Taking a gamble

I apparently created this post as a draft a couple years ago and never followed up.  Funny to release it now since I no longer have a garden (at least until I get the balcony going), but I think it might turn out useful.

Conclusion from this experiment - pretty much all of the plants I divided out survived and thrived just fine.  So I conclude that buying seedlings with more than one plant per pot can be a sneaky way to save a few bucks.  

The seedlings at the local garden store were all multiple seedlings per pot:

I know they won't do well that way so for basil, tomato, and cucumber I decided to run an experiment and try separating them. Basil and tomato stems will root in water so I figure they can survive. Cucumber, I am not so sure. 

So here are separated plants:

(Note a few separated beets around the edge; they sprout in clumps and I gently dig them up and transplant to individual spots)

It's all one big experiment, this gardening thing, isn't it?  Either I just killed my seedlings or got an amazing bargain on seedlings because I for two or three plants per pot. 

Made a yummy bean soup yesterday using home grown green onion, chive, celery, and parsley, so that was rather validating. 

Lentils with chili seasoning, instant pot

The source recipe called this lentil chili but we decided his was a misnomer.

Splash olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 tsp chopped garlic
1 cup chopped baby carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander

1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 bag (about 2.5 cups) lentils
3 cups veggie broth (used better than bouillon vegetable)

Turned instant pot on sauté, added splash of oil. Sautéed onions, garlic, carrot, celery until softened. Added spices and stirred in for a minute or so. Added broth, deglazed bottom of pan. Added tomatoes and lentils, switched to "beans/chili" mode and pressure cooked for 14 minutes. Allowed 10 minute natural release and then vented.

Result - tasty. Beans are fully soft to the point of being creamy, and very little extra liquid. I had thought they'd need to go over rice but I think they're fine as is.

Instant pot Italian noodle casserole

Splash olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, fat cut off and cut into bite size pieces
8 oz sliced baby Bella mushrooms
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tsp (at least - one good shake) basil
24 oz bottle spaghetti sauce - Classico tomato basil
2 c water
2 c rotini noodles
3/4 cup grated cheese - combination of Parmesan and grated Mexican blend

Turned instant pot to sauté and added a splash of olive oil.  When hot, browned chicken pieces a couple minutes, added onion and garlic for a few more minutes, then mushrooms and cooked until volume reduced about half. Then added spaghetti sauce and basil and water, stirred well, added pasta and made sure all pasta was fully submerged. Turned pot to manual high pressure mode for 10 minutes. Quick release and then stir in cheese.

Result - noodles cooked and not too much extra liquid. Taste was fine but a bit bland.  Think the cheese sort of kills the tanginess. Will have to think about how to get the thickness added by the cheese and also get more punch. But, was easy and would do again.

Instant pot mushroom risotto (with fake chicken)

First try on this recipe.

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup frozen chopped onion
24 oz sliced baby Bella mushrooms
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 1/2 cup chicken stock (used better then broth bouillon)
2 cup arborio  rice
1 cup shaved Parmesan
1 tbsp butter
9 oz Beyond Meat chicken grilled strips, chopped into pieces

Turned the pot to sauté and added oil. Cooked onion until brown, added in mushrooms and thyme, cooked until reduced to about half the original volume.  Added fake chicken bits and stirred in for a few seconds. Poured in the broth and scraped bottom of pan well.  Added rice, stored, switched pot to manual high pressure for 7 minutes. Quick released the pressure and stirred in butter and cheese.

Result is creamy and thick and yummy. Made four very large portions.

Notes - recipe called for 1/2 cup wine (red or white) and 4 cups broth. Didn't have wine on hand
Recipe said to toast rice then add liquid. I did the liquid first because I was focused on deglazing the pot and forgot the toasting bit.
The chicken was not in the recipe. I just had it on hand so I used it.

This was a winner. Will make again.

How I want to live part 2

In July of 2017, I posted my thoughts on how I want to live.

