Check out our June newsletter!
LYN’S LEDGER
Lyndon Thomas Insurance
June 2023
We Help You With Medicare.
GOOD THINGS GROW IN MANY PLACES Strange Gardening Techniques That ACTUALLY Work
My garden grows better in my mind than it does in the backyard. Visions of varieties and bushels populate my good intentions. What actually happens each year is significantly less. We have only a bit of exposed soil and a lot of concrete in our available backyard space, so I’ve had to be creative in finding ways to grow vegetables. In South Dakota, where I grew up, while the soil may warm enough to plant by late April, it’s into early May that you can start planting without concern for frost. Despite living in California for 36 years, where frost-free planting begins by mid-March, I often don’t get around to planting until South Dakota time. Last year though, in the bit of native backyard soil I do have, I got after it on time, and I planted my tomatoes the third week of March. I added some extras to each planting hole. Under each tomato, I added a dead fish, some aspirin, bone meal, calcium tablets, a multivitamin or two, and several crushed eggshells. Before you think I’ve lost my mind, this internet recipe resulted in the best-tasting and largest tomatoes I’ve ever grown. My beefsteaks were beefy! But one season does not make me an expert tomato grower, so we’ll see if the additives help again this year. I’m also experimenting with growing potatoes in a trash can this year. Some internet blogs claim 100 pounds can be grown in a barrel. I will consider 50 pounds a mashing success. Another on-top-of-concrete growing method I’ve employed is sub-irrigated planters or SIPs for short. I’ve built rubber-lined planter boxes with 4-inch perforated pipes laid parallel at the bottom. A vertical 2-inch pipe from the top fills the water table that flows among the 4-inch pipes. A side drain hole maintains a water level of just under four inches. The planter box is filled
with a mix of potting soil, peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite so the water soaks up as the roots grow down. This grants the vegetables just the amount of water needed for optimal growth without over or underwatering. Supplying water from below also minimizes evaporation and wastewater. The vegetables just pop. Information for the sub or self-irrigated planters I’ve used is found at www.albopepper.com. Kathy grew up on a farm with chickens, so caring for our four layers is natural for her. A hobby is something you enjoy doing while you are losing money doing it. While not free range, Kathy’s hens’ diet goes well beyond just the purchased chicken feed. Fruit and vegetable scraps, grass, and weeds from around the block keep the girls happy. Our hobby egg yolks are nearly orange in color. Store-bought eggs can’t match their flavor either. The roof of the chicken coop is also a planter box accessed by a ladder. Finding unusual ways and places to grow some veggies reminds me that good people, good things, and good news are often found in places we wouldn’t normally expect. So, keep looking! Even senior adults exclaim at how fast-paced life is. In the often-hectic life we live, caring for and observing the slow pace and beauty of garden growth reminds me that the better things in life take time and patience. A garden-grown, vine-ripened tomato is unsurpassed deliciousness. Store-bought simply can’t compare. For you gardeners out there, keep on growing! We are blessed,
–Lyn Thomas
1
www.LT-ins.com
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com
Published by The NewsletterPro • www.NewsletterPro.com
Lyndon Thomas Insurance
GET THE BENEFITS OF GARDENING WITHOUT THE SWEAT
Move Your Veggies Indoors!
Gardening is incredibly satisfying — but in the summer, you may wonder whether the fresh produce is worth suffering through the heat, the humidity, and a stiff back. If so, try moving your garden indoors! Inside, you can get the same mental and physical benefits without the sweat. Here are three creative ways to grow food indoors. Grow your lettuce hydroponically. Lettuce is one of the quickest and easiest crops to grow inside because it thrives in relatively low light. You can buy a lettuce-growing kit for less than $100 at Walmart or off Amazon and either start the sprouts from seed in a moist growing medium (environmental journalist Katherine
Gallagher recommends rockwool, lightweight clay aggregate, coconut fiber, or perlite) or purchase plant starts at your local nursery. Within a month, your lettuce leaves will be ready to eat! Plant peas or carrots under grow lights. Many people assume fruiting plants like peas and carrots are impossible to grow indoors. But with powerful grow lights, almost any plant can flourish! Try planting seeds or starts in pots and sunning them with fluorescent shop lights. The plants will take longer to mature than outdoors, but you’ll get there in the end. Other fruiting plants, like peppers and tomatoes, require hand pollination to thrive inside. Create a mushroom-growing compost bin. You only need six things to grow mushrooms: a wooden tray, compost, mushroom spawn, a heating pad, a thermometer, and a spray bottle. Fill the tray with compost and a pinch of spawn, keep the compost at a toasty 70 degrees F with the heating pad for three weeks, and moisten it with sprays of water regularly until mushrooms appear. Go to Better Homes & Gardens for an online guide, or purchase a mushroom kit or terrarium. The more time, patience, and creativity you put into your indoor garden, the more it will reward you. To dig deeper (pun intended), pick up a copy of “Indoor Kitchen Gardening: Turn Your Home Into a Year-Round Vegetable Garden” by Elizabeth Millard or check out The Provident Prepper’s “Indoor Gardening” playlist on YouTube.
