Archive for the ‘Bitch & Complain’ Category
It appears that summer is finally decided to arrive. We having much warmer weather during the day and at night and it shows. The garden has really taken off in the last week and things are looking up except for the ghost peppers which aren’t doing well at all. They seem to need hot days and hot nights with a lot of sun to flourish and they’re certainly not finding that here in Maine. I don’t expect much production from the ghost peppers this year and I’ve pretty much decided to try them one more time next year but in a different way. I intend to plant them either in a cold framework or I’ll build a small greenhouse to try and keep the temperature is high as possible for as long as possible. If that doesn’t work then I’ll give up on ghost peppers entirely and just buy them online. Here are a few shots of the garden taken this morning.
The better-half’s flower gardens are also in bloom almost everywhere on the property. This could possibly be the best year we’ve ever had with a diversity of colors that is amazing.
We also had a special occasion last night. We harvested the first of the lettuces for this year and they were a perfect addition to our evening meal.
That’s all for today. I’m having serious computer issues that need fixing and I hope I’m successful. Microsoft is making my life miserable once again and as usual they’re not much help.
Summer is finally here but it’s been a little disappointing so far. It’s the middle of June and the nights remain chilly which is doing nothing to help my pepper plants in our garden. Very disappointing but not totally unexpected, it is Maine after all.
This week I’ve been consumed by these designs that I’ve been creating. Each day I become more adept at using the computer software to color my sketches. It’s an interesting process but it’s very detailed and time consuming. I sat for almost three hours yesterday totally focused on what I was doing and when I finally finished and stood up I was suffering from eye strain and legs that went a bit wobbly. Even with all of that the results were much better than I expected. The work will continue today and I’m actually looking forward to getting back into it.
‘Get Creative!’
Most people just don’t get it. They see my time spent doing these designs as wasted but they couldn’t be more wrong. The hours spent in these tasks are the highlights of my day. The focus needed to complete them is something I’ve grown to need over the years and I’ve looked forward to it since I was a young child. It’s the best addiction I’ve ever had and I hope I never lose it.
I’m hoping to breakaway for a while this week if the sunny weather continues. I could use some quiet times in the woods taking a few photographs of my favorite subjects . . . dragonflies. They should be swarming near the swamps in large numbers by now and I plan to make the most of it. Here are two shots taken in 2011 when there were huge numbers of them in the area.
I’ll be disappointed if I can’t get a few pictures but these cool nights may delay their arrival just a bit. I may be forced to return to the swamp a few more times before I have any success at all. Thankfully I live close enough which makes things so much easier.
ENJOY YOUR DAY
Anyone who’s read this blog over the years realizes how addicted to the Internet I am. I spend a great deal of my time roaming the Internet looking for odd facts on just about any subject. With that thought in mind, I thought I’d share some tidbits about the Internet that I happened upon recently. To me they’re interesting, but to you, maybe not so much. Needless to say I’m posting them anyway, so here’s goes.
High Tech
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Russian Victor Yazykov, sailing alone in the South Atlantic, performed surgery on his own arm by following instructions from Dr. Daniel Carlin of Boston, relayed via e-mail from halfway across the world.
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Cyberstalking: A man identified only as Roger was the prey in the world’s first live game of human hunting on the web. It took a week to find him in a Berlin library, counting books.
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In 1999, a NASA expedition set up the first Internet link to the North Pole and made the very first North Pole to South Pole conversation ever.
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When a computer glitch occurred in Sydney, Australia, hundreds of programmed soda pop machines began dialing ambulance and fire emergency lines.
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A company in San Francisco, California, has developed Internet software that is scented with a plug-in device for Web surfers called Smell-O-Vision.
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The Vatican has considered recognizing St. Isadora of Seville as the patron saint of the Internet. A clergyman during the sixth century, St. Isadora created a 20 volume encyclopedia, one of the earliest known databases.
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A ferret named Misty was used by the US Space Command in Colorado to help rewire a new computerized command center.
