It's the Beginning of Spring - Insects, Arachnids and Garden Plants

I can tell it's the beginning of Spring. It might be cold outside, but many of the trees are starting to look fluffy again with the start of buds at the ends of their branches. I'm hearing the occasional mouse or squirrel in my chimney (this is a regular, annual thing - annoying but temporary), and I'm seeing the occasional insect crawling or running across my floor. That's usually ended as quickly as I see it, my foot putting an end to the family line. I don't particularly enjoy killing things, but my home is my personal space and I'm not putting out a "For Lease" sign to critters. 

I don't allow critters to live in my house 
alongside DH and myself. I can't always 
catch them all, but if I see one crawling on 
the floor, it's "game on" and death in my 
shoe on top of it. 

We had a quick snow yesterday morning - it actually came down quite heavily for an hour or so. However, by the end of the day it had all melted and temps were in the upper 30's - very comfortable after all of our cringing cold days of January and February. DH is starting to think about what plants he wants to put into the garden this year and how many tomato plants I want. I know I don't want five tomato plants again - that was WAY too many tomatoes. I want to stick with cherry tomatoes, and I think I only want two plants, three at the most. He mentioned that maybe he'll plant green beans behind the woodshed and that would be absolutely fabulous! I'd love fresh green beans for dinner. 

Too much of anything is too much, and having 
four cherry tomato and one standard tomato 
plant last year was just too much overload. 
I can't eat that many tomatoes, and I hated 
wasting part of the harvest, but I had no 
choice. I think two, three maximum, plants 
will be quite sufficient. 

But, it's still a bit too soon to be seriously planning. Although it's 26F already at 4:00 am, it's March - we're not quite ready for true Spring yet. I can look forward to it, though. St Patrick's Day is on Thursday, and we're supposed to have a high close to 50! That will be amazing and so nice for the people in the parades. Both St Paul and Minneapolis have St Patrick's Day parades, with St Paul's being the larger (we have a much larger Irish population base). I remember temps as high as upper 50's, but I also remember temps as low as upper teens, so 40's will be lovely all around. DH picked up sauerkraut and Pumpernickel bread and cheese yesterday so that he can make Reuben sandwiches with the corned beef I'll make on Wednesday. He's really looking forward to them. 

We didn't have a corned beef last year. I told him I'd be 
happy to make one, but he was only focused on what I 
couldn't/wouldn't eat because I was fairly newly on 
WildFit at the time. Now he's "used" to it, and we've 
learned to accommodate my food choices. I'll eat 
the corned beef, and maybe the sauerkraut, but I'll 
skip the bread, the cheese, and the dressing. I'll 
enjoy my meal as much as he'll enjoy his. 

I got an interesting package in the mail yesterday - a Muama Ryoko WiFi Portable Wireless Router. We get horrible signal in parts of our house, and there are times when I want a better signal, and can't get one. This little gizmo can travel along with me and give me a strong wireless signal of my own. I'll crack the box open tomorrow, put in the SIM card and see how it does. I'm rather looking forward to it, it may resolve some issues with my phone and my laptop and open some locations to me that were difficult before. 

I'm looking forward to using my Muama Ryoko Portable 
Wireless Router. I get into many situations where 
wireless is challenging or spotty. This should help a great 
deal in getting a clear signal and keeping my personal 
privacy settings intact. 

I'm out of here. The swimming pool is calling my name. Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. And Fuck Putin, Peace for Ukraine. 

The State Fair Opens Today - I Can Hardly Wait to Go Next Week with Sharon

The "Great Minnesota Get-Together" aka the Minnesota State Fair opens toady. The big ferris wheel is up and running, the food stands are positioned and ready to serve, the tickets are purchased, the discount coupon books are awaiting folded pages and notes, and all that remains are the people. That will happen when the gates open this morning around 6:30 am (maybe earlier, I'm not 100% sure on start times). Sharon and I will be at the church parking lot next week for our Friday Fair excursion, and at the Roseville Business Center for the 8:00 am bus on Saturday and Sunday next week (Renaissance Fair on Monday). This week, I'll have to be content to drive by the Fair two times a day (the traffic will be horrid, but that's OK). I'll peek through the fences, watch the people waiting to cross the street into the Fairgrounds, and I'll envy them. 

Once again, the Great Big Wheel is set up. Sharon, I'm 
putting you on notice. We're going on this again this 
year. I don't care if I have to stand in line for two hours 
for my chance to ride - LOL. 

Chickie will be at the Fair today. She loves going on the first day, and we love it because she texts us photos and reviews of the foods she eats and anything fun that she sees. It's like going to the Fair without actually being there (and without consuming the calories). I'm already looking forward to her reports. 

French Meadow Bakery has a large selection of Gluten-free 
options including a lemon bar that appeals to me. Additionally, 
they have Almond Milk! I'm totally on board - I'll be eating 
something from French Meadow for sure! 

Speaking of food, I've developed a theory about my "heat rash" that I actually think is more accurate. After yesterday's "Living WildFit" teleconference, I reviewed what I had been eating over the past three weeks when my "heat rash" has gotten worse. I started questioning because our temps haven't been that horrible, and this reaction isn't something I've had in prior years of hot temps. The only thing that's changed in my life over the past month is tomatoes - an overage of tomatoes. I've been eating a LOT of tomatoes because my plants have been bearing and I haven't wanted to waste them. 

DH planted two plants in our tomato corner, and three 
container tomato plants. I'm getting an overage of 
tomatoes to harvest and I think I've overdone eating 
that much acidity. I'm going to pull away from this for 
a while and see if my skin appreciates the change. I 
have a feeling I've finally figured this out. 

I've always had tomato plants - DH has planted two for me every year and they bear beautifully. But this year he planted five tomato plants for me - four cherry tomato varieties and one large tomato plant. I've been getting overwhelmed by tomatoes and I've been eating a huge amount of them. But tomatoes are highly acidic, and I have a feeling my rash is my body trying to get rid of that acidity. I'm immediately pulling away from them for at least two weeks, perhaps more, and I'll see if that makes any difference. I have a feeling I will see improvement quite quickly. 

I know I'll make some of this tomato salsa, but I should 
probably start my cooking with some tomato ketchup 
since that will keep in the refrigerator for a longer time 
and I have a lot of tomatoes that need to be used quickly. 
Of course, that will require me making tomato puree, which 
I'm not sure I want to deal with, so I may just jump into 
the salsa or a pesto. Decisions, decisions. ... 

What to do with the tomatoes since I won't eat them for a while? I printed out six recipes yesterday for salsas, ketchup and pesto. I'll take a look through the recipes today and decide what to cook. The plants won't stop bearing just because I can't eat them for a while, and I refuse to waste such wonderful fruit, so I'll have to have other choices. It can and it will be done - LOL. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I hope you have a truly wonderful Thursday, and I'll be back tomorrow. As always, please be kind to others and stay safe.