Thursday, May 10, 2018

The Mound


This is the Mound that took me 6 hours to de-sod and mulch.  At last!  I've wanted to for a decade. 


14 comments:

  1. I have never tried it myself, but one method I have heard of to sterilize lawn is to water it deeply, then cover it tightly with plastic. If it is in the sun (and even better if the weather is warm/hot) the temperature of the dirt will rise over several days to a level that will kill all plant life including seeds.

    --Alan

    P.S.: I just a little while ago finished sending a bunch of family records and explanations to my newly discovered relative in Washington (State). If indeed we share a grandfather (we might or might not--DNA should tell) we would be first cousins except that our grandmothers would be different. I suppose there is such a thing as a half-first-cousin or some such. But we already have an invitation to their big annual family reunion in the San Juan Islands.

    Alan

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    1. Alan, this family discovery sounds very exciting. I'm happy for you!

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    2. Even better, just now I discovered that my maternal grandparents were both registered as Democrats in 1916; that's a bit of a surprise for me, because my grandfather was a businessman. (He was left with a bad leg by a supposedly incompetent doctor as a boy, so physically demanding pursuits were out of the question.)

      Alan

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  2. Yesterday was pretty much one of those days from hell, painwise. My perfectly functional left knee, able and painfree took a vacation, and this knot of hot, sharp, searing pain took it's place. Now if I just sat, and played on the computer, it pretended to be the old knee. But if I got up to, say, go pee, or let the dog in and out, or make food, pain arrived on giant knife feet and took over the limb and my whole life. Started on the outside of the leg, above and below the knee, and the nets assured me that it was a messed up ITband. How I did that the nets and myself could not scope out, but there it was. Later, it migrated to include the knee itself, both sides and middle.

    I moved to my biggol 2 dollar painkillers that I have been hoarding for years. The merest edge was shaved from the pain. Long and short of it, I fed the dog, let him in and out several times, didn't pee myself, and got food two times. Late in the day remembered what I'd got the emu oil for in the first place. Got a couple of slathers before bedtime, and several over night, and feel much better today. Only a slight twinge left, and I'm being very careful.

    I'd *really* like never to have another day like that. Evah.

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    1. Really, really glad the emu oil persuaded the knee and leg to behave in a civilized manner.

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    2. {♥Puddle♥}

      Can't begin to imagine! Sending lots and *lots* of calm, pain-free vibes♥

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    3. If it helped, I am very glad--but I looked up emu oil and its provenance is just as dreadful as I feared. Olive oil plus linseed (AKA flax seed) oil should be similar, but it seems the linseed oil shouldn't keep well. Wonder if there is some sort of stabilizer in the emu oil. But nothing succeeds like success. Wonder what the devil went wrong. Don't do that again, puddle!

      Alan

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  3. Yes, I'm back have been for just over 24 hours. It was a good trip except for the absence of effective wi-fi on the transcontinental trains. Next time I'll know to have my mobile hot-spot active, although I'm sure there will be stretches where it just can't connect.

    The meeting itself was very enjoyable and informative. I had a couple of good conversations with Katie Anderson, who will be running the Access area where I will be working. I also learned quite a bit about how the rest of the con will be working. One thing I wouldn't have guessed is that the con will be arranging buses for anyone who want to organize a tour.

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  4. Hi Bill, welcome back!

    I may not be around for a while. My screen reader only partially works with the brand spanking new installation of FireFox. So, we'll need to get that sorted out. However, tomorrow the tech is supposed to return to repair my stair chair, and that may take some time. Donno if Dad will be able to get to my screen reader till Saturday.

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  5. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/george-will-calls-repulsive-pence-worse-than-trump.html?utm_source=fb&utm_campaign=nym&utm_medium=s1

    A big chunk:

    " Last June, a Trump Cabinet meeting featured testimonials offered to Dear Leader by his forelock-tugging colleagues. His chief of staff, Reince Priebus, caught the spirit of the worship service by thanking Trump for the “blessing” of being allowed to serve him. The hosannas poured forthfrom around the table, unredeemed by even a scintilla of insincerity…. The vice president chimed in but saved his best riff for a December Cabinet meeting when, as The Post’s Aaron Blake calculated, Pence praised Trump once every 12 seconds for three minutes.

    What seems to have provoked Will’s fury more than all this routine of over-the-top brown-nosing was Pence’s decision during an Arizona appearance to give a big shout-out to convicted-and-pardoned felon Joe Arpaio, the great champion of racial profiling and a big buddy of Trump’s:

    Pence, oozing unctuousness from every pore, called Arpaio “another favorite,” professed himself “honored” by Arpaio’s presence, and praised him as “a tireless champion of . . . the rule of law.” Arpaio, a grandstanding, camera-chasing bully and darling of the thuggish right, is also a criminal, convicted of contempt of court for ignoring a federal judge’s order to desist from certain illegal law enforcement practices. Pence’s performance occurred eight miles from the home of Sen. John McCain, who could teach Pence — or perhaps not — something about honor."

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    1. George does have quite a way with words; I admire that.

      Alan

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    2. Thanks, Susan. I started to read that yesterday and had something I had to get to. Good to be reminded of it.

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  6. Can I just say I have the next-door neighbors from Hell? I do.

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