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In 1997, 67 million computer e-mail users in North America sent 2.7 billion messages. Can only imagine how many are being sent these days.
I’m sure you were thrilled reading all of those useless facts but as we all know the Internet is the gift that keeps on giving. Now let’s move on to telephones because many of you anti-technology folks who really hate the Internet love old style telephones.
Low Tech
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A company in Japan developed false fingernails that glow when the wearer is talking on a cell phone.
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Bob Prosser of Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, has a collection of 500,000 telephones, including an explosion proof military phone, a 14 karat gold Swedish phone, and a crank model used by the last Sultan of Turkey.
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In Shoup, Idaho, there are no power lines, no televisions, and no stereos.
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An answering machine in San Diego, California , created to take calls from Elvis Spotters has already received over 50,000 calls.
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The Lazy E Ranch in Guthrie, Oklahoma, has telephones that are 6 1/2 feet above the ground, for use by cowboys on horseback.
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The first telephone book was published in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1878, and contained only 50 names.
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Albert Einstein never memorized his own telephone number.
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The world’s smallest police station in Carabelle, Florida, is actually a phone booth.
I think that’s enough nonsense for today. More trivia to follow as it becomes available. Fortunately there’s an endless supply if you know where to look.
In the past I’ve posted lists of things I love and hate. Most of them were done to be humorous or at least tongue-in-cheek. Today I thought it might be nice to list just ten things I really love. I tried to do it seriously without attempts at humor but it’s difficult. These are in no particular order except for the first item which if it showed up lower on the list I’d be a dead man.
- My Better-half (Always first or else.)
- My Stupid Cat (He wanted to be #1 . . . Sorry!)
- Peace & Quiet
- My Mental Strength
- Losing myself for hours while creating anything. (Quality Time)
- Sleeping Naked (Best thing since potato chips were invented.)
- A Really Good Margarita (Or a Mojito)
- Growing Anything
- Eating soup
- A really dirty joke or limerick.**
** I need to offer up some samples of this item or I just wouldn’t feel right about things. These limericks and jokes are “R” rated so if you’re offended by that kind of humor stop reading now.
Limerick #1
There was a woman named Lucille
who tried a dynamite stick for a thrill
they found her vagina in North Carolina
and bits of her tits in Brazil.
Limerick #2
There was a young man from Brighton
Who thought he’d at last found a tight ‘un.
He said, "Oh my love,
It fits like a glove."
Said she, "But you’re not in the right ‘un."
Limerick #3
A gay young man from Khartoum,
took a lesbian up to his room.
They argued all night,
as to who had the right
to do what, with which and to whom.
Joke #1
A man and a woman started to have sex in the middle of a dark forest. After about 15 minutes of it, the man finally gets up and says, "Damn, I wish I had a flashlight!". The woman says, "Me too, you’ve been eating grass for the past ten minutes!"
Joke #2
The scene, a newly wed couple on the first night of their honeymoon just before the passionate lovemaking was to begin. The wife tells her husband, "Please be gentle, I’m still a virgin." The husband being shocked, replied, "How’s that even possible? You’ve been married three times before." The wife responds, "Well, my first husband was a gynecologist and all he wanted to do was look at it. My second husband was a psychiatrist and all he wanted to do was talk about it. Finally, my third husband was a stamp collector and all he wanted to do was…oh, do I ever miss him!"
So much for my lame attempt at a little dirty humor. I just felt the need to be off-color this morning. I wonder why?
ENJOY YOUR DAY
Even though June has barely started I thought an garden update was in order. The warmer weather for the last few weeks has brought everything to life in a big way. Due to the efforts of my better-half we have flowers blooming everywhere.
The gardens in the yard are filled with irises as you can see. we’ve planted them every where and this is the first year we get to see them in all their glory.
Just three years ago this rhododendron was one foot tall and looking poorly. We transplanted it to this spot and here is the results of our efforts.
One of the better-half’s passions is to have as much color in as many places as possible. That of course includes the deck. We get to walk through all of these flowers on our way to the table to have our morning coffee. How great is that?
