respublica

Mail warning

I came across some bad news this morning involving mail dropped off in those blue mail boxes. It seems that there has been a rash of mail being stolen out of them, especially on the St. Louis side of the river. One person mentioned on a neighborhood "Nextdoor" page that their store got a check stolen out of the box behind a local bank and that business had to shut down all accounts to make things safe. It seems thieves can "wash" checks they steal and rewrite them for their own purposes.

This information brought out many many responses from people who have had the same experience after using the stand alone blue mailbox. It seems as though the same key opens all of the boxes and someone who gets a hold of one can do a lot of damage to checking accounts. One person told of a check in a birthday card to her nephew had the same thing happen.

The best advice anyone had to protect checks from being cashed by bad people is to use a gel pen which uses ink that can't be washed (erased) to use for something else.

Thieves are always a step ahead of us. Dale has a tendency  to either leave outgoing mail on our home mailbox for the mailman to take back to the mail center, but he does often drop bills in blue boxes when he's out. I'm going to be looking for a gel pen today after doing some research on which pen works best to prevent fraud.

Playing around with our food

New food news today. Doritos has come out with two new flavors in their corn chips. We can now buy ketchup and mustard flavored Doritos. The Ketchup type is a classic tomato flavor while the mustard is a spicy/hot type.

Frankly I don't understand why food companies have to mess around with their standard, almost perfect, product which just adds to the innumerable varieties of snack foods. Walk down any grocery snack food aisle and the number and kind of each product is unreal. Each brand has several types ranging from the normal to sweet to hot to who knows what. This applies not only to corn chips but potato chips and even pretzels.

Also, walk down the soda aisle and there are varieties of every brand. Regular soda, diet soda, cherry soda and who knows what all. The one thing which frustrates me the most when it comes to the Coke section is no Mexican Coke in most grocery stores. This is the type I drink and I have to drive to a St. Louis Schnucks or Dierbergs and maybe Edwardsville to find this. And, stores which do carry it are almost always sold out, an empty section on the shelf. Oddly, when we head down to our cottage in the Huzzah area we always stop at a Country Mart grocery store and they always, always have plenty of Mexican Coke in the 4 pack of 12 ounce bottles. If they can do this in the middle of no where why can't they do it here?

I've accosted Coke delivery persons I've come across filling shelves with scores of other Coke varieties and asked why we can't get the Mexican Coke. Mostly these guys don't know why, and point the finger at store managers or area supervisors.

So much food and drink of all types but none of the best.

Heading South

In the past week we, along with our next door neighbors, have noticed a huge uptick in Hummingbird activity on our feeders. Ours feeder is on our back deck, our neighbors put theirs on the front porch. Between the two of us there is enough for many birds. Lately the hummers have been crazy busy drinking the nectar, often fighting each other for it. Other hummers hover nearby waiting their turn, making that unique buzzing sound.

All of which had me wondering if it is time for them to begin their flight back to Central America and Mexico. It seemed early so I did some checking and sure enough, August to September is their travel time. I'll miss them, they've been very entertaining and often hover very close to me and look me right in the eye for some seconds.

I will say, these are not early birds, most other birds have been up and chirping for some time this morning, but not the hummingbirds. They show up maybe between 8:30 and 9.

The Poorest Towns in Illinois

This is the type of article I find interesting, mainly because I live in Illinois and want to know these things. The article features an informative video well worth watching. But if not, here are the ten poorest Illinois towns.

• 10. Sorento
• 9. Robbins
• 8. Cario
• 7. Venice
• 6. Ullin
• 5. Madison
• 4. East St.Louis
• 3. Carbondale
• 2. Centreville
• 1. Elizabethtown

Anyone else find it interesting that Carbondale is on this list? It seems most jobs are in food service or retail.

In praise of plumbers

We decided it was long past time to replace our kitchen sink faucet. Not only was it put in in 2002, but it was causing a leak somewhere. Once decided it had to go, we looked up some styles online and then went to Home Depot this morning to pick out a new one.

That was the easy part. Getting the old one off, disconnecting the plumbing lines by laying under the sink was hugely hard. Dale did this and with his size, trying to contort himself enough to reach and see all the little screws and parts which had to be taken out was painful. That was yesterday and today back to laying inside of the cabinet underneath the sink and trying to connect a new set up.

