My old washer & dryer were given to my parents by neighbors years ago. The problem was that the handiest place to put them was in our breakfast room. And because my parents had the kitchen remodeled back in the ’60’s, one cabinet sticks out just a little too far, so a standard washer or dryer wouldn’t fit through the archway. So someone had to lift them in through a window. And it was a high lift, because the patio outside the window is maybe 4 feet lower than the floor level inside. So when the old machines bit the dust a couple of years ago, I started going to the laundromat, and ended up using the old machines as “plant stands” last Spring.

Because of the economy, and the state of the housing market, I heard that appliance stores were suffering. I noticed that my “window of opportunity” was at hand, before I would move in my plants and put in the storm window. I also wanted to do it when the weather was mild enough to have the big windows open, and the pets could be outside, and out of the guys’ way. So I went shopping. I needed something narrower than 25 1/2″ to clear the archway. The apartment size machines were out of stock, and would have had to be ordered. But as an afterthought, the sales guy mentioned “we do have this” — a machine that does both washing and drying, and doesn’t even need a vent. However, even though it is energy-efficient, he said it could take 3-4 hours to wash and dry. I decided I could manage that, and liked the idea of having one small machine than two. I also liked that it didn’t have the high back thingie that would block the window. And I also tend to dry things part way to get the wrinkles out, and hang them up to dry the rest of the way. And I liked that it was white with red trim, since my room is red & white.

So here are some pictures. The first was taken as my camera’s batteries were on their last legs on 10/17. I couldn’t take any of the guys actually lifting the old machine up to the window sill.

And here are a couple of pictures of the new one that I took last night when I finally got around to putting new batteries in my camera. Redundant, but I wanted to show that I can still open the windows behind it, if I want to get rid of the glass shelves.

I’m not sure I like where it is on the floor, because the pipes show. I could put something there to conceal them. But I wanted it closer to the center of the wall so there would be more clearance to the back bedroom door, and still have space on the other side for plant stands or a folding table, or a chair. (I could slide it over, one way or the other. But the guy leveled it, and I’m not so sure the floor in that room is level. So I don’t want to mess up the balance.) It is actually small enough to fit where my old broken dishwasher is. But the guy said I’d have to have a plumber come out to redo the pipes. So I decided to put it where the old one was, and where I theoretically have more working space, including the top of the machine.

This machine is an Asko.

It is a novelty, even for me. And my cat is afraid of it. For a while, he was afraid of it even when it was turned off. I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t done laundry at home for two years, or because it makes different types of noises, or because it’s a front loader where he can see things happen. But he is very suspicious of it.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Redrum! Redrum!

(Now that I have one smaller machine, I could actually paint the windows that probably hadn’t been painted in a few decades, and the baseboard that I couldn’t reach when I painted the rest of the room 4+ years ago. The linoleum was there since my parents redid that room back in the early ’50’s. Except for 4 places including one where the old dryer cooked it, it really doesn’t look bad. But I’m not so sure how well it goes with the red walls.)

A note to anyone who found the tag for Square Foot Gardening (or veganic gardening or Earth Box) not everything will show up on this (or any) tag — only the “blog blurbs” (posts), but not the “pages” that some of the posts link to. So if you want to see pictures, enter “Square Foot Gardening”, for example, in the search window at the right, and other posts will show up. I have lots of pictures.

I was generally happy with the way it turned out, for my first try. So I’ll do it again next year. However, I may try something different next year — either making a table top version, or use the ground, and plant things according to the Square Foot Gardening placements, but not necessarily with the square foot markers. I’ll reserve that for the wooden “raised garden box”.

These are the things I dug up to try to grow in the house over the winter — in no particular order:

Petunia is going to be euthanized tonight, and will be buried tomorrow, on my son’s birthday.

Here’s my post from last month.

First, I’m behind, posting any more pictures of my garden since who-knows-when. I’ll see if I took any recently, and post them on my “Square Foot Gardening” page if I do.

The temperature is supposed to get down to 32 degrees here tonight. I’m not ready to let the plants die. So even though I’m eager to burn some leaves where I’ll be extending my garden next year, I still have some broccoli plants (and bush beans) that I may want to transplant and bring into the house. They’re covered with a tarp.

My breakfast room is all windows on the west and south walls. So it makes a pretty decent “green house”, even though the winter sun isn’t as good, and I do have a radiator in that room, which tends to dry things out. Well, all I can do is try, and see what survives, and continues to grow food.