It’s things like this that help us Mainers wipe away memories of sleet, ice, snow, and our six month’s of winter. It’s worth waiting for. Here’s my recent photo of the vegetable and herb garden as compared with one taken in May. The changes as we move forward will become more and more obvious.
‘May’
‘June’
Another beautiful day here in Maine and my better-half and I decided to make the most of it. We had errands to run but not before we made a short trip to one of our favorite spots for lunch. This place is located in Cape Porpoise, Maine. The bistro is right on the water and this early in the summer it’s only moderately busy. It’s called the ‘Ramp’.
‘Very cool entrance.’
We visited it for the first time last year quite by accident. We both fell in love with the place almost immediately. It’s quirky and pricey but well worth visiting. Here are a few shots of the interior bar area.
As we look out the windows from the bar it feels like we’re almost sitting in the water. It was high tide when I took this pic.
The employees are friendly and efficient and the food is outstanding. We weren’t there for a large meal just a light snack and a couple of drinks. This plate of nachos was incredible and had my mouth on fire for fifteen minutes.
An ice cold glass of Chardonnay cooled me down perfectly as did the beer, ‘Rogue – Dead Man’s Ale’, for my better-half. We’ll be returning here very soon for dinner and an evening out. I’ve had their mussels in the past and I’m already looking forward to them again.
Here are a few views from the entry way as we were leaving.
GOTTA LUV SUMMER
I think it’s time for more trivia. I’m actually getting tired of talking about gardens and gardening. I need a break and I’m sure you do as well. They’ll be a lot more of that information coming your way this summer so there’s no need for more today.
These factoids will cover a number of categories but I’m sure you’ll find as interesting as I did. Let’s get started.
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Half of British women own more than thirty pairs of shoes.
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In the US, half of children ages 4-6 have played video games, and a 25% say thy do so regularly.
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The most expensive age of your life is thirty-four.
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Ten percent of people are left-handed and twenty percent are left-footed.
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In the US, the lifetime cost to parents for rearing one middle class child is $1.43 million.
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In any conversation lasting ten minutes or longer, 20% of adults will lie.
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There are a half million semiautomatic machine guns in Swiss homes.
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Women are estimated to buy 80% of everything that is sold.
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By late 2006, only 35% of Americans had sent a text message, compared to almost 100% of Brits.
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Women in almost every culture speak in deeper voices than Japanese women. American women’s voices are lower than Japanese, Swedish women’s lower than American, and Dutch women women’s lower than Swedish.
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One third of all houses in Ireland were built in the last two decades.
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The average American two-car garage is 25% bigger than the average Tokyo home.
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In 2007 YouTube consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet did in 2000.
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Spammers typically need to send one million emails to get just fifteen positive responses.
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The total computing power of NASA at the time of the Sputnik launch in 1957 was far less than that available in a typical smart phone in use today.
I guess that will do it for today. I never stop searching for this kind of off-the-wall information and you can be sure more facts will keep coming your way on a regular basis in the future.
GET OUTSIDE AND ENJOY YOUR DAY
Now that the weather has taken a warmer turn I can really start enjoying my Spring and Summer. I love digging in the dirt but even that gets a little old after a few weeks. We been having warm nights and even warmer days and the plants in the garden are really taking off. I’m even amazed at how fast the plants seem to grow here in Maine at this time of the year. I think the plants know they can’t waste any time in this short Maine growing season.
Here are a few photos I took over the last couple of days at plants that were only inches tall ten days ago. Granted I planted seedlings and not just seeds but even with that being said the amount of growth has been amazing.
‘These chives began blooming in May.’
Look at this oregano plant. Ten days ago it was an inch high and now it’s growing out of control. I’ll have more oregano than I’ll know what to do with when I’m ready to make my first batch of pasta sauce.
