http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/4487/
I mention Nadine (as "a friend") at the very end of this article.
Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners #17
Thank you, Susan. I think my articles are getting way too long and technical. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Do you say thanks-GIV-ing or THANKS-giv-ing or something else?
thanks!!!!!!!! happy thanks GIV ing to you too!
(Jim) Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and has recovered from the excesses. MK pushed a little too hard playing with the kids and blew a blood vessel inh her eye. The doctor says it looks worse than it is and she should fully recover in a month or two. Nadine was going to open her own account and post, but she hasn't been able to open a new account using my computer or MK's. Something about two accounts on the same computer system complicating things, I guess. Nadine is waiting until her own computer is delivered to open a new account. I can't believe it hasn't already been delivered! I've ordered computer parts from Rakuten and been satisfied, but I'll never order a complete system from the company after this.
The American Meadows link is a good one. We should consider putting it on the recommended material at the beginning of this thread.
Carrie, I know the long articles have got to be more difficult and time consuming to write, but that was a fine article. The bosses should reward your extra work by giving you a fun and simple subject next time. BTW, the Texas equivalent to being descended from someone aboard the Mayflower would be having an ancestor among "The Old Three Hundred," the first settlers from the U.S. who followed Steven Austin to what was then a Mexican province. MK is convinced I'll enjoy TX more if I'm better informed about the state. I'm getting a crash course in TX history and geography. Can you tell? lol.
Not much to report from the gardens. There were freezing temps over the holiday. We were more selective about the plants we brought indoors and put in the greenhouse this year. That may explain why everything is thriving. I wasn't sure the end-of-season stevia we purchased would survive, but it is doing great in the kitchen window.
I'd better get back to addressing Christmas cards. It's been an embarrassingly long time since I've handwritten anything. I don't believe I've picked up a pencil or pen since I got a Windows tablet. I had to take a break because I was getting writer's cramps.
I can't write either, Jim, and I'm not much of a typist. What comes out as legible and understandable has been spell-checked, back-spaced and re-written.
Is Kay`s eye to do with stress, strain, exertion, pre-existing condition or just bad luck? :( I'm so sorry. It must be extra-scary having anything to do with eyes. I know I get panicky when MS affects my eyes, even a little, because with MS any change can be permanent. I've pretty much given up driving.
(Jim) Every Christmas season, when the glittery, snow-covered cards start arriving, Nadine grumbles and says she is going to design her own line of Deep South holiday cards with southern Christmas scenes and break New England's Christmas card scene monopoly. She says a Christmas tree in front of an open window with white curtains billowing in a breeze would make a beautiful image for her new Zone 8 Christmas card line. lol.
I doubt I will ever grow accustomed to erratic Gulf Coast winters. A few days ago I was worried about slipping on early morning ice when I walked to the mailbox. A cup of hot cocoa was welcomed when I got back to the house. I wore shorts and a t-shirt for the trek today and looked forward to a glass of ice tea and a few minutes in front of the fan. Pennsylvania had brief warm spells in December, but nothing like this.
We appreciate the prayers, Susan. I suppose you would have to say MK's accident resulted from a combination of things, Carrie. High optic pressure made her eye vulnerable and she brushed against a lantana standard. She wasn't wearing her glasses. She thought the safety glasses "looked goofy" and we had visitors. (How, I would like to know does a woman who can't even see her face in a mirror make such a determination? Vanity played a big part.) I have a solemn promise that she will wear her safety glasses outside at all times from now on, but I only got that promise after I bought her a new pair of safety glasses that are as fashionable as it is possible for safety glasses to be. I know I'm outnumbered, but I have to say it. WOMEN!!!
The upcoming trip to Texas will probably be the last major road trip I drive and I'm taking my time on this trip with plenty of stops to get out and stretch and a massage pad for the seat that plugs into the cigarette lighter. I've been reading a book on accessible road trips for wheelers and slow walkers. There are some shorter trips in the book I might try one day. Savannah and Jacksonville might still be doable for a while, but this is probably my last cross-country road trip .
The lettuces looked sad after the freeze, but they have bounced back. There are buds on the tea olive.
