A long over due post.

 We are still here on the West Coast and have both received our Covid-19 vaccinations. I got the Pfizer vaccine and Clyda got the Moderna vaccine. Neither one of us had any reaction to the vaccinations. We still maintain most of our previous protocol when out and about as we mask up, maintain social distancing and use hand sanitizer after any contact.

That all being said, we do limit our socializing as not all of our friends are vaccinated yet. I still work at the Elks woodlots on Saturday’s but we do use masks and watch our interaction with people. It is only common sense.

Enough of that. I have planted a few things in the garden. Craig bought asparagus crowns, and potatoes to plant so those are in the ground. It may be too early but I think we are past the frost date for this area so they should be ok. Clyda’s sweet peas are up and about to climb the fencing I put up. My peas are up and the trellis is ready for them. I need to plant radishes but it has been cold and windy so not conducive to garden work right now.

Craig had re-done the garden fence into a more permanent fence from the slap-dash panels I had put up last year. It is all to keep the dog out as she likes to walk all over the beds usually chasing lizards. Yesterday she tore up the small woodpile near the garden looking for lizards who hang out there during the day. She has a large scab on her nose from getting into something in the yard. It hardly has time to heal before she knocks the scab off. Her poor nose suffers.

I had my truck repaired after the night when the horn started blowing around 1 in the morning. Water had gotten to an internal fuse block in the cab and shorted the horn relay out. A replacement fuse block cost a lot as Ford no longer makes them. Some place in Kansas has the stock and they hold it up for a Kings ransom if you need one.

After the fuse block was replaced, I took the truck to a body shop to have the rust around the windshield repaired and a new windshield installed. I also had the hood repaired and the front of the truck and the top repainted. It looks nice and should last as long as I plan to drive it.

A short post just to let folks know we are still here.

Fall trip done.

 I just realized that it has been 4 months since I last posted.

So, what is happening here on the West coast? Not much. It is either locked down or burned up this summer. Poor old California has had a lot of bad luck lately.

We were not in any of the fire areas. We have had smoke from the earlier fires North of us but that dissipated after a few days.

We on the other hand have not been doing much. We limit our socializing to a few friends. I still do wood at the Elks every Saturday with masks and social distancing. We occasionally go to the Elks on Monday night for hamburgers, etc also with friends. We just limit our interaction with people as much as possible.

We did go camping in October for 5 days. Just up the coast North of us with a few friends. I had taken the RV in to have the MorRyde pin box hitch rebuilt. It is 12 years old and was showing sun damage on some rubber and plastic parts. It took some time to find the right rebuild kit and do the work. The truck has been serviced so we are good to go for this fall.

The garden has been cleaned out. I roasted the last of the Anaheim Chili's. I used some for chili rellanos and the rest go in the freezer for use later. I had pulled the jalapeno pepper plant after making “poppers”. Those last “poppers” had a real kick to them.

The tomatoes are done. I had a bumper crop of Romas. So many in fact that I took 4 lug boxes to the food bank over a few weeks time.

Then there are the gourds. I have slowed down the watering to those hoping they will stop growing. I keep the new growth cut back as anything putting on gourds now won’t finish this fall. I have all the gourds tied up in t-shirts to take the weight off the stems as each one is soooo heavy. I planted what was supposed to be Birdhouse shaped gourds but only one of those is on the vines. Lots of large pear shaped ones however. Once the stems turn brown I will cut them loose and hang them in the garage rafters where it is warmer so they can dry out.

I just came back from my annual fall trip to the desert. This year Tim was with me again. He spent over a week here before we left. We traveled up the East side of the Sierra’s to Ridgecrest and Bishop, CA then on to Mina and Tonopah, NV spending 2 days in each place. We visited museums, poked around in old mining towns, looked for petroglyphs, and drove 4-wheel drive roads. We visited a memorial for an X-15 crash site near Randsburg, CA and found a 1995 plane wreck in Death Valley. The plane was trying to deliver Christmas trees to Furnace Creek when it crashed 60 feet short of clearing a ridge. The wreck wasn’t found for 6 months until it was discovered by 2 technicians going to a nearby microwave site.