So here’s what my “biodiverse breakfast room” is growing at the moment:
- House plants: two small potted Christmas trees that I rescued from the garbage at work, an old cactus, a Christmas cactus, aloe vera, two old wax plants, a begonia with lavender and green leaves, a Forever Kolancoe, and a sweet potato plant that I grew only because it sprouted pretty leaves, coleus.
- Herbs: catnip, dill, lemon balm, parsley, sage, oregano, thyme, basil and cinnamon basil.
- Veggies: bush beans, soy beans, 3 cauliflowers, 7 red cabbages, 5 broccolis, 1 pot of small Chinese cabbage plants, 1 tomato plant, carrots, 4 bell peppers, 1(?) jalapeno pepper, 3(?) cayenne peppers. (One cayenne plant is full of red peppers, and I hope to get new batteries for my digital camera soon enough to take a picture in my red room).
- Flowers: red geraniums, hanging pot of red impatiens, mixed pot of small zinnia plants that hadn’t blossomed yet, red and white petunias and impatiens, nasturtiums.

If the plants live, I’ll be able to know I can extend my growing season. If they die, I may consolidate, to make more living space — a wider walk way to the washing machine & back bedroom, and more space on the breakfast room table, which is 3/4 full of pots. I made sure that it is possible to reach all the plants to water them, even though they’re layers deep.

Still in the yard is my amaranth (along with other things I’ll eventually “sacrifice” to the winter), which I heard should go through a frost or freeze, before harvesting the seeds.

Off topic, but the election and the future is on my mind….

I’m posting this whole thing, not just the endorsement, because I consider Colin Powell a credible person, and respect his take on the state of the nation and the world…. As for what he says with his endorsement, I agree. He said it more kindly than I would have.

Here it is, after 8 p.m., and I’m still bothered by something that happened today.

I was driving my dog from therapy, to go to see my mom at the nursing home. Today is my mom’s birthday, and also my daughter’s birthday. It was a sunny crisp perfect October day. I needed to stop by Walgreens to pick up some stuff for my mom. That was what was going through my mind, while driving, as I heard an odd knocking sound. I still don’t know what it was, but suspect now that it was someone tapping on the side of his truck door to get my attention.

I looked over to the pickup truck in the left lane, which had a large ladder on the top, and the guy on the passenger side — I don’t even remember what he did or said at first. But he held out what might have been a stuffed animal, even though it looked like a real one. (I was thinking “road kill”.) The next time I caught up in my lane, he held the animal out the window, and wrung it’s neck for my benefit. The next time I caught up, he held the animal out the window with a battery-operated drill(?), as if he was drilling it into the animal’s head. I flipped him off, and didn’t want to encounter the truck again at the next red light. So I slowed down, to stay behind. I didn’t want to hold up traffic, so I pulled into a plaza parking lot, and came out a side street just to avoid him.

I guess he didn’t like some of my bumper stickers, which are pretty harmless.

I didn’t like his unwarranted and violent sense of humor, if that is what it was meant to be.

I didn’t like whatever message he was trying to send.

I was thinking “Joe Six-Pack”, “Red Neck”, and “He probably has a gun in his truck, too.”
Well, I thought more than that, but I’ll self-censor.

If you missed tonight’s show, you can read about it here and/or here.

The interesting argument is that 95% of, say, eggs, are from factory farms. The pro-factory farmer acted as if it was because people won’t pay more for free range. My attitude is that there are not enough free range farms to supply the demand yet. It should be noted that 95% of the laying hens live in horrendous conditions their entire lives.

I liked Wayne Pacelle’s argument to the “animals are safer in confinement” excuse, when he said that if we were kept in an elevator with 7 other people for our entire lives, we wouldn’t be hit by a car, but that it would compromise our quality of life.

I also liked that various free range farmers were there as a viable witness that farmers can make a living even if they allow their animals room to move, which refuted the pro-confinement farmers who said changes like California’s Proposition 2 would put them out of business.

But mainly, I appreciate that this topic was discussed on Oprah, because she has such a large following. She mentioned that the Californians will be able to vote on Proposition 2 next month, and the rest of us can vote with our pocket books (now).

I realize that Saskatoon is in Canada, but this billboard seems to convey an attitude that is shared by a certain sort of “Joe Six-Pack” demographic:

Trying to Connect the Dinner Plate to Climate Change

EarthSave Report:
A New Global Warming Strategy:
How Environmentalists are Overlooking Vegetarianism as the Most Effective Tool Against Climate Change in Our Lifetimes by Noam Mohr

Sierra Club:
How Animal Agriculture contributes to Global Warming

Cool Your Diet:

Common Dreams: Vegetarian is the New Prius