JAP69's Blog

Primed the drywall ceiling where I skinned back the popcorn that was loose [Kitchen, breakfast nook area]. When that dried I used one quart of popcorn mix that is applied by trowel or brush. Had about maybe close to six square feet to do. I used the trowel and brush both when I applied it. Came out a little thin on the popcorn pattern. Will need to get another quart to blend pattern to surrounding area better.

Had a bathroom ceiling with the popcorn coming down in spots also. About 35 square feet on that ceiling. Quite a large area coming down. We decided to remove all the popcorn in that bathroom ceiling. Yesterday I removed the popcorn skinning it off with a trowel. Most of the ceiling came off to the original drywall. The outside edges and screw head in the middle area where it had joint compound I could only skin off the popcorn marbles. Today I mixed up three pans of joint compound using maybe 2 1/2 quarts total. Skim coated the whole ceiling. I buy dry drywall taping compound in a bag that needs mixing with water and has a short drying time. Dry joint compound in a bag for mixing with water has a long shelf life when kept dry. Buy ready mix joint compound and do not use the whole bucket that ready mix compound will go sour on you. I can not remember how long I have had that dry joint compound bag. Good as the day I purchased it. Tomorrow I will touch sand the skim coat where needed and do touch up with joint compound where needed. From there I will put on the primer coat of paint. Later I will get a can of white ceiling paint for the bath ceiling. End up with a smooth ceiling.

That cat problem in the ground boxes. I have a bush in the front yard with leaves that have sharp thorny pointy ends so I nipped off enough of the branches on the bush to place on top of the ground boxes around the plants. While I was back there I seen a couple thorny vines and cut them off at ground level. Then I cut them long enough to fit around the plants in the ground boxes. That may discourage the cat if it steps on them thorns. I done that two or three days ago. Took a look see tonight when I watered the ground boxes and did not see any new digging going on. Of course I wore my welders gloves while handling that thorny stuff.

Some of the tomato plants in the deck containers are starting to peek over the top of the short cages. The short cages only had about an eight inch diameter. May purchase a couple sheets of that concrete wire mesh in a day or two and build the cages with about a 13 inch diameter and slip them over the short cages. Giving me a cage about six feet tall. Most of the tomatoes I have grow that tall or higher.

See no further bug problems or disease since I dusted the plants last. Was getting brown spots on one tomato plant leaves at the bottom.

Seen one or two cuke seeds coming up in the cuke box where I transplanted seedlings I purchased a short time ago. The cuke seedlings are up to maybe four inches tall and leafing out.

That moisture meter I purchased awhile back works real nice. Know what needs water and what does not.

In my previous post I did not want to confuse anyone but a roof rabbit is another name for cat. Just joking around a little about roof rabbit in a stirabout.  Do a search you will find it. I found it in Wikipedia or what ever it is called.

I will be trying this vinegar thing today when I get up later today. 

_______________________________

How to Use Vinegar for Cat Repellent

https://pets.thenest.com/use-vinegar-cat-repellent-5829.html

Checking my ground boxes this morning that roof rabbit has been at it again. That roof rabbit is going to end up in one of my stirabouts one of these days.

_________________________drawn__________the plan____
Sun, Apr 29, 2018    10-16-17-23-32   11-13-13-21-31
Sat, Apr 28, 2018    03-15-22-27-35   01-12-21-23-32
Fri, Apr 27, 2018    01-10-12-13-28   01-11-11-11-23
Thu, Apr 26, 2018    04-12-21-37-38,  02-11-21-33-33
Wed, Apr 25, 2018    01-10-12-20-24,  01-11-11-21-22
Tue, Apr 24, 2018    03-20-26-30-35,  01-21-23-31-32
Mon, Apr 23, 2018    06-16-19-28-36,  03-13-13-23-33
Sun, Apr 22, 2018    06-13-17-26-29,  03-11-13-23-23
Sat, Apr 21, 2018    02-05-13-19-34,  01-02-11-13-31
Fri, Apr 20, 2018    15-22-29-31-36,  12-21-23-31-33
Thu, Apr 19, 2018    03-04-13-33-38,  01-02-11-31-33
Wed, Apr 18, 2018    05-07-12-18-30,  02-03-11-13-31
Tue, Apr 17, 2018    14-24-28-30-36,  12-22-23-31-33
Mon, Apr 16, 2018    03-18-31-34-36,  01-13-31-32-33
Sun, Apr 15, 2018    10-12-13-19-35,  11-11-11-13-32
Sat, Apr 14, 2018    04-10-17-31-32,  02-11-13-31-31
Fri, Apr 13, 2018    06-09-18-35-36,  03-03-13-32-33
Thu, Apr 12, 2018    08-11-13-16-34,  03-11-11-13-32
Wed, Apr 11, 2018    02-18-23-35-38,  01-13-21-32-33

Just got in from the back yard where I went behind the back fence spreading some Epsom salt on each ground box. Watered that in.