We hiked and drove back roads in Death Valley National Park and collected mylar balloons as part of the DBRC (Desert Balloon Recovery Crew. Look for us on Facebook). This year we set an all time record of 78 balloons collected in 3 weeks.

Another great fall trip.

What we have been doing lately.

Much of my time lately has been spent in the garden. As with any garden, when the produce is ready, it must be picked and dealt with. And as usual, I have too much at one time. I have made 4 pints of beets, 8 or 9 jars of pickles, 4 pints of “dilly beans,” picked countless green beans and peas, plus zucchini and yellow squash. I have a very good yellow squash recipe that we all like so have made that several times. None of the produce in jars is “canned” so I just keep it in the refrigerator. In fact, we have so much in our refrigerator that I have moved it out to the RV refrigerator.

Nice Romaine heads and green beans

"Dilly Beans"

Pickles and beets.

Recently I picked lots of Anaheim chili’s, roasted them on the BBQ and then made Chili Relleno’s. They were really good! I have a pan of them in the freezer to use later this week. I used a recipe from an old camping friend. He and I had made these in Death Valley years ago so I do them in his memory.

Anaheim chili's in the back and green peppers.

Chili Rellenos

The extra Anaheim Chili’s I roast and cut up for salsa. I just add a little onion and some chopped tomatoes and garlic salt.

Speaking of tomatoes, my Roma’s are getting ripe but they don’t have the filled out shape of a true Roma. They have more of a pear shape. Our problem is a lack of heat for real good tomatoes. Too many foggy mornings here on the coast.

One thing that is really growing are the Bird House Gourds I planted. They have taken over a whole area of the garden. We built trellis's so the gourds can hang down and maintain the true bird house gourd shape.

Lots of blossoms

Gourds hanging

Today I cut off all of the old Boysenberry canes from this years crop and tied up the new canes which will have next years crop. That job requires long pants and a long sleeved shirt as the canes have thorns. I have a real system so it goes fairly quickly.

A few weeks ago I decided that it was time to replace our house roof. This was to be a major effort as it was a double roof with the original wood shingles covered with fiberglass shingles. Also, there was no sheeting on the roof so that added to the cost as the whole roof had to be covered with CDX half inch plywood first. We also had the old skylight in our entryway removed and replaced with a Solar Tube. We added a Solar Tube in the hall bath as well. Now it looks like the light in the hall bath is always on as it is so bright in there.

While this was being done a plumber replumbed our master bath shower as this had never been done when the house was plumbed overhead years ago. I figured it was only a mater of time before that leaked somewhere under ground.

The roofer had to replace many of our starter boards on the roof overhang as they were dry rotted or termite damaged. After the roofers were done a drywall guy finished off the entry ceiling around the new solar tube. Then the painter came and primed and painted all the starter boards and the entry ceiling. I am glad to have it all done.

The flag plaza in front of the house is done and planted and Craig is working around the mailbox. I had put broken cement going up to the driveway but never did the cementing in part so he is working on that. He also sand blasted and clear finished the wooden base for the mailbox.

Next week I will pick lemons from our tree. Periodically I do this so the tree keeps producing. I give them to the local food bank. We still have plenty for our own use. 

Here is whats happening at our house.

I am trying out the new BLOGGER from Google. I have heard other people say they don't like it but I want to see how good or bad it is. Actually it doesn't matter if I like it or not as the old Blogger is going away.

I finally completed the puzzle from hell. This is probably the hardest puzzle I have every attempted but I must say, when it was done I felt a real accomplishment. It also was one of the best constructed  puzzles I have every worked with. Each piece was precise and the material it was made from was excellent.

I have spent a lot of time in the garden. Everything is really growing. I just hope everything produces. So far I have been picking lettuce most everyday. My red leaf lettuce is about to bolt I think. To bad, as it is really good. I have picked a few zucchini and I see a small yellow squash on one plant. Cucumbers have small ones on also. looking forward to cucumber sandwiches soon.

