Mojitos, and E Friday

Oh, Deana (I’ve been referring to her a lot lately) has had a discussion on Mojitos. Last weekend we had some friends over who like to drink gin & tonic, which prompted me to purchase some gin, and a bottle of vodka ‘cause someone wanted a g&v instead. I noticed that I had a bottle of good tequila in the cabinet, now it seems I’m going to get some rum to go with it. Not much drinking goes on in our house – I too had a g&t, which thinking back has been my first ‘hard’ drink in probably a year, when we went to their house. So I usually buy the good booze, because it ends up lasting so long I might as well.

OK, from the BACARDI web site (all caps, all the time on their site) (that is a very nicely done site, nice action), here’s the recipe for a mojito (using Bacardi products, of course:

1 part BACARDI rum
3 parts club soda
12 mint leaves
½ lime
½ part sugar

Place 2 mint leaves, sugar and lime in a glass. Muddle well with a pestle. Add BACARDI, top off with club soda, stir well and garnish with springs of mint or a lime wheel.

We’ve got mint a-plenty growing in the front bed. Limes left over from last weekend, and sugar hanging around. So I guess it’s club soda and BACARDI rum at the store on the way home. Might as well find out if it’s as good as Deana says.

A few weeks ago we had some other friends over, new homeowners in the Vegas valley, and we went out to some plant places to show them assorted things that they might put into their naked back yard. One of our favorite places is Plant World, just a short way from our house. It is not part of a chain, as are most of the plant places around, but is owned by one guy that really likes to be a little different. He does have some things that the chain stores do not, but consequently his normal prices are a little higher.


A large portion of the store is under partial shade, which should be an indicator to purchasers that these items probably should NOT be placed right into a naked unprotected Las Vegas 110f sunny back yard. (not to knock stupid people who wonder why their plants die). The bigger trees are out back, and there is usually a good selection of trees that survive in our desert clime


The desert trees in fifteen gallon containers are usually around $60. You usually cannot buy them smaller in smaller containers. As you can see, most trees this price are about ten feet tall and have trunks around an inch and a half in diameter.

One of the interesting features of this place is the bird decorations. There are lots of birds scatter around.


Most are just on open perches, with signs informing you that they will eat your fingers if presented. Again, there seem to be a lot of stupid people around, the ones with bandages on their fingers that somehow always seem to say ‘aw, look at the pretty bird, can I scratch your head?’ and then end up screaming.

We also went down to the Gardens at the Springs, a teaching garden installed at the water department. They give classes in desert gardening, how to select plants, design your yard, and put in low volume watering systems. It is a pleasant place to wander.


Most plants have identification signs. There is an area with alternatives to grass, and emphasis placed on low watering levels. We were inspired by this place to change our yard from the massive amounts of grass present when we moved here to our current low water landscape.

I particularly liked their patio area.


which is why I put in so many Chilean mesquite trees. Yes, it’s still 110f out, even if there is shade.

We ended up going to the final free concert for this year. It was with the New Orleans Night Crawlers.


I have a short video, if I can figure out how to post it. They were pretty jumpin’.

And I do have to give Virginia Gal her weekly E fix. It is Friday after all.


Can you join Ernie in singing ‘Rubber duckie’? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, borrow some kids soon.

Another of her current favorite items are some small frogs we have. I bought them to make fan pulls out of – we have ceiling fans in almost every room, they help us keep the air conditioner off on not-so-hot days and nights. Rather than use the clunky metal pulls, since B likes frogs, I purchased a tube at the local Toys-R-Us (sorry, no backward R here), drilled some holes in butts, and superglued frogs to chains. Anyway, E likes the ones I didn’t use.


And they are a good size for inserting into the mouth and chewing on with gums where teeth are about to come out. Which is why I don’t chew on them, as I probably have teeth that are about to come out a different way.

Oh, had to add some more links over on the right. Seems like there are even more sites I am starting to visit on a regular basis. I’m not listing them all, but have a try at these:
Rachie (South Africa), she describes times in Namibia, a place that I have never been.
Udge (Germany), another computer guy (sorry Rob) but this one in Germany.
Fug (comments on fashion), not really a blog, but somebody that likes to comment on the fashion trends of celebrities. She says some of the things that I often think when seeing people on TV. And I do have to admit that I enjoy the posts of people like Jordan Marsh. (go ahead, click on it)(hey, I am an American male after all, I can look) and some of the Eurovision contestants, at least the ones in red dresses.