Remembering Last July

When the top half of the "new" fridge stopped working.  Here we are a few days shy of the one year anniversary of 6 weeks with a loaner fridge on the porch.  And, we have another loaner fridge in the garage this time (G and daughter could not manage getting the thing up stairs and onto the porch) because the "new" fridge freezer stopped working.  The poor fan motor will probably burn out--it keeps trying to get the freezer to freeze.   Repair---- well, they'll call if they "find" someone to come out.  Sigh.  And we have a repair contract.

Lowe's comes to the rescue again but they also had a 3 to 4 day delay in delivering the loaner fridge.  So G went to get it with the trailer and S and G had to tip it off the trailer (and hope it didn't crush our daughter) and then just plug it in out there.  We don't need the freezer section as often as we needed the fridge portion last summer.  So, out in the garage is okay.

We lost a lot of things though.  The packaged berries from last summer were the first things to soften. So, they are now feeding the compost pile.  And what didn't fit into the tinier freezer--well, some is in the fridge (where we can hopefully cook and eat it) and the rest will be in tomorrow's garbage pick up.

I have to say-----I really, truly, deeply, hate this fridge and regret buying it.

I hate having to spend time (always) listening to the on and off of the motors and fans (right now it is constant) and wondering if they are on too long or starting too slow etc. etc.  I also have gotten in the habit of testing the firmness of the butter to judge whether the fridge is cooling.  Every single day.

I think we have a real LEMON here.  And from reading comments--it will never be resolved.  Our only recourse is to call it a loss and buy another refrigerator.  $2400 lost.  I just HATE the thought of that.  And what guarantee that the next fridge will be any better?  We have two more years on the extended warranty (parts and service) but the anxiety is taking a toll on my nerves.

The Times Are Changing Again

When I was in college in the mid sixties I started out with curfews and bed checks.  We were in lock down mode resembling a women's prison most of the time.  We had to be wearing stockings and a skirt or dress in order to stand in the cafeteria line for the meals our parents paid for. The men's dorms were open 24/7.  But they had to worry about Viet Nam.

My senior year, I could have worn nothing at all and gotten my meal.  No questions.  There were also no curfews or bed checks.  The school and dorm administrators just didn't seem to care where we were or what we were doing. We had the Pill.  Drug use was everywhere (which is why we now have so many commercials for Hepatitis drugs).

I went from living the life of a nun in a convent to...... what would you call it?

In the early years of marriage (happened just after I finished school), we witnessed drug users in the streets (we hoped they were just sleeping and not dead) on the sidewalks in Atlanta where we lived and where our children were born (under the Confederate Flag).  Men visited the moon, Civil Rights, Medicare etc.  The Times They Were A Changing.

Who even thought that at 68.5 I would be witness to another, mind blowing, set of changes.... A Black man as President--for two terms. The Affordable Care Act being given the Supreme Court stamp of approval.  Everyone gets to see the doctor and be well ( I can tell you I am forever grateful for Medicare coverage and Social Security)). Marriage is a right for every American (wow).  The Confederate Flag is now being seen for what it really is--- the on going Civil War---which in some states never ended.  Now Walmart says it's over.

I'm left hopeful that someday a woman will be President.  In my lifetime. Right now we can celebrate a woman climbing to take down the flag in South Carolina.  And being arrested.  Right on!

The Last Booksale Set-Up

There seem to be more "last time" things and fewer "first time" things this year.  I'm not sure how I feel about the "last" book sale set up.  It wasn't without it's bumps and irritations so, I'm thinking, I am glad this part of my summer plans for the past 18 years is over.

The month of June will no longer be "before" the sale and then "after" the sale.  It'll just be June.
When the garden gets filled with plants. And there were no books I actually wanted to buy.

Even though it rained yesterday, G had to water everything.  The super hot 80 degree sun got the best of all the little transplanted tomatoes, peppers and squashes.  It got the best of me as well.  And since straight up sunshine is a no-no while I am on the meds--well, it was good to not be at the greenhouse and better to be in the junior high gym, even though I worked harder, lifted too many heavy boxes and had to put up with a woman who kept saying "what a great job you're doing etc etc" to every volunteer.  Like a cheerleader.  Of course it might have been because I was doing all the heavy lifting and she didn't say it to me.  (OMG if she had--- makes me want to laugh out loud)

Since it was cold yesterday, we had roast turkey, baked sweet potatoes, Stove Top stuffing and cognac infused cranberries left over from last Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving dinner is just the best meal there is, I think, and G agrees.

Now I am taking a shower and putting on my jammies.  Stick a fork in me---I'm done.

