Urban Legends abound

Urban legends abound on the Internet - check for the full story at Snopes.com. If an email sounds too good (or too bad) it probably isn't true.

Games for your Brain

My MS My Way has developed some cognitive games to test and improve your brain function. So guilt free fun (frustration). MyBrainGames

Beach family

Back a few weeks ago we went up to Lincoln City to spend the weekend with Jim's family at a hotel we like. It's sort of an annual trip since there are two birthdays and Mother's day in May. We really like the Coho but this last trip their prices had increased so much we are going to have to shop around for another hotel. A shame really since it's been a family tradition to go there for decades.

Here's some pics of the beach.

Covered Wagons in my garden

Jim added the PVC pipe supports and cut the pipes for me. It's a semi futile attempt to warm up my garden beds.

The tall plants in giant pots in front are columnar apples.

I'm tempted to build a wooden horse to stick in front of these two beds. Covered wagons, ho!

The heaters running in July!!

This morning after Jim's workout on the treadmill he came in and collapsed into his recliner. (I have my 'girl cave,' Jim has his TV recliner). As he was sitting there he heard the heater kick on. And it's July 25th!!

It has been unseasonably cold here on the Oregon coast but this is ridiculous! However I'm told by a long time native that there have been cold summers like this before. So it's not weird weather as a result of global warming. Or if it is it's been going on for a few decades (she's 50ish).

Humph! I tolerate the long, damp, overcast winters because of the glorious summers here. I've been robbed! Even the plants aren't doing well. I'm not the only frustrated gardener either, no one's plants are doing particularly well. Yet again I will not have tomatoes. Or at this rate many dahlias, since only 4 out of the 30+ plants I have are actually in bloom.

Culinary success!

Who would have guessed?! I actually created (as far as I know) a unique recipe for tuna salad! Jim left me home alone one day and I got hungry. Wasn't really in the mood to cook but wanted something. Staring into our pantry I decided to throw together some of my favorite things as a way of cleaning out the pantry. Turned out really good. Then for one reason or another I made a batch and took it into work to feed my co-workers and see if they liked it too.

And they did! Besides tuna, only one person guessed even one of the ingredients. But they all loved it!

Dolores' tuna salad (large batch):

2 large cans of tuna packed in water (12 oz. cans)
1 can of artichoke hearts (15 or 16 oz.)
2 small cans of (pieces & stems) mushrooms (6.5 oz.)
1 can of water chestnuts [for that crunch] (8 oz.)
a fist full of chopped onions
most of a can of tomato sauce (8 oz.)
freshly ground black pepper
Mayonnaise

Mash the tuna in a large bowl and add the tomato sauce. The tomato sauce reduces the 'fishy' taste. If that's the best part to you then leave it out. Finely chop all the other ingredients and toss in. Grate pepper over and then mix ingredients thoroughly. Add mayo to taste and consistency desired. If making ahead add the mayo just before you serve.

Still cool temps here

It's mid-July and I'm still tempted to wear a sweater when I'm outside. Temperatures (at least when I've looked), still haven't topped 68 degrees. I.e. it's cool here if sometimes down right cold. Not that I'm complaining mind you, I don't want a heat wave, but I wouldn't mind if it would get up to 72 degrees or so in the afternoon. Because of the cool temps I yet again won't have many tomatoes. Even the dahlias are slow to grow and bloom this year. Only two dahlia plants out of the 30 or so I have have bloomed so far.

We have cool wet winters that are basically overcast for weeks to months at a time but our summers are normally glorious with sunny skies, windy, warm (not hot) temps, and little rain. But this summer it's been colder than norm and much more overcast then the summers past.

Here's what the Weather Channels says our temps have been in June and what we have to look forward to.
June and July.

And just for your edification (and why I'm NOT complaining) is a picture of a sand storm approaching.

Muskrat or Nutria?

Our next door neighbor has spotted a largish rodent around their decorative pond which has a small waterfall. The pond isn't all that big but it does have a few large goldfish. He claims the mammal he spotted was too large to be a rat and thought it might be a muskrat. But I think his pond is just too small to support an aquatic mammal.

I haven't seen it but I wondered if it might be a Nutria instead. Here's some links on both:

-Muskrat

-Beaver, Muskrat, and Nutria On Small Woodlands

-The Nutria Defense Page

-NUTRIA Myocastor coypus

-Attack of the Giant Nutria - a True Story

Ceiling fans and lights

I mentioned before that we had an electrician come in to do some work. Here's the two ceiling fans we had him install for us. We're really pleased with the fans. The only thing I'm concerned about is that the one in the living room, when you have the lights on the switch makes a constant clicky noise.

