Proof of Gardening

I watered again last night and then again this morning. I think I'll need to cut back to just morning watering from here on.


These are the tomatoes from the side. Notice the marigolds to keep bugs away. The plants may be too close together. These tomato plants will grow up not out, but I don't want the roots to collide.


We're maybe using half a row for the plants so far. From front to back, we have tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and garlic. The mulch covers the transplant beds. All have greenery above ground, except garlic. You plant the sprouts downward to develop the roots. The patch on the left is where we cut away blackberry bushes and are trying to grow lawn.

Gardening at Night (and the Morning)

I bought a new rainbow sprinkler before attacking the garden. Your Sis bought veggie plants from a school greenhouse sale, and I put them in the ground yesterday. I checked a few online gardening sites to see the best way to handle them and had my checklist next to me as I shoveled into the soil. It's been a few weeks since we tilled, but the subsoil was still most and soft.

I planted tomatoes and surrounded them with marigolds to keep the bugs away. It was a tip from Dad. I also put in garlic (already sprouting), peppers, and cucumbers (labeled "burpless"). I have them all in one row next to my grass experiment so I can water them all at one time. I ran the sprinkler last night for a half hour; all the rain we were supposed to get this weekend vanished. I got up early to water the garden again and then I put down veggie fertilizer and buried everything in mulch.

Almost as soon as I was done, I noticed a golden retriever standing in the mud and shooed him away. As if I wasn't already worried about rabbits. We have wire, and I hope to put down a fence this weekend, at the latest. The heat is probably keeping them at bay. I see more rabbits when we get lots of rain. I'll wake up early each morning to water the garden, and spend the time reading from the new script stacks. I've already read and graded two scripts since Tuesday night.

Mom said the copy of the will she has isn't automatically recognized by the lawyer. The copies she has are of an older version, unsigned, and the presiding lawyer at the time has moved and can't be located. I will sign papers saying I won't challenge the old will. Also, Mom may have misplaced the tax folder I set out for her a week ago. She sounds OK as long as she has a task at hand. We got a ton of cards at our house, and I'll need to work on thank-you cards this weekend.

The cold is fading. Specifically, it's exiting from a very specific point, and it's not lovely.

Picture of the Day
"God damn, that DJ made my day."

Reading Material

The theatre script committee met again last night. The fearless leader has instituted a July deadline to choose the plays, and we now know how many we need -- four: a comedy, a farce, a drama, and a mystery. The musical, Christmas show, and kid's show will be picked by other folks. We were given a grade sheet showing what scores the scripts have so far. We were also assigned new scripts. I have eight. EIGHT. I don't know any of these shows, unlike with the last batch, but I'm already in the second act of the first script, a mystery-comedy.

I had no idea how expensive the big shows are. Hello, Dolly! will cost the theatre $3,500 just for the royalties. That's based on a 300-seat house. If we tried to sell tickets for the entire high-school auditorium, we'd have to cough up $9,000. The director is getting $5,000. I had no clue directors made that much money.

We toured the new theatre home after the meeting. it's the former Legion hall. It needs renovations badly, but it's a nice stage space. We'll have to use another space for musicals because the echo will ruin those shows. Inherit the Wind, a show I had high hopes for, won't be produced this year. We're still trying to present a flashy season with high-profile titles to raise money; the renovation expenses could run past $300,000.

I'm the youngest of the committee, but I feel like I can contribute decent opinions on the material. I don't feel like a token member, and I suspect I'm being groomed as new blood for the theatre.

Picture of the Day
Don't ask where he keeps the steering wheel.

Sick

I officially have whatever hobo cough Your Sister has brandished since January. She doesn't believe me when I note it's lasted six months. I am light-headed and sleepy, and my tummy has no floor, and I don't want to be at work. But I don't have the gumption to stay home after already missing a week.

I watered my grass seeds yesterday and realized my cheap rainbow sprinkler is a cheap piece of junk. Your Sis won a Rotary Outstanding Teacher Award yesterday.

Picture of the Day
A shining example of the first rule of copy editing: You have to employ a dirty mind.

Back to Normal

Well, sort of. Things are good until I remember Dad isn't on a long vacation.

We had din-din with Kathy and Travis Friday to catch them up on all the details of the past week. They announced that they are preggers again (by design) and will host another German student for a month this summer.

I drove down to Mom's house to help with small items. I figured out how to make their DVD player work with the HDTV. I fixed a broken tail light. I Drano'd the back shower drain that was probably clogged when Dad's hair fell out. We picked up a flag-display case at Michael's, and I'm somewhat shocked they carry them. I also swung by my hometown comic store; they ship my monthly haul to me. I put money into the donation jar for my high-school buddy recently diagnosed with intestinal cancer.

Mom sounds OK. She has several tasks at hand, and that helps her muddle through. She isn't buried in appointments but has enough to keep her busy. Also, I suspect she's rewatching the Stepford Wives remake on her now-functioning DVD player.

I planted grass seed next to the garden and began plotting how to arrange the garden with our veggies. We watched the new Indiana Jones film, and it's sadly disappointing. Harmless and light. Your Sis opened the birthday package and laughed at the socks.

The mixture of cigarettes, odd sleep patterns, and pollen have gotten me all sick like. I can't run as I'd like.

Picture of the Day
NASA says the Mars Phoenix probe may have uncovered ice already. We knew there was ice there. The question is "is there flowing water?"