Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The Profit Part of Yesterday's Quote

I thought I had read Gardening for the South before, but I'm noticing now as I reread that it is a very comprehensive manual, with charts about saving seeds (how long can you keep them? Can you plant last year's and expect good germination?) that agree pretty closely with modern ones. He does advise using a mixture of slaked lime and SALT on your soil, which moderns would avoid, but a lot of his stuff is quite interesting. He recommends the same manures, the same crop rotations, and some of the same cover crops as later writers. Here's the "profit" part of yesterday's quote:
"The product was as follows on one and one-fourth acres of land: 1100 head lettuce, large; 1400 heads cabbage, large; 700 bunches radishes; 250 bunches asparagus; 300 bunches rhubarb;14 bushel pods, marrowfat peas; 40 bushels beans; sweet corn, 3 plantings, 419 dozen;  ...; celery, 500 heads- all worth 621 dollars in the Utica market, but supplied 130 persons all they could consume. Only one man was required to do all the necessary labor."
That's what I call intensive planting. I will look again at his fertilizing plan, definitely. Wow! The ... includes a LOT of other produce I did not want to type out. Happy New Year, and may your garden grow as well as the one Mr. White described in 1857. Peace to all who truly want it.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Tomatoes-Hybrid or Heirloom?

This is the garden in late June, 2008.
I've planted both kinds of tomatoes, and I have to say that Arkansas Traveler worked out a LOT better than the Big-box-store varieties in my yard. Very little cracking, where the hybrids had deep cracks. Of course there are caveats- I corrected the soil pH in the meantime, and got better at watering, and used tomato cages instead of stakes. But the Travelers were tremendously prolific as well. 
I'm going to try to plan everything around open-pollinated or heirloom varieties this year, and try saving seeds. I can't save corn, because they say you need to have at least 50 plants to do that for cross-pollination purposes, and I simply do not have that much sunny space back there. I'm going to try a 10x5 3 sisters planting, a 5x5 tomato patch, and greens in whatever is left of the main bed, followed by sweet potatoes. The back bed will contain herbs at the front and a few sunflowers, red okra, and amaranth at the back. I'm going for a decorative edible effect.
The side bed near the neighbors will contain green beans along the fence (we eat an astonishing amount of green beans every year, and I can share them with the neighbor, who puts up with the vines climbing into her yard for more sun), and other shade-tolerant edibles (radishes and greens did well there last year) across the front.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Notebook in the Pocket


Here is an excellent quote about gardening for these dark winter days, from William H. White's Gardening for the South (1857). the book can be downloaded free in PDF from Google Books.

It is difficult to acquire this knowledge by reading or simply looking on. It is easiest and most pleasantly gained with implement in hand and a notebook in the pocket. The readier way of understanding the instructions of the books, is to put them into practice. He who thus heartily enters into the performance of horticultural operations, will be fully rewarded by our good old mother earth with health, profit, and pleasure. In health, for not only does the garden yield a choice and wholesome variety of fruits and vegetables, most salutary for daily food, but the exercise afforded in moving the fresh soil, and the interest excited by the diversified operations of the garden,are still more salutary. In profit- but more of that hereafter. In pleasure- for what is more delightful than to watch the daily developments of that which our own hands have planted, cultivated, and sheltered- or to witness, as the skilled gardener will do, the constantly improving condition of his soil, or to partake of the daily succession of choice vegetables and luscious fruits brought to perfection by his skill and care, or to enjoy the more spiritual and refined pleasures of landscape and flower gardening where the eye is charmed with the greenness and breadth of lawns grouped with all rare and magnificent trees, or with parterres gay with brilliant colors and profuse with beautiful and perfect forms.

If that doesn't make you get out your notebook and plan, nothing will.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Walking Keeps Me Going

This was the last surviving tomato. We ate it week before last. It was good on the outside, but the heart was rotten. The cold must have gotten to it.
I walked to the grocery store to pick up some more brown sugar this afternoon. It is a few miles each way. Quite a walk, but well worth it. After the front passed through last night, today was 20 degrees cooler, but sunny.  Walking is quite helpful for me. My joints hurt more when I sit than they do when I walk. We walked to the pizza place after we got back from our all-day post-Christmas drive home. That worked out a lot of kinks, and so did the walk today. Doctors used to tell people to lie around when things hurt, but now the research says what my own experience indicates: we need to move in order to be able to keep moving.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

The Civil War That Never Ends

Tennessee is a border state in an ongoing Civil War of Winter. The unstable weather gave us a 70+ degree Fahrenheit weather day today. Of course the windows are open for airing, and we went for a glorious wind-blown walk in the park this morning, attacked by wild buffalo herds of galloping leaves in  swirling abandon across open meadow and zoo parking lot. It'll be freezing again after the front passes and the winds shift to the north. It is a north (cold, and usually dry, but wet this year) versus south (warm and usually humid) battle every day of winter that turns our meteorologists prematurely gray. Will the moisture hold into the freezing temperatures, resulting in ice storms, closed schools, and mayhem, or will the cold, dry air mean crisp, sunny school days, and children glad to be inside out of the wind? Will the cold hold, or will it relinquish territory to the warm again? And again? And again?
This saying has been true in Tennessee for many years: "If you don't like the weather, wait a few days. It will change." Mom remembers blizzards and shirt-sleeve days for Christmas during her childhood in the 1950s. This is not recent. It's a war with no truces, but few victims. We have four seasons, and sometimes all within a week or two! I hope you enjoy the weather your dwelling-place offers. If not, consider Tennessee- you may not like the weather on a given day, but in a day or two it will change.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Christmas with Family

It's always good to get away from the computer for a few days and focus on loved ones. My presents tended to be practical as usual. Even my 4-year-old nephew gave me a recipe box, which he calls a "treasure box", painted by Himself. I'll use it for treasures, of course. 
The children grow so fast! I can only stay a few days, because if I stayed longer, I would not ever want to leave them. I learned that I would not have children pretty early (mid-20s, when the maternal instinct is as strong as it will ever be), years before I started dating or thought about marriage. So I avoided young children and poured that motherly affection on my middle school students. It worked to get me through those years. Now I can still love the children of others, but not get devastated about not having my own as some women do. With my joint condition being autosomal dominant, I'm happy not to pass it on. I helped to rear about 1000 middle schoolers, and that was enough.
Oh! They really liked the Buggabugs presents. They played with them more than once. Felt food is a good idea for a preschool gift.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

All I want for Christmas


Is a pressure canner... And that's what I got! Look! I also got a really nice pair of leather work gloves that actually fit! They smell nice and feel nice. Good working presents.

