Flyer's diary

alligatorob said:
Have your Santa Ana winds begun? I think you do get those in San Diego don't you? What is the peak of your fire season?

Peppers looking good.
Click to expand...

not really sure if the winds have a season... when i see a clear sky and planes are still landing from the west, that's a good indication and frankly it happens occasionally any time of the year. we had fires in the area several years ago, but actually the most worrisome part of seeing the red tinted skies is knowing that the closest fire isn't very close. not that i don't feel sorry for the ex-home owners, but living by the shore, practically the entire city would have to burn down before it would effect me.

waiting for the first sign of a red pepper... still greenish yellow but i'm going to have an abundance, maybe 3-4 dozen, in a few weeks. don't know if i mentioned it before, but dried Pimiento peppers ground up is paprika...! i've been looking at some easy ways to dry peppers in the oven and i already have the mortar and pestle.

on a dieting note... i caved... there was some leftover chicken noodle soup in the fridge i had forgotten about, so it was only the one bowl, but i can't count off a multi-day fast... yet. have to see how today goes. i did get in a semi-major walk... maybe 2 miles and included the dreaded steps.
 
the dieting danger in being generous...

since they reopened in April, i've been over-tipping the bagel store... if they go out of business, i'll have to learn how to make bagels... or at least some sort of bread ... (and yes, i'm aware that bagels aren't the healthiest way to get a grain ... it's one of my only Kryptonite foods). so once in a while i noticed i'd get 14 rather than the usual 13 baker's dozen, ... but today when i got home i counted 17....!

**thanks**...?

 
some spam that only lasted about 10 minutes today did get me curious ...

we have a great Zoo and Wild Animal Park in town. i was a member for over 10 years, but after a while, you sort of see it all. the last year or two i was going more to see the plants than the animals. new exhibits get added, but they are usually just expanded versions of what was already there. don't get me wrong, it is an amazing place... if you never saw it before, it would be one of the first things i'd suggest to do here.

funny how the ocean never gets old.
 
i had a few professors like Dr Winston... the kind of teachers you were anxious to get to class and hear. i got a D in my first shot at Fields & Waves (an undergrad EE course that is universally hated). Dr Graff probably knew the stuff, but he was a horrible teacher. since i was working a few blocks from NJIT the following summer i took the course again which allowed me to average the two grades. on the first day, Dr Ball walked in and passed out some stapled together sheets of paper... about 1/2 inch thick ... he announced that this was his new book so we might as well help him out breaking it in. i immediately realized this guy really knew his stuff plus he was an exceptional prof. i wound up with an A for the summer course which changed my average from a 1.0 to a 2.5.

i discovered Prof Winston died last year, but it is an exceptional time in history when things like his lecture can live on to inspire students for years to come.
 
Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies 45 days before a presidential election and 124 days before American will likely have a new president. anyone who thinks there is division in the country now, you ain't seen nothing yet.

in case you have been living under a rock for the past 4-5 years...
Here's what happened when Senate Republicans refused to vote on Merrick Garland's Supreme Court nomination.

oddly, i'm not sure if democrats are worried... given the extreme hypocrisy by the republicans, there already was a slim chance that the democrats will not only win the presidency, but a move like this ... jamming through a politically based, lame duck nomination ... might also give them the senate. if that happens, there is no doubt the democrats will use the simple majority to reshape the supreme court by add 3-4 new seats, expanding the court to 12 or 13 members. nothing could stop them and the majority of the country would be in favor.

ironically, this possibly short term win will likely turn out to be a huge long term defeat for the "conservatives".
 
Minneola update.... yum... like big tangerines with more of an orange flavor. so easy to peel, they almost fall apart into orange-type wedges.

found a wallet in the market parking lot this morning... sad i can't go out to rake in all the good karma for the rest of the day ... :( ... certainly made one lady's day happier though the long distance thank-you yell i got was a little disconcerting but not unexpected.
 
decided to establish some data points.

just off the street, full gear minus shoes...
09.21.20..170.5.jpg

pockets empty, hat and mask off...
09.21.20..169.0.jpg

back to regular around the house weigh-in clothes...
09.21.20..168.0.jpg
 
i don't know what's up with corn this year, but i'm through waiting for it to go on sale. i can't think of another vegetable that costs more (actually much more) fresh than frozen. ruling out canned corn, i did see a site that professed skillet frying (sauteing?) frozen corn. that recipe added a bit of sugar which i'll pass on, but just pan frying in butter for 7 minutes says it will turn out great. think i'll try that today.
 
skillet fried corn... have to say it was even better than i expected...
IMG_1702.jpg

a few things to watch out for... of course adding something really moist to hot oil had a bit of a initial sputtering reaction, but didn't last very long. i think when i do this again i'll put a few cups of frozen corn in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight and then pat it down a little before it goes in the pan. the other interesting occurrence ... toward the end it really did look like a few kernels were wanting to *pop*... :).

i used Olive Oil, not butter.
i didn't add any sugar but sprinkled some salt toward the end.
even frozen from the start, 5 minutes was enough time for me.
that's when just as a few kernels were starting to brown a bit.
 
pepper update... most of the early plants (maybe 10 days apart from the latest) are turning red s l o w l y... :) ... still a few stubborn ones. i discovered re: pots... deeper is better and with planting in general, the best plant (lower right) is actually two plants and i didn't top either one. this was one of the latest planted so it should start turning soon.

pimiento peppers 09.27.20.jpg
 
made some more skillet corn for dinner yesterday. i had ¼ of an onion in the fridge so i minced that up and threw it in. let it go bit longer on the heat this time and ... mmmm, looking at the Pimento peppers ripening, i can see where the next batch might be rather colorful.

took a fall a few days ago toting out the trash. there is a spot where the driveway hits some vegetation and pivoting on the loose ground... the next thing i knew i was on the ground. still pretty sore, but i looked up the symptoms of a broken hip and i doubt if it is that serious as apparently i would be in much greater pain. doesn't really hurt to put any weight on it and i can walk just fine... just still a little tender ... another downside of losing some "padding"... lol
 
yowza...!!

88c fruit.jpg
... i chose two of everything...!

first spotting of mini-pumpkins this morning, too.... pre-November they're too expensive yet.
 
anyone else wish the day was 3-4 hours longer?
unfortunately i did the rough math and that's not going to happen for another 1.2 billion years.

2:30 pm and i still can't seem to motivate myself to have breakfast.
 
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