Noticed that the sun flower seeds are up in the two ground boxes I planted on the 24th. Five days and they are up.

The squashes are coming along on growth in the ground boxes. Does not get as much direct sunlight back there as I thought it would.

The three big boy tomato plants are doing well I planted in the ground box that had melon seeds in it that did not sprout.

If I want a home grown melon I will go to the farmers market in town when they are there. Help support the local growers.

Got to thinking about the tall chimneys for the plants. The cuke chimney is already up to almost six feet and I will need taller chimneys for other plants as they grow taller. Will need to purchase some 2 x 2 x 8 foot and cut them to proper height and fasten them to the side of the wooden container. Then take a long bolt with enough washers and nuts to fasten the steel chimney to the 2 x 2. One should be enough for each chimney. When the vines get high enough and there is a strong wind the chimneys could blow over. I do not particularly trust the legs on the steel chimneys to hold the tall chimney in place.

I posted some time ago about working on losing weight. I forgot when it was, last year some time I think when I started using apple cider vinegar with mother daily. Any how it was about 18 to 24 months ago my weight was at 252 pounds give or take a few. Since that time I have continued taking the apple cider vinegar daily with Old Orchard pineapple orange drink which contains 5 grams of carb per serving. I have been watching my carb intake and cutting way back on starchy foods. Consume very little sweet snack food. I sometimes take a couple chocolate chip cookies and sandwich a good serving of peanut butter between them. Once in awhile a half serving of a cinnamon bun with peanut butter spread across the top. Hardly any bread or potatoes at all anymore. Substitute cottage cheese to take the place of potatoes. 

My current weight is down to 212 pounds. waist line has dropped about two inches. Time for some new pants of the appropriate waist size.

May have a day of celebration when I break below the 200 mark.

Was to the doctor about a month ago and all appears to be healthy according to the blood test results. Blood pressure was low so under doctors orders the blood pressure medication has been discontinued.

Would like to get down to 185 pound or there about. It has been about 60 years since I weighed 185 pounds. Something like a 38 inch waist line.

Now if I can discover something to reverse aging, get rid of arthritis and rebuild the skeletal frame to when I was 18 years old would be nice.

Still have a full head of hair yet. It has only slightly thinned the past few years. Full head of gray hair. Started graying in my late twenties.

Seeing how the garden is pretty much caught up I have been doing some small projects that needed doing.

Yesterday I skimmed back some popcorn ceiling that came loose. Had a flap in one section and cracks starting in other areas next to the flap. Peeled back to where it was solid stuck to the ceiling. The ceiling probably has been on there for 30 or 40 years. When they originally did it they never primed the drywall. I probably have about eight square feet exposed. Will need to purchase some drywall primer and sealer plus a can of ceiling popcorn. I have done this before in the bathroom, garage and laundry room. Another day for painting and popcorn repair.

Today I pulled out the frig, removed the back panel covering the mechanical portion and vacuumed in there. Vacuumed the floor and wall plus cleaned the floor. Pushed it back in and removed the air inlet at the bottom under the door and vacuumed the cooling fins. If you do not keep your cooling fins clear of dust lint the refrigerator will not cool properly and need to run longer to get the temp down. Those fins work like a radiator on a car. Cleaned the drip tray located behind the air inlet.

Today I made the cuke box chimney [cage]. The sheet of concrete wire mesh was 42 x 84 inches long not 72 inches long like I thought. The wire mesh squares were 6 x 6 inches giving me seven rows on the width. So I decided to make an octagon chimney for the cuke box. I used the full sheet of wire mesh. I clipped off the wire that goes between the vertical row clipping up enough to have eighteen inches of legs to push into the container mix. I took my big plumbers pliers and folded the horizontal bands to pretty close to a 45 degree angle. I then had some wire mesh left that I cut into nine inch lengths. I then folded the ends of the rods giving me a six inch distance to each fold. Then I just connected them to each end of the octagon chimney crimping them into place which gave me my eight side. Just slid it into the container and done. The height of the chimney is about 5 foot 10 inches from the container mix to the top of the chimney.  Should be high enough for the cukes. Total cost of the chimney $9.00. A sheet of concrete wire mesh 42 x 84 inches is $8.97. So each one of the smaller chimney I made cost $3,00 each.

The cukes I transplanted yesterday perked up and are standing tall today. See how long they last.

Having some of the red leaf lettuce in my salad tonight. Washed it off real good with the hose that I have on the deck and inspected it real good. I had some salad the other night and when I had finished there was a green bug crawling in the bowl. I washed the greens at the kitchen sink too. I will make sure I inspect the stuff from the garden real good from now on.

