The Tomatoes Are In The Ground

The bell peppers and spaghetti squash are too.  Somehow we managed to bring home 7 tomato plants instead of 6... Durwood denies any knowledge of how that might have happened.  (really, Tomato Boy?)  Miracle Gro Garden Soil was on sale for $3.99 a bag with a $2/bag rebate so instead of spending twenty bucks it was only ten.  I spotted bags of pine bark mulch so I snapped one up to spread around my blueberry bushes.  They're getting too big for their cages so I want to make one big cage around them to give them room to grow and make me more berries.  I had to go back to Steins for tomato fertilizer spikes (while Durwood went to let Porter out) and bamboo stakes for the blueberry fence.  I found one bag of 6 stakes for $3.49 and right behind them was a bag of 24 stakes for $3.99.  Guess which one I picked.  Well, duh, who'd be silly enough not to pay fifty cents more for 18 more stakes?  You know there are those who'd pick the smaller bag just because they don't need the rest right now.  I suppose that's what the manufacturers count on.  While I spread the soil over the garden and raked it in a bit Durwood planted the peppers in a pot, then I put the pot into the garden.  That way it gets the same amount of water as the rest of the plants and the rabbits don't eat my pepper plants like they do if I plant them in the ground.  Smart, eh?  Okay, I can't stand it, I have to talk about the weather.  On Sunday and Monday it was hot, humid, and stormy.  Air conditioner blasting, house closed up.  Yesterday it was partly sunny, windy and in the 70s. Air conditioner off, all windows open.  Today it's barely supposed to ooch up into the 60s.  Air conditioner off, all windows shut.  All in three days.  What is this?  I'm confused.  And I'm wearing long jeans and a sweater, just a cotton one but still... to work today.  I added another pot to the patio garden too.  Mom still gets mail from something called the Cooking Club and some of the mailings had little packets of seeds in them which of course we saved.  I dragged another unplanted pot over to the herbal area and sprinkled on the tiny packet of cilantro seeds and watered them in.  And made a nametag stick so the cook knows what's what.  Last year my best friend, Lala discovered that cilantro grown from seed makes lots of herb to pick for cooking and doesn't bolt in a NY minute like the plants that you buy do, *head slap,* so we're trying it.  Can't hurt.  Tonight after work I'll mow the lawn if it's not raining which it won't be and if it's only sprinkling I'll do it anyway.  I was going to do it yesterday but I have a tendency to wear myself out cramming all sorts of stuff into Tuesdays so for once I got smart and saved something to do on Wednesday.  I was pretty much dragging by supper time but I did manage to rally for our reinstated World Champion Wii Bowling best-of-three tournament.  I kicked Durwood's butt the first game and then totally crapped out the second and third so he's the World Champ--for now.  There may be a rematch tonight.  

May 30--Egypt, Thebes, Game Box--Hounds and Jackals.  "Deal."  Reagan's face was a mask of concentration, not a muscle moved except his eyes which tracked the cards as they slid from the deck to each player.  "You got someplace to be or are you in that big a hurry to lose your money?"  Angelo's bright black eyes snapped with amusement even though he had the smallest pile of chips at the table.  "I'm tire of the rest of you dicking around between hands."  Reagan shifted in his seat as if he couldn't find a comfortable position.  Angelo laughed and kept dealing.  Elf and Merle kept quiet, picking up the cards as they came their way.  "I'll open," Reagan said.  "God, wait until I have my cards in my hand," said Angelo.  Reagan was already throwing chips and money into the pot, his eyes shifting to each man's hand in turn.

Okay, kids, I'm off to keep the world safe from SCUBA diving.  Enjoy your day and stay warm or cool, depending on your local conditions.  Cheers!

--Barbara