It took a couple of hours to finally getting it in place and working well, but it will take a few hours for his body to recover from this. He did a great job.

We give all kinds of kudos to anyone who goes in plumbing as life's work. This is hard, painful, physical work. God bless anyone who does this.

Here he was this morning studying the directions on what to do next.

Storm Drain

Last week this area had a ton of rain, inches and inches of rain. All over the St. Louis area roads were flooded and homes and businesses took on water. It was a huge mess. The local news was all about the water issues in many parts of the area, but one place we didn't hear much about roads flooding was here in Collinsville. I got to wondering just why this was, very little flooding. And then as I looked out the front door I remembered the city spending a lot of time putting in new and larger storm drains beginning in around 2014. Before that big storms would cover streets in certain areas and the city decided to get to work on drain plans.

I remember over the years that our neighbors who lived in the first couple of houses on the street would get basement water with almost every rain. I spent a lot of time helping shop vac up much of it. The small storm drains back then could not hold the water which spilled out and ponded a large area. As I watched the huge rain last week I noticed the street was not ponding, the water was going down the drains perfectly and I'd guess this was the same over most of the city.

I gave kudos to the city for deciding to do this back in those years. Here are two photos I took back in 2014 when this work began. Dale and I took our dog for an after dinner walk and looked over all the new concrete drain work waiting to be put in on Vandalia.

Our street got a new, larger drain and the street department guys are very diligent about keeping it clear of leaves and debris.

Here is a look back at 2014, the beginning.

When you really need a burger

Yesterday afternoon the St. Louis area was again drenched in a downpour of rain which again flooded many areas. Twice in one week is just awful. But, yesterday FOX 2 reporter, Matt Beitscher, happened to be in his apartment in the Central West End at Lindell and Vandeventer during the height of the downpour. He took this photo showing how the streets had flooded, but there is one part of the picture that stands out. It's kind of small because it's at the middle back of the image. Don't tell me you can't find this one part awful and one part funny.

There was a guy who decided to go through the McDonald's drive thru and probably regretted it immediately. He was stuck in flood water with no way out.

Click to enlarge the photo and look toward the left back of McDonald's .

A new oven cleaning hack

Over the years with various ovens we've owned I've tried cleaning them with the usual oven cleaners. None really worked all that well and it involved rather toxic cleaners and much scrubbing. It was always disappointing when after all that work the inside never looked all that great. So this article describing a new way to try has me interested.

This involves cutting up a lemon or two into slices and placing them in an oven proof bowl of warm water. Then pre-heat the oven to 395 or 400 and then set the bowl into it. After 30 minutes of so, turn off the heat and let the bowl stay inside for 15 or more minutes. Then take it out and wiped down the the walls and floors of the oven. Supposedly this does an amazing job. There is something in the lemons which loosens all the greasy stains.

I've been disappointed in oven cleaning hacks before so this time I am hopeful but also not betting the farm on its success. We shall see.

A heartening newspaper change

I've groused many times in past months about the problems with our newspaper deliveries. Some days they came, some times one was missing or all were missing. We could not count on our 3 daily papers showing up on the lawn or the time of day. Calling rarely helped, the excuses ranged from Covid to printing to just plain, "who knows."

But recently we got a new delivery person who comes very early and drops the right papers. Dale, who gets up very early, had a chance to see him a couple of times this week and thanked him. Today this note from the delivery guy appeared on one of our papers.

Dustin is our new hero.

Recycling trash cart conclusion

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a wheel breaking off of our recycling cart when the pickup guy dropped it too hard on one side. We called the company and were told to put it out on the next pickup day, filled, and when emptied another worker would follow behind, take the broken one and leave a new one.

Yesterday was the day this happened and went just like we were told it would. Old one-gone, new one given. However....

When I went to put the new cart into the back of the driveway I immediately noticed that this was not only not new, it was grossly dirty. And oddly, the two wheels are not alike. So this morning I was out early trying to clean the filth inside the new cart. I just could not stand the idea of using this with all the grime and grease inside for recycling.

I understand the company is not going to give out brand new ones, they fix old ones or use old ones people who have moved and returned. But seriously, this giving out icky dirty ones is not really very nice.

