4-3-25 Daily log

No numbers today, for reasons.

Half way to the hospital for the cardiac probulating this morning, and my phone rings. "Mr. W?  Sorry, but the big complicated machine won't turn on this morning".   Huh.

I guess another day I'll be probulated.

Doeys:

• Dishes
• Chickens
• Start yogurt
• Trash
• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2

Trump woofed about tariffs yesterday, and today the market whines.   I see it as a really big sale on company stocks.   Oh my, where to bet my pennies?

 

Turnips peaking out!

Green onions coming to the party.

4-2-25 log

W: 313.4                BS: 162

Do's:

• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• Groceries at 2
• Tractor supply
• Garden store
• Chickens
• Vacuum
• Fill planters, seed them
• ?

Do nots:

• Fall off the food wagon
• Drink the boozes tonight
• Miss tomorrows cardiac probulating

How did THAT get into a flower pot?

4-1-25 'Appy Anniversary!

W: 313.4                BS: 162

Married two years.  Huh. Date night dinner out this weekend.

• Dishes
• Cook her scrumptious stuff to eat
• Potato-bread toast with cultured butter and avocado, everything bagel seasoning.
• Pineapple fried rice with honey garlic glazed shrimp... yup.
• Clean up out back
• Clean up out front
• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• ?

The creeping rosemary is taking off!

 

New flag day!

 

3-31-25 Daily log/Monday/Ugh

W: 312.2                BS: 172

• Dishes
• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• Dairy store
• Meds

3-30-25 Sunday log..

W: 314.4                BS: 139

Do today:

• Make butter
• Groceries
• Plant green onions
• Open house
• Is this silly?
• ?

Wafflated home fries with green onions, and a sunny side.  Yum!

The old man once told me "The marks lose interest if they don't have a buck in the game; Make them anty-up if you want them focused".

3-29-25 Saturday

W: 312.6                BS: 86

3-28-25 Things

W: 316.4  (UGH)                BS: 134

Do's:

• Dishes
• Order groceries
• Cash
• Move dirt
• Strain yogurt
• Start cultured cream
• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• Make dinner
• ?

Do not's:

• Hurts the back (more)
• ?

Peekaboo.....

Garden beds poppin....

I had *planned* to do everything seed or regrowth this year, but...

I caved today and bought a few plants.  The beds needed some greeeeen......

Herself loves this kind of lettuce.  Plants for the win.

The horseradish is RAGING back.  3rd year.

Kale.  BLECH.  Herself requested it, so be it.  Feed the ducks?

Rosemary.  I expect last years to come back, but I like rosemary 
and wanted a head start.  Can't have too much.

I planted chives, and then last years popped up and said hello.  More is better!

3-27-25

W: 315.6                BS:  118

• Taxi
• Amish store for stakes
• Sort clothes
• Build garden bed
• Start yogurt
• Cottage pie in ramakins
• Plant stuff
• Chickens
• Shot
• ?

Sampling the homemade Limoncello.   Could get used to this.

Grok: A kleptocracy is a form of government or political system in which the ruling elite, often corrupt leaders or officials, exploit their power and authority to steal resources, wealth, or public funds for personal gain. The term comes from the Greek words "kleptēs" (thief) and "kratos" (rule), essentially meaning "rule by thieves." In a kleptocracy, those in charge prioritize enriching themselves and their allies over serving the public good, often leading to widespread corruption, economic stagnation, and inequality. Examples might include embezzling state funds, rigging elections to stay in power, or siphoning off profits from national industries. It’s a system where theft isn’t just a byproduct—it’s the whole game.

3-26-25 Daily log. Wednesday.

W: 312.6                BS: 154

Ugh:

• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• Taxi 3
• Taxi 4
• Dairy store
• Dishes
• Laundry
• Vacuum
• Move dirt?
• Fire & Wood   48/28 today
• ?

Biscuit muffiny sausage, egg, and cheese things this morning.  Now outside cooling on the woodpile.  Recipe below.

It's reported that Hamas terrorist rank and file have no idea who their leadership is right now.  That's because Israel blows up the new leaders faster than word can spread on who the new boss is.

