Thin Slices of Joy

Our blender started leaking before the 1-yr warranty ran out. A replacement blender will soon ship at no charge. Hope it was a rare defect.

Yay! You deserve a comfortable bed.

It's pretty cold. Pup curled up on my feet until she heard someone in the kitchen.

Have to work on the sciatica again.

My older daughter registered as a stem cell donor. 🥰

ScotBird - How about having a foot bath with Epsom salt and essential oils? The vaccine news is exciting. I have an appointment to get my flu shot on Thursday. I read that HCW who had their flu shots were less likely to get covid. Or maybe those who get flu shots are more likely to practice the recommended prevention protocol? Love that your daughter is allowing you to help. My older daughter asked me once. Unfortunately, I overdid it, because her teacher liked it so much, she had her show it to the class. Never again. I'm looking forward to making our Christmas season treats: lemon curd, marshmallows (made with orange zest and dipped in dark chocolate), and cinnamon rolls (with orange zest in filling and glaze).

Plant news: rosemary topiary attempt is hanging in there, orchids are OK, hard-to-kill plants are happy, and aloes are growing surprisingly well. I thought I'd have to wait until spring to divide the aloes expecting them to go dormant. I'm gonna need more pots! Don't tell the orchids, but I love the aloes more.

Baked bread. House smells yummy.

Not unreasonable! Our previous home was old and had a clunky, inefficient heating system. Our current home is newer and well insulated. The difference is immense. There is not enough fur for me to fathom how people survived here before central heating and Gore-Tex.

Since we can't travel there, drone footage works very well.

Stay safe!

I mentioned to my older daughter that out of 19 aloe vera pups I have 10 left. She called me "Cruella d'aloe". 😱

It is! Both kids are witty. They get it from their dad. I have weak genes.

Beautiful orchid! I have yet to get an orchid to rebloom. They usually die from my inadequate care. ☹️ But I have 3 still alive. There's hope.

Not killing the pups, I'm harvesting! My main aloe vera plant was leggy and growing sideways. Last summer I learned about beheading the plant. I kept 2 leaves with the original root and twisted off the top part of the aloe. The top part grew roots within a few weeks, and the bottom part sprouted 12 pups around the stem with 2 leaves. After harvesting those 2 leaves, I cut the stem leaving the 12 pups still attached to the root. The stem itself produced 7 pups after repotting.

At first I was hesitant to thin out the pups, but I don't want more than 5 mature aloe vera plants. Also, the remaining pups will grow better when not so crowded. I started using the pups as fertilizer, but now I'm consuming the gel on fast days. Not enough calories to break my fast and contains good nutrients. I may be enjoying this a little too much. 😁

Isolated vocals show how great his voice was.

My aloe plants are upstairs under a grow light near where my husband works. I was telling him that the aloe arborescens can grow to be a hedge that's over 8 feet tall. It's been grown as a fence to contain animals and as a fire break to contain wildfires. He suggested we grow some in the kitchen for when I cook. 😒