I was going to share a

"garden" update but decided I needed to vent a little instead.  I almost turned to fb, but Cosme reeled me back in before I let loose on everyone.  The bottom line is, I'm sick of a bunch of stuff.  I don't know where to start so I guess I'll just start anywhere.  Also, totally out of character, there might be some not so nice language to follow.

 

I'll start with masks.  I'm sick of masks just like everyone, but I get it, they help.  Are they 100% effective?  No, but nothing is.  As happy as some people are for the mask mandate to be lifted as of next Wednesday, I think it's too soon.  I know we have to move on at some point, but I still think we need a little more time.  I'm a little irritated with the people who act like a mask is ruining their lives.  Get over it and move on.  I'll still wear a mask because I know there's still some serious stuff floating around and my dad still has some serious stuff to go through. Neither of my parents can get sick right now and I'm going to do whatever I can to help.  So, excuse me for loving my parents and wanting my family to be well.  And if you have a problem with it, then fuck you. 

You know what would make things a lot better?  Closing the border and not letting covid-positive people loose to help spread what's trying to be "stopped".  Hmm, makes you wonder how bad they're trying to stop it.  Our government is a top notch shit show.  Nobody is looking out for the American people and it's disgusting.  We have a bunch of sorry ass politicians not giving one single shit for anyone but themselves and their pocket books.  They're pathetic and I have zero respect.  The horror of it is, they're going to keep going.  The bullshit needs to stop.

Speaking of politics, I'm sick of it being everywhere.  Look, it's made its way to my blog.  I'm sick of social media.  I'm sick of the hypocrites calling out people who have different views and being assholes about it.  I guess what makes it so bad is that I have some genuine sons-of-bitches on my friend list.  Let me tell you, I'm about at my limit.  Am I going to end up being one of those clowns who starts unfriending and blocking?  (I try to listen to Cosme when he says "it's just facebook", but these are people I selected or requested to be friends with.)  I wouldn't be unfriending because of their world views though.  I don't care what they do or don't believe in, I care that their whining and name calling is irritating the shit out of me.  I'm almost to the point of not caring.  Every time I see one of them whine about being a victim and needing the poor me attention, I care less and less.  Like, for real... zero fucks given.  Don't be ugly and call people names for having different views and then beg for their sympathy and compassion.  Desperation is not a good look.

Okay.  That's enough for now.  I've gotten a few things off my chest.  There's plenty more but I think this should do for now.

Wow, what if 2021 becomes the year Melanie unleashes and quits holding back?  Wouldn't that be something?  I don't think anyone is ready for that, not even me.  

 

I guess I didn't think

 February needed a post.  I don't know.  There was plenty going on, but here are just a couple of things.

The granddaughter and I decorated cookies.  I ordered a Valentine cookie kit from a friend's sister and we had at it.

 

I'm not the best with the icing...

And she really likes the sprinkles...

Also, some of these cookies were licked before they were done and more icing had to be applied.  On this one, I squeezed the bag while she steered it.  

We did these the week before Valentines Day and when the 14th rolled around, we were getting ready for cold weather to blast through.  Our low for the 15th was supposed to be in the 20s and the next day would be in the teens.  As every Texan knows, that was crazy.

 

No snow and only ice.  Archer was bummed.

 

Power outages, no water, freezing temps... crazy, crazy, crazy.  We had rolling blackouts the first night.  The next day, while our power was on most of the time and water was going good, Mom and Dad had neither.  With rain in the forecast and lower temps, they headed over here.  About 30 minutes before they got here, we lost power for the night.

