Today is a Gift

Road Trip With Me - San Diego to Palm Spring

The Route.

We had a great time heading out to Palm Spring. We took the scenic route from San Diego, through Temecula and Anza to get to the Palms to Pines highway and drop into Palm Desert - and if you have not been on that road, it really is a drop into the desert. As you can see it is switchbacks all the way down from the lookout point - it is well worth the drive.

I used to say screaming tires are happy tires on this drive, but that was before the SUV.

Exercise With Me - Leg Routine

Who would of thought that the largest muscles on your body could get so stiff after just one workout!

In other words, I figured out my leg routine; it is a very simple one using body weight or just dumbbells.
- Squats
- Lunges
- Dead lifts
- Toe lifts
- Hip raises
- Butt kick-up
- Steps

It is both simple and also somewhat effective at causing muscle stiffness the next day. But at 56, what can you expect.

Ah, next set of pain will be shoulders! Wish me luck.

Out and About With Me - Bar Signs

Was out for an afternoon adult beverage and saw these two signs...had to share.

Road Trip With Me - Mount Whitney

My cousin just did a road trip to Mt. Whitney and took this shot - I want to go!

Geeky Tech Stuff With Me - Dimable LEDs

I saw the geekiest thing the other day Wi-Fi Enabled LED lights - I want to get some!

Full information on the bulb is at the Insteon website

Garden With Me - Tomato overview

This year's tomatoes included:

2 yellow plums

1 sweet cherry

2 San Marzano Roma
1 Beefmaster

And a volunteer cherry tomato from last year's "100"

The prep:

This year we dug out 1/2 of the large raised bed and and added amendments. We also turned the soil down to 3 feet to break up the hard rocky clay - this also gave us more rocks for our walls. The other bed was also worked over from the installation of power and sound out to the barbecue patio 

The results:

It took a while for the plants to set, I threw some fertilizer on them after 2 weeks in the ground and that made them put on a growth spurt that produced big stems and leaves, but no flowers. I also pinched of lateral buds to get the plants to grow taller which they did...they topped out at about 6 feet and lifted their cages out of the ground which I remedied by using some rebar and small trellises like a true DIY'er

The humid weather took its toll on the plants, their leaves mildewed and turned brown.

The Lessons:

The yellow plums are not resistant to a fungus or nematode and die quickly.

In this yard no more yellow plums - love the taste, but dead plants are no fun.
Give the cherry tomatoes more room - they filled their 3 x 3 area and invaded the Mexican sage.

Pay attention to the strains of plants and their resistance to mildew, fungus and nematodes.

Start with fewer plants or learn to make tomato sauce - the 5 plants gave us to many to eat.

Fertilize less but more often for a balance between growth and fruit.

Stagger planting for longer producing season.
Plant bell peppers on east side of tomatoes to keep the peppers from sunburning in the late afternoon.