~ Them Herbs, Flowers, Tomatoes and Peppers...... ~

~ My BLOG Page ~ Number Twenty-Four ~
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~ A New Page for April ~ Click Here for Previous Page
~ To My Parkville Home Page ~


~ Tuesday ~ April 13, 2010 ~
~ The Farmer in the Dell ~

~ Plants Just Loving this Weather! ~

~ And I Kind of Like it Too! ~
Another Gorgeous Day! When have we had such nice weather in April?... The man says it has been 8 t0 10 degrees above normal all week... and more to come... Maybe a little rain on Friday?

So, a quick run to Platte City this morning and back... When I got back, Boss Bob and Tom (maintenance Man) were working away at my furnace... Boss Bob left Tom to figure it out and left... Finally Tom said it was all fixed and left... Maybe they saved a bill from the A/C man... And then, out to water the farm and that's it to date... What to do on this gorgeous afternoon now?

~ And a Whole Afternoon to Go ~


~ Monday ~ April 12, 2010 ~ Addendum ~
~ Now What is This? ~

~ One More Experiment ~


~ What is This For? ~ This of Course! ~
Late start on the day... Chatting too long on Kitchen Chat... Then rescued when Boss Bob came by to look at my furnace...Tried the circuit breakers and shut off my computer... Then back to look at the furnace... Nothing working... No heat... No cool, No fan... Looks like a circuit breaker to me I says? One in there? He says no.. But AHA! There is a fuse... Pulled it out, yeah... blown... Well I have one at the office he says and brought it back... Stuck it in... VOILA! it worked... for a couple minutes.. then poof... out again... Some component in there blowing that fuse... So he called tha furnace man.. Now waiting for that... But no hurry, such nice weather, don't need heat or cooling... Yet!

Then what... No projects... I do have that nice sized pot out there, what would go good in that? How about some cucumbers? That might work... Headed up to Wal*Mart for a nice little trellis and a pack of seeds... Worked over the soil in that pot and planted some... Will make what they call one 'hill' of cucumbers... And I can train them to climb up that trellis... Wanna bet? Well, call back in about a week and see if any of those seeds pop up.. and then ... Cucumbers maybe in June?

~ And Away We Go! ~


~ Sunday ~ April 11, 2010 ~
~ A Beautiful Day ~

~ For a Walk in the Park ~
~ 75 Degrees and Sunny ~ How Sweet it Is! ~








~ Now What? Deli Fried Chicken or Ham and Bean Soup? ~


~ Saturday ~ April 10, 2010 ~ Addendum ~
~ The Bike and the Fountain ~

~ Yes I Now Have ~ Run Out of Projects ~

~ La Pequeña Fuente ~

~ The Bike Before ~ The Bike After ~
Busy Day Again... and Gorgeous weather! Good thing, my furnace quit last night... Well it wasn't too cold but I woke up kinda chilly... 68 inside when I got up.. rose to 70 after I had the computers running a bit... So I called Boss Bob, he said Tom the maintenance man would be here at 10 a.m showing an apartment and he would stop by to take a look.. But he didn't show up... And I just checked tha A/C and it doesn't work either... Well, shouldn't need that today anyway...

So, after getting started I went put to polish up the bike handle bars some... They look better but not as good as new... And then I ran over to Radio Shack for a speedo... Odometer battery for the bike.. Have that working now... Next, remember to pump up the tires and maybe take a ride...

Then what? That fountain... Took it down off the wall. Up ended it, took out the screw plug I put in last year and ran a wire up the water tube, freeing it... Got my turkey baster to squirt water through and it worked fine... Put the plug back in, hung it up amd filled it with water, plugged it in and as they say in Paree... WAH-LAH!



