everything was going my way

yesterday morning.  I don't know what it was, but everything was just working out.  That wasn't the case this morning.  I was ready for a redo before 9:00.  I think the garbage disposal might've crapped out on me.  It was humming and not grinding, then it wasn't even humming, and then it started stinking.  I went ahead and got a new one today in case the other needs to be replaced... the other one that isn't very old.  I don't know what it is with me and garbage disposals.  I guess it's better than head gaskets.

One thing that wasn't a bummer this morning was the seed progress.  Looky here.

Yesterday morning compared to this morning.

And don't forget about the tomatoes.

Then the zucchini in the pot.

And guess who else decided to come out and party?  The zucchini in the flower bed!

My small containers should be here today.  I can't wait to move some of this stuff.

Oh well, it's the baby's nap time but the guys could show up at any time to mow.  I'm really hoping "later today" is around 4:30 or 5:00.  That would be ideal.  I guess I'll go sit and chill.

I'll try not to post any garden updates later, but I'm not making any promises.

I have one thing to

say... wow.  This was what the zucchini looked like this morning.

Here it is next to yesterday's picture.

So, of course I'm obsessed and I had to check on them later in the day.

Look at the change from this morning to this afternoon.

After taking the afternoon pic and zooming in, I noticed two little nubs sticking out on the tomato side.  Here they are later in the afternoon, more than nubs and actual little things.  Sprouts?

What if this turns out to be my calling?  That's wild.  It also might not take much to amuse me when it comes to something I know nothing about.  I'll just keep learning as I go.  I ordered some bigger containers today, but that wasn't easy.  I had to find something that was food safe and BPA free.  I'm turning into one of those people.  ugh... I figured though, why go through all the trouble growing my own stuff if it's contaminated with some funk from plastic?  Anyway, I found some containers and they're supposed to be delivered tomorrow.  Want to know why I need them ASAP?  Because the roots are busting through the bottom of the egg carton.

So that's the latest in my adventures of gardening.  I did have a bit of panic this evening though.  What will I do when spring comes around and caterpillars are everywhere?  I've come up with a couple of options and am hoping I might have it figured out.  More to come on that.

All the vegetable excitement yesterday had me wanting to cook.  (There hasn't been much of that lately.)  I bought tomatoes the other day to try something I saw and we ended up liking it.  I don't remember the actual name, but you roast little tomatoes and smash them.  Cook some chopped shallots in olive oil, then add the tomatoes and some garlic with a few capers and a TBS or so of water.  Mix all that up with angel hair pasta and also toss in some basil (which I had growing outside, thank you) and fresh, torn up mozzarella.  (And I don't get the fresh mozzarella thing.  Isn't most mozzarella fresh if you plan on eating it?)  Whatever the dish is technically called, this is it.

It was good.  I also warmed up some french bread and found a copycat recipe for Carrabba's herb oil dip.

That's it for now.  It's almost my bedtime so I need to go research gardening stuff before I fall asleep.  And don't fret, I should have another plant pic tomorrow.

There are

big little things happening around here!  To make a long story short, I'm on my way to being a gardener.

Look at the zucchini seeds I planted on Saturday.

And here are the ones I put in a pot.  (Yes, those are packing peanuts popping through.  I wanted something down there to help it drain and not waste so much soil.)

The ones in the ground still haven't done anything, just like the tomato seeds.  I'm not giving up.  While I'm waiting on the tomatoes though, I really need to research and find out what I'm supposed to do next with these seeds that are sprouting.  Wish me luck.

Things are happening

and I'm excited.  Five years ago, the neighborhood ACC approved an extension to our patio and walkway to go through the single gate we were about to add.  We added the single gate, but never got around to the patio.  The patio is coming... fingers crossed.  I say fingers crossed because they started digging on Monday and on Friday when they were waiting on the cement truck, it started raining.  They said they'd be back tomorrow to pour.  Guess what.  There's 80% chance of rain tomorrow.  I have already scheduled to take the dogs back to the vet for boarding tomorrow too.

Anyway, here's where they removed our pavers and will pour the walkway.

Doesn't that just make sense to have that gate right there?  And with a walkway?  I don't like getting my feet dirty and everything about this makes me happy.  And before we had the fence replaced, the only gate on that side was the double gate way in the middle.  Ahh...