Finishing Presents



Here are the finished Buggabugs toys. I modified a few things to get done faster, and because I had not worked in felt before, but they seemed to turn out fine. There are more pieces to the above pizza set; I just liked making smiley faces with the components.
Here is the fruit for the little girl. The apple and orange pieces are removable. I hope they like it.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Making Toys

I'm getting those Buggabugs toys done. This is from a few weeks ago. Hopefully I'll post the finished pics tomorrow. CUTE!! I hope the kids have as much fun playing with them as I've had making them. The quotes I've posted about gardening could apply to sewing, cooking, and other household crafting skills- something is just glorious about producing something tangible, with your own hands, for the pleasure of someone else. 
Back to productivity!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

The Planning Begins


Picture from June 1, 2008. I'm already discussing plans for next year's garden with my husband- trying to come up with ways to use every square inch of the backyard productively, while adding more organic material to the soil and wishing I could take out a few more bushes. We'll also be maximizing our use of open-pollinated varieties so that I can learn more about saving seeds- and I'll try growing plants from the seeds I saved last year.
I garden for the fun of it, because I like the physical work, and because the best food you'll ever put in your mouth is food you planted, fertilized, cultivated, prayed over, watered, pulled strange insects from, harvested, and prepared yourself. God does all the real work of making the plant grow- we just provide what we hope is a good setting. He makes the jewel.
I don't garden because I'm freaked out about Global Warming (I'm from Al Gore's state. The fact that he's making money from making people feel guilty is nothing new. Typical Tennessee politician/postmodern pseudo-religion-TV evangelist.). They need to add a few zeros- earth's been warming for 15000 years, not 150. Ice sheets used to cover most of North America and Northern Europe, according to the geologists. The continuing melt is not a new crisis. I don't garden to get back at agribusiness or express some kind of hippie sensibility, or to be "green". Most of the "green" sites out there just sell more stuff, which is hardly "green" even if it is "organic".
I garden for the sheer joy of getting down in the dirt, watching things grow, and letting the scientist in me do something personally useful. Because curiosity keeps you young, and so does eating lots of fruit and veggies and exercising. All can be provided in gardening. And that's why I do it.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Getting Ready for Christmas

5 days and counting. The presents are almost ready. I did have to go out looking for some simple, small, lidded empty glass containers today. It seems to be difficult to find simple things like that these days. You can find plenty of cheap plastic bric-a-brac. Useless items with Hannah Montana on them. Everything made in China, cheap, and tawdry. I finally found some containers that would do, with a sugar-chunk-and cinnamon mix in them at a grocery store. Cleaned them up and they'll be fine. But even they were from China. I always have trouble shopping for non-food items, because I usually know exactly what I want, and i will buy only that item. Stores are built for impulse purchase of junk these days.
I like things made locally, if I can get them. Things I can make myself are good, too. But you usually need a few simple things to use to make those gifts. My husband says I ought to open a "Books and Grub" store. It would specialize in books about needed skills, and beautiful books that encourage or edify. The food would be healthy, except of course for the traditional southern Sweet Tea in summer. It would also be a place to find the pliers, baling wire, duct tape, WD-40, good strong thread, and sturdy work clothes I seem to have such difficulty finding sometimes. We can all dream.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Another Working With the Hands Quote


This is a good book. Granny (shown above) would have approved this statement.
"When any people, regardless of race or geographical location, have not been given skill of hand in youth, and taught to love labor, a direct result is the breeding of a worthless idle class, which spends a great deal of its time trying to live by its wits. If a community has been educated exclusively on books and has not been trained in habits of applied industry, an unwholesome tendency to dodge honest productive labor is likely to develop... they are likely to be fretting continually for fear that noone will be left to earn a living for them."

He did go on to say that book study has its place- but at school, people should study things, not just study about things.
Don't quite "love labor"? Do you know grandmas who can outpace you? I sure do, living on my street! What can we do? Don't do the guilt thing. Instead, get up and cook! The gardening catalogs will come soon, and with them the season of planning and preparation! Clean something, cook something, walk to a store. Soon you'll be helping Grandma- and she'll be proud. And you can know the joy of sheer physical exhaustion that makes falling into a clean, soft bed absolutely fabulous.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

A Gift EVERYONE seems to enjoy

I never knew apple butter would be so popular. I took it to work, and gingerly asked each of my prospective recipients if they liked it- the Americans of European Ancestry responded with a "Yes!" and a look very similar to the one my brother's one-year-old daughter gave him last Thanksgiving when he was eating pecan pie in front of her. It would take an armless man with a heart of stone to resist that look. When I handed it to them, their grip on the jar was firm, the thanks genuine. "You made this? Yourself?"
I had to explain what apple butter is (slow cooked apples strained and mixed with sugar and cinnamon, cloves, and allspice) to the Indians (from India), but they were pleased with it, too. Vegetarian, no offensive animal products, all natural. Works for everyone except diabetics, and you might find a way to make it with Splenda or agave nectar or something. Homemade means you took time for someone, and people appreciate that.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Another Booker T. Washington Quote (1904)

From Working with the Hands:
" I do not believe that anyone who has not worked in a garden can begin to understand how much pleasure and strength of body and mind and soul can be derived from one's garden, no matter how small it may be, and often the smaller, the better. If the garden be ever so limited in area, one may still have the gratifying experience of learning how much may be produced on a little plot carefully laid out, thoroughly fertilized, and carefully cultivated. And then, though the garden may be small, if the flowers and vegetables prosper, there springs up a feeling of kinship between the man and his plants, as he tends and watches the growth of each individual fruition from day to day. Every morning brings some fresh development, born of the rain, the dew, and the sunshine."

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

A Rant And Repentance

Thomas Fuller wrote a book in 1646 called, "Good Thoughts for Bad Times". He later wrote "Better Thoughts for Worse Times" and "Mixt Thoughts for Better Times". Interesting work. Makes the people screaming about the economy and "climate change" look whiny. England had endured years of civil war. It was unsafe to travel anywhere without a protective convoy. People were suffering dreadfully. When some people say previous generations only lived to the age of 40, his is the generation they mean. In peacetime, people have always lived long lives (check your local old cemetery or family genealogy if you don't believe me). Anyway, here's his take on "climate change" and environmental issues:
"When the creatures, formerly officious to serve us, start from their wonted obedience (as the earth to become barren, and air pestilential) man ought to reflect on his own sin as the sole cause thereof. "

He ain't talking about being "carbon neutral", either. We need to look at our lives, as individuals, and stop screaming about how someone else needs to change, or be regulated. The only regulation that really works is self-control, under the guiding hand of God, who makes it possible to break that wild horse. He'll show you how, if you're willing to attend a tough school. Stop carping about carbon dioxide- you breathe it out, so talking about stopping its output is talking about your own suicide in the end. Start looking at how we use greed and pride and lust to harm others- and maybe try some repentance. Real repentance, not buying "carbon-credit" indulgences. Not twisting scriptures to condone your own personal sin and to deride others for not "tolerating" your self-destruction. A few days of real fasting and prayer would help this country in a lot of ways, I think.
Well, off to repent for allowing myself to get emotionally dragged down by the foolishness of the world. God has so much good, and beauty, and truth in store for us, and we insist on making badness out of it. May we all take time to be still and acknowledge our blessings this holiday season. He came, after all, to save us. That is love, and that is blessing enough for all time.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Home Remedies for Cough

O.K. You've managed to survive the flowing sinuses, but the cold is threatening to move to your chest. Before CONSIDERING handling it yourself, hie thee to a doctor in any of the following circumstances:
1. The "cold" has lasted more than 2 weeks (you've got a secondary infection)
2. You're coughing up colors
3. You have a serious fever
4. You have coughing spells in which you cannot catch your breath
5. Your energy levels are so low you cannot complete daily tasks
6. You cannot sleep enough to keep going.
I speak from experience here- every year from 1993 to 1998 (in 1999 my asthma was diagnosed and properly treated), I developed walking pneumonia or severe bronchitis, depending on who was scowling at the chest X-ray. I hated going to the doctor, because all the germs I got from my students were amoxicillin resistant, and some of them insisted on amoxicillin as a first-line antibiotic. So I put it off too long. My energy levels went very low one year- when I went to the doctor, my blood pressure was 90/50. Talk about feeling a few pints low...If in doubt, submit to the pokes, proddings, and pills of conventional medicine. God gave us the ability to discover antibiotics for a reason.
What to do before the 2 weeks are up? Take an expectorant to help you cough up the goo. Avoid smokers like the plague- the smoke can paralyze the cilia that bring mucus up out of your lungs. Drink a lot of fluids, especially hot tea with honey to soothe your again-ragged throat. Play with your pillows- sleeping on an incline (head up) instead of flat can do wonders for your night's sleep. Humidify as necessary, if it helps you breathe. Bundle up, covering mouth and nose, if you must go outside. And rest as much as you can-let your body's immune system do its job. And when in doubt, get thyself to a doctor.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Treating a Cold, Part 2