~ Now Off to Feed the Garden ~


~ Saturday ~ April 10, 2010 ~
~ Herbs and Flowers ~ The Bike Next? ~

~ Running Out of Projects ~

~ Greek Oregano ~ Sweet Basil ~

~ Marigolds ~ Las Flores Son Bonitas! ~
After a quick trip to Larry's Nursery... Back to the ranch to add some new soil to a couple of pots and plant the herbs and flowers... That didn't take much time... Done before that Noon Addendum to yesterday's BLOG... What do do now but try to get that rust off the bike handlebars... Not much any other place... Hope it will come off... That is a nice bike... OR WAS! Other than that... What's to do? Oh yeah... My fountain quit again... last time the little water pipe plugged up, have to take a look at that again...

They are doing some work on the apartment above me and Boss Bob stopped by to check on the worker... Stopped to admire my painting jobs and my planting procedure... Offering a few suggestions of course...

So after I got the new stuff planted, I swept off the porch and thought for lunch some good Chopper Deli Deep Fried chicken would be good... Headed up there to get an 8 piece pack and some tater chips... Not ready for lunch just then so I mixed the next to last manhattan I can get from Can's bottle, looks like maybe two ounces left in there... Then I sat out in the balmy breezes on the veranda and just enjoyed the weather... Really nice the last few days.. And for the next five days to come they are saying...

Then back inside for a late lunch, really good Deli chicken... and then off to bed way too early... BUT... Woke sometime during the night... Getting a bit cool in here? Well, yeah, was 68 when I got up this morning, checked the furnace.. not working... Oh well, warm day ahead... I'll call Boss Bob at home, see what he wants to do about it...

And now off to use up another gorgeous day...

~ What? the Bike Rust.. or the Fountain Today? ~


~ Friday ~ April 09, 2010 ~ Noon Addendum ~
~ Now ~ What's Next? ~

~ The Smoker is Looking Good ~

~ The Smoker Before ~ The Smoker After ~
Well now... The weatherman missed it the right way... The low was only 40 degrees this morning... Uncovered the plants... lookin good... Now that the smoker is all black again, have to see if I can get some of that rust off the bike... It just doesn't look good that way...

Nice sunny start on the day with bright sun and 59 degrees at 10:30 a.m. Going to 73 today and then 70s all week with lows above 50.. We are on the way to tomatoes and peppers... Might just head back over to Larry's Nursery and see if I can find some basil and oregano and maybe some marigolds to put in the flower boxes... Yeah... that's a good idea... I am on my way... now...



~ Hi Ho.... Hi Ho... It's Off to Riverside we go! ~


~ Friday ~ April 09, 2010 ~
~ Busy Day on Thursday! ~

~ A Few More Things to Do ~

~ The Bench Before ~ The Bench After ~
So, after I got the peat moss spread and the tomatoes planted in the bed yesterday... I put the little fence back up in case the deer want a taste of tomato greens again... I will add the top part of the fence later when they get some growth... And, it looks like the tomatoes survived the night Wednesday... Low of 38 degrees... Covered them again last night... Mike on Channel 4 was saying maybe a low of 35, could be some frost here and there... Will check again when I uncover them today...

Cool start but nice and sunny Thursday Morning... Was barely in the 50s when I went out to start refinishing the Bench... Is this the Third year already? Well maybe the Fourth... I refinished it with polyurethane year before last, and last year I skipped... I should have done it then as it was quite a bit more weathered this year than last... And after I refinished it the second year, it still looked as good as new... Originally I was going to do the metal with black paint and the wood with polyurethane... But after a coat of poly, I liked the sort of bronze look to it... Now see how that weathers and how it looks next year...

So... The bench done and looking pretty good, I moved the bike out and sprayed a few areas that got some rust from the salt water that dripped from the deck above... Wish I had some room to bring that inside... Need to work those areas over with a little steel wool and see what it looks like... May even pump up the tires and go for a ride one of these nice warm days on the way...

And, such a nice day heading back up into the 60s and plenty of sun... So... headed up to P&G Hardware for that steel wool, and a brush and a quart of Rustoleum H-Temp paint for the smoker... Then stirred that up real good and started on the paint job... Not too long and that was looking pretty good too... Have to get a pic of that for tomorrow maybe... Was wondering how long have I had that one... I had that electric I bought when I first moved in here in 2000, sometime later, the big bad Brinkman... Oh well, on to the day...