Lettuce and peppers on left in raised bed, tomatoes in wicking tubs and zucchini in front.

Cucumbers on right, pole beans by tall trellis with peas on left by shorter trellis. Gourds back by the fence.

We are still working on the flagpole project, well I should say on the flagpole plaza as the flagpole is done and in use every day. The other day we bought some patio chairs and a round table to put in front of the house. Yesterday we looked for patio pavers to put the chairs on as the remainder of the ground will have a low ground cover. We found some pavers we really liked but they were $27.50 each for a 16 inch square. Ah...I don't think so. Guess we will go with grey cement pavers instead at $2.50 each. I made cardboard templates this morning so I could see what placement works. looks like I need 16 pavers. That's about $40 vs $440. I think we will go for the cheap ones.

I have been working on some family history lately. I have a lot of information scattered in various places both on my computer and in paper files. I just need to get it all organized. 

As for the Pandemic and social distancing....things have started to open up slowly. I have been splitting wood at the Elks club both on Thursday's and Saturday's. There are only a few of us working so keeping some distance is not a problem. Also. we are outdoors.

Friday we also went to the Elks to meet with a few friends for drinks and food. Only a handful of people there but it is a beginning. Tuesday should be our first Elks meeting. Again that isn't a problem as few people show up for an actual meeting. 

All of this is while wearing masks of course.

Our churches still arn't open but when they can meet the state mandated requirements they can open but are limited to 100 people. So far I have been attending Sunday mass live streaming from St Patrick's Cathedral in New York at 7:15 AM. It works for me.

And life goes on.

My time for the last few weeks has been spent in the garden, working on the “forever puzzle” and getting a flagpole base ready in front of the house.

As far as the garden goes, I planted peas and pole beans this week from sets I started a few weeks ago. This week the “birdhouse” gourd sets will go in the ground. I don’t know if it will be warm enough here for them to mature but will see. The seeds came from a friend and all that I started germinated.

Craig had a friend give him a tomato plant which I put in a 5 gallon wicking tub. It is an heirloom “Black Krim” tomato. I hope it puts out fruit. The inside is black when ripe.

I haven’t had as much luck with my “pickle” cucumber seeds from last year although 3 of the 4 did sprout. I may start a few more seeds to prolong the season.

I also started a few different lettuce seeds of which about half sprouted. That will extend the season for lettuce.

In the raised garden bed I started beets, cilantro, and dill. All of those are sprouted.

Yesterday I bought a few marigold plants to put around the garden to deter pests. I wish they deterred gophers as well. So far I have caught 2 in the trap. They can really do some damage. My raised bed has hardware cloth under it so I am not too worried about gophers getting into it.

Lettuce ready to pick this week.

Tomatoes starting to blossom.

Zucchini really growing fast.

The flagpole project is ongoing as I need to pick up some bags of cement for the base. The flagpole was a”freebie” from a friend. It is an aluminum pole about 20 feet tall and comes in sections. We decided to put it in the flower bed in front of the house as it is the only visible place the flag would be seen from the street.

The puzzle actually has some progress this week. It is down to the really hard stuff now as most of it is black pieces. One at a time!

Still practicing “social distancing”.

Actually we have stayed at home for the most part, with a few exceptions. I did make a trip to Home Depot and a couple of trips to Costco in the last few weeks. Both trips were made with masks on. Today, Clyda and I went out for vegetable plants for the garden. I got most of what I wanted but could use a few more Anaheim Chili plants. I may find some later.

I had picked up a bunch of motorcycle pallets from a local shop. These are really heavy frames which I cut up for campfire wood. It took both Craig and I to load them on my pickup. Some of the frames make nice garden fences so I built several to complete the fence around my garden patch. These actually are temporary fence pieces to keep Craig’s dog Sky out until the plants become big enough that she won’t bother them. Without the fence her curiosity lets her tramp all over my beds. I also have enough wood for a couple of years of campfires. All of these pallets used twist nails which I pulled using a variety of tools. It is a lot of work but it can be done with patience and muscle.