DON’T GET SCAMMED! Tips for Recognizing a Scam Call
Perhaps you’ve heard the old line, “Why do criminals rob banks?” Answer: Because that’s where the money is. These days, it’s the dumb criminals who risk arrest by walking into a bank with a weapon. Smarter criminals don’t risk their lives and have a greater chance of getting away with it using the telephone and internet to rob people. Sadly, telephone scams are where the money is these days. Getting caught in a telephone scam is frightening, expensive, and embarrassing. Here are tips for recognizing scam calls. The caller pretends to know you or has some familiarity with a family member. My parents once received a call from a skilled scammer who convincingly claimed to be a grandson in trouble. Once they began asking personal questions that their true grandson would already know, the scammer was exposed. My father laughed at the guy until he hung up.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 ...
2
CA# 0D96309
1211 Maricopa Hwy, Ste 222, Ojai, CA 93023
www.LT-ins.com
We Help You With Medicare.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 ...
The caller presents you with a conditional prize. The old Nigerian prince scam would first require you to send two or three thousand dollars; then, they would send you a million or two. As inflation continues to pinch senior adults’ pocketbooks, this kind of send-money-to-get-money scam will get viciously more
tracks. A legitimate offer or transaction will offer multiple methods of payment. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER, the IRS, Social Security, and Medicare will never make first contact by telephone. If any of these agencies need to communicate with you, first contact will always begin with a letter. Anyone calling to inform you of a “problem with your Social Security file,” is a scammer! About all those Medicare calls and ads offering
appealing. If it sounds too good to be true — it is! The caller pressures you into immediate action.
Preying upon our human tendency to not want to miss out, the scam caller demands you take action right now. SCAM! Any legitimate offer or transaction will still be valid a few days from now. Any valid transaction does not require the caller to become increasingly rude and pushy when you don’t immediately cooperate. Just hang up! The caller demands you pay in a specific way. The scammer has chosen a payment method that is easiest to get away with their crime and cover their
“all the benefits you’re missing out on.” While one or two of those benefits may be partially available in your area, not all those benefits are available everywhere. These phone calls, TV ads, and mailers are all
designed to get you to call for information. Your call results in you becoming a lead that is then sold to tens or hundreds of
agents, resulting in even more calls. If you are happy with your plan, ignore these attempts. If you have questions, call us at 805‑646-6409 or contact us through our website, www.LT-ins.com, for more information.
SUDOKU
MATCHA-COVERED STRAWBERRIES
Ingredients
• •
1 ¼ cups chopped white chocolate 1 tsp matcha powder, ceremonial grade
•
14 fresh strawberries, rinsed and patted dry
Directions
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 2. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the white chocolate in 15–20-second intervals, stirring in between until it’s completely melted. 3. Add matcha powder to the melted white chocolate and stir until thoroughly mixed. Hold a strawberry by its leaves and dip it into the matcha chocolate mixture until it’s almost entirely covered. Shake off any excess chocolate, then place the matcha-covered strawberry on a baking sheet and let it harden. Repeat with remaining strawberries. 4. Fill a piping bag with leftover chocolate and drizzle strawberries with the chocolate. Let chocolate-covered strawberries completely harden at room temperature before gently peeling them off the parchment paper.
3
CA# 0D96309
805-646-6409
Inspired by TeakAndThyme.com
Lyndon Thomas Insurance
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
PO Box 207 Ojai, CA 93024
INSIDE
CA# 0D96309 | www.LT-ins.com | 805-646-6409
2 1
Gardens of Goodness
3 Creative Ways to Grow Food Indoors
Know When It’s a Scammer on the Phone
3 4
Sudoku
Matcha-Covered Strawberries
Discover Your Ideal Seaside Retreat
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
SANDY TOES, SUNNY SKIES, AND BEACH BLISS
FIND THE PERFECT BEACH RENTAL
Location, Location, Location You probably already know what beach to visit, but choosing a specific unit can be challenging. Is a rental with a grand view of the beach and the ocean worth the cost, or is one without quite the view (but less expensive) still acceptable? You’ll also need
One of the most important decisions anyone will make regarding their vacation is where they stay. This is especially true for summer vacations at the beach. Everyone has a different idea of their ideal vacation, and where you stay can make or break the trip. Here are a few things to consider before booking a beach rental for your vacation. Size Matters How many people are coming on your trip? Is it just you and your significant other, or are children coming? You will want to pick a rental to fit your family’s needs. If your traveling party is small, a condo or apartment overlooking the beach will likely work. If your family is large or you’re worried about the kids being too loud, consider a single- family beach house instead.
to examine the surrounding area to ensure it has everything you need. If you don’t want to drive much once you settle in, choose a rental within walking distance of the beach, shops, and restaurants. The Extras You should consider a couple of other things when booking a beach rental. If you plan to bring your pets, ensure the rental you book is pet-friendly. It’s also worth investigating if the beach itself is dog-friendly, as bringing your furry friend to the beach can make the vacation even more enjoyable. Many rentals also provide beach toys, body boards, and more so you don’t have to spend money buying or renting them at shops. Read through the rental description, and don’t hesitate to ask the owner any questions.
4
1211 Maricopa Hwy, Ste 222, Ojai, CA 93023
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com
Published by The NewsletterPro •www.NewsletterPro.com
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator