I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, 'wouldn't it be much worse if life *were* fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them?' So now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe. – M. Cole
The weather here in south central PA has been good to our garden. Enough rain has made everything grow like crazy. Thanks to our new camera, I have some nice photos of what is currently growing.
Our roses
Some random photos of things in the garden
Hope you enjoyed the tour!
Just a list of random things that I wish I had known sooner.
(incidentally, if you are a pathetic spammer who is following my blog and only have “make money blogging” crap on your website, you are a parasite. Seems like vermin are everywhere, not only shilling for “godonomic$” or “prosperity gospel”.)
Borax, yes the 20 Muleteam stuff works great in the laundry. It gets out body oil stains and blood better than anything I’ve tried. Everyone I’ve talked to says “Oh yes, grandma used that.” Grandma should have told them why she used it.
A grasshopper and a stinger are both good cocktails. The former ( half green crème de menthe and half white, aka clear, crème de cacao with a splash of cream) tastes like melted mint chocolate chip ice cream. And yes, they drink *very* quickly. A Stinger (2.25 oz brandy, .75 oz white crème de menthe on ice) like an excellent after dinner mint, very refreshing on a hot and humid day (like right now, when I’m about to go all crazy Tennesee Willliams on someone because of the heat). I had my first stinger on vacation at the Sandals resort in St. Lucia. They had it on their big list of drinks at the swim-up bar. Evidently no one had ordered one for quite some time, since the bartender had to look at the sign to figure out what I was asking for.
Scuba diving is very very NOISY! One gets the impression that it’s very quiet down there, all serene and peaceful, from the usual nature shows. However, unless you have a rebreather, it is BLARBLE-BLARBLE- BLARBLE, every time you take a breath. The tanks can also be freakin’ heavy. Husband and I went diving thanks to the temporary diving cert you can get at a tropical resort (we went to Sandals – St. Lucia). They had the metal tanks and it was a struggle for me to just stand up with the things on plus the weights (I float like a cork). Also, reconsider scuba diving if you’ve *ever* had problems with your ears. My ears are screwed up from the drums bursting from infection when I was young. Diving to 30 feet is not good for them at all. Blood from your ears is NOT what you want to see. Be happier and just snorkel.
Comet bathroom cleaner does a great job on soap scum, but they don’t advertise it much. Best stuff I’ve found for cleaning the bathroom so far.
If you buy parmesan reggiano by the chunk, make sure you don’t get the “corner” chunk that has two sides of rind. You don’t get as much grate-able cheese. It is worth the price, though. Incidentally, the powdery stuff from the can will not work in making parmesan crisps. You’ll just get hot powder.
Do not plant mints in your garden without first putting them in a container and sinking that in the ground, top level or just a bit above ground level. Mints propagate themselves through runners and they will do their level best to take over. There are only so many mojitos a girl can drink.
Do not think that those pretty white flowers that look like morning glories and are growing wild would make a great thing to put in your garden. That stuff is bindweed, and you can’t kill it. Mugwort is also a pain in the ass in the garden because it spreads like mint. Supposedly it keeps “bad witches” away. 🙂
If you like the new “chocolate wines” you can make a very close facsimile of Spodee with cheap dry red wine and Crème de Cacao liqueur.
If you pay a bill online through your bank and screw up with the decimal point, call the company you paid too much. (no, of course I didn’t just do this and scare myself…ahem) They will generally be very nice about the whole thing and will have to confirm with the bank that the bank will not rescind the funds from them. So have your bank account number with you when you are calling because you will likely end up on a three-way call with your bank. They will then cut you a refund check to you, which will take a week or so. It will screw things up for a bit but hopefully not for long, and it isn’t the end of the world, though it might feel like it. Another reason to have reserves of money as big as you can keep.
Cheap dry dishwashing detergent makes a good quick scrub for cabinets, tubs, etc. Remember to rinse well.
That’s all for now. Feel free to add your own things you wished someone would have told you in comments.
The weather in south-central PA has been great for our garden. I thought I’d show a few photos of our tiny, in-the-city plot. And the formatting is giving me fits.
Red simple roses in an old frost box. Our wooden fence is due for replacing but I like its weathered look. There is comfrey to the right and crocosimia and lilies to the left.
Our garden is mostly shady, very nice in the hot summer but not a lot of things like to grow there. here is a bed of hostas, ferns and foxgloves. The hostas and ferns seem to be locked in a death match to see who can choke the other out. I do have some primroses but they are under the crazed foliage.
Club Schadenfreude 