 

 

I normally keep tall prayer candles in the cabinet for power outages, but thank goodness for our Coco Halloween theme back in 2019.  We had extra.  We used a lighter to light the stove and Cosme made burgers by candlelight.  That was that.  We bundled up and listened to water trickle through the night.  We joked that it was like vacationing at a grotto in Greenland.  Power came back the next morning, but water was slowing down.  Luckily I hadn't drilled drainage holes in the bottoms of my 5 gallon buckets yet because those became our water supply.  I put a couple outside to catch rain water too.  Also, about that time, Eric's place lost power as well.  They loaded up and came over.  The seven of us were basically camping over here.  Thank goodness for the new grill I got for my birthday.  Did I ever mention that?  (I finally picked out a grill to connect to the house's gas line and it gets used a lot.)  The next day we thawed out some outside skirt (thank goodness for that new freezer I kept pestering Cosme for) and a few chicken breasts and grilled fajitas.  Cindy and Earl had also stopped by to check on us.  Lauren, who had been without power longer than us and putting all her camping and homestead skills to use, had been trying to reach us but couldn't.  She called Cindy and Earl, who also had no power or water, to ask about us.  Oh, not only did we all lose power and water, but there was no cell service.  So when they got here and couldn't get back in touch with Lauren, we grilled fajitas.

We were all really happy when that was over with.  It took a few days for us all to have usable water, but we're back to normal now... well, normal for still being stuck in a pandemic.

I did learn a few things during all that: 

• I like being prepared and I feel like changes I've made during the pandemic helped me.

• I need an emergency cold weather/hurricane kit.  (Not that I don't have supplies, but I need things stored together and ready to go.)

• I definitely want to expand my garden.

That's enough for now.

i just posted the picture

for week two of the photo challenge.  The topic was hidden, but more specifically, a faceless self portrait.  Here's mine.

 

I've noticed something, I'm not doing anything wild and crazy with my pictures like some of the other participants.  I don't know if that's part of the challenge, but it's not really my goal.  I went into this not only because I'm always up for a photo challenge, but I want to pull out my camera more.  My goal isn't to do anything crazy in Photoshop, I just want to work more on documenting everyday things... with my camera.

Now, about this picture.  I didn't just pick a random object to stick in front of my face, I picked the watering can because seeds have been planted.  WOOHOO!  I have squash, zucchini, and bell peppers in seed pots.  I'll start the tomatoes this week, and I also have potatoes and a few bare roots that need pots.  I'm still sticking with containers because I just am.

That's that.  I'm going to rest now.  I stayed up way too late and there's talk of going to the airport later to let the granddaughter look around in an airplane.

here's the first picture for

another photo challenge.  The topic for week 1 is childhood.  I got my camera and the granddaughter and headed to the only place I ever wanted to be as a kid.  Here's the picture I shared.

 

 

 

Here are a couple more.

I had a few ideas that involved Barbie, but I have no Barbies so I kept thinking.  My next idea was the granddaughter on a tricycle on this street.  I spent every summer with my grandparents and never wanted to leave.  This is the street where I learned to ride a bike.  This is the street where I learned to ride a bike without training wheels. This is the street where I used to wake up before any of my friends and go outside to ride my bike, barefoot, in one of my grandfather's tshirts (that I'd slept in the night before). If we weren't playing (or selling snow cones) on this dead-end street, we were in one of the houses on the street.  There was a lot of fun had here.  So anyway, that's my first shot (pun intended) at the first week.  The challenge is 12 weeks, so we'll see how that goes.

I made a trip to Houston today for a dentist appointment.  That went well.  My teeth are clean and they fixed an uncomfortable spot on a crown.

That's about it for today.  I'd like to get some of my things into pots, but it's a little windy.  Plus, while my teeth are clean, the house is not.  I need to get busy with that.

I was cleaning old images

off my Samsung phone and thought I'd share a few pictures, along with an announcement.

 

My Mac days are officially over.  

 

While I sat out on the driveway tearing the old MacBook up, I thought about the inconvenient trips to the Mac store to have it looked at.  I also thought about the special "I'm a Mac so I can't use the regular stuff like every other computer" things I bought over the years: external hard drives, software...

 

 

 

That thing had been sitting here reminding me of my irritation.  Not only irritation with the hassle, but then the irritation of making more clutter and being in my way.  It's gone, gone forever.  Strong and free, no more Macs for me.  

