Accessible Gardening: #20 Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners, 1 by seacanepain

seacanepain wrote:
Yes, Carrie, it was only the mattress I replaced. The bed frame goes with the nightstands and I like the mahogany finish. You know Kay and re-cycling though. There was no loading the old bed into the truck and taking it to the landfill. By the time she was finished, what was left of the old bed fit into a trash bag.
Foam padding that was still good, was turned into a travel bed for the van. The box spring was stood up on its edge, partnered with an identical box spring and turned into a green wall to disguise an utility area. Thick, king-sized pieces of cloth were turned into weed block for a gravel area. Those rolls of weed barrier cloth I’ve bought from the nursery didn’t do their job. Our weeds are vigorous enough to poke through them in a single season. It saved money and we got to feel very environmentally responsible, But Kay was singing her personal version of that Kermit the Frog song, It Ain’t Easy Being Green. Kay’s lyrics are unpublishable, but here is Kermit’s version for those who don’t have kids around and have never been Muppet fans
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Bein'_Green?file=Sesame_Str...
I didn’t do much lifting. I was able to slide the mattress through the house on its edge after Nadi got it out of the back of the truck. It was in a plastic bag and slid easily, but they yelled at me for even doing that. I’m telling you I live with tyrants!
What did you finally decide on as the best bedding option for you, Carrie? I’ve experimented with most of the choices looking for the most comfortable. Water beds actually cause more back pain in my case and apartment realtors were always wary when they found out I had one. Those expensive, select your own firmness level beds aren’t always made with safe, allergy free material and are a nightmare when the air pump starts leaking in the middle of the night. Memory foam? Allergy problem again. I finally went back to a traditional, firm mattress minus the pillowtop. I’ve slept well so far and I can get out of the bed without trouble or assistance
The physical therapist at the hospital taught me to use a technique called a log roll for getting in and out of bed without twisting my spine. I learned the first day home from the hospital that it is nearly impossible to do the maneuver on a soft, pillowtop mattress. I try to replace mattresses every few years anyway. I wear them out quickly in my eternal search for that elusive, pain free sleeping position.
I would not forget all my little ladies. The honeybees now have their crocus for early season forage. It is vital to the health of the hive that the bees leave the wild yellow Jessamine blooms alone. The best way to insure that is to have something in bloom at the same time as the Jessamine that the bees will find irresistible. That isn’t an easy job since the Jessamine can bloom during warm spells in January. We are pinning our hopes on paper white narcissus, two types of redbud and crocus. They also seem to like the willow and it blooms very early.
Hospitals are supposed to employ registered dieticians. You would think they could come up with something a little more creative for those on a liquid diet. Kay got Jell-O, popsicles, juice and a nasty tasting version of Ensure. I know because after I fussed at her for not drinking the Ensure, she made me taste it. Gross. None of the other Ensure varieties I ever tasted were bad. The hospital managed to find the only one that tasted horrible.
It doesn’t sound like there is much to those stories about the ease of prison life. I’ll keep that in mind should I ever be tempted to make money the easy way.
Thanks for the mini lesson on the symbolism of the traditional plants in a Japanese garden. I lived in Okinawa for about four years. I should know more than I do. I just know I liked the look and feel of Japanese style gardens. I know bamboo is associated with wisdom and sages and that has something to do with the fact it is hollow. I never quite followed the connection. Youthful experiences really are wasted on the young. I would get far more out of that amount of time spent in Japan now.
The flowering and seeding of bamboo is a botanical mystery. All bamboo of the same kind blooms at the same time no matter where it is in the world. It dies after producing flowers and seeds the way agave does.
Nadi has one of those emotive faces. You can guess what cards are in her hand by watching her face. Kay . on the other hand, has a mask-like Siberian face and her eyes are usually hidden behind sunglasses. I’ve learned to watch her hands to gauge her moods. If her fingers are dancing around and there is no keyboard beneath them, it’s a bad sign. I’m not sure about myself.
(Jim)
Pic: Yummy Pears