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The Kitchen Table

How has your week been?

14 years ago

All I can say is

{{!gwi}}

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Comments (5)

Marilyn Sue McClintock
14 years ago
Ha, ha. Really, I have had much better days than this week. But I am moving on from things.

Sue
izzie
14 years ago
Took my son to road test for drivers lic. He didn't pass. The first thing they had him do is 90 degree back up parking, hit flag. He has had permit for 2 yrs, is 18. Not a good driver. Problem is our 2 cars, one is manual transmition the other a huge SUV. Does better in my parents small car.Can't afford to buy a different car for a while. He also has high functioning Aspergers syndrome (Just graduated w/b aver. from H.S.) so I think he has trouble with all the stimuli. I feel bad for him but relieved also.
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How has your luck been with the wet and cold weather this year?
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Comments (5)
Woohoo, I finally got some good rain! At least 1.5 inches of nice slow steady rain thanks to Andrea. We were on the edge and got just the right amount of rain with no wind. :) My dahlias are lovin' it! They are going to grow like crazy this coming week with the fully saturated soil and nice moderate temps in the mid 70s. HighlanderNorth, here's what I did to overwinter one 4x16 foot bed of dahlias last winter. The bed is a raised bed constructed two concrete blocks high, 16 inches. (See the picture.) So the dahlia tubers are all above grade and will not sit in saturated ground over winter no matter how much it rains or snows. I mulched the bed in late November with about 8-10 inches of dry leaves. Lastly I covered the whole bed with a 4x16 foot sheet of clear 4mil sheet plastic and weighted it down with bricks all around the edges so it wouldn't blow away on a windy day. The plastic sheds water which keeps the soil from becoming saturated and keeps the leaves dry which maintains their insulating value. I used clear plastic because that allow some sun to penetrate and helps warm the leaves and soil on sunny winter days. Along about early April I simply removed the plastic and part of the leaves and let the dahlias do their thing. All of the dahlias survived and most of the plants are huge already but a few looked weak and one i replaced. I don't know what was different about those that weren't strong right out of the gate. It worked so well that I'm going to do the same thing with the other 3 raised beds that I planted with dahlias this spring. I will leave the clumps I overwintered this past winter for a 2nd winter. I'm curious to see how much bigger the clumps get in their 3rd season (2014.) I'm hoping they don't get much bigger but instead stabalize at what would be their natural maximum size as a tropical perennial. I think one could accomplish the same thing, keeping the tuber clump above grade, with mounded raised beds. The thing I don't like about mounded raised beds is that they tend to become rounded instead of flat on top and shed much needed water during summer thunderstorms. You could also use a simpler construction method and build simple raised bed walls using treated 2x12s filled with good well draining soil. HighlanderNorth, you should give this a try next winter i think it would work well for you too.
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Diet Pals 31 Jan - 7 Feb
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Comments (24)
Well....calling all cars, calling all cars! Come in! How ya doing? I noticed this morning in the mirror that I am looking smaller on my tummy and my pants are looser. My weight will now probably plateau for a week or two while my body shifts but after looking in the mirror I am just inspired. My usual lunch treat today at work is a gorgeous fruit salad. My hunger pains are more at bay today, now that TOM is settling down. Going to have half my salad at dinner tonight with added celery and chicken with a lovely hot cuppa broth. Do you like pancakes? Instead of frying them, you could try baking them on a non-stick baking sheet. Lemon Sauce - guilt free A nice lemon sauce would go lovely over the top (you can use 1/2 cup water, juice of 1 lemon and 1 tsp of cornstarch - bring to a boil from COLD on the stove, turn down heat and stir slowly until clear and thick. Remove from heat and THEN add sweetener to taste (not during the heating as it makes the sweetner bitter). This also works making a lovely baked apple dessert...I microwave a chopped apple in a dish and drizzle over the top. You can also use things like 7 UP instead of lemon juice, Apple juice and cinnamon. Just about any juice and sugar free drink would work. Also make great toppings for low fat ice creams, a slice of angel food cake (very low fat and the egg whites are good for you). Have you tried anything new lately? do tell! Calling all cars! McPeg
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It has been all about compromises this week...
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Comments (5)
Just checked GW for the first time in a while, and glad to see an update from you! :) If it makes you feel better, we also have a crooked ceiling (about an inch over seven feet) and also did not fix it during construction---in our case we opted not to take down the old ceiling because of the cost (which was more than the norm b/c our attic has loose insulation that would have come down as a result and made a huge disastrous mess unless we took it out first). So we knew from the beginning that we'd have to live with some imperfections. We also have flat moulding (matched the original in the house) which is the absolute hardest to hide anything with. Our cabinetmaker did the best he could with it---it's actually a bit sloped on both the bottom and top edges of the moulding to split the difference for the eye---but had very little to work with, so if you look up, you can see the ceiling slope. But you know what? We never, ever notice it at this point, and I don't think anyone else does either unless I point it out. So I wouldn't stress about that! On the paint...any chance any of your walls or trim are primed in white right now? If so, it's possible that you'll love the paint again once they're painted. I hated our BM Acadia White when our walls were primed white because it looked muddy, but we have it throughout the house, including the kitchen windows which we wanted to avoid repainting, so we stuck with it. Once the rest of the room was painted and there was no "true" white left, I loved it again! So if that's an issue in your case, I'd test out the color by covering the true white. If you do need a new color, though, I *heart* Acadia White---it's a rich creamy white (definitely not a true white, but we have it mixed in various rooms with greens, golds, browns, and soon blues and it seems to play well with everything---plus looks great with wood floors, if you have that in play). It will definitely be okay, though! That's the best part---a lot of this will blur into the background once it's done, and you'll forget you were stressing so much over it. Good luck!!
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How has this heat wave been affecting your garden?
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Comments (32)
Peas are done. There were very few immature pods, and the plants were yellowing, so I yanked them up and got the rest of the pods. Not a bad harvest (Super Sugar Snap) over the last couple weeks, but it reminded me that the low yield of peas is barely worth the effort. Broccoli is toast. Between the heat and the striped worms, although I harvested all but one of the primary heads, and they were great, and the saltwater bath only brought a few worms out. The secondary smaller shoots were infested to the point where they were mostly inedible, but at least I got the primary heads before they really took hold. Thought about trying to baby the plants through and see how they did, but I almost think I'm better off yanking them, using that spot for something else, and then starting more seeds in July for a fall crop. My first planting of sweet corn is about 3' tall now, and the Trinity plants are just showing some tassels. Planted 4/30. Pole beans are blooming despite the weird curling and cupping of the leaves. I have harvested a couple peppers. Tomatoes have many green fruits, nothing ripe yet. I have a San marzano that is close. Yukon Gold potatoes are almost died back. The Purple Majesty plants are just yellowing a bit. Sweet Potatoes are plodding along, seem to be taking off of it now. Pumpkins and watermelons growing like mad, no fruit set yet. Zucchini has a single fruit set so far. onions are bulbing. I have watered, and we did finally get 3/4" of rain yesterday, (a moist upcoming weekend looks promising as well) the first decent rain of June. Still plenty of subsoil moisture thanks to the wet May, so trees and shrubs are fine, but I have had to water the veggies and flowers a bit .
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country_bumpkin_al
14 years ago
This week has been leading up to the 1yr. date (June 21st) that I lost my husband. It's been a long,depressing week.
stephanie_in_ga
14 years ago
Country bumpkin, I'm sorry for the pain you're going through now. Sending good thoughts to you.