So, here's where the extension to the patio will be.  Come through the gate and walk straight to the patio, no more booby traps from the dogs to deal with.  Also, now people can easily come straight to the back yard whenever we have stuff going on back there.  No more listening for the doorbell and all that jazz.  Gathering in the backyard?  No problem, come on back.

Here's another reason I wanted that concrete there so badly.

Look how dirty the brick is where the dogs would dig. Yuck. 

And here's the other side of the patio.

I'm going to add potted plants to hide the sleep aid window unit.  I need to find new storage for the water hose too.  That metal thing isn't going to stake into concrete.  I also already have plans for the stacks of stepping stones and pavers.

Before they cleared this area out, I didn't really think that would add much.  Once it was cleared, that spot looks a lot bigger than I'd imagined.  I can't wait.

Speaking of those pavers and stepping stones, there's one more thing happening.  I'm going to make a small platform to put in the yard.  Looking at that last picture, it'll be up against that fence but down to the left.  On that platform will be containers.  Containers of what, you ask?

I ordered a few seeds and I'm going to see how they take off.  Once (if) they start growing, I'll transfer them to containers and that will be the beginning of my container garden.

I read that roma tomatoes and zucchini are good for starting in July in this zone, so that's what I have.  The 5 egg holes on the right are roma tomato seeds and all the other holes are zucchini.  I also have zucchini in a little pot by my herbs (that'll mainly get shade) and I put some seeds in the flower bed too.

*not chives

Those will mainly get sun.  I'm hoping with the different areas, something will work.  By the time they're ready for a bigger container, I'm counting on the platform being ready.  My building skills aren't near as good as my gardening skills... and my gardening skills aren't good.  It sounds like the theme for July is high hopes.  Like needing a walkway for a gathering when gatherings are pretty much outlawed.  Oh well, I'll be ready when it's time.

So that's a few of the things keeping me busy and excited.  Once all this is done, I'll get back to trying to keep the dogs in the yard.  Did I mention they dug another hole and Archer went out along the back?  Yeah, that happened, right after I'd been bragging about how smart he is by not doing that again.  Whatever, I'm focusing on my concrete and plants right now.

the pandemic and tp

shortage has me thinking about things I need to stock up on. I wouldn't say I'm a prepper or anything, but in a sense, maybe? Okay, I'm not a doomsday prepper, just a hurricane/pandemic worrier. I don't know. I just started looking on Pinterest and saw things that preppers are doing and wondered if maybe I should be doing a little something... 

Like ordering a bag that can hold up to 100 gallons of water in the bathtub. I've lived in hurricane territory all my life and I've never wished I had or needed a bathtub full of water. During Harvey we had both tubs filled, but we didn't need it. But you know what? Why not? I didn't expect the great tp shortage of 2020 but there it was. By the way, there appears to be a topic on Pinterest. I had to google SHTF situations. Then I ordered a 100 gallon bladder for if SHTF. 

I have one word for

this morning. Frazzled. We have some men working in the backyard and I'm babysitting while trying to keep the dogs on leashes to go out for bathroom breaks. And because they know there's something going on back there, they whimper and whine a lot. I had to take action. With the baby here, I loaded up both dogs and got them to the vet. That was a lot. 

Yes, Archer. We're at the vet. 

He wasn't happy and jumped over the seat, hiding and trying to escape. 

Long story short, I'm home and hoping for a calmer afternoon with equally calm days to follow.  For now though, I'm tired and I need rest time like you wouldn't believe.  It's coming up. I'm making a quick lunch for us, then it's rest time. 

zzzzzzz...

the sinus pressure has been

for real lately.  I don't think my Zyrtec D is working anymore.  I used Afrin with Benadryl the other day and that helped.  The only problem is, Afrin can't be used for more than three days and Benadryl can't be used when I need to stay awake... so most days.  Right now I'm experimenting.  I might need to make another trip to the store for Flonase.  My last bottle fell and busted on the bathroom floor so right now I'm using the herbal stuff from HEB (have I talked about that here?) and eucalyptus oil on my face.  I'm trying to lay off the peppermint oil because I don't think Cosme can take it anymore.

