Wake up, you sleepy head!!
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
It’s Monday and time to go to work! While Dr. Mary was getting ready for the gym, I looked up some healthy meals to make this week, and the pan-roasted salmon looked great! We prefer wild-caught salmon, which is usually available at the local market, albeit at a higher price than the farmed salmon.
Looks fantastic, and it is easy to cook!
At 8:15 am, we took off for the gym to get twisted, turned, and walk out feeling better than when we came in. We went to Peak Performance in Villa Park. The gym was decorated with many little green and one large black leprechauns.
When does a leprechaun cross the road? When the light is green.
Antony Mitchell, the owner/operator, greeted us with a limerick
I need a front door for my hall,
The replacement I bought was too tall.
So I hacked it and chopped it,
And carefully lopped it,
And now the dumb thing is too small.
Led by Antony Mitchell, with over 30 years of expertise, Peak Performance delivers personalized fitness programs designed to achieve accurate, lasting results. They prioritize proper form, safety, and balance and guide you through tailored workouts in their exclusive, private facility. (Whips and chains are optional.)
His approach includes comprehensive fitness evaluations and individualized plans based on our goals, medical history, and core fitness metrics. After he looked at my body and the laughing stopped, I was put in the TBD (To Be Determined) Category.
He did specifically ask me NOT to wear shorts for a reason I have yet to determine. M-m-m-m-m!
I also told him I remember being able to get up without making sound effects.
It’s fantastic that we’re getting out of the house and moving two mornings a week. Who knew that exercise could actually compete with brunch for my attention? At this rate, my couch might start charging me rent for all the time I used to spend on it! Our energy level is up, and we’re finding new methods of applying bandages and painkillers to our old joints!
However, tomorrow we will celebrate because it is “Fat Tuesday!” They are our people!
We go twice a week and enjoy the workout and pampering by the staff!
After getting beat up and hobbling to our car, we went VFR to the Grove Coffee Shop and ordered a bagel and a pair of lattes. All those calories got us ready to go to work for real!
The Villa Park bagel store is across from Dunkin’ Donuts, so we always choose the little guy!!
We opt for whole-wheat or whole-grain bagels to increase fiber intake and stabilize blood sugar levels.
Now, the Silver Fox gets to run! We are off to the laundry and Roger’s Gardens to pick up some tomatoes and peppers from the Tomatomania Sale! We have been going there for years, beginning in early 1990, and this year, they had over 200 varieties of tomatoes.
What do you call a tomato that self-identifies as a carrot? A Transplant.
We arrived at 11:00 am and parked in their back lot. Mary and I sneaked in through the delivery truck entrance; it was easy as Mary made me carry six flats of tomatoes and kept saying, “Over here boy, and be careful!”
On our way in, we passed by the roses and looked for blueberries on our way to the North Forty!
My, talk about a selection of roses! They made 150 new roses on display!
We made it, and now we’re faced with so many decisions that it feels like we’re playing a game of “Would You Rather!” Do we order pizza or sushi? Do we binge-watch a series or take a nap? Decisions, decisions—it’s like being the president of procrastination!
We faced this dilemma head-on together. Yes, Mary went first, and I followed with the appropriately timed, “Yes, Dear!”.
We were at the North Forty! Time to make our selections!
Tomatomania is a series of spring events that celebrate tomatoes and sell tomato seedlings. It’s also the name of a book about growing tomatoes.
What is Tomatomania?
- Tomatomania is a series of spring events at nurseries and garden centers.
- It’s the largest tomato seedling sale in the United States.
- The events include classes, sales, tastings, and social gatherings.
- Tomatomania celebrates the tomato, America’s favorite garden vegetable.
Who started Tomatomania?
- Scott Daigre started Tomatomania in the early 1990s at Hortus, a nursery in Pasadena, California.
- He also wrote a book called Tomatomania! A Fresh Approach to Celebrating Tomatoes in the Garden and in the Kitchen.
What does Tomatomania include?
- A wide selection of tomato plants, including heirlooms and hybrids
- Expert advice on how to grow tomatoes
- Supplies needed to grow tomatoes
- Recipes and kitchen tips for using tomatoes
How do you get rid of unproductive tomatoes? Can them.
We stopped and picked tomatoes and peppers for an hour, going up and down each aisle, making our selections. Some were new and old standbys like Roma and Black Krim.