A month later, a hurricane flooded my home, forcing us to evacuate and spend the next half-year dealing with insurance, property sales and purchases and moving. 

Because I'd invested that recent time into considering my goals for day-to-day life, I quickly came to see the forced move as an opportunity to make some conscious, active choices about my new home. Those thoughts, plus many more in the following weeks and months, really helped when we were viewing possible new homes and trying to picture our lives there.

Some insights and decisions I made:

I love to garden and learn about gardening, but don't feel the need to own the garden I work in.  And when I'm the only one tending the garden, I get overwhelmed and frustrated at never managing to do enough.  I decided to forego a large personal garden and instead joined a crew of volunteer gardeners maintaining a large public garden.  So I'm still loving the gardening, and have the opportunity to learn from master gardeners and socialize with other volunteers as well.  So far, very happy with this.

The new place is much closer to public transportation, which means I can eliminate a lot of driving time from my life.  If someone else is doing the driving, I can spend that time paying attention to something else.  Right now, I'm using a phone app to learn a bit of basic Italian, in anticipation of some upcoming travel.

The new place has a bigger kitchen area, similar dining area, and actually a bit less space given over to the social living area (living/family room).  In the past, we had a big living room, dining room, and family room, composing over half the home's square footage.  This was great for throwing big parties, but... we didn't actually enjoy throwing big parties.  We are far more likely to enjoy entertaining a few people at a time.  So, less public entertaining space.  Instead, we have more square footage for closets (so there's less clutter out in the rooms), and for the activities we like to do at home - like exercising, and crafts, and office space.

We'll see how it goes.  And in the future, I suppose I'll be more careful when I muse aloud to the universe about wanting sweeping changes in my home and life!

How do I want to live?

I was given a little book about the Kondo approach to clutter-free living.  There's a bit of irony there because in general, I've concluded that books are one of the areas where I could really improve my clutter management - so I have been getting rid of many.  But it seemed worth reading the thing first, before passing it on.

So at the start of the book, she says that the first step to managing your belongings is to decide how you want to live.

And... wow.  That's a really smart starting point.  Decide how I want to live.  Then arrange my home and life to support that.  

Right now, I have pockets of ... stuff ... all over my home that I consistently don't do anything about because they make me feel utterly helpless.  I don't know what they are or why we have them.  I don't have a logical and consistent place to keep them.  And they just sit there, and they fill up rooms with visual distraction, and my sense of helplessness about them has some tiny but real impact on my psyche every time they cross my vision.

So.

I want to live in a home where every item that my eye falls upon has a purpose, a story, and a role in my (or my husband's) life.  I want the lines to be simple and clean, where things that are visible out in the open are there because they are pleasing to the eye, or because we use them so constantly that it doesn't make sense to box them away.  

I want to be able to walk comfortably through my small home, with ample space between furniture items so there's no need to navigate carefully to avoid bumping into things.  

On the flip side, I want it to be easy and quick and simple to get to the things I use, without complicated rules and systems for stacking and arranging things.

When I get up in the morning, I want to make my cup of coffee and drink it in a space that is clean, well lit, visually appealing, and open to the world.  

I want decorations to be things that are beautiful or thought-provoking or evoke happy memories for me.

Family photos make me happy but when I hung a lot on the wall, I found they overwhelmed me.  I felt a need to update them to match the kids current ages.  And they got crooked all the time.  Maybe family photos need to be screensavers instead?

When I come home at night, I want to have space that is (again) clean and uncluttered - to have a bite to eat, catch up with my husband, and sprawl with a puzzle or a good book. 

I want spaces for the cats to play and explore and snooze, integrated in among the people spaces.  It pleases me to look  up and notice a cat on the bookshelf.

I want to be creative, which means I need spaces for creative tools and supplies.  Sewing and craft supplies are not particularly nice to look at, so I want those stored out of sight.  I want to spread out a project long enough to get it done, but I want to be able to step away from a project in process and not have to look at it.

