It looks More Like....

Any ideas? I watched some Aussie bake some bread on YouTube, but maybe I got liter and the actual quantity mixed up. Never did resemble dough. More like a pancake batter. Looking at other videos after this failure, one cup of water is mentioned, or just add enough to get a thick consistency. Geez, I don't know how that Aussie did it, but his turned out okay.

Oh well, first try. I can always slice it horizontally and get some bread slices out of it?

Noooo. This one is headed for the trash... Salty tasting and gooey like it hadn't been baked long enough. 375 for 30 minutes or so I thought.

What was that recipe? It was called an easy baking recipe.  Considering he baked two loaves I cut everything in half.

(1) teaspoon baking powder
(16) oz water

MIX---

3 1/2 cups flour (rice--maybe that was the problem)
(1) teaspoon salt
(2) teaspoon vegetable oil

I see no yeast others mention.

I did let it "get ready" or try to rise before complete baking. Not much good.

Btw, it's almost been a week since I started this healthy eating kick, Result is loss of five pounds. I haven't starved myself, nor have I cut out all the questionable stuff out, particularly at lunch time\by eating about 400 calories of lays chips along with a sandwich. My exercise regime hasn't changed either. I may spend two to three hours out in the garden and I still hit the couch after lunch and dinner meals.

Daves Garden Round Up

I don't think I mentioned it before, but I did attend one of these things two years ago. The video explains all about a round up in general. Located in Cleveland, Georgia one Dave's garden member has been putting this on for the last three years at her summer cottage. It's a good way to get together with gardeners and trade for stuff. I took along some of the leftover trailing Petunias I had, a slew of Coleus, which few bothered to take. I also dug up some of the Caldiums that were packaged wrong.

In return I received things like Toad lilies and brugmansia. I think I had the brug mixed up with something else because it looks too tropical for this area. But it survives Lulu, Ga which is about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta. Here's a pic from Bing images. Three were received; white and pinks I think.

A few Hostas found a new home and some shade plants like the Christmas Rose (forget the real name). I think there are some bleeding hearts out there too. Oh, and another was a bougainvillea. I'll have to look into that further because once again I don't think that one will make it around here. I think that came from the same woman. Love to have three or four of them around here. They have to be my favorite Florida shrub.

I can't think of the others but they are marked well. Too early in the morning to look. I still need something to replace those dead Impatiens. Probably just stick all the leftover Coleus in there. The moonflowers are beginning to take off. I'm looking forward to seeing them in a few months. Hopefully jungle like appearance.

The video. I'm getting attached to this little HD camera. It doesn't do indoors very well, but most shots were taken with bright backdrops. I couldn't even fix it with my Sony Vegas (Pro 11) edit program that has an excellent white balance and color corrector that I'm getting familiar with.

Nooooo More!

For years I've always had a problem with eating the right foods. Doesn't everyone? It really got to me this spring when I couldn't stop from shaking. I've always had issues with it but got more pronounced the last few years. So I looked and researched a bit into what's in Coke Zero. Done with that. Save $20 a week.

Since, it's been the local spring water. At least now I can write a check without the struggle. Then there's constantly being  hungry and those so called good foods just add to the problem. Two really surprised me. Granola and wheat bread. They have high fructose corn syrup in them along with all the other crap in the trash basket. Ketchup contains that crap too. The Town House wheat crackers couldn't fit in the trash can.


Not only hungry, but the shakes come back from time to time, particularly in the morning. Bad blood sugar from my research. So I'm gonna eat Jap...or come close. I even bought some green tea, but am skeptical when I look in the grocery aisle and see too much of one thing. It tells me the masses are buying it and they're always wrong...just like me. Look at the yogurt aisle! Most of that stuff doesn't work to keep the weight off, unless you starve yourself.

That's what it's mostly about with me. Tired of the gut. In recent summers I've always lost 15 pounds or so by this time. No change this year. I even dumped the chips and ice cream. Instead eating salads for lunch (sandwich and wheat bread) and 60 cal pudding after dinner. Not gonna cut it. That 60 cal stuff has something in it not good for ya. Eat Jap...except for the baked potatoes (they're good for you) and I don't think they do much veggies...high cost over there? I could be wrong. Got some brown rice. Avocado too. Oatmeal for breakfast.

