YJL

Its really cold, my laptop booted up to just 25C, took a while to climbing up. Everything is touching cold, the water cup, the bed, the chair, the keyboard, the mouse, the everything. I even wore a knit cap, which made my forehead itchy, but it kept me warm. And I wanted to go toilet so often, not just urinating to be honest.

I stuck a few toothpicks into a long and thin sweet potato and placed in a jar of water. The only problem I got was I couldnt tell which end was the pointy and round side. If the greens come out downwards, Id just flip it upside down.

Ive been trying to find out if you can plant potato slip like sweet potatos, but a search never worked out. They are from same order, Solanales, but different families, potato is from Solanaceae also known as nightshades while sweet potato from Convolvulaceae, commonly known as bindweed or morning glory. That doesnt mean potato slip cant or can, but I just cant find a definitive answer because poor design of top 1 search engine. Anyway, I will stick a few into water and see if they rot.

Pruned pink flower tree, so no branches rubbing each other, I planted to use those branches to build a bird house. After pruning, I stuck in the solitary bee house I just finished. Not sure if any solitary bees would move in, definitely not immediately, its still cold and there isnt anything to attract them.

Its so cold all tomatoes lower leaves wilted, two seedlings probably wouldnt survive.

What else today:

• 2 of 3 tray were dried after about 14-15 hours, probably refilling twice a day will work, but I did see a bit of soil drying.
• Spreading moss.
• Saved small bell pepper seeds.
• Decided not to do that compost bag idea, need more than one set.
• Wash bed sheet, pillow case, blanket, and door rug.

This morning, the lowest temperature of the year, 4C, its like a big refrigerator outside. My laptop temperature going down to just 35C with the lowest fan setting, 43C without fan.

The carrot top seems to grow even greener and busher in this inhuman weather, three weeks later, not sure when I can plant it, who knows, maybe it will just flower like that, but I doubt thats possible. However, around 9, 2 out of 22 stem flopping down, so I moved it in and placed on top of drying box. At 12pm, they all were back up.

Starting to roll bee house tubes, my thumbs are really tiring after making 37 of 17-21cm long tubes. I dont know which side should be the inside, one yellowish smooth, the other gray slightly rough. I think the rough side would be better, but Id go half-half. One pencil to roll with, one tape in middle. I dont want to use staple at one end as the instruction said, but I might have to find a way to close it up, or I could just see if they work without anything more, since I am using a small cardboard box to house these tubes.

Thinking about growing sweet potato, or just watching it rooting in water with tooth picks sticking into it. Already chitting three potatoes, why not sweet potato? I can plant just a few of slips, and keep growing for leaves to cook, even stick into a pot just for more leaves, just an idea, how it wont try to grow more sweet potatoes in small pot.

On the 7th of using my drying box, I finally realized that I could just pour water to seed trays saucer. I sprayed four or more times to keep seed tray moist, but still I could see edges dried out.

What else?

• Moved that single purple dick plant to my window sill pot along with marsh pennywort, moss, fern, and one succulent plant, all in on pot with existing golden pothos and self-seeded celery.
• Burying a Chinese cabbage bottom in soil, it might regrow. Also trying leaf propagating succulent and golden pothos, but I dont think that would work since I put the outside in cold. By the way, that tomato cutting is pretty dead to me, the only left leave is wilting.

According to forecast, this Saturday, it will be single digit, 12-6C; and for Sunday 7-5C. Its gonna be freezing cold this weekend.

I made a light with 4 blue LEDs, now testing on a tomato seedling, I would see if it work in a week or two. The seeds I sowed in seed tray, nothing came up. However, 4 snow peas came up which I sowed in cup, and sugar snap is getting lengthy, no enough of sun light. Onion bottom is growing a bit more, so is celery bottom.

Its not going to work indoors behind those windows, Ill be moving them out tomorrow even the single digit temperature is coming in a few days. Ill let the nature decide their fate. From now on, I will still sow seeds indoor, because this way, I can know what Ive sowed more clearer. Once they have germinated, I transplant. Cold seems fine, but lack of sunlight is not.

I put some social media buttons on this blog, not sure why I wanted to do this. Maybe its after I switched back to Blogger comments system.

Since new years day, I had been collecting spam emails, the one uses Gmail emoji. Less than 15 days, I received 52 such spams and I dont believe I have seen any legit email uses those emoji. Should I give thumbs-up to spammers?

There is one thing I noticed about the cat, when he cries with a unique sound, he is telling me to clean up his litter box because he just peed or pooped. I will go to the box and he will look back at me, making sure I get the message before he walks back to his bed and continues his sleep. I wonder if this is nature or nurture or simply catgenius, perhaps that indeed is cat has staff as they said.

I googled right hand colder than left hand and found Raynauds phenomenon, I dont think I got that, but some of the pictures inside is quite scarily, not as in bloody scare. I then googled right side colder than left, because I could feel my right leg is colder, too, but not so if I used my hand to sense the temperature. It seems if you google something, there always is a thing to tell you that you might have some disease or illness.

Those azuki bean sprouts are doing good, but I decided to take some to plant in box planter, around 20, they would be like cover crop, since the plants in that container aint doing well, Perhaps they could fix some nitrogen in before spring.

Next Monday, I will scatter the rest into dick container. The weather is cold and wet, not sure if any of these bean will survive, if not, they can still be nutrient once they decomposed.

I have a cold since last night and it was getting worse. I probably had used two whole boxes of tissue. My nose was like broken pipe, fluid running unstable, it just kept coming out.:-S

I tried hot shower and tea, that didn't work out. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, I made some ginger tea. Now I am feeling better, much better after I had only drunk half cup of ginger tea.

I learned how to make it a few years back, and it always is very helpful in winter or any cold weather. Strangely, I didn't make any in last winter; and interestingly, I am guessing the cold was late, it finally caught up with me. ;p

Ginger tea is super easy to make, ten minutes top, and you only need ginger, water, and sugar. That's all, sugar probably is optional, if you can take spicy from ginger, but sugar makes the tea smoother as you drink. Some may put in some herbs, but that's up to you.

I don't have amounts for ingredients, scrape ginger's skin with spoon, slice it, add to boiling water with sugar. Taste it, adjust, done. Drink when it still hot, but the temperature you can take comfortably.

I feel I rarely catch a cold in winter and more often in hot summer. I don't why but that seems always true for me. My body like reversed seasons, I guess. To make things worse is to have a cold in spring or fall when it's not cold, but not hot, either. As season transitioning, that always is a wonderful time for viruses to enjoy some lovely time in our bodies.

Well, have a cup of ginger tea!