The previous attempt at my indoor herb garden was not a roaring success. Things tried to grow but then decided to sit on the couch and watch the world go by. So, I had to come to the realization my life long desire to build the perfect hydroponics system was a sad failure.

So, what does one do in times like this? One buys a premanufactured system.

And it works far better than I expected. We planted a few herbs, and one took off spectacularly. Basil. The others tried but then just sat looking pretty.

The Basil is growing so fast, Dani cannot use it fast enough. See below.

So we will remove the basil and plant it outside and start with a clean set of pods and this time follow the directions properly.

So in a few months, we will visit again about this.

This fragile little one does not know the man holding her, but her spirit feels the love from his spirit.

Before she entered the world, she already experienced the love and nourishment from her mother, and when she came into this world it continued, and in time she recognize her voice, her touch and her scent.

But she does not know her father and must spend time with him for his love to be planted within her heart, while it is young and fertile.

You will find there is a special type of love between a father and his daughter. She feels comfortable with him. Deep within the man you will find her warrior and protector and he will be a source of amazing wisdom and knowledge; and all her life she will look upon him in awe and wonderment.

He will someday sit with her and have pretend tea and cookies. He will many times tie her shoes and may one day braid her hair, or paint her toenails, or she may paint his. He will secretly work with her to find the perfect gift for her mother. He will be elated at whatever gift she gives him, even if it is just a scribble on a piece of paper.

He will forever be her Warrior and she will forever be his Princess, and his fingerprints on her heart will last her lifetime.

If you watch the news like I do, you will know there were approximately 5.1 million people who entered illegally across our southern border since Biden took over. It is estimated 900 thousand slipped through the cracks, which are smuggling drugs, or they are terrorist who will wait until told to act. They smuggle in drugs like fentanyl, which in 2022 alone killed 109,680 people. It is manufactured from products from China.

80% of the women and girls are raped crossing into the U.S. They are told when they approach the authorities, to use the word “asylum”. Our government gives them comfortable beds, food and phones and then let them loose in the US. Most of the children are snuck in and used for child sex trafficking or labor to pay off the cartel smugglers. I am angry, because I see the illegal aliens pour into our border with no control in sight.

I always try to be the honest person we all should be, so since I met Dani, I worked with just over 200 pages of documentation and paid over $3500 which includes various fees and travel, but it was infuriating knowing we were competing with those who break our laws to slip in front of us in line.

But Dani has now been notified that her permanent visa (Green Card) has been approved.

I got the notification while we were eating on the coffee table watching the news today. I laid the phone on the table for her to see, then got up and moved the coffee table out, knowing she would want to dance. She did not, she picked up the phone and looked at it in shock. It has been a long three years and many frustrating conversations between us, and she had to digest it until it became something real.

But all the time, paperwork and patience has paid off. She can now plan to travel to Brazil to see her family and attend her Jujitsu graduation she missed.

Good for her. There are things in life that make one smile beyond measure, and Dani is one of these rare individuals who deserve everything good that comes their way.

Please take the time to congratulate her.

Many years back, during the 80’s I subscribed to Mother Earth News magazine. I found it interesting back then, but now it is clinging to more ideologies that do not match mine. But one of the most intriguing topics was hydroponic farming. It is where plants grow in a base other than old fashion dirt, like the stuff I played with when I was an innocent child.

I always told myself I will try making a hydroponic system someday, which did not happen right away. I didn’t get to fulfill that dream until I reached retirement. But I have now succeeded.

Now a quick side story here. All my life, young and old, I made my projects with scrap I could find. I worked as an electrician at a manufacturing plant for about 15 years, and it was the typical plant that didn’t want to spend money. So, any repair I did used parts gathered here and there, and the plant had many places where they stacked old equipment, so I had plenty of pastures to roam for parts.

Now, fast forward to this day and age, I still have that mindset not to spend anymore that is necessary. So, as I collected items on Amazon, eBay and Home Depot, I did more cost cutting than I should have. What I came up with looks like crap, but it is about a third of what it could have been, had it been properly built.

Add all that to the fact, I am an impatient fabricator, unlike my father who was very meticulous. I used cheap wood that was warped and twisted, thus requiring me to add shims and spacers.

But, like the words of Doris Day’s, Que Sera, Sera, I have what I have. So, here is the masterpiece I have created. My consolation is it is just the first attempt.

The concept: A pump that squirts water with plant nutrient into the top pipe, which then runs down to each of the others, then back to the tank. That of itself sounds easy. But what I wasn’t expecting, after reading many articles on the World Wide Web, is I also have to provide the proper PH of the mixture, aerate the mixture, and provide plant lighting. I also had to add a UV light mounted above the tank to kill any algae.

Now, all that has been completed, and with the help of my amazing wife, we planted the herbs she cooks with. It will be about a week before the roots extend down to where they can absorb the nutrients, and when that happens, the pump will cycle on and off several times during the day.

So, in the coming weeks, I will update you on what is growing, or not.

Now that I am an old retired fart, I have purchased a home in the South of Texas. The home is ten years younger than me, and like me, needs constant repair.

The electrical panel was like a pimple on the nose that needed to be squished. Definitely needed to be replaced. Luckily for me, I am an old retired electrician. In all honesty, I stood for hours looking at it, salivating on how I was going to do the work. I purchased all the material and when I was ready, I called the Electrical Provided (EP) to pull the meter so I could begin work.

The young guy who came out apologetically informed me the EP requires all work on electrical services to be 200 amps. I had purchased and prepared to install a 100 amp service. So, back to the design board.

So, finally all the gods were in line and the work was completed with the help of a pretty Brazilian assistant. Here are pictures of the pimple on the nose.

And here is the upgrade:

If you look at the closed panel above, you will see two arrows. One pretty red arrow and one pretty blue arrow.

The blue arrow is pointing to a receptacle I mounted to provide temporary power to my shop. The red arrow is pointing to a full house surge suppressor that all of you should have on your house service, if you get frequent electrical storms. It is the same thing that is in many power strips, except this covers the whole house. If any of you would like to inquire about it, let me know and we can discuss it over whiskey and cigars.

More later.