I am still working on my 1000 piece puzzle which is slowwwwly taking shape. When I opened the box there was a note inside which said “You have bought a seriously hard puzzle-and we’re so thankful you did. We think you will love it”. Well, I don’t know about loving it but it surly is a challenge. This has been more than a month to get it to this point. Perseverance!

I have been getting the garden ready to plant and that included making 3 “wicking tubs” for my tomatoes. Google it to see more. Craig and I cut 2 plastic barrels in half to make the tubs. The barrels had been stored behind our garden shed for years. Originally they were to be used to store rain water for watering potted plants. We used things we had on hand to do the tubs. Things like 5 inch drain pipe in the bottom and weed cloth to keep dirt out of the drain pipes. Really, Google it!

A few weeks ago I planted seeds of those plants I want in my garden. Most have sprouted and will be ready to plant in a week or so. I actually used seeds left over from last year and so far almost all have sprouted.

The Angel Trumpet Plant on our side patio is in full bloom again. It has a very sweet smell every evening.

I will cut this short and get it posted.

Twenty three days and counting.

That is how long we have been confined to our house so far. We started this shortly after we returned from our winter trip. Other than dropping off some things to friends, we have not been away from the house. Oh, Craig did take Clyda for a short drive several days ago but that has been it. We both do walk each day but I see very few people out and those that are practice “Social distancing” so not a problem there.

Craig has only made two trips to the grocery store in that time period. We get vegetables from a local farm garden near us. Drop a $ or 2 in a jar at the unattended stand and take what you need. We have gotten carrots, lettuce, beets, cabbage and celery so far.

Back in early February while we were on our winter trip, I sent Craig a list of food supplies I thought we might need in case of a Pandemic. The one thing I forgot was cleaning supplies. We have some, but not the amount we might need for the long haul. We can improvise if needed. So we are good for some time to come with the basics such as beans and rice!

So, what is everyone doing to pass the time? Playing board games? Learning a new language? Putting puzzles together? Reading? Playing solitaire on your iPad? All good things to do I guess.

I have been working on family history at the request of a niece who knew nothing of her family history. I hadn’t touched my family history files in almost 2 years so as you can imagine the bits of paper, computer searches, etc, were piled up everywhere. I first spent several days organizing the paperwork files then tackled the computer files especially the photos. While making a copy of my master photo file I discovered there were over 60,000 photos on my hard drive not all of which were in any type of recognizable order. After days of work there are still some remaining that need to be filed in the correct folders but it is a start.

Of course I am spending way too much time on the computer but it goes with the territory when tracing down family lineages.

Both Clyda and I have been in the yard pulling weeds, getting the garden bed ready to plant and trimming bushes as needed. There is no hurry as it needs to warm up a little more before I plant anything.

California poppies in my garden bed. As they go to seed, I will pull them out and plant veggies.

I also have a 1000 piece puzzle to work on which may take me years to complete. It took a day and a half to finish just the border. It is all succulents which are purple and black. It sits in my computer room and occasionally I find a piece that fits. My goal is to put 2 pieces together and eventually put those 2 with another 2 that match. I know of no other way to finish this monster. A friend of Clyda’s had completed a 4000 piece puzzle recently which took up her whole dining room table. I didn’t know they even made one that big.

Both Clyda and I read a lot. Both paperbacks and on our iPads. I subscribe to Amazon’s “Kindle Unlimited” app. They gave me 3 months of free books for 99 cents and then extended it free for another month. Nice deal!

So, have you made your masks yet? There are lots of videos on-line of the “how to do it” kind. I tried making them from t-shirts with marginal success but did find that the easiest and quickest was to use the blue Shop Towels. These are “no sew” masks. I happened to have just a few towels left so I made Clyda and I each one in a few minutes time yesterday. The thing I like about them is there is a paper clip which is used to shape the nose piece. Most masks don’t adequately cover the nose and leave a gap between the nose and the mask which fogs up your glasses of you are wearing any. Also, the shop towels are heavier (made from pressed cellulose) and allow for some stretch in the material. These shop towel masks are 54% effective compared to standard surgical masks which are 39% effective. Just Google “shop towel masks” for more information.