Closure on a few loose ends

1.  I just got off the phone with the garbage company and unfortunately, the only thing allowed in our yard waste bin is leaves, grass, garden trimmings and pumpkins.  No compost allowed AT ALL.  No paper towels, paper plates or food waste of any kind (except pumpkins).  Boo.

2.  Fall has always been my favorite season.  Halloween is my favorite holiday and this year we're planning a big Halloween party for which I've already planned the guest list, menu, decorations, invitations and costumes.  It's not even OCTOBER yet and I'm already stoked.  I have post-its in my Martha Stewart Halloween magazine and I'm already making craft lists.  The weather is getting more crisp and I look forward to buying myself sweaters.  I've never ever NOT looked forward to the holiday season.

This year, though, I'm sad to see summer go.  And it's for only one reason:

That baby is easily well over a pound by now.  She's a PRIZE HEIRLOOM TOMATO, one I've slaved over since APRIL (or longer if you count all the seeds I grew inside but which died in a late Spring freeze) (and by "slaved over" I mean planted, watered and worried about).  She's meant to turn a beautiful marbled burgundy color and  I can't bear the thought of her freezing on the vine.  Double boo.

3.  Genoa has been sleeping SO MUCH BETTER.  Normally, I'm able to put her down wide awake without so much as a whimper.  She definitely tries to pull the "one more drink of water! I need to go pee!  I'm hungry!" crap, but it doesn't bother me.  The only thing is that unless she's REALLY tired, she's still getting up at least once a night.  All I have to do is walk her back to bed, give her a kiss and say goodnight again, but still, it would be nice to stay horizontal for an entire night.

4.  Two movies we watched over the weekend, both of which majorly disappointed us: Baby Mama and The Love Guru.  Why do they have to make films so damn formulaic?  You know in the first five minutes EXACTLY what's going to happen at the end.  I hate that.  Also?  So much golden comedy fodder is left untapped.  Why does Hollywood refuse to go ALL THE WAY with humor?  Everything is so predictable.

5.  Speaking of, we're watching only a couple of new shows this season.  Fringe, for one.  We like it, but it's basically EXACTLY what the X-Files was except instead of printing the name of each place on the screen like a real grown-up TV show, they go all WORD WORLD on us and make the name of the city/place into these stupid 3-D images inside the landscape with shadows and everything.  It makes me roll my eyes and it makes Dave think the entire show is stupid.  Also?  It REALLY bothers me how these mad crazy scientists never have WiFi issues.  They never need tech support, get a blue screen or have zero bars on their cell phones.  They have internet that's faster than the speed of sound and the ability to render 3-D maps in real time.  That's just SO BELIEVABLE isn't it?!?

We're also watching True Blood, which is interesting, but also equally lame.  I like it and I'll keep watching it because it's different and not predictable, but other than the short skirts, they're doing absolutely NOTHING to persuade anyone with a y chromosome to watch it.  It's basically a girly romance novel, but with FANGS.

The Shield has totally lost us this season, too.  Which is sad because it was one of our favorite shows for a long time.  It's just that, well, Vic Mackey is a BAD COP, and that was interesting at first, but now, again, guess what I'm going to say?  PREDICTABLE.  Also we missed a few episodes and we're pretty lost on the plot. 

6.  There are some really excellent new kids shows though!  We're loving Super WHY, Word World and Sid the Science Kid, all on PBS.  "I love my mom, my mom is cool, but now it's time, for having fun at school!"  We're also DVR'ing Martha Speaks, Lazy Town, How It's Made and Curious George. 

Comments

[Susan]

Have you thought about getting a compost bin for your yard? You can put all your (non-meat) kitchen scraps in there as well as some grass and leaves. It helps me cut down on waste and gives me some nice fertilization material for my garden.

[Linda]

TOMATO SALVATION!!

Keep a close eye on the weather and on your tomato. If you see that it is going to freeze before the fruit ripens on the vine, pull it! Take the tomato, wrap it tightly in a piece of newspaper, put it in a dark, warm place then keep an eye on it while it ripens. Guaranteed it will taste like you've pulled it fresh off the vine once it is ripe and ready to be eaten.

[Nikki]

We also HIGHLY recommend 'Word Girl' on PBS... it's so clever, my husband and I enjoy watching it with our daughter! It's a great educational kid's show. In fact, our daughter is going to be Word Girl for Halloween! :)

[1hot&tiredmamat]

My boys are totally loving Sid the Science Kid.

[Rhi]

We're giving True Blood one more episode. It is interesting, but I'm just not loving it. But, I did find drinking red wine while watching it the other night HILARIOUS.

[Sam]

I don't know, we are loving True Blood. My husband likes it a lot, but it could be all the short skirts and who can blame him? :) I sure don't wear them! I think it's going to be more action packed coming up, so hang in there. I really want to read the books but am going to wait so I don't ruin any surprises.

[Lisa]

A friend of mine told me that tomatoes will ripen in the freezer. I'm going to try it since mine were planted late and I am suffering the same fate as you. I'm hoping to have them ripen and then make them into sauce.

[jenkelly]

We are loving WordWorld and Martha Speaks also! PBS has been on my side for 5 years now...no commercials, right up my alley...no brainwashing for these kids until their at least 7! ;)

[klk22]

I am north in Everett, WA and regarding the ripening of the tomatoes - Ciscoe Morris interviewed a guy a week or so ago who said if it's getting ready to frost and you have tomatoes still on the vine to dig down into the soil all around the main stem of the plant to break all the roots. Dig as if you were going to pull the whole plant out of the garden, only don't pull it out. It evidently fools the fruit into ripening quick-o! I haven't tried it but plan to when the time comes.