Ultimately, we were thirsty, especially after pushing the cart full of goodies all over the lot. Mary had me push the cart and wave a little flag so she could easily find me.
We went to the Farmhouse, part of the nursery, and asked to sit at the bar for some wine and perhaps some of their daily specialty soup (we had just downed two bagels earlier!).
I told Mary about the two tomatoes who were walking down the street when they decided to cross the road. On their way over, a car squished one of the tomatoes. The other yelled, “Come on, ketchup!”
We texted our location to friends!
Some people add color to their surroundings! That would be us! Black and Blue!
We did order their daily special soups and agreed they were both excellent.
The Silver Fox’s trunk was loaded with goodies. We might have gotten more, but the van was unavailable—that’s good! The back and front seats were full, so I carefully tied Mary over the hood and drove down the freeway to the sound of, “You wait until we get home!!!”
We had two flats of babies to plant!
We brought Roger’s flats home, put them in the garden, and immediately headed to Home Depot to get fresh potting mix and a few additional plants, including a new blueberry bush! Potting mix is a sterile mixture of materials used to grow plants in containers. It’s designed to be lightweight, well-draining, and provide plant nutrients.
We have three bags, and each one is about 60 pounds!
I carried them via wheelbarrow to the south forty, our “little garden,” where we had been preparing the beds for summer planting. We put in the new soil and then turned it to about the 8″ level to get a good mix. We do it by hand even though we have an electric rototiller! We like to look for worms (good) and grubs (bad).
OK, time to get serious!!
The bags are dumped into the raised beds, and then we mix everything up. Note that I wear my gardening costume, which I always wear unless it is World Naked Gardening Day (WNGD), which we celebrate on the first Saturday of May. On that day, we greet the garden in our “all-together,” which serves several purposes!
- It saves on washing clothes!
- Scares the birds away!
- Assures “the moon” comes out early
- Assures the tomatoes will turn red early!
After almost 200 pounds of fresh dirt, we are ready to plant!
We place tomatoes about 24-30′ apart and almost 36″ between rows. This allows for air circulation and makes it easy for us to pick. The older we get, the farther apart they will become.
We bury the tomatoes almost up to the first branch, adding three tablespoons of fertilizer to each one to get the roots moving quickly!
Onions are great for keeping away pests, so we transplanted these onions from their old location to between the new tomato plants. Due to their strong smell, onions are known to repel pests like aphids, cabbage loopers, Female Eye Doctors, carrot flies, Colorado potato beetles, rabbits, and most garden insects. Essentially, the onion scent discourages most small insects that might damage your plants.
Thank you, onions!!!
Dr. Mary and I are a team. I dig the hole and apply the fertilizer, and she comes behind me to plant the tomato, apply the mulch, and tags the tomato stands with the proper name (so we can remember later!).
Remember, good things come to those who dig deep.
The serious work starts now!!
We are so happy with the raised beds! We do not have to get on our hands and knees; we have a place for the tools, and when we get tired, we sit!!! Mary is dressed for digging in the dirt.
We make a great pair, just like peas and carrots.
It was three hours of work, and we are done with the tomatoes; tomorrow will be the peppers!
The tomato cages are in, and the straw mulch is in place. Now, we will water the roots for an hour using the underground drip system.
We have the transplanted onions set between the tomatoes.
These cages are about fifteen years old!
After a quick rinse of the sidewalk/walkway, we head to the pool!
Have a nice nap, little ones!
We went to the “hot tub,” which was 85 degrees. The kids reset the temperature to 104, which was too hot for us. So, we attempted to readjust it yesterday, and we overachieved. Mary got out the instruction book, and now it is set for 96, our temperature.
We made a quick dinner—because we realized the only thing faster than our cooking skills is how quickly the meal gets cold!
We had hotdogs with fresh peas and pizza. Scout went bonkers and would not stop staring at us. Since he was old and we were weak, he joined us for dinner.
Poor baby, he looks so malnourished!
The pizza was called “Firehouse,” but Mary stippped hers clean of the jalapeos making it just a “house”, and they got added to mine!
Yummy!
After working in the garden, using the hot tub, and eating a good dinner, we crashed around 8:30 p.m.
We have dirty dreams all night long!
