August 1, 2008 - "P" is for Purple

Talk about weird! Last week, as I was doing my grocery shopping, I noticed something really odd about my list. Almost everything on it began with the letter "c"! I've tossed it now, so I don't remember what all was on it, but I do remember there were probably at least 15 items, and the only one that didn't begin with "c" was the dog shampoo (I guess it could have been written as "canine shampoo"). The list went something like this, only much longer:

carrots
cookies
cottage cheese
cushions for chair
Crystal Light
coffee
craisins
cole slaw mix
cereal
dog shampoo

A one time coincidence? Well, I just happened to notice what I'd written so far on this week's list:

purex
pumice
purple cleaner
peanut butter
pork chops
peas
pole for beans
poles (small) for peppers/tomatoes

Is that crazy or what?

That "purple cleaner" on my list, Fabuloso, is my new discovery. I was reading on another blog that the person's housekeeper always uses the cheap purple stuff, and it was an excellent cleaner. I'd seen it at Wal*Mart for about two dollars for a big bottle, but always passed on it figuring for that price it couldn't be very good. Well, I bought some. And it is. Good, that is. I cleaned my kitchen and bathrooms with it, and they absolutely sparkled. It removed hard water spots and soap scum, it made my countertops and stovetop and chrome fixtures shine. And the vinyl floors, too. Everything smells so clean and fresh! Sure, it's not in the least PC. And I'm quite sure it's not "green", although I can't find any list of ingredients on the bottle. One has to make sure it's put away, out of sight, or someone could unknowingly believe it was a grape drink. It looks like a big jug of purple Kool-aid! Also, it has a very strong lavender scent, so if strong perfumes bother you, you probably wouldn't want to use it.

Today in the garden: I had to staple netting over the new lettuce bed this morning. It seems as though I was feeding every finch and wren in the neighborhood those lovely mesclun seeds. I don't know if that netting will give it much protection, but it might save some of it from being eaten.

The pole beans I planted on July 28 are already coming up. One plant actually has real leaves, and many more are just poking through the ground.

The beets that were planted on July 18 needed some more thinning last night, but this morning I saw I'd killed a couple of them by pulling out seedlings that must have been too close. Today I'll stick in a couple of seeds there, and also in the few places where the earlier seeds didn't germinate. The lettuce in that bed is showing true leaves, and where I filled in with new seeds last week is showing some new green today. I'll let no ground go unplanted!

I picked just enough green beans, from the bush bean patch, to cook for dinner tonight. I wish I had replanted that area after the tree fell on it and broke down some of the plants. The yield has been rather disappointing.

My yellow crookneck squash, which started off with a bang, came to a complete stop for a couple of weeks. Now I see three that might be picked in the next day or two, and several smaller ones forming. I had hoped they would produce at the same time as the bush beans, as I love to combine the two vegetables. At this rate, the squash might produce about the same time as the later planting of beans.

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