Without A Paddle

For our anniversary back in August, Tony gave me a card that had a slip of paper inside, which said (in part):

MOONLIGHT PADDLEBOAT PICNIC
Romance (and just plain fun!) is in the air at the Forest Park Boathouse on Thursday nights. Enjoy a Moonlight Paddleboat Picnic for two under the stars!

Tony had made reservations for us to go last night. After he came home from work we got in the car and headed east. There's a lot to do in Forest Park; in addition to green space, the park has quite a few cultural institutions, and many opportunities for athletic activities. However, last night our goal was the Boathouse on Post-Dispatch lake.

The boats launched at dusk. We arrived a bit early, and after we checked in we took a seat on a bench overlooking the lake. While we were waiting, we watched the Boathouse staff outfit the boats with picnic baskets and drinks. There were a couple of dozen boats available, and it looked like they'd all be in use.

Boats in a row (before picnic baskets)

Last night was a bit chilly (I was wearing jeans, two lightweight shirts, and a fleece), however, I figured once we started paddling I would be warm from the exertion. When all the boats were outfitted, they rang a bell; that was our sign that it was time to claim our boat. We got in, the attendant gave us a short explanation, then released the boat from the dock and let us float out into the lake. It took us a couple of minutes to get used to the steering system, but soon we were paddling like pros. Since it was starting to get dark, we turned on the solar-powered lantern that was attached to the front of the boat.

Post-Dispatch Lake has two small islands attached to the mainland by pedestrian bridges. We took the scenic route to the far right, which turned out to be a nice choice. None of the other boats went that way, so we had things to ourselves. After a while we stopped paddling and opened up the picnic basket. They'd thought of everything! There was a small tub of herbed cheese, crackers, olives, flatbread wraps (we'd chosen turkey) potato chips, grapes, and chocolate biscotti. In addition to our drinks, there was a bottle of water for each of us. The basket included sturdy cloth napkins, a trash bag, and even hand sanitizing wipes and insect repellent towelettes.

The lake empties into the Grand Basin at the foot of Art Hill. When we came around the corner, we saw a beautiful sight; the illuminated Art Museum with masses of flags (one for each person that died on September 11, 2001) arrayed on the hill. In the dark, my camera couldn't capture it well, but I tried:

It was even more impressive in person!

As the night wore on it got cooler and cooler; after a couple of hours my toes were freezing. Most of our provisions were gone, so we decided to call it a night and head back. This time we took a different, more direct route. We figured out that having the lantern on was more of a hindrance than a help, so we turned it off and let our eyes get accustomed to the darkness as we navigated parallel to the lake's bank back to the dock

A Friendly Reminder

Last month I took care of all my health needs. I had a physical, made a visit to the OB/GYN, and had my eyes checked. It took a few weeks. but I finally got the written results of all the tests (and I'm quite healthy, thankyouverymuch).

My health insurance pays for a yearly physical and OB visit. It's hard for me to remember to schedule them, though. One of the reports I received mentioned My Health Test Reminder, a Website maintained by the College of American Pathologists which offers automated test reminder notifications.

I thought that would be really helpful, so today I registered and set up reminders for all the tests I need done on a regular basis. You can receive an email or text telling you it's time for screenings for colon or prostate cancer, cholesterol, diabetes, or Pap test, mammogram, or blood donation.

Now I'll just have to remember to look for the information!

Get To The Root Of It

Yesterday, you may remember, I took up my compost bin because there were some day lily plants growing in it. After I dug everything up and replaced the bin, I was left with several dozen day lily tubers that I didn't know what to do with.

There's already clumps of these flowers in three other places in the yard, so I couldn't think of a place to plant them. I didn't want to toss them in the compost pile, in case they sprouted again. Another idea was to put them in the yard waste trash can, but when I started thinking creatively I came up with a better plan. Back in the Summer of 2008 I picked and ate a day lily flower, and I remember reading that other parts of the plant were also edible. I decided to try using the day lily tubers as part of a meal. From a Google search, I learned that day lily tubers can be cooked and used as a potato substitute, so I thought I'd make a pot of tuber soup for dinner.

