what did you do today? (2008-2015) (closed)

[splitwdw]

When I had a house, I used to have a dozen earthboxes on the back patio and they worked great. I don't have any outdoors space anymore, so the only gardening I do now is in small glass containers. I made these 2 terrariums with a woodland scenery this week:

Wow, those are gorgeous!
Container gardening outdoors is a great idea for any size property. Most vegetables and annual flowers only need 6" to 8" of soil. As freebird posted they can move their container into an enclosed porch to extend the growing season. I also like containers because you can add height, splashes of color or texture to established garden beds.

 

[Ronstar]

Wow, those are gorgeous!....

+1. Nicely done! I'd like to do something like that but I may not have enough sun


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[freebird5825]

When I had a house, I used to have a dozen earthboxes on the back patio and they worked great. I don't have any outdoors space anymore, so the only gardening I do now is in small glass containers. I made these 2 terrariums with a woodland scenery this week:

Beautiful terrariums.

You just reminded me I need to get some fresh moss and rotted bark for my large glass globe terrarium. Sometimes the rotted bark will sprout woodland mushrooms, maybe turkey tails or a weblike fungi. I have 3 tiny plastic deer as well as shiny mineral stones inside mine. I use a glass plate as the humidity retention cover.

I had an orange salamander in the terrarium a few years back. I bought salamander food and kept a small dish of fresh water in there. He burrowed into the dirt one day and was never seen again.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Beautiful terrariums, FIREd. My attempts at terrarium building were not as successful. I have to stick with dry terrariums with succulents. Those are the only ones that lasted.

 

[freebird5825]

Lazy day for me, but got a few things done.

I had a fabulous salad made with fresh picked leaf lettuce and scallions, tomato, crumbly bleu cheese, and Greek style dressing. I harvested a few fresh carrots and made a homemade turkey pot pie for mid afternoon dinner.

I planted some spinach and endive in 2 windowboxes indoors. I'm hoping they will get a good enough start to be moved outdoors until the snow flies and then back indoors to supply me with fresh greens for another month or so. I cut back some dead asparagus foliage, and am subjecting it to cooler temperatures outdoors so maybe I'll get some tender spears. when I bring it inside in a few weeks. I am getting better at fooling my plants into thinking it is time to produce.

I did some laundry.

I watched TV while Mr B ran a mass copy j*b for the American Legion.

 

[rodi]

Took my younger son to the Italian Festa in "Little Italy" this morning. He was excited to eat all the different foods. I got class credit for my Italian class. At least I hope to - the teacher never showed - but I took a selfy with another student from the class in front of the meeting place, as proof we were there. We picked up some cannoli to bring home for desert after dinner.

Then I dropped younger son off, grabbed the dog, and spent 3 hours watching 1.5 games in my older son's double header baseball game. DH was home making a nice red sauce with meatballs and sausage - so I came home to a really nice dinner. - with i cannoli for dessert.

I will need to do some serious walking to burn off il cannolo but it was worth it.

 

[imoldernu]

Last night I half-jokingly said to DW "Would you mind if I blew $450 on a half-hour airplane ride?"

She said "You should do that."

To myself: "Huh? She's serious!"

Out loud: "Okay, if you're going to twist my arm about it."

So I called a retired BIL and asked if he wanted to go and we went up to Hagerstown Airport and toured the B-17G Nine-O-Nine. He didn't go on the ride but we both took a lot of pictures.

Just got to this... reminded me of when i was a kid in 1944... My uncle Jerry was the tail gunner in the B24. He never had a chance, one of the two KIA in the crash. A sad time for our household. Second from right in front row, I think... He was 19.

A perspective on casualties in WWII... this list from My uncle's small Bomb group...The 449th Bomb Group(H) | Casualties

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We replaced our aging coffee mugs with healthier looking all glass ones from Cost Plus. It was actually kind of a bigger decision than it sounds because a lot of mugs don't fit in our cars' cup holders, so we had to do some shopping around to find ones that fit the best. I also bought my first ever oil and vinegar bottle set and an olive oil spray bottle. The spray bottle is to use instead of Pam and the oil and vinegar set is to replace commercial dressings for salads. I have some books on flavored vinegars and oils I want to try to make myself.

In the morning I made two different kinds of home made soups and steamed and stir fried veggies for upcoming meals.

Also this weekend we went to a class on how to replace our front lawn with a native plant garden put on by our water utility. They have rebates to help offset the initial cost.

 

[NW-Bound]

My peppers are the STAR of my container garden, too. This year I grew gypsy peppers. Wow. I will never go back to just regular green/red/yellow varieties. High production, faster, so tasty and sweet!

I had to look up "gypsy peppers" to see their colors. Too bad they are not grown commercially. I took the following snapshot recently at Jean-Talon Market in Montreal. Why aren't these white and purple peppers grown in the US? These enticing colors could be how we get kids to eat more veggie.

