Pentimento

How To Muck Up Making Bread

My friend gave me a bread machine. She bought a new and bigger one and gave her perfectly good old one to me. So, all you have to do is put in the ingredients, close the lid and press a button. How hard can this be, right? Well....Add one twit and one missing part and you have this mess:

Here's what happened...I read the directions, I gathered all the ingredients and added them in the order the bread machine book advised. There was just one little problem. I didn't know it, but the mixing bar was not in the bottom of the pan. If I was familiar with the machine parts I might have noticed that, but alas, I did not. So, after a few times of looking in the window on top I decided that I had probably done something wrong. (My apologies to the yeasty beasties that gave their lives in vain!)

That mess above got dumped in the garbage and a new batch has just finished mixing and kneading and is now rising in the pan. The finished product isn't very pretty, but I did slice off a warm piece of it and it tasted great. Success! (Kind of looks like a Cornish game hen, but it really is white bread.)

5 Additional Tips On Hanging Tomato Planters

I bought one of those "new" hanging tomato planters from Gardener's Supply thinking even I would be able to handle it. Think again!

The planter did come with directions, but I suppose the key is to read them thoroughly before really getting ready to insert the tomato plant and hang it. In my own defense, I never do well in a project with my husband. He has no patience and acts like he knows everything. Bah! 

No doubt, it'll be a miracle if my tomato plant looks as good as the one in this picture, but it is still May and we planted it yesterday. The one thing we didn't do was put the chain hooks through the fabric of the planter, as well as through the openings in the wire cage. We could go back and move the fabric around a bit to do that, but I didn't notice it today until I had already filled the reservoir with water.

Here are some things to consider if you plan to use this kind of container:

• Make sure the hook/bracket you use, and the location where you put it, can hold up to 50 pounds. With the amount of soil (17 quarts), an enlarging plant, and added water (1 gallon reservoir), it's going to be heavy. They do sell free-standing four arm hangers, but they just look unsteady to me.

• Buy the organic self-watering soil and organic tomato fertilizer GS sells separately too. I used Miracle Grow soil and may be unhappy I did that. I'm going to order the organic fertilizer though since I plan to eat these tomatoes someday. 

• Before you put all the soil in, that's the time to make sure the fabric bag button holes at the top are lined up with where the three hooks for hanging it will be. Be sure to use the button hole in the side of the fabric planter too for the moisture level indicator (included). 

• The tomato plant goes in after you have put in about half the soil you need. It lays horizontally and you will have to carefully feed the leaves through the hole in the bottom of the planter. I left quite a bit of stem inside the planter since tomatoes send off roots even from the stem, so it will just make it that much more hardy. 

• Have someone strong to lift this puppy for you if you can't lift heavy things up into the air over your head. Mine doesn't weigh 50 pounds yet, but I could see my husband straining a bit when he hung it up.

Wooly Orange and Black Caterpillar

SnagIt Capture,
originally uploaded by webduckie.

Anyone know that this little critter turns into? Is it friend or foe? I was hoping it was a butterfly, but maybe it is a moth caterpillar? It was on our front porch this week, and I have seen them before, but I don't remember what they become. Anyone know?

Do Twitter and Twittad Have A Squabble?

Just recently, I accepted a Twittad from someone and truthfully, I was concerned that they might not be getting their money's worth on my profile. That makes me wonder if I would want to buy any Twittad advertising space for myself. I received an email this morning from Twittad saying they know there are API issues, but they have "halted" the ad.

In the great scheme of things, it's not the end of the world, and I didn't stand to make big buck$ (just a few) from hosting the ad, but still, I do feel bad for the advertiser. So, what else can I do? I guess it would be nice if I just put a link to Andrea Metcalf's site, right? Is it her ad that doesn't work with Twitter on the sidebar?

Just Say No To Clay Cat Litter

Thankfully, we have some very well informed and proactive friends that keep us up to date on all sorts of health and environmental concerns. They were the first to tell us we needed to switch out our old clay cat litter for something more healthful for our cat Rocky.

You may or may not know that clay litter contains silica that can cause respiratory problems in cats. (And, perhaps for the owners as they empty the cat littler into the cat box, and/or clean it?) This pertains to the non-clumping variety. If you think you can avoid it by changing to a clumping kind though, think again. In order for it to clump, the clay has added sodium bentonite. Liquid added to sodium bentonite causes it to expand to 15 times its original volume. If your cat ingests any of this litter while doing its grooming it can cause serious internal problems.

We switched to Swheat Scoop last year and our cat had no trouble adapting to it. It scoops and clumps well, and even though adding new litter periodically creates some dust, we (two humans and a cat) haven't had any adverse effects. There is a more in depth article on moderncat where you can get more information and read other cat owners comments.

Rocky gives this litter two toes up!

Fibromyalgia Affects Everyone Every Day

National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day - May 12, 2009

Bremerton, Washington - On May 12, 2009, residents of Bremerton will join millions of people worldwide to observe Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. Led by the National Fibromyalgia Association, the theme for this year’s campaign is “Fibromyalgia Affects Everyone” and focuses on the far-reaching effects of this common, chronic pain disorder—from broken lives to the economic costs for patients and society.

• An estimated 10 million men, women and children in the United States suffer from fibromyalgia, which is characterized by chronic widespread pain, multiple tender points, abnormal pain processing, sleep disturbances, and fatigue.
• For those with severe symptoms, fibromyalgia can be extremely debilitating and interfere with basic daily activities.
• Total healthcare costs over 12 months are about three times higher among fibromyalgia patients compared to patients without the disorder
• Fibromyalgia costs the U.S. between $12-$14 billion each year

As most of my readers know, I have fibromyalgia and it affects my life in a multitude of ways. The most painful of all is the misjudgment by friends and family, assuming I am lazy or a slacker. I wouldn't wish fibromyalgia on anyone else, but when I am at my lowest and someone makes a comment like, "You're not that disabled" when I ask to park near a door to a restaurant, I know there is still much work to do to gain the public's understanding.

“Fibromyalgia Awareness Day provides an opportunity to educate others in our local community about this life-altering disorder—and to bring hope to the millions of people who suffer from it,” says Port Orchard resident Carol Wilkerson.

ABOUT AWARENESS DAY
In 1993, Tom Hennessy, the founder of RESCIND, INC.  (Repeal Existing Stereotypes about Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases), designated May 12 as International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND).  The date was chosen to memorialize the birth date of Florence Nightingale, the English army nurse who inspired the founding of the International Red Cross.  Nightingale contracted a paralyzing, CIND-like illness in her mid-30s and spent the last 50 years of her life virtually bedridden.  Despite her illness, she managed to found the first-ever School of Nursing. Awareness Day activities take place worldwide in an effort to increase awareness of chronic pain illnesses including fibromyalgia.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FIBROMYALGIA ASSOCIATION:
The National Fibromyalgia Association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop and execute programs dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with fibromyalgia. The NFA publishes a quarterly magazine, Fibromyalgia AWARE, and hosts an award-winning website at www.fmaware.org.