~ And Now... What About that Rust on the Smoker? ~


~ Thursday ~ April 08, 2010 ~
~ Busy Day on the Farm! ~

~ No Cold Snap Now ~ Please! ~

~ Better Boys Tomatoes ~

~ Japaleno Pepper ~ Poblano Pepper ~ Rutgers Tomato ~
Busy, busy Day, all day! And got a lot done... I got the three big pots all refrurbished with added peat moss and mixed into the potting soil... And did the same to the tomaro bed... Then as the day looked so nice and the weatherman said the weather would be mild... I decided to plant... The Rutgers tomato in the big pot, the peppers in the next two biggest ones and the Better Boys in the bed around the side of the building... Then refurbised a couple of flower pots and adjourned for the day... Quite a work-out...


So then... relaxing with a glass of vino tinto and catching up on the news... About 4 p.m. What's that noise? pop pop, bing bing... is that hail? Well yeah and on my freshly planted plants! Took a look out the door, really coming down, looked like it was snowing! Hope it doesn't smash my tomatoes... Checked back with the news... Yeah, the man said heavy storms right over Parkville, with large hail, some golf ball size, moving on Northeast with another weaker storm following... Well now, did we really need that?

So then later, checked the forecast... We had hit a high of 64 and sunny and it was nice! But the temp dropping rapidly and the overnight low, maybe 35! Oh No... That is just above freezing! He had backed down on his earlier mild overnight forecast... So, as the rain tapered off, I went out to cover the plants with some empty pots and hope for the best... And this morning at 6 a.m. I see a temperature of 38 degrees... well not too bad... Hopefully no damage done...Back to 61 today, then to the 70s for the rest of the week...

~ And Now... Ever Onward and Upward We Go! ~


~ Wednesday ~ April 07, 2010 ~
~ Back to the Garden Again! ~

~ More to do Outside Today ~

~ Japaleno Pepper ~ Better Boy Tomato ~ Rutgers Tomato ~ Better Boy Tomato ~ Poblano Pepper ~
Here we go again... Made some progress yesterday... Put some peat moss in the tomato bed and started digging in and adding peat to the pots... More to do today...

I checked the weather forecast... Looks warm enough for the next two weeks... So after I got my semi-annual haircut I headed over to Riverside to Larry's Nursery to pick up some tomato and pepper plants... Was talking to the mail man yesterday and he said he liked Rutgers tomatoes... That is an old standard brand that I hadn't tried so I chose a nice one to try in my big pot... along with two Better Boys plants for the bed... Then a jalapeno pepper and a try at a poblano pepper for the pots...

So... When I got back from the errands I baked some biscuits for a late breakfast, got a pic of the new plants, now getting ready to head back out to put a couple more buckets of peat in the tomato bed and then get back to adding peat to the pots... Just might plant those tomatoes today if the ground looks dry enough... We had a heavy downpour last night with a lot of rain... Looks bright and sunny and nice out there today...

~ So... Let's Get at the Fun!... ~


~ Tuesday ~ April 06, 2010 ~
~ Spring Has Sprung! ~

~ My Bradford Pear Tree in Full Bloom ~

~ Will Look Pretty for a Week or So ~ Then All Gone
Pretty... but they stink... for a week anyway... When I first smelled it several years ago I thought it was something overripe in the dumpster... Then one day Mike (upstairs) remarked that it was the trees in bloom... How could something so pretty smell so bad?... Well, so far this year, they do NOT stink... And they use these trees all over for landscaping because of fast growth... These were planted in 2001 or so I believe...

And... I am moving on the gardening front... Went to Lowes yesterday for a big bale of spagnum peat moss to loosen up the soil in the pots and tomato bed... And a big box of Miracle-gro... so big... it will last me for years... But the only package they had and the price wasn't bad...

