The Boy and I got tagged to help carry a 16' extension ladder up to the roof of Mom’s 8-story condo, where the ladder would be permanently stored in the elevator engine room… allowing them to inspect the roof of the building on the roof (confused yet?).We ended up having to take the ladder apart and carry the two pieces individually up the stairwell to get it where it needed to go. Each piece barely fit up the stairwell, but we managed (with Wicked Stepfather reminding us to “try not to scrape the paint!”). But eventually, we got the pieces topside, put them together, stood the (extended) ladder up against the elevator room and called it Good Enough.
“I want one more walk on the beach before we leave,” I said on Saturday afternoon. I’d only gotten down there twice. Mom decided to join me, and we went about a mile up and back.Some kids had been out building sandcastles. I liked the other better, but this was the picture that turned out. That’s smellphones for you, right?
There were also people surf fishing; I saw one bucket with a tail sticking out, so someone had gotten lucky that afternoon.
Unfortunately, vacation was winding down with the day. We crammed five people into a four-door Civic for the 9.5-hour drive home, and got to it (I don’t think Mrs. Fetched quite thought through the implications of having me bring The Boy and Snippet down).I was expecting Mrs. Fetched to suggest we stop somewhere for the night, which I wasn’t completely against, but she wanted to get home. She drove about a third of the way home, from somewhere south of Macon to the topside of Atlanta, which gave me enough of a nap (with my knees crammed against the glove box) to finish up the drive home.
Next time, I’m taking the motorcycle.
Nice wrap up on the 'vacation' you had, FAR ... though the ride home doesn't sound like much fun (I've made similar drives from FL to GA back in the day, though then it was in my bright yellow Ford Festiva ... awaiting chortles on your end there.)
ReplyDeleteBtw, forgot to mention that purple basil (is it 'Red Rubin' or do you know?) ... it's fantastically beautiful stuff and has lovely pink flowers that drive the bees crazy. I hope to have some more going here this year because it's a really beautiful annual. Keep it pruned back and you'll get a really nice bushy plant that will look better and better till fall. I've actually been able to winter that plant over in the past, though they are rarely happy in the house unless you have a super sunny window for it. As for its culinary uses, taste it before you go throwing it into everything you'd use Italian Basil. It has a very very strong anise like flavor to it, so when I do use it (primarily in Thai stir fry) I use it very sparingly and even then those anise averse will still probably hate it. Sure is beautiful stuff though! If you see an 'African Blue Basil' (unlikely, as it's kind of rare) snag one and plant it... it's amazingly gorgeous stuff (I think). If you do, eschew culinary use unless you are looking for a strong camphor flavor, hehe. When we can find it we get some but just prune it back to keep the bees happy....
TELL me you didn't put 5 people in a *Festiva*!!! =8-o BTW, Daughter Dearest's dream car is a bright yellow Beetle.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the purple basil pointers — I'll definitely keep that in mind, and I've been known to do a little Thai-style stir fry (accepted without complaint here, so it must have been OK). What I got is called "Purple Ruffles." The leaves live up to the name and the plant is very fragrant (you don't have to touch it, like with the regular green varieties, to get the scent).
Ok, so you have Purple Ruffles, eh. That's a nice one too, but a bit delicate (for a basil) in my experience. I don't know what your likelihood of late chills/frosts is down there, but if there's any chance of chilly nights (say, 30's) you might want to keep it protected because this one has a tendency to "damp off" ... in other words, just turn up its toes and croak. You didn't say how big it was, but if it's a good sized plant, there should be less of a risk ... growing it from seeds (which can be done!) is an iffier proposition as the seedlings can just keel over in a matter of a day or so. That's why I switched to Red Rubin (also purple, just not ruffly) as it's more resistant to damping off.
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't have 5 people in the car, lol. Usually only one or two other persons plus my dog Coco (at the time) and she was always content to just curl up and nap.
Heh, one or two extra people in a small car is OK, even if a dog is involved — two people in the front, one stretched across the back, and the dog alternating between the floor and the lap in back (or just hanging a nose out the window).
ReplyDeleteI got the Purple Ruffles about 4" high. One I put in a big pot, the other one is going into the ground (if I can get a little daylight to do it). They'll be OK for now; the extended forecast doesn't show any night below 50F or so. Thanks for the heads-up though!