The first step of the process was to clean the tubers. It was a lot of work, and not something I'd do on a regular basis, but as an experiment it was worth it. I separated each one, cutting off the thick rhizomes and hair-like roots.It took six changes of water before the tubers were clean. They do look like small potatoes, don't they?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention a medium potato that weighs 173g (a little over 6 ounces) is a serving. I had 10 ounces of tubers, not enough for the amount of soup I wanted to make, so I supplemented them with a three small regular potatoes so we'd have enough food for dinner and lunch leftovers.

To make the soup I melted a couple of tablespoons of butter in a pot with a splash of olive oil and sauteed chopped onion, celery, and carrots for five minutes, then added two diced cloves of garlic and cooked it for five minutes more. There wasn't any chicken broth in the house, but I poured a can of Bud Light in the pot along with a couple of cups of water and two chicken bouillon cubes. I cubed the potatoes (leaving the skin on), but wasn't sure how tough the tubers would be, so I chopped them coarsely in the food processor and added both to the pot. After things came to a boil, I reduced the heat and simmered everything for 20 minutes until the potatoes and tubers were soft. I adjusted the seasoning, then tossed in half a bag of frozen corn to add more color.

This soup was darn good! The tubers had mostly disintegrated, giving the broth a nice hearty texture but the potatoes were still chunky. The onions, celery, and garlic provided nice background notes, and the carrots and corn added sweetness. All it needed was a couple dashes of Louisiana-style hot sauce to spice it up a bit. To accompany it, I nuked some frozen cornbread left over from last week, which paired perfectly with the soup.

Halfway through dinner, I shared the secret ingredient with Tony, and he wasn't grossed out. All in all, I'd say my experiment was a success.

Tenacious Tubers

Back in July we had rocks installed under the deck where it was hard to grow grass. As part of the process, the landscapers had to remove the compost pile that's been next to the patio for many years, and remove some naturalized orange day lilies (also known as "ditch lilies", because they'll grow just about anywhere) that were planted around the deck posts.

I bought a much nicer black plastic compost bin with a lid and a sliding door at the bottom to remove finished compost, and put it next to the garden, right where the lilies had been. At that time the temperature was well over 100 degrees. I figured that any day lilies in the footprint of the new bin wouldn't survive. I was wrong.

Last week I went out to dump some coffee grounds, and I saw this:

The lilies had lived through being encased in black plastic during the middle of the hottest summer in decades! As much as I admired their tenacity, I had to get rid of them. This morning was "Project Lily Removal" day.

First thing I had to do was move the bin. It was easy, since I hadn't used the plastic stakes that came in the package to secure it down. (The ground was so dry at the time they wouldn't have gone in, so I took a chance we wouldn't have a big wind that would blow the bin away.) Since the bin was just set in the dirt, it was easy to tip it over on its side and carry it out to the yard. I had hoped to be able to use some of the contents, but it wasn't ready yet. With a garden fork, I transferred everything to the wheelbarrow.

With the area clear, I was able to see the shoots clearly. I used a garden fork to lift up the dirt and removed the day lily tubers. I was surprised to find that in addition to the two I knew about, there were several more that would have eventually sprouted, so I dug up the entire area and removed the tubers as well as a gallon-sized flowerpot of rocks. I loosened the soil about a foot deep, then broke up the big clumps of clay so the bin would be flush against the ground.

The compost bin had come in a box with pieces that interlocked to make the final result. The stakes fit into holes in the corners after a base had been assembled. Today I took the bottom layer off, then checked it for straightness with a level before I pounded one stake into each corner with a rubber mallet

Once the bottom layer had been secured, I set the rest on top so the pieces locked together. I put the contents of the bin back in, then added the lid. Here's the finished bin, ready for more yard and kitchen waste:

When the job was done I put everything away, and tried to figure out what to do with the day lily tubers that I'd thrown in a bin. You'll never guess what I came up with...

What A Weekend!

This weekend Tony and I made a road trip to Columbia, Missouri for the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival. Son Brian and Daughter-In-Law Nicole live there, and going to "Roots N Blues" has become a family tradition.

The festival has a sanctioned barbecue contest, but this year we concentrated on the music, which takes place in downtown Columbia. Tony and I left our house shortly before 10:00 in the morning and arrived at Brian and Nicole's a couple of hours later. After we brought our things in and chatted a bit, we met the rest of our group for lunch, and got to the festival shortly before 3:00. We staked out a place in front of the main stage with our chairs, then spent the day chatting, listening to music, eating, and listening to more music. We had to dodge raindrops a couple of times, but the showers resulted in a beautiful double rainbow.

