mylifeinspain: gardening mishaps and other miscellany

Had another fantastic dinner last night, prepared by I. of I. and R. I., like Big Jim, is a big fan of curry and chilis, so whenever he and R. are in the village, he prepares an Indian feast for a group of us. For last evening's affair, I. made Pakistani meatballs (in honor of Big Jim), tandoori chicken, a chickpea marsala, rice, raita, and even homemade naan. Oh and for dessert, we had ice cream topped with chili-spiced fresh fruit. Yum, yum. I will be so sad when they leave for Norway tomorrow. :-( I know they will eventually leave Oslo altogether and move permanently to Spain, but the sooner the better as far as I'm concerned. I., who is a competitive sailor in his free time, has been out of work for more than a year now (same situation that Big Jim and I dealt with) and is seriously considering giving up computer work and opening a sailing school here on the coast. Which of course all of their friends here think is a great idea, if not just for our own selfish reasons, ie, we could enjoy their company year-round! Over dinner last night, someone brought up the subject of Burger King's new breakfast sandwich, you know the one that was in the news yesterday: [the] "Enormous Omelet Sandwich carries 730 calories and 47 grams of fat and comes with two eggs, sausage, three strips of bacon and two slices of melted American cheese on a bun." If America wants to continue to be the (big fat) butt of jokes in the international community, it should hire Russ Klein, Burger King's chief global marketing officer, to be spokesperson...."By expanding our indulgent breakfast sandwich menu...." Indulgent breakfast sandwich menu, wha?! He clarified by saying this is not a sandwich for "pencil pushers", but for active young men. Who I suppose want their hearts to seize first thing in the a.m. I suppose these are the same people who believe the recently announced reworked food pyramid, which suggests folks eat at least two fruits and two vegetables a day, is just impossible to follow. Anyway, I took a few pictures of the garden this morning, for no other reason but to chart its progress during the next few months. This is my first serious foray into plant care, never having the space during my apartment life in Philadelphia, so every bud and sprouted seed are still something for me to marvel over. As I newbie, I am sure to make plenty mistakes, but isn't that the case whenever taking on something new. :-) I will keeping a running tally here, so perhaps others can learn from the err of my ways. 1. Either wear gloves or remove valuable jewelry before digging around in pots all afternoon. My first day on the roof garden was spent removing all the dead pepper plants that froze during our uncharacteristically cold winter. I bagged up the rubbish, taking the first two bags to the basura and then returning to sweep up the last bit. As I was doing so, I heard the garbage trucks come down the road and I cursed them for arriving a half hour early. I filled the final bag and then went to the bathroom to wash my hands. It was then that I realized my wedding ring was not on my hand. Panic, panic, panic. Could it have gone down the drain? I didn't think so, but I called C. for a second opinion anyway. He wasn't in. I then thought perhaps I should dig up the fifteen new pots I had just replanted. No first I'll check the rubbish. I poured out the bag on the washroom floor and began to sift/pan for gold. Whew, there was the ring, crusted in muddy soil. Will never, ever curse the early basura truck again. Had it been fifteen minutes later, the bag and my ring would have been off to the garbage tip. 2. Cover nose when handling chili peppers and their seeds. This past weekend, I focused on pepper plants, and all was going well until I managed to inhale a bit of chili dust from one of the dried peppers I had cut open. At first, I just sneezed a few times, but no big deal. About a half hour later, though, my nostrils swelled so that I could no longer breathe through my nose. Again, panic, panic, panic. Remembering that milk is really best to drink if one has a too spicy chili, I ran to the kitchen, filled a bowl with milk, and applied to my nose with a washcloth. Hideously silly, I know, but it worked. Within ten minutes, the swelling had eased. When I related this tale to Big Jim, he nonchalantly replied, "Oh yes, that can happen. Now you know why pepper spray is so effective." Errr. hasta pronto, mylifeinspain p.s. It's been awhile since I've been on me soapbox: Please consider visiting http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/pharmacists_wa?source=workingassets today to send an e-mail message to the major US pharmacies in 20 states, encouraging them to stop their practice of refusing to fill women’s prescriptions for contraception. Pharmacies have no business interferring with a patient's doctor-prescribed medications, but regrettably this practice is growing. Do something about it.