The Boat is Clean!

The weather was sunny and so we decided to pull the boat out and clean the bottom. Quite a big job but now it's over and the boat is looking cleaner. The bottom will never again be factory clean because the lake water turns it orange and a lot of plants try to grow on it too, see the photo. Andrew gets the most difficult job of cleaning the bottom on his back using a creeper. I scrub the engine with a toothbrush and then clean the interior. As usual I got a chunk of skin removed while cleaning the propeller - it is super sharp and it cuts wet skin like butter. The boat is ready for its season-end servicing and then storage until next spring. This winter we will be spraying on a monthly basis for ants and other bugs. Hopefully we will avoid the ant invasion we had this year.

Lazy Saturday

I woke up this morning feeling like I hadn't slept all night. I think I am drinking too much caffeine. My latest obsession is a short double latte from Starbucks. Also the cats were keeping me up by purring and kneeding all night, so I am going to stop drinking caffeine for a month and see if I have more energy. Right now I have a mild headache from the withdrawl. I didn't do much of anything today. I knit a little bit and Andrew did some drum practice, but that was it. The weather was very windy and sunny, there was a lake wind advisory so we did not go sailing - I was too tired anyways. We are getting fall colors in the trees now, some of the ones on campus are a brilliant orange and red. Last night we watched two movies: Fun with Dick and Jane (which was pretty funny actually), and Poseidon (which was awful). Tomorrow I hope to have more energy because we need to bring in the power boat and wash and store it.

Goofing Around

I have an idea that I'd like to create a timelapse video of me and Andrew assembling the greenhouse. I found a trial software package for the mac that lets me create timelapse videos using the isight camera, and I've been goofing around with it all night. Pretty funny to ham it up for the camera and see everything in 5 second still frames - I look retarded. I think I'll purchase this software ($25 shareware) and hopefully I'll create a neat timelapse video of the greenhouse. I just have to figure out the setup to film this outside in the dirt.

Boat Maintenance

Saturday we worked very hard in the back yard moving dirt to create a level a spot for the greenhouse base. Andrew installed power and water lines and then we filled in the trench and leveled everything. Next up is finishing the staining and then we can assemble. We will need to put in a gravel and brick floor and then Andrew can finish up the connections for the water and power. I also planted 6 bearded iris risomes in the front yard area - 3 pink 'Caprice' and 3 purple 'Babbling Brooke'. They should provide a little height and some nice blooms in the late spring next year. This morning I awoke very stiff and sore from all the raking and shovelling. That dirt is heavy stuff! Today we went down to the sailboat to take pictures of the mainsheet cam cleat that needs replacing and Andrew sealed off the end of the mainsheet since it was fraying. This video shows our slip and surrounding area. The marina did a great job fixing up the broken fuel line - we now have a modern 'quick connect' fitting and a nice supple fuel line. We drove up to Greenville so Andrew could get yet another mike stand for his drums, and of course I had to stop at Whole Foods and Barnes and Noble! Although I like living in a small town, I miss the convenience of having good shopping nearby. It is a hassle to have to drive 1 hour one way just to go to the mall.

It's Friday Again!

The week just flew by. We had rain on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so didn't do much at all besides watch tv and read. Yesterday I got a bit more staining done on the greenhouse and now have only 3 more panels to complete. Today we left work an hour early and Andrew took advantage and is reading outside on the hammock. The weather is absolutely gorgeous today. I wish it was Saturday because the sun and breeze are perfect for sailing. We got a call from the marina this afternoon and they have fixed the fuel line and the motor is working now. Nice service from them, we didn't need to do a thing (except pay the bill of course!). Tomorrow's weather forecast is for no wind at all, so it will probably be a yard work day. Tomorrow night is the big homecoming football game: we play Georgia Tech and we are getting national coverage on ESPN. I hope we win! Sunday (the forecast is 40% rain right now) we plan to go visit the sailboat and work on some maintenance issues. After last weekend's drama we really need to spend some effort and take care of some things so our sailing is safer and so we are better prepared. First up is replacing the mainsheet block and cam cleat - it has already busted on us once while we were sailing and now the cam cleat isn't holding the mainsheet very well. I would also like to have some spare parts on board to help us deal with emergencies better. Below is a photo of my first camellia bloom this season - this one is a camellia sasanqua 'Cleopatra'. The other photo is of my one oakleaf hydrangea. Its fall color is brilliant and I will definitely be getting more of these since they are drought tolerant and require no maintenance at all.

