Hydrangeas Blue

Another Rant, I Hate This New Block Writing at WP

Many years ago when I began blogging I started a Google blog. It was difficult. I went to WordPress and found it much easier to understand, although I had a lot to learn.

Now WP has given us the Guttenberg blocks to use whenever we write a post. I hate it. I have a simple site, without wanting to deal with plug-ins or css or whatever people with experience use to “fix up” their blogs. I’m not a technology wizard, I just want to blog – quickly and without problems.

Now I will go to add a “block” and will have to add the block on top of the block I just wrote because no little “+” will appear where I want it.

Sometimes I will highlight something to make a link and the linking ability will show up right there – at other times it appears all the way at the top of the page! ( Learned how to fix this: uncheck “top toolbar” – use dropdown to access in the top right corner)

Twice now I have tried to schedule a page to post later and boom… it goes live.. right then! Why? I couldn’t tell you. Sometimes the entire right hand side with page settings completely goes away. I can’t make it come back.

Sometimes the “featured image” block doesn’t work. On one of my blogs I can never see the Preview of the page. I get an “Oops, that page can’t be found”.

Adding photos means add descriptions to the right of the page, but it isn’t saved in the media area, so it has to be done twice to the same image, if I want to save it in my media. And so on….

I’ve been writing using the stupid thing for a while now and I still hate it.

I think it makes double the work, triple the aggravation, and makes writing my blogs a lot less fun these days. I was doing fine with the old WP. Now every time I blog I feel like I am in a class where there is no teacher and I have to fend for myself to figure out how to create a decent blog page. A lot of the time I am winging it.

I know I can go back to the old editor, but if I do, and have to make changes on the page, it seems to want me to convert to the new editor. It’s all awful. For people like me, who just want to share their hobbies or local happenings, blogging shouldn’t be a chore. Now it is.

Yuk. No thanks. Guess I don’t have a say.

What Has Happened to Publix?

Today I wanted to make a peach pie. When I shopped at my local Publix, there were no peaches so I bought nectarines. I also bought some apples while I was there. Often the produce I buy at this store is not all that great, but I was hopeful.

So I mixed the flour, sugar and cinnamon and then went to cut the nectarines. They were hard and dry. I couldn’t use them. I had 3 apples. I thought maybe I can make a small apple pie instead. One apple was okay. One apple was partially brown inside and the other had only a small spot of brown. They did not look great, but I salvaged around 2 cups of slices. This was not enough for a decent pie so I wrapped the filling with one piece of dough and baked it that way.

Making my version of an apple pie when the peaches were too bad for a peach pie. — My apple turnover concoction

Sometimes we must improvise. Since this was a total change in plans to begin with I used coconut flour, brown sugar (only a little), and some real maple syrup for the filling. I dotted it with butter and wrapped the filling with the bottom crust. I’ll freeze the other crust for a later time when maybe I can find some decent fruit.

Back to my title question. When I moved from Florida to New Hampshire one of the things I missed most was shopping at Publix. Since my return to the South, I have been quite disappointed in the stores. Things are different these days.

First of all, Publix stores are all different. Some are large, and some are set up similarly and some are confusing to me when I enter. But the most disappointing thing is the produce area. Only the New Smyrna store, on state road 44, had good produce. It has been under construction for many months now and I can only hope the produce there will remain good once it re-opens. My fingers are crossed.

Standing in line at Publix when I shopped to stock up for Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. — October 2016, shopping for Hurricane Matthew at Publix in Deltona, Florida

Publix is still pretty good at getting you out the door fast. Usually every store I’ve shopped in opens registers when lines form. They were great when we were all shopping for the hurricanes (photo above)! The lines were long but every register was open.

When my kids were little that is what drew me in. I was willing to pay more for food (compared to Winn Dixie) to have a quick check out.

But my local store in Edgewater is disappointing. I’ve found food which is out of date. Right now I have a jar of fresh oysters in the fridge which is bulging at the top and bottom. The expiration date is 5 days away, but that container doesn’t look good. It looked fine when I bought it, but what’s up with it now? I don’t take risks with food so I won’t be eating oysters.

My son often orders sliced meats and cheeses for pick up and has gotten the wrong cheese twice! It’s pre-sliced and wrapped, which is fast and easy, but when you get home you want to see that you have the correct item!

I do like the cashiers and baggers in Edgewater. They are friendly, talkative and mostly bag my groceries with care. I usually leave the store in a good mood even when shopping is not exactly a pleasure. The bakery is a nice area as well, although I try to avoid eating that type of food. Their Brioche loaf is amazing and I can’t pass it up.

For now I will stick to buying frozen fruit and vegetables whenever possible and continue to check expiration dates carefully. Hoping for happy shopping days ahead when the New Smyrna store opens this summer. Until then, I can’t help but wonder what has happened to Publix?