I had a CBD gummie that Mom gave me the other day.  I'd been keeping the bag in my "dirty hippie" box.  After that, it took on the taste of the smell of the dirty hippie box.  I like that smell, but it doesn't taste the best.

For anyone not knowing, I store my frequently used oils in this box.  It now smells like what I call "dirty hippie".  I like that smell and will sometimes come take a whiff.  If someone made this scent into a dirty hippie candle, I'd buy it.

I had to pour more concrete today.  Maggie's been getting out at the back fence.  There is some good news out of that though. 1.Archer is still traumatized from his accident and won't follow her.  2. By the time I realize she's out, she's usually back at the house and goes back in easily.  3. She already did most of the digging for me.

I started this post two days ago and I've walked away from it twice this morning.  I'm hitting publish now before the neglect starts again.  I'm trying to get a routine going here so that's that.

Oh, but also since starting this post, I'm on day two of Flonase.  Yesterday was okay.  I took Ibuprofen twice and had to put a hot towel on my nose and cheeks for a while. I think I'm about to take my first dose of ibuprofen.  I figured it would be a rough start on Flonase since is not really a quick fix, but I'm giving it a shot.  I'm accepting good wishes, prayers, crossed fingers, and anything else you find that works.

Every once in a while

I get this urge to shop for healthy food.  I'll stock up on vegetables, bags of salad, and all the ingredients it takes for healthy meals.  Then there was last Saturday.  I don't know what came over me.  I'd already put the Oreos away, but here's some of the other stuff.

Oh, Specs is also doing curbside.

I'd been wanting to try an Aperol Spritz.  Cosme said I'd probably like it, but then again "it's probably not strong enough".  It was good, but not something I'd have all the time.  Next time I'll more than likely just stick with bourbon and Coke.

We've been having some fun with the sidewalk chalk.  I decided I'd start taking pictures since the weather eventually washes it all away.

My version of a cat.

Cosme's cats always have piles of poop drawn behind them.  The baby likes to point that out. 

I've gone with a food theme the last few days.

 

Cosme thought my plate with a burger and fries was a hat.  You can see the baby's abstract marks over there too.  She hasn't really tried to draw anything specific yet.

I drew the wonky slice of cake yesterday afternoon and ended up with a couple of burns on the palm of my hand from the driveway.  The things we do for art...

We got the Purple bed frame for our mattress a couple of days ago and got it set up last night.  I love it.  It's a little higher than our last frame and low profile box springs, but those box springs weren't doing much for our Purple mattress.  It's back to being amazing now.  And once again, I don't think I moved all night and slept SO HARD while Cosme now has to get used to it all over again.

I'm off now.  I'm alone today so I'm doing grocery pickups and cleaning... and a blog post.

sorry, there...

I've been social distancing.  I guess the blog posting equivalent of 6 feet apart is about 3 months apart.  I was talking to Paige yesterday about blog stuff and it got me thinking that maybe I could pop on every once in a while and post, like I have a blog or something.  So, here I am.  It looks like a few things have changed on my end while I was away.

I was telling her, like I've stated numerous times here, I need a routine.  I had a routine and I liked it.  I'm working on getting back into that routine, but it also means fitting a new system into that routine.  I'm picky and that makes it a little challenging.

 

But, here we are, three months after my last post, waist deep in a pandemic, and I'm okay.  I've been watching things on cleaning, organizing, decluttering, and decorating.  While it sounds like a good thing, it kind of sucks when I want to redo the mantle, but don't want to go shopping to find anything.  I have been doing other things though.  I poured the concrete under the new gate, I've done some cleaning out, I've done some cleaning, and today I changed my wiper blades.  I think that might be a first.  I don't know why I've always had a problem with those things.  I picked up a few storage tubs with my Walmart order today, but I don't want to get out in the garage today.  It's been raining a lot and when I was out changing my wiper blades, I started smelling something stinky.  I wondered if a water moccasin was nearby, so I finished and came inside.  Speaking of my grocery order and the weather, pre-pandemic shopping was a lot different.  Back then, I would check the forecast and make sure to TCB when it was dry out.  Times have changed.

I hate hauling groceries in the rain.  Oh well, I'll take what I can get.