 

[simple girl]

I had to look up "gypsy peppers" to see their colors. Too bad they are not grown commercially. I took the following snapshot recently at Jean-Talon Market in Montreal. Why aren't these white and purple peppers grown in the US? These enticing colors could be how we get kids to eat more veggie.

Neat! My homegrown ones did not turn purple or white - they all started out light, light green, then would proceed through variations of light yellow, to orange, and then red if you let them go even longer on the vine. There must be even more variations of gypsy peppers. They are quite tasty - just enough sweetness and wonderful in stir frys or on the grill.

 

[simple girl]

The variety I planted was Bonnie Bell. I bought them at Home Depot as plants and transplanted. I've never tried planting peppers from seed as I hear they are nortiously difficult to grow from seed. When I have more time I plan to try it, though, just for fun!

Gypsy

 

[ls99]

Yesterday at the mancave moved and rewired the battery bank. Installing an 2000 watt inverter required heftier battery interconnects. Was nice to be able to use a microwave withut running the generator. Such decadence.

Now, off to the skating rink for some figure skating and figure eights. I think of them as infinity, and learning.

 

[NW-Bound]

Neat! My homegrown ones did not turn purple or white - they all started out light, light green, then would proceed through variations of light yellow, to orange, and then red if you let them go even longer on the vine. There must be even more variations of gypsy peppers. They are quite tasty - just enough sweetness and wonderful in stir frys or on the grill.

The variety I planted was Bonnie Bell. I bought them at Home Depot as plants and transplanted. I've never tried planting peppers from seed as I hear they are nortiously difficult to grow from seed. When I have more time I plan to try it, though, just for fun!

Gypsy

The ripe peppers are nutritionally richer. I saw no green bell peppers at that market. These Canadians eat smart! There's a variety of bell peppers called Permagreen that stays green when ripe, but I suspect that it is not at all common.

I find out that the white and purple ones are thought to be from Holland, and that the purple color is only skin-deep, as the flesh is green. There's even a type with the chocolate/brown color, but I have not seen that one.

I grew bell peppers a couple of times, and got a couple of fruits the size of a thumb. I will try the Gypsy variety next year, as it is said that it can do well in hot climate (above 75F).

Yesterday at the mancave moved and rewired the battery bank. Installing an 2000 watt inverter required heftier battery interconnects. Was nice to be able to use a microwave withut running the generator. Such decadence...

I installed a 2KW pure sine wave inverter in my motorhome for that very reason. Two 12V deep-cycle batteries in parallel could run the microwave for perhaps 15 minutes max, but we usually only use it for reheating food, so that was plenty.

When I switched to two 6V golf-cart batteries in series, which were supposed to have a higher capacity, the microwave had to be run at reduced power settings. The golf-cart batteries have significantly higher internal resistance, and hence much higher voltage drop under load despite the higher capacity.

I would not mind having more batteries, but there's room for only two.

 

[simple girl]

The ripe peppers are nutritionally richer.

Good to know, especially b/c I like the red ones the best - they are the sweetest.

I grew bell peppers a couple of times, and got a couple of fruits the size of a thumb. I will try the Gypsy variety next year, as it is said that it can do well in hot climate (above 75F).

They did fantastic for me here in sweltering Alabama. Good luck!

 

[ls99]

I installed a 2KW pure sine wave inverter in my motorhome for that very reason. Two 12V deep-cycle batteries in parallel could run the microwave for perhaps 15 minutes max, but we usually only use it for reheating food, so that was plenty.

When I switched to two 6V golf-cart batteries in series, which were supposed to have a higher capacity, the microwave had to be run at reduced power settings. The golf-cart batteries have significantly higher internal resistance, and hence much higher voltage drop under load despite the higher capacity.

I would not mind having more batteries, but there's room for only two.

The cables make huge difference. Need #2 or better between batteries and inverter, especially over 6 feet. My cabling is #2 and the inverter is only connected 3 feet away. My inverter is el cheapo modified sine wave. Good enough, it will even run the 4' ceiling fan with a slight humming noise. Maybe more capacitor input loads will clean up the square wave a bit. The trick with modified sine inverters is never to connect the ground. They have hot neutrals, and will self destroy if neutral and ground are bonded. A word to the wise.

AFIK Pure sine inverters are more DC current hungry than modified sine inverters.

 

[Throwdownmyaceinthehole]

Neat! My homegrown ones did not turn purple or white - they all started out light, light green, then would proceed through variations of light yellow, to orange, and then red if you let them go even longer on the vine. There must be even more variations of gypsy peppers. They are quite tasty - just enough sweetness and wonderful in stir frys or on the grill.

I love to cut the red peppers in half, de seed them and flatten them out, then I used the two flat halves instead of bread when I make sandwiches

 

[simple girl]

I love to cut the red peppers in half, de seed them and flatten them out, then I used the two flat halves instead of bread when I make sandwiches

Nice alternative to lettuce wraps - thanks!

