Sunday, May 5, 2013

My Mad Scientist

Happy Sunday! We are having what I can only describe as perfect weather this weekend. In the 80's, a slight breeze to keep us cooled off and the sky is the color of energy. My batteries, having been depleted by a long winter, are being recharged.

So, with my hubby's hand being casted and pretty much rendered useless (the hand, not him) we've been hanging at home a lot more.

We decided to try starting some seeds on dining room table which we pushed in front of the big window to catch afternoon sun.  I bought a new bright red spray bottle and asked him to spray those starts every time he thought of it.  They were going sooooo well for about the first 10 days.

And then ... he spotted some aphids on a couple of pepper plants I had purchased at the store. My "mad science" hubby decided to make up a home concoction of water and borax to spray on the the leaves. Not sure where he found that idea on the internet (or if he just made it up!) but he forgot to tell me he had put Borax in the water bottle and I used it to spray my new baby seedlings that were, up to that point, coming up great.

No bueno. The nasturtiums seem to be riding the chemical storm but the other seedlings are looking really sad and burned.

I could only laugh.

Hubby and I do not have a great history of growing a garden together. The first spring we moved here we planted over each other in the beautiful garden that used to exist. For most people, this would be most irritating but it's a common theme in our lives. Life is far too short to get mad about such silly stuff. It actually provided a good laugh!!  So, I just went to RiteAid and bought some nice starts.

He got the topsy turvys down for me and I'll be replacing the dirt in them today and get these 'maters going.

Mostly, this has kept his mind off the ever-present dull ache in his arm since he had surgery. He starts physical therapy next week, which may not be very pleasant. I'm glad we have something to laugh about and truthfully it's just nice to be outdoors and doing something besides thinking about how we won't be riding motorcycles until it's so hot we won't want to ride! 

I'm enjoying just putzing around the house. I haven't really done that since we moved here 5 years ago. We are usually rolling somewhere and nothing much gets done at the house all summer. 

I actually read almost a whole book yesterday.  I putzed awhile and then made a pot of coffee & sat in my lounge chair to read. Took a 2-hour nap. Gave myself a mini-pedicure. Played with the dogs a lot. Watched an old movie. Made cookies.

Life is good. And it's funny. And I love my mad scientist!

love, susan



4 comments:

  1. One way to sprout seeds is in damp paper towel. The trick is to put the seed, between two layers and then put the entire thing into a plastic bag which will keep them moist so they don't need constant spraying. I knew about the paper towel part of the thing but not the sandwich bag part until my fiddle teacher showed me last Monday. Just my two cents.

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    1. When I was a kid, it seems like we did that and/or used cotton balls in a ziploc bag! I went out and bought the rest of my starts today. I'm so sore from bending over that I doubt I'll be able to move in the morning.

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  2. Sometimes it's nice to have an excuse to stay home for awhile. I got a kick out of the mix up with the Borax water, glad you could laugh over it too!

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  3. Hubby here, actually the borax mixture was to put an end to some sugar ants that have started their yearly assault, and that spraying has cut it down to me spotting 1 ant since then on a countertop. Borax is the way to go, and the same ingredient in those overly expensive traps that they sell.. and a 4-3/4 pound box of it in the detergent aisle at WinCo for about $4. There was only a trace amount in the bottle, but forgot to rinse it out... whoopsi!

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