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Archive for the ‘Thots’ Category

A Large Christmas Gift Box Reused to Send Heirloom Tomato Gifts Packing

DoT’s Thot: Heirloom tomatoes are so wonderful to eat, but can be more delicate than the hybrid tomatoes.  I have now sent tomatoes on a 400 mile road trip twice to Berkeley from Orange County, CA.  The tomatoes arrived in great shape and I thought you might like to see how an amateur enthusiast shared her heirloom tomato gifts with others.

Save and Reuse Large Flat Christmas (or other) Gift Boxes for Packing Tomatoes

I had saved some Christmas Gift Boxes and took the largest one for packing tomatoes.  First, I doubled the box by putting the bottom of the box into the box lid to make it stronger.  Next, I  put in some crumpled up newspaper pages to give some cushioning for the precious heirloom tomato gifts.

Write the Name of the Heirloom Tomato Gifts on Paper Towel Quarter-Sheets

Then, I selected pretty specimens of the various tomato types.  I cut paper towels into quarters and wrote the tomato’s name on the paper towel piece.  Then I gently nestled the tomatoes into the box, rearranging and adding crumpled newspaper as the filler.  The effect was quite impressive.

Most times, I would have had a large insulated bag to slide the box into (the bag is one that looks like a large over-the-shoulder-bag).  Not having that this time, I then took a kitchen tall plastic bag and slid the box into it and made sure that this sat on the top of the most level and cushioned position in the trunk of the car.

For good measure, I wrapped one of those frozen “blue ice” packs in a towel and nestled that next to the box to keep the ambient temperature cooler around the tomatoes. The tomatoes made the trip quite nicely.

Hope this helps– Aloha, DoT

Related Articles and References

• Heirlooms versus Hyrids: A Common-sense Approach
• Care Package of Tomatoes Packed to Go to Berkeley
• Pruning Tomato Plants and String Trellis Video
  

  Tomato Growers' Store (Even for Growing Tomatoes Upside Down)

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• Grow Tomatoes Review:  Vintage Wine and Black Brandywine Heirlooms
• Review Basic Canning Tips for Beginners:  An Inexpensive Reference
• Grow Tomatoes Review:  Journal Entry – Early Tomatoes Were Hybrids in Pots
• Tip:  Stake Up and Tie Those Stray Tomato Branches with Velcro
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• Grow Tomatoes Journal News: 2009 Late Blight hits East Coast
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• Tomato Gardening Journal — Review of May 2009
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Dot’s Thot: “Butterflies are self propelled flowers.” – R.H. Heinlein

Monarch Butterfly Closeup on Asclepsis Buds

DoT's Monarch Butterfly Haiku #2, "Monarch Butterfly Camera Madness"

Monarch Butterfly Speeding Among the Agapanthus Looks Like It is Pasted In

The Monarch Butterfly Eluded Me, Charmed the Hubby

A few days ago, while I was out in the yard, tending to plants and flowers, I caught a vague glimpse of my hubby moving rather fast for the brand-new medicare guy that he is.  He has one of those ridiculously low heart rates — at rest, somewhere in the 40’s (genetic, it seems) — and I am used to him being a genial, ambling sort of guy.

Don’t be mistaken, he can move fast when he has too and that brain is constantly on the go, although.in general, he appears to be relaxed and easy-going, but apparently not when it comes to monarch butterfly pictures.

I looked, but got engrossed again.  I was in the back yard and he soon disappeared, headed toward the front of the house.  I figured he had something on his mind, as usual.  When he gets an idea, he wants to execute immediately.

Some minutes later, he returned all excited — “I saw your butterfly.  I think I got some pictures for you for your blog.  Come look.”  He sounded not a bit out of breath, but somewhat breathless in excitement.  As one of those “keeper” kind of men, he was all too happy to make me happy.

Persistence Results in Interesting Monarch Butterfly Pictures

Imagine my surprise when I took the camera in and uploaded the photographs.  Some days before, I had tried to take a flip video of a Monarch butterfly and it just made me dizzy.  I couldn’t get a good close-up and the flittering, fleeting, fluttering butterfly turned me around in circles.

I can appreciate how he must have run around and persisted to get the photos. I have included some here.  Just an amateur monarch butterfly lover, I have tried to attract and journal the monarch butterfly life cycle for myself.  I love the unusual pictures he managed to take:  one where the butterfly is seen from the top as the wings are folded together, appearing like a sudden sliver of color among the leaves and one where he caught the butterfly in mid-flight as an orange, black, and white big “V” zooming low in the garden.

What shots these are — I can imagine the butterfly for myself.  Some pictures look like they could have been digitally manipulated, because of the movement — kind of the surreal feeling butterflies sometimes induce in real life.  In some of them, there is a feeling of “Where’s Wally?” as I hunt among the foliage and blossoms for the elusive butterfly.

Unusual Angle of a Monarch Butterfly as a Colorful Sliver

"Coming in Low to Strafe the Ants!"

Finally, as he followed it,  the butterfly lighted upon, of all things, the butterfly bush or asclepsis that I have tended to for three years to foster the monarch butterflies.  He took a series of shots and the butterfly is as magnificent as any I have seen.  What a man — kind of an un-birthday present; therefore, I want to share them with you.

Aloha, DoT

Related Articles or References:

• Monarch Butterflies USA.com
• Plants That Attract Butterflies
• The Butterfly Website

Related Posts:

• Asclepsis and Lantana:  Food for Monarch Butterflies
• Scene in Hawaii:  Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
• A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
• Monarch Butterfly Sightings Haiku — the Asclepsis Gardener’s Reward
• Missed the Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis — Found It Empty
• Monarch Butterflies — Caterpillar Faith
• Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Site Review — go visit
• Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt — First Report
• Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt is On

“A cat has absolute emotional honesty.” – Ernest Hemingway

"I only drank from her cup because I was thirsty, honest!!"