New dining room light

Back a few months ago we finally bought a new light for the dining room. The old one was pretty but it was getting old and it didn't light the table very well. We finally found something we both liked and thought would go well in that spot. Jim had quite a time installing it.

Anyway here's a picture. Our hutch is in the background. The bulbs are energy savers and make the lights look like flowers to me. It goes really well with the wagon wheel table.

Busy weekend!

Well Jim and I have certainly been busy all weekend. Yesterday he worked on my table, did a 3 hour shift at the library, and then had our garbage disposal break when he was using it last night. Today he installed a new one! Woo hoo Jim!

Yesterday and today I worked on the yard, weeding, planting, potting, watering, etc. I did three loads of laundry and worked on my blogs. After I send you some links to the latest MS news I'll call it a day!

How does my garden grow?

Thought you might enjoy seeing some pictures of our gardening efforts.
The first picture is the bed Jim made me a couple of years ago. The plant in the far middle is a Monkey Puzzle Tree, on the left is a butterfly bush, and the rest are dahlias coming up.
The second picture shows the new bed in the front yard that Jim just made for me. It has eight dahlia tubers and one tea plant in the far back.
The third picture shows our four vegetable beds in the back yard. The two large pots in front of them are columnar apples. The bed (or wagon!) on the left has four tomato plants and two hills of green beans. The one on the right has six Brussels sprout plants, two rows of bok choy, and two rows of arugula (a green salad plant). I thinned the arugula and bok choy yesterday and we will be able to eat the tender cast offs. The one in the back left has onions and two kinds of lettuce. The one in the back right has an artichoke plant (which you can just barely see it in this picture) and strawberry plants. The other pots next to the beds are blueberries, dahlias, Four O'clocks, and tomatos.
The pink ruffled flower above is my peony and the purple flower to the left is the clematis I thought had died. Not only has it come back this year but it's blooming!! So now I seem to have three living clematis! Clematis are pretty iffy to grow around here so that's why I'm so excited.

Snake dance

A small snake and I managed to startle each other today. I think he was sunning himself in the pathway by the garage. Since I'd been through there several times already today it's odd he'd pick that spot.

So there I was headed towards the potting soil and the next thing I knew something was slithering frantically under my feet. You'll be glad to know I still seem to have quick instincts, I leap pretty fast. :-)

He was a charcoal black color but the one glimpse in our frantic parting of the ways wasn't enough to determine any other details. Needless to say he didn't stick around long enough for me to examine him. Being stepped on probably didn't make his day.

I'm actually delighted. He's welcome to munch on all the bugs and mice he can find! He's probably a - Northwestern Garter snake which are known to eat slugs. I wonder how you make a snake feel at home? I hope he doesn't decide that my yard is too dangerous.

Fireworks at Williamsburg, VA

Old fashioned fireworks at Williamsburg, VA

I found a big orange slug in my garden!

Initially I thought it was a banana slug but now I think it might have been a import from Europe, or one of the other 10 species in our area per this site, PACIFIC NORTHWEST NURSERY IPM Snails/Slugs

I ended up finding two big orange slugs about two inches long and almost an inch thick but since they'd gotten into the snail/slug poison around my dahias (slugs and snails love the tender sprouts when the dahlias are first coming up) they were kind of hunched up.

Looks like they might have been red European slugs. See this video, mine looked like the orange ones. Or see this photo, b comes the closest to what I saw. Or look at this site, there's a picture of an orange one here under Arion rufus.

Initially I thought they might have been Banana slugs which are native to this area. Per this site they are the only native slug. This site has some nice photos.

More gardening

Well Dad, for the third weekend in a row we have diligently worked on our gardening and other projects. And for the third weekend in a row we are exhausted. On the plus side the yard is shaping up nicely.

I bought more row cover fabric, 6 broccoli plants, and some celery seed. That's all the vegi's I'm going to plant for now. I try different things each year in order to test which vegetables will do well in our coastal Pacific Northwest weather.

The garlic bulbs I planted around one of my roses last year are doing well. I will have to dig those up and plant new cloves this fall. I originally planted them around one of my rose buses as an experiment. Apparently they help reduce black spot on roses when planted together. Funny enough I don't think that bush has any at the moment. So maybe it's working. Bonus is that I will have my own supply of garlic!

The lettuce and arugula seed I planted earlier have sprouted and even some of my sad little onion sets seem to be surviving.

