This is the Hobbit house.
What are you working on??
Those are really cute
they are kinda cute
I love them!! :)
love them!!!
GMTA!!!
^_^
Thanks, I think the grandkids will like them. The two structures will need to be a little taller to accommodate the height of the doors which is a little larger than I estimated originally.
I see the Hobbit has its own stepstones.
They would probably be hiding under grasses here. Worked on iris beds this morning & came in for the day. No weeding in 80° temp for me.
I'm glad ya'll like it.
Victor - I first injured my back when I was 13 and had surgery at 19, so I have a long history of back trouble. Turns out I have spondylosthesis right above the surgery, meaning that vertebra is out of alignment with the others. Luckily it is very mild, though when I bed over it gets worse and puts a lot of pressure on the disk below. After the MRI, you can see how that disk, which used to be fine pre-surgery, is now quite degenerative and even bulging. This makes 2 (the other being below the surgery site which I always knew was "bad"). There's something else about fluid where the spinal roots go, or something...so much going on at the appt I didn't quite remember it all :)
Basically the treatment is strengthening the core, but very gently. I'm going to try PT and go real slow and see how it goes; last time I did PT it was awful. If strengthening the core works, the more you do it the better off you'll be and more you can do normally. Otherwise, no bending over for me until then, let alone lifting (well, except my cat, can't resist that!). FYI, other things she said to try other than PT was mild/easy pilates, yoga ONLY if you know the person understands the spine, or tai chi (which sounded like the best/mildest option). Oh, and use one of those wrap lumbar support thingies if needed once I start building up strength.
I'd definitely pay attention to what kind of pains you get, where they are, and when they happen (for me it is after I do stuff, not when I do it, the pain moves around/is not consistent, and is often piercing but not lasting, sometimes the pain burns, but luckily no pins & needles or numbness). Then go to a doc and see if you can get a referral to a spine doctor (we have a "spine institute" here that is part of the hospital).
Don't take back pain for granted. I've had pain since my surgery and was told to "live with it" (from the surgeon!). This whole time I assumed my pain was muscular, and if I had known what it really was I wouldn't have ripped up all that grass myself all these years!
Wow - you have some history there. Good luck with the therapy and anything else you try.
Mine is frustrating. Nothing 'major' shows on the mri or x-rays. Facet syndrome and some disk degeneration. Tried therapy twice - didn't help. Was very flexible and strong in the core by the end of it, but no help with the pain. I am seriously considering acupuncture. I've never been to a chiropractor and they scare me!
I love acupuncture, but only went for a series for a few weeks, it feels so good to have the needles pricked into you. Once, a needle was put in my foot, and my arm spasmed. I should go for more.
The idea has always intrigued me. Like when you scratch one area and a completely different area of the body is affected. Western medicine certainly has much to learn.
The Smithsonian garden show I caught last night recommended using sticky cards to catch the bugs in your garden so you know for sure what you're dealing with. Makes sense.
yes that does
They were planting out tons of violas in the fall outside the Smithsonian castle.
I've been to a chiropractor.....he's a member of the church I attend.....I trust him totally. He found out that one leg is longer than the other, got the right orthotics, & my knee pain & swelling went totally down....my surgeon, who's always on the CT doctors top lists, had only one suggestion.....replace it. No thanks. This chiropractor also cured Doug's back spasms.
My dad swears by them and sis has used them. I think my wife scared me off them.
Orthotics relieved my lower back discomfort immediately.
My family doctor has no idea I went to a chiropractor....he has strong feelings against them, but I'm very glad I went.
I wear orthotics.
Do they help?
I should use those
They help my feet, but not the back.
That's why I said discomfort, not actual pain.
Victor,
The chiropractor may help, it is certainly worth a try--not likely to make it worse! I've tried everything, including acupuncture. Fortunately, my pain, while chronic, is mild, but still, you get tired of it and periodically try some new thing to see if it helps. So far, nothing has except yoga.
Thanks. I will consider it. I've heard good things about yoga.
I have a lift in the heel on my right foot becasue the leg is shorter. Sports medicine person also said I was out of alignment (3 kids will do that to you). My main back & hip pain is caused by arthritis. Annoying, but glad that it wasn't a disc.
A good chiropractor can help a lot in relieving some pain, not all are aggressive in their adjustments, and many can teach you exercises and positions that will help your individual needs. The one I see has helped me more than a number of surgeons and pt. Ric
I used both Chairo and Acupuncture for bursitis and arthritic hip. Neither is a long term solution.
No, but they do give relief....actually, I haven't been to the chiropractor in about 18 months, & I've been almost pain free, back & knee......walking the mile and a half daily really helps.
Yeah, I think it matters what kind of chiro you go to. Those that think it can cure cancer are probably the ones to stay away from.
