Daily Notes- March 21

                                                    

New buds.  The flowers on the white orchid were all infested with the fuzzy white bug.  I sprayed and cleaned etc but the bug won.  Let's hope we have more luck with the virus???

I only had 9 ounces of brown lentils in the jar- so I added an extra potato to the pot on the stove. It is simmering.  Usually this particular German recipe makes a very thick soup. Very.  So, a little less of the lentils might make the end result less "formidable".  I didn't want to open an entire can of whole tomatoes to get the one tomato the recipe asks for.  Instead I squirted in some ketchup.   And noted that ketchup is now a rationed item. I wonder if they have any ketchup at my grocery?  They have no peanut butter.  Plenty of jams and jellies.

We went for a drive yesterday.  Like a Ghost Town. We did stop at Firehouse Subs to buy dinner (they had their open sign ON and others did not). We ordered by phone and then G went inside to pay and carry our food out to the car.  We ate at home. Their meatballs are excellent and I am wondering if they would sell them by the pound if asked. G says they will do anything to make a sale. He might be right unless stock is low.

I am considering asking my neighbors if they are interested in having a chat.  I have seen that people are carrying chairs over to the ends of driveways and talking with neighbors in other neighborhoods. Distances between the chairs is greater than 6 feet but also outdoors so perhaps safer???  We could each provide our own cocktail to sip.  Others are doing the same on the internet.

The new deadline for tax preparation is just giving my procrastination a wider scope-- but Maine has decided to stick with April 15th - so............ I need the Federal to do the State.

Watched the Chateau program on PBS (it was recorded so not sure when it actually is on) These two Brits buy a 26 room old crumbly chateau in France and are fixing it up.  Last night we watched the work necessary to install an elevator (from Spain) before Christmas.  And it was a lovely Christmas.
The one Spanish installer said- in a very shocked voice- "I do not know how they managed to do all the work in three weeks with just the 3 people"- as when he visited previously- things were in very rough shape.  I often wonder if the BBC brings in people to "help".

G does not like the program.  But his father was not this kind of guy.  Like the engineer on the Chateau program.  So, I am charmed because it all reminds me of my childhood and how we just did everything ourselves.  Breaking thru walls, making a kitchen, a basement bathroom, a bedroom in the Attic (never completed but used until we all went away to college).  The MacGyver pool cleaning system that nearly electrocuted my brother.  We actually laughed.  I grew up on the very edge which makes me color outside the lines as a way of life.  But highway driving scares me to death.

So, I have covered cooking, houseplants, dining out, visiting neighbors, watching tv---and I even managed to wash clothes and scrub the toilets (like the last thing I ever want to do).  It is NOT raining or snowing so I am going to go out on the deck to check on my milk jugs and seeds.  Especially to see what the parsley seedlings are up to- perhaps more that two leaves????  And I have about 10 more seed packets to plant into jugs.  Going to be a spectacular gardening season.