Oh my aching everything

Normal for me sleep, three or four trips to the john, Spook was in the BnB all night. 7:30 lights woke me, I had Google turn them off, and I hit the off button on the TV and radio remotes. Up for real at 9:30, checked the monthly full backup and it was only 27% done. That meant it would take till after dinner.

Off to Yamagami's, and spent $145. The lime trees were $50 for the smallest. They had several, it took a while to choose one. It took a while to find them because a Japanese family's boys were playing tag in the area for about 15 minutes.

Next, the roses. Also expensive. $30 for a variegated orange one called Rio Samba, and $35 for a deep red one called Deep Red. I wanted an Abraham Lincoln but they were all out. These are all large root stock, hearty looking things. It took the staffer 5 minutes and 10k to find the catmints, which she knew by the Latin name but I didn't. Not that it mattered - they were labeled in English. I was looking for larger plants in larger containers, which is why I missed the small $13 pot. Also got some fish fertilizer, which had the closest N-P-P rating to what the tag on the lime tree said. A bit high in Nitrogen, but I wouldn't be using much.

Home, got the shovel and dug out the last of the invasive plant roots, also tossed aside some rose branch cuttings I'd missed. Dug a hole and planted the red bush back by the yellow one. Dug another hole and went to get the orange bush, but Lou across the street wanted to moan about the idiot notices the new park manager gave him. I told him he needs to stop complaining to the park management and the company which owns the park, and see a landlord-tenant lawyer. He just keeps talking in circles about his not getting anywhere.

Planted the orange rose in front of the red bush, and planted the catmints in front of that. There are still some catmints on the other side of the roses where the invaders had not gotten a stranglehold.

In the front garden I pulled out the BFs which were shading the jasmine and yarrow, and also took a pile of dead ones I'd thrown against the house and put it all in the two compost bins. I watered both bins, hope it helps. Back to the front, used the jet setting to wash off the front pathway and push dirt off the border bricks. Poured fish fertilizer on the five pots on the porch and watered them.

Somewhere I took a breather, had a Smart Ones mini meatballs and pasta lunch. Irony - the instructions were written for idiots.

Looked up the landlord-tenant group, it's part of housing.org. They have a handy online form to ask a question, so I did.  I'll let Lou know what they advise.

Finished with the planting & weeding, I collapsed into the recliner with some soda or milk or something, and decided the best thing for my aching body was a massage. So I drove out the the last place I'd gone to, and it was worth it. Afterward, nothing ached but nothing worked either. Felt like I was made of rubber.

Home, before heading out I had plucked a handful of mint, mostly for tonight's project but also because it was crowding my now-thriving oregano plants. Brought those inside, and set out all the makings - mango bits from last time from the freezer, agar agar, 1/4 cup measure (each box had 1.5 cups of agar powder), the mint, a 1 cup measuring cup and a salt shaker.

But first, dinner. Heated up some frozen veggies and not frozen chicken. Safeway lady lied to me, there was a breast in there. I had told her dark meat only, and when she asked if I would be okay with a breast I said no. She pretended to find a non-breast.

This agar project was a 3-layer one. Mango and mint in the blender, a lovely puke green. Not enough agar and/or too much water, it took 40 minutes in the fridge to set enough for the next layer. Coconut creme powder added to 2 cups of water (make that 3) and agar and 1/4 cup of sugar. Poured that on and the green formed a pregnant bulge in the center. 20 minutes later, 2 cups (and a half) of clear coconut water and 1/8 cup sugar and some salt, poured that on top of the coconut creme, and it looked okay. Into the fridge, will see in the morning how bad the bottom layer came out.

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Chuck Berry died. I must have liked his music, because I went to a concert in Seattle when I was a poor starving college student. It was just him and a band which had been put together for him by the musicians' union. Within a minute into the first number, he yelled at the guitarist and chased him off the stage. Berry yelled rude things at him all the way. It was a young man, and whatever he had done or not done wasn't obvious to the audience, and didn't deserve that kind of treatment. Berry lost me right then and there.

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Just a thought: instead of moaning and groaning about the loss of NEA, CPB and Planned Parenthood federal funding, how about working with the 1% to get them to foot the bill. Or even the 10%.

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Plans for tomorrow:
Work