The rain of a generation

Last night rain began and came down and down and down and is still coming down and will continue. The local news has said that this is the biggest measurable rain this area has had ever. Cars are stalled in high water and some areas are having to call in divers to help drivers get out. Most of our neighbors have been checking their basements to see if they've taken on water. I'm thankful we decided to come back from our Huzzah cottage yesterday and not today.

This is pretty scary stuff. Back in 2014 I wrote a blog post titled, "Is the River Des Peres really a river." I had forgotten about this but when I saw my blog stats showing a whole slew of hits on this post I went back to read it. This river has been a big part of today's weather news.

On a personal level, we have not had any basement water, but our part of the block sits up high and, a couple of years ago we had a basement water system put in and that has been a real blessing. Stay home and stay safe local people.

I have to give kudos to the Collinsville trash pick-up guys. Our trash was taken early by our regular guy who is amazing with that big truck. Now we are curious as to whether our recycling cart will be emptied and replaced since this is the day our new one was promised. Last time it was dropped so hard after being emptied a wheel broke off and the powers that be at Republic said a new one would come today. I would not hold it against them if they decided to wait.

Obsessing over melons

Back in May I planted cantaloupe plants and have been watching how amazingly the vines have grown. But recently I began to get worried, frustrated, depressed, that there has been no sign of little melons forming from all the flowers. The vines have flowered in huge numbers but no fruit.

Last week it crossed my mind that we have not seen bees in our yard and bees are necessary for pollinating plants like cantaloupe. This thought took me to looking up other ways to pollinate these plants and learned that this is commonly done by many gardeners. There was lots of talk about which flower was a male and which a female. The male has the pollen and must somehow get into the female in order to form fruit.

Many suggested using a small artist paint brush to take out the pollen from one and brush it into another flower. Another similar piece of advice was using a feather to do the same. I even went out and got a feather but this did not work at all for me. Some had videos of how to do this by hand, take the male flower and push it into the center of the female flower. I tried this but made botch all of it.

But miracle of miracles, two days ago I was staring into our cantaloupe vines and suddenly noticed an actual melon forming. Its young and still green, but coming along. Yesterday I saw two more and there could be more because they are hard to seen under all those big green leaves. And, as I tiptoed gently around the vines I saw bees!  Small bees, but they are doing their job and it makes me really really happy.

Unslanted News

For so long we've watched the three cable news channels at different times of the day. MSNBC in the early morning, CNN at midday and Fox in the late afternoon. None of them do we watch in prime time. We get different points of view, but they've all become just about more than we can put up with. There is so so much rigid opinion for one political side or other that its begun to wear us out and not believe half of what any of them are saying.

This morning we decided to take a look at News Nation a relatively new total news channel and it was like a breath of fresh air. The news was actually news from various parts of the country, not stories slamming one political party or other. It was cable news like it used to be. Unless you want your news with a side of heartburn, this is actually worthwhile. News Nations is going to be our go to channel for the time being. It's 783 on cable.

This looked really good...but

A food article on a healthy snack, Cowboy Caviar, which looked and sounded good. "This recipe is fully vegetarian (or vegan) and costs no more than a few bucks to make. Not to mention the fact that it pairs perfectly with a heaping pile of tortilla chips." Plus, it is put together with things we probably have at home already. Now this last part is just not the case around here, but i was willing to give it a chance until I began reading the actual ingredient list.

Beans,  corn, peaches, jalapeño pepper, bell pepper, red onion, lemon, lime, cumin, onion powder, chili powder, honey, avocado oil, red wine vinegar, avocado, cilantro, green onions, and feta. 

Every ingredient is diced into small bite-sized pieces making it perfect for scooping up with crunchy tortilla chips). A simple vinaigrette made from the oil, vinegar and spices contributes to the delicious flavor profile of the dip.

I'd like this if I didn't have to go to the store and get all these things and then chop and dice and whisk.

 

 

There is nothing like a clothes line

There is nothing better than bed sheets dried on an outdoor clothes line. I'm so glad we hooked a line up in the backyard. Sometimes I think maybe it's tacky to have that line handing across the yard from the deck to the garage wall, but boy, sleeping on sheets which have dried in the sun is like nothing else.

I don't bother hanging actual clothes outside, the drier does a better job with them except sometimes white clothes get brighter dried in the sun.