 

My iPad is another story.  They have me where they want me.

seeds are

ordered, soil is purchased, and pots are waiting.  I went to Home Depot on Saturday and saw some big pots that I really liked.  There were a few colors: maroon, blue, and I think they called the last one yellow.  It definitely didn't look yellow to me, but there was one in the very middle of all these oversized (and not light) pots that I wanted. 

 

At first I wasn't going to be difficult and ask for help, but I wanted it.  I asked for assistance and got it.  And while I had help, I also asked for them to get another one I'd been trying to pull down but couldn't reach.  Side note: I really like the way those blue ones look in this picture, but they were a lot lighter in person.  Anyway, I'm on the way to being ready for planting.

Speaking of self sufficiency...

 

I'm not a Starbucks regular.  I actually think the Starbucks hype is kind of obnoxious, but hey, that's just me.  One morning a few weeks ago, I made a stop for some breakfast.  These are awesome.

 

I was determined to find a recipe to make them at home.  I found a version for baking and bought the ingredients... except for the monterey jack cheese.  I just saw that listed in their description.

Ta dah!

They were NOT the same.  I didn't expect them to be perfect, but I was hoping for a little better than this.

 

By the way, that pan is STILL soaking with that Dawn soaking spray... and it's been scrubbed.

I think I'll stick to the occasional trip to Starbucks.  Also, I halved this recipe and it made 12 mini muffins.  The Starbucks order comes with two and they're so rich that one is really enough.

I need to go.  We've got birthday celebrations tonight and while I managed to get a key lime pie and cheesecake baked and in the fridge last night, I still need to go buy stuff for dinner.  The cheesecake didn't look the same as it normally does.  I really hope it turns out better than the egg bites.  

Starbucks, anyone?

i picked up a few

things at Home Depot yesterday, just because.  I have no idea if any of this will work or last, but I thought I'd give it a try.

I'd already planned on strawberries, but probably should have picked a different variety for this area.

Grapes might be a total waste of time and energy.

 

Meyer lemons seem possible.

 

 

To be honest, I was thirsty and lemonade sounded good when I picked this up.  But look at that warning label.  Can you imagine what would be going through your head if you'd seen that a few years ago?  Or what about if you saw it during The Walking Dead craze?  Yikes.

I'm excited to see what happens with it all.  Who would've thought I'd ever try any of this?  Definitely not me.  I guess my brown thumb's curiosity is getting the best of me.

look what I have

going on in this box.

 

 

Potatoes.

I'm going to try growing potatoes.  I heard someone say, "turn your waiting room into a classroom."  So while these potatoes are waiting, I'm reading and trying to learn what to do.  I'm going to stick with containers because I'm not ready for anything else yet.  And while we wait, the potatoes are in a box in the laundry room.

So yeah, that's what I have going on.

I also found a really good deal on large containers for plants.  I added a few 15 and 20 gallon pots to my cart and before I checked out with my $36 subtotal, I saw that shipping was $280.  Yikes.  I decided to keep looking.  I'm sure there's a better deal elsewhere.

That's what's going on in my gardening world.  In my covid news, I realized something.  Coke sometimes has the chemical flavor while Diet Dr. Pepper never does.  Cosme suggested that the sugar could be part of it.  That's disheartening.  Also, Goldfish crackers and plain Saltines have the campfire flavor, but Cheez-Its and Saltines with butter don't.  Raise your hand if you're tired of all the covid stuff.

I'm not talking about here on my blog, I'm talking about in the world.  If it's happening to me, I'll post about it here and if you don't want to read about it, go read something else.  That's not all I'm over, but we won't get into politics, internet trolls, nastiness, or intolerance right now.  Okay, maybe just a little.  I'm tired of people with the same views as myself being grouped together and called names and made fun of by people I know.  Do the people I know actually know how I feel or where I stand?  Probably not because it's not about them.  Am I going to come out and start being vocal about it?  No, because that's not how I am.  Okay, that's enough.

