Category: FWIW

“Weird portmanteau,” thought I. Then I thought of family “camping” vacations from my childhood (1950s). I suppose those were pretty “glamp.” *heh*

The seven (or nine, of my paternal grandparents were along, as in one of the camping trips) of us would pile in a station wagon, packed to the roof–and beyond!–with people and possessions/supplies–and pulling a trailer built by my grandfather, full of large canvas tent, campstove, lanterns, fuel, sleeping bags, food, tools and other supplies to last seven (or nine) people for a couple of weeks.

Grandmother handled most (no, all–she wasn’t much of a sharer in the kitchen, inside or out) if she were along. Otherwise, mother did most of the cooking with one or more of us kids helping. The white gas Coleman stove was used for most cooking, but when the camp stove was not needed, cooking was sometimes over a real camp fire. Either my dad or grandfather directed camp setup and teardown/packing. Fishing poles and tackle boxes (where use was allowed) were always along.

Well, that was “glamping” for my family in the 50s. *shrugs* Seemed pretty luxurious at the time, and I suppose it still is.

Nice to see my Wonder Woman’s houseplants make a comeback from a Winter of Cat Destructo action, simply from being put outside (some in shade, indirect light, some out in the open). A few months of “thriving in the wild” (nope, even when I did this last year, no supplemental watering) seems to do them wonders.

My “tire-augmented” hugekultur compost bed/garden seems to be doing well. Flowers blooming and HUGE jalapeno plants grown from seed (flowering and already producing peppers) seem to testify to the worth of putting in the little extra to build the thing. Ease of weeding is also a plus. Now that everything’s up and thriving, mulch to come. Expanding this concept in the back yard. . .

The grass is growing so fast this year, I’ve only had one chance to use my fav mower–the chain-driven Fiskars reel mower–a real joy to mow with, but nothing over 6”. When rain keeps the mowing to one day a week (or my aching back–see below–says, “Another day, my friend”) 6” comes pretty quickly. Oh, well. At least it gives me more grass clippings to “drunk compost” when I have to use the gas mower. Hate all the noise, fumes and crap it stirs up in the air. At least I can wear hearing protection and a dust mask. *shrugs* It still looks scalped, not cut, but that’s a rotary mower for ya.

Gas mower doesn’t adjust handle height like the Fiskars does, though, so I always have to mow hunched over a bit. That’s a pain in the back (actually, I have a much lower opinion of that, IYKWIMAITTYD 😉 ). Still, I tell myself, “Grass clippings. Compost. Deal with it.”

Looking back on last Saturday, I almost wish we had bid more on the items we acquired in a school-sponsored (PTO) silent auction. Oh, we “won” everything we bid on, anyway, but only because I didn’t want to bid much under what the (donated) items were worth, since I knew the PTO’s normal record of spending the funds–and approve. In fact, the PTO’s spending seems to meto be more productive, dollar-for-dollar, than the regular school budget. . . Maybe it’s because administrators, politicians and remore educrats are out of the loop, eh?

Still, I do almost wish we had bid more. *meh* Maybe we can just make a straight donation.

Made arrangements for a car repair today with a new (to us) mechanic (referral from a STRONG referral). Guy I ended up talking with had the same name (last name NOT common) as a childhood buddy of mine (now deceased). Of course, I didn’t know that until I’d made arrangements and got his card, but a nice lil addendum to the transaction.

I think Son&Heir’s car is in good hands.

Probably. *heh*