Monday DD and I both went to the doc after days of horrible coughing and cold stuff. DD had "just" a cold (a bad one) but I had a sinus infection and got drugged up for it. The prescription decongestant was $60 and written for 20 days supply! I told the pharmacist if I take it for 20 days I'm gonna need an intervention! She gave me 5 days for $15.

We also dropped of my van Monday b/c the air would not blow, hot or cold, no fan. I like this mechanic, came from a good reference. But the problem was not what he first thought and it took 4 days to get it solved, and $650. Required taking the whole dash apart. Wednesday evening he called to say to pick it up Thursday, he was on reconnecting "wire 50 of 120." Good grief! I know I could never do that job!

Wednesday evening the air in the house quit! Part needs replaced, $900 job can't be done til Tuesday next week. Fortunately, it's just one unit, so only the upstairs is hot.

Today a relative called to ask to "borrow" money. I laughed. Best they'll get from me is a listening ear and any advice I can offer. This is the second relative in 2 months, evidently I have some relatives who have a false idea of my fincancial situation! Hopefully when I keep saying no they'll stop calling me. At least for money. ;o)
Mystical Manns
14 years ago
Oh, Bump ... anniversaries like this can be so hard. I hope you know we'll be thinking of you and will feel the comfort of our love and caring.

this was my first week back at work following my double mastectomy and reconstruction. No naps! DANG! Plus, even tho I was very careful about what I wore, so nothing rubbed on the big incision, it is still very painful from me having to sit UP all day in basically the same position. So I'm just sore and tired.

But next week will be better, yes?

On the good side, it looks like DS may be finding a job soon. A friend's husband believe he'll have a job opening soon, and has asked to talk to DS. BLESSINGS!

DH and DS have spent close to three days in over 90 degree weather helping a neighbor by cutting up a large tree (trunk = 58-inch diameter!) that blew over during a storm the first of the week, just missing his house. This guy is not much older than DH, but in extremely poor health and lives 100% on Social Security. He was just beside himself when DH stopped by to ask if he needed help with the tree. I thought he was going to cry! I've been so proud of my guys!

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