions if you’re Hulk Hogan and want to try this for the first time in your life. I frankly think they ought to put these celebs in ski helmets, because if you really blow it, you can actually end up dead: adults fall hard, and they often fall backwards.
It honestly is a low-impact sport: people do it into their 90’s. The impacts all come while you’re learning. And if you pad up and wear a helmet, take it from me, you are much, much happier.