Probably my Nemesis 🐿️ JJ the rambunctious ground squirrel. We call him JJ because that is the code name for the macro's icon on my MessagEase keyboard. The reason he gets a name is because this particular squirrel has a lot of attitude. It is easy to tell him apart from all the others.
I am grateful for the telephoto lens on my phone.
I keep reading that Violas, which are cold-hardy, need to be brought indoors to overwinter. That is backwards in my mild climate where 104°F is not unusual in the summer and we seldom get hard freezes.
I plan to try growing them outdoors all winter, but they will need shelter from the blazing sun in July and August.
I have been slicing pork chops into strips and cooking them in 16 oz mason jars in my Wancle Precision Cooker. So good, and clean-up is a breeze, especially in the new stackable jars which are wide at the top and narrow at the bottom.
I put spices, salsa, chopped onion, peppers, and a little vegetable stock in the bottom and cover the jar with a leak-proof plastic lid.
My preferred temperature is 140°F which is conveniently the same as poached eggs. Perfect for soft breakfast tacos. These can be made ahead and reheated 15 minutes in the same container.
It is time for me to install roll-out drawers in yet another home, but this is not an ordinary home, it is my "Forever Home." Modest, but it has a view and a yard and a fence all the way around to keep the neighborhood dogs at bay.
I had not yet met some of the people I love today when I started this blog.
Nothing in my life is empty any more. Some of the things that fill my life with joy today had not been invented yet when I started this blog.
One such thing is the waterless and bagless sous vide cooker. It is such a life-changing invention that I (who like to eat, but had always loathed and detested cooking) cannot help blogging about it.
So I am changing the name of my gardening blog to Growing in Water and Cooking in Air.
MessagEase is a revolutionary keyboard that I am learning to love because it helps me multitask on my smartphones and tablets.
Here is a screengrab showing me using it to compose this post.
Please note typo on screen grab is not repeated in post. Correct spelling is MessagEase.
It is easier to see, easier to navigate, faster, flexible, can use my stylus (Note8, Note9, S7+, Bamboo?) and it has MACROS.
There is a steep learning curve, but for me very much worth it, and they have a seperate app with fun learning games to get new users up to speed and guage our progress.
I have been using my new Ninja Smoothie Bowl Maker just about non-stop ever since Iot it. My favorite is chocolate cherry made with frozen bing cherries, heavy cream and dark chocate, but I also blend frozen peas in it for a fresh from the garden taste.
Some people do not approve of eating frozen peas raw, but I eat raw peas fresh out of the garden whenever I can get some, so why not? I never missed a day due to illness in 12 years of public school and ate raw eggs, too, ever since childhood. Lately I see more and more people stating that there is no problem with eating raw eggs although for a long time the practice was shunned. Emma Morano, however, lived past 117 years of age and attributed her longevity to eating 3 raw eggs every day. Interestingly, to me at least, she worked in a Jute factory for some time.
Jute is one of my favorite plants to grow, and I blog about it on my other blog called Ann's Air Gardens.
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Conceptworld has recently come out with a new version of their brilliant app, Notezilla 9. I love almost everything about Notezilla and when I switched to doing most things on Samsung phones and tablets instead of Windows computers, I sorely missed it, and "way back when" I just was not able to synch correctly (not only with Notezilla, but with almost everything). At that time Samsung's excellent Notes program was pitiful, so for years I pounded on the desk and whined about having "lost" my beloved Notezilla. I should add that the Samsung Notes app has improved so much in recent years that it is mainly why I purchased 2 Samsung S7 + tablets instead of more notebook computers for daily use.
Still! Notezilla is back and improved and synchs great with all of my tablets and phones. Note that the Android version does not have popups, nor do the images fit inside the notes, but notifications work fine (love that they go not only on the status line but by email!) and the obligatory pictures appear as attachments, no problem synching from the cloud.
Above is a screen grab of a Notezilla Note from my Android Note 9 phone. This Notezilla note contains a link I saved to view later. It is a video on using pick up sticks in weaving. Now, as I watch the video as an overlay to my Notezilla note, I can reposition and/or pause the video and make notes as I view.
Conceptworld has the best support I have ever seen, with the possible exception of TableNotes which is another of my favorite Android Apps that more people should know about. Notezilla is well worth the modest annual subscription fee, and they provide discounts to loyal long term subscribers. I really cannot say enough about how much I like ConceptWorld and their excellent Notezilla 9 app.
COMPLIANCE NOTE: No, I was not paid for this post. I just wanted to share a really good thing with everyone.
6 small jars shipped in huge box with nothing to protect them. Well, anyone can make a mistake, but the Amazon Marketplace seller Blue Stars was very accommodating when approached for restitution. I am glad because this is an excellent product and I have it on subscription.
I use this jam to flavor home made ice cream, which has fewer additives and less sugar than the commercial stuff. It improves the viscosity and adds flavor without the seeds.
)(Sugilite (aka cybeline) is my new favorite gemstone, right up there with Amazon Jade (aka Amazonite). I bought this tasteful little ring on Etsy for an incredibly attractive price. The semi-precious gemstone is a sphere, and the wire holder allows the stone to make skin contact. Sugilite is rare in that it is not found on every street corner and in that it is lesser known than other crystals, but what is most rare about it is the wealth of benefits attributed to it.