CtrlAltTabby

It’s been slow growing this year.

It’s been a weird growing season. Yes, I started things like tomatoes late, but the okra, beans, and corn were planted at appropriate times. You wouldn’t know it from looking at them. The okra is the smallest of them, just finally peeking over the edge of the raised bed it’s planted in. There are a few beans on the bushes, and most of the corn is still shorter than me. (And I’m pretty short!) The back vegetable garden has just been growing slowly this year, well, except for the kale and chard, which are huge. The surviving squash, cucumber, and melon plants in the back are just barely showing off flowers. And it’s mostly been outside our control, just the weird range of hot and dry weather we had earlier in the season, with the occasional cool dips. The surviving plants have started to expand – later than usual – as the weather has almost settled into something resembling normal. And our grass has replenished from the intermixed brown that carried into July.

It’s not all bad though… our berries have been amazing this year, from the ever-bearing strawberries (now preparing for a third harvest round), raspberries, and a mulberry tree that would normally have been done a month ago and is still filled with a plethora of red (still ripening to purple) berries. Our grand success for the season, however, sits in the front yard, a placeholder for an area that will acquire more fruit in future years. In fact, the white pumpkins’ vines filled those placeholder spots and sprawled across the new herb garden, eclipsing the basil and cilantro in their beds. With an anticipated two months or more of growth still left, some of the pumpkins are already huge and new ones are still forming. If we’re lucky, at least in terms of the garden, fall will come slowly and we’ll be able to harvest some delicious treats from the back yard.

That was yummy.

Well, mostly. Earlier this week, we attended a snacking adventure at our local library, which consisted of a box of eleven distinct treats from Universal Yums from one of their country boxes – in this case, Taiwan.

Part of the cover for Universal Yums' Welcome to Taiwan selection. The full cover includes a map of Taiwan with some key locations noted; the partial includes the edge of that map with Kaohsiung (a port) and Tainan (Taiwan's oldest city) just showing.

This was our first tasting adventure at the library and our first chance to try Universal Yums, though we’ve been aware of the concept for a while now. The library event was described as “Yum Club”; we didn’t know the theme was Taiwan until we arrived. This was clearly not the first iteration of Yum Club at the library, and many of the attendees were familiar with the process. It was our first, hopefully of many, Yum Club exploration.

The library provided information booklets – from Universal Yums – to each participant. The cover features the theme and a map of Taiwan, highlighting some important places with a tidbit of information about each on the map. The second page has “The Yum Scoreboard,” which includes a spot to rate or record comments about each snack, suggested ratings (essentially Wow, OK, and Yuck), and a spot to guess at which four of the eleven treats will be your favorites. We were warned going in that each person would be asked their top and bottom choices at the end, so I ranked the treats as I went. Of the four that I guessed for my top choices, two made it, and a third treat only missed by one.

The first of three pages with photos of the snack food in its package, a title with an abbreviated description, and detailed description with context for each. The four treats featured on this page are Triko Foods Taro Cookies (Crispy Cream-Filled Cookies), Koloko Crispy Pea Snacks (Lemon & Pink Salt Flavored), Popsmile Popcorn (Milk Bubble-Tea Flavored), and Taiwan Choco Ball (Creamy Peanut Filled Mochi)

The third, fourth, and fifth pages have images, names, an abbreviated description, and then a detailed description and some context for each item. For example, the first item we tried was the Triko Foods Taro Cookies, described briefly as Crispy Cream-Filled Cookies. (Unfortunately, there weren’t enough of these for everyone, so we broke them while still in the package, which resulted in one person trying the center of the cookies – which was cream-filled – and the other person tried the crumbly exterior. I suspect I would have rated these higher if I had gotten some of the cream filling.)

The last page of the booklet is the important one for those of us with food allergies: the ingredient list for all included items. Having arrived a few minutes early, I was able to verify that all of the treats were safe for me before we started snacking.

My guesses at top four were (in no particular order) Taiwan Choco Ball (Creamy Peanut Filled Mochi), Cadina Crunchy Corn Layers Snacks (Butter & Garlic Flavored), Nice Choice Peanut-Brittle Candy (Crunchy Roasted Peanuts), and Triko Foods Taro Cookies (Crispy Cream-Filled Cookies).