Yeah when we move back, it seems we should drive my van (instead of paying somebody else to tow it) but it seems to me, we'll NEVER be this far West again with a car and a power wheelchair. We should drive to the Grand Canyon, the Redwood Forests, Mount Rushmore, St. Louis arch....all those sights that we have never seen (at least together; and I've seen things Ray hasn't seen and he's seen things that I haven't seen). It's wonderful to see things with a power chair than to be pushed around, but renting a WC van is HORRIBLY expensive. It seems like a wonderful opportunity but we're just so TIRED all the time! We went to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Museum but that seemed like a lot of work.
I don't have the wheelchair but can certainly empathize with the problems and hassels of traveling. I use to love to fly, but not anymore! They've sure taken the fun out of that ...
Jim, I imagine Kay will have a bit to say about your post when she gets back ... LOL We *always* know what we look like, *even when we ask ...
"Honey, does this dress make me look fat?"
So watch your step, and answer appropriately ...
Smile
We broke our record yesterday of 82 and reached 89. They had predicted rain with a cool down for the week-end, but that's been pushed off, and it looks like it will be another nice one. Yea!
(Jim) I'm already in trouble with Nadine, Susan. I am instructed to write that Nadine does not "Grumble." She merely points out the irony of southerners sending cards to one another with northern Christmas scenes on them. Lol.
I'm learning accessible travel attractions can be expensive too. We were considering visiting a restored sugar cane plantation in Louisiana the first day of the trip. It seemed perfect at first because the owner doesn't object to visitors touching things as long as they are careful which is great for Kay, and it is w/c accessible for me. A tour of the house and a walk around the gardens would cost us over $70. It isn't worth it to me. I can spend Heritage Day at a local part watching sugar cane being traditionally processed from start to finish and even bring a small bottle home for next day's breakfast for a third of the cost. I can hear Creole ghost stories from a great storyteller while sitting on my own porch at night for a meal and a polite request. If I get my way, it will be the Baton Rouge zoo, an authentic Creole meal and a quiet place to dangle my toes in the Mississippi River...just to say I did. The last will be the hardest to find.
Kay wants to work Austin and the Wildflower Center into the trip. (I think it is "Hippie Hollow" and her misspent youth she wants to re-visit. Lol. Well, if I'm going to get into trouble anyway, I might as well make it worth my while.)
LOL Jim ... smiling. It's amazing how much more they have to offer in the north in the way of accessible museums, parks, movies, etc for people with visual disabilities. I'm constantly amazed at some of the things I read about. Hope y'all can find something accessible for both and affordable to boot!
We've got another gorgeous day on tap today, but I'm suppose to be doing my Christmas cards. Shhhh I'm taking a short break. LOL
I just hope you guys have a wonderful trip. Remember that not all planning will come true, but for me, planning is way better than not planning.
In Austin, I've been to Ladybird Johnson wildflower center, and Kay might enjoy that. What I really remember fondly is the boat trip on Ladybird Lake with the bats at sunset. WOW! I always find boat trips very multi-accessible.
Susan, do your Christmas cards have northern winter scenes on them? You can tell me. I won't tell Nadine. lol.
It's a pity your DH's transfer didn't put him at Austin Bergstrom International, Carrie. Austin would have been more your cup of tea. It's a very musically oriented place. I've never been there, but I got into Austin City Limits when it was a program on Public Television.
I've been organizing my workshop. It has been a major job, but I was tired of struggling. Power outlets are higher where I can get to them more easily. I also installed some side socket outlets inside the house. Watching MK Braille around to orientate herself when she plugs something in always makes me nervous. Side sockets seem easier for her to use for some reason. I guess because the place where the holes for the plug can possibly be is so reduced. Since the pine trees near the office building are gone and the rain gutters aren't constantly being clogged by pine straw, MK is no longer up on ladders so often. That will do a lot for my blood pressure also.
