Monday Mani - Summer's End

Yu Xuan #19, Nailite #283, and Sinful Colors #Call You Later

I'm still messy, and it's been a while since I did anything more than a basic paint, but not bad, I think.

Thinner Me, Thinner You - Three Easy Tricks To Never Count Calories Again

Three Easy Tricks To Never Count Calories Again:

1. Rebalance your Fat, Salt and Carbs numbers
2. Keep your plate to 1/2 veg, a fist-size of protein, 5-10 bites of carbs
3. Eat everything else before you eat the carbs

Click through for the whys and wherefores! This sounds smart and issue-free; I think I'll give it a try!

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Gardenation - Fall Planting is done!

The sunflowers finally bloomed and then immediately died; this is the only picture I have of them! It's been raining so much, the garden as a whole has hardly needed any effort from me at all, and sometimes I forget to even check on it. Which is why we're half-way through August before I set the seeds for the fall planting. ::facepalm::

The cukes are as gone as if I'd dug them up--they seem to have just evaporated since they stopped growing. There was one cucumber and it was bug-riddled; I should have picked it the day I saw it instead of waiting to see what would happen!

The zuke is gone without a single fruit. Next spring, I'm planting earlier and I'm planting more than one, and maybe then they'll fruit. There were flowers all over the place, but not one turned into anything. I also think I'll give them their own pots; this one ate up all the water and nutrients, and nothing in the pot with it did anything until it was gone! I think I'll keep them close, though; the rest of the plants seemed to like the shade those huge prickly leaves gave everything.

The lettuce is all but done. One went to seed, most evaporated, and one is still hanging on but doesn't taste all that great anymore.

The basil is looking really sad and the mint is down to one branch, but that one branch looks amazing. None of the other herbs even came up. Both of those were pre-grown when I got them; next spring, I'm getting nursery-started herbs! Lots of them! Enough where I can use them regularly instead of just once or twice a month!

The lily and the jade plant are doing just fine; I'll bring them in when it gets properly cold. This week has been in the 70s and it's glorious after a whole summer of super-hot 90s and high humidity because of all that rain.

The roses are doing just fine. I need to look up how to over-winter them, but they're meant to be cold-weather tolerant so I might not even have to bring them in most of the season.

Nasturtiums are almost done. Next year, I'm planting more, and I'm eating the crap out of them while they're huge-leafed and tender there at the beginning of spring.

Peppers and tomatoes never grew more than 6 inches and are still there but aren't doing anything. They're coming from the nursery, too, next spring, and I'm starting the special varieties indoors weeks beforehand.

The compost is coming along quite nicely. That bottom box is closer to dirt every time I look at it, and the top one is already weathering down. I haven't even gotten to the third box in the stack yet! Maybe I won't have to buy much dirt this next spring when I do my planting. That'd be great--that means more money for plants and pots to put them in.

Seeds I planted out just now:

• Bulb and Bunching Onions in the long planter where the zuke and cuke were
• Arugula, Parsley, Salad Greens and Mesclun Greens in the lettuce pot
• Beets and Spinach in the Nasturtiums pot
• Arugula in the tomato pot. 
• Bush beans in the new pot my brother found at work.

I wanted to plant cabbage and cauliflower, but they take a lot of space and I don't have anymore pots for them right now. I also wanted to plant carrots, but I seem to be missing every single pack of carrot seeds I ever owned, which is weird. Next time.

And I joined the Arbor Day Foundation last week because they were having a membership special where if you filled out a survey, there were ten trees and two crepe myrtles with a 10$ donation. I used to be a member ages ago, and I like supporting trees like that. I also like getting free plants for my garden. They said they'll send them "at an appropriate time for your region" which I figure is soon, for overwintering, or not until, like, March for the spring planting. But sooner or later I'll have two crabapples, two dogwoods, two golden raintrees, two hawthorns, two redbuds, and those two crepe myrtles. I'm excited! I haven't decided whether I'll find somewhere I'm allowed to plant them in the ground or pot them up and cart them around until I can settle somewhere permanently. Probably the second option. That's usually how I go.

Cat Update:

While I was gardening, I let Binka come out onto the porch and get some air, and she immediately started hunting the tiniest bird I've ever seen that make the biggest racket ever as soon as it saw her. She's so cute and strange when she hunts--she meyows every three seconds, flaps her tail around, makes these funny chattery noises by clicking her teeth together, and then complains when the bird flies away and I make her come inside.