And yesterday I stopped by Office Max for some ink for my little old HP printer... Only needed the tri-color, I had a new black... So I installed and aligned the new cartridges... and then it would NOT print.. Said It was out of paper, which it wasn't... So I tried everything I could think of and no go... Well it was one of those free ones with a new couputer anyway... So the only loss giving up on it was the new ink cartridge I just bought...

But.. I have this nice newer HP Photosmart printer to fall back on... But it was low on ink in all 5 cartridges... Back to Office Max again to buy new ones... Had some printing I wanted to do today... I wanted to print a picture of the Park University Ad Building and a couple of case labels for couple of DVDs of Downtown Parkville That I want to give to the guy there for giving me permission to photograph on the grounds... I need to give him my new card with my new URL on it too...

So that done... I'll run down there and see if he is in the office... And BTW... I made a nice Reuben sandwich last night with that rejuvenated Pastrami and it was great... Now juicy and tender.. and with Swiss cheese and kraut.. Yeah.. dee lish!

~ Hi Ho... Hi Ho.. It's off to Park We Go!... ~


~ Sunday ~ April 04, 2010 ~
~ Is it Bunny Day Yet? ~

~ I Think Today is Easter ~

~ Second Easter Dinner Last Night ~
Ham and baked sweet potato with potato salad.. Some good... The tastes just seem to fit together to me... Two ham dinners in a row.... Well it was GOOD!.. both times... What today... How about some ham and bean soup... with cornbread? Have some ready...

A little cooler day yesterday but nice... Nice and warm today, they say... Not much going on... No scratch winners... No Lotto winner today... How cananyone live like that... Oh yeah I did win a $1, $1, $2, and a $4... But that won't get me to the Casino... Haven't been ALL month now.. what a personal sacrifice... Someone send me $40 please...

Well, it was soup day most all day... I had that crock pot on low and it simmered all day, just gave it a stir now and then... Then later filled 5 plastic boxes and one large soup bowl and into the freezer with all but the bowl.. I'll nuke that one up for diner today... And I have some cornbread all ready to go with it...

And so far, that looks like that will be it for the day... But ya never know.. Do Ya?

~ Now Sun day... Looks Good... Sunny and Warm... ~


~ Saturday ~ April 03, 2010 ~
~ Is it Soup Yet? ~

~ It Will be in a Few Hours ~

~ Anyone want a Recipe for Ham and Bean Soup? ~
Busy Busy day Friday... Had to do some morning shopping, then into the kitchen to attack that ham in the fridge... That hunk of hog took some working over but it's mostly done now... I split it down the middle to start, so it would fit on the slicer... Tried to follow the bone but had to saw one to get it into two pieces... I am NOT a butcher... obviously... Anyway, sliced that fuller half and got some nice slices, bagged them and into the freezer... Then sliced some nice hunks off the other half to get some more slices and then remove the bones and dice up the odds and ends for ham and bean soup...

Next, got out the crock pot and put the bones in... covered with water and set to simmer... Then diced up some celery and carrots and into the pot with that... Then let simmer all day and all night... This morning removed the bones. all the meat left falling off... diced that and back into the pot... Then I diced up a big onion and some more celery... Then added 6 cans of well rinsed Great Northern beans and into the pot... with the rest of the diced up ham... You know Mario says that canned beans are just as good as boiled dry beans and a lot less work... And in case you don't know the hint... Rinse and drain those beans very well... to remove the processing liquid which also removes the cause of a lot of the .... you know what... later...

So now... Mid morning, been to the store, no scratch winners today, got some more containers for the soup... Now the soup is simmering away, and I have one more hunk of ham to slice and store and that will be that...

Oh yeah, yesterday I made some potato salad, baked a sweet potato and nuked up a couple slices of that ham... I do not have to tell you.. that was some GOOD ham... and potato saled... and sweet potato... OH YEAH!

~ Now Saturday... Looks Good... Sunny and Warm... ~


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