Transference and Transformation

One of the big problems with having crappy soil is that you've got to build it up in order to get anything of value back out.  What is it they say?  Garbage in, garbage out?  But this takes time and the only short cut you can take is to buy your compost and toss it in.  

We were spreading our bulk compost the other day.  SM is in the pickup tossing it out, I'm in the garden tossing it into another pile that's closer to the bed that it will eventually end up in. 


That's the