The Nandina has gorgeous red fruit, but still no go with my American hollies. Either the new ones are too young or I have all females or all males. The native Yaupon hollies have fruit, but I would like to have a red fruited variety with the traditional holly leaf shape. The Yaupons have simple leaves. I'll add another Ilex Americana and hope for results next year. Ah-h-h, the light bulb above my head just lit up. From now on I'll only buy Christmas cards with pictures of holly on the front. :-)
Well, part of the reason we were willing to make the move is that we have his son's family in Fort Worth, remember. DFW wasn't totally out of the blue, though I would much prefer Austin. I think I would like it better.
Jim, my Christmas cards do have a winter scene with a Church on them! Have y'all made your plans yet? How is Kay getting along? And your temps? Ours are dropping tonight ... The DH is doing his exercise routine now. You know ...
Plants in the house, plants in the shop. Then it will be plants out again. LOL
Carrie, several years ago the DH went to Dallas and then went to Austin. I've had the opportunity to travel with him but was working at that time. I hated I missed those trips. I did get to go to New Orleans --pre-Katrena, though. I'll have to find my pic of us on the Mississippi.
Okay, y'all have a blessed night and stay warm!
Hi Friends,
It has been a long time since I was, "Down South," living here in Western Washington, we are just getting over a few nights really cold, in fact, the coldest it has been in a great number of years.
I was reading with interest, Your comments about sending Christmas cards with a, "Northern," theme. Well, I guess that is the traditional secular view of Christmas.
Here are two pictures, the first is a picture of the Palouse Plateau, where I was raised.
The second, is a picture of the front of my Christmas card, if I ever get off the other projects and get them done.
My Wish for You,,, A Fantastic Christmas Story!! Paul.
This message was edited Dec 16, 2013 4:32 AM
Susan, it's been cold and wet the last few days. Did you get the torrential rainstorms there? We will need to fix some places eroded by the storms when it warms up and consider bigger rain barrels.
MK’s injured eye looks almost normal again. She felt well enough to go to church with me yesterday. Getting up and started in the mornings is difficult for her these days. She isn't allowed coffee or tea anymore because caffeine increases the optic pressure. She went through some withdraw symptoms. Bad headaches, problems concentrating and the like. She says as long as the doctor doesn't ban chocolate entirely, she will be fine. lol.
Hi Paul. Is that like the high planes it looks lovely. Merry Christmas to you as well.
(Jim)
Jim, we didn't have as much rain as first predicted per this past system, but we definitely received it the last time round. I've given up on my back yard. I'm on a sloap, plus I have a 93 lb dog. I completely understand the meaning of washing. I wish I could find something that would hold up under 90 lb feet that like to romp and play. I let him have the yard, and I have my flowerbeds. He's a good boy.
Tell Kay I'm glad things are going well for her. Congrats on getting detoxed from the caffeine. I get tremors just thinking about it! LOL
Paul, I looked up your area. You live in a fascinating area. Merry Christmas!
Well, I'm already getting excited about spring. I've received a couple of seed E-newsletters. I'm already dreaming tomatoes!
Caffeine is a hard drug to get off of. I would have terrible headaches and a hard time thinking.
Since my baclofen pump was put in March 2012, my meds list has totally changed, mostly for the taking less drugs. But now I can drink liquor without falling right asleep and can't get by w/out caffeinated coffee. Net change I'm not confident is good.....alcohol has too many empty calories. I think I should cut back on the wine with dinner! Ray doesn't drink At All so I just have a glass of wine if we go out to dinner.
Thanks for the card, Jim and Kay (ie Melissa) and Nadine. Some year I will get cards out, maybe. Maybe never.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3583/
I thought this was pretty funny.
(Jim) ROFL! My favorite is the Santa who doesn't believe in himself. Yesterday, I had to shush Kay and Nadine when they were debating which historical St. Nicholas the Santa Claus myth was most based on. (St. Nicholas of Myra, St. Nicholas of Tolentino, etc.) I found it more than a little ironic that they couldn't talk about saints because there were small children in the room.
