More cleaning

[gemfyre]

Hopefully the moths are now under control. Pretty much everything badly sealed had them in it. Had to throw out Aborio rice, Polenta (half a bag of each, gah), breadcrumbs and rolled oats, as well as the soup mix and stuff I lost earlier.

Now all the shelves of the pantry and above the stove are clean. They were pretty gross, even without moths. I'll get some moth traps when we go shopping and stick them around. I can't stand the thought of them getting into the huge bags of rice and bread flour in the bottom of the pantry.

And upon putting everything back on shelves, we discover we actually have a shitload of space in there. Amazing what happens when you tidy everything up. I wonder how long it will stay that way.

Comments

[stella-sabian.livejournal.com]

moths are under control??? What does it mean?

[princess-kessie.livejournal.com]

Bay leaves.

Put one or two on each shelf - voila - no moths, weevils, roaches or bugs of any kind in the pantry. Change every couple of months or so...

9 years, no bugs. Awesome. :)

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

I stuck a few leaves in the big bags of rice and flour. They're dried leaves and kinda old, but I figure they're better than nothing.

Do you use fresh or dry leaves?

[princess-kessie.livejournal.com]

Dried - but only because I killed my bay tree a couple of years ago (I went on holidays, and the bore broke while I was away - and it died of thirst. It couldn't be revived) and I have not gotten around to growing a new one yet. I prefer to use fresh, since they last longer - however they do tend to taint rice/flour etc with the bay aroma.

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

Do you have any idea if a Bay Tree can be grown in a pot? I'm thinking no. I also wanna grow a curry tree but again, if it can't be in a pot I can't have it at the moment.

And while we're on the subject of spices, the show on TV right now is about Indian food, and I had Indian food for dinner!

[leecetheartist.livejournal.com]

Our Bay Tree has been growing in a pot happily for years. I'll see if I can strike some cuttings for you if you like.

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

That'd be awesome.

[princess-kessie.livejournal.com]

Well, since they are quite slow growing, I don't see why not. If you can grow lemons and oranges and papaya in pots - why not a bay tree? Just make sure the soil is well prepared, feed it regularly and, of course, keep the water up to it in dry weather... Mine grew really well until it died of thirst :(

[riverstar.livejournal.com]

my parens have a bay tree in a pot. and its doing fine
go withthe bay leaves:)

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

Were they giant Gamera-type mutant moths? Because giant mutant lizards are just the thing for domestic pest control. Biological solutions. What could possibly go wrong?

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

Nope, little, annoying moths.

I reckon a trained honeyeater or willie wagtail would take care of them, but then the cats would try to eat the bird.

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

And you just beat me to the edit to correct to Mothra.

Cat issue aside I'd love to have a willie wagtail around the place. My parents have a semi-tame one in their backyard that helps Mum do the weeding. We have pictures of it perching on her.

[princess-kessie.livejournal.com]

Hee! We have a willy wagtail who comes up to the screen door and taunts my three (strictly indoor) cats, who sit and chatter at the bird and press themselves against the door as if they could melt through the wire. It's really funny when the bird comes up close and steals their fur that is sticking through the wire! :)

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

That's fabulous :-)

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

Fearless little buggers aren't they? We have a few that hang around in the trees in our yard.

My sister and her family recently went to the zoo and my niece (2.5 years old) was telling me about the animals she saw (with some encouragement from dad). She told me about the lions and Ian (my brother-in-law) asked her what were the lions doing? "Sleeping!" Then I asked, "Was there a little bird hopping around on the lion?" and both Ian and Charlotte (my niece) go "YES!" Haha, that bird must always be there hopping around on those lions. They probably appreciate that he helps keep the flies away.

[sammmmmmmmm.livejournal.com]

Icon love!