I want to be able to entertain, in a simple and casual and spontaneous style.  Individuals, couples, or small groups only.  I don't want to do the sort of entertaining that calls for fancy china or special silverware.  I want to own everyday things that make me happy, and if I invite you into my home then I like you enough that I want to share the things that make me happy.  

So yeah.  That's a start.  Already it's changing my thoughts about what I want to do with my home.

RESEARCH: Blocking robocalls on iPhone

Once upon a time, cell phones seemed relatively immune to robocalls.  Maybe there were even rules against it?  Anyway, that time is long gone and I get far too many junk calls.

Googling "block robocalls iPhone" I find the following:

Rules, regulations, and interesting information about robocalls and telemarketing calls:

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers without prior consent. Automated dialers are standard in the industry, so most telemarketers are barred from calling consumers' cell phones without their consent.  
• Charities, political groups, debt collectors and surveys are still allowed to call you.  Also "informational calls".  So a lot of companies could re-define what they're doing and still call you.
• The FTC has sponsored competitions to try to develop techniques to track down and stop robocallers.  Hasn't had one since 2015, though.  
• Given the laws, the companies that spoof their caller ID numbers (so they won't get caught) and call you anyway are more likely to be scams than legitimate businesses.

Notes about things to do to avoid calls (and letters and emails in some cases):

• Register on the National Do Not Call Registry - https://donotcall.gov.  (Verified I've been registered since 2008 for all the good that's done me)
• There's also a registry through the Consumer Credit Reporting Industry web page that lets you opt out of pre-screened credit offers (mail or phone).  https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t  It was recommended by the FTC web page which makes it somewhat legit.  You can do a 5-year request online; if you want it to be a permanent opt-out, you have to print and mail a form to them.  I didn't bother to mail the form, since I figure it's not that hard to re-register every 5 years and I'm lazy.  
• And there's a registry from the Direct Marketing Association http://www.dmachoice.org/ that lets you opt out of direct mail solicitations for five years.  
• It works by having you register for an account, after which you can manage your preferences by removing your name from "prospect" (not already a customer) lists that are provided to companies, in four categories (Catalogs, Magazine offers, Other mail offers, Credit offers - which actually just points to the CCRI page above).  In each category you can opt out of the whole category or individual companies.
• I had to consider on this one if it might create more risk than benefit - I mean, these people make their living by giving my address to mail marketers.  What if they actually collect my info and then use it to add me to more lists?  Ultimately I decided that it's worth the experiment because I'm probably on all the lists already, so it's unlikely to get worse. 
• So I put in the info to set up an account.  According to several older things I saw on the web, they did not ask me to pay anything to register online.  Decided not to opt out of catalogs because I rather enjoy catalogs sometimes.  
• DMA.org also has a sign-up to opt out of email solicitations, which you can link to on their Home page.  I doubt this will do much but I went ahead and registered to see what would happen.  Looks like this will expire after 6 years.
• Then there's https://www.catalogchoice.org which lets you decide which catalogs you want to get and which you don't.  I'm not really bothered by catalogs at this point so not much point there.

When you receive a call:

• Don't interact since that may verify it's a real number.
• It probably doesn't help much to report or block numbers because companies do "caller ID spoofing" where the phone shows you a number that isn't real. 
• On the iPhone you can block individual numbers.  Worth doing given that most are probably spoofed caller IDs?

Apps and services to deal with Robocalls automatically:

• NoMoRobo is free for VOIP landlines but costs $2 per month for mobile phones.  
• Several reverse-lookup services exist for iPhone; all of them have fees similar to NoMoRobo.  

References:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0108-national-do-not-call-registry
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0025-robocalls
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0262-stopping-unsolicited-mail-phone-calls-and-email
http://cyberguy.com/appearances/3-smart-ways-to-block-robocalls/