The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

The Good:

Passing the blowtorch and discovering all the different ways you can brulée a crème for a friend’s birthday dessert (some were brown sugar, some were white).

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In addition to the burnt cream and brownies from F, we feasted on fresh mixed greens for 6 trimmed from our winter garden and 3 different kinds of macaroni & cheese from scratch. Delicious! (I will post the winning recipe at a later date)

The Bad:

This morning, when I got up for my run at 7 AM, it was too dark to leave so I stayed in bed. Grumpy. Then I couldn’t go back to sleep. I hate this time of year. I could never live in Alaska in the winter. Tomorrow, I’ll have to fit it in and go late to work. Plus I have a head cold.

The Ugly:

The stock markets.

Also, discovering black aphids attacking our chard:

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We’ll be spraying or treating soon, we just haven’t figured out with what, exactly. E showed me how the few that made it into the kitchen could be killed very effectively with the blowtorch. Somehow I suspect that will not be a good option for controlling them in the garden. All suggestions for how best to handle these little pests are welcome.

  1. A 2008.10.16 10:09am

    I have ZERO gardening experience, but my CSA’s newsletter said that sometimes they can save plants that haven’t been fully colonized with a “timely spray of garlic oil and soap.” may be worth googling further.

  2. Arvay 2008.10.16 11:17am

    Soap? How about eucalyptus Dr. Bronner’s? It’s safe, bug-offending soap! As for “too dark to run,” get a headlamp, silly! And don’t forget reflective gear to be safe in traffic!