In related news, Iran is have a REALLY hard time finding someone to take over the suddenly empty position of Hamas leadership.

 Interesting recipe for savory breakfast muffins.  Sausage egg and cheese.  Hmm.....  I have sausage. eggs, and cheese.....  See above.

3-25-25

W: 312.0                BS: 139

• Stop the bleeding
• Pay bills?
• Dishes
• Laundry
• Laundry 2
• Vacuum
• Fire & Wood
• Air house
• Clean out grill and grates
• Clean out wood stove
• Trash
• Chickens
• Plant stuff
• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• Make breakfast and dinner

'Fire lit and window open' kind of day.

Woke at two with my standard teacher nightmare.  Losing control of a chaotic classroom and having it all go to shit.  Not sure how that applies to my current life, but I have suspicions.  Woke again at four with my brain dwelling on money.  Specifically the one credit card I have attached to Amazon, that is nearly maxed out.  All the others are $0.

THIS is why I always hated credit cards.  Spending money is an easy drug, maybe the worst of them all.  It leads to slavery.  The bleeding must be stopped.

I took everyone else off my Amazon account and then I took off every payment method but my debit card.  Yes, all our meds come from A-zon, but *mine* cost $5 a month for all of them together.  Theirs?  Not so much.  She will need to address that.  From now on I'm evaluating every single penny spent on Amazon with a fine tooth magnifying glass.

Meanwhile, the drugs that help stop my chest from aching.

3-24-25, Someone has a case of the Mondays log...

W: 312.6                BS: 149

Whoopty DO:

• Dishes
  Dishes 2
• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• Vacuum
• ?

So, suppose there was a very exclusive club with only 677 members allowed.  The members are appointed by their peers and buddies, not elected, and they are members for as long as they chose to be.  The only criteria to be a member is that appointment by your friends. It's nearly impossible to remove someone from the membership for any reason.  In more than two centuries, only 8 members (out of thousands) have been removed for cause.

Now.... suppose this club thinks they have the authority to set the rules for an entire society of three million people, based solely on whim, and nobody can do a thing about it.

What do we call this club?  There are historical names for such a club.  What are those names?

Seed starting day 3/23/25. So it is sown, so it shall be.

 

Plants that cannot be direct sown for another 1.5 to 2 months, when the soil warms enough.  They need a head start in the house to live a full and productive life.

• Roma tomatoes
• Cherry tomatoes
• Jalapeno peppers
• Big hybrid tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Green squash
• Chinese eggplant
• Basil
• Oregano
• Thyme

All the seeds are from Park's, and 'supposed' to be the best quality and breeding.

Bell peppers and Zucchini will have to come as plants from the Amish nursery.  I forgot those seeds.

Cold tolerant seeds already in the beds, or perennials in place:

• Sage
• Horseradish
• Thyme
• Parsley
• Red onions
• Green onions
• Garlic
• Radish
• Swiss chard
• Lettuce
• Turnips
• Rosemary MAY come back.  Hoping.

The horseradish is not in the least shy about coming in strong.

I tossed and turned a lot last night, awake off and on for hours at a time.  At 6am, I awoke from a dream.

In the dream, in one room with one person I repeated every big mistake I ever made in my life, and woke realizing a lot about myself and how I have lived my life.

I'd say there are people I need to apologize to, but that's wrong.  There are people I need to FIX what I have done to them, and it just isn't possible.  It never was.  Sorry has less than zero value.  It just compounds the fault.  I guess the only sorry is in myself, and that has no value either.

3-22-25

W: 312.2                BS: 94

Bird watching hike today, followed by lunch out.  This will be interesting.

• Birds..
• Cook chicken
• Make stock
• Can stock?
• ?

I haz a PLAN....

Two large family packs of tasty chicken thighs.

Five thighs get trimmed and scored, then into a hot pan to brown hard.  Then they were pulled to  rest, and a mirepoix was dumped into the chicken fat. When it cooked down, a BUNCH of spices went in to toast.  Then dry cranberry mead to deglaze and reduce.  Then pickled red pepper strips, lemon juice, and chicken stock.  The thighs went back in, the lid went on, and the heat was turned to low.  I'll check them in about 90 minutes.  At that point, fresh broccoli goes in and it cooks another 30 minutes.

