Personal Update Friday

I decided I wanted to keep this separate from the fires.   Now I don’t always recall what I wrote in the past and I don’t want to re-read my posts.   I write free-flowing anyway – so I most likely will repeat myself.  :)     Well after I opened this up I STILL have only one comment.  So it makes me think most of my hits are bots.  :(    I’ll still write here though, who knows – maybe the more I write the more traffic I will eventually get.

Lets start with a garden update.  On the positive side – I have little lettuces despite the hot weather.   They are growing instead of fading away.   I also still have violas blooming, which is cool in the middle of summer.    My squash plants are getting larger – esp one variety.   I’ll have to look up which one it is.    I think it is because it gets more water though… the front part of that garden gets watered with the grass.  Then I come along and water everything because the back doesn’t get water – and it’s easiest to set up the owl head sprinkler in the middle of it all.    I also think most of the plants I planted in the xeroscape are becoming established.   I missed watering and the type of plants that had died (or nearly died) before are now blooming.  (these are the replacements).

Now the negative.   Where those violas are?  A ton of weeds.  Because I’ve just been watering, the weeds have gone nuts.   I’ve been able to control them in the new gardens, because they have new soil on them.  The other areas – are full of weed seed, ready to spring to life and outgrow everything else.   Going from seedling to large plant before I can blink.   I also have lots of weeds in my patio.   So guess what I’m doing this weekend?    Well that and working on the extra patio areas.  Did I mention that here?   When I bought the house, the area in the back between the porch and the house was COVERED in Ivy.   It looked nice… and I admit I liked it… however it most likely wicking water to the foundation, causing problems.  Also it was starting to go up into the siding, into the AC and – well there was a small amount in the front that actually invaded the basement window screen.      Anyway – I hired someone to do a few things around the house… he also built my little garden areas.   He took out the ivy for me and tilled the ground and put bush killer down.   Hated to put chemicals on there but I’m not going to be planting anything there.   I’ve been digging out large roots and stems.  Blah.   I’m prepping it to put stepping stones that kinda match the brickwork of my patio.  Thus extending my patio.   In the odd shaped areas I’m going to put down decorative rock.

I also have to work on the front area – there I’ve been setting up irregular pieces of chocolate flagstone.   About three feet back to the house and then “lines” coming out and down from that area that will frame plant areas.   I seriously have to weed there too.

The other bad news – my spinach seeds are not sprouting… even inside.   I know they need cool weather but I thought I could get them started inside.   I may just end up with a fall crop.

All my pets are doing fine currently.    (Hope I don’t jinx myself saying that.)   I don’t know if I mentioned it on another post – but I walked into the spider room the other day to find my large B. Klassi hanging from one of the small screen areas of the cage by one leg.  (Note I use tarantulacages.com to buy my cages – the top is NOT a full screen, it is just a few circle areas – so this doesn’t really happen that often.)    He was almost touching the ground but not quite, and he could reach the side of the cage with other legs but didn’t have the leverage.  I’m glad I noticed him, cause I don’t know how long he was caught like that and I’d have hated for him to have to throw the leg- even though they regenerate there is always a possibility of the wound not sealing (which it generally does if they throw the leg instead of having it ripped off)   and the spider bleeding to death.  They have no clotting factors.    I carefully eased the cage off the shelf (it’s above my head)  and then tilted it so he could put the other legs on the side of the cage, and he was able to unhook (yes they have little hooks on their feet)  his 8th leg.
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This evening... I first got a haircut.  While in the salon the sky opened up in a drench pour.   But it didn't last very long.   When I got home the ground was wet though so I decided at least some of my garden got enough water.    I felt in the mood for pizza so I called pizza hut to order one.   They didn't have any specials that worked for me so I asked how much for double cheese and a topping ground meat on a medium pizza.  The price wasn't too bad so I was curious what it would be if I added another topping of meat - so I asked for double cheese and double meat.  The guy paused and said "so three toppings" and I said "yeah"   and the price went down!  This made us think that there was a deal on 3 toppings after all.  So I said I'd take it.   Then he told me it would be about 40-45 minutes for the pizza to get here.   I said ok and that I'd be working outside but around 8 I'd start looking for him.

Well.. I was outside for a bit and it was 15 til 8 and I realized I didn't take my cell with me.  so I went inside to grab it and checked to see if i missed a phone call.  I had.

It was from the delivery guy... he had shown up at 7:39!   HUH?  That was about 20 minutes after I called!   So I called back and apologized, but I HAD told them if they came early that I'd be around back and they didn't seem to have a problem with that - I don't know why he couldn't have gone around back.  If they did have a problem with it they should have mentioned it.   So they said they would get it back out asap.  I'm only 1 mile from them.  10 min or so later here he comes.   And I asked if I could check it first because one time there was a problem with the pizza and I didn't realize it until after the person left.  So I like to make sure there isn't any problems... *I open it*  - like right now.   the pizza had green stuff on it... I know I didn't order it with peppers.  I WAS going to take it anyway if it was just normal peppers - but when I pointed it out he said " you didn't order Jalapenos? "    I'm like HECK No...   He then told me that he's the one that took my order.  (I guess he could have lied and blamed it on someone else)  So I was like - Remember?  I asked about double cheese, then double cheese with meat and then double meat?     I must have looked shocked or something because he goes "I'm not blaming you"  I'm not sure if that was a "I know you said one thing and now claiming to say another but to be nice I'm not blaming you --- though I will when I'm back at the store"   OR if it was " I won't admit I'm wrong but I will say I'm don't think your wrong."

I guess I choose it to be the latter.    Anyway he called the store and they redid the pizza and I finally was able to eat at 8:30.  And yeah . two toppings of meat would have been more.   I had wondered about that.   He told me he thinks that he had just punched up a generic three toppings on the computer.   I still don't know where in the world he got jalapenos though.