Bread? Rumor has it rice bread is perfect or something else called ...I forget. Imagine the confusion when I inquired about some of this stuff at the local Walmart yesterday. Folks, I live in a town that's raised on fried chicken and other fatty stuff. Once everyone, or so it seems, gets out of high school, marries, has a few kids, they're done! Not long ago I was at the Ford dealership. A mother and daughter were talking near me. High school age, she looked great. Pretty and fit. The mother on the other hand, overweight with a bad complexion. I imagine the mother looked the same when younger.

 I'll try some baking...

Tinkering With New Toys

Trying to get up to speed if I want to create some professional videos for the hardwood flooring site. I've learned a huge amount the last few weeks. Trying to remember is the hardest part, but that's where notes come in. Lot's of notes! And without YouTube tutorials I don't think I could muster it. Problem is I still need some video footage. Maybe I've said it in the past, actual professionals don't understand what I'm doing or how it can benefit them.

Considering I have three older videos on YouTube dating back to 2009. Boy are they crappy looking. Yet they get traffic. I think the last count is 600,000 views for the three. That's where professionals in the trade don't see it. That's 600,000 potential customers...if I integrate their business into the video. Okay, maybe not 600,000 because I lose about 20% in the first one minute and twenty seconds of each one on average. A simple byline across each video will get some eyeballs...or maybe something like the short clip below. It's also called branding.



So many freaking possibilities. I don't think I've seen any similar ideas to the above on all the YT videos I've watched. Sure, you may have seen those annoying "annotations" YT describes them as. Red bold ugly looking things that make people click the back page. Or how about those 30 second intros? Geez, looks nice fella but I won't be around to see the rest of your video. My non intrusive effects will sell some DVD's..and who knows what else I can dream up.

And then again...going back to professionals. Many think it's already been done ...videos that is. They haven't seen anything yet. I've analyzed the paltry competition. Btw, my costs are now down to 65 cents on total production per dvd. That's buying all items in 100 lots.

Anyway, the new toy...a small camera that shoots both standard definition and HD. Problem is I may get too attached to HD and buy a big HD camera. It sure would put the icing on the cake with the "competition" But it takes up so much space. This video is 650 MEG's. I have no problems on my PC as all the components can handle it with ease. Having a DSL connection does present some problems as it took two hours to upload the video.

It's my first..and the setting was off...cloudy day would have been better too.  I didn't discover that until later. This little gizmo is so tiny and the functions are touch screen...always hard for me. Like that Iphone I'm about to dump. Contact expires soon. I'm happy with a standard phone...even Dollar General sells em.

A brief trip around the yard...I knew it wouldn't fit..Here's the link

North Georgia Mountain Garden

Downy Mildew On Impatiens - Pictures Too

What was once my stellar performer around here may become history, at least until next year...maybe. Symptoms are identical to my mother's Impatiens that suffered earlier this year in SW Florida. Both she and I assumed it was a heavy overnight deluge. Same up here in North Georgia. There was a heavy rain in the middle of the night on May 30 with another inch and a half falling on or around June 4.



This is not the case and the problem has almost been confirmed in an email by Dr. Jean Williams-Woodward with the University of Georgia who states it "looks like downy mildew." Some of the resources available:

http://blog.caes.uga.edu/sehp/2012/02/11/new-downy-mildew-affecting-impatiens/

http://blog.caes.uga.edu/sehp/2012/06/15/downy-mildew-on-impatiens-identified-in-georgia-retail-nursery-and-landscape/

Where did this nasty disease come from? What can be done? How rampant will it become? Here's a story from the UK. In short it only appears during wet and cooler weather, which we did have the last two weeks. It may slow down or halt when the weather gets hot. Pretty depressing when you consider Impatiens represents a large potion of my gardens. Surprisingly some areas are still flourishing, while others look done. Can I blame it on the source? Possibly, but not enough is known. Some were purchased at Lowes in mid April while others from Quinn's Greenhouse up McCaysville, Georgia. Problem is some were mixed in with others. I would have more faith in buying disease free stuff from Quinns over Lowes. Are they capable of preventing it? It's almost an unknown at the present time. Plenty of facts and opinion at the links above.

