i gave myself the day off
Jun. 8th, 2019 12:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragonlady7I gave myself the day off. I'll go to the farm tomorrow. I get to have a Saturday, sometimes.
So I'm gardening, and trying to get all the plants into the ground, and trying to get the house slightly tidied and all my stuff at least somewhat located, and I've done four loads of laundry so far. It's a perfect day for drying laundry-- breezy, but not gusty, and sunny. I hung out a set of full sheets 15 minutes ago and I'm thinking of taking them down, they're dry.
(I won't, I want them to get a little sun and some good odors.)
I've finally identified the two trees impinging on our fence as buckthorns, which are Bad Trees. But that got Dude to look them up and figure out what to do, so. (We're going to try herbicides and occultation. Listen, we're not an organic farm.)
I managed to get four garden beds squared away. I have a lot of plants left over. But I have a tentative plan for the rest. I'm going to wait until after 2 to resume, though, because of So Much Sun. :(
I just brewed some tea and have got it in the fridge. I'm so excited that it's iced tea weather. The thing I like best at the farm is to make herbal tisanes and then cool them, sweetened with honey. I have some herbs planted here, now, so maybe I could use those eventually. My favorites at the farm are lemon balm, anise hyssop, lemon basil, red basil, thyme, and mint, but they don't have a good wintergreen mint at the farm, they're all spearmints which I don't prefer.
I have anise hyssop, basil, and thyme here, so maybe among all that I'll find something I like. It's less important here; the sweetened teas are great when you've been sweating, not so much when you're stuck in an air-conditioned office.
I had just been reflecting on my forearms after a week away from the farm, and noted that the eczema that showed up last Tuesday is not abated on my inner arms. I showered this morning and applied various topical things, and afterward there was a small constellation of hives on my wrist too. I don't think it's the farm, I think it's just my body. Bastard.
I had been complaining of various small health matters to Dude yesterday, and when he was like bummer what's your deal, I jokingly said that it was a lack of adequate sex, which is surely not the case, but we did try to remedy that. I really mustn't complain, though sometimes complaints have a good outcome.
Oh, and last night I asked Dude if he wanted to watch Good Omens with me, and he said sure. He's actually read the book; he's not a big reader of books, but I talked this one up enough that he bothered. So we watched two episodes, and quite enjoyed it.
I do wonder whether people who haven't read the book would enjoy it so much. It's not exactly super deep or obscure, Dude pointed out, but I said, you know, they never did explain why the car radio is always playing Queen. So like. I mean, if you don't know the backstory, it's just a detail that semi-works, and it's not nearly so hilarious.
Wow Dude nearly has this buckthorn down. One of two. Plus there's a maple that's far too close to the garage. I remember noticing it when it was very tiny, and thinking "I need to pull that," and then not getting to it, and that must have been five years ago. Whoops. I'd let it stay but it'll pull the garage down in about ten years, and I don't want that. We don't have a single tree on our property, but none of these can stay.
I'd like a plum tree or something cute, someday, but it would tangle in the power lines and mean I couldn't have a clothesline, or it'd be out front and wreck the sewer lines, so. IDK, I think the lilac bush is already kind of pushing it. (This afternoon I should really prune it.)
I'm thinking somewhat of cramming the brush into my car to throw into the compost pile at the farm but it is probably not practical. there is rather a lot. it won't fit into my compost pile here. I guess I'll have to look up whether the town takes garden waste. (I think they do?)
I'm feeling guilty now for not helping but he has not helped with any of the gardening and I think that it's acceptable for me to stick with my not going outdoors in the peak of sunlight resolution? I have given some assistance. Argh, I gotta go help. Oh well.
So I'm gardening, and trying to get all the plants into the ground, and trying to get the house slightly tidied and all my stuff at least somewhat located, and I've done four loads of laundry so far. It's a perfect day for drying laundry-- breezy, but not gusty, and sunny. I hung out a set of full sheets 15 minutes ago and I'm thinking of taking them down, they're dry.
(I won't, I want them to get a little sun and some good odors.)