So what do you do when the sore throat is alleviated, but your body is trying to drown itself in its own fluids? Check for a fever. If you have a serious one, or it lasts very long, get thee to a doctor! It's more than a minor cold, and the more serious respiratory infections can sometimes kill.
If you have no fever or a minor one that doesn't last more than a few days, try these things:
1. for sinus congestion, my allergist recommends a simple decongestant. The flowing nose is for a purpose-to wash out the virus and any sloughed-off infected cells- so using an antihistamine to dry things up is counter-productive, unless you have asthma or another serious lung problem. Then your doctor is the one to ask.
2. If you are stopped up, a trip to a good Mexican or Indian restaurant (for takeout if you want to minimize exposing others) is warranted. You'll actually taste the food, and the "heat" will get that fluid flowing out of your poor achy sinuses. Ask them to make it spicy- if you dare.
3. Steam yourself. Drink tea, and breathe in the vapors from the steaming cup. Drink soup, same thing. Put steaming water in a large bowl. Add a drop or two of eucalyptus and peppermint essential oils. Put a large bath towel over your head and the bowl to form a tent. Breathe. The menthol vapors should open things up, unless you are allergic. Then see a doctor.
Take steamy showers with abandon. You are ill. You need to enjoy something.
4. For coughs, take an expectorant, not a cough suppressant or a multi-drug combo containing one. An expectorant will help thin the mucus so you can cough it out and get better, faster.
5. Tone down the dairy consumption and go hog wild on citrus. Dairy is supposed to be mucus-producing, and vitamin C from food may help. Besides, you can probably taste an orange better than a glass of milk, anyway.
6. If you have a really good friend who knows massage or pressure points, they may be able to help you. I went to a chiropractor with a sinus headache once (he was helping me with a hip problem, but as long as I was there...). He pressed some points on my face, and the dam up there broke loose. He didn't claim to cure anything, just to help.
7. Rest and let other people help you. Sleep as much as you can, and let your body fight off the disease. It'll be over in about 7 days, no matter what you do. Might as well take your body's message and rest.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Home Remedies for Colds

The sore throat started yesterday afternoon. I left work early (one of our cell lines, the one I work in, actually came from a human originally a few decades ago, so being sick around the plates is not good), got groceries for foods that will go down easy, overloaded on citrus (hey, it is in season), and prepared to be as sick as Husband has been all week. It hasn't been that bad so far, though I did take it easy a lot of the day. Even the sore throat eased after I took my home remedies. What are they?
1. If your throat really hurts, DO NOT TALK. Write notes or use sign language or something. My students used to get amused when I would teach without a voice. I taught them the ASL signs for "yes" and "no". The classroom tended to be quieter than usual as the kids started imitating me (or maybe that was making fun...). Middle schoolers are funny.
2. Drink lots of tea at the most comfortable temperature, which is the hot side of lukewarm for me. I add honey and lemon juice, and choose decaf green or chamomile at night.
3. Here's where it gets weird. Before one of those cups of tea (at home of course) I mince a small clove of garlic and hold it in my mouth toward the back for as long as I can, then swallow with the honeyed tea.
4. Lukewarm salt water nasal lavage (you use a plastic device to gently pour the salt water up your nose. It is nasty, but not torturous) acts as a mild antiseptic. Gargle with some of the salt water to soothe and clean those swollen tonsils.
5. The sore throat is usually gone or down to slightly scratchy by the next day if I comply with the vow of silence. Of course nobody gets too close for 24 hours, because all the Listerine in the world does not eliminate the garlic breath. But they won't get the germs either, so it's good.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Remembering Home


This was the barn across a gravel driveway from the house in which I grew up. The house was built in 1868, and had a well house, an outhouse, a smokehouse, and a carriage house my father converted into a garage by pouring a rough concrete floor in it. The corner you see to the left was a small building with windows used for tools and repair. If I had it to do over again, I would try to be less afraid of wasps and snakes and explore a lot more. It was a fun and scary place to grow up- squirrels in the attic, snakes close to or even in the house (it was falling apart like the barn roof in the picture here- Dad had to go under it with a car jack and concrete blocks to prop it up at one end), massive trees to play in and under, horseshoes and Indian arrowheads and irises planted long ago, trunks and old books and black-and-white ancestors scowling down from the parlor wall, beauty and decay all wrapped up in a package we were too poor to maintain. A psychologist bought the house for enough money to allow my parents to build something new on land across the street, and she restored the old house magnificently. We have surprisingly few pictures of it. We were too busy trying to survive to take pics, I guess. But I remember it well.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Reusing Jars

My favorite salsa (Frog Ranch Medium) only has 40 mg sodium per 2 Tbsp serving. That's lower than any other at the grocery store, and probably lower than the recipes I have for home canning. And the ingredient list is short and natural (tomatoes, pickled peppers (peppers, vinegar, salt), onions, cilantro). Another bonus: it comes in a real, thick-walled Mason jar! We reuse those for drinking glasses and canning.
One problem remains: how to get the glue and bits of label off after washing the jar. I have a technique that works for me. First use water and a plastic scraper (I tend to hurt myself with metal) to get the paper off. A lot of sticky goo will remain. Get some cooking oil and rub it over the goo with your hands. DO NOT USE YOUR DISHWASHING SCRUBBIES- will ruin them. Use your hands, and rub pretty hard, like massaging the jar. When the oil clouds up, use undiluted dishwashing liquid to rub off the oil. Some of the goo will come off, but the rest will be transparent. Rinse off cloudy stuff with hot water. Apply more oil with a paper towel. Rub hard, and the remaining goo will come off. Then use dishwashing liquid again to remove the oil. Voila! New (tough) drinking glass or container for growing-time goodness!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Second Chances in Sewing and Life

Every seamstress has one. It is sharp, and small, and the equivalent of a chalkboard eraser. It is basically a tiny harpoon with a plastic or wooden handle. It is a seam ripper. When you sew the seam incorrectly, if the fabric allows, you can carefully tease out the thread and start over. Second chances are good.
I had to use one just last night on the toy project. It saves time in the long run to acknowledge your mistakes and go ahead and undo them. If you keep pressing forward, you may find in the end that the entire object or garment is unworkable. Then what will you do? Start over anyway, with a lot more to undo.
I think our consumerism is a bit like that. To our Depression era ancestors, it must have seemed alarming to base an economy post-WWII increasingly on consumer spending and debt, giving up our manufacturing and farming base to make a living... doing what? Shuffling papers? Selling each other stuff made elsewhere? Most of us are wired to want to make or grow things or to develop those talents in others. How many business majors do you know that are more excited about their curriculum (or the job afterward) than they are about other things in their lives? Talk to someone growing things, or fixing things, or making something with his/her own hands to sell, or even to enjoy at home- now there's excitement. They'll talk your ears off! Some college students and working people like what they do, but a lot are in it for the paycheck, so they can buy stuff- and that's where we've gone wrong. Even a sign over a door at the med school I attend says,"Put some green in your future"! A country can't thrive on the basis of money-mongering for long. Eventually we have to get back to our faith, our families, our homes. Give up the "me me me me" chorus started in the 70s and repeated by every generation since, and get back to God, get back to serving others, get back to what really matters. Then we will truly thrive. And what we create will last.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Refiner's Fire


