June 2025 Grab Bag

 Sometime this past Saturday, I surpassed 2,000,000 views:

It seems apparent that something changed around the February/March timeframe.  Part of that may be that I somehow got linked to other sites (due to the kindness of the owners of those sites).  But somehow, based on the nature of the traffic, I wonder.

(As a note, the records only goes back to June of 2010, when I had a whopping 355 views that month.)

An examination of the overall traffic reveals some interesting locations:

But the past three months reveals even more interesting things:

Singapore and Vietnam seem to fall in the timeline with our trip to Cambodia and Vietnam (we did stop in Singapore on the way there).  No idea about Brazil, I have never been.  A quick review yesterday morning for the last 24 hours also revealed Brazil and Vietnam as "top" countries.  

I have no idea what would make me so interesting that Brazilians and Vietnamese seek me out.  If they are all bots, I have to give Blogger credit:  the last time I had spam was some months ago.

Interestingly, I hit 1,000,000 on 28 October 2023, so the cycle time is speeding up. 

That said, I am sure there are some real views there as well.  Thank you to all the actual readers for your continued support. 

On to 3,000,000.

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My Winter/Spring "harvest" seems complete at this point.  Below you see the results:  Emmer Wheat, Jet Barley, and garlic (Always, the reliable garlic.  It has never failed me.).  Other than a large handful of Spinach, this is more or less what I got.

That said, I am not at all disappointed.  This was my first foray into balcony container gardening and I anticipated getting nothing, so anything is a victory.

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After having removed the remaining stalks of wheat and barley, I was thinking about succession planting.  Herbs struck me as being in order, as they are something we can use and do grow into containers.  I went by my local Big Box store:  Herbs are currently $5.98 a pot.  That was an investment I was not willing to make.

Then, at a stop of large regional grocery store, I went out to their garden center (turns out they have one).  Low and behold, they were clearing out their potted herbs.  Feeling a worthy protégé of Eaton Rapids Joe, I snagged mint, thyme, and English lavender for $4.00 total.  That, to my silly math, is an 78% savings over what I could have paid.

(Thyme and Lavender)

(Mint.  It was very healthy and had a lot of growth).

If I had had the space, there was the makings of a lavender farm in the amount of remaining lavender there.  Perhaps against my better judgement, I may go back there as of the writing of this on Sunday. It is too good of a deal to pass up.

(Editor's note:  I did go back.  The lavender has been completely vacuumed up by someone.  That said, they cut prices again, so I got a sage plant for $1.00.  That raised my "savings" to 84%. )

General garden, End of June 2025:

Currently I am growing leeks, alfalfa, Jerusalem Spinach, and peppers.  The alfalfa is an experiment - well, really all of this is an experiment.

On the bright side, I have serrano peppers!

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I have gotten out of the habit of making bread over the last two months for reasons I do not fully know.  It is easy to do with a bread maker; I really have had no excuse.  Yesterday I made a sort of light rye:

I will say that a game changer for me was finding that Bob's Red Mill makes small batches of non-wheat flour which are pretty reasonable, thus opening up new possibilities.  We also now live near a store that sells bulk grains (and I have a grain mill).  So more opportunities to experiment await.

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A the Cat sends greetings.  Other than a penchant for clawing at couches and "stepping in" to J the Rabbit's cage for a visit (somewhat unwelcome by J), the adjustment is going well.

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I think I finally have a "drink".

When I was out to dinner with The Ravishing Mrs. TB for a belated birthday celebration, I had a Porto Tonico.  It is a drink made with port and tonic water and finds its origins in Portugal. 

Basic recipe:

- 2 ounces white port (it can be any port, but white is preferred)

- 4 ounces tonic water

That is it.  It can be garnished, if you are fancy, with mint leaves and a bit of orange slice or lime slice.  (I, being not fancy, do not garnish.)

I find them highly refreshing.

If you are lucky enough to live somewhere that sells generic tonic water in the 12 ounce cans, get those:  You can get two Porto Tonicos and a chaser of tonic water out of single can.

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The Ravishing Mrs. TB and I have started passively looking for a house.

When I say "passively", it is simply looking at some pictures and starting a list of things we would like to have in a house.  Part of that is also making short day trips around the area to see the communities, mostly West and North of us, as neither of us want to live closer to the rather large urban area directly nearby or even in the greater area we now live (nice to rent in, maybe not so great to buy in).

In terms of "needs" at the moment, they include at least three bedrooms (we may have one or more family members living with us from time to time), 30 minute or less commute from my work, within 1 hour of the major airport (if we use the "30 minutes to work" rule, it is a sufficient stalking horse),  a better heating/cooling system than we have now, and at least one room with a sufficient ceiling height to allow me to practice Iaijtsu in the rainy and cold season inside without our ceiling being in peril.  Also highly desirable is some amount of land, or at least farther distance from our neighbors - if I had my way, I would like to have a better garden and try my hand at bees and poultry again.

This is all very tentative at the moment.  But it is never too early to start planning.

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You may remember from this past Saturday that my cousin's partner was home on hospice.  He had been given two to four weeks.  My cousin let me know that death came yesterday - Three days from the final diagnosis.

Live each day well.  Tomorrow is not promised us.