Saturday, October 23, 2021

October This-And-Thats*

Looks like I haven't done one of these posts since May, and I've not written a lot recently so I must have something to say.  Yes, it's time again to start typing and see what happens!

  • First, Feedburner said the blog mails would end in July.  Then they said August.  Now, here it is nearing the end of October and the emails are still going out.  I'm certainly not complaining, but there has been nothing posted about it that I've found since they said August.  A change of plans, perhaps, I guess time will tell.
  • While our fall has been warmer than normal so far, we have become more seasonable recently.  We normally get our first frost about October 7 and this year we got our first frost and freeze the other day, on Thursday night/Friday morning.  It all goes downhill from here now until we come out the other side in several months time.  Yes, I complain but I don't move away.  It's another Wisconsin pastime, kind of like last post and probably a big reason for it!  Well, at least there's no snow in the forecast yet.
  • Last weekend we did some yardwork and got the gardens ready for winter.  The back left garden has been fully planted with garlic.  The back right garden with the monster herb plant that the name escapes me now has the rest of the area planted with just an odd collection of bulbs that we had stored downstairs from planting and replanting things in the flower beds.  It will be interesting to see what comes up in spring; certainly some tulips, daffodil and hyacinth are possible, and who knows what else.  You can see here if you look close that the squirrels already dug one big bulb up.  That's also why we have that old makeshift cover over the garlic.  Then the strawberry and raspberry plants have been cleaned up and straw put down for winter.  All the compost soil has been emptied from the left side of the compost bin into the gardens while the right side fills up with yard waste.  Shredded paper to cover it all and the bottom of the empty side, we'll start using the left side only soon and let the right side break down to go into the gardens next fall.  The compost bin is one of my favorite things I ever built.
  • I've not been walking as much recently, not because I don't want to walk but my knee has been acting up.  The right one, the one that I busted up the femur there back in 2010.  Perhaps it's the change in weather, but I don't remember this from recent years.  Not painful so much as uncomfortable as the patellar tendon seems tight and aggravated.  Hopefully nothing comes of it and I can continue my walks soon.
  • My mouse broke yesterday, thankfully it waited until after I was done working.  The scroll wheel started making noise so after work I ordered another one, the mouse must have noticed and shortly after gave up the ghost.  I have the same mouse but wireless that I'm using now, but it's not as responsive and is currently driving me a little batty so I hope the new one arrives early, it's currently scheduled for Tuesday.  Come on, Amazin' Prime!
  • Speaking of work, we are now required to be fully vaccinated by a date in December.  President Biden's executive order for government contractors.  That would be us, and it includes fully remote workers as well as those who go into the office.  I've already provided my proof of vaccination, and really no bother to me as I've been vaccinated for quite some time.  There are others I know of who are not, though, so it will be interesting to see what happens and who believes in not getting it so much that they lose their job.  
  • I might give the impression that I color my fires more than I actually do.  Normally I save the color for when we have people over, but sometimes I do add it just for myself.  I'm thinking I may have one tonight, after the Wisconsin football game so I'd be out there just a bit before sunset.  It will be chilly with temperatures in the mid-40's F and falling, and I'm not sure I'm quite acclimated to these temperatures yet.
  • Speaking of the football game, I like to have a special football snack for games.  It can be almost anything, but today I'll be trying a recipe that I found.  Well, I'm not going to exactly follow the recipe, it will be my take on it.  Dill pickle, ranch and bacon pizza!  Sounds good to me, but disgusting to my wife.  We'll see how it turns out, but I have high hopes.
  • I've taken a few pictures of neighborhood Halloween decorations when I have walked, but I feel kind of funny taking pictures of other people's houses, so I haven't got much.  There is one house that beats all the others, hands down.  It's dark and with a steep pitched roof so looks like a good fit for Halloween even without decorations, but their display is pretty impressive.  Not everything even fits in one shot unless I'm pretty far back.  I am impressed, and I'll have to make it back after dark some night because I know they have lights for it, too.
Okay, this wireless mouse is really driving me nuts.  I may have to get out the tiny cheap one that comes with the computer, at least before work on Monday.  I thought a mouse pad would help, but not really.

Well, there's football to watch and pizza to prepare so that's enough writing for now.  Hope everyone is enjoying your weekend, I'll let you know how the pickle pizza turned out!  Maybe I'll add a picture later, if it was as good as I expect...

*Updated after the game.  Pickle pizza pictures (say that several times fast) after the break!

It was good, but nothing to write home about.  The pickles need something more than the bacon to balance it out.  Has my thoughts going to a bacon cheeseburger pizza!  I took pictures as I made it and made a gif in about a minute on my phone.  Overall, I give it a 7 out of 10, it had a good beat and I could dance to it, but there is room for improvement.


5 comments:

delcatto said...

I like the gif of the pizza and now I have a new mobile I will have to try that out. I have to admit on the rare occasions I have pizza I like lots of cheese, chillies and anchovies. I don't think I've had Ranch dressing before.

Yes, getting cold here now and wet which saw me cancel my garden plans this weekend. I do like your compost bins, better than our plastic one that doesn't fit together properly.

I think you are right about the cold weather and your knee. I seem to have seized up in the cold weather as has Sue! We could do with a long holiday somewhere warm and sunny. take care of your knee and back.

Blue Witch said...

I like that pizza animation. Is the base a pizza base or a wrap used a s a pizza base? I always put too much topping on pizzas. I reckon that anchovy or chilli would do the balancing trick.

Good to see you using your paper shreddings as a layer in your compost bins... more people should do that. Did you know you can use shredded or torn up cardboard too? I'm in the middle of shredding 33 cardboard tile boxes - a maximum of 5 at a time or the shredder overheats, then leave it a couple of hours to cool before doing some more. Oh, and, if you are outside having a fire and need to recycle your beer, your compost heap will thank you. It's a great accelerant.

Hope your knee improves soon.

And yes, I hate wireless mice too.

Scoakat said...

I did restrain myself pretty well with the toppings. It's fresh made pizza dough that my wife made with her mixer, and it is very good. We have a pizza stone and peel, too, but I didn't use them here.

I don't use cardboard in the compost, we get so much of it these days. And no, I have not 'christened' the compost, LOL! I understand, but I still don't think I'll do that. Sitting for a year, with turning, breaks it down nicely.

Temperatures were as expected last night but didn't seem too cold, especially by the fire. I'll likely continue until the snow stops me.

Thank you, the knee is fine but for long walks. It'll come around. Cheers!

Blue Witch said...

Compost should be half green, half brown. We shred and put on all the cardboard we get (lots!). All in very thin layers. With lots of 'accelerant' we are making good compost in 3 months in the summer, in those plastic 'daleks'. The best compost we have ever made! At Coven Sud we have 3 x 1.5m square wooden bins, but here we have 9 'daleks' and these are way better for time and end product. Much to our amazement! And we never bother expending the energy to turn it either.

Scoakat said...

Yes, the paper was a good option with all the green I had put in prior. Sounds like you have a pretty efficient operation. We don't have a need for so much compost, the cardboard gets recycled and alternating sides/years has worked very well for us.

I pride myself on not having the city pick up our yard waste or fall leaves. That is the norm for most here, but I just never understood the need. For our situation, I think we're doing pretty good.