New Goal

Happy November!  About time I got back on the wagon here, but all I can think of is, it’s cold, so I should figure out environmentally friendly ways to stay warm this winter, right?  I’ve had my heat on for a couple weeks already.  I do turn it down to 50 during the day and such, and I always wear a sweater and a blanket-cape and warm socks and furry slippers and such around the house when I’m cold, but it’s still on 68 when I’m home, which I personally, as the daughter of my parents, feel is Too High.

I have some ideas on how to deal with this, so I can turn the heat down- say to 63?  I get cold very easily, and I don’t function well when I’m cold.  But I could get up and do some calisthenics every 30 minutes to keep my sluggish blood flowing (unrealistic, my couch is too soft).  Space heaters are good.  They only work in my bedroom and office, since the other space in my apartment is all joined and too big to heat efficiently with a space heater.  I could spend more time in the bedroom and office.  I could eat more hot soup (tomato soup comes in a box at Whole Foods!  my kind of cooking).  More oatmeal, more tea, etc.  Using the oven warms up the kitchen, too.

Should be enough behavioural changes, but the apartment leaks heat like whoa, so some towels by the windows (single-paned of course) might stop what’s escaping at the edges, at least.  As it’s not my place to convert, I can’t do much beyond that to stop the leaks.  I have up curtains.

Any ideas on what else I can do to stay warm and get that thermostat down even further?

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Garden: Third Week

So far, everything except the sweet peas has come up from seed. Those I planted a full inch deep, just like the packet said, so I’ll wait a little while before I start worrying. The shelling pea plants are growing the quickest.

I’m rather suspicious of my success. All I did was collect dirt, pots, seeds, and water. I didn’t even get drainage in most of the pots right, so they’ve flooded twice with the heavy rains the past couple of weeks. And for this, I am rewarded with perky sprouts? Just get a load of that spearmint sprout. He has no idea what he’s getting into. Clearly unprepared for, and unconcerned with, the ravages of my attention. I want him to grow quickly, so I can make tea of him.

I have discovered an effective method for curing the impatience between planting and finding green things: go away for the weekend. Plant Thursday night, make some plans, come back Sunday, and voila! No chance to spend the weekend avoiding one’s phone and staring at dirt, plus rewards when you return.  This has been keeping me calm, anyway.

Eating these guys is the next step that I’m very excited about, but the next actual step is transplanting. I started my seeds close together, like the package said, so I’ll need to thin the morning glories and climbers especially, and the peas, also- there’s one guy who’s struggling in a small pot with two other thriving pea plants. The kalanchoe is now hidden in the glories, but he appears to be doing well. I assume he’s a bit confused about all the (living) company these days, but soon he’ll be moved to safety.

My Gentleman Friend’s wonderful mother gave me a gigantic stash of planters (with a huge spiky bromeliad bonus) this weekend, which is going to make it possible to separate things the way they should be (and decorate my bathroom). For now, though, more photos of the garden tonight are here. I have romaine lettuce, maybe!

I’m also looking for good homes for a few morning glory sprouts. They’re probably best in pots, since they tend to grow quickly and consume yards and native plants otherwise. Want one? or six?