Beeson Banner for September 2014

September 2014 Beeson Banner

ember

 

1 September 2014

Seems as though the first entry every month is on washday. Well, that's the day I have scraps of time too broken up to do anything useful with.

Learned today that if you stop the machine, turn to a different cycle, and start it again, it blissfully continues with its original program. Luckily, the cycle I wanted to turn to was "drain and spin" so I didn't mind having it drain first. And when it finished and I pressed "drain and spin", it drained and spun. But when I then turned to "rinse and spin", it drain-and-spinned again. But that only put a fifteen-minute delay into getting the sheet on and off the line before the storms hit; it didn't mess up my plans to get the clothes clean, and didn't do them any harm the way the two extra agitations of last Monday did.

Don't ever buy anything that's computer controlled and doesn't have a keyboard and a monitor.

  ember

 

2 September 2014

Just came back into the house from finishing digging a hole for Dave to plant his remaining tomato in my garden. It's not deep enough, but that's as deep as its going to get. If he really does keep bringing the plant into the house at night for two more weeks, I might take another shovelful of dirt out of the hole.

Not long before sunset yesterday, I went out to pick some herbs for my ten-o'clock pancake while I could still see. My herb bread never seems to work; I picked enough leaves to contribute toward my requirement for green vegetables, more than I'd put in a gallon of hamburger soup, and couldn't taste them. Pancake was good with sliced tomato, though.

When I went outside, I realized that it was cool enough to do physical work, and started to dig the hole. Got bored with that pretty soon, but I was in the garden with a shovel and spade, so I dug some of Dave's carrots. Then I had to clean them, which took a long time because the biggest one is about the size of a radish. A Cherry Belle radish.

I wasted most of today playing with maps. I plan to ride to Leesburg tomorrow. Google says it's less than a quarter century even though I'm planning to detour past the hospital and the new Goodwill store, but there will be more zigs and zags than the route Google plotted.

Good news: while sorting old maps, I found the Moore map that I replaced with the one that I lost last November. It's ragged, but it has *much* more detail than the minute Chamber of Commerce map.

Had to clean out the old-paper shelf this evening, and netted a stack of magazines for the emergency room. I put a handful on the bike to deliver tomorrow.

I re-installed my long narrow reflector today. I was surprised to see that it isn't bolted on, it's buttoned -- the washer on the lower bolt slides up between two wires, and I had to tap the upper bolt down a bit after putting the washers on it to get the washer to sit level. After buttoning it on, I tightened both nuts.

 

 

3 September 2014

Map of Leesburgh Tour

Google Maps says my ride was 24.9 miles. I couldn't persuade it to show all the backs and forths in Leesburg, and settled for one loop from Old 15 to SR 15 and back. And, of course, it couldn't show the zig-zags in the parking lots of Sprawlmart, nor the jump over the narrow strip of grass between the parking lot at KCH and the Beyer Farm trail. I let it say I went up Lincoln instead of Harrison.

Except for missing my nap, I felt no stress at all. I did feel a little short of electrolytes on the last leg before Sprawlmart; I must take some fruit juice -- perhaps salted fruit juice -- next time.

I should have time for at least four more quarter centuries before cold weather sets in, if I can think of some I'm not bored with.

This was a grand tour -- I stopped at Owen's to dispose of some damaged plastic bags, Good Will to get rid of a couple of battery lights, and Steak 'n Shake for a Chili Mac Supreme. (Chili Mac with chopped onion and shredded cheese.) Chili Mac is chili served on spaghetti. I wonder whether it was served on macaroni once upon a time? The chili appears to be based on barbecue sauce with chili powder in it. Primarily-cumin chili powder.

I haven't put cumin in my hamburger soup for ages. And probably won't try it now; cumin is overwhelming and I like complex seasonings.

I decided against going into Walmart so as to allow more time in Leesburg; since I got home just in time to unwind before supper -- and since I don't want anything from Walmart just now -- I'm glad I did.

I originally meant to follow 300 N from there to the road I took back from Leesburg last summer, but Google Maps had suggested that I ride along 15 for a short distance and cut over to Levi Lee Road on Clearwater Drive. 15 was getting rather narrow and dangerous when I turned off it, so I wouldn't like to ride all the way to Levi Lee, but I had paved shoulders most of the way to Clearwater.

Clearwater is a housing-development road, and twists and turns until I was wondering whether I would come to a place where I had to loop around and go back, but if you turn west or north whenever there's an intersection, you come out on Levi Lee.

The pavement on Old 15 is none of the best, but traffic is so light that one can go around most of the rough places. Just the opposite of SR 15: the traffic is heavy, but for a while the pavement is good enough that you can keep out of its way.

The advertisement I clipped out last summer led me to think that Old Leesburgh Mill was a meat market, but the raw-meat case is, at most, a cubic yard, sparsely occupied. But there is deli case after deli case. There were tables and chairs all over two porches and a dining room, and I saw one man sitting at one of the tables in the dining room, but I didn't see anything I wanted to eat on the spot. Perhaps being stuffed with Chili Mac altered my perceptions; it was less than an hour after I left Steak 'n Shake. I seem to recall a lot of lunch meat, but no bread or pre-made sandwiches. I didn't read every sign in the place. I bought a small box of macaroni salad (I *had* brough ice!) and a pair of 3.5 reading glasses to replace the pair I sat on a few weeks ago.

I stopped in again on the way out of town, and ate half a cup of soft-serve ice cream while reading my maps at one of the tables on the porch. My plan, and Google's suggestion, had been to go back on Old 15 to Armstrong road and follow Armstrong to 200 E, but when it was time to leave, my Loveless kicked in and I went up on N. Harper Road to 700 N and followed that to 200 E. Hardly any farther, and it was a better road with less traffic.

Crossed back across US 30 at Sprawlmart, bought supper at Big Apple Bagels, and stopped in at Sears, where the adjustable wrenches weren't quite small enough. Dave suggests Warsaw Tools, Lowe's, Walmart, and Menard's. Can I assemble them into a quarter century ride?

  ember

 

4 September 2014

I feel groggy this morning. Nearly noon and all I've done is fiddle around with the computer.

Because I was all right yesterday evening, Dave thinks I can skip my nap every day. It would sure be convenient if I could!