The Empty Cabinets of my Mind

Rain or Shine I Love the River

It was raining sand when I got out to take this photo.  The wind was blowing so hard I had to hold onto the fence they put up to keep people from jumping off the bridge.

That fence was why I could not just snap the picture from the comfort of my vehicle. 

It is hard for me to imagine why anyone would jump in this rather desolate place, but maybe that is the whole point.  On the other hand I can imagine getting blown into the water!   So maybe the fence is a good idea. 

This land belongs to the Mohave's and the resort casino they call the Avi is on one side of the river, and a newer one called the Mohave Crossing is on the other side. 

A long time ago, before the Laughlin resorts got good air purification systems I had to move out of a non-smoking room in Laughlin because when the heater kicked on in the middle of the night, smoke from a different floor just poured in.  It was around Christmas time and all the uptown rooms were renting for $60 and up, so we called down to the AVI and they found us a really clean room for $15. 

Laughlin room rates have not changed much in the last ten years, but the buffets cost about three times as much.  They are still a bargain, though. 

Time to Send Flowers?

Silly thought...ANYTIME is a good time to send flowers!

Up until now I had not monetized my gardening blog, but now I'm giving it a try.
Might as well put the link here, too:

Just click HERE to see a beautiful bouquet from Growers Flowers.

Please visit my gardening blog: Ann's Air Gardens

Drink Your Vegetables

I did not eat enough watermelon yet this summer.   That fact alone makes me totally unready for autumn. Actually the last one I had did not taste as good as it looked.      But it cost less than a dollar. 

 Now it is time to go shopping for a pumpkin. 

While yams are on sale I will buy a bag and start slips.  Tender young leaves from the sweet potato  plan taste a little like spinach.  The slips will make nice edible houseplants.

Sweet potatoes also make wonderful smoothies.  I call them yamshakes.  Nuke the sweet potato in the microwave for about 5 minutes covered in a dish with a little water and the skins will come right off.  Then I put the cooked sweet potato in the Magic Bullet blender with milk and a touch of agave nectar and blend a bit before dropping in 4 or 5 ice cubes to make a thick and frosty shake.  I think they taste better than ice cream and are a whole lot healthier.

Just a Link

Most of the PayPerPost assignments I have acceoted have a minimum word requirement. This nice sponsor only asked for a link:

exchange recovery

See how easy that was?

 

Rebates are Fun

I love shopping on eBay and using PayPal for money, but some of their promotions can be a little confusing, like the eBay Bucks rebates, for  example.

Today I got 54 cents off my purchase of s-biner clips by redeeming eBay bucks credited from earlier purchases.  They also credited 17 cents toward a future redemption, which sort of compounded the reward.   Not a king's ransom, but certainly half the cost of a hot fudge sundae from McDonald's.  I like their hot fudge sundaes.  Don't you?

This was my first experience with eBay bucks and I almost blinked and missed it.  Turns out when your bucks (or fraction thereof) are ready for redemption they send an internal message.  There is a link to click and then the next time you use PayPal to pay for something you bought on eBay, the credit is automatically deducted from your payment. 

What is the catch?  Well, assuming you are already an eBay member and have an account with PayPal, too, then you just have to do a one-time sign up for the bucks and that makes you eligible for the discount, although they say in fine print that there are some restrictions.   After that, it is necessary to check eBay messages once in a while because the eBay Bucks have a time limit.  Yes, they expire after a while if you don't use them.  In my case that probably will not pose a problem, now that I know how it works. 

In case you haven't discovered s-biner clips yet, here is what one looks like:

Perfect for securing a lanyard to a camera, cellphone, wallet or whatever.

I Grimaced

When our complex manager proudly showed me the shuffleboard courts in the commons at my new digs, I grimaced and said "Hell will freeze over before I play shuffleboard." 

Ah, but I changed my mind.  The people here are really nice, but also persistent, and their argument of "How do you know you don't like it if you never tried it?" won me over.  I went to watch a match and got hooked.  So now I'm shopping for one of those stick thingees.  Ah, yes, a CUE.  That and an appropriate pair of shoes.  Any excuse to go shopping!  Surprisingly, they didn't have any shuffleboard cue sticks for sale on eBay, nor do they seem to be available in any of the local stores, but there are several online stores that sell supplies and equipment for the game.    Shuffleboard has been played in the US since colonial times, and by some estimates around 5 million people play in the US today. 