I had a bag of dust at the house for bug control plus I purchased a small container today that had bug control and disease control combined. I was reading the ingredients on the bag and container to see what was in it. So I was on the net today looking up pyrethrins and permethrin. While doing that I came across an article about chrysanthemums. I thought it was quite interesting as I already found an article on marigolds I posted about earlier. I may decide to get some Chrysanthemum plants to place around the deck area.
I really do not think much about dusting. I think I would like using a spray bottle instead. I think the bag or container said it could be put in water and used as a spray. Would make it easier to coat the underside of the leaves.

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How to Use Chrysanthemums for Garden Pest Control
https://www.gardenguides.com/96723-use-chrysanthemums-garden-pest-control.html

I was walking around the perimeter of the deck dusting the veggie plants for bugs and diseases and spotted a snake scoot across the ground. It went over to the edge of the deck and got part way up [deck is about six inches off the ground] and turned and gave me a look see. It scooted up onto the deck and went under one of the containers. I do not know where it went from there. The snake was about two feet long, brownish in color except for the head which was close to black in color. I just kept on doing what I was doing.

Made six vegetable chimneys since Saturday. I will be staking the peppers and eggplant which is already done. May need longer stakes for the peppers later on. The eggplant stakes are about four feet tall. That should be tall enough for the eggplant. Still need to make the Chimney for the cuke box. Already have one concrete reinforcement wire sheet 42 inches x 72 inches long I have not cut into yet. May need to add more height to some of the tomato chimneys later. Some of the tomatoes reach a height up to six feet or so.

Still harvesting red leaf lettuce yet. Still a lot out there for being only six plants. I only snip off what I need for the day.

Transplanted cukes again today I purchased. Plus I have four seeds in the cuke box that I put in about a week or so ago. Dug one seed up today and it has just germinated. The first transplants did not do well. Get cukes from the transplants or the seed I planted.

Over in the ground boxes behind the back fence I planted two ground boxes with five seed in each ground box of sunflower seed today. The soil felt quite warm in the ground boxes. A couple boxes were not doing well with the plants that are in them.

Chili with no beans.

7 grams of carbs per serving. Added half the required amount of salt.

Store bought chili is loaded with salt.

I like to make a lot of my own stuff as I am the one controlling the spices and salt that goes into it.

An Armillary

I have an old brass lamp that stands about 10 to 12 inches tall which is very decorative and heavy. Probably a lamp design that came from the 1920s era. It has fancy lace work that goes around the lamp I think in two sections. I bought it about 27 years ago in a shop that probably dealt in consignment sales. It has been sitting since I purchased it as I never updated the wiring or the socket assembly that holds the bulb.

I thought I would remove the bulb socket assembly and then purchase some brass or copper tubing about 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter. I will bend the tubing something like in the shape of a globe. Maybe 4 or 6 oval loops like the planet earth. I could also take some brass or copper wire and duplicate the Longitude and Latitude lines that encircle the planet earth. I will attach that to the hollow stem that goes through the center of the lamp that currently holds the bulb socket assembly.

I like the design of this sphere. Something like that of an appropriate size that over powers the lamp size. When I get it done I could set it on the table which we have on the deck.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Sandro_Botticelli_052.jpg

Update 11:59 PM

Yep, 1/4 inch copper tubing. about $1.00 per foot

https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-4-in-OD-x-10-ft-Copper-Soft-Type-Refrigeration-Coil-PCLE-250R010/203654086

While out at the market this AM getting my lottery tickets I seen they had their 6 packs of flowers on sale for a whopping whole giant green dollar. I picked out one six pack of Begonias for an extra pail I had available. I put four plants in the pail and put one plant each in a tomato container.

Got my moisture meter out to check all the containers for moisture content. Only the two cauliflower containers were low on water. The plants are getting up to good size now so probably need more watering than the other containers right now. I was just reading up on cauliflower growing. Quite a complex process to grow vegetables.  http://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/content/cauliflower-0

Staked and tied most all the plants that needed supporting. Going to build some chimneys [cages] this coming week for some of the plants.The wind has been pretty brisk this past week.

Seen a flower on one of the sweet million tomato plants today.

I also put a couple Tbsp of Epsom salts around each of the pepper plants that are in the pails to see how it goes. Epsom salt contains 09.8% Magnesium and 13% sulphur. I understand peppers like slightly acidic soil. The PH before adding Epsom salt was almost touching 7. The PH looks like it needed lowering in the soil for the peppers plants anyhow. The sulphur in the Epsom salt will probably do the trick.

 http://homeguides.sfgate.com/kind-soil-green-peppers-71951.html

"Using a pH meter, confirm your soil has a moderate to slightly acidic pH range of 5.8 to 6.5."

Cool temps at night are raising he!! with the pepper plants.
Been down in the low 50s
_____________________
Best Weather for Peppers

https://garden.org/learn/articles/view/529/