Well, I think I reactivated my hip bursitis Saturday moving those leaves. Lifting the wheelbarrow over my head to get it out of and back into the garage without moving the cars might have something to do with it. The thing is barely light enough for me to lift. Anyway, I can only sit for short periods again. Back to the doc to make sure I didn't do anything worse tomorrow. It isn't nearly as bad as it could be. I can sleep and walk comfortably.
My joints are very sensitive to injury. I have loose ligaments due to a mild connective tissue disorder- not Marfan's, a milder one called hypermobility syndrome. Inherited from Mom, who is 5 ft 2 in tall. I'm constantly learning where the line is between "good exertion" and "damage" (a very fine line sometimes). A lot of people don't think God has a hand in the "bad" things that happen to us, but I think he knew my genetics (and what a hard-headed work ethic ran in the family) before I was born. He knew I would develop the beginning symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in 2004 when I returned to school, and would have to learn humility from accepting modifications (I type tests and my notes in class- writing hurts more than typing b/c the base joint of my thumb bends the wrong way sometimes when I write fast, concentrating on something). The hip pain is teaching me to keep moving- don't sit down for long. Don't give up. Live more mindfully, more slowly, but keep going. We learn obedience from what we suffer (Hebrews 5:8).

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Sewing Makes Me Happy

I went to a fabric store to get some material to finish the projects for A and E (2 year old niece and 4 year old nephew) today. A woman cutting fabric, working in a fabric and craft store, confessed that she did not like to sew.
I really like to sew.
I guess part of its charm for me is that I do not get time to do it very much. With a machine and a well-designed pattern, it can be easy and the results always come out custom-made. A tangible result for your labor, not a number to be exchanged between banks. It's another one of those things it does not "pay" to do, if you measure your time in $20/hr increments. But neither does reading blogs or watching reality television. Most of the time cruising the net or watching the tube will not yield the benefits of an hour with needle in hand- busy hands that still the worried mind, a project nearing completion, something made personally for someone you love. If you've never sewn before, try sewing on a button or repairing a small hole in something. Or take the leap, get a machine, and make some bags to take to the grocery store, or stitch two pieces of fleece together to make a cosy winter blanket. A host of internet sites exist to show you how. Get stitching!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Bringing In the Leaves


Today I raked up and piled about 12 wheel-barrow loads of leaves on the garden beds. When they settle in a few days, it won't even look piled up. Whatever rots between now and Feb/March becomes nutrients for new growth. Whatever does not becomes free mulch that will probably rot over the summer. I'm looking for free and low cost ways to do things, as the times do not seem good for lots of spending, even on mulch.
Hey! Here's a paper of interest:In the Journal of Women and Aging, dated 2002:14(3-4):139-48. L.W. Turner et al. studied the effects of various forms of exercise on bone density in older U.S. women. The verdict? Yard work and weight lifting had the best correlation with strong bones. Bicycling, walking, aerobics, and dancing were moderately predictive, and jogging, swimming, and calisthenics were only weakly predictive of bone density.
So rake those leaves! Shovel that snow! Dig those beds! And lift weights to get ready for the spring planting season! Your bones will thank you.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Spending Less and Getting More



I had to get groceries tonight due to a marathon cutting off all convenient routes south tomorrow from my neck of the woods. I loaded up with frozen mixed vegetable blends, potatoes, sweet potatoes, oranges, and other good-to-eat sale items. Cabbage was 55 cents a pound (albeit they were small ones), so I got one of those, too. Peasant potato soup, here we come! Must soak some white beans for it tonight. Well, I spent less than usual (though $90 for basically a week's groceries plus some stocking up is still crazy for two people), and I got more quantity. Paying attention to sales is good. 
I was saddened to see a woman in front of me making a WIC purchase- except for juice, it was almost ALL junk food! WIC and food stamps (now EBT) cover Cheetos, Soda, white bread, and ice cream? I can understand a little ice cream once in a while, but several half-gallons? The only veggies she had were turnip greens, the only real fruit some oranges. The contents of that cart would give ME diabetes before long.  I hope we get some real nutrition education and reform in the system, so poor kids can get some real food and a real chance at a better life. It costs a lot to eat healthily in an urban area (low salt and low sugar items cost more than regular. Real is more expensive than fake), but it costs more, long term, to neglect your body. Above is one of my harvests from summer. That's good eatin'.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Sometimes The Cold Helps You Make Friends

It is supposed to get down into the 20s tonight. When I got home after dark, a black, furry shadow appeared at the corner of the garage, his pupils so large that he was invisible when he crept into the shadows. Jorge is back. Spot would usually be very hissy about that, but tonight she was moderating her usual hostile behavior, even sniffing him a little while he was eating. Maybe she realizes that a warm companion would help her get through these cold winter nights.
Husband is sure a help for me. It is amazing how much warmer sleeping is with two people! A cat is fine, but too small to cover much surface area. My previous cat, Felicia, slept on my bed before I got married. She seemed to know when I was sad or lonely- then she slept very close. At other times she played kitty practical jokes, sneaking up to my ear at 2AM, meowing, then jumping off the bed. If cats could laugh, she would have been giggling. 
Anyway, I hope Jorge and Spot can patch up their differences for long enough to keep each other warm. I closed the garage to hold in the heat from the car, and there is an old sweater and a sweatshirt in a box where she often sleeps. They should be OK.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The Value of Eating from Your Own Garden

A quote from Booker T. Washington, in Working with the Hands (1904):
" No peas, no turnips,  radishes nor salads taste as good as those which one has raised and gathered with his own hands in his own garden. In comparison with these, all the high-sounding dishes found  in the most expensive restaurants seem flavorless. One feels, when eating his own fresh vegetables, that he is getting to the heart of nature; not a second-hand stale imitation, but the genuine thing."

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Veggies are Important for mice, too

As part of my research (of professional as well as personal interest), I look at things that cause cancers and why they do. So I found a paper from the journal Carcinogenesis from 2001 (H.L. Newmark, et al.) in which normal, wild type mice were fed an altered chow that imitated the normal American diet (lots of fat, little folate and fiber, deficient in vitamin D and calcium) instead of their usual high-veg chow. These mice, without radiation or chemicals, spontaneously developed colon cancers (12/17 mice) after 18 months! Folate seemed to be important in this study. Cells growing improperly were found in the colon, breast (females), prostate(males) and pancreas in previous, short-term studies with low vitamin D and calcium.  
If a medication caused these problems, we would ban it. If living under power lines or near a chemical plant caused them, people would be out marching and writing letters to Congress. But it comes from the way we EAT, so we just settle in with our doughnut and coffee for breakfast, fast-food lunch, and pizza for dinner and wonder if we'll be able to afford enough pills to keep us alive as we age. 
That's why I buy A LOT of veggies, fruit, and whole grains, and we do consume dairy products.No, I'm not a supplement fan. Studies seem to be showing that getting your nutrients from real food, in the package God gave us, is best. When we eat what our bodies need, they respond with health and vitality. Your grandmother was right- eating your veggies is good for you. And your pet mouse, if you have one.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Here's a Bit of Inspiration

From The Vegetable Garden by Ida B. Bennett, 1909 (free to download from Google Books):
"Did we cultivate more assiduously our backyard gardens, those of us whose daily grind chains us fast to a bell or whistle or even an office clock, there would be fewer nervous breakdowns. It is curious how our cares drop away from our poor fagged minds when we get in touch with the good brown earth. It must be a deep-seated trouble, indeed, which will not lift ever so little when the robin's song is in the air and the sweet, moist smell of the soil comes up after a rain. To possess the land and till it is the primal heritage of man. To delight in the work of his hands, the reward which beckons him."