I’m also seeing some really healthy growth with the pepper plants. I planted more hot peppers this year than ever before and from the initial start it looks like it’s going to be a great summer for them. Currently I have seven types of hot peppers planted. There are Jalapeños, Ghost’s, Cayenne’s, Serrano’s, Kung Pow’s, Anaheim’s, and even a few Thai chilies. I certainly look forward to using a mixture of those peppers in the preparation of my chili and a few batches of salsa later in the summer. To be sure they’ll be plenty of heat to go around.
This rhubarb plant broke through the ground in mid-May and it’s now over five feet high and going strong. More rhubarb jam and pies are in my immediate future.
The last one I can show you may be the biggest hit of the year for the neighborhood. This catnip plant barely survived the winter but in three weeks it’s grown to be almost two and half feet tall. The neighborhood cats haven’t discovered it yet but OMG when they do the fun will really begin.
If all of these plants keep growing at this rate it will a gardening year to remember. Lots of sunshine, water, and TLC make all of the difference. Now back to the deck for a delicious hot pepper margarita, chips, and salsa.
LIFE IS GOOD
I found myself awake much too early this morning for some unknown reason. I usually like to get moving around 7am but this morning I was awake at 4:45am and wondering why. Yesterday was a nothing-special day and I had no pressing personal issues preying on my mind . . . so why? I’ll probably never know but it sure is irritating.
Yesterday was a rainy and overcast day which kept me indoors most of the day. I decided to get back to my home brewing tasks and to bottle my batch of Sake that’s been needing my attention for more than a week.
I checked the bottles to be sure that fermentation had truly stopped. Once many years ago I bottled a batch of wine a little too early and was awakened in the middle of the night by exploding bottles. I can’t have that happen again . . . what a mess! Wine making isn’t as complicated as most people think but it does require a reasonable amount of common sense. The minute you forget that fact you’re in trouble. I began the siphoning process which takes no time at all and everything went smoothly.
I decided against using the standard wine corks with this batch. These screw caps work just as well and require much less work for me. It also makes reusing the bottles much easier and I won’t need to exhaust my limited supply of good wine corks.
I was pleased with the overall look and clarity of the Sake and was able to fill twelve half bottles and seven additional full size bottles. More than enough to last me for quite some time.
I was also able to save and store a pint and one half of the Sake yeast which will allow me to make numerous batches in the future and save me money at the same time. It’s all about the yeast!
After the bottling was completed the better-half cooked up a delicious chicken and veggie stir-fry dinner. I cracked open our first bottle of the Sake, warmed it properly, and we toasted the great meal and the Memorial Day holiday.
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY
THANK A VET FOR THEIR SERVICE
SHOW THE FLAG
(And maybe drink some Sake too.)
Now that the garden has been planted I have extra time on my hands for other things. I noticed a few days ago that we seem to be running out of our homemade salsa. We both love salsa so much and eat on average a quart every two weeks or so. My better-half insists on putting it on and in everything she eats so running out is not an option. I’ve had a newly developed recipe that I’ve been waiting to make and this is the week to do it. This recipe is called ‘Six Pepper Bean Salsa’.
It even sounds hot and trust me it really is. I’ve gathered together jalapeños, habaneros, Serrano’s, Thai chili, black pepper, and finally Ghost peppers. Add black beans and chili beans and a host of other ingredients and there you have it. I even managed to harvest some early chives from my garden as well. During the summer months we always try to have at least one item from the garden in every meal. So let’s get started.
‘Slice & Dice with rubber gloves.’
I usually wear very think rubber gloves when messing with hot peppers. I tried the normal latex gloves but they weren’t getting the job done. Thick rubber from then on assures me of no more burning body parts. Then I gather the necessary jars, lids, and pots and boil them thoroughly.
Everything must be boiled to keep things as sanitary as possible. That’ll keep contaminated jars from becoming a problem later on. Next I begin the cooking process and the adding of a little heat.
‘Dried habanero and chili peppers.’
Finally the salsa is ready for canning. I know canning seems complicated but it really isn’t. The process is simple and easily managed. The more often you do it the easier it becomes.
And here’s the finished product. Thirteen quarts of really delicious salsa that is also hot enough to get anyone’s attention.
EASY PEASY
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