Dot’s Thot: Here is my special darling, Tora, who is as lovable as can be.  He does try to help at the keyboard and cannot resist trying to get into good-smelling human food.  He eats avocado, but finds the texture annoying, as evidenced by the prolonged tongue-licking as he tries to get the stuff off his teeth and down the gullet.

The garden and yard are his favorite places to hang out when he is not sleeping or eating.  He behaves like a 10 year old kitten.

Aloha, Dot

Buttonhole Huh??

Dot’s Thot: We can learn from our children!

Just thought I should ‘fess up and tell this joke on myself. My son who lives in Berkeley was visiting and we went downtown together for a little bonding time.

I bought a beautiful hoodie sweatshirt in one of the little boutique shops (gulped at the pricetag, but loved it for the embroidery and scandanavian feel). I appreciate fabricart and he looked, said, “Cool”, looked it over, approved — so I forked over my credit card — this was some time in early April.

He asked me to send a picture — I forgot and then I forgot about the bag with the hoodie — stuck it in the closet to wear later.

My New Hoodie Cardigan Sweatshirt

Mother’s Day comes and a package arrives – http://tinyurl.com/l8jb7z –it makes me happy, a pink ipod shuffle for me.

I call to thank my sons and find out there is an engraving on the back — I didn’t see it myself — thank goodness for talkative kids. Naturally, I was too busy to load my music — a few weeks pass — my son arrives from Berkeley.

I hand over a stack of CDs and my ipod — he’s busy for a while, getting me set up.

Then he says — “where’s your sweater, Mom?”, meaning the hoodie. Blank look, sudden insight, brief search… he says, “…remember Mom, it’s that cool hoodie that gave me the idea that you needed this.”

“Ohhhhh….”

My New Hoodie ExplainedAnother blank look; he points to the buttonhole -- see, this is where the earphone wires go."

So, here are my lessons learned.

For me:

0. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know — so listen when your kids tell you.

1. If you don’t know, ask your kids — especially with any new gadgets or apparel styles.

2. Guys notice things too — it was my son who put 2 and 2 together 4 me

3. That tiny zip pocket under the facing of the hoodie holds my ipod. The other side holds my cell phone.

4. Finally — that is what the buttonhole is for — keeps the earphones available but under control.

For the kids of people like me:

0. Don’t laugh too hard, it might hurt our feelings.

1. We are grateful to learn and we can learn, so talk to us — a lot.

2. We love you for it

Aloha, Dot — I’m wearing my hoodie with nano now — : )

Psyllium Fiber Bottles

Dot’s Thot: “Can implementing the three R’s – reduce, recycle, reuse, save you money? If you only implemented the three R’s in your kitchen, you would save money.” — Catherine Pulsifer, 10 Tips for Saving Money in Your Kitchen, While Implementing the Three R’s

Baby Boomer Reuse Idea: Psyllium Bottles in the Pantry

by Dot

OK, here is one for reuse for the baby boomer generation. First, many in this age category are consuming fiber, often in that orange bottle, for control over cholesterol levels. In our household, we use the sugar free, 1.5 lb. size bottles. While recycling is always an option, here is a rather serendipitous use for this size, food-grade plastic bottle.

• Since the bottles are food-grade, they can hold pantry supplies.
• The plastic sleeve around the bottle comes off pretty easily. Slit the plastic and peel it off and clean the bottle.
• This size holds the standard 1 lb. bags of oat bran easily.
• Often you can reuse a scoop from one of the powdered nutritional supplements and keep it in the bottle.
• Many of us buy bulk in around the amount the bottle holds so as not to have our supplies go stale.
• Many boomer babies are also eating hot oat bran cereal to boost cholesterol control even more.
• One of the more common brands has a plastic sleeve that fits perfectly around the girth of that fiber bottle. If you buy that, you can tell by looking at the photo.
• So, empty the bag into the clean reused bottle.
• Cut the top and bottom off the bag and slide it on the bottle — no need to write on the bottle– no guessing what is in it. Tip: slide it on from the top, open end — wiggle it on like a tight girdle.
• You can cut the label off a bag and tape it on; like the dried lentils label on the right.
  

  Your Own Quick Label

• You can also label the bottle yourself. A quick, easy, changeable way is to use a post-it note, write what you want on it, adjust one side with the post-it stick-em and then secure top and bottom with reused rubber-bands from produce — those bands from asparagus bundles are perfect.
• These bottles tend to fit nicely on pantry shelves. Another plus is that if you accumulate and use a number of them on the same shelf, you can stack shorter containers on top.
• Suggested pantry items that fit into these bottles nicely: oat bran cereal, flaxseeds, flaxseed meal, raw walnuts, raw almonds, cashew nuts, specialty flours, trail mix, bulk spice ingredients, your own muesli concoction, loose leaf tea, coffee grounds, etc.
• Because these are opaque, the bottles help keep the light out and delay aging, for example, preserving the tea vitamins and antioxidants longer.
• The screw-top lids help to keep moisture at bay.
• Finally, if you buy bulk items, you don’t need to buy containers for the pantry — reuse those psyllium fiber bottles.

This is one reuse idea I have been using for quite a while and I find it very convenient. Hope you can use the idea as well. Go green, save money, reuse, and organize.

Aloha, Dot

P.S. The “crafty” among us can make those containers more attractive, I am sure. I was just happy to not add as many bottles to the landfills as well as finding containers that fit the pantry handily.

Buy & Preserve Loose Leaf Tea Vitamins in Reused Bottles

Buy Spice Ingredients in Bulk and Store Them in the Reused Bottles