Did you guys do any Fall Planting? What're you adding to your garden? What's your wishlist? Share!

Yogurt - Noosa Raspberry

You know, I can honestly say I approve of the uptick in recent years in high-quality yogurt with interesting flavors and textures. And I'm amazed at how different the different cultures can taste!

I've been eyeballing Noosa for a while now, ever since they got them in the local Target, but they're expensive to just sort of randomly try without knowing how they taste first. And then this week, they were on sale! Almost down to the price of a more conventional yogurt!

I picked the raspberry. I almost picked cherry, which is a Target Exclusive, but I'm literally always picking cherry whenever I try a new yogurt and I decided to switch it up a bit.

Noosa is made from "milk from happy cows" in Colorado, is growth-hormone-free, and uses a yogurt culture and recipe from Australia. And it tastes different! The unflavored yogurt is tart, but not in any real significantly sour way, and naturally sweeter than, say, all the Greek yogurt I've been eating lately. It has a texture sort of like fresh sour cream before it settles and gets that liquid floating on the top, and a sort of savoriness that also reminds me of sour cream without really quite tasting like it properly. Does that make sense? It's like sweet sour cream yogurt. With just the barest, lightest edge of butteriness.

The fruit is lovely. You get a glob in the bottom, not really all stirred through like the picture here, and it's literally just fruit and sugar and some pectin or something to thicken it--it's like a scoop of not-too-sugary jam sitting there in the bottom of the tub. It tastes and looks and has the texture of real fruit, so there's a bonus for that, too.

The small container is labeled as one serving, but it's about twice the size and twice the calories of a regular-sized yogurt, so I ate half with a perfectly ripe nectarine, and it was fantastic.

I'm so getting more of this stuff, and they have several interesting flavors, so I'll talk about them when I try them.

Talk It Out Tuesday - Why I miss basic school structure

It's a new start every year. A built-in chance to rebuild your life.

Okay, I know I've been out of school for all of two months, technically, but I've been out of a regular school, where you go to class and sit down and listen to people in person for ten years now. And I miss the classroom experience. I miss the chance to make friends because they're sitting next to me and are reading a book I love, rather than having to seek out and join ways to find them. I miss the chance to focus on learning something new every four to six months, and having that learning enforced.

And I really miss the fact that it's literally a restart every half year. Nothing in school has to last longer than a semester. Hate this class but it's required? It'll be over soon. Terrible schedule? Make a better one next time. Don't like who you're rooming with? Transfer at the next semester break.

And best of all, I lived on campus the whole time I was in Undergrad, so I didn't have to have a job, I didn't have to worry about feeding myself (just about the quality of said food), I had a built-in world and the 'real world' was optional.

It's the closest I've ever come to that idea that we literally get to construct the worlds we live in. It's so much harder to do that when you're the only one in on it and you're unhappy with how things are. I mean, I was never thrilled with working for other people, even when I loved the job I had; I was never on-board with a lot of the social and political ideas of the neighborhoods I've lived in; I never did like being told, basically, that there was something wrong with me for wanting something else for my life.

In school, I was free of that for a while.

And I miss it.

I miss the reinvention of who I am and how the world works and which societies I'll be part of.

Don't you?

Seasonality - August Foods In Season

By my personal internal calendar, August is already fall, but the reality of the world is that in most places, it doesn't start to feel like fall for another month or two--when it's almost winter! Still, by this time of the year, a lot of the bigger crops are starting to come in, and a lot of the summer crops are still producing; this is about as bountiful as you're going to get as you eat your way through the seasons!

This list, of course, might show stuff not available in your area, which is something to think about if you're also trying to eat local. I'll put all my sources down at the bottom for you to double-check if you'd like to. I did keep to Norther Hemisphere sources, though, since I'm based in the NH; if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, this applies to the opposite half of your year.

