This is a utility post designed to prime the writing pump for posts coming later this week. It is a bit quotidian, so forewarned.
I decided to get some button-down, woven shirts for my new job as a poll worker. I expect to be called for at least one early voting shift, and then to work the long one that is the primary election day. I haven’t bought a woven shirt in a very long time, maybe since I retired from the big job in 2009. My basic top is a t-shirt in spring and summer, with an added sweatshirt in fall and winter. It serves. I am getting the new shirts mail order, because I have no interest in going to a clothing store.
Monday I fueled the car for $3.529 per gallon. That is high, yet what is the comparison? In Mainz, Germany, where I lived for three years, today it is between $8.00 and $8.70 per gallon (Deutschmarks per liter converted to dollars per gallon). German travelers get a better bargain with the built-in high taxation rate of 55-65 percent. If you ever traveled on the German Autobahn, you know what I’m talking about. I wouldn’t mind paying this amount for gasoline if only it were accomplishing something better than making rich oil companies richer.
I burned the weeds on the plot where the cruciferous vegetables will go. Kale, cabbage and the like are furthest along in indoor planting trays and can tolerate some cold. They will be in the ground soon. The blaze was intense and quickly finished, in about 20 minutes. I worked hard to keep it from spreading too quickly to other plots. I was only partly successful and a couple garlic plants got wilted. It appears they will recover… we’ll see.
It looks to be a good week in the garden. Next up is the long mentioned onions and leeks. The goal is in the ground by Wednesday.
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