Once everything is done including a pot of rice, I'll pull the broccoli and chicken, and then use the stick blender to turn the remainder into a sauce.   WaaLaa!  Braised chicken and broccoli over rice for the win!

BUT... what about the rest of the chicken?  Well, all the obvious fat was stripped off and sliced up, and along with the fat from our last pack of thighs it all went into a pot with a diced onion.  There it will cook down till totally rendered, and the skin is turned into cracklings.  ShaZaam!  Chicken Schmalz and snacky cracklings!

But WAIT... The naked chicken thighs?  Into the instant pot with all the veggie cut-offs and water to cover.  Under pressure for 30 minutes, and once cooled I'll separate out the good meat for this weeks meals.  The bones, scraps, and veggies go back into the instant pot with all the broth already made, plus water to fill, and that gets under pressure for 3-4 hours.  Super rich chicken stock.

Thing I'm getting out money's worth from $14 of chicken and $3 of veggies?

A pint of Smaltzy GOLD, plus a big pile of fried chicken skins.

3-21-25 Daily log, my precious....

W: 313.2  :-(                BS: 94  :-)

Things:

• Groceries at 2pm
• Taxi 1
• Vacuum
• Clam chowder
• Biscuits
• Fire & Wood
• Move soil
• ?

There's 'Wibbly Wobbly', there's 'Flexible', and then there's 'Gumbi'.

Semper Gumbi, my friends.

Next month, coming up fast, a fancy cardiac Catscan AND the doc is cutting something off my back and sending it in for testing.  Exciting times, ya know?

3-20-25 . Badges? We don't need no steenking badges!

W: 311.6                BS: 143

• Dishes
• Dishes 2
• Dishes 3
• Laundry
• Laundry 2
• Taxi 1
• Taxi 2
• Cultured butter
• Bacon pecan waffles
• Move dirt
• Meds
• Bottle mead
• Set up seedling area

Why did they do so much fraud, and so many unlawful things?  They didn't think about being caught.  They thought they'd always be in power, and above the law.

Herself put corn the watering bowl.. CHAOS IN THE CAGE!!

Huh.  Harry Sisson outed himself as a heterosexual by sexually harassing some women. All those years building a gay persona shot down in a few days. Well, that is gonna kill his brand DRT.

Waffles with crispy bacon and toasted pecans.  Good maple syrup and homemade butter.  Possible.... the best waffles I have ever tasted.  All good in the hood this morning!

Bottling Cranberry Winter Mead today.  90/10 dry-sweet.   Why mason jars?  It's what I had on hand. There's another couple gallons to bottle, but it has to settle again first.

'Cultured' butter.   It's cream cultured like yogurt, then churned into butter and buttermilk. 

I gave this batch about 18 hours to ferment.  Next time I'll do 24.  Not that this isn't the BEST butter I have ever tasted.

Store bought butter comes in three basic forms.  Salted 'Murican, unsalted 'Murican, and unGODly expensive European butter.

Salted, at this point, tastes so salty to us it burns.  Unsalted, suitable for baking, is flat in flavor.  European?  LOLOLOLOL.... no.

I gave this butter a light hit of salt... maybe 1/4 what the store butter has.  It's smooth, slightly tangy, rich, and wonderful.  It's by no means cheaper than store bought butter, but it's soooo much better.  It just feels... rich.... to have a tub of this in the fridge.

Garden beds....

 THIS year I shall attempt to maintain a clue.....

I made up a 'Garden Bed Plan' with each bed laid out in what I HOPE will work out.

The idea is I'll actually know what-is-where..ish, and can plan out the co-planting and sequential planting.

I also did a chart showing when to plant what, so maybe I'll not go 'planting crazy' and put stuff in way too early.

This year everything is being started from seed.  At least, that's the plan.  Direct sow where possible, and I'm starting some seeds indoors in covered trays where necessary.   That will be eggplant, cukes, peppers, tomatoes, squash, zuchs...

Swiss chard, onions, radish, parsley, thyme, and turnips are already planted.

Horseradish, sage, and rosemary are 3rd year now.

And in that vein, here is another thing.  While doing flower bed cleanup, I realized the stuff I raked into a pile is Biomass.  Hmm.   That cold be useful.

So, I raked the cleanup piles into strategic places, and then dumped bucket after bucket of mushroom soil on them.  ShaZAM!   Planting points!  One for eggplant, and another for green squash.

When the season is over I'll rake them out as ground cover for the winter.

3-19-25

W: 310.4                BS: 129

&$*^%#%$@ ...    Herself used my debit card to make an Instacart purchase.  They captured the number, even though told expressly not to.  Instacart just hit my account with a charge that wiped out checking and drew down savings to cover it.  I am PISSED.

• Doc at 11
• Dairy store
• Pulled pork
• Baked beans
• Coleslaw.
• Laundry
• Move dirt.
• ?

Pork butt in the oven for the day at 275. Dry rubbed with brown sugar, salt, cumin, black peppercorns, red peppercorns, Aleppo pepper, garlic, and onion.

I'll bring it out and give it a pull after 6-7 hours. Serving on fresh fried tostados.

Also, baked beans in the same oven. Kidney beans, black beans, great northern beans, onion, jalapeno pepper, cumin, Calabrian chili sauce, ketchup, Bourbon, and Carolina Gold BBQ sauce.

Also coleslaw, because tradition!

Montons!

There was something on my mind, and nothing would serve but doing the Thing.

There were leftover eggroll wrappers in the fridge, and I made ricotta cheese yesterday.  These two facts just percolated till this morning, when these happened.

Fried wontons filled with sausage, ricotta, Gochujang, black pepper, dried garlic and onion, and an egg as binder.

MONSTER wontons, immediately dubbed MonTons.

I made herself a dipping sauce with soy, fish sauce, honey, and chili-crisp.  She also had a serving of pickled red cabbage to serve as a foil for the rich wontons.

Well, this is easy!  I can see this becoming a regular family meal.  I'm looking forward to other fillings too.  Shrimp-Ricotta, Cabbage-mushroom, pulled pork, apple-ricotta with honey.....

3-18-25 Peasants log

W: 311.0                BS: 82

I'm listening to the body, just like Doc said.  Body says "Guess what, Buddy? Today is a crash day!".     Uh huh.  We will see.

• Laundry
• Dishes
• Vacuum
• Wood
• Make dinner
• Work on yogurt
• Chickens 4pm, lantern
• ?

ButterCat thinks we got these bird things for his entertainment.  They peck him if he gets too close.

Controversial thought.  People caught vandalizing Tesla vehicles should be put down.

Why so stringent?  Thinking of Darwin's theory.  If these people are just too stupid to understand Tesla vehicles have built in surveillance systems, then they are too stupid to be allowed to breed.

3-17-25, Begora!

W: 311.8                BS: 98

• Dairy store?
• Make butter?
• Make ricotta?
• Make yogurt
• Plant turnips, onions, radish
• Clean up rose bed?
• Wash tub planter?
• Vacuum
• Dishes
• Laundry
• ?

50 degrees and dreary kind of day.  Good day to light the fire for heat and open the windows for air!

I've never made butter. Might try that today.

Follow up, butter lessons learned.....

First, making butter will not get me cheaper butter.  It will get me better quality butter for the same price as store brand butter.

Second, making butter with a kitchenaid mixer is an exercise in 'easy'.

Third, Do NOT overfill the mixer bowl.

Fourth, the butter will go from semi-mass to butter and whey in seconds, when it's ready.  It's easy to tell when this happens because at that point the mixer will begin flinging large splashes of whey all over the counter and floor.  Also, the mixer will begin hopping around because it has a pound of butter stuck to the spinning paddle.

X

On the X, I suggested Canada cutting off Pornhub would be giving themselves a $500,000,000 kick in their own economic crotch.  I also suggested they should smack themselves in the head too, to really show us they mean business.

It appears this violated an X rule, and my account is now locked.

Fun fact.  If X locks your account, they also block your ability to unsubscribe and stop them from taking your money.