My actual top four were (in order, starting at my top choice) Nice Choice Peanut-Brittle Candy (Crunchy Roasted Peanuts), Koloko Crispy Pea Snacks (Lemon & Pink Salt Flavored), Nice Choice Yogurt-Flavored Biscuits (Crispy Animal-Shaped Crackers), and Taiwan Choco Ball (Creamy Peanut Filled Mochi).

I was an odd one out listing the mochi fairly high; several people listed it as their least favorite when we went around the room because of the consistency. That said, more people – myself included – listed the Khong Guan Smoked Candy (Plum Flavored) as the one they liked the least, mainly because of the smoked part of the flavor.

If you’ve tried Universal Yums or something similar, drop a comment and let me know what you thought. I think it’s a neat way to catch glimpses of other cultures.

What a waste of time.

Near the end of May, I visited the Orthopedics department at my medical group to assess a new problem in my right hand – my fingertips were intermittently numb. A couple days earlier, I had been discussing that problem with a pair of people who had similar symptoms dealt with, and in each case, it was related to carpal tunnel. I received a carpal tunnel diagnosis years ago, so it made sense that these new symptoms could be related.

And yet, when I saw the doctor and mentioned my carpal tunnel, instead of being sent for an EKG – apparently the only accurate way to diagnose carpal tunnel and determine the severity – I was sent to a month of Physical Therapy (PT) on the possibility that the arthritis in my neck was causing the numbness. Here I am, eight PT sessions later – with out of pocket expenses and eight gardening mornings lost – scheduled for an EKG a couple weeks from now.

I’m not clear on the decision making process here, though I suspect the bureaucracy of insurance is part of it, opting for the presumably cheaper PT instead of another test. (I’ll know for sure which is cheaper once I see the billing.) I am disappointed in the process, having to wait more than two months from my initial appointment to possibly discover the cause, and having lost so much gardening time.

It’s Ren Faire season in Kenosha!

It’s summer, and that means it’s Renaissance Faire season in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. We made our annual trek up to Kenosha last weekend, following a similar approach to last year – stopping for lunch on the way up to avoid both the parking and food lines at Bristol. When we arrived, a couple hours after opening, we easily parked (now $15 for “preferred parking”), stopped at security for the bag check (with our normal stash of bubble wrap and catnip to drop off with our friends), and handed off our tickets at the entrance.

We did a little shopping and a lot of shows this year, enjoying Dan the Bard, Adam Crack, the Brothers Blackquill, Dirk & Guido, Dungeons & Shakespeare, Don Juan & Esmeralda, and PlayWrecked. Wow, now that I’ve written that out, it sounds like a lot.

PlayWrecked is a musical improv show, combining the talents of the Brothers Blackquill with Ship Shape, developing into a hilarious musical, in this case about time travel using a pickle. And somehow, I had never seen Don Juan and Esmeralda’s show, so I was delighted to catch their final show at Bristol – Don Juan is retiring after 48 years of performing at Bristol.

As usual, the Bristol Renaissance Faire runs through Labor Day weekend. If you’re lucky, you’ll find yourself at Faire on a day that has as fabulous weather as what we experienced this past weekend. Sunday

Temperature blanket approval process

Arwen, our white and black cat, curled up on the temperature blanket on the sofa.

With any crochet project, I like to gauge the recipient’s response. While the temperature blanket is not done, it has reached the point where it’s a usable lap blanket, which I ended up doing a couple days ago while reading on the sofa. Almost immediately after pulling the blanket off the back of the sofa, Arwen joined me. Not that she’s the intended recipient, I am actually making it for myself. The cats do enjoy the various crocheted blankets around the house though.

Diane, our black and white cat, curled up on the temperature blanket on the sofa, most definitely not at the same time as Arwen.

It’s not just Arwen… give the choice of three spots on the sofa, Diane will fairly consistently choose the one with the crocheted blanket… unless her favorite lap human is also on the sofa. (That’s not me, I move around too much when I’m awake. She curls up next to me during the night instead.)

