Been another busy and frustrating few weeks. I will (probably) have a long post about what all has been going on (if I ever get it typed).
In the mean time…..
I got my pepper seeds started. If all those seeds germinate we’re going to have ALOT of peppers next summer (yes, I know that was the point, but uhoh…..). Tomatoes will wait till the beginning of April. Last year I didn’t get anything started till the beginning of April. The tomatoes were just fine with that. The peppers not so much. My two little greenhouses did indeed not survive the weather. In pricing out buying new ones I discovered that I can buy a larger (with shelf space equal to just over two of the little ones) for cheaper than buying two of the little ones. So……
I forgot to mention, back at the beginning of Dec, I broke another tooth. That makes two broken molars. Not the furthest back tooth, but the 2nd to the furthest back. I broke the one on my left side back, 2010-ish. Clean split, front to back, the inside half snapping off at the gumline while I was eating a sandwich. We did a root canal and a crown. This time, first weekend of Dec, eating an egg and cheese sandwich from DD, the same tooth on my right side broke the exact same way.
Pretty sure I know the cause. For one, my teeth kinda suck. Every tooth has at least one filling, many have two. Despite twice a day brushing. Yes, I grew up in a town with fluoride in the water. Yes, I had dental care as a kid. The dentist even had me use prescription (high fluoride) toothpaste for a while to see if that would help. Didn’t make a difference.
In addition I clench my jaw when I’m stressed. Not only when I’m awake, but when I’m asleep. Discovered that after one job in particular tried to screw me over, and I ended up in urgent care with swelling at both hinges of my jaw and numbness radiating up and down the sides of my face. I have a mouthguard to wear at night when I know I’m having issues. And now that I KNOW its a problem I can usually stop myself from doing it when I’m awake. But the tooth that broke in Dec has been giving me fits since all the way back in 2004, when, during a particularly stressful time it suddenly flared up excruciatingly painfully, and then subsided to minor hot/cold sensitivity before I could get in to see a dentist. 4 dentists (two of them specialists) had checked that tooth and not been able to find a problem, but in retrospect we’re wondering if I might not have cracked it way back when by clenching my jaw, and it finally gave up holding on.
I’d originally wanted them to just pull this one, and I’d decide at a later date if I wanted a bridge or what. But it turns out that the roots of my teeth are abnormally long and deep. It wasn’t going to be a simple extraction, it would require a surgical extraction, at which point I told them I’d go with the root canal after all.
First week of January, while driving into town to get the permanent crown fitted I spotted a small flock of Ring Neck Pheasants on the side of the road. I’ve been seeing them in the area off and on since mid-summer, but of course never when I have my camera with me. They were still there on my way back, so I pulled over and snapped a quick photo with my cell phone:
Just to have proof of what I’d seen. Got home, snatched my good camera, and ran back out the door. They were still there when I came back through the 3rd time:
For the curious, there were two females in the group when I stopped and got the cell picture (they were off the shot to the left), but I didn’t see them when I came back through with the good camera.
Not sure how many folks I have reading here with connections in BC Canada, but if you know someone that way could you please share these images:
This dog belongs to a friend of mine. A family member was helping care for Inatci back in mid-Nov and was walking him using the flexi leash that was normally used for the smaller family dog. The inevitable happened (please don’t use flexi type leashes folks, just don’t, especially for larger dogs) and Inatci has not been seen since. She has followed up on every “large white dog” sighting she’s found with no luck.
I’m still having fun finding new things to do with my Instant Pot. A friend recently posted THIS recipe, and of course I had to try it. The resulting cream has a very strong caramel scent to it, though of course its far less sweet. I put some in my coffee this morning and I like it quite a bit, though I think the baking soda tang may be coming through more than I want. If I understand things correctly the baking soda is more for color than flavor, and I may try it without the next time I do it. I also intend to try whipping this into whipped cream with some sugar…..
Someone (elsewhere) asked me to describe what sub-zero(F) temperatures feel like. I have no description. But I can tell you that it’s so cold that when temperatures finally rise to single digits ABOVE 0(F) it feels like a freaking heat wave, and temperatures in the teens with the sun out make you want to ditch the winter gear. THAT’S what sub-zero feels like!
