My Liberal Identity

• Tue, 07:12: Spotted an oriole this morning. Pretty bird.

• Sun, 21:44: Daily Kos: Billionaire donors drive anti-teacher, pro-testing education reform agenda http://t.co/Ck5HJQPK via @dailykos
• Sun, 23:37: Another Monday approaches. Damn.
• Mon, 07:16: RT @laurenbeukes: Working on a novel? You don't know what you have or how to fix it until you've got the whole thing down. #finishthedam ...
• Mon, 07:17: Gnat bites are as bad as mosquito bites. My legs look polka-dotted.

• Sat, 15:44: I love Hermione, but sometimes she says the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. #iknowitsjustthescriptbutdamn
• Sat, 20:47: Summer Saturday http://t.co/1tVU7OBA
• Sun, 08:56: Breakfast on the deck, listening to the birds and the other sounds of the morning.

At least that’s what it felt like. 80F in the shade. Sunny. Cooled off later–I think the breeze drifted in off the lake.

A gardening day. I put out a couple of lawn ornaments–flower spinnies, no big–and stuck some red and orange begonias in the planter. Finished up the raised bed, and planted the overflow tomatoes in deck containers–I know I swore I wouldn’t try containers again, but I couldn’t bear to toss the seedlings. All the varieties I’m trying this year are new. There’s Arkansas Traveler, Black Cherry, and three Italian types: Red Pear Sel. Franchi (a beefsteak-type), San Marzano (sauce) and St. Pierre (a salad/fresh). The Italian plants have grown more quickly, especially the St. Pierre, but they were starting to yellow a bit. I suspect over-watering and too-rich soil. So now they’re out in the heat and sun, protected by the red mulch that’s supposed to boost production by 20%. We’ll see.

A couple of surprises carried over from last year’s mesclun crop. The plants that I thought might be radicchio turned out to be plain old lettuce. The curly lettuce has grown into a decent-size head, and the thing with the kale-like leaves and orange stems turned out to be chard. In addition, a sprouted red onion that I stuck in the ground has put forth a couple of flowers. I’ve looked up how to harvest seeds, so assuming they aren’t sterile hybrid, I will give them a shot next year.

I also planted some mesclun seeds leftover from last year. The seeds wintered in the unheated garage, so I don’t know if they’re still viable. Again, we’ll see.

That’s it for the vegetables. As far as other things go, the miniatures roses have exploded, and an old rootstock plant leftover from Mom’s rose-tending days has put forth buds. The crabapple that produces the hardball-size fruit that I used to make chutney a couple of years ago blossomed this year, so I should see apples in the fall. Found a strawberry plant in one of the containers I cleaned out to use for the tomatoes. Not sure where it came from. I moved it to another pot, but I’m not sure if it survived transplant. It looks a little wilty.

Dinner tomorrow: salmon with sauteed chard. I’m not sure how much chard constitutes “a bunch,” but I think I’ll have enough.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

• Fri, 12:35: Solamere, Tagg Romney, and the New American Normal http://t.co/flgMHjVZ via @EsquireMag
• Fri, 13:26: RT @washmonthly: GOP isn't just going to "repeal and replace" Obamacare, they're going to repeal and make things much worse: http://t.co ...
• Fri, 13:34: RT @NYTimeskrugman: Presidential Job Records http://t.co/7ZXOK0cO
• Fri, 13:38: RT @LynnFlewelling: GOP, how does "small government" square with your determination to control what goes on in bedrooms and wombs?
• Fri, 13:59: RT @stevebenen: New installment: Romney's Top 19 most blatant falsehoods of the week http://t.co/3aj9ZwxC Some real doozies this week
• Sat, 08:29: “Make good art.” http://t.co/QxW6YhtD

This has been all over the place and you’ve probably already seen it so you don’t need to see it again but I’m posting it anyway. Because enough folks thought it worth listening to. And it is.

In the meantime, I shall shop for groceries and put gas in the car, visit the hardware store and check the mail. Art may be committed later in the day, but to be honest I am still calling it craft at this point.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

• Thu, 12:29: Daily Kos: Billionaire Scott Walker donor's business paid no state income taxes http://t.co/Es7miUSL via @dailykos
• Thu, 15:53: RT @ezraklein: TED has released Nick Hanauer’s talk on taxes -- you can watch it here: http://t.co/EJjm9VBZ
• Thu, 19:51: Where has the week gone? http://t.co/sC9IRBjg
• Thu, 20:45: RT @introvertedwife: I said I was going to make a Cthulhu Barbie and I did. http://t.co/x0QUmAVJ
• Thu, 21:23: My Gaby has a Black Widow-grade Stare. RT @PierreBokor: "I wish I had my dog's superpower of staring at people until they do things for me."
• Thu, 21:48: RT @jimchines: Looks like the Hugo Voter Packet is up at http://t.co/ORJfQ4qf
• Thu, 22:37: Go Kings! Beat the 'Yotes! #bitterblackhawksfan
• Thu, 22:41: RT @ebertchicago: Cubs owner backs nasty anti-Obama ads, wants taxpayer handout for Wrigley Field. Rahm not amused. http://t.co/J6JbXkV6
• Thu, 22:59: RT @ColleenLindsay: Animal lovers & writers: Please help out fellow writer @skyladawn with mounting vet bills. Pay it forward for So ...
• Fri, 01:27: Different salts, when to use them, and how much to use: The Salt Rules http://t.co/LLD98SYS via @TestKitchen

Just a short update while I wait for the coffee to brew. HP & the Chamber of Secrets is playing in the background. Since temps are supposed to hit the 70s/80s for the next week, I spent part of the post-dayjob afternoon putting the tomato and basil plants in the ground. Will post the exciting pictures over the weekend.

Time for coffee….

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

• Wed, 12:51: Accidentally Released - and Incredibly Embarrassing - Documents Show How Goldman et al Engaged in 'Naked Short Selling' http://t.co/NfDhmFHN
• Wed, 15:01: Is "a little over their skis" the new Beltway catchphrase? Have we seen the last of "thrown under the bus"?
• Wed, 15:05: RT @Alfreda89: Jeffrey Rosen: The Scariest Recent Judicial Opinion You Haven’t Heard About | The New Republic: http://t.co/RMfDkArE
• Wed, 22:37: RT @sfsignal: REMINDER: Kickstarter for Nightmare Magazine by @JohnJosephAdams — http://t.co/y9Ayobyl #fb
• Thu, 09:32: RT @BooMan23: #JoeRicketts, don't make us go to all-out war on the #ChicagoCubs http://t.co/7CKpw3By
• Thu, 11:00: RT @tobiasbuckell: So TED will show pro-imperialist pro-colonialist Niall Ferguson's talks, but not one about taxing the rich: http://t. ...
• Thu, 11:36: 'The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama' Is Just Another Racist Sprocket in the New-Age Slime Slot Machine http://t.co/sPadVYa0 via @EsquireMag