Why a person who plays the piano is called a pianist but a person who drives a race car is not called a racist?
We got a late start… I was up at 8:20 AM and Sue followed my by about a half-hour. I began the day reading the news and could NOT pass up the challenge…I do not believe their claim since I finished it in a few short minutes. It was interesting and it did activate a few grey matter in the ol’ noggin!
This morning’s to-do list was to do the final coordination for the upcoming Avalon Ball…I had to cancel eight tickets, cancel three rooms, and finalize the boat trip! It took a couple of hours on the phone, writing letters, and notifying everyone. It’s done…we are ready to have a wonderful weekend across the sea…26 miles to be exact!
Lunch was terrific…we killed off the leftovers! The refrigerator is now ready fill back up! We finished off the artichokes so I sallied forth, knife in hand, and did battle with the artichoke plant. I won, the bush did not…I cleaned twelve artichokes (kinda like gutting a fish?) and boiled/simmered them for 45 minutes…delicious! Tomorrow, before the trash folks come by, I will cut the plant to the ground so it can regrow another crop by November/December!
Artichoke varieties come in two primary types: large, round ‘Globe’ artichokes, and elongated, tapered artichokes like ‘Violetta’. The plants share similar growth characteristics, soil demands, and cultural requirements. We have both and they are both good.
The flowers were getting big and the bottom leaves just starting to turn outwards so I lopped them off with a sharp knife. I clean them outside letting the cut-off tops and cut-off leaf tips fall directly onto the grass.
Did You Know? Castroville, California is known as the Artichoke Capital of the World. (It is where Norma Jean (Marilyn Monroe) was crowned Artichoke Queen in 1947.
California artichokes are a delicious fit for a healthy lifestyle. One large artichoke contains only 25 calories, no fat, 170 milligrams of potassium, and is a good source of vitamin C, folate, magnesium and dietary fiber.
I had a “low battery” warning of the Amazon Fire Cube remote so I attempted to take the cover off and change the battery. Damned thing would not budge…before getting angry and twisting it into a pretzel, I consulted YouTube and within seconds I had a great video of another old geezer. much like myself, who had the same problem…a sharp knife at the proper spot and volia’, the back was off and battery exposed!
While on YouTube, I saw another episode of Amos N’ Andy that I do not remember seeing so I watched it…reminded me of me at tax time! Also reminded my of why we goes to the nice tax lady and pay her $500 to do all the paperwork! Have a good laugh, it is quite funny.
In the afternoon, I decided to continue the patio replacement. Being 15 feet in the air standing atop a ladder is a little scary so I took it nice and s-l-o-w, I’m talking s—l—o—w! I had to take out about 40 screws that I had put in 20 years ago…most were in pretty good shape. Thank goodness for the Makita Wireless Drills!
I got everything taken apart from below but the higher parts I could not reach needed to be handled from the roof. So, like Santa Claus I headed for the rooftop! Damn, I had to climb a ladder even though I tried and wiggle my nose and sing Christmas Carols…nothing worked except the ladder!
After adjusting my oxygen mask and acclimating to the new altitude, I gingerly tiptoed toward the edge and removed two more 4’x8′ lattice sheets. I reached out and loosened the remaining two sheets and headed back down to Earth…kissing the cement as soon as my feet hit the round!
The wood was in amazing shape but I remembered that I coated it all in copper sulfate as a protection again the sun and varmints.
After reaching the ground, I noticed I had been shot…well, not really. I think it was the result of a screw coming in contact with my hand at The proper angle to draw blood. As you get old, the alligator skin I once had turns to paper thin skin. I just ignored it until I got back inside and Nurse Sue took care of the boo-boo.
Most of the lattice is now removed, I must move the ladder into the garden and get a few more strips taken off before I struggle with the frame. It’s 5:00 PM and time to rest… I will continue my dance with death tomorrow morning. I did get to use by new Makita Cordless Torque Wrench which was great… hours of using a wrench became seconds!
Into the house, my bride and I had a glass of wine and decided to watch TV. Tonight we did Grey’s Anatomy, Gilmore Girls, and S.H.I.E.L.D. We crashed about 11:30 PM.
I could not resist my newest toy…a variable color LED strip. From the iPhone I can make any of 64,000,000 colors and change the intensity from 0 to 100%.
Green for Halloween 
Red(ish) for Christmas
Remember, the difference between a man and a boy is the price of his toys!