Just the thought of that brown earth waiting under that huge pile of leaves, resting until spring takes me out there with the pick, shovel, hoe, and rake again, sniffing and digging and planting, fills me with joy. And relief that there are a few months when we can rest.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

A Real Find

I picked up a biography of George Washington Carver at a used bookstore yesterday. The book is unabashedly hero-worshipful toward the man, but he did so much for so many that it is hard to argue with the approach. I found the Bulletins of the Tuskegee Agricultural and Normal Institute (where he worked for 47 years) today in Google books. He authored a series of bulletins listing hundreds of ways to use peanuts, cowpeas, tomatoes, and other common Southern agricultural products. His express goal was to lift as many people out of poverty and want as possible, BY SHOWING THEM HOW TO HELP THEMSELVES!!! He dedicated himself completely to that goal- never married, lived on campus, worked incessantly.He even advised how to build up "worn-out" soil with cheaply-obtained composting mterials and green manures-in 1905. He wanted to find ways for the "One-horse farmer" to prosper. He helped countless people and demanded little in return, turning down incredible offers of industry jobs (one potential boss offered $100,000 per year, another a blank check) to abide in (as it says on his epitaph) "being helpful to the world". May we all aspire to help our neighbors as well as he did.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Eat Your Greens

Tonight I made a BIG pot of potato-turkey-kale soup, with emphasis on the kale. Green leafy veggies are VERY important to reduce the risk of the three major causes of blindness in the elderly:
1. Cataracts- I know we can have surgery for them, but look: A June 2008 article by KV Tarwadi, et al. in Clinical Nutrition stated that dietary deficiency of vitamin C, folic acid (as in foliage), and other antioxidants could explain 59.7% of the differences between the patient group and the control group (no cataracts). Intake of fried food and animal food was higher in those with cataracts, while fruit and veggie consumption was lower than in people without cataracts. Food for thought.
2. Glaucoma-In a study by A.L. Coleman, et al., in the American Journal of Opthalmology from June 2008, at least one serving of collards or kale a month could reduce the risk of glaucoma by 64%. More than 2 servings of carrots a week or some canned or dried peaches once a week also reduced risk considerably.
3. Macular degeneration- In people with the highest level of consumption of lutein and xeoxanthin (from leafy greens), risk of AMD was 35% of the risk in people who ate less greens. Zinc was also protective. This in a study by J.S. Tan, et al. in Opthalmology, February 2008.
So add some greens to soups and stews, or as an underlayer (steamed first) on pizza. You don't have to eat them bare unless you like them like that. As your mother told you to do, eat your greens!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Tomatoes Today!

Before my parents headed home, we had a breakfast of buckwheat-orange waffles (yes, the buckwheat flour was from Delta Grind) with real maple syrup and omelets with mushrooms and broccoli and salsa. And sliced tomatoes! They were good! I guess I obsess over tomatoes, but many a True Southern Girl would understand why.
I had a great day afterward- feeding cells at work, doing a bit of grocery shopping (the store was almost deserted), fixing lunch (leftovers), redistributing some mums and irises, sewing, and sharing a cocoa with Husband at the local cafe. Nice. Then some online Christmas shopping, this, dinner, more sewing, and bed. That's a great day off. 
I like the work of being at home. So does Husband. We're descended from long lines of farmers who tended to like living on the frontier (his) or building communities (mine), so that makes sense. You can provide for those you love both in a material sense and in the sense of actually being physically present. A paycheck is fine, but if you are never home to enjoy the fruits of your labor, what is the point? People want your time and effort and affection, not just the cash. I have more work to do. Must go.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Spot Likes Turkey, and I Do, Too

Lunch today was a big success. We ate the menu mentioned before. I put the 13-lb (minus the ice in the cavity) bird in the oven after completing the thaw (it was supposed to be fresh, according to the package) at about 4 AM. It was done by 10. I use a probe thermometer to make sure the meat gets up to 180 degrees F. We don't roast ours; it is oven braised, half-submerged in chicken broth and the liquid that cooks off the turkey. Soup material after the broth is strained. We don't carve our turkey; it falls off the bone. Mom and Dad came in just as I was removing the dressing and the sweet potato casserole from the 2 ovens. Brussels sprouts went in, veggies went on the stove, and we ate a little after 1 PM. I gave Spot a leg with some meat adhering to one end, and she was licking her lips over it when I went back inside. She did not run away when Mom and Dad were outside! She's a tame kitty after all, though she would not let Dad pet her.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Being Grateful


We have a lot to thank God for this year. I'm on my way to (hopefully) getting a grant at work to pay for my salary. Husband has a really nice corner office with lots of windows, where he can work in comfort. No dress code, and lunch is whenever and however long he wants. The garden was great this year, and the plans for next year are looking good. Experimenting in your own backyard is fun. We had a beautiful day today, and Husband opened the windows to freshen the house. So things are fresh and nice. And the last tomatoes are looking good! Thanks be to God! Now I must go cook and sew and clean. Have a joyful Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Family's Coming!

My parents are coming to see us for Thanksgiving! First time in our house here. It will definitely take some time to get ready. I'll have to wash some of the "nice" dishes, cook, clean, etc.
Here's the menu:
Jerk Turkey (Turkey with a marinade/rub of Jamaican spice so you don't miss the salt)
green beans
corn 
sweet potato casserole (the one with the brown sugar-pecan topping- NO MARSHMALLOWS!!)
roasted Brussels sprouts with mushrooms and caramelized onions
whole wheat-brown rice dressing with apples and cashews (husband is allergic to sage, and likes cashews)
cranberry sauce
peach-blackberry crisp (from farmer's market products frozen over the summer) with home-made vanilla ice cream.
Yummy. And made with lots of fruits and vegetables. We'll have gravy for the meat, too. I like cooking like this once in a while. It will be fun.


Monday, November 24, 2008

Pleasure Reading While Sewing

Back in the old days, a well-spoken reader would be chosen to read from the newspaper or a book while family members sewed or did other quiet handiwork-tasks in the evening. I have nobody here but Husband watching Monday Night Football, so how do I get my reading fix when I need to sew? My computer has a speech service that will "read" what it recognizes as text. None of those old-book scanned PDFs work, but other articles and blogposts do. So I can make Christmas presents while Gene Logsdon tells me some things about starting a fire in a woodstove we could have used growing up, or the value of a wooded lot. I can hear poetry or preaching or gardening tips. Pretty fun! 

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Digging In


I've started putting the garden to rest. The main bed before cleaning is shown above. Warning: after Malabar spinach freezes, it exudes purple juice all over things and turns rather mushy. The juice comes off pretty easily if you wash the fence (and your hands) fast. I spread my compost today, and buried the main bed under a thick layer of leaves. The other beds will wait until later in the week. I found a LOT of green tomatoes out there, and dug them in with the compost in the main bed today. I wound up not digging in the vines- I would need a chipper to chop them up finely first. They filled both my composting containers, but they are out of the way for now. Here they are before stuffing into the cans. No "after" shots yet- it got dark.