We built the new dahlia bed in the front yard! Yeah! Jim took the rototiller to the new bed and we added soil. So I was able to plant 8 more dahlia tubers. I also dug up the tea plant and transplanted it to the new bed. It just wasn't getting enough light where it was. Hopefully it will perk up now.

The other 'new' project this year is the old flower bed on the east side of the house. It has some base plantings; a pink camellia, an azalea, the rose bush, and a couple of other plants. The rest has been weeds and grass which I dug out. That was a lot of work! I see why that rose hasn't been doing well, the soil is very sandy. So I will have to do some research on what will work in a sandy soil in the shade.

Jim dug a deep trench from the craft barn to the green house so the electrician we have coming can install power in the greenhouse. He also cut the table top for the table he is building me. It's to go in my study to give me more desk space.

What's in the garden right now

Here's a list of the edible plants we have seeded, planted or already have growing;

Vegetables:
Lettuce (2 kinds) plus four plants that come up on their own.
Arugula (salad green)
Onions (sets and seeds)
Bok Choy
Artichoke
Garlic (I planted around my roses last year)

Fruit:
Columnar apples (2 kinds)
Logenberries
Red currents (2 bushes)
Blueberries (2 small bushes)
Strawberries (have lost track, over one hundred plants?)

Herbs:
Catnip
Mint
Chocolate Mint
Cilantro/Coriander
Basil
Siam Queen Thai Basil
Lemon Balm
Sage
Rosemary
Oregano
Greek Oregano
Parsley (2 kinds)
Chives
Marjorum (maybe?)

Misc:
Lavender (2-3 kinds)
Nasturtiums
Tea bush (although it needs to be moved - I'm going to put it in the new flower bed or in a barrel pot).

We gardened all weekend

We've been busy gardening! Jim made me frames out of PVC for two of my raised beds. I'll try to get a picture for you later, right now I'm just too tired. You put row cover fabric over the pipes and use clips to hold it. That way it creates a little greenhouse and raises the temperature a bit. I'm still trying to get a decent tomato crop. The first year I planted tomatoes they did great but it's been too cold lately, especially last summer. So we'll see if it helps.

I have four tomato plants in the ground, two in pots in the greenhouse, and four others in pots on the patio and in the yard. So ten plants altogether.

I put in lettuce and onion seeds today. I planted some onion sets yesterday but they look a little old so I'm not sure if they will survive. I also put in seed for arugula (salad type green) and bok choy. Later I'll put in carrot seeds but they like it warmer. I also potted a lot of herbs I started from seeds. And a few flowers here and there.

Jim is going to make me another raised bed in the front yard for more dahlia tubers. More of last years dahlias are coming up then I thought would and I have already bought more.

The current bushes (2) are doing great and the logenberry that a fellow librarian gave me is doing very well. It looks like a blackberry vine except it doesn't have thorns. I'm going to plant the other one this year and train both of them up a couple of trellises to disguise the compost heap.

Both columnar apple trees are making apples! We are watching those with great interest. Hopefully I will be able to give Jim apples to eat!

Books & movies online from your local library

This next one isn't what you asked for but since my library provides audio books and movies online I wondered if the Battle Creek library might not do the same. the COMMUNITY RESERVE claims to have it all, audio books, ebooks (books in print online), and movies. I would check with Aunt Peggy and see if you can have a Battle Creek library card. You have to have a library account to access their materials. You'll need to install some software but it's the same source our library uses (Overdrive) so I'm familiar with it and can set it up on your computer for you.

Free online movies

So you want free online movies? Well I found these that appear to be reputable and legal sources for watching movies online.

The Motion Picture Association of America provides an extensive list of free and legal movie sites that will allow you to watch or download movies for free. Since these sources have been vetted by the movie industry they are safe at least in regards to legality.

I tried the Hula.comsite and it worked pretty easy. If you watch the movies online you don't need to download and/or install any software. They also provide access to TV shows you may have missed or don't get in your area. Plus the advantage of watching when you have the time.

"...many networks, such as ABC, NBC, and SciFi Channel, provide at least temporary access to watch shows on their Web sites. They also provide additional content like cast interviews."

Another source you might really enjoy is Public Broadcasting Service

That should keep you busy and entertained for some time to come. Enjoy!

More gardening and free movies

Monday, besides helping you with your DVD player remotely, we've been gardening again. I've been pulling weeds and checking the beds and pots to see what Dahlias are coming up from last year. I also discovered another clematis has survived after all. That would make three if they continue to survive. While dahlias, ferns, and fuchsias do great here, clematis seem to be touchy. Until this weekend I thought only one had survived. I hope they do better this year!