Typical Sunday

We went up to Greenville this morning - Andrew got some drum sticks, a new drum symbol and a mike stand. I got a new vegan cookbook at Barnes and Noble and then we did our grocery shopping at Whole Foods. Everything I bought was organic! Tonight's dinner was 'Three Bean Chili' and bread (kidney, black, and pinto beans) - pretty good. The sailboat is ok and the marina will be fixing up the fuel line for us so no worries about that. Harley and Sidney had their annual checkups and they are both healthy and doing great. The lawn has quite a bit of germination. I was worried because the last two nights we've had light frost and I hoped the baby seedlings wouldn't get zapped. This afternoon I got the lawn mowed and watered some plants in the nice sunny weather. This evening I made chocolate chip and walnut cookies for our week's lunches and blueberry muffins for our week's breakfasts. I have the last of 4 loads of laundry going and am now ready to veg on the couch and watch TV!

Broken Fuel Line

This morning we got all hopped up on some awesome italian roast coffee and then drove down to the sailboat. We had a nice exit from the slip and headed out under sunny skies with breezy conditions. It was sustaining about 13 mph (about 4 on the beaufort scale) and gusting to 16 or so. We headed up northerly towards Portman Marina and turned after 3 miles distance covered in about an hour. Heading back south, we ran into a lot of other sailboats out enjoying the windy day and had to keep our wits about us to avoid collisions. Click here for a video. Around 3:30pm we decided to head back into port but quickly discovered the fuel line for the outboard motor had broken and there was no way to fix it. We called into the marina and they had someone come out and meet us after we dropped anchor just outside the slip area. The sailing community sure is a friendly bunch: a woman from the shore was telling me how to drop the anchor, Brian from the marina helped us tie up to a pontoon boat (after trying to tow us into our slip but the wind was too great to overcome), and then Cork and Martha and their dog Luke met us with wine and beer to help calm our nerves. Any day that ends without human or material damage is a fine day by me! The marina owner has ordered us replacement parts and her crew will be towing our boat into its slip tomorrow. Hopefully all goes well and we can sail again soon.

Greenhouse

The greenhouse arrived on Wednesday and I've been staining the pieces one by one in the garage. In another week I should be finished and then we can assemble it. I am staining it to match the garden shed. So far I am impressed with the redwood and the polycarbonate - the staining is not hard to do with a steady hand and a clean rag to wipe off the stain from the polycarbonate. This weekend we hope to do some sailing - tomorrow's weather should be perfect for it. I will also be looking for grass seed germination on the lawn since it has been 1 week now.

Scrapper

Yesterday we got started early on the yard work and finished the lawn - mowed short, top dressed, fertilized, and overseeded with a tall fescue bred in North Carolina so it can take the heat. Andrew programmed the sprinklers to lightly water the lawn until we get a good germination. The nice fall temps should be perfect for the new seedlings. As a reward, we went shopping and bought a new recliner lounge chair at Sams, to replace the old and torn Ikea lounger we have been using since we got married. Andrew loves it and it will be his reading chair and movie watching chair. He broke it in last night when we watched 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' - a quite funny movie based on the true life tale of the inventor of several TV shows, including 'The Dating Game' and 'The Gong Show'. He claims to have been a hit man for the CIA, but who really knows. This movie was George Clooney's directorial debut, and it wasn't bad.
This morning did not go well for Harley. Around 9:00am I was in the kitchen making the meal plan and grocery shopping list when I heard really loud and horrible sounding cat screams. I opened the door thinking the fight was right below our deck, but it turned out to be somewhere behind our neighbors. I hoped our cats weren't involved, but nope, later when they came back to the house, I could see that Harley was not sitting down to eat the way she normally does. Andrew picked her up and her left back leg had some scratches and blood. Harley then took the morning off to sleep and she would meow, sometimes sad and sometimes angry - the little scrapper. She didn't want anyone to bother her. But later on this afternoon she came outside and so I took her and Sidney on a long forest walk. Harley wasn't limping as bad and so hopefully by tomorrow she will be feeling better. I wonder which other cat was involved and what the fight was about.
While I was outside this afternoon, I noticed a new ground yellow jacket nest. These bees are nasty. So Andrew had to go out and do bee control. I can't do it because I would swell up like a balloon if I got stung. Last year Andrew was getting rid of another nest and got stung twice, once on his forehead and once on his shoulder. I put meat tenderizer on the stings and by the next day you couldn't even tell he got stung. If that had been my forehead I would have had a tennis ball sized bump. Nevertheless, Andrew didn't want to get stung this time and so he dressed up pretty good with lots of protection. He put the SOS pad dipped in Sevin on top of the nest hole and then took off. I took photos using the zoom and then I ran too. Hopefully those yellow jackets will be gone by the morning. I feel bad having to kill them but I can't have a nest so close to the house.
This evening while making the corn chowder for dinner, I must have got some of the jalapeno pepper juice inside a tiny cut I had on my baby finger. Man does it kill. It feels like someone has a lit match under my finger. Andrew googled and found out that alcohol will neutralize a capsaisin burn so I dumped some on, but it is still burning about 50% as I type this. I sure would not want to get that in my eyes.