Dad tells me I need to take more pictures.  I agree.  I take a lot of pictures with my phone because it's fast and easy, but I want to start doing more.  I'm not talking about dropping everything and doing it full time, but it's what I like to do and I want to do it because I enjoy it.  I started a 12-week photo thing this morning.  When I finish here, I'm going to take some time to think about it.  I don't have the granddaughter today so I might try to read up and focus on that challenge.  Not to get all deep or anything, but sometimes I get busy doing so many other things that I don't stop to do any of the artsy fartsy hobbies I've always had.  If it's not your thing, then you might not understand the feeling of needing a creative outlet.  I'm definitely not some amazing artist, but it's something I've always done and it usually gets put on the back burner.  And sometimes, when that stuff stays on the back burner for too long, I feel like nasty moods come along.

So that's enough of that.  I'm going to TCB.

would the top section

of lights have lasted longer on a pre-lit tree?  Probably.  Will this section be easier to replace than everything on a pre-lit tree?

 

Yes.  I don't care if this section only lasted two Christmases, I'll never go back to pre-lit.  And next year, I hope to have all my regular ornaments up.  I don't think I mentioned it here, but I bought cheap ornaments from Dollar Tree and Walmart because they're toddler friendly... for the most part.  Speaking of ornaments, I bought one for 2020.  It was delivered, crap hit the fan, I went away for quarantine, and when I got back, I saw the ornament.

 

 

It was broken.  How 2020.  I want to fix it in the most obvious way.  Maybe with duct tape?  I want the ornament to match the year it represents.

In other 2020 related news, I do plan on going back to smelling and tasting properly, at least I hope I do.  While I am thankful for the taste and smell I do have, another unpleasant taste has been added to the mix.  Crackers and chips now taste like what I can only imagine the ashes of a campfire tasting like.  Chemicals and campfires, that sounds like a dangerous combination.  Fun, but dangerous.

I'm signing off.  It's time to TCB.

if you also might be

dealing with parosmia and your soap all of a sudden smells like strong chemicals, I have a suggestion.

Ivory soap.

 

 

I had some in the cabinet and pulled it out to try instead of my regular Safeguard.  It smells like Ivory soap.  That chemical smell/taste is something else and I wish I could describe it better.  I don't get it with everything, thank goodness.

Also, I've added something else to my garden research.  Blueberries.  

And now I'm signing off to do just that.

well, well,

well.  How's it going?  It's been a while.  My last post was back in July and my zucchini seeds were sprouting.  The zucchini didn't make it.  I had blooms and all was promising, but then I went away for quarantine and the plants died.  The tomatoes survived and here we are in January and things are looking like this.

 

To make a long story short, things got super crappy and now they're getting better.  I started to post a few times and then didn't.  The 'rona hit our family towards the end of September.  Dad had the worst case, I had a few symptoms, and Mom had none.  Thankfully, we were the only three to test positive.  My smell and taste were the most annoying of my symptoms and while it all started to come back after a couple of weeks, it wasn't full strength.  Over the last couple of weeks though, I've been getting what the web tells me is parosmia.  Certain things smell and/or taste like chemicals.  It's odd, but I'll take it over no taste or smell.  That started to cause a couple of panic attacks.  Other than that, and trouble catching my breath at times, all was fine... except for Dad.  And Dad being in the hospital made everything worse.  Dad was stuck in the hospital alone and an hour away while Mom and I were in quarantine together and banned from the world.  

 

Anyway, that was October and here we are in January 2021.  

 

Covid is still going strong and all we can do is wait pray for normal to come back and hope that the government doesn't kill our economy in the process.  In the meantime, I'm researching things so I can add a few more containers to my garden.  I'm thinking onions and potatoes, if those are even springtime things.  Like I said, I'm researching.  I'd also like to plant a fruit tree, probably oranges.  The pandemic and grocery shortages really made me see things a different way.  The tomatoes and zucchini were a test to see if I could do it.  I did, for the most part, so now I'll keep going.  Then, there was a moment while waiting in a long line at Honey Baked Ham with my golden ticket at Thanksgiving that really made me start feeling like "this isn't a first world problem".  I didn't like it.

 

I'm going to try to get back to posting regularly.  I get busy, then distracted and eventually, tired.  I can't just stop posting.  This is basically a scrapbook for me. 

 

That's enough for now.