 

[Tailgate]

rented dry storage for the boat...comes out this week for the winter...

 

[NW-Bound]

The cables make huge difference. Need #2 or better between batteries and inverter, especially over 6 feet. My cabling is #2 and the inverter is only connected 3 feet away. My inverter is el cheapo modified sine wave. Good enough, it will even run the 4' ceiling fan with a slight humming noise. Maybe more capacitor input loads will clean up the square wave a bit. The trick with modified sine inverters is never to connect the ground. They have hot neutrals, and will self destroy if neutral and ground are bonded. A word to the wise.

AFIK Pure sine inverters are more DC current hungry than modified sine inverters.

I also used AWG2 cable, and the distance was only 2 feet. Even so, the voltage drop across that beefy cable and various connections/terminals added up to a few tenths of a Volt when running the powerhog microwave. This voltage drop does not include the voltage drop of the batteries themselves of course.

My inverter does not mind that the neutral and ground are tied together, and even has its own GFI. A floating neutral would not work in my motorhome application without some rewiring, as the existing wiring has the neutral and ground bonded at the breaker panel. I have the inverter powering up the entire motorhome, with the exception of the AC of course.

I have not measured its efficiency, which should be lower than that of the simpler design (as the PSW has two switchers running in series, the 1st is a square-wave DC/DC converter to pump up the 12V to more than 170V, and the 2nd switches this voltage to create a sine wave after some LC filtering). However, I was pleased that without a load it drew a minuscule 0.5A.

By the way, some electronics do not like to be run off MSW inverters, and one does not know which is which until he tries. So, I avoided the problem and sprung for the more expensive one.

 

[rodi]

Took a test in my Italian class. I can now talk about the weather and count above 100, and have another 15 or so verbs under my belt.
I'm hoping I did as well on this test as previous tests - I've improved each test - 96, 97, 99.... I'm hoping for 100% one of these days... but will be happy with anything above 90%.

 

[ls99]

I also used AWG2 cable, and the distance was only 2 feet. Even so, the voltage drop across that beefy cable and various connections/terminals added up to a few tenths of a Volt when running the powerhog microwave. This voltage drop does not include the voltage drop of the batteries themselves of course.

My inverter does not mind that the neutral and ground are tied together, and even has its own GFI. A floating neutral would not work in my motorhome application without some rewiring, as the existing wiring has the neutral and ground bonded at the breaker panel. I have the inverter powering up the entire motorhome, with the exception of the AC of course.

I have not measured its efficiency, which should be lower than that of the simpler design (as the PSW has two switchers running in series, the 1st is a square-wave DC/DC converter to pump up the 12V to more than 170V, and the 2nd switches this voltage to create a sine wave after some LC filtering). However, I was pleased that without a load it drew a minuscule 0.5A.

By the way, some electronics do not like to be run off MSW inverters, and one does not know which is which until he tries. So, I avoided the problem and sprung for the more expensive one.

Another hint for reducing voltage drops: Electrical Junction Grease at all connections, including on the lugs where crimped to cable. Every milliohm eliminated helps at large current flows.

 

[Chuckanut]

Took a test in my Italian class. I can now talk about the weather and count above 100, and have another 15 or so verbs under my belt.
I'm hoping I did as well on this test as previous tests - I've improved each test - 96, 97, 99.... I'm hoping for 100% one of these days... but will be happy with anything above 90%.

Molto buono!

Parlo l'italiano un po. Leggo molte parole, ma non posso parlare molto bene.

 

[freebird5825]

Today was Leaf Roundup Day, Phase 1. I used my John Deere lawn tractor to collect the crisp fallen leaves into small piles, drove back and forth over them, then turned the mower deck outwards and spread the chopped bits all over the lawn.

I do not rake leaves, no way, no how.

However, I sometimes capitalize on others' efforts and pick up a few bags of leaves from the curbside for my garden and compost bin, after darkness falls.
Just call me the Midnight Leaf Snatcher.

Cloudy day here, typical for this season. Sunshine will become a rare treat as winter approaches. I have my pantry and deep freezer well stocked. I feel like a squirrel preparing for hibernation.

 

[Meadbh]

This morning I had the pleasure of hosting some friends that I got to know via the forum.

This evening I will be celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving with other friends. I love turkey!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

 

[Gumby]

I celebrated Columbus Day by painting the deck of my big wrap-around porch. I had scraped and washed with TSP yesterday. I first needed to use my leaf blower to blow dry some of it (in the fine cracks between the decking, mostly), then taped off the column bases and front wall, and finally painted. The dry, but cool and overcast day was perfect for the task. It took about 6 hours and a gallon of porch paint, but it looks quite nice now.

Around noon, the carillon at the Methodist Church two blocks away started playing hymns, so I sang along as I worked. I'm sure some of the people walking past were wondering who was the nut with the paintbrush belting out "A mighty fortress is our God . . ."