It's Friday!

Friday, the best day of the week. After work today I went to a local nursery and bought two dwarf conifers and an arborvitae. I got them planted out with Andrew's help. The arborvitae is "Degroot's Spire' and I've planted it at the corner of the deck, replacing a lavatera "Barnsley" whose roots had turned to mush. The arborvitae will grow about 20ft tall but only 4 ft wide, so it should fill in that space nicely. The two dwarf confiers are both Hinoki Cypress. The first is "Verdoni" and the second is "Nana Gracilis". They weren't cheap but they are both very healthy and hopefully will last longer than me. They will both grow to about 6ft tall after 20 years - they are very slow growers, about 3" per year. We made two new dishes this week: Three Bean Super Stew and tonight's meal, a delicate Red Lentil Soup. Both were very tasty and we will make them again. Tomorrow we hope to put down some top dressing on the lawn and overseed. My sister emailed me that she is heading to the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival for her 4 day Canadian Thanksgiving break. It sounds like a lot of fun and I hope she 'samples' lots of wine :-)
I made a new webpage showing my garden's evolution from 1998 until now. You can view it here, but note that if you click on the icons the images are quite large so it will take some time to download. The yard sure has been transformed from the early days. The weather is perfect with a nice breeze this evening. I opened up the windows and Harley took advantage.

Pansy Planting Time

After work today I planted out a flat of blue pansies in the small front bed surrounding the breakfast nook. I hope they do ok since that small bed is just chock full of roots - lots of competition between the boxwoods and hostas. I also took the plunge and finally ordered my greenhouse. I decided to go with the small 6x8 one rather than the larger 8x12. It took me forever to make a decision on which size to get, but all my procrastination actually paid off! When I went to the website yesterday to take yet another look at the options, it turned out the company was running a special and I got the heater ($50) for free, including free shipping. So sometimes it pays to be slow. I can't wait to get it installed and get the brick paths finished.

New Conifers

This weekend we got a few chores done. Andrew got the oil changed on the car and installed a new air filter. Last night I made myself a margarita and Andrew had some of his new scotch, called 'Oban', a single malt. I definitely do not like scotch and don't know how or why he drinks that stuff! Today I went to Home Depot and purchased 2 new conifers and got them planted out. The one by the mailbox is a heat-tolerant Cryptomeria Japonica 'Black Dragon'. The coloring is intense - the new growth is a soft green that contrasts against the older black-green foliage. It is a dwarf and will make an excellent specimen. The second is a Juniperus Chinensis 'Blue Point' that I planted near the property edge by the electrical box. Its foliage is a soft blue and it will mature at 15ft tall by 7 feet wide. To plant this guy I had to first get rid of 3 older blue mist shrubs that I wasn't happy with, then move the wegeila over by about 3 feet, and finally plant the juniper. I am trying to discipline myself with proper spacing and getting in structure first before colorful flowers. So I hope to be planting more shrubs and conifers this fall. I have also decreased the size of the front yard lawn circle. I think this new size is in better proportion, but now Andrew will have to move in the sprinklers, hopefully this won't be too difficult to do.