I placed an Amazon order today.  When the baby (who technically isn't a baby anymore so that name might need to change) was here yesterday, I had to find something to serve as a booster seat.  She's never been crazy about the highchair, but I think she's totally over it now.  We just got a new phone book in the mail so I thought along those lines.

Small town problems...

Then I remembered an Amazon box that came the other day and it worked perfectly.

Too bad the cats are going to need that food out of there.  I broke down today and ordered a booster seat that should be here tomorrow.  Good news, now the cats can eat.

I really need to think of something to call the baby now.  I also need to get used to this computer.  Typing this has been irritating.  I guess I just need to work on it because no matter how much I sit here and avoid it, the Macs aren't coming back.

I'm off.  The sun came out and I need to finish TCB.

Until tomorrow, or September...

you can't always get what

you want, well, I wasn't really sure what I wanted, but I got what I needed.  You can't tell from there, but I'm typing on an actual keyboard right now.  I asked Eric if I could use his old laptop (it wasn't being used and was already here) and he said yes.  I downloaded a newer version of my photo software and here I am.  I'm playing around on it and trying to get used to the non Mac world.  It's a lot smaller than the 27" iMac, a lot bigger than my phone, and probably better than either.  Happy times.

I was thinking about something a couple of days ago.  I always like to stay stocked up on toilet paper.  I like for my cabinet to stay full.  On February 22nd, I had plenty of toilet paper and was making a grocery order. HEB had a coupon for their biggest package of Cottonelle and we all know I'm sucker for a deal.  I almost didn't order it because I didn't have room for that much toilet paper.  Anyway, I ordered the paper and dealt with the package.  I guess it was a week or two later when the store shelves were emptied.  Here I was, thankful I went with my bargain hunting gut and bought it.  It's crazy how things work out.

I have to cut myself off.  The baby's about to be here.  Aside from making fewer grocery orders for limited items, it's business as usual over here with all these essential employees.  I guess that's a good thing.  Let's just hope the rest of the world gets back to normal soon.

I've been okay through

all this pandemic stuff. What? Me, the worrier, has been okay?  Yep... until this evening. Some kind of a panic or uneasiness is hitting me. I placed a Kroger order to pick up Monday morning and I'm worried about the germs. I think I'll set up a table in the garage to put everything on to sit for a day or two, except for the cold things. The grocery pickup isn't what did me in. It stressed me a little and I watched a video of a doctor cleaning off groceries. That stressed me a little more. I think what did me in was the caterpillars.  They're too much. They're everywhere. I can't feed the dogs and I can barely take the garbage out. It's horrible.

They're worse in the back yard. 

Our neighborhood is doing a scavenger hunt for all the kids. We cut out a colored heart and hang it up so that when they're out walking or riding bikes, they look for them. I had ours on one of the front windows but I couldn't see it from the street. I guess it's the tint. I put it in a scrapbooking page protector and put it on the front door. 

It was my only option because well, caterpillars. I definitely wasn't about to walk through the bushes. 

I need those things to hurry and convert to moths because I might just be headed towards medication otherwise. I've looked up ways to kill them, but it sounds like they're on their way out. (By the way, Cutter does nothing.)  

I think I might need tv and a drink. STAT. 

I'm fine with the

quarantine, I just don't like the reason behind it. I placed a couple of grocery orders to pick up tomorrow and one will be picked up on Friday. The grocery part of quarantine SUCKS. I don't like how so many things are out of stock. I don't like how my HEB order is taking a week and how once I finally get an available time slot on Kroger, it's unavailable by the time I'm done.

In the meantime, I'm cooking what we have. On Friday I threw stuff together. I put some shrimp in one skillet, corn in another, and asparagus in the oven.

Can you tell I didn't really want any asparagus?  Speaking of which, it finally clicked that I don't need to make the whole bundle at once. It looks like this one might make several meals. We had more of it with tonight's dinner. We had spaghetti instead of the chicken we've been eating on for a few days now. We like it but we're kind of over it. I told Cosme we have to eat it, no wasting. It's shredded chicken with salsa, corn, and black beans. It looks like slop, but it really is good. 

It's good in a tortilla too. He still didn't want it though. I told him that food is hard to come by these days so we have to eat it... and we will. 

And finally, there's the cake I baked because we needed something sweet. 

