Happy Halloween!

So, I'm guessing you've heard of Murphy's Law, right?

My kids are 11 and 13. Some people would say they are too old for trick-or-treating. But that is something you just don't really grow out of here. As far as I'm concerned, if you'll put on a costume, I'll give you candy. But at 13, my daughter's friends are on that iffy border. And the friend she has always trick-or-treated with- and who has been planning with her for months- came by last night to say she was going to a party tonight instead. Oof! To her credit, my daughter was fine with this. And she was ecstatic when this same friend invited her to go over to U of D with her mom and her today to hear Joe Biden. Until the phone call this morning. Can't go, her mom's sick. I will not even try to describe to you the scene this news produced in my house.

All I wanted to do was go back to bed, because you see... I am sick too. In a kicking-my-butt-please-put-me-out-of-my-misery kind of way. You know, where you are waiting to see which will happen first: yours eyes bursting into flame or your sinuses exploding. But! This is Halloween! So, we take our skeleton- which arrived yesterday afternoon- out to the toilet by the front door... And apparently, one gets a bit stiff at the skeleton stage. We could not get this guy to bend in the appropriate way to mimic vomiting into the toilet. And his hands are sort of on backwards. Cheap damn skeleton. So, we just propped him up on the toilet and had him hold the bowl of candy. It seems to be all he's good for. But, people find him hysterical. They take his picture. They laugh belly laughs. And I don't have to spread my germs to innocent kiddos. Plus, I tossed a couple glow sticks in the toilet bowl, so he's got a bit of a green glow from below. I'll try to get a picture of that later. But don't hold your breath. For now, this is my handy helper...

Happy Halloween!

Baby Pictures

Well, I finally managed to get a few decent pictures of the sunroom garden babies: Tomato flower, bush bean, and potato.

I Nuked The Leaves...And, Baby Beans!

So... after wasting a lot of time hemming and hawing about it, I went ahead and nuked the leaves in the microwave before putting them in the worm bin. I can tell you that 30 seconds is NOT long enough, because after 30 seconds I opened the door and found a rather disoriented flying bug stumbling about. Sorry! But nuking it a bit longer works fine, didn't start a fire, and provides a neat visual show as the leaf pile shrinks (due to water loss, I assume). So there you have that!

Even more exciting...and this also falls under "how could I be so stupid"... remember that bean flower that crumbled in on itself? Um hmm... yep, it's formed a baby bean. It is absolutely the cutest baby veggie I have ever seen. Naturally, my camera refuses to capture this awesome cuteness. But I will try to find a camera that will be more accommodating so I can share this. Woo hoo! Beans a'comin'!

Laura's Vinegar Pot

Laura, at Mas Du Diable, recently posted about making wine vinegar. The article is inspiring and now I'd like to try my hand at it. However, I have a serious case of pot envy. Laura has a beautiful French vinegar pot that you can see here. I must find one of these pots, but it can't cost me my firstborn! If anybody knows of a source stateside, please let me know! My kitchen and I thank you!

Winter Sunroom Garden Update

Just a quick update...

The first bush bean flower opened today. The flower I thought would open first ended up "failing"- it sort of crumped in on itself. Not sure why. But I have a first bloom and more on the way.

The paste tomatoes are thinking about flowering. There are "buds" in various stages of development. One set in particular looks as if it may open very soon. Homegrown tomatoes for Christmas? We'll see...

The spinach is doing its thing, although the seedlings are a little leggy. I need to correct their lighting.

I did bring in a pot of parsley today. And then the cold, cold rain started. I may bring in some more tomorrow- as well as the eggplant, if I can find a large enough pot for that. Maybe I have another empty kitty litter jug I could repurpose for that? Hmm...

Sing With Me!

*WARNING: You won't be able to get this song out of your head*



Yes, it's true. The world is laughing at us.

And, if this was a real movie, I'd soooo go see it.

Tomato And Potato And Teak, Oh My!

Just a few quick photo updates. The following are: a shot of some of the tomato flowers forming in the sunroom; the potato sprouting in the sunroom; and Teak, keeping an eye on things.

Good Dog.