Inside The Perimeter

Turned out to be a decent day of choring, grocery shopping making dinner. My mood soured a bit when I went onto the deck and saw rabbit scampering away through WLF. My neighborhood seems to have lost all of its outdoor cats, which is too bad for me since I have no interest in owning one.

It’s good for me to start using my leeks, because I found two had started producing scapes, which makes the leek less desirable to eat. I’ve also learned that next year I need to plant my leeks deeper in order to get more white in the stalk.

Wordle: six, my starter was SNACK

My wild hair plan to practice BRAG camping and getting in some hill climbing riding up at James “Sloppy” Floyd State Park has fallen through.

I have ordered another battery bank for BRAG. I will have enough juice to recharge my bike computer, Apple Watch, and iPhone all week.

I harvested some potatoes on Monday, and will harvest some leeks today. Tonight’s dinner — Potato Leek Soup!

Wordle: four, my starter was REPLY

BRAG is a lot like Halloween, at least back when I hung out with someone who was big on dressing up for Halloween. Each year when it’s over I think “I will be better prepared next year!” and inevitably a few weeks before it I realized that all the things I thought I was going to accomplish, have not been.

I think the eyelid is fixed. Hoping it stays that way.

Wordle: four, my starter was CHAIR

I took another crack at baking German rolls (Brötchen) yesterday. With this batch I was much closer to success. The rolls still need to have a more open structure, and bake to a darker shade of brown. I give myself a grade of B, with hopes that I will get even better next time.

Wordle: three, my starter was CRASH

If I had thought of this more than three weeks before BRAG, I’d be wearing an Eeyore cycling jersey one day of this year’s ride. Dangen! Perhaps I’ll buy it for myself as a 60th birthday present in July, as an incentive to ride BRAG next year.

The new rechargeable fan I purchased for BRAG arrived last night, and unfortunately I think that it’s bigger and heavier than the one I already own. Of course I’ll be packing the lighter of the two.

Wordle: five, my starter was WATER (hard to believe this has yet to be a solution)

I think that I have gotten to the end of Duolingo? The only problem is that I am far from fluent in German. I know, that’s not Duolingo’s promise.

With the conclusion of Duolingo, my morning routine will also be changing some. I’ve recently given up on attempting Connections daily (too frustrating for me now), and after messing my success streak in Waffle, I’m going to take an extended break from playing it as well. The timing for all this is perfect as there is no way that I could keep up playing all the games and doing Duolingo daily during BRAG.

I attended a lecture last night at Trees Atlanta. In looking for a place to eat afterward I discovered that Junior’s Pizza in Summerhill, a place I really liked, closed at the end of last year. The closures just keep on coming…

Wordle: six, my starter was COUGH

In the coming weeks I want to do a test run, or two, of canning tomatoes as sauce. Obviously these will have to be store-bought tomatoes, but I want to be ready when the time comes for me to can WLF’s… assuming the critters don’t nibble on each and every one.p again this year.

Also, I’m doing a tomato planting experiment this year, I’m calling it “Tucking In”. I had too many tall tomato plants, and an area I smothered with leaves, so I dug a trench into the leaves with my hands, laid the tomato plant on its side, and covered about 3/4ths of the plant, as if I were tucking it in bed. It’s been about two weeks and the plants haven’t died, so we’ll see how this goes.

Wordle: three, my starter was COUPE

The other day on my walk to/from Brownwood Park for my volunteering I saw a few people picking and eating mulberries. I can’t believe that I’ve known about these for over 25 years and have never done anything with them. A lot of birds also had a feast of mulberries from the tree in my back yard which is too high for me to harvest.

Fun time hanging with Hank at Limerick Junction yesterday for Cinc ‘o deMayo.

Wordle: three, my starter was PRIME

On Saturday, after absentmindedly volunteering with Trees Atlanta during poison ivy season, I made my first batch of pim(i)ento cheese. I tasted my concoction at lunch yesterday, spreading on a matzoh, and it was fantastic! The next time I make it, I’d like to see how much it costs compared to commercially-made versions.

It’s Cinc ‘o deMayo, so you well find me in an Irish pub today. Which one? I’m not sure yet.

My eyelid problem is not completely rectified, there is still a noticeable lump. I am going to have to call the doctor tomorrow.

Wordle: five, my starter was OPINE

Yesterday I bought a concert ticket for a show at Variety Playhouse on Halloween. The show, with the band The Beths, should be a nice diversion for my avoidance of Halloween. The Beths is also a band that holds a sentimental place in my heart. You may recall that I drove down to Gainesville, FL to see them in 2023 after seeing the at Masquerade earlier that year proved to be too depressing for me to see the show alone, forcing me to leave it early. After fees my ticket was $42. To offset some of that cost I nixed my plans to eat lunch out prior to my eye appointment.

Oddly, I received my Federal tax refund in the form of a physical check in the mail yesterday. The State managed to electronically dip into my checking account and withdraw the additional money they demanded.

And even more oddly, my eyelid procedure wound up costing me just about the same amount as my Federal tax refund. Dangen!

I’m not 100% convinced that my eyelid has gotten back to where it was pre-chalazion, only time will tell…

Wordle: five, my starter was SLIDE. I would have saved myself at least two guesses if I allowed myself to reference my list of previous Wordle solutions, but that feels like cheating.