I've finally identified the two trees impinging on our fence as buckthorns, which are Bad Trees. But that got Dude to look them up and figure out what to do, so. (We're going to try herbicides and occultation. Listen, we're not an organic farm.)
I managed to get four garden beds squared away. I have a lot of plants left over. But I have a tentative plan for the rest. I'm going to wait until after 2 to resume, though, because of So Much Sun. :(
I just brewed some tea and have got it in the fridge. I'm so excited that it's iced tea weather. The thing I like best at the farm is to make herbal tisanes and then cool them, sweetened with honey. I have some herbs planted here, now, so maybe I could use those eventually. My favorites at the farm are lemon balm, anise hyssop, lemon basil, red basil, thyme, and mint, but they don't have a good wintergreen mint at the farm, they're all spearmints which I don't prefer.
I have anise hyssop, basil, and thyme here, so maybe among all that I'll find something I like. It's less important here; the sweetened teas are great when you've been sweating, not so much when you're stuck in an air-conditioned office.
I had just been reflecting on my forearms after a week away from the farm, and noted that the eczema that showed up last Tuesday is not abated on my inner arms. I showered this morning and applied various topical things, and afterward there was a small constellation of hives on my wrist too. I don't think it's the farm, I think it's just my body. Bastard.
I had been complaining of various small health matters to Dude yesterday, and when he was like bummer what's your deal, I jokingly said that it was a lack of adequate sex, which is surely not the case, but we did try to remedy that. I really mustn't complain, though sometimes complaints have a good outcome.
Oh, and last night I asked Dude if he wanted to watch Good Omens with me, and he said sure. He's actually read the book; he's not a big reader of books, but I talked this one up enough that he bothered. So we watched two episodes, and quite enjoyed it.
I do wonder whether people who haven't read the book would enjoy it so much. It's not exactly super deep or obscure, Dude pointed out, but I said, you know, they never did explain why the car radio is always playing Queen. So like. I mean, if you don't know the backstory, it's just a detail that semi-works, and it's not nearly so hilarious.
Wow Dude nearly has this buckthorn down. One of two. Plus there's a maple that's far too close to the garage. I remember noticing it when it was very tiny, and thinking "I need to pull that," and then not getting to it, and that must have been five years ago. Whoops. I'd let it stay but it'll pull the garage down in about ten years, and I don't want that. We don't have a single tree on our property, but none of these can stay.
I'd like a plum tree or something cute, someday, but it would tangle in the power lines and mean I couldn't have a clothesline, or it'd be out front and wreck the sewer lines, so. IDK, I think the lilac bush is already kind of pushing it. (This afternoon I should really prune it.)
I'm thinking somewhat of cramming the brush into my car to throw into the compost pile at the farm but it is probably not practical. there is rather a lot. it won't fit into my compost pile here. I guess I'll have to look up whether the town takes garden waste. (I think they do?)
I'm feeling guilty now for not helping but he has not helped with any of the gardening and I think that it's acceptable for me to stick with my not going outdoors in the peak of sunlight resolution? I have given some assistance. Argh, I gotta go help. Oh well.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-08 08:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-08 08:14 pm (UTC)What I do, I fill the kettle and put it on, and then I go out with some scissors or pruners and cut until I have a nice big handful-- a lot of times I'll go out with a theme in mind, so like, I'll cut lemon balm and lemon basil and some lemongrass, or I'll cut thyme and hyssop and lemon balm if I have chest congestion, that sort of thing-- and then I'll go back inside, put the herbs in a half-gallon glass jar, and then scrape in about a cup of honey (because the honey is always crystallized), and then I'll fill it at least halfway with boiling water, stir it well, let it steep, and then top it off after ten or fifteen minutes with cold water, strain it through a sieve into a clean pitcher, and then stick it in the fridge. You could use all boiling water and let it cool, too, but I find if I use enough herbs then I don't need to bother with all that energy.
A variant is to make a switchel-- mint or lemon balm, plus half as much apple cider vinegar as the honey, and hot water, let it steep, strain it, dilute with cold water. That's basically gatorade. Good with some molasses too, molasses has some more minerals in it. Vary proportions to taste but that's a good start.