Still "smoothing" after all these...months, and other ramblings.

Posted Thursday, January 24, 2013, at 7:27 AM

Well the morning started out with a jolt. I get up somewhere in the 5 o'clock time frame, but to be awakened at that time and immediately be speaking business to a person from a foreign country who has limited English,(and I have limited ability in their language) it is like going from minus 0 to 60 in a second. Whew, good morning world!

At any rate, I am still making my smoothies and while not losing weight as I did originally, I am not gaining any back and I feel better. I also (knock, knock) have not been catching any colds, as I usually do by this time of year.

Funny things run through my head when I am preparing my smoothy, like can I dry and plant these kiwi seeds, who made the first orange peeler, was it patented?

Speaking of Kiwi, have you ever read the instruction manual? Didn't know there was one? Well if you get a pack of six, there is a little booklet in there that tells you the virtues of the fruit but also explains how to eat it. Hmmm, do they do that with other types of six-packs?

Actually, it helped. I have been painstakingly peeling the fruit and it gets pretty slippery and tedious. Duh, scoop it out with a spoon. Works great but all these years and I never thought about doing it that way. I can see the heads shaking, how dumb can I be? Well......, talk to my wife. :-)

A good number of us crazy gardeners are "winter sowing" right now. I mentioned it before, It is where we use milk jugs or similar bottles to create a mini greenhouse, plant it and then set it outside to let nature decide when it germinates.

Kind of like when you did not get all the tomatoes out of your garden and the seeds start by themselves as volunteers. Well, Tennessee is the Volunteer State, so what could be more natural?

There is a little competition going on between growing zones. You know, the map with pretty colors and wavy lines. http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMW...

They are keeping track of how many jugs are being winter sown and right now it looks like zone 7, (ours) is ahead. If you want to get crazy as well, let me know and I will put you in touch with them.

Well, it is time to refill my smoothy, start the coffee pot and re-start my work day. Have a good one!

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I can hear that Debbi is starting her day as well. She is play-testing records before she lists them on eBay and just like a teenager, she has them cranked up. Of course, her toe tapping is another indication.

-- Posted by stevemills on Thu, Jan 24, 2013, at 7:40 AM

I'm glad your smoothies are still working for you. Trying to get something to fit smoothly into our busy lifestyles is not always easy. I have my seeds ready for wintersowing but not my containers. Must get going.

-- Posted by jbillswms on Thu, Jan 24, 2013, at 9:39 PM

I have not been able to do any in jugs and instead trying a direct seed in the garden. PITA like plastic too much. :-(

-- Posted by stevemills on Thu, Jan 24, 2013, at 9:55 PM

It is after 8 in the morning and I have not had my smoothie yet. Yikes! Too much to be done early so hopefully I will get to make one soon.

jbillswms, how do these extreme temp swings affect the winter sown seen in jugs? I know the "mini-greenhouse" moderates the cold, but it would seem to accentuate the warm, sunny days even more.

I realize you can take the top off and maybe open the hinged portion, but if you leave home when it is 32 or less, then the sun and temps swing up to 70+, it would seem to really stress both seeds and seedlings.

I believe you tried this last year, didn't you?

-- Posted by stevemills on Fri, Jan 25, 2013, at 8:20 AM

I have been trying to get as skinny as possible with veggies and smoothies. I was at the hospital waiting room with a lady, whose husband was in surgery. The surgeon came out and said the op was successful and he should recover in a few days. The surgeon said the abdominal op went very well because her husband was very skinny. First time I ever thought about the difference between cutting through a mound of abdominal fat, versus a thin layer of abdominal cover.

-- Posted by Grits on Fri, Jan 25, 2013, at 8:28 PM

I wintersowed year before last and all my seedlings were flooded out (didn't know that part of the yard was subject to 6-8" of water.) You must leave the mini greenhouses in shade so that they do not get too much sun when the sun is hot.

As you say, the tops can be hinged open if necessary.

-- Posted by jbillswms on Sat, Jan 26, 2013, at 7:41 PM

Grits, I had not thought about that either, but it makes sense.

jbillswms now that you mentioned it, I remember you had the flood-out. Missed you at the seed-swap. Picked up 32 varieties of seeds, including flowers, herbs and a few vegetables.

Plus a perplexing "Mother Earth News". I believe it was Evelyn who brought in old magazines to share. (I am like a moth to a flame on those)

This one Mother had a big picture of a fellow I've met (Elliot Coleman) on the cover, but I will be darned if either she or I could find anything said about him in the magazine. I'm still looking.

-- Posted by stevemills on Sun, Jan 27, 2013, at 12:29 PM

Yes Steve, we must fight global obesity causing excess belly stiching and clamping. I will contact Al Gore immediately and recommend a tax on all foods, except smoothies. It may take awhile to contact Al because I heard he is so fat he may not be able to lift his cell phone. And he is having trouble counting all the money he made off global farming. I'm sorry I meant global warming. Global farming is in the pipeline.

-- Posted by Grits on Mon, Jan 28, 2013, at 12:58 PM

Now Grits, I have not heard from Al in a long time. Not that I ever did personally. Is he still relevant somewhere?

-- Posted by stevemills on Mon, Jan 28, 2013, at 6:04 PM

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Steve Mills

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Steve Mills and his wife have one daughter and live on a farm outside of Bell Buckle. They previously owned two coffee/ice cream shops, currently operate an internet sales company and teach classes, but his primary job involves the paper industry worldwide. Hobbies and interests lie in gardening, photography, recorded music and of course, their pets.

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