Half-Assed Homemaker

I picked some tomatoes from the garden. Three roma tomatoes, about an inch long. That is what I have to show for three months of cultivating.

I bought the boldest, strongest looking tomato plant they had and placed it in that one foot sliver of space in the old apartment that actually got direct sunlight. I watered it and even placed it outside one day when the sun was beating down on the balcony (it was too cold to keep it there full time, thank you for asking.) Of course it eventually fell over due to it's own weight and some wind. i searched the apartment for something to stake it and eventually decided on a wire hanger, hey it worked. it was getting too tall so I clipped it back and even sprouted roots on one of the cuttings, now I have two ungrateful bushes.

Once I put them in the ground they took off, four or five feet tall and spreading shade over any plants that come near it. I tried pruning the big one but I must have screwed up the balance and it fell over, not the whole thing, just the part that was taller than the tomato cage. The fact that tomato cages are half the height of this beast tells me there is something wrong and I can only stay out of its way and hope to be spared. On a less apocalyptic note, the chili plant that I thought was sick is fruiting!

This rant inspired by unable2spel

I considered a push mower but then I realized that having a lush English-Nobility inspired lawn is not my long term goal. Lawn requires so much water and chemicals, it is an environmental nightmare. I do want to shorten the weeds such that I don't get arrested or attract rattlers. Investing in a gasoline engine involves maintenance and wars and they are expensive, and at $90, a push mower seemed also too expensive for a temporary solution that would also be a pain to operate. My father suggested, considering my lawn is the size of the chunk of grass that a sloppy golf swing kicks up, that I get a weed whacker. Officially known as a line trimmer, this $25 electric tool puts technology on my side and not it my way. I buzz the lawn every now and then and will do so until Jen and I design a landscaping scheme.

It makes sense to use native plants since they are accustomed to the sparse rain and they know how to overcome weeds, they've been doing it long before I have. I just learned the term Cottage Garden, I will have to look into it. On a related odd note, I noticed some rain drops this morning and for the first time ever, I was happy to see them. I don't like rain but now it means free water falling upon my land, ah useful nature.

While under the illusion that it was time for bed, I realized that there was a load of laundry waiting in the dryer. I brought that into the bedroom and started folding. Jen joined in and said "It seems like we are always doing work!" I concurred, there is always something that needs washing or folding or watering or sandblasting or weeding or vaccuuming - I don't want to talk about vaccuuming.

My vaccuum died as I mentioned a while ago. It worked when my mom used it, of course, but we tried and it just limped a long doing not much of anything and emitting a burning smell. So my vaccuum cleaner is dead and I'm using a wet/dry vac to clean the carpet. Yes a wet/dry vac! Pride of ownership my ass! Don't ask me why I have a wet/dry vac because you don't want to hear it. I got it because I thought I would need it for normal uses. Sadly that entails removing dried rosemary from the back seat and soil from the trunk of my car. Even sadder is that shit is still there, taunting me.

I've been composting for some time and I can't say I'm happy with the results. First there were flies. Lots of flies, so I cut a piece of wood to cover the woodent planter I was using. The flies still snuck in and out and eventually, there were baby flies. Larvae sliding all around, it was pretty gross. I read up on it and supposedly, in the larval phase, they are beneficial, like worms crawling around in soil. The problem is that I am breeding pests. I feed them my scraps and give them shelter, this is not what I want. Maybe I should leave it uncovered in the sun one of these hot days. That'll show the little bastards.

A betters solution is to get a composting bin. One with real composting worms that would possibly stave off any fly infestation. The city sells them, I'm considering the Wriggly Wranch.

I missed the train this morning. I've got to leave earlier. My options were limited... take a bus, bike all the way to work or bike home and drive or wait 40 minutes for the next train. I picked choice (c) pretending the bike ride to and from the train station was just my morning exercise before work. I made much better time biking home than I did biking to the station. Sadly, I drove four times this week and only went to yoga once... they canceled yesterday!

I also noticed a lot of jackhammering around the corner from my house. It seems they are renovating a house for "Commercial" use. It would be nice if it were a cafe or a thrift store or both but it will probably be a law office or something boring like that.