More pictures..

And one area not affected (below)...yet. Wait. There is one white Impatiens in the image that has definitely not progressed as well as the others shown. Maybe there's a way of detecting if your Impatiens have the disease but it hasn't yet shown it's ugly face? For weeks I've been thinking none of my Impatiens are progressing as well as they did in past years. Yet during that time there were no signs of any disease. They just remained smaller. But then again I can be impatient, thinking how everything looked in mid July of previous years.

What about Impatiens that reseed?  I do have several areas that are being affected, but they too are mixed in with newer plants this year. Oh well, at least my trailing Petunias are thriving.

Hydrangeas and Stuff

These guys are coming along. Endless Summer bought back in May of 2010, though I'm not happy with the odd shape. They need some hackin' Probably this fall. I did trim the larger straggler branches earlier this spring, but as I look around here and there I see some folks treat these things different. One in particular along the main drag going into town. It grows to 8 and 10 feet high in late summer, blooms like crazy and then cut almost to the roots in the spring.

Made some babies from these guys last year. Four of them to count. Coming along nicely. Here's one about 18 inches high. Others are here and there in the woods.

More being rooted on the porch, but these are called Forever & Ever Blue Haven Hydrangea. Taken from new plants I picked up a few weeks ago. Problem is the adults (one so far) is beginning to  blooming pink?? Even after using some product that is supposed to keep them blue. Have to wait on that.

Oh, a new spot for the newbies...and a few Azaleas picked up along the way. There's also one called Flowerwood Sister Theresa that is supposed to stay white...upper right..itty bitty thing with two flowers.

Unfortunately my climbing hydrangea isn't blooming this year. I hear they need to climb and spread first, but yet the first year they bloomed. Could be time for some bloom booster.

And about these things. A climbing Nasturtium. So? When does it plan on climbing?

Petunias along the lawn coming along, but for some reason one of the white Waves in the pots is dying:( I do have two backups though. No Petunias along the drive pics. You'll have to wait a month or so but they're looking good.

Rain and More Rain

Glad to have it. Gives me time to work on a project I've dreamed about the past few years. Considering Google doesn't like smaller mom and pops type websites anymore it's time to get going with another revenue source. Mom and Pops? Yea, those that don't have big brand recognition. The Gorg business model is all about money nowadays and not the relevance they claim to brag about. Most people don't notice the difference, but one thing is clear, Home Depot ain't gonna give you the information you want.

Video. Having invested enough into it I gotta get it going again. Considering I now have the ability to put something together that includes all aspects it should be a good revenue source. Aspects include filming, editing, and production of the final product. There are two competitors really, but they don't have the source to market it as I do.

My source is hardwoodinstaller.com. Sure traffic is down 45% from pre-Google messing or what they called Panda, but still enough to grab the right people. A test run on my packaging.

Admittedly, all of my previous videos have horrible picture and light quality. But I never put enough time into learning the right way. So much went over my head the last time I looked into it. I suppose I didn't have the right concentration and comprehension. A better diet may be helping my aged mind as well.

Now it's all coming together...and there are so many things to know. Correct camera settings..duh! Good lighting..duh! Color correction...cool tool. Divide into chapters etc. How to render it properly is also a biggie. I put this short clip up on YouTube. Looks good from my house, but it won't look the same on a DVD, and a wide screen TV to boot.




Having looked at the competitors, one is made very well (lighting could be better) but doesn't really show what most people want to see. The other has horrible light, and filmed by what appears to be the guys wife. And yet this guy is the go to guy at FineHomebuilding magazine for hardwood flooring. No tripod, so the video is all over the place. Both were produced by Taunton who published things like Fine Gardening, Fine Homebuilding etc.

My advantage is I can produce each one for about $ 2.00 not including the time spent making it. I suspect I'll need two months to edit as I expect it to run about 70 minutes. Good project for this winter. The other guys are selling at almost 30 bucks. I'm looking for a safe estimate I can sell two per day just from the site...and I haven't even developed another domain that's perfect for this.

Should be interesting, but I have one problem..mentioned on the video and here.