At some point, the blanket will be extended across the entire sofa, at which point it’s possible that Arwen and Diane will both be on it at the same time. Much cuteness will ensue.

Temperature Blanket update – July

Progress continues on my temperature blanket, with over a hundred squares already connected. That’s more than a quarter of the blanket completed! We are stuck in a bit of a weather rut recently, though Sunday’s forecast offers the possibility of a color change after two weeks in the red (85-94) range. It looks like I’ll get to sneak a couple orange squares in soon.

A crocheted patchwork blanket with one square representing each day's temperature, beginning with a mixed blue and white in the upper left from February, progressing to the far right row in July with 4 orange and 11 red squares.

Even with gardening, I’ve never watched the forecast this closely. For the garden, once it’s planted, I mostly need to know when to expect rain, both to know if I need to water (this summer, the answer to that is mostly yes) and plan my outside time. With overnight temperatures dropping to the high 60s and low 70s, the early mornings are perfect for weeding and mulching on days when it’s not raining. Those overnight drops are why I’m contemplating doing a lows and highs blanket the next time I make a temperature blanket, to really showcase the quirks to our Midwest weather.

Visiting the Portland Aquarium

As luck would have it, we scheduled our day of wandering around downtown Portland, Oregon to coincide with opening day of the Portland Aquarium. To be clear, this is actually an art-quarium rather than live animals, all drawn by the delightfully talented Mike Bennett.

As part of your admission, you receive a compendium that documents the five biomes you’ll explore and some of the over a hundred cartoon species you’ll encounter in those rooms. Each species includes both a photo and a drawing, along with information about the species and their geography. Some species include side comments, like the Giant Pacific Octopus (pictured below) has a note that reads “My favorite animal without a backbone!” And, conveniently, there’s a checkbox by each one so you can track which creatures you’ve found. (Yes, my compendium is unmarked; our group collaborated on one checklist.)

The inside cover of the compendium includes instructions for exploring Bennett’s Bay – among other things, don’t go backwards! This is a one-way trip through the various biomes, with the compendium organized in the order you’ll encounter them. And while most animals get a sixth or eighth of a page, sea otters and the effort to bring them back to Oregon have a full page spread.

Presumably because it was opening day, we were offered free star(fish)-shaped doughnuts as we moved from the aquarium into the gift shop. While I was tempted by various animals – such as a snail or turtle – holding a “slow down” message, the yard sign that came home with us was a rainbow, which seems appropriate during Pride Month. I’m delighted that stickers have made a comeback, especially since the fit shop had stickers from both this exhibit and some previous ones.

Two minor things to take into account when you visit the Portland Aquarium: keep an eye out for a missing goldfish named Gilly (she makes appearance in several places) and definitely use the bathroom while you’re in the gift shop.

Oh, it’s Thursday.

It’s been a weirdly busy week, including a physical therapy appointment this morning, and I suddenly realized it’s Thursday evening and I haven’t written a blog post yet. I did make art, a couple versions, over the last couple days, but I’m not ready to share them. Zuko left a scratch on my leg Monday when he launched himself at Arwen, Arwen fell off the bed Wednesday morning and hooked into my left elbow to catch herself, and I appear to have encountered poison ivy last weekend, at least according to my right wrist.

That’s the long-winded way of saying I’m taking this week off.

How does my garden grow (summer 2025)?

It’s been a weird start to our growing season, between our travel and a cooler than normal spring. Because of our travel, anything that was supposed to be started indoors for our client – typically in March or thereabouts – was started early May in our house. That accounts for the eggplant (complete failure this year, none of them started), two varieties of broccoli, and two varieties of large tomatoes. They moved outside last week and are still small enough in their garden beds that they didn’t photograph well. Fortunately, we have some vegetables that are proceeding nicely… not the okra though, where only three plants have appeared so far.

