Other Growth

While our fall garden may be stunted, the neighborhood is not. Here are some scenes from my back deck.


These are 2 "houses" that are being built behind us. I say "houses" because they are being built on lots that are a mere 25 feet wide. That is more townhome than house to me. Where once there was one house, there will be three. *sigh*

If you look past my next door neighbor's house and into the next yard, you will see an excavator and a little bobcat. The house and awesome-beyond-all-hoarder's-belief garage is going away. Two fabulous new homes are to be built on that lot soon.


It is not very quiet around here these days what with all the banging and air compressors and smashing going on. I'm also feeling a little encroached upon. Those houses in the back are built right up to the alley and are hovering over my backyard. More motivation to get out of here. So again - *sigh*.

Fall Garden Update

Well, it's a pretty sad state of affairs. The beans are all gone. The squashes are all gone. The tomatoes are all stunted save this one volunteer that came up in a pot.


This is a pitiful broccoli plant after living in my garden for many weeks. It's not dead, but it has hardly grown at all.


The herbs are doing OK, but they always do.



I did manage to harvest 5 lemons. They aren't the monster Ponderosa lemons I got last year. These are Meyer's, but they are pretty good sized.


I also got 4 satsumas. The tree is a dwarf. I don't know if a dwarf tree makes a smaller fruit than a full-sized tree. but these were pretty small. I would have had a few more, but the furry freeloaders stole some.


They stole a few limes, too.


The limes are very small. I believe the variety is called Thornless Mexican Lime. I got quite a few of them for the small tree that it is though. Maybe 20.


And of course, the habanero plant is still going wild.


The hubs made his first batch of sauce with these bad boys a few nights ago. I got him started with the carrots, onions, and garlic. As soon as he started blending the peppers, I had to retire to the second floor. The fumes were positively deadly. He likes it though. Go figure.

And the Japanese beetles got the pecans!

And the chickens have been molting! No eggs.

It's been a rough fall for food production.

Hope you had better luck that we did.

No, really.......

...it is beyond crazy here.

If you have been around here for long at all, you will remember that this is a busy time for me. Here's a reminder. And another. This year, thankfully, there are even more properties than last year.

But I'll see what I can do. I miss hanging out here.

Even though it's 70+ degrees outside...

...I have been snowed under. The last couple of weeks have been beyond crazy. I'll try to get back to it in a day or so. And though I can never be completely Wordless, I will leave you with this Wednesday pic. Because a Barbie Musketeer should brighten everyone's day.

It is finished!

Wow!! Megan succeeded in getting over $1,000 in donations for the Vega family.

Y'all are awesome. Hop on over to Sorta Crunchy to check out all the details.

Good job, everyone!

Oops

OK. If you have tried to participate in the raffle, you know there have been some changes. Poor Megan has been struggling with PayPal all week. She has come up with a good solution/compromise.

In a nutshell, she is accepting donations for the Vega family. Some contributors will be randomly selected to receive a gift. You can read more about it at Sorta Crunchy.

I hope everyone who considered entering the raffle will still consider donating. Many already have.

But perhaps the best news is, Gabriella is going home Friday!

The Good Side of the Internet

There is a raffle of epic proportions going on over at Sorta Crunchy. Sweet Megan is blessing the family of a 4-year-old darling who has had a stroke. She suffers with myocardial bridging causing restrictive cardiomyopathy and is in need of a heart transplant.

Megan has put together a fund-raiser/raffle to help out the family of this precious little girl . There are some amazing gifts for:

The Little Ones - with t-shirts and onesies and so many cute things.
The Princess in Your Life - featuring crowns and other lovelies.
And for Mama - truly an amazing package that also includes a prayer shawl from my needles.

Please take a look and read about Gabriella. And buy a ticket, or two, or three. This is what Megan hopes to accomplish with this effort:

• We hope to be able to alleviate some of the financial toll that has come as a result of Gabriella's stroking by paying off the Vegas' bill at the Ronald McDonald House at the Phoenix Children's Hospital
• In the hard days ahead filled with speech therapy and adjusting to life post-stroke, we want to provide relief from the burden of coming up with an answer to the "what's for dinner?" question by providing restaurant gift cards
• If you have ever walked through a major life crisis, you know that even the smallest of needs can seem overwhelming. We hope to meet some needs on a practical level for the Vegas by purchasing grocery and gas gift cards
• The part of Gabriella's brain most affected by the stroke is the speech center. She has many days of speech therapy ahead. Insurance covers only 60 days of outpatient therapy, and the family will be responsible for $25 for each of the insurance-covered therapy session. Last Monday, Kristi wrote that they are asking God for means to be able to pay for extended speech therapy sessions. Any monies raised that go above and beyond meeting the needs listed above will be donated to the trust set up by the Vega family to offset costs of Gabriella's medical care not covered by insurance.

So hop on over there and try your chances. Not only might you win a great prize, but you will also be part of what life is supposed to be like: people helping people.

Thank you so much.

What Were You Doing Nine Years Ago Today?

I was lying in a hospital bed recovering from the surgical delivery of my sweetness baby girl.


Happy Birthday, my Sweetness. You have added such joy to all our lives.

If you want to know Where Babies Come From, you can read about it here.

Pig Flu (and others) Avoidance

The following message was posted on my homeschool group page and credited to Dr. Vinay Goyal. It is a lot of common sense that is not so common. Thought it might help you all stay well this fall and winter.



The only portals of entry of the HiNi virus are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications) . This is not a joke. Make it a ritual habit...
make it part of your daily routine... DO NOT BE LAZY...!!!

2. "Hands-off-the- face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. If this method is not possible, blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.

5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Tuesday's Tip

Today's Tip: oregano oil.

Have you ever tried oregano oil? No, not to cook with, but I suppose you could.

Oregano oil is great at fighting infections as it kills many kinds of bacteria, fungi, and parasites. I use it on my teeth.

I have really soft teeth that are prone to infection. A friend told me about oregano oil and I haven't had an infection since. I put a drop or two on a tooth when I feel a little tinge that might mean trouble. When I can't stand it anymore, I swish water in my mouth for a second and then swallow. (Try it once and you'll understand "can't take it anymore." This stuff is stout.) I do that in the morning and evening for a few days.

It is also good for the control of candida, possibly athlete's foot, and other infections.

Let me say that oregano oil is very potent stuff. If you use it for any of these applications, you should only use it for 2 -3 weeks and then stop.

Let me also say that I am not an expert, much less a doctor. Or even a dentist. I share this information only from my personal experiences.

Here are a few articles that tell you more about oregano oil and its possible uses:

OreganoPro
Oil of Oregano
Bnet
Home Remedies Web

As with any home remedy, I hope you do further research on your own if you want to use oregano oil.