Quote of the Day:
"I walked a mile with Pleasure.
She chattered all the way,
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she;
But oh, the things I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me.
-Robert Browning Hamilton, "Along the Road"
Today I went out into the light rain to check on my pepper plants, knowing that it has been a while since I checked on the. I was afraid that Chloe might have gotten at them again, since the temporary fence that I put around them is pretty small. But to my surprise I found that I have about twenty peppers on one plant that are really getting big, and may be ready to harvest soon. So I’ve thought about it, and decided that I am going to freeze them until Ron comes home, so that he can enjoy them too. I found a website that details how to do it without damaging them, so I’m just going to do it and hope it works. If not, then I’m really not too worried about it… I’ll have the seeds, and next year Ron will be home and we can grow them together. And build a better fence, of course. I could do that now, if I really wanted to, but what’s the point? It’s already fall, and winter is just around the corner, so it doesn’t make much sense to do it now. If I wait, then we can get all the preparations done that need to be done to grow vegetables back there. Right now, I just have two little Rubbermaid tubs filled with dirt. Next spring, however, we’re going to be making actual planting beds that are elevated off the ground so that we can grow even more things. And, of course, the fence to keep veggie-dog out. That will definitely help! I may actually start on some of the preparation pretty soon, as far as getting the grass out of there and taking measurements, things like that. But if I do that it will turn into a mud bog back there…. Hmm. Maybe I should put up the fence after all… if anything, just to save my house from muddy pawprints. I’ll have to think about it and get back to you.
Mommy and Chloe
Mommy and Mocha
She chattered all the way,
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she;
But oh, the things I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me.
-Robert Browning Hamilton, "Along the Road"
Today I went out into the light rain to check on my pepper plants, knowing that it has been a while since I checked on the. I was afraid that Chloe might have gotten at them again, since the temporary fence that I put around them is pretty small. But to my surprise I found that I have about twenty peppers on one plant that are really getting big, and may be ready to harvest soon. So I’ve thought about it, and decided that I am going to freeze them until Ron comes home, so that he can enjoy them too. I found a website that details how to do it without damaging them, so I’m just going to do it and hope it works. If not, then I’m really not too worried about it… I’ll have the seeds, and next year Ron will be home and we can grow them together. And build a better fence, of course. I could do that now, if I really wanted to, but what’s the point? It’s already fall, and winter is just around the corner, so it doesn’t make much sense to do it now. If I wait, then we can get all the preparations done that need to be done to grow vegetables back there. Right now, I just have two little Rubbermaid tubs filled with dirt. Next spring, however, we’re going to be making actual planting beds that are elevated off the ground so that we can grow even more things. And, of course, the fence to keep veggie-dog out. That will definitely help! I may actually start on some of the preparation pretty soon, as far as getting the grass out of there and taking measurements, things like that. But if I do that it will turn into a mud bog back there…. Hmm. Maybe I should put up the fence after all… if anything, just to save my house from muddy pawprints. I’ll have to think about it and get back to you.
Mommy and Chloe
Mommy and MochaThe Girls in the Yard
The sprinkler out back is STILL not fixed. I really need to get out there and just do it, but it’s hard to force myself to when it’s all cold and rainy. Playing in the mud: no problem. Playing in the mud in the cold: BIG problem. I have absolutely no tolerance to cold whatsoever. I don’t know if it’s a product of growing up in Arizona where you can wear T-shirts pretty much year-round, or if it’s a thyroid issue, or what. But I am positively miserable in the cold weather! UGH! That’s okay, though, I have lots of “warm” clothes now, so it should be fine. And I’ve got to keep reminding myself to buy some wood so that I can have fires this winter, it really will make the house more bearable without cranking up the heat and running up the electric bill. Lord knows it’s high enough as it is. Oh, and the yard guy just called me tonight to let me know that he is moving to Chickashea, Oklahoma and won't be doing the yard anymore... great timing, since it's nearly done growing for the season, right?
Sigh. There’s never a break in this stupid house! Maybe I’ll spend some of the extra money from Ron’s deployment and have a TON of blow-in insulation put up in the attic. THAT would be a very good idea, as I was up there with the A/C repair guy the other day and saw where some parts of it aren’t even 4 inches deep, while others are about two feet deep. Or so it seems, anyways. So I was thinking that if I called them out to suck out all the old insulation and put in new it would solve two problems: Our allergies would get better without all that dusty insulation sitting up there, and the house would be properly insulated. What do you all think? I’d get up there and rake the high parts down to the low ones, but I can’t tell where all the wiring is, and that’s one thing I DON’T want to mess with. It’s going to be hard enough finding all the trash the other residents have left up there and getting rid of it. Who leaves a rowing machine, anyways? I’ll have to look at it. If it’s not broken, maybe I can put it to some use. But that’s a big maybe, as well.
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"Okay, now remember, you go ten paces that way, and I go ten paces THIS way, and THEN you turn around...."
I’ve been having a hard time coming to grips with my exercise regiment lately… as in, I have lost NO WEIGHT in the last week. I weighed exactly the same today as I did last Monday. And I have been walking up a storm. I haven’t had any sodas. I have limited my junk food AND my sodium… for a month! What in the world do I have to do to lose weight???? Stop eating? I already barely eat anything. I’ve started eating breakfast, which they say you’re supposed to do to lose weight because it kick-starts your metabolism. I walk in the mornings. I walk in the evenings. I’m going to have to start walking every single day, I guess. It’s not bad, I really enjoy walking. But, still… I’d love to actually lose SOME weight, otherwise I’m NOT seeing any benefit from pushing myself so hard. For all I care, I can sit around all lumpy on the couch just like always if it’s not going to help me lose weight. Dangit!!!! Although, if I add up all the days in one week, and then divide them by seven, each weekly average shows a decrease, but only by ounces. Maybe THAT’S the way I should measure it. Or something.
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Something wicked this way comes.....
On a different note, I went ahead and pulled one of the peppers off the vine, thinking I’d give it a try. I’ve put a picture of it on here for you. I took just a tiny little bite of it, and thought “wait a minute, this tastes like a green bell pepper, did I get my seeds mixed up at planting?” But it looked like a pepper, not big and round like a bell pepper. So I took another tiny nibble, and…. Nothing. Was this pepper plant supposed to be a weak, mild pepper? Feeling braver, I took another small bite. AND THAT IS WHEN MY MOUTH EXPLODED INTO FIRE! OH, MY GOD, THE FIRES OF HELL COULDN’T POSSIBLY BE HOTTER THAN THIS STUPID PEPPER!!!!!!!!! It took an hour for my lips to get feeling back in them! So, being the nice person that I am, I think I’ll just give it to Chloe the veggie-dog, since she loves peppers. Wrong answer!!! Even SHE won’t touch it! She took it in her mouth and ran off with it, then suddenly spit it out and sat down in front of it, licking her mouth and staring at it. I’m assuming she was trying to get rid of the burn. I looked out the window and she was laying with it between her paws, guarding it, but she still hadn't eaten it. Have I cured the pepper-loving dog of her love for peppers? Only time will tell, right? I know that I cured MY curiosity about that particular plant. Ron, you will LOVE them!!!! They’re instant heartburn waiting to happen! Incidentally, I bet they’d be great in a Mexican Cornbread!
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