We moved between the multiple stages throughout the day. Before things wrapped up and we left at 10:30, we saw:

• David Wax Museum, which played a combination of traditional Mexican music and Americana that they call "Mexo-Americana"

• Toubab Krewe, an instrumental band that fused American music with African music of Mali

• Progressive bluegrass from Sam Bush

• Traditional Southern blues from the Music Maker Revue

• The blues guitar of Robert Cray 

• Los Lobos, which I've always associated with Mexican-American roots-rock, but who also played some pretty good zydeco.

• And my new favorite band, Fitz and the Tantrums, which played an infectious blend of soul and pop.

A Great Recipe for Life!

Sent to me by a friend...

• Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

• Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

• When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today. I am thankful for______________'

• Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. Drink green tea and plenty of water.

• Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds, and walnuts.

• Try to make at least three people smile each day.;

• Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

• Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card. 

• Life isn't fair, but it's still good. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

• Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

• You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

• Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

• Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

• Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

• Forgive everyone for everything.

• What other people think of you is none of your business.

• However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

• Your job won't take care of you when you are in need; Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!

• Envy is a waste of time.

• You already have all you need.

• Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

• Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

• When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.

Cross It Off The List

Several years ago I got a wheelbarrow through Freecycle. The metal tub had lost most of it's finish and the outside had some permanent residue around the rim, but it didn't cost me anything but the time and gas it took to pick it up. It's served me well for projects around the yard.

Last fall I was hauling some mulch in the wheelbarrow when the wheel suddenly went flat. After taking a good look at it, I determined the tire had come off the rim. A bit of Internet research indicated it should be an easy fix--tie a rope around the center of the tire, cinch it up until the tire bead presses up against the rim, inflate the tire with a compressor so the bead seals on the rim, then remove the rope and finish filling the tire.

Somehow, though, this was one of those projects I just never seemed to get around to. The weather turned cold, and I figured it would be hard to manipulate things with gloves on. We never really had spring weather this year...cold and rainy turned to hot and muggy overnight, and then I didn't want to be outside. In the meantime, the wheelbarrow served as a nice staging area for the large bag of birdseed when I filled up a smaller container, and when I painted earlier in the year it kept all the cans of paint and accessories in one place.

However, now that the weather's getting conducive to doing outside activities fixing the wheelbarrow showed up on my list of things to do again. Today I decided to tackle it. I followed the directions on the wikiHow article How to Fix a Wheelbarrow Tire (tubeless). After breakfast I carried the wheelbarrow upstairs, and turned it upside down on the kitchen floor so I could get to the tire. The first rope I tried was too wimpy, but a second one, tied around the center of the tire tread, looked like it would work just fine. After I knotted the rope, I tied a wooden salad spoon on top of it, then twisted the spoon to increase the rope's pressure on the tire(like a tourniquet). It looked like the tire was doing what it was supposed to, compressing in the middle and expanding around the edge.

Of course, there was no way of knowing if this was really going to work until I tried it at the air pump. I carried the wheelbarrow out to the car (actually a Honda CR-V, with enough room in the back for big things when the rear seats are put down) and slid it in so the wheel was facing outwards. I got the bottle of dish detergent and put it in, too, because my directions indicated the soap would help the bonding process and I figured I'd need all the help I could get.

At the gas station I backed in next to the air pump, and opened up the back of the car. I smeared dish detergent all around the rim of the tire, then attached the air hose to the valve stem and turned on the air. After a couple of seconds I checked the tire. Nothing. I added more air. Still nothing. I was disappointed, but decided to try one more time before I went home. This time I got distracted by a missing bolt in the axle bracket...wondering how long it had been gone and if it had anything to do with the tire problem. I looked back at the wheel--HOLYCANNOLIIT WAS WORKING! The tire had attached to the rim and was filling up. I added air until the tire felt hard, then screwed the cap on the valve stem and put the air hose back.

When I got home I looked through a box of bolts in the basement, but there wasn't anything the right size. I'll have to go to the hardware store and buy one, but then my wheelbarrow will be ready to roll.

Thank Goodness For Workers!

Today is Labor Day. For the first time in many years I had to work (from 2:00 until the mall closed at 9) on what’s a holiday for most people. However, before I left for my shift Tony and I had a great time; the weather was so nice that we walked to the grocery store, where we bought a card for a friend who's under the weather and some ingredients for lunch. When we got home, we made our meal and ate it on the deck.