Friday, November 21, 2008

God's Megaphone

These are some plums picked from a tree in the community back in the spring. They were good, and a pleasant reward for a few minutes of picking. They were spoiling otherwise.
I read C.S. Lewis's works a long time ago, including The Problem of Pain. I remember what he said about pain being God's megaphone to a deaf world. He's given me bursitis in one hip that gets irritated if I sit for very long, especially on hard surfaces like chairs or floors. So I have to get up and move. He's given me a joint condition that raises the probability of developing severe osteoarthritis in the next 10-15 years, so I always thought I would have to sit a lot more as time went by. Curiously enough, it hurts to be idle. I can walk for miles, but sitting for more than an hour, even on a padded surface, can really hurt. Providence is strange sometimes, but God is faithful. He evidently wants me to stay busy.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Time to Put it to Sleep

No, I'm not talking about the cats. The temperatures were in the 20s last night, and a north wind was blowing all day. I got out my long down coat, because the wind seems to accelerate through the canyons formed by the buildings where I work. That icy wind seems to blow in your face no matter which way you are walking. You feel it in your bones. I'm making soup and cornbread tonight.
 The garden is dead now, though some green leaves persist. I'll dig everything in on Saturday, photo the process, cover it all with a thick blanket of leaves, and sew and plan until spring. I have plenty to post from the past year here, plus quotes from old gardening books, and I like the discipline of posting even if nobody reads it, so I'll keep writing. 

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Who is Responsible?


Have you felt disturbed lately by the news of financial, environmental, and other crises? Everything seems to be a crisis of epic proportions. As my husband often says, the journalists seem to be rather "geeked out" lately, turning every new revelation into a Happening that will Change our Country Forever. We've never seen this before, but our great-grandparents would probably just smile, nod, and hand us a hoe and some seeds and canning jars. They and their politicians probably didn't mess up with quite so many zeroes, but it has happened before. As Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun.
Today in a seminar about blood pressure I thought,"Who is really responsible for my health? Is the doctor? Is the mechanic responsible for keeping my car in good shape? The plumber and roofers for my house?" They all share in the responsibility, and are liable for any shoddy work they may do, but I only call them in for things I cannot repair myself. I am ultimately responsible for all the above- no mechanic stands by my car every morning to make sure I start it correctly or to remind me to get the oil changed. The doctor does not control what I eat or drink. The plumber does not come unless called. It is up to me, as far as God grants ability, to take care of the things under my control, and recognize when I need help. The doctors in these seminars sometimes act as if patients ought to be like rats, and should passively take drugs in ever-increasing amounts until the "clinical outcome" (which is all too often the adjustment of a number, and not necessarily restoration of true health) is reached. Thank God people are not rats! Let's get busy and help fix the things we can. Speaking of which... gotta go.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Home as a Fortress


Sometimes living in a brick house with iron doors and bars on the windows, this house feels like  a physical fortress, but that is not quite what I mean. A neighbor who tended my garden during a summer trip said it felt like a quiet little refuge from the world. That's what our temporary "homes" here should be- a place to get away from the cacophony and noise of modern life if we choose to do so. A place to work hard, sleep deeply, and love well. To open a gate from the bustle of the city into another world of coolness and green and silence, except for the mosquitoes and birds and cats. 
Advertisers like to call the traditional wife the "gatekeeper" of the home, and try to find ways to get bad stuff past her, by disguising it or convincing her it really isn't that bad, and besides it saves time and effort. Time and effort are exactly what we need to spend at home. It takes time to man the gates, and effort to see through the disguises of the polluters and thieves, whether they come through the door, the television, or the computer. And "gatekeeping", when guarding that gate is your most important job, is an honor. In a positive sense it means opening that gate when a ragged fugitive flees the battering of a terribly evil world, and comforting him or her with soup  and silence while slamming that gate in the very face of the abuser. It means creating a sunny pool of warm joy in a gray and wintry landscape. It is hard, but it is worth every effort you can make.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Coming Home

Early, when possible, is highly recommended on a sky-blue, breezy, crisp-leaf day. We had a magnificent walk this afternoon, and a pork chop casserole is in the oven now (with onions and potatoes, to be accompanied by veggies presently). City life has its disadvantages, from the bars on the windows to the sirens wailing woe to the loud airplane conventions at night, but those fall walks on sidewalks instead of in leaf-mucky ditches sure are nice. You can shuffle through the leaves proudly, and we do.
And I picked three green tomatoes, a small handful of green beans, and four lima beans today. After mid-November. All-season gardening here is looking more and more plausible. Wish I had more land...

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Back to Business

Spent a few pleasant days with Husband and his family, to celebrate his Dad's 80th birthday. Lots of traditional Thanksgiving food and sweets were had by all. 
We're going to be doing Veggie Penance for a while. What's veggie penance?
Veggie penance simply makes up for the lack of balance in our diet during those over-indulgent holiday feasts. But I still try to keep it tasting good, so it really isn't penance in the truest sense. Anytime we go out to eat with friends or to someone's house and have an overly indulgent, salty, or meaty meal, we eat a bit MORE carefully than usual afterward for the next few days, to get back on track.
I saw some ornamental kale growing outside the hotel window before we started back this morning. One more day and I would have been out there sampling it! It looked really good! Anyway, the rice is ready. See you later!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Homemade Christmas Starts Early

When my brother's children were born, I promised myself I would do my best not to buy them anything made in China (Chinese kids should play with Chinese toys, unless there's something the kids here can learn about China from the toy), anything requiring batteries, or anything that makes annoying noises. The last two tend to go together. So I'm making Christmas presents for them. They're from www.buggabugs.etsy.com. Serious cuteness combined with a rare chance to work on my small-scale sewing skills. And she delivers the patterns to your e-mail box! That's service. My rough fingers snag the felt a little, but if I keep them moisturized, it's O.K. I'll take pics if they're picture-worthy when I'm done. My side of the family seems to be doing Homemade Christmas all around. When times get tight, the prepared woman gets out the fabric stash (or in my case buys some cheap felt) and gets sewing!
I'll be away from the computer for the next few days. I'll be back online Monday. 

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Old-Time Gardening Resource On The Cheap

Have you ever wondered if pre-WWII farming and gardening were really the idyllic organic paradise that modern nostalgia paints? 100 years ago market gardeners AND backyard vegetable growers were using lead arsenates as pesticides. Lead and arsenic! I kid you not! Here's a quote from Ida Bennett, The Vegetable Garden, 1909:
"If a cabbage is clean and bright, the outer leaves clean and fresh, what more could one ask? Well, to the initiated there sometimes does arise a question as to how all this immaculate crispness and freedom from the trail of the worm was attained. After even a few years' experience in the growing of cabbages and allied plants, one comes to know that their growing on any large scale, especially on old land, is not the simple or always the cleanly thing it seems."
They worried about overly-perfect-looking produce just like modern moms do, and for similar reasons. They knew lead and arsenic were poisons.
How did I learn this? Go to Google Books. Google "vegetable gardening" or your topic of choice, full view. You'll find public domain books, scanned for your convenience into PDF files. They tell how it was really done in the old days. And you can find valuable hints about how to revive skills you are too young to remember.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

An Alien From a Small Planet Far, Far Away


That's how I feel sometimes. My co-workers talk about wives who love to shop, wear jewelry, go to Cancun with girlfriends for a prolonged salon session, etc. I like to garden and cook. I have (and wear) 20-year-old clothing. I don't wear makeup, and a wedding band is my only jewelry worn regularly. I have working hands complete with big knuckles and rough fingers that snag silk. Digging and harvesting and shelling beans (above) does that. Decorating those work-roughened hands would contradict their purpose. I find my friends among other women like myself. Few and far between. The quiet band who roll up their (well-worn) sleeves and get the job done. It's fun to walk by a neighborhood yard and see a kindred spirit, putting in just a few MORE bulbs, or picking the last tomatoes in the twilight. God bless the workers out there tonight.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Fork in the Road