Eating apple pie — My apple turnover concoction is good!

March is When The Hibiscus Can Be Trimmed Back

Two years ago I planted a little hibiscus plant out behind my house. It grew quickly and flowers all the time with double flowers. Double flowers means each bloom is more ruffled looking with layers of petals as opposed to flat, 5-petaled flowers.

Hibiscus grow very well here in Florida, and this past winter was quite mild without any overnight temperatures dropping below freezing. At least not where I live. I never had to cover any plants and everything looks great. The chances of having a freezing night now are slim, so it’s safe to cut back outdoor plants that need it.

Greenhouse Hydrangea With Blue Flowers Forming

At Home Depot I spotted a table with small hydrangeas for sale. I call it a “greenhouse” hydrangea because I imagine that is where it came from. The price was around $12 as I recall, so I bought one. Now I know these are not like the hydrangea plants I purchased in New Hampshire to plant in my northern yard.

The tag on this one said it “likes cool nights” and it’s climate preference is 50-70 F. That’s what “cool” is in Florida. It’s also listed as a Houseplant. This plant obviously can’t take wintering in a dormant stage over several months. Growing hydrangeas this way is new to me.

hydrangea plant with buds — New hydrangea plant

The Beautiful Bougainvillea

My bougainvillea is just a baby, but it is already reaching over the fence into the front yard. Last year this plant was nearly dead after the cold winter and I thought it was hopeless. Then little green sprouts began to appear at ground level and it continued to grow. You can see a picture of it on this blog post with photos I took last January. It looked dead. Not only did it survive, it went nuts this year!

Light pink flowering bougainvillea on a white fence

Some of the branches were growing awkwardly toward the house, so I trimmed them up and took the flowers inside. They did well in a vase of water until day three, when the flowers began to fall off and make a mess. Bougainvillea is not a long-term bouquet flower.

Light pink flowering bougainvillea in a vase — Cuttings last a couple days, but the stems can grow roots for beginning new plants!

This vining plant is gown in many yards around Florida. It can be huge and looks beautiful draped over a fence or along a wall. I love my light pink flowers, but the deep red is stunning and it comes in many other colors, like orange and yellow.

My bougainvillea is in a semi-shaded location, but they do like lots of sun and will have more flowers. They can be trimmed at any time and this is the first year mine has been so tall and had so many flowers so I’m not sure how long the flowers will last. They don’t need a lot of water either, which is nice. They won’t droop and wilt. But do be careful if the weather turns cold because they don’t like cold temperatures.

The University of Florida has a page all about Bougainvilleas. After reading the page I discovered that they are easy to propagate! I will definitely be trying that. I’ve had success with propagating crotons and cuttings from my rubber plant.

Our Warm Winter of 2019

A few nights this winter the temperatures dropped close to freezing and the only plants I covered outdoors were the crotons in the big pot out front. They were newly planted to replace the beautiful big croton that died in 2018 due to the cold.

This year was so mild, that everything is still big and green. I recently cut back my orange hibiscus which was nearly touching the roof of the house! When nothing freezes back, the plants have a head start in Spring.

Repotting the Lime Tree and Corn Plant

With the cooler weather comes the time to do things outdoors. My winter is like a northern summer. I’ve been waiting for months for the heat to go away so the days will feel more normal. It’s just like suffering through a long, frozen winter and waiting for the warmth of Spring. Except in reverse.

January has brought cool breezes, lots fewer bugs, and breathable air. It rains less, but the plants are not burning under the sun, so watering is occasional. I still check on my plants and vegetable garden. The Lime tree seemed to be in need of help, and the pot it was in needed an upgrade. I bought a couple pots at Home Depot, but then decided to use one of my larger fabric bags. The Lemon tree is doing great in a fabric pot.

The Italian Oregano plant was in need of attention and got a new home in a deeper pot. I also added some bone meal for root growth.

White flower buds on lime tree — Little white buds on the Persian Lime tree!

new growth — New growth beginning on the lime tree in January

The Meyer Lemon has some pink flower buds, and the Persian Lime has little white buds and greenery popping out along the branches. Although freezing temperatures could hit, both my citrus trees can be brought indoors for the cold weather.

Pink flower buds on the lemon tree — Lemon tree buds

One other plant that was in need of attention was my corn plant. This one came with me down from New Hampshire. I had purchased some houseplants to decorate when my house was up for sale. The corn plant (this is what I call it, but I’m not sure what the real name is) is meant to be an indoor plant in the north, but here in Florida it does fine outside as long as it’s in the shade. The front of my house doesn’t get direct sunlight, so the corn plant is generally happy by the front door. But the pot was ugly and too small, so now it is in a bigger one. I think it is happy.

Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for sharing!

Our Warm Winter of 2019

Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for sharing!