My usual white with almond buttercream didn't sound good so I went with yellow and chocolate. The frosting might need a little more cocoa powder. 

So that's that. Quarantine and meals. 

i had seven bananas

and their next stop was the garbage. (Lets see, my banana bread recipe calls for 6-7 bananas.) Instead of wasting them, and not knowing when I can buy more, I made banana bread.

Waste not, want not. 

When Cosme asked for a drink last night but didn't finish it, and especially because it was Coke, I capped it with this gadget and saved it for this morning. 

Voila! Good as new. 

You know, it makes me feel good knowing I'm not wasting. I'm learning... and it only took a pandemic. 

i finally did

it. My awesome headphones are being retired and I ordered a new set. They've seen better days...

much better days. I hate to retire them because they still work really well. Notice too, I say retire and not throw them out. What if my new ones come and they're awful? What if they don't last and I need backup ASAP? There's no way I can throw these out. 

The new ones had good reviews on Amazon, but they were a lot cheaper. 

That has me wondering if maybe the new ones actually are really good, compared to even cheaper ones. Mine weren't cheap and they were a gift from Cosme and Eric. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not about to splurge on headphones. Camera stuff? With some convincing. Anything else? Don't count on it. I'm cheap. I guess that's another reason I can't throw out good headphones. So what if they're falling apart and being held together with tape? They sound awesome. If I lie on my left side so the pillow can keep them against my ear, it's like they're brand new. 

We'll see. The new ones will be here tomorrow. At that time, my old ones will be put away for safekeeping, right next to the flip phones that might come in handy one day. 

the coronavirus has

everyone going nuts. There are no baby wipes or toilet paper and everything everywhere is running low. It's seriously crazy. I'm used to this when a hurricane is approaching, stock up on everything you'll need while stuck at home with no power or water. This is a different level of craziness. It's worldwide and there's no storm tracking to tell when it might end. While I don't want anyone getting sick, I'm totally excited about this social distancing going on. What more could an introvert ask for? I tried explaining it to Cosme last night. I can't, really. It's just a good feeling.

Back to the crazy shoppers clearing the shelves of necessities. I think I'll end up appreciating this when it's over. It's making me notice little things. With no paper towels in the stores, maybe I should be a little more mindful and use a cloth towel for drying my hands. With limited food, maybe I'll learn to make us use up leftovers. So many times we've said that Papaw would flip if he saw whatever it was we were wasting and throwing out. All of this makes me think back to the things my grandparents did, aside from washing foil, and how useful it would be today. Actually though, the way people are acting, washing foil might not be a bad idea. 

I did order a vacuum sealer for food. It's nothing fancy, just a cheap one that could be here fast. No, it's not advertising sealing dog or cat meat, I just happen to pick those two to cover my address. But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures... KIDDING... I hope. 

I'm trying to make the most of my space and not let anything spoil. While one of the stores allowed two meat products per household, there wasn't a full selection. You just never know. People are crazy out there and you don't really know what to expect. I guess I'll try it out later. 

Another thing this has made me realize is that while I'm prepared to go into hiding for a short time (it's almost like I've been waiting for this moment), I definitely couldn't do it long term. I don't plan to get all radical, but I should probably keep a few extras of other things. 

Oh well. In the meantime, I have chicken and red peppers on the grill with asparagus and rolls in the oven. I think I might pop a couple of potatoes in the microwave. 

Time to dig in!

I've been thinking about

making something for a while and I finally did it yesterday. I've been watching videos and comparing recipes.

See where I'm going here?

Here's the first, a little sample to try. 

Corn tortillas.  I need more practice. I think I probably should've used a little more water, and maybe even gotten it a little warmer. I also probably should've kneaded it a bit longer.  The flavor was fine, but the texture was off. They could've been softer.  Maybe I should've let the dough sit longer after it was mixed and kneaded. I don't know. I'd already told Cosme that if they didn't turn out right, our tacos would be taco salads. 

We didn't have salads. And I just realized I didn't put any salsa on Cosme's taco.

They even passed the hot buttered tortilla test. 

But that's not really a hard one. 

They were a lot faster and easier than flour tortillas, except for the part where you make the dough...  I'll practice and it'll all be fine. 

It's time to get up and get busy. I can't lie here and think about tortillas all day.