As Yogi Berra said, when you come to one, take it.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Home Cooking

I cook a lot. Husband prepares oatmeal on weekdays (kindly) for breakfast, but except for a few week-end meals, I cook everything else. Today we came home from church to some Farmer's market (frozen and thawed) pork chops sauteed and braised with onions and apples, green beans (from the backyard), fresh-sliced tomatoes (ditto), and corn (from freezer, from grocery store). The pork chops were fabulous, and I credit that to the guy selling them from a freezer in the back of his truck. He seemed really proud of them. I buy frozen veggies in the winter, because they are frozen at the height of freshness, so nutrients are preserved. Many times they're better than the veggies you buy "fresh" which have been slowly decaying on a water-sprinkled shelf for a few weeks.
Tonight we had spinach-mushroom-black bean enchiladas (how to make THAT low sodium? Cook your own beans. Use Frog Ranch salsa (low sodium and really GOOD). Use low-sodium cheeses and wraps. It works. We also had tomato-basil soup with corn (yes, my tomatoes and basil). Good stuff. No pics tonight- I do not have good luck uploading on Sunday nights.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Overton Park

Today we hiked in Overton Park. It was beautiful, despite the cold wind from the West. Leaves were falling, the sky was a brilliant blue, and we were NOT eaten, or even nibbled! We split a hot dog at the golf-course clubhouse, walked around the Old Forest Trail (200 year old trees) and the pond, and came home. Here's the walk.
Here are the trees. Beautiful!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Roses Like Cool Weather


We bought some double knockout rose bushes in the spring. "Double knockout" is not some kind of genetic manipulation (a double knockout mouse has both copies of a gene eliminated to see what the lack of the gene will do). "Double" refers to the number of petals. I wondered what was knocked out, but the "knockout" part is just a name as well. They're fungus resistant (important in this climate) and grew A LOT more than the nursery guy said they would. They were maybe 18 inches tall when we got them. Now each bush has a diameter and height of about 4 feet. They're loaded with blooms and beautiful. You can see that our mums are prospering, too. We are truly blessed.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

The Leaves Are Falling


What if they all fell at once instead of gradually? That would be interesting (some parts of the country would have to close schools and get out the snowplows for leaves), but things would get bare and gray fast. We don't get much snow here, and what we get melts fast, so winter tends to be gray and brown and wet, and surprisingly windier here than in Nashville. I guess that's why we like to light up our houses so much at Christmas. Winter is still fun- dreaming of enough snow to stay home, warm and snug under a down comforter with a good book and some hot chocolate, then going out in the tingly cold to crunch your way through a world whose defects are temporarily hidden under a merciful white blanket. Mmm...
Did you know Lima beans could imitate kudzu? Look at this. My garden is still a jungle.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Indoor Gardening-Mint


I'm going to do a little indoor gardening for the winter. I took some mint to an Indian friend at work last week to use in a chutney. Unfortunately, it was not the RIGHT mint. Their cuisine is so much more complicated than ours! She bought some better mint, and told me to take some home and plant it in pots for the winter. I looked online, and there was a suggestion to put the sprigs in water to grow roots, them carefully plant them in soil. I stripped the lower leaves from the sprigs and put them in water. The roots are growing well. Evidently mint is the kind of thing you plant around here by throwing it down and running, so it sounds like the kind of plant I can overwinter successfully :).

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Gardening-and Eating in the Dark

Night comes earlier than it did just last week. And the beans keep right on producing. It is an amazing and instructive phenomenon- can I be productive even when I've been nipped a few times, or even damaged? 
I tend to get home now around sunset, even if I leave work a bit early. The air is cooling; the cats are crunching their evening meal and getting the wild-eyed hunter/ huntress look of a cat at dusk. I wish I had cat-eyes, to see what I want to harvest. What I miss can dry on the plant until tomorrow. For now, it is time to fix dinner.
How do we eat? We eat a low-sodium version of the DASH diet (from a study done in 1999 called Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). Husband's BP is 20 points lower eating like this, with no drugs. Put simply, eat as many colorful vegetables and fruits as you can, with whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, lean meats, and dairy to round out your carb/protein needs. Those may vary by individual, but the advice to eat a rainbow of color and flavor every day, mostly vegetables and fruit, is sound. In winter I tend to go for more soups and stews, in summer the salads and stir fries. Viva veggies!

Here is a sample meal: Mrs. Dash mesquite grill braised chicken, microwaved broccoli, sliced tomatoes, roasted beets, red potatoes, and sweet potatoes, and a butternut squash-brown rice risotto. Kind of starchy, but it is winter and we need the energy. It works for us. And we do eat from the salad-sized plates.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Wanna Make Some Biodiesel?

Science, October 24, 2008 issue, has an article about synthetic chemists re-engineering E. coli, algae, and other microbes to produce biofuels. Good work, but did they try looking for organisms capable of doing it without all the engineering? I have composted in a totally wrong manner this year- enclosed plastic container (loose lid, but fastened down), not paying attention to brown/green ratios, etc. Somehow an unbelievable amount of yard and kitchen waste has turned into a large trash can almost full of blackish-green goo. I did seed it with dirt from a part of the yard where a watermelon rind rotted away to nothing in about 2 weeks last summer, but aside from a little mixing and a lot of dumping stuff in it, that was all the care required. At one point this summer the can was alive with beetle larvae (I looked them up- they are harmless), but they are gone now that cooler weather is here. Stuff still rots FAST when I mix it in. It turns black within a few days, then slowly loses its form. I'm not saying any biofuel has actually been generated back there (I rather hope I'm just making some decent fertilizer), but SOMETHING in that soil is capable of breaking things down fast. Kinda creepy, but in a good way.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

A Beautiful Day To Get Eaten Alive


Today we went for a hike in Shelby-Meeman state park after a picnic lunch, after church. Memphis has a LOT of swampland, which makes for interesting scenery in dry weather, but also hordes of mosquitoes! I tied my kerchief over my ears to keep the little buzzers from getting too friendly. Husband did not bring a hat, and he has a buzz cut hairstyle, so he got bit frequently. We had to keep moving, and could not enjoy the scenery as much as I would have liked. The woods were still pretty green for November, despite the frosts last week. We like to hike at this time of year, to commemorate our engagement 8 years ago. 8 years? It seems like yesterday he proposed by putting my ring in a box at the bottom of my sack lunch, at Buzzard's Roost at Fall Creek Falls. I thought it was a box of raisins. I was very happy to find a ring instead. Fall Creek Falls does not have nearly as many mosquitoes, but it would take us all day to drive there now. So we make do with what we have. It is enough.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Secrets of Perfect Happiness

O.K. Nothing is perfect in this life, but some days come close. This morning was one of those times. Slept late, snuggly warm, ate breakfast at the cafe, walked to the store for chips for a hike tomorrow, came home in the warm sunshine, and took a 3-hour nap (I actually have a cold that is sapping my energy) in the sunny south-facing living room.  
These are my secrets of Happiness:
1. Love God. Read the Bible and do what it says. Not the overly- literal old-testament law stuff the media ridicules and misunderstands intentionally, but the real stuff- love God, love your neighbor. That will keep you busy.
2.  Choose your spouse wisely, and Prepare to Serve. My husband is my best friend, which is good when you move from one place to another. We love and serve each other, which helps when times are hard. Think warm, positive thoughts of said spouse intentionally. Make your winter blankets just a little thin, and the room cool, to encourage togetherness.
3. Keep each other well fed. I am happy when my blood sugar is even, crabby when I have to go long without eating. My husband knows when I need a snack, and he likes to make sure I get enough food. Though he loves a verdant green lawn, he let me dig up the back yard to grow a bit of our own food. He knows what I like, and what I need.
4. Be satisfied with simple things. I like being warm (the down, stadium-length coat was a BIG HIT a few Christmases ago), and I like a good supply of very hot water for bathing. Give me food, shelter, warm clothes, a comfortable bed (a little on the hard side), and a hot shower, and I'm happy. A good library helps, too.


Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween in the Kingdom

I haven't seen the black cats tonight, but I'm sure they're avoiding the commotion. A neighbor left the porch light on and house decorated, so LOTS of kids have stopped there to find no-one home. We are lit up, but not in a line of lit-up homes, so we get passed by a lot. We just got "missed" by a whole HORDE of what appeared to be middle-to-high-school kids, so it is just as well. Most of them were not even wearing costumes. It is O.K.- I didn't buy huge loads of candy this year, anyway. It was too expensive. There are some smaller groups, usually a few quiet teen girls with small children you know to be their own, that I would really rather offer GROCERIES rather than chocolate bars and fruit-flavored candy. But they want the candy, and we give it, so they get to be the kids they are again, for a night.
I wore my Spanish outfit today to work. It got a few compliments and a lot of quizzical looks. I like it, and it is comfortable and functional. I like dress up days- you get to be a kid, again, for a little while. Letting your inner child out to play once in a while is important. I remember one of my best teachers always seemed to have a bit of the inquisitive little boy in him, even though he had 5 daughters and was approaching retirement. You could see it when he took apart capacitors in front of the class, or he watched a sunrise through the window during an early-morning review session. I hope you (and all the little people you know) enjoy the evening. Little blessings mean a lot.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

It Ain't Over Yet


The garden does not appear to be dead, even though we had 2 nights of frost. The wind has turned to the south and the day seems really nice (as I press my little nose against the glass of the window at work, staring at a gorgeous blue sky). We may get more beans yet out of those plants. OH! And I'll soon be harvesting my 3 lemons from the dwarf lemon tree! They're turning the appropriate yellow-orange color. It is exciting. Above is a picture of the lemon tree in bloom (Lemon tree, very pretty...). This was back in February. Lemons take a long time to grow and ripen. Patience is a virtue, and gardening helps you develop it.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Sweet Potato Harvest


Here are the sweet potatoes I harvested this year. I only planted 4 slips, and I'm still in the process of improving the soil. Compared to the pinkie-finger-sized nubs of last year's experiment, this is a real improvement! Even the rootlets are good peeled and roasted with beets and red potatoes, with olive oil, rosemary, and pepper. 

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Rescue the Perishing


There was frost on the garage roof this morning. More due tonight. I showed my husband this shelf of immature tomatoes I harvested last night before the frost, and he said, " You rescued the perishing!". Hence the title. They'll ripen with time, because all of them are at least a little red. They wont be the same as vine-ripened, but they'll still be better than grocery-store orange cubes.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Beans in my Pocket

Pain in my Heart... (Strange misquote of an old song). The low is due to be in the mid-to-low 30s tonight. Frost likely. I harvested so many bean pods that my basket was full, and so were the pockets of my oversized jeans.The limas produced A LOT of beans. If all the plants had the room and light of the ones along the fence, I would have had to ask for a "300 Ways to Fix Lima Beans" cookbook for Christmas.
I brought in lots of tomatoes (any with a sign of pink on them- pics when I have time). I will miss those plants. I will also welcome time to do some sewing and repair my clothing. I have learned so much from growing food this year! And it has been a wonderful opportunity to get to know my neighbors. I'm already planning next year, Lord willing.
Here's the Perfect Sunday Afternoon picture from yesterday. May we all relax like that tonight. God bless you.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

A Perfect Sunday Afternoon

A Wonderful Sunday afternoon was spent napping and making apple butter for christmas presents. Except for my poor chapped, calloused hands I'm as happy as a cat napping in the warm afternoon sun. Every warm day as we head into winter is a gift from God. Can't upload the pic of the sleeping cat, but it says it all. Maybe tomorrow.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Harvest Time

Today was one of those Little Piece of Heaven days. Cool in the shade, comfortable in the sun with sweaters on, today was the day to bring in the sweet potatoes and the basil. We are getting close to frost time (avg first frost date November 6). Here are shots of the basil:



Before the harvest, being smothered by tomato plants.




Look how huge the plants were this year!

I don't know how purists do it, but I strip the leaves off into a bowl (with a cat warm from the sun snuggling up to my back as I sit on the ground), swish in water to clean, spin in salad spinner to dry, wrap in wax paper or parchment paper in recipe-sized increments, and freeze. When I go to make tomato-basil soup, I just remove the right-sized packet, crumble the frozen basil, and dump it in the soup. It works for me.

Friday, October 24, 2008

More People Should Do This

My husband and I started "pedestrian dating" recently, after gas prices shot up. I had been oblivious to the whole thing until I saw 70s-era LINES at local gas stations just before Hurricane Gustav. I got home with the groceries and said "I don't want to give those money-grubbing crooks another dime". My husband suggested walking, and another fun date-night activity was born. There are several locally-owned restaurants within walking distance of the house (2 just down the street), so this is fun. And we don't have to drive across town and back in traffic for it. We sometimes get dessert. We'll walk it off if we go to the pizza place. We enjoy the walk together, looking at the unique houses in the neighborhood. We don't dress up or go anywhere fancy- we can split a 10-inch (good- from a local shop) pizza for less than $10 if we both drink water. At most we spend less than $30. And no gas money, no downtown parking, fewer hassles. We may not do it as the weather gets colder (or we may stick to the corner cafe), but I sure have liked it so far.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Another Beautiful Sweet Potato Moment


Here is another beautiful blooming sweet potato flower. To think the homely root has such nice flowers! God blesses us every day.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Working Hard

Is a lot of fun! Husband wanted to watch a movie, and I came home a little early, so we walked to the video store and back tonight. I must fix dinner. Here is a nice quote:

From The Garden Yard (1909) by Bolton Hall

"Suppose that a man owns his house, even if it be but a bit of a bungalow, and suppose he has a bit of land on which he can raise most of what his family eats; he may have to work hard, especially if his family cannot help in the work, but at least he is independent; at least panics, lock-outs, change of circumstances, or even loss of health will not reduce him to starvation." 
We don't have that much land, and we do have a mortgage, but it is a good thought.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Jorge the Mighty Hunter


Well, I found out why Jorge isn't coming around for the food pellets (actually, he did yesterday, but was more excited about the scratch behind the ears). Check out this picture. Yes, that is a bird in his mouth. I should feel bad about it, but I don't. The backyard is a jungle, after all. That is actually a neighbors yard. We DO mow our grass. Cats like high grass. It reminds them of their ancestral savannah.  They can feel like The Mighty Hunter On The Prowl. Mice and small birds take warning! Jorge is out for blood! (Most of the birds around here are invasive species anyway, so it is just as well).

Monday, October 20, 2008

Finishing the Bean Saga

O.K. We'll try this again.
Here's what we were doing during the Vanderbilt-Georgia game. The picture got rotated in the upload- rotate your head 90 degrees to the right, if you can.



And here's the finished product- peas ready for busy winter work-nights.