Thanks, Carrie, I must have missed that article when it first appeared. I've drank the Creek's black drink made from Ilex vomitoria and Ilex cassine. I was glad to read that you didn't repeat the half-truths I see all over the web about the purgative effects of the black drink. What is drank during purification rituals and what is drank at normal social gatherings has to be two different drinks. I drank a strong brew of roasted Ilex leaves without ill effects and I tend to have a sensitive stomach. In fact, if I had to drink either coffee or the black drink, I would pass on the coffee. Coffee is bitter tasting to me. The black drink isn't. I've only drank coffee a handful of times in my 50+ years so I can't compare the two, but I can say the Creek's black drink is a more potent stimulant than Code Red Mountain Dew, my primary caffeine source.
That is one big dog, Susan! What breed is he?
The twist is, as rough as our beasties are on the garden, they are also a necessary part of it. The deer would make short work of my daylilies if it weren't for the dogs and the vegetable garden would become a bunny buffet. I don't worry about Kay outside alone because really she never is. Tate is a penny dog. Kay complains about her getting in the way when she is working, but Tate is probably why she has never been snake bit. With so much water and untamed land around us, snakes are a serious concern .
Will you be starting your tomatoes inside this January? We did that last year to beat the heat and get a longer fruiting season. The heat we planned to beat just never showed up and late frost did. I'm not sure which way to jump this growing season.
Sorry, I'm so late in answering ... Don't know where the time's going, lately.
Moses is a black lab and is the largest guide I've ever had. I actually love him since the terrain is so uneven and most of my travel is off-curb. He's such a steady guide.
I will be starting tomatoes, but will probably wait until the first of February. If I start too early, they get too big for me to handle before I can set them out. What all do you enjoy planting?
Carry, I *really enjoyed that article. I missed it the first go-round.
Thanks, Susan.
Hope everyone following this thread is having a great Christmas Day.
Nadine was given a large supply of almond bark and coating chocolate and is having a blast experimenting with it. So far, crushed peppermint, nuts, bananas and strawberries have all been dressed up in Almond or chocolate coats.
MK is sniffing her way down scent trails hunting for new perfumes to love. Virtually all of her old favorite perfumes contain sandalwood and she now tells me sandalwood trees are being over-harvested worldwide. Younger and younger trees are being cut down for the market meaning the quality of sandalwood is not what it once was. I never imagined there were environmental issues to be considered in buying your wife perfume. Mini bottles and samples seemed like the way to go until she finds another environmentally friendly favorite.
Susan, I know I won't be growing Brandywine again this year. The tomatoes tasted wonderful and were pretty to look at, but the vine was as stingy with its fruit as Ebenezer Scrooge with his money. If I still have or can find the seeds, 'Pineapple' is one I want to grow again. It's a small yellow that produces non-stop. I'd like to try some 'Sungold' to see how it compares. I'm looking for seeds of the grape cluster type again even though they take up a lot of trellis space. I have no idea what large fruited varieties we will grow this year yet. It is almost time to check the seed bank and remind myself what we have on hand before the Totally Tomatoes catalog comes in.
It was bitterly cold last night. D own into the upper 20's. Stop laughing, Carrie! I just know you are. By south Alabama standards, that is "bitterly cold." lol.
It's just Amargia's core group at tonight's dinner. The meal isn't elaborate. Ham, mashed potatoes, honey-glazed carrots and green beans, but it smells fantastic. My stomach is growling. Nadine and MK are playing "If I could make one Christmas wish and I knew it would come true, what would I wish for?" Nadine wishes everyone to have the food replicator out of Star Trek and Melissa Kay would wish for a virtually free source of electrical power that didn't harm the environment. I'm just wishing for a big slice of that ham. Hope everyone gets their Christmas wishes. (Jim)
I got your wish, Jim, a big slice of ham. We brought a spiral ham, cheesecake, pecan pie and salad to our grandchildren in Fort Worth. As usual, Ray thought our gifts were wrong or not enough so we spent all day the 24th shopping (wherever was still open). It was our second mission to toysRus, trudging around in a coma unable to find anything we wanted to buy. Then we went to Michael's Crafts on a whim (and because it was the only thing still open) and found all the type of stuff we had been looking for all along. You know, solar powered this and potato powered that. But then WRAPPING everything became an ordeal. Glad it's over. Next year, we want to go somewhere warm and out of the country!
