The Leaning Tower of Potatoes

Amongst all the other drama I am watching our gardening zone shift from five to six. Climate change is real. It is warm. The forsythia is getting ready to pop. I am itching to get my garden settled. That would be silly. The weather is still too cold and like everything else in this world undependable. The soil is workable-- but frigid and soggy. The planting calendar at Farmer's Almanac says and I am paraphrasing here, "Most seeds will rot in the ground." That same trusted source assures me it is potato o'clock. YAY A PROJECT!

 I have done potato towers VERY successfully in the past and thus today I did a thing! YAY! Having learned from past endeavors I have secured the burlap to the edge of the cage and believe it or not, (I know she is NOT exactly level) I am confident it will not spill over as that metal stake is secure. What is funny about this is that the flip side of the bag is very glittery. The Labyrinth party projects had a lot of spray glitter involved and it was the "let's not spray the garage floor" protection. It is my last burlap bag.  It seems like so long ago that party... OK BUCK UP! Soon lettuce and spinach can get sown!

I did a couple other things today (gotta keep chores for when Pete is at the  office. Makes me twitchy  to just sit and worry.)  I steam cleaned the carpets CUZ PUPPY! That killed almost two hours.

I also took the practice strip off my loom. I learned about floating  selvedge (so I can change colors MUCH more gracefully) and how to hem/stitch the ends. Made a foot long, ugly, over tensioned cat toy for Ms. Peppercorn. Now I can start a nice strap for the basket I have in mind. Much like the garden. It really needs to be warmer to get basketry stuff out. I really like working on the patio for that.

The third thing  I did was start Z's birthday dessert request. He loves caramel and asked for chocolate cupcakes with caramel in the middle.  I made the caramel and it  is chilling in the fridge for tomorrow's adventure. I am thinking that the frozen discs of caramel should do a lava cake kind of thing? I dunno. There will be pics!

Spaghetti and meatballs tonight. Guess I should go start thawing stuff and start the sauce.

Fight Night at the Joe #23

"Blood on the Ice" a donnybrook cocktail.

Back in '97 there was a game that shall forever be remembered. The year before there was an incident between Drapes and Lemieux. It was nasty. https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2017/03/23/red-wings-avalanche-fights/99495676/ THEN THERE WAS VENGEANCE...301 days later The Ferda was strong and the rivalry between the Wings and the Avs was official.

We lived at the Wallace house then and my new fridge made crushed ice. Between periods I boogied out to the kitchen to make a new drink and of course took advantage of the crushed ice. Moving quickly, I dashed some vodka across the top of the packed snow and then some bloody mary mix, which pooled and floated on the chilled vodka. My drink looked A LOT like the ice did at the end of The BRAWL.

Mac was "my boy" (he still is... the big goof ball) and his honorable and passionate team spirit has been inspirational and so in honor of his loyalty... I created a drink I call "Blood on the Ice".

Homebound or Why are you hoarding TP for a Respiratory Flu?

Monday Mar 16, 2020
Day 5 of Covid19 is in Michigan


1. Well, "homebound" as far as not going to huge gatherings like sporting events. Stanley Cup Playoffs are postponed. Bball March Madness I think is just cancelled. Izzy and Z were supposed to fly out to visit Matt and Fabi on Thursday the 12th for a long weekend. They reconsidered much to my audible relief. Shit was getting weird, especially when Whiskey Fest was cancelled. I am not worried about the illness per say, not for our clan. But the panic of OTHER PEOPLE?! Yeah... let's wait till summer. Not too, Cabin fevery just yet. Been in the park 2x a day. Been futzing in the yard even though it is too cold to truly garden. The pond is a mess. So not HOUSE bound. But, more like not going to concerts, or orchid shows. The 5k Big Sur that I was so excited, both about the the trip itself? To just BE along that beautiful stretch of coast? I was using the race date as an exercise motivator on cold gray days here. bleh. I was looking fwd to hanging with the kids (They are fine. Working  from home.) Chilling with Bri and Kath but alas and forsooth... no trips to Cali. Not for Izzy's Spring Break and not for a silly 5k. Honestly, I still feel like mid March is kinda early  to postpone something that is scheduled for the end of April but what do I know?

2. Getting old bits of water damaged wooden siding replaced in prep to have the outside of the house painted. That is loud.Very excited to have the tool shed repaired at same time. I look fwd to Marie Kondo-ing that space and will post about it soon.  Hopefully the painters will not be loud.
 ...and yet, despite banging and sawing
There is a squirrel family in the wall. That is fun. (insert sarcasm) Pest control is coming Weds.

3. Went to Freshthyme today. Pretty anti-climatic. They were out of TP. We are not. Prly good for at least two weeks.  sigh.  #flattenthecurve

Amateur Vid of Lark's 1st Walk

Please forgive the horrible wind on the audio.

A lot of paper towelling in my world...

Top Ten Puppy Commandments

1.     Let sleeping puppies lie.

2.     Be patient, for puppy bladders give very little warning at all.  They just squat down, and there it is, the next puddle.

3.     Do not be angry for the razor teeth know not how sharp they be.

4.     Thou shalt not covet Monty Don’s doggos.

5.     If you feed it. It will poo, 20 minutes to 2 hours later.

6.     Curiosity is a sign of intelligence, not malevolence.

7.     Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then feedest thou thy Holy Kibble of Antioch towards thy hound, who, being naughty in My sight, shall eat the other doggo’s meal.

8.     Unsupervised equals not their fault.

9.     If one gets a treat? They ALL get a treat. Same goes for chewies and sneaky bites under the table.

10.   You knew what you were getting into when you signed up. You can’t bail now.