In the keyhole bed, the kale sits as a giant above the chard and next to the spindly scallions. At the far edge of the bed, carrots have volunteered next to the peas. Outside the bed in the keyhole opening, a tall garlic has caught up to the peas in the bed.
Hiding in the just mulched (this morning!) bed are two hills of watermelon seedlings and two of cantaloupe seedlings. I should absolutely thin these out more. Yes, more, I’ve already killed off about half of the seedlings on each hill.
One the left, clearly visible, are the Coco Black Bush Beans surrounded by mulch; they’ll get either cages or trellises to climb soon. On the right, fairly hidden because of the fresh mulch (also this morning!) are several short rows of corn.
The North Georgia Candy Roaster, a variety of squash, is coming in nicely in most of the divided bed, except for the squares that had leftover mustard greens from last year. The greens have now flowered and will presumably be reseeding themselves.
Three hills of tromboncino seedlings in pairs with some small catnip near the front and a tall catnip in the back just waiting to be harvested and dried.

Though not pictured, it is also strawberry season, which will be joined soon by raspberry and mulberry season. That said, I’m stepping outside to plant more okra, three plants just doesn’t cut it.

Puerto de la Cruz: meanderings

As I mentioned in my previous post about Puerto de la Cruz, there’s a plethora of activities in walking distance of the Apartamentos Casablanca. We arrived on a Thursday, exhausted after a sleepless night on an overnight flight to Madrid with a nap on the shorter flight to Tenerife North, grabbed a takeout pizza at the on-site restaurant, and settled in for more napping. When it became clear that Cassandra was taking a longer nap, I wandered the nearby area, discovering some touristy shops, restaurants, and a small grocery store, all within a couple blocks of the hotel. We did a similar wander later, picking one of the nearby restaurants as our dinner spot, and scoping out potential breakfast items at the grocery store.

While there were a number of items on our potential plans, we only booked one ahead of time: a Teide by Night tour that involved driving to the nearby national park – named for its prominent (dormant!) volcano, Teide, including dinner and stargazing. The overcast day had me a bit concerned until I realized we were driving through and then above the clouds.

Part of the Agatha Christie stairs, with each stair painted a different color with the name of one of her books
A view of the ocean after climbing the Agatha Christie stairs
A photo of me wearing a phoenix t-shirt with the volcano Teide in the background
A nighttime photo of mountain and several visible stars during the Teide by night tour
The volcano Teide at sunset
A pigeon on a railing by a pond in one of many city parks
A rambling of trees and plants at the local botanical gardens
El Drago de Icod, a tree that’s estimated to be over 800 years old
Me standing by an orca statue at Loro Parque
A variety of orchids at the Orchid Garden in Puerto de la Cruz
A view of Puerto de la Cruz from a high point of the city.

Before that late afternoon and evening excursion, scheduled for our first full day to preempt my inevitable shift back to being a morning person, we wandered up the nearby Agatha Christie stairs, peeking into some tourist shops and a scenic view of the coastline before finding lunch. We enjoyed an amazing sunset and an even more amazing view of the stars – above the cloud cover – in an area with minimal light pollution.

The next day involved walking to the nearby botanical gardens, lingering there for an extended period in lovely weather, then wandering back a slightly different route, which allowed us to discover a larger grocery store. Our plan for Sunday was to seek out a craft market that was advertised in the lobby, and while it turned out to be quite small, our return wanderings took us through the Taoro Garden, a public park with a several distinct areas including a sunken garden, playgrounds, dog park, and ponds… and, luckily for us, a restaurant.

Having taken the time to adjust to the time zone, Monday was an all-day adventure at Loro Parque, starting by catching their free train (tram, really) in Puerto de la Cruz and arriving just after opening. We stayed the entire day, catching the last train back after seeing almost every part of the zoo. The following day, we caught a bus to nearby Icod to visit the “Drago de Icod” – a tree that’s estimated to be between 800 and 1000 years old, a nearby butterfly house, and a banana museum that details the introduction of bananas to the Canary Islands and the resulting industry. That was the only day we really used our raincoats.

Wednesday turned into our big walking day – over 7 miles – starting a couple blocks away at the Orchid Garden, then wandering down towards the coastline for the Fishing Museum (which was primarily about fishing and other seaworthy vessels), the Archaeological Museum, and generally admiring the coastline and variety of shops. The next day, our last full day on the island, we headed up the Agatha Christie stairs again and kept going along a scenic path that gave us some great views of the city and the ocean. As with other areas in town, we found public gardens and a delightful restaurant before returning to pack and rest before a long travel day home.