Good Soundbites

I am very happy with my current web hosting provider, but if I were out in the cold looking for a different service, I would take a long look at HostNexus.  There are many things about the whole tone of the site that are attractive, but why not take a look for yourself:

Coldfusion Hosting:

I love the Halloween pumpkins, and since they are seasonal (and because I got this listing from PayPerPost v4 and the advertiser said to go ahead and use screenshots if we wanted to), I'm going to preserve their banner.    Did that serve as in-post disclosure?

So is that banner cool, or what?   Here is how they describe their services:

....Cheap Web Hosting from the leading Web Hosting Provider....

I like that they don't beat around the bushes using words like inexpensive or affordable.  Cheap is what I would be looking for, that and the lifesaver:

In addition to 24/7 support, 99.9% uptime, and a plethora of useful tools and services, HostNexus has an interesting forum.  And did I say blog hosting for as little as $3.96/mo?

Considering all that HostNexus has to offer and the reasonable pricing, I am surprised that they come off sounding so literate.  I am impressed. 

Another Patio Sale and More Pesto

 
My neighborhood has the best yard sales.  The blue glass container shown at the right, which a neighbor graciously parted with for all of 75 cents,  inspired me to finally get out the Dremel and learn how to drill holes in glass.

Those are hydroton "grow rocks" holding up the basil plant.  They are resting inside a drinking glass with drain holes drilled in the bottom. In addition to keeping the basil plant upright, the rocks help oxygenate the plant's roots.   The pink pipe-cleaner handle allows me to periodically lift this glass planter up so that the water drains off, going back splash-free into the pretty blue cylinder.    My planter (that would be the drinking glass filled with rocks) sits on top of a taller drinking glass that just happened to fit perfectly into the blue cylinder.  Basil does not require much nutrition to grow beautifully, but I did add a few drops of General Hydroponics Flora Series liquid nutrients. 

Most of my passive hydroponic planters are made from disposable plastic bottles, but there are advantages to using glass instead.  It is both prettier and easier to clean.

Three secrets to successfully drilling holes in a glass to make hydroponic planters such as this follow:

1)   Wear safety glasses and cover your hands as protection against broken bits and/or glass.

2)   Work slowly and back off to let the bit cool from time to time.

3)   Keep the contact surface wet.  You do NOT want to inhale silicon dust from the glass. 

Harbor Freight had a pack of diamond bits appropriate for drilling through glass for $7.99.  The drinking glasses were $1.59/pack at WalMart.  My beloved two-year old DremelStylus was a gift, but I think it was purchased at Lowe's for $60.  The value of looking at this every day and saying "I made it myself?"  Priceless.

Plastic Rules!

I dislike carrying cash for a number of reasons.  First off, I am a germaphobe.  To illustrate what that is, the Urban Dictionary uses an example of people who turn faucets on with elbows.  Maybe they are just trying to be funny, but I would NEVER touch a dirty faucet with my elbows.   Just think of all the people who have touched paper money.  Coins are ok because I can dump those in the dishwasher and they come out sanitized.   But the folding stuff?   Ewwww!

Charge cards, and debit cards, and gift cards are, yes, washable.  I love them.

The second reason is that people watching you (as a prospective mark?) cannot tell at a glance how much cash you are carrying if you are not carrying cash.  Cards are also easier to carry around.  

With some of them you can even punch a hole in the corner and tie a ribbon from it to your belt loop to prevent loss.  Try that with a dollar bill!  So, my third reason is that if you drop a $20 bill, it can blow away in the wind or float away in the water.

So I am saving my best reason for last, but first, a word from my sponsor, NetSpend:

prepaid visa mastercard

Recently, NetSpend has teamed up with a number of familiar companies to make it easy for people in need of their services to access them.  One example would be their "partner retail locations" such as Safeway and Winn-Dixie.  Another is the Virgin Mobile Stash card.  As with any financial service, if you choose a prepaid debit card, be sure to read the Terms and Conditions, especially part 7 (Fees and Charges.) 

Now, as promised, here is my favorite reason why I prefer to carry  plastic instead of cash:

Blame it on my lifelong habit of making a record of any money that I spend or earn.  Yes, if I stop somewhere for an ice cream cone, I whip out the smart phone and send my budget folder an email with the date and amount, and where I bought it.  Later, I cut and paste that data into a relational database which calculates how much money there is left in that month's budget, and averages it out by the day.  Or, as they say on the NetSpend website, "No surprises."

Plumbago

A very big thanks to my nice neighbor who was able to identify my mystery shrub as Plumbago:

 
More about this plant in my gardening blog:  More about my Plumbago.