Having to work on a day set aside to celebrate the contributions of workers made me think about folks who were actually laboring today. I decided to make a list of all the people that were on the job today that I was thankful for:

• First are the GROCERY STORE employees that showed up for their shifts so we could buy the ingredients for our lunch; the people that stocked the shelves and deli areas, the bakers that got there early to make fresh bread, and the cashier that checked us out with a smile.

• When I got in my car to go to work and noticed that my tank was almost empty, it was good to know that the GAS STATION ATTENDANTS were on the job so I’d be able to fill it up and not run out of gas.

• I really appreciate the PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS at the mall, who spend a lot of time doing a thankless job. Whenever I have a problem, they always send someone to the Customer Service desk to help me out.

• The mall’s HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT, which ensures that the restroom I used was neat and supplied with toilet paper and paper towels. They also keep the mall public areas clean, and empty the trashcans on a regular basis.

• When I took my break midway through my shift, I was glad the RESTAURANT WORKERS were there.

• And last, but not least, there’s the man from the HORTICULTURAL COMPANY who keeps the mall greenery looking good. He wheels his giant cask of water from plant to plant, watering them and trimming away any bad-looking foliage.

I'm Dreaming Of Some Cool Weather

I feel like a kid right before Christmas...

It's coming....

After several days of record-breaking highs, the temperature's supposed to drop back to normal tomorrow (and then even a little bit below average, which is somewhere between 83 and 85 degrees).

MSN Weather

When I woke up this morning, the sun was just rising over the top of the house behind us. Soon it was beating down mercilessly. However, about noon a few clouds started rolling in, occasionally obscuring Mr. Sol, and the wind picked up. There's a medium chance of rain, which we really need, but I'll settle for the cooler weather the front is bringing.

Hopefully this time tomorrow the windows will be open!

Peaceful, Quiet, and Beautiful

Yesterday's high temperature of 103 set a record for the day. It was almost 20 degrees higher than the average for this time of year. Not the best day for an outdoor activity, but last night Tony and I had a wonderful time at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Normally the garden closes at 5:00. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, though, they're open late on Wednesday nights, so after Tony got home from work, he quickly changed clothes and we got in the car, along with our picnic dinner, and some extra bottled water. Traffic wasn't bad, and it only took about 20 minutes to get there.

There were only a few cars on the parking lot. We grabbed our food and walked up to the entrance. Just before we went in the door, Tony saw a notice that said "no picnicing on the grounds". Uh-oh. We got our admission tickets, then left and walked to a far corner of the parking lot, where we sat on the curb under a tree to eat. Tummys full, we went back in.

The buildings all closed at 5, but there was still plenty to do. They were already setting up tents and stages for the Japanese festival this weekend, when the garden will be wall to wall people. However, last night was different. The garden covers 79 acres. In our hour and forty five minutes of walking, we only ran into six other groups of people. It felt like we had the garden to ourselves.

We walked past the reflecting pond in front of the Climatron (a geodesic dome conservatory), where water lilies mix colorfully with Chihuly glass onion sculptures, then meandered through some of the home demonstration gardens, where butterflies flitted about the colorful blooms.

It was still hot ("only" 96 degrees at 5:00), but I don't think it the humidity was as bad as it had been earlier in the summer. There was a nice breeze, and we took advantage of sprinklers several different times, running through the drops of water, or standing under gentle mists from the irrigation system.

Next, we went to the Japanese garden (at 14 acres, the largest Japanese strolling garden in the Western hemisphere) and sat on a bench next to the lake. A hummingbird was flitting around the tree in front of us, and we marveled at its smallness. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement in the next clearing over. The largest hawk I've ever seen was eating, dipping its head down and tearing pieces of flesh from it's evening meal. We strolled some more, zigzagging over part of the lake on an eightfold Japanese bridge, where we saw a huge white koi going after some water bugs.

After the Japanese garden, we strolled through the English Woodland garden and into the Victorian District area, developed around the home of Henry Shaw, the garden't founder. We meandered through the formal gardens, then climbed the steps to the top of an observatory. Coming back down, we managed to navigate through a maze made of yew hedges.

About that time our feet started to get tired, so we decided it was time to go. As we started towards home, air conditioner blasting, I thought about what a perfect night it had been.