FRUITS

• Apples / Bramley Apples
• Apricots
• Asian Pears
• Billberries
• Blackberries
• Black Currants
• Blueberries
• Boysenberries
• Cantaloupe
• Cherries
• Damson Plums
• Figs
• Gooseberries
• Grapes
• Grapefruits
• Greengage
• Kiwi
• Lemons
• Limes
• Loganberries
• Mangoes
• Melons
• Mullberries (if you can find them this late in the year!)
• Nectarines
• Passionfruits
• Peaches
• Pears
• Persimmons
• Pineapples
• Plums 
• Raspberries
• Red Currants
• Sapotes
• Strawberries
• Tomatillos
• Tomatoes
• Valencia Oranges
• Watermelons

VEGETABLES

• Arugula / Rocket
• Asian Vegetables
• Avocados
• Bell Peppers
• Beets
• Black Eyed Peas (fresh)
• Bok Choi
• Broccoli & Broccoli Raab
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac / Celery Root
• Celery
• Chard
• Chicory
• Collards
• Corn
• Cranberry Beans
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Endive
• Globe Artichoke
• Green beans
• Green onions
• Gourds (most are edible, if not best-tasting)
• Indian Corn (usually makes awesome flour)
• Kale
• Kholrabi
• Leeks
• Lettuce
• Lima Beans
• Mustard Greens
• Okra
• Olives
• Onions
• Peas
• Potatoes
• Radishes
• Rhubarb
• Runner Beans
• Scallions
• Shallots
• Snow Peas
• Spinach
• Summer squash
• Turnips
• Zucchini & Zucchini Blossoms

HERBS AND SPICES

• Basil
• Chervil
• Chiles
• Chives
• Cilantro / Coriander
• Dill
• Garlic
• Ginger Root
• Fennel
• Horseradish (fresh)
• Lambsquarters
• Lemongrass
• Lovage
• Marjoram
• Mint (though mine died a month and a half ago here!)
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Sorrel
• Summer and Winter Savory
• Tarragon
• Thyme
• Watercress

OTHER

• Cobnuts
• Burdock
• Cactus Pads
• Local Honey
• Pecans
• Cheeses - Farmhouse Cheddar, Goat’s Cheese, Camembert, Reblochon

MEATS

• Beef
• Duck
• Grey Squirrel
• Grouse
• Hare
• Lamb
• New Bacon
• Pork
• Rabbit
• Wood Pigeon
• Venison

FISH AND SEAFOOD

• Crab
• Crayfish
• Cod
• Coley
• Dab
• Dover Sole
• Flounder
• Grey Mullet
• Haddock
• Hake
• Herring
• John Dory
• Lemon Sole
• Langoustine
• Lobster
• Mackerel
• Monkfish
• Pacific Halibut
• Pilchard
• Plaice
• Pollack
• Prawns
• Red Mullet
• Salmon
• Sardine
• Scallop
• Sea Bass
• Sea Bream
• Sea Trout
• Shrimp
• Squid
• Tuna
• Turbot
• Whelks
• Whitebait

WILD FORAGE (always make sure you're totally certain what you're picking!)

• Blackberries
• Crabapples
• Fat Hen
• Mushrooms - Chantrelles, Porchinis, Trompette De La Mort, Ceps / Penny Bun, Field, Puffball, Truffles
• Orach
• Purslane
• Samphire
• Wild Damsons
• Wild Garlic

YEAR ROUND

• Bananas
• Coconuts
• Dried or canned or frozen stuff
• Sprouts

What's your favorite food of August? What're your favorite recipes for these sorts of foods? Share in the comments!



SOURCES

• http://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-shortcuts/seasonal-foods-august-82492
• http://theyearinfood.com/2011/08/the-august-seasonal-food-guide.html
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/seasons/august
• http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/articles/august-seasonal-food
• http://britishfood.about.com/od/seasonalfoods/ss/British-Food-In-Season-August.htm
• http://localfoods.about.com/od/searchbyregion/a/MidwestSeasons.htm
• http://localfoods.about.com/od/searchbyregion/a/NE_Seasons.htm
• http://cuesa.org/eat-seasonally/charts/vegetables
• http://uktv.co.uk/food/homepage/sid/5181
• http://health.asda.com/sustainability/seasonal-eating/august---foods-in-season.aspx
• http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/08/02/food-in-season-august-_n_3694893.html
• http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/seasonalingredientmap
• http://www.eattheseasons.com/
• http://www.eattheseasons.co.uk/index.php
• http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2010/08/seasonal-produce-guide
• http://www.foodgeeks.com/seasonal?state_id=6
• http://www.foodnetwork.co.uk/article/15-seasonal-recipes-august.html
• http://www.golightlygardens.com/in-season/seasonal-food-august-uk/
• http://www.sfma.net/consumer/inseason.shtml
• http://www.cottagecookbook.co.uk/Stories/In_Season/what_food_is_in_season_august.htm