I'm Doing Fine

Thank you for all the kind words and wishes for my continued good health.  Me, too.

The pills seem to agree with me--which is not always the case with me.  I am eating my daily yogurt with sweet cherries which are on sale right now.  What a delightful treat.

As a side bar, the pills seem to be having an affect on others things.  My ankles are no longer swollen. They are just regular sized.  My knee doesn't ache.  I have lost weight (along with my appetite). So, it's all delightfully good.  I must be a treasure trove of inflammation and infection.

I'm wondering if I could be put on a prolonged daily treatment?????

I am spraying myself with SPF 50 at work, wearing long sleeves when I can and a hat out in the perennial yard (when I remember to bring my hat) and sitting down to do plant clean up when I feel fatigued.  Yes, I am working.  I know---what an idiot.

I don't feel sick.  Just a bit dizzy now and again but that could also be dehydration from the heat.

I bought bags and bags of ice pops for the kids at work--most have just graduated and are heading off to colleges and technical schools.  Very exciting days if I remember my own summer after high school.  I was 17.  I mostly remember being terrified of going away to college.

I'm off to the shower and then G and I will eat dinner.  Some chicken nuggets and red skin potato salad.  The grocery deli did the cooking.

I Have Lyme's Disease

G pulled a tick off my hip about three weeks ago.  On a Monday.  By Wednesday I had the fever which lasted three days.  And after the fever I was very tired and listless.

This is when I should have gone to the doctor.

I have had a small red spot with a black dot in the center.  A larger red rash spot. Then smaller.  Then larger.  My knee started aching but hasn't swelled.

I have gone to the doctor today, (been given hell for not coming in sooner), purchased my antibiotics and will be on them for 3 weeks.  I have yogurt with live cultures to eat while taking the pills. I have spray on sunscreen and have to be well covered and wear a hat if I go outside as the antibiotic will make me very sun sensitive.  I work in a greenhouse and out in the sunny perennial yard.

If I wear long sleeves, long pants and a hat at work (which is what the doctor has ordered me to do)---I will certainly pass out from overheating since the greenhouse potting bench is regularly in the 90's and up to 110 on hot summer days. How I will deal with this is up in the air.  I am trying to deal with the news of the Lyme disease.

Sigh.  It's always something.

Short Circuited

I am exhausted.   I wake up tired.  Go to sleep tired.  In between I stumble about getting myself breakfast, packing a lunch and working.  So many people.  So many gardening problems.

I am thinking a good "being sick" would be very welcome.  Not that I was well rested after the fever. I never actually slept.  Just kept dropping off and then would wake up searching for a cold spot to put my head.  Sigh.

I suggested to my employer that three days off a week (in a row) would be very much appreciated when we hit the slower, summer months.  I would be less likely to be "testy" on the other four days at work.  He exclaimed in surprise, "when are you testy??"  When am I not?

I finished "The Girl On The Train".  I had guessed who done it by the last fourth of the book.  I wonder why other readers were so shocked?  When I went to the library--they gave me The Secret Place AGAIN so I am going to try and read a few more chapters and then return it.  I checked out the new fiction shelves and didn't recognize any of the authors.

Now I am going to reheat my coffee, have a dark chocolate caramel and sit in front of the television until it's time to sleep.  Tomorrow is a day off and I have tons of gardening to do.  My own problems to solve.

Scarecrow Made From Burlap Coffee Bags

Now that the local coffee roaster is giving all that lovely "chaff" to the compost start up --which means finding compost additions to my bins has all but dried up--- I now can turn to using the burlap bags I did get along with the chaff.   Though with the weather we are having here in Maine-- hardly anything is growing.  So cold.  So cloudy.  So not June.

The house has been painted.  A very soft calm green trio.  So peaceful I can almost fall asleep while looking at the house.

New shutters are ordered and --after being painted--will be installed.

The new front of the house windows have been ordered (casement with full "lites") and a new back door.  The old one had so much water damage that it was an embarrassment to the painting contractor. (not us)  We had boards replaced on the house as well.  So, now the house is properly maintained and ready for the the next 10 to 15 years.

The grass is looking very green and luscious.  Not a weed in sight.  Perhaps we should sell the house now???  Not a chance.

The flowering almond--flowered.  The crab trees were rather glorious this year.  The lilac thanked us for the move to a new spot and the pruning I gave it last fall--many fragrant deep purple blooms.  Right now the rhodies are flowering.  White, pink and deep rose red.  The cameo quince and the beach plum were very well flowered.

The vegetable garden?  Not so good.  No carrots.  Five or six beets.  No kohlrabi.  Plenty of garlic, onions and shallots.  Kale, mustard and lettuces are nicely represented by tiny little green dots.  A few nasturtiums are up.  My inside (under the lights) seedlings are nice and sturdy.  French eggplants, cucumbers and zinnias.  The tomato starts are in the wagon, outside.  Going into the garage on cold nights (and days).

Riley has a new hobby.  Chipmunks have taken up residence in the blackberry thicket.  They come "prancing" out, tails up, tempting Riley to give chase.  He does and they run back into the thicket and Riley, having learned the blackberry branches can hurt his nose, runs, silent, right up to the thicket.  G and I watch as he very slowly moves, muscles trembling--wanting to go, and creeps ever closer.  The painters would stop work to watch and wait--to see if he got one.  It's only a matter of time.

The squirrels have departed after losing one to Riley and a second to a hawk.

The backyard is a dangerous hunting ground.

I returned to work after the 5 days of sick time.  I am ambivalent.  But this time, unlike other times, I am not that eager to return to work.  Perhaps this job has run it's course.

I just pulled a Georgia peach cobbler out of the oven.  Reminding me of the six years we lived there, had two children and I learned to cook.  We are having pizza today.  G has finally agreed to veggie pizza as the normal choices (sausage, pepperoni) are too fatty for his heart healthy diet.  I plan to put sauteed fennel bulbs and onion on my side.  Onions, mushrooms, a few peppers, and some olives on his side.  Perhaps some ham.  Rehab is going well.  The lectures have been well received (veggie pizza) and he seems to enjoy going to the three times a week exercise hours.

Well, it's time to start in on some housework.  I'm reading "The Girl On The Train" (well, I haven't started yet) after reading "Broken Harbor" by Tana French.  I stopped reading "Secret Place" by same author as it bored me to sleep.  Seems like every other one is worth reading.  The Likeness was also a snooze.  Any book suggestions?????

Someday

I have lived most (all) of my life putting things off until "someday" and this fever I have had has sort of caused me to think--is this, now, someday?  Or have I missed "someday" and gone directly to "too late now".

I have (will have) been home rather than at work for four full days.  It feels like weeks.  It feels good. I have forgotten about work and haven't worried or fretted about what I may have "missed".   I have rested.  While the fever was attacking--I tossed and turned. But once it passed--I rested.

Just sitting.  Letting time pass and wash over me.  No time clock to punch.  No place to be.  Not even any meals to prepare.  G and I just stopped eating it seems.  I remember making food on Monday and Tuesday.  G must be eating that.  I have existed on well spaced cheese sandwiches.  On hamburger buns.  Just two slices of cheese and the bun.  No heat, no toasting, no condiments.  Each bite taking forever to chew until I had to fall asleep from the effort.  Looks like I had 4 of them over 3 days.

The house is being painted.  There are so many decisions to make.  This color here or here?  These two side by side?  What about this?  I fear I am making all the WRONG choices and the house will look like a JOKE.  Good thing we have so many trees.

I am going out to a friend's right now--in the car.  For tea and to look at books.  Should be enough excitement to generate a nap when I get home.

Sick Days

I was slammed by a fever and headache after work on Wednesday and have been in bed since. Not eating and not drinking.  Just rolling around trying to find a "cool spot" for my head.

Today the fever is gone--as of now-- but I am dizzy and taking long rest periods on the couch.

I hear "this" is going around but what it is--don't have a clue.  I was very worried it had to do with the two ticks I found on myself earlier in the week.  Dog ticks but not the more dangerous deer ticks.

Got to go rest.  This writing was too much for me.  Sigh.

Seedlings

I made the newspaper cylinders but didn't use them.  Why?  I guess the correct answer is that I forgot I had made them.   Today I transplanted all my little "from seed" tomatoes to pots.  Solo rather than the group pots they had started out in.  Some liked it and others--not so much.

I also "pricked" the tiny zinnia seedlings out of their group pots and now they are in single pots. They didn't like it either (getting all droopy)  but a refreshing gulp of fish emulsion seems to have perked everyone up.  I transplanted the calendula seedlings directly into the garden.

My garden beds look like little green dot drawings.  Everything is sprouting but still very very tiny. I have planted what I actually eat, not what I think I should plant.  I eat carrots, radishes, mixed salad greens (I have two kinds of kale, mustard, arugula, escarole, spinach and mixed salad) the other bed is full of radishes, kohlrabi (I hope), carrots and beets.  Yes!!! Finally I have beets seeds that grew.

Another bed is full of garlic (planted last October), red onions and yellow onions, shallots (two varieties) and sprinkled with scallion (green onion) seeds.  I also have three very large chive clumps.

My peppers and tomatoes aren't ready to go into the garden yet.  And I have cucumber seeds planted in the hot box along with squash and zucchini.  The seedlings at work are calling to me, but I am resolute and will be growing from seed this year.  I want lots and lots of cucumbers for my cucumber water drink, my cucumbers in sour cream and for dill pickles.

I have worked very long and hard tilling amendments into the raised beds to add nutrition.  Last year's garden was a struggle.  I added coffee bean chaff to the beds to "lighten" up the soil plus fertilizer and quick acting lime.  Some of the beds got cow manure as well--the beds for squashes, tomatoes and peppers.  Heavy feeders.

My pea plants are up and trying to grab onto the supporting wires I have arranged for them.  I planted them at the correct Maine time--Fourth of July is steamed red potatoes, fresh picked peas and salmon. I don't know why but I would guess it's because this would be the first "fresh" meal after a terribly long winter of eating stored or jarred foods.

I am trying to empty the freezer.  I want to have room for blackberries, ice cream and stacks of chicken breasts pounded flat and ready to be marinaded and slapped on the grill.  I bought 6 ears of corn today at the grocery--- why do we have corn already?  I skipped the watermelon.  But did buy a branch of red tomatoes which I hope will soften up on the counter in the next few days.

I made a compote of rhubarb, frozen strawberries and orange juice to eat with yogurt.  I also have enough cucumbers to make gallons of my "drink"--because my ankles and hands are swelling--too much salt.  I didn't have any drink last week and missed it terribly.  Which reminds me--to add more cucumber slices to the half gallon of water I have in the fridge.

Back to work tomorrow and the house painters will be here later tomorrow morning to get started. Unless it's raining.  Which would be rather a good thing for my little seedlings.

The House Is Getting Painted

Not like this.  G is selecting the colors.  The house was sage green when G first saw it and purchased it.  I saw the house the day we closed.  Yep.  We bought a house I had never seen.

I chose the present color--Shortbread (Martha Stewart) and everyone--including me, hates it.  The painting contractor is/was disgusted by the "cookie" color and the  bright rhododendron colored green shutters.  I thought the paint would fade.  Then I prayed the paint would fade.  But the guy who does the painting, is so good that even 10 years later--it looks like it did the day they finished painting the house.

G has chosen sage green.  He has also chosen--by the painting contractor's rule book--- the light shade which is two values removed from the sage green (the house body color) and the dark is two shades the other direction on the color stick.  He also purchased pints of the colors he was considering and I made color swatches on the front of the house.  It looks like a very odd quilt.

G wants the house to look like it did when he fell in love with it in 1991.  I just want the man to be happy.  I still love the green shutters.  I actually had the color people make the paint from an actual rhododendron leaf.

Update On G's ongoing incision.  Finally the surgeon sent G to the Wound Center nurse.  We have moved on from the daily wet/dry dressing to a "matrix" which is a sort of foam imbedded with collagen and antibiotics.  I pack it in and cover with gauze and tape.  In 7 days the opening has closed 67%.  Very fast working stuff.  Too fast.  As the outer edges cannot be allowed to close before the inner layers have healed.  The nurse may have to "re-open" things.  It's always something isn't it?

The most interesting part of this is that the company that makes this foam "matrix" is located on the repurposed Navy base in our Town.  The company is from Sweden or Finland.  They make the foam here in Brunswick and then ship it back to Europe where the healing medicals are added and then it comes back to the Wound Center and the nurse gives it to G.  Imagine, in a few years, having bandaids with this foam to put on burns or cuts and healing 67% faster than usual.  Imagine having something like this to use in Burn Units.  Right now it's being used to heal or prevent bed sores in hospitalized patients.

G's surgery and recovery have opened both our eyes to how much the medical side of life has changed while we weren't paying any attention.

Calming Path

I am invited to "turn inward" tomorrow for the Dark Moon and "see" the path I should be traveling in the coming years.  I wonder if I can "google" "turn inward".   I guess it would be like meditating.
I would love to have an idea of what my future should look like.  I tend to just blunder along without a thought.

I have tomorrow off and my intentions are to get things going in the garden.  One more bed needs work (possibly a second one) and then I can seed the one bed with kale, rocket, chard and possibly a mixed green (lettuce) mixture.  The bed was full of cabbages last year.  And cabbage worms. Since I rarely harvest more than one good cabbage---I decided to spend my space on things I actually buy and eat.  Greens.

G didn't make nearly enough carrot seed tapes so I got him to make more.  I may even make more myself.  I love carrots.  And beets.  We planted some beet seeds and I hope they come up this year.  I got one woody little beet last year, but lots of turnips.  This year it's kohlrabi.  I like eating that raw. I am trying a heirloom radish--long like a carrot and pale pink on the outside and "crisp" inside.  We'll see.

My seedlings are not thriving.  The tomatoes have purple leaves.  I looked it up and I think it might be too cold for them in the house.  But the websites say it's not a bad thing and they will "outgrow" it and be just fine.  I have quite a few of the Lowe's zinnias.  The first batch has their second leaves. Perky and all green.  No purple leaves.  No basil.  For some reason I just can't grow basil. It must be a curse or something.

We started selling cucumber seedlings today at work.  Way too chilly for little cucumbers but people are buying them.  I am making, and drinking, my cucumber and lemon water to keep myself hydrated at work.  I think the bottle holds nearly 8 cups of water which is 7 cups more than I usually drink. The water with it's light cucumber flavor goes down easy.  I have no idea why.  I also take a quart canning jar with me to work filled with cold coffee, Splenda and cream.  Then I don't need "take out" coffee during the day.

Well, I am covered in dirt and need a shower and my clothes need to be put in the washer.  I think I might finish my library book tonight.  That will be a major accomplishment.

G is doing fine (I know you all like updates).  He likes cardio rehab and they worked him hard today (treadmill on 5% incline).  He doesn't like the lectures-- today's was on fiber and if there is a food group G doesn't like--it's fiber.  No grains, lentils, beans etc for him.  He gardens most days, walks 2 miles with Riley and has cut our grass (it took 2 hours) and cut the neighbor's lawn (not on the same day).   His "zipper" wound is doing great and he is now going to the Wound Clinic and has some new "magic stuff" that I will be inserting each day to make the wound heal a bit faster.  It looks like foam pads.  All this activity has increased his appetite so he is eating better now.  I was a bit worried about too many skipped meals.  His heart is working perfectly.

Container Gardens & Mother's Day

I have been teaching quite a few classes this Spring and container gardening was most often.  I have a few tips to share with you but the most important one is---use something out of the ordinary for the container.  Like a tower of tin tubs topped with a watering can like this shop has made for their window.  I found it on pinterest.

Container Tips.

1.  Only use light soil made specifically for containers.  It has to do with "Physics" which I never studied but the heavy soils (which are NOT meant for containers) have no where to "dissipate" and the pressure goes outward toward the side of the container and then pushes back and crushes the plants roots.

2.  Use a 4 or 6 month fertilizer in the form of little beads.  Osmacote is what I have used at home and at work.

3.  Use Moisture Crystals--the smallest amount as they soak up water and enlarge and if you use too many--well, your plants will "pop" right out of the window box after a big rain.  The nice thing about the crystals is they provide "insurance" in case you forget to water or the day gets really hot between the before work watering and the after work watering.

4.  Baby Diapers.  I have learned that the new diapers contain Moisture Crystals and I noticed on Pinterest that a Master Gardener used diapers to line containers, baskets and window boxes.  Anyone tried this?  The new gal at work has a 3 year old who just outgrew diapers and she has a few extras.  So we are going to give it a try.  I love a good experiment.  I intend to poke holes in the diapers so the excess water can drain away, but this may not be possible with these new age diapers.  We'll see.

5.  Containers need something tall or striking (thriller) something to drip over the edges (spiller) and something to fill in to make the container look full (filler).  Thrillers are usually singular--as too much of them starts to look like "filler" and the shock value is lost.  I have used shrubs, rose bushes and large indoor plants for the "Thrill" of it.  Spillers are typically that old standby--sweet potato vine.  Only it gets carried away and you are left with boxes, containers and window boxes that just look like a "whole lotta sweet potato vine".  I like lobelia.  It's cloud-like and rather romantic.  Filler can be petunias or anything like that.  Stuff that has lots of flowers and color.


6.  Shade plants for shade and sun plants for sun.  Period.

7.  Odd containers.  We had some succulents planted in an old boot.  Herbs planted in an old used colander with big handles.  Houseplants in a wire basket lined with wet sheet moss.  I am trying to get G to free an old mailbox from the wood support he screwed it to and I will lay a filled container on it's side in the box with the "flap" in the open position.  What pretty mail!  My employer is giving me some cash to go shopping at Goodwill for interesting containers.  I have been hoping for a birdcage or a chandelier.  A nice old wooden wine box would be great as well.  We used to have a wine shop but it's now a "trendy" small plate restaurant.  You know--$75 for dinner and you leave hungry.

8.  Have fun.  A container is a short timer.  You aren't building a relationship with it.  If it works--great.  If not--well, you can always take it apart and start over.  I rebuilt some garden boxes three or four or five times today.  I lost track.  In the end they looked good.  In between, well, not so great.  Easy to fix.

9.  And Happy Mother's Day.  I always love taking orders from sons, daughters and daughter's in law for their moms.  It's been a good week at work.  Lots of love.

10. A special Thank You to my own daughter for lugging the five foot fig tree down from the attic to the back porch.  All by herself.  Dad and I were surprised to find it by the door when we got home from our walk with Riley.  

And Suddenly...Winter Disappeared

We are enjoying warm weather here in Maine.  70's.  Which was what the temp was last.....well, I think it was last August.  I am NOT complaining.  Warm is most excellent.

G has been to 2 Cardio Rehab classes.  He doesn't like the lectures but does enjoy the stretching and exercises and after--in the cool down segment of rehab, he has been meditating.  The RN is concerned re: his blood pressure is too low for her comfort.  100/60.  G learned to meditate when he took karate lessons.  There was stretching, action and meditation.  Now, he uses that experience in rehab.  Perhaps they should teach all the participants to meditate?

I am now working five full days.  It happened last week.  I wasn't asked and, truth be told, I hadn't noticed.  But when I did notice I was suddenly exhausted. (laughing)

I am overjoyed to have tomorrow off.  I started digging in the herb bed on Sunday (after shopping for socks) and managed to wrestle the outlaw mint plants out of the path and out from under the raised bed--where they had made their "escape".  I even have a bag of soil to re-locate them in sturdy pots.
My peas are popping up their little heads in the far right bed and all the rescued bulbs (blown flowers) are now tucked into new homes in the back yard beds.

The rhubarb has been given lobster compost in hopes of a large supply of rhubarb this year.  I think the rhubarb is having a difficult time in the very sandy soil where it is planted.  I added two full bags of compost and I think I could even add two more.  I mixed it in well and the resulting soil was looking very sandy---still.

We have three tiny "christmas trees" to plant somewhere in the back lawn.  Really tiny.  About 18 inches high.  Adorable.  I have a large bag filled with moss for future fairy gardens.  I have seeds to start in my styrofoam "hot box".  I have the carrot beds to fertilize and refresh before planting the toilet paper carrot seed tapes. It's too warm the next two days.  I need a few cloudy, cool days with light rain.

I have tomorrow off.  Lovely stuff.  A day off.

Looks Like The Guest Room Upstairs

Really.  I don't think there are many rooms like this, but I could be wrong.

I am working too much I think.  Had a lovely walk in the woods today with Riley and my friend. Then G and I worked on the pile of dirt the snow plow dumped on the street edge of the property. I did most of it but G helped.

Reading a good book--Broken Harbor by Tana French.

My seedlings are doing very well in the styrofoam "hot box"--with one pot of tomato seeds germinating in just 30 hours.  The flat leaf parsley isn't doing anything.  I may need to try again. Right now I have five pots of seeds under lights and five in the box.

I need an extra day off this week and I might be able to get the carrots, kohlrabi and onions into the garden.  Do you think I could actually manage to get an extra day off????  Didn't think so.

Overwhelmed With Post It's

This would be a horrible idea.  All those notes to one's self dangling overhead.  Unless of course they are notes of love and devotion overhead for a birthday or anniversary.

I have a list on the pantry door.  A long list. Which is bad enough. Some of it is things to do and some of it is things to think about.  I have an additional list of recipes to make or just think about.  My appointment with my doctor is on May 6th and I am FAR away from the number we agreed on.  I am seriously trying but I think I will have to ask for help.  Either a program or a medicine.

I eat mostly yogurt with fruit (from the freezer and my garden) or a salad with some kind of protein.  Right now it's a green salad with carrots and no dressing and pile of crock pot BBQ'ed pork. I sometimes have tuna salad with the plain greens and carrot. I now have a recipe for curried chickpeas that I can use for the protein but a commenter on the Simple Veganista blog said she made the curried recipe with a can of tuna.  I also love the plain greens with chicken salad.  No carbs.

I think my problem is not eating when I actually feel hungry.  It's not time to eat, or I am too busy to eat or I have nothing proper to eat when I get hungry.  Then I just eat (random) things and never feel satisfied. I need to eat sitting down.  Slowly.  I just wish it worked out that way at work.  But it doesn't.  I was halfway through my yogurt with peaches and raspberries when the truck arrived yesterday and then failed to make myself a proper salad when it was time to eat at home.  So the day was a fail.  Breakfast is working just fine.

And my knee has started to hurt like it did last Spring.  No swelling yet.  I have the pad stuck to the side of my foot and I am using this roller thing my daughter got from the running store.  You roll it over tight muscles (which are tender so it isn't a pleasant feeling until you stop) and you feel better. She used it for ankle tendon issues and foot pain.  I rolled it over my back (and G's) and then up and down the back of my right knee.  It feels better this morning.  I think it's the abrupt return to the cement greenhouse floors and the uneven gravel in the perennial yard.  And I'm getting older and older and doing the same amount of physical labor.  I was 60 when I started this job and now I am 68.5.  And this year I have all the work at home to do as well.  I have limited my exposure to work (how fun is that?) to 3.5 days.  So, I go to work 4 days a week but get to leave early on one of those days.  Two hours early.  The maximum time I am sitting on those four days is 15 to 30 minutes.  The rest of the time I am standing, walking, bending or hauling things around.  Why am I so fat?????

I brought a foam Omaha Steaks cooler box from work (the dumpster) and inserted my seed starting mat into the bottom and my pots of seeds.  G says it's too warm.  But I think it might be "just right" with the lid a bit off to the side.  The pink zinnias (8 of the seeds) have germinated already but not much else.  Seeds need heat to germinate quickly.  Especially the tomato seeds.

I have seeds (new to me) named for two WWII dictators.  One from Italy (Mussolini) and one variety from Romania.  Collected by Italians coming to America and the other from an oil contractor bringing a ripe tomato home from Romania.  Both are supposed to be very delicious. Tomato growing is never boring.

The house across the street from me is now up for sale.  The advertisement had 36 photos of the rooms in the house.  It all looks so "artificial" (and gorgeous) but I hope nice people come to look and buy.  My neighbor can no longer afford to live across the street from me.  A combination of employment issues, poor health and rising property taxes.

I Wish I Had Tomorrow Off

I got used to having Sunday and Monday off.  And now I have to go to work on Monday.  Poo.

The Fairy Garden I made as a sample sold just as I was going to get it to show to the people in my vegetable gardening class.  So, after class, I had to build another one.  Quickly.

Three people showed up to build a fairy garden and one of them was seven years old with the attention span of a gnat.  Her sharp little voice was more than I could stand but I just counted to ten and kept saying "not yet" as she tried doing things out of order.  Later I realized the older woman with her was so much worse.  At that point, the seven year old had run off to look for a "fairy" and was unavailable for me to appreciate.  All three gardens looked very nice.

I then used the extra container to make a second "sample" for anyone wanting a fairy garden.  I used up the entire bag of mosses Riley and I collected and all the bark and twigs and most of the acorns and caps (the seven year old wanted her fairy to have a complete set of dinner plates).  No one made a fairy banner but I think the seven year old might have liked it--if she had stayed around more.  But--searching for fairies is difficult work.

Today, G and I went to Patty's house to help prune her grapes.  When we got there it was warm but the chill arrived mid-way.  It was hard getting G to "not over do" in the physical work.  He was supposed to sit in the lawn chair and supervise.  I circled some of the vines in a box for future grape vine wreath making.  The remainder of the vines got clipped--by me-- into an easily moved pile of same size pieces.  About 3 feet tall.

Now we are home.  Riley threw up his supper. And I was ever so pleased he did so on the plain wooden floor and not on the beige carpet.  I found the new shoe laces I had misplaced.  I have 8 containers of seeds planted and sitting on top of the heating pad (one made for plants) and feel like I am actually "getting somewhere".  G has a large quantity of "seed tape" made up for carrots and kohlrabi.  We use toilet paper and flour and water paste.  Beets next time.  I have already planted my peas.  I did not get to pick up the tree limbs and branches off the front lawn.  I had wanted to get that done today.  It'll have to wait.

And This Is What I Have Been Doing......

Teaching Classes.  Working.  Being Nurse Joanne.  Not Cooking.  Walking The Dog.

All this activity has also increased my weight. Yeah.  Go figure how that works.

On Tuesday I taught two classes after being at work from open to 3 pm.  My day lasted exactly 12 hours and then I got to go home and change the dressing on G's "zipper" which has opened due to an allergic reaction to the stitches.  It's healing and the surgeon's office is happy with my work.

G is actually doing very well.  He sits in the sunshine most afternoons and gets his dose of vitamin D from the sun, sleeps well, is reading his book at a good clip, and even did a bit of repair work on his webbed lawn chair when it self destructed the other day.  In between, he is driving himself to a multitude of doctor's appointments and tomorrow is his first day at Cardio Rehab.

The photo up top is of a Fairy Garden.   Saturday I am teaching Small Space Gardening at 10 am and Build a Fairy Garden at 2 pm.  I am so looking forward to this class.  Right now I only have one person signed up but, hopefully, the little "demo" garden I made up today will interest somebody else.

On my walk with Riley after work (my days are long), in the woods, (which has finally shed about 75% of it's snow cover), I collected lots of bark, moss and lichens.  Two handsful and a pile more between my arm and shoulder.  Tomorrow (my day off) Riley and I will be digging up moss for the class.  I like a Fairy Garden to look "woodsy".  Like the fairy just left home to go looking for an acorn cap to use as her dinner plate.  The Borrowers books were big favorites of mine.  All those tiny things they "borrowed" from the house for their little house.  Matchboxes for beds, etc.

Which brings me round to my weight.  Way more than I thought it would be.  I am feeling quite defeated as I haven't really been eating badly since March 4th.  I think I had salads in the hospital cafeteria most days.  Not much for dinner.  Always bran flakes for breakfast.  Most days it's yogurt and fruit for lunch and a salad for dinner.  Treats are limited to popcorn or a Dairy Queen cone. I'm going to "think" it's water retention and hope for better things tomorrow.  But my ring isn't tight.

And that's what is going on here.  It's all good.  I do have to collect all the sticks and twigs off the lawn (front and back) and then G might show me how to use the gas powered brush to get all the sand off the lawn out by the street.  Orphan Black is coming back on this week.  The Americans is getting very dark and it was nice to see Joss back on Person of Interest which has rating problems due to all the boring Samaritan story line which seems endless.  And Shaw is gone.  Presumed dead.  All the best shows end up doing something to kill the ratings.  Even Elementary.

Happy Easter Everyone

Nothing I like better than polka dot rabbits.  Well, carrots are pretty good, too.

I worked today.  And no one cooked dinner.  So we went to Chinese and G had a big bowl of hot and sour soup.  He is always feeling cold these days.  It could be the meds that are slowing his heart rate or it could just be a lack of exercise.  He walks but mostly he sits and reads or sleeps.  He starts cardio rehab later in the month.

I am back to work.  Three and one half days.  I find I enjoy having 3 days off.  This week two of them were in a row and that was very nice indeed.  I set those two days aside for doing the taxes but I only needed five hours on the first day.  So, the second day was like a holiday.

I wish I had planned ahead and cut some branches to force in the house.  I have a lovely collection of eggs and rabbits from my years in Germany and loved having an Easter Tree to decorate the house back then.  I always forget to do the same here in the US of A.  Why?  Holidays were so much easier to plan for in Germany.  The shops had plenty of tiny eggs and rabbits for sale.  Not candy and toys.
I don't even know what is traditional to eat on Easter in Germany.  Or I have forgotten.  Marimo will you remind me????

Next year.  Remind me.  I need a calendar for 2016 to write notes into.  Like the past me reminding the future me of important dates.  I remember doing that one December.  Writing in the new year calendar where I had put the new lights and decorations I had purchased in the after holiday sales.
And, true to form--by the next December I had forgotten about them.  Great to see the reminder.

Now---I need to find a 2016 calendar.

Doing Our Taxes

Kicking and Screaming.  I always leave this to the last and then it takes all of three or four hours and I bang my forehead on the desk and yell "why did I wait?".  And here we are again.

My excuse this year is G's heart.  Not that I didn't have the time (I didn't) but that he hadn't installed the updated tax program before having the heart attack.

This is my story and I'll stick to it.

Another page in the history of our marriage.  I am forever a procrastinator.  Writing this is procrastination.  Picking dead, dry leaves off a fern, that was also.  Oddly enough, I do some things when procrastinating that would be the things not being done by others who procrastinate.  I do laundry, wash dishes, change bedding, take down and wash heavy large curtain panels, wash windows, vacuum, weed the garden etc etc.  Those things don't bother me.  I will even iron huge baskets full of shirts.  And starch them.  No problem.

Taxes?  Problem.  Paying Bills?  Problem.  Car Servicing? Problem.  Driver's License Renewal? Problem.  My own doctor's appointments?  Problem.  Appointments At the Bank?  Problem. Learning New Computer Software?  Forget about it.

And that's the post for today.  I have to stop now or lose whatever slight momentum I have to actually get the taxes done today.  OMG.