We had ham, also. I traded part of mine for a piece of delicious pumpkin dessert. I couldn't decide if it needed to be refrigerated or not so just ate it ... That's my story and I'm stickin to it anyway. LOL
Jim, I agree about the Brandywine tomatoes. I love the taste but no space for a tomato that only gives me a total of 3 or 4. I've tried them several years, but they're a no-go. I love Eva Purple Ball and Black From Tula for my main "always" blacks.
Carrie, it was cold here. Of course, people make fun of me, but it was cold for us anyway. Let's pack up and go to Hawaaii.
Funny, I can't see my smilie faces anymore.
This message was edited Dec 27, 2013 4:31 PM
I can't see your smile faces either, Susan, where are they supposed to be? We make them by carat - underscore - carat. ^ _ ^ all together without spaces ^_^.
I had a friend of mine say "today is the best day of the year. 364 days until Christmas." I have to admit I feel that way myself sometimes.
And i will definitely meet you in Hawaii!
This message was edited Dec 26, 2013 9:31 PM
Oh yeah, that's a smilie all right!
^_^
Hi, I'm back. Hope everyone's New Year has been good thus far. Jim is busy painting a new-to-us chest of drawers…and grumbling. He does excellent work painting and re-finishing, but it is far from his favorite task. We are getting the guest room ready for two more rounds of overnight visitors. The holiday season here extends to encompass "Old Christmas" on January 7th. No one in my immediate family is a practicing Russian Orthodox any longer, but the tradition of celebrating our family Christmas by the Gregorian calendar stubbornly remains. January 8th will be taken up by an ophthalmologist appointment and packing away the Christmas decorations, but I'm planning to spend most of the 9th in Hawaii recovering. lol. I'm going to sleep all that day and dream of a warm beach. Oh, Man! It is cold! It is rainy, below freezing and the wind has fangs. I had to bring my wind chime collection inside. They were making such a racket. There is a uniquely designed bamboo and coconut chime that has a crane on top that moves in time with the movement of the chimes. Jim said it was a hilarious sight when the wind became fierce. The crane had some dance move that would have put Vaslav Nijinsky to shame.
My only New Year's resolution is to finish a project I've had on the back burner for several years. I need to compile a list of Amargia's unusual edibles with notes on when and how they are traditionally used. Nadi has fun incorporating wild and unexpected edibles in to her recipes once the plant material arrives in the kitchen. but she still depends on me to know what to harvest when. It would be prudent to have all that information written down given my age.
In looking up current botanical names for that project, I came across a vast Wiki project in the same vein. Practical Plants is an ambitious endeavor to catalog the uses of plants in a very accessible way. It is definitely something worth contributing to if you know about the practical uses of plants or don't mind doing research
http://practicalplants.org/wiki/Practical_Plants
Nadi has resolved to spend time this year as a Wiki gnome. I had not heard that phrase before. Wiki gnomes are those individuals who do all the little housekeeping jobs that keep up Wiki standards. Well, it does sound better than calling her a spelling and grammar Nazi. As much as we use Wikipedia to settle debates, Amargia probably owes Wiki some time and effort. I think Wikipedia would do better with their fund raising if it were not during the holidays. It may be the giving season, but who has money to spare this time of year?
Okay, it's time to brave the cold and see where the wind decided to put the children's little molded plastic chairs and other lightweight items we neglected to gather up. I'll start a new thread in keeping with the new year first chance I get. mk*
Welcome back, Kay! I think Nadine would make a great wiki-gnome. I have often felt a debt to Wikipedia, and indeed, I would give them their $3 without even thinking or noticing if I weren't afraid of going on some huge donors list. I gave once to a charity I need not mention but they NEVER stopped sending me stuff. They spent my donation by sending me more junk! It's the junkmail time of year.
I like your project of the list of edibles--sounds especially useful with little people or pets around.
As we plan for moving back east, we keep realizing over and over that we will probably see much less of our Texan grandchildren. Our Boston grandchildren (whom we weren't able to see this time because their father, my DSS, got very sick) have an anxious, tense mother and, not surprising, are turning out a little anxious and tense.
I think your
This thread is continued at: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1347766/
Thanks Jim/Kay-Melissa!