The Whine thread.

[WarpGirl]

I guess it just depends on the humidity and the person. I'd prefer 100 degrees to damp rain, which is what the weather is like where I am.

[enterprikayak]

Here's my whine: My air conditioner is STILL busted and it's HOT here. It's not even 9:00 yet and it's 87 degrees. Fans aren't doing the trick. It's been getting pretty close to 100 degrees every day the A/C has been out. WHIIIIINE!

Worst. Thing. Ever.

I hate being hot. HATE IT! You poor thing!

Speaking of being too hot, I am going to Hawaii on Sunday! Anyone else happen to be there too next week? lol Could happen....

[honeybee]

That's not a joke! When I was in Paris in May, turns out my mother's boyfriend's son was there on business. We were friends in elementary school and had a nice dinner out in Paris!

That said, I only wish I was going to Hawaii next week. You are so lucky. Have a great time.

[Aquarius]

I hate the Dream Cruise. Really. Life is completely disrupted in eight towns just so a bunch of people can go "Hey, look! An old car! Hey, look! Another one! Hey, look! Another one...!" And so on.

I was ten minutes late to work today because of gawkers. It wasn't even 4pm yet and people were lined up in parking lots with their classic cars, so natch people were paying more attention to that than the road.

By the time I got out, it took me 20 minutes to drive 1 mile.

It would be different if they confined it to the one day it's actually supposed to be--SATURDAY. But for some of these people, it becomes a month-long event. Honestly, I wish the cops would tell people in their lawn chairs along side the road that they have to go home, that they can't be there until Saturday. At least then if there's nobody to WATCH the cars, the cars owners will be less likely to be a disruption. Prior to Saturday, there is no respect for the fact that some of us on the road have real places to go and real things to do when we get there.

[Alelou]

How the heck did colonial gardeners ever get their winter squash to survive long enough that they could actually eat it in the winter? Every single one of my vines is either dead or at death's door. The poor half-grown orphaned squash sit forlornly on the straw, reminding me yet again how very much I suck at growing them.

[Bether6074]

The poor half-grown orphaned squash sit forlornly on the straw,

At least they are meeting a rather poetic death....Such imagery...

[Alelou]

LOL.

[aadarshinah]

I suggest, next time you plant, mix a good 10-10-10 fertilizer into the soil and spray routinely with a pesticidal soap to keep the insects away... you can use 1spoonful of dishsoap to 1gal water and get much the same results as with expensive pesticidal soaps...

[Alelou]

I don't do pesticides or any 10-10-10 fertilizer (I garden organically), but I'm sure I could do more to approximate what you're saying there. I tried something called Actinovate that supposedly would keep fungus at bay, but at the price it costs to do that on a weekly basis those would be the most expensive squashes in history. We'll see how half-ripened acorn and buttercup tastes...

Every year I swear I'll use row covers to keep the squash bugs out, but I never do.

Oh well. At least the tomatoes are gangbusters.

[crystalswolf]

I know the NorthEast has been getting a lot of rain, have you been specifically? If so, a fix could be as easy as a raised bed next year or a drainage hole to dry out the soil faster.

I go hunting for squashbugs every other evening with homemade insecticidal soap and have seen a noticeable difference. The immature soft-bodies can't take it and the mature hardbodies don't like it at all and will eventually die if you can get a few good sprays on them

Also, it never hurts to check for pickleworms (small holes in squash or vine and clumpy debris near them) this time of year, even as far north as NY.

I'm so jealous of your tomato luck. 95 degree summer had weakened mine severely to disease attack.

[Alelou]

We had a lot of rain in spring, but we're in a nasty drought right now. Seriously, trees in the woods are dying it's so dry. And I always find that dry weather brings on the powdery mildew really fast, which I know is counter-intuitive, but whatever. I think it stresses the plants.

Yeah, I've also got pickle worms or squash borers or whatever, complete with clumpy holes. At this point I'm just like, "Whatever." As it is, I have so much tomato, pepper, garlic and beans to freeze that I could probably spend the whole weekend processing.

Usually my philosophy with gardening is that if it ain't tough enough to survive in my garden I'll let the real professionals grow it. But I adore buttercup squash and so far I just can't resist trying it every year. I really should just give up. But I couldn't grow zukes in NJ to save my life, and they work fine up here, knock wood. So who knows. I'll probably try again next year...

[Linda]

In Wisconsin it has been unusually humid with a lot of rain this summer. The grass is as green as in early spring. Everything is growing like crazy and my roses have been blooming profusely and my pears are almost ripe a month early. Last year, the pears were several weeks late. I don't like the humidity but the plant growth is great.

[Aquarius]

File this one under "a" for "are you kidding me right now?": Grandma comes knocking on my door as I'm leaving for work and says, "here's my car keys, you're not going anywhere in yours." Big old flat tire!!

I really hate this commute...

[honeybee]

Awwww, but what an awesome Grandma! Gold star.

Now for my whine:

I had a benign tumor removed from my abdomen yesterday. Thankfully, it was done laproscopically and no muscle was cut and the doctor was able to use plastic surgeon's glue instead of stitches. There was a chance it couldn't be done that way - and I would still be in the hospital. But my doctor came through for me.

That said, abdominal surgery sucks. I feel tired and beat up. Plus they clamped me down at my shoulder, and so my shoulder hurts nearly as much as my tummy.

But the doc says I should be 85% back by Sunday! Love that modern medicine.

[WarpGirl]

I hope you're better soon. I know how you feel, I have not one but three scars on my abdomen from my varied medical patient career. And while modern medicine is wonderful, I urge you to get as much rest as possible for at least a week. It makes things so much easier in the long run. I'm glad it wasn't so serious, you must have been scared. I hope it all continues to go well for you.