I've also heard good things about physiatrists, who try to look at the body more as a whole. That might be good for those like Victor who have trouble that isn't easily seen on scans/xrays.
And from what I've read, shoes can really make a difference with back pain. So the orthotics thing could really be a factor one way or another. For those that like to go barefoot, I highly recommend the Vibram FiveFingers. Man I love those shoes.
All this is a good reminder of just how much we don't know yet about the body. We really have yet to learn how things interact.
And sorry for such a long post above. Sometimes I don't know how to make a long story short :)
What you wrote is worth reading, Evie.....
Hallo all you great gardeners; most mentioning weeding, cutting back, & harvesting the edibles. I'm doing same (though awfully cool & windy here 2/3rds of the way up the state; changing too fast for me.) However, mostly I am trying to identify the most attractive fall blooming purple "whatever" that had my friend bringing her car to a screeching halt when we spotted it on a back road last weekend.
Let me try to describe it. Tall, like 6 feet + ~ very long, thin strappy leaves & growing in dappled sun at the end of the driveway of one of those out-of-the-world Mac-Mansions on mtn. dirt road with boulders, shrubs, water feature, nice winding driveway, etc.
The top deep purple blooms were like a cross between annual 'Cocks Chrome' (?) & the tall blue ageratum wen going to seed. Sorta' stiff but fuzzier and different heights within each 3 to 4 inch straight across (not rounded) bloom. (Sorta' like different lengths/maybe uneven row of pointy, fluffy, tiny balls of fuzz at the top of the 4 to 5 inch lengths of deep purple.)
We finally went to the door, knocking loudly for a bit & about to leave when an elderly (probably younger that I) opened the door. She thought her daughter told her it was some form of Aster. We thanked her and left sighing over some the other gorgeous plantings and stood a few more mins. admiring that 5 ft. around Purple whatever it was. (Strappy leaves looked right; a larger version of my many Purple Dome Asters, but certainly not a daisy type bloom.) I've spent 2 hrs. this aft. in DG's plant scout until eyes glazed over noting there are lots of different bloom shapes under my request for Aster. Did not find it ~
Any ideas?
Keep the faith, folks, even tho' it's fall!
Corinne in Vermont
PS: Remember folks, any plant material that has snow white roots & put into your garden will cause you more grief in a very short time than a bunch of weeds. I find the Invasive Specie forum unbelievably shocking that reputable flower catalogs and gardeners actually sell to those of us unaware. My biggest lovely, innocent THUG is Lady Bells, spelled I think,
Adenophora that wind or a bird brought into my veggie garden at camp, and tho' I've spent 4 yrs. digging out it's pure white small sweet-potato-sized roots, our 3 acres by our side of the pond has 100's of them. ckl
Russian sage?
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/PELSS.html
Not a clue to what it could be....I have some very tall sky blue sage blooming right now, but it's too dark to get a photo.
VT...is this is??
http://www.infoflora.com/imagenes_productos/1240.gif
Pixie, writing via thread instead of posting to you direct (this time) cuz' I hope other's open your suggestion in post to me. My heart flew for a min. as it was almost IT. Color on my screen was more blue (understandable as colors chg. on diff. puters and I'm pretty sure it was an illustration and not a photo. Also, no info. came w/the 'drawing'. It just ended near where the plant you came so close with.
I noted it had stems very close together like they were in a vase. Also maybe nobby stems and very few "strappy" leaves to speak of. However, the bloom was VERY similar, with more rectangular bloom base than daisy-like, with dissimilar heights of flower power. (One we saw was huge around with all or most stems coming out of the ground like my much smaller Purple Mound asters! It was probably a VERY mature plant as it was not only taller than Hilda and myself, but hugging each other, it was bigger around that the two of us. lol)
You ROCK, gal, as you nearly had it right, and still may be right, however, my 'puter didn't pick up any written info with the illustration. Need info' on this plant as well, as I'm almost as impressed as I was w/what we saw last weekend. (Was what you sent me a NE plant?)
Super thanks for your early response.
Corinne from Vermont
Remember gardeners . . . NO WHITE ROOTS! (growl)
Corinne, it is called 'Statice', at least that is what I know it as. I grow them from seed and then bring them into the house to dry and they last years!
http://www.wffsagallery.org/wffsa/wffsa2007/show_flowers?family=statice
Also thought of Blue Throatwort
http://www.rbg.ca/renwald/archives/images/trachelium.jpg
and then I thought of the R.U. we just went to and the lovely caryopteris we saw is several shades of blue and it made me wonder if that was it...
http://www.terrapin-gardens.com/trees/photos/caryopteris-dark-knight-m.jpg
florists use stattice quite a lot.