After we weed we are also mulching the beds. Looks like it's going to be a dry summer for us (i.e. drought), so we need to do everything we can to keep moisture in the ground.

As per your request I've been looking for reputable, legal sources for free online movies. I will post the best results tomorrow.

Sunday, May 24 - more gardening

Besides talking to you, we worked in the yard again on Sunday and had a friend over for hamburgers. Unfortunately while it was beautiful out it was too windy to grill outside. Besides, we were all starved and didn't want to wait for the charcoal to heat up! Thank goodness for the George Foreman Grill! We had a great meal and a good time. Pat brought over the vegetable dishes and her new walking exercise video and I showed her our Wii Sports.

I'd potted up a rosemary and a catnip plant for her so she took those home. I'd started them last year for her. I leave you to guess who each plant is for!

Spring means gardening for us

Hi Dad! As I mentioned on the phone we've been pretty busy this weekend.

I harvested a really big bowl of lettuce and then dug up the plants so we could work on the raised beds. The lettuce plants were leftovers from last year's garden. We also pulled up all the carrots that overwintered. We'll have to see if the carrots are too woody but we certainly got a lot. This isn't even counting the two bowls of carrots we'd pulled earlier this spring.











I looked online for tips on using overwintered carrots. Looks like carrot cake and roasted carrots are the two best options. Boiled carrots will take 45 minutes if they are woody.

Jim then helped me put some bags of mushroom compost and top soil on three of our four raised beds. He took the rototiller to the beds so they look great and are ready for me to plant seeds.




I potted a bunch of petunias and impatiens for both the front and back yards. We ran out of potting soil so we had to go to Fred Meyers to get more.

We did more weeding too (always doing weeding) and talked about where we want the electrician to run a power line out to the greenhouse. We're having an electrician come out to hang our new ceiling fans, rewire the garage, and run power out to the greenhouse. Apparently the wiring in the garage isn't quite up to code. So before we do any more work in the garage we'll have that taken care of.

I also worked on the table legs for the table we're building for my study. I'm spraying them with black enamel. I'm hoping that we start on the table top soon.

After that I took a nap. For four hours! I guess all that fresh air and sunshine was more than I could handle.

Giant catfish in the Amazon

Thought these might interest you...

Giant Catfish of the Amazon

Phractocephalus hemioliopterus

Red Tail Catfish

Frosty and the good life

Help me get my toy? It fell behind the couch

Frosty and Mom looking over the side of the couch at all the toys hidden behind it.

Keep looking I know it's back here!

Frosty looking out the window looking for Dad.

It's hard to stay cool when you wear a fur coat.

There's no slipper like Mom's slipper!

Oh, I know I could get stepped on laying here in the kitchen. That's part of the plan. I yelp, they say they're sorry and pet me. Sometimes they even drop foos on the floor. What's not to like?

What do you mean I'm too old to sleep with my stuffed toys!

Ah, a safe place to nap. So happy, so, so tired.

Pictures of Frosty the Wonder Dog

CHRISTMAS IS FOR GOOD DOGS TOO!

Oh, something smells interesting!

Something smells VERY interesting!

Frosty intensely stares at a gift in Mom's hands

NEW BALL!

What do you mean it's too big!

Grrr! I'm imagining this is you!

I love my pink bear

Weekly Web Tours by Daughters of Neat Dads, Copyright - 1999
Previously located at Geocities

PC updates done

Hi Dad, I finished your security software (SW) install, update, and scan. The back up did finish on the DVDs. You need to label the second DVD before it gets mixed up with others. I also managed to get your Microsoft (MS) updates downloaded and installed.

Remember to leave your laptop on Monday nights so that the weekly defrag can run. Your laptop will run faster that way.

After I finished your updates I left a note on your laptop using Notepad - did you see it? Then Jim and I drove down to Bandon to go to a home center/lumberyard. The ones here didn't have the table legs we needed. We also got a really nice sheet of 3/4" Okume plywood. Jim's volunteered (really!) to build me a new table for my study.

Call me on Sunday when you are available. We don't have to do anything with your laptop so we can just talk.

Love,
D

Surprise! Your site moved.

Hi Dad! Geocities, where "Weekly Web Tours by Daughters of Neat Dads," has resided, is going to be discontinued by the end of the year. So if we are going to continue your site it has to be moved, and since I'm comfortable with Blogger here's were we are going!

I think we can make the blog format work for us. It will seem like I'm writing notes on a bulletin board for you.

Anyway, hope you like it!