Bermuda Grass Ugh

The past two years we've had a nasty growth of Bermuda grass. This grass came out of no where last summer and has continued through the back yard this year. This stuff is not your normal grass, it develops twisted roots which snake out in every direction in the soil. Last year I was able to remove it from one part of our vegetable area, but it is now in the other parts. I've read and read on how to get rid of it and have found the only good way is to dig it out. And this is hard work. Shovel into the soil, then bend down and pull and pull. Move on to another batch and repeat. That is what I am doing today and my back and knees are already killing me. But this stuff has to go.

There are chemicals which supposedly kill this stuff but it's hard to find. There is Ornamec Over-the-top, can't find this. And the best recommended, Bonide Grass Killer. Can't find this either except on Amazon in a concentrate.

Which leaves me to just shoving a shovel under this stuff and the bending down and pulling it out.

A Tale of the Cart

Yesterday was our trash pickup day for both actual trash and recycling. That involves both of our carts. When the recycling cart was emptied, the cart came down to the ground too fast and awkwardly, landing on one wheel. That wheel broke off and the part that held it on was cracked and broken so we were not able to just put it back on.

Dale called Republic, the company which does our pickups, with the hope we could get this cart replaced since we normally have a fair amount of recycling. Unlike the weekly normal trash, recycling is every two weeks  Here is what he was told.

Fill the cart as usual and put it out on the curb the next pickup day (2 weeks) and after it is again emptied, another cart will be brought to us.

Here's the thing. I'm not sure how easy it will be to pull a 3 wheeled trash cart to the curb or get it to stand up right in two weeks. To say we were surprised by this answer is putting it mildly. Republic has always been reliable, the guys who do our pickups are very nice and friendly. But to fill it up on three wheels and get it to the curb again seems unrealistic. We naively believed they'd be able to replace it long before out next service in two weeks.

I may be making use of the large community recycling trailers in the park now and then.

A plant which does double duty

I learned today that there is a plant ( flower) named the Blue Glow Thistle which does not only keep deer out of your yard, but also attracts bees. We have no issues with deer in our yard, but I dearly long for bees to pollinate some of our other plants. We have many insects floating around our yard but bees are rarely seen and they are the only thing which will pollinate our cantalope vines.

Bees love the Blue Glow Thistle according to this story. I have no idea how to find these but will definitely be doing a search.

Got the itch

At some point during our two days down at our cottage in the Huzzah area of Missouri, I was bitten an unknown, unseen, insects which caused me all kinds of itching as well as red bumps mostly from my waste down the legs. We left for home the next day and I tried so many things to stop the itching. I was miserable and did not know what bit me in order to find the right thing to help. I tried Benadryl Allergy which put me to sleep but the itching stayed. I went out and bought some anti-itch cream which only helped for half an hour or so.

Finally I had a call from my sister who lives in St. Joseph Missouri and told her about this. She said the same thing happens to her after cutting grass. She finally learned what the culprit biter was, Oak Mites. I did a search on these Oak Mites and sure enough they fit the description of what they can do. They are so tiny you never see them, often blown through the air, but bit like heck although you don't feel the initial bite, just the aftermath of bright red bumps and horrible itch.

She did not have a real piece of advice on what to do to stop the itching and has also tried many things. After finding the anti-itch creams and gels of no help I suddenly remembered how well Calamine Lotions worked on our kids when they had diaper rash and other things. We had a bottle of this here at home and I tried it. It worked very well, the itching stopped all last night. I still have some itching today because I had so many bites I did not get them all covered. There are still red bumps, which I will keep after. That's a job for today.

Oak Mites are the very worst. We will now use a lot of bug spray next time.

The worst run down on vegetables ever

I have no idea who the person is who wrote this article on "the best and worst vegetables", but he/she should not be allowed any credibility. And, I doubt he/she would be much fun to be around during mealtime.

The firsts section deals with which vegetables we should be eating with the reason why. Here they are: Radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, rutabaga, yams, carrots, celery, bell peppers. I have no issues with any of these except maybe rutabaga, but now comes the list of vegetables we should not eat.

Onions, potatoes, canned tomatoes, non-organic tomatoes, eggplant, fresh pumpkin, corn, peas, raw beans

The idea that we shouldn't eat corn is crazy especially now that we are in sweet corn harvesting season. The same goes for potatoes. It seems some of these health experts don't like anything with carbohydrates. If we looked into this author a bit further we'd probably find they have no use for meat either.