Huh.

What they didn't block was my ability to just deactivate the account.

3-16-25 Sunday

W: 311.6                BS: 98

• Chicken-Orzo soup
• Swiss Chard bed
• Dishes
• ?

Some culinary bits and things....

Yesterday mornings leftover oatmeal morphed into bread, with whole grains added.  This will be breakfast again today, toasted with cream cheese.

I like chicken thighs, if we are eating yard bird. They have more flavor and cook up moister. Herself though, she wants boneless, and skin ONLY if it's dead crisp.

So today I turned a 5lb family pack of thighs into boneless/skinless thighs, and oven fried them in breading.  Quite tasty, and enough leftover for another meal or two.

This left a ziplock of meaty bones and another of skin and fat.  NO WASTE HERE!  The bones will go to stock, and the fatty skin to making Schmaltz.  I'm looking forward to the crunchy crispy chicken cracklings that will leave us.

3-14-25 Friday log

W: 311.6  :-(     310.8             BS: 129

SNARFLE

• Grocery pickup 
• Her doc, me blood.
• Dishes
• Laundry
• Clean up outside
• Vacuum
• Plant green onions
• ?

Chicken cordon bleu casserole, with crumbled bacon and Calabrian chili.

3-13-25 Daily log

W: 311.0                BS: 110

Cough.... cough....cough....cough...... Nyquil kind of day.....  Non-stop coughing AND whiskey guts.  Going to be an adventuresome day!

• Dishes
• Laundry?
• Carry in wood?
• Chicken cordon bleu
• Chickens 2-3ish?
• 1st planting radish & green onions
• Trash out
• Extra med
• ?

I read that 'Shutdown Schumer' is once again engineering a 'Government shut down' as some weird kind of power play.  Like the race card and calling everyone a Nazi, it's lost any effect through silly usage.  By now, we Americans know exactly how little a 'government shut down' actually effects our lives.  So little, the Obama team had to *invent* ways to make people notice his shut down.

There is something else I'm surprised Chuckles didn't think about.  Americans, despite the Pravda being spewed by the D's, are in a serious mood to cut waste, fraud, and corruption.  What better way to make a cut-list than have a shut down of NON-essential bureaucrats and drones?  If we can painlessly do without their services for a week or two, then why not a year or two.... or forever?

One point of sadness.  Shutdown Schumer and his gang have set themselves aside from any pain they cause.  They are NON-essential personnel that are excluded from the fun. 

Today's culinary adventure:  Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole.

Chunks of chicken tenderloin, with diced smoked ham, shredded Swiss cheese, and the usual mayo/mustard thing.  All in ramakins with a buttery-parm crumb crust to toast on top

I think I'll bump things up a bit by adding crumbled bacon and some Calabrian chili sauce.

3-12-25 Log roll

W: 310.8                BS: 200

Up at 3am, coughing.  This is going to be one of those three week coughs, isn't it?

I played 'charming companion' for the wife last night at a business-social thing.  One burger, 1/2 an order of fries, and two Lagers.    Holy hell... look what that did to my numbers overnight!   Today I will pay penance. 

• Dishes
• Vacuum
• Double med
• Dairy store
• Move dirt
• O2 generator service
• ?

3 scoops of Brown Garden Gold.  Mushroom soil.  Enough to top off the beds and make a new bed for Tomatoes and Squash.

3-11-25 Log

W: 306.8                BS: 149

Do's:

• Dishes?
• Laundry
• Vacuum
• Wood
• ?

Twee Ten Twenty five, daily log.

W: 308.8   Here it comes, roaring back.        BS: 94

Je suis fatigué de tousser

• Dishes
• Taxi
• Apple cake
• Wood
• Vacuum
• Air house
• Clean kitchen
• Meatballs, Swedish
• Clean outside
• ?

Pipping.  One of five, so far.

2/5

Imake der Sveedish meataballs, Bork Bork bork!

3/5

3-9-25 Sunrise... sunset....

W: 305.2                BS: 162

Attempting potato gnocchi today...

• Dishes
• Laundry
• Meds
• Shot
• Potato Gnocchi
• Order seeds
• ?