Monday Mani - Orange You Glad

Geekery - Daft Concepts' awesome dice and dice accessories Kickstarter

More info:

Ten reasons why I'm constantly watching Science Channel space documentary series

1. Context - No matter how dire or important or amazing or terrible things here on earth seem, it's good to be constantly reminded that we're just a Pale Blue Dot (like above), and we're one world in a solar system of eight (currently official) planets and who knows how many planetoids, one solar system out of hundreds of millions or more, one galaxy out of billions. We need the broader view to see that things that we're destroying ourselves over aren't really all that important and maybe we should all just cool our tits for a minute.
2. Beauty - Everything out there is gorgeous. Like, the prettiest thing you have ever seen, and more beautiful than anything you could have thought of. Science is constantly bringing us more things that are beautiful in new and alien ways, and it's just wonderful to have a universe so full of unabated beauty.
3. Knowledge - I firmly believe that no knowledge is forbidden and no knowledge is bad to have--all knowledge is enriching*. And because of that, I think that it's sort of a duty of a sentient, reasoning being to try to understand how everything works. On top of that, I'm a fact-collector. As a writer, you never know when you'll need to know something, and there's so much to know about space!
4. Transcendent Experience - I'm not the least bit religious, but I am spiritual, and if you can't look at the stars and feel a little transcendent, I don't understand your thought processes. The more I know, the more it inspires Wonder of the big-W sort, the kind that people get from religions and dream-quests and stuff. I never understood the idea that science and religion are opposite things: science shows us how complex and strange and wonderful and beautiful the universe is, and why would anyone deny an all-powerful being of the skill to make something like this? Why would they assume they just automatically know how to build a universe from scratch better than what we can see and prove and grasp?
5. Hope - We're constantly bombarded with how bad things are here on Earth. Whether this is a total truth or just a sort of zeitgeist idea of the truth doesn't really matter, but if we can find other worlds to live on, we can answer a lot of the problems we're faced with right now--overpopulation causing too much environmental damage and too much competition for resources? Move a chunk of population to another world. Go willingly, even. Giant asteroids coming too close and threatening all known life in the universe because we're basically it as far as we know? Move people out and around and spread out that life so that one cosmic event can't wipe it out. Progress leading us to the conclusion that one world is too small? Go out there and see what else there is!
6. Ideas - I'm a specfic writer. There are piles of ideas just laying around in the sheer facts, not even getting into the speculation!
7. Diversity - No matter how different one human is from another human, we're all basically the same if we look at other planets and starsystems and think about how life would be there. Also, if we think about living there ourselves, how different would that experience be from anything we could get here on the homeworld?
8. The Future - Space is the next logical step. Or the second-next, if we decide to, like, colonize the oceans or terraform Earth first. We're a species with a genetically-enforced restlessness, a need to see what's over the next rise, to go there, to get used to it, to move on. There's little to no chance that we won't go into space eventually; I don't see why we can't own that and make the choice to do it before there's some desperate need to.
9. Adventure - Anything and everything having to do with space is adventurous. 
10. Weirdness - A planet made of diamond? Starlight letting us literally look back in time? A cloud of alcohol that formed on its own in the middle of the galaxy? The universe is packed with weirdness, and it's really just the flip side of Wonder.

And so I watch these videos and shows as often as I can. The ones by Brian Cox are especially wonderful, not just bare facts, but an appreciation that the universe is amazing and we need to pay more attention to this amazingness right before us.

Are there any shows you watch over and over again? Why? What do they move in you?


*It's the application of knowledge that can be good or evil. Just knowing something only expands your horizons.

Words to Live By - 20 Places to Educate Yourself Online for Free

20 Places to Educate Yourself Online for Free:


The link is fabulous, and something everyone should have on their radar, whether they're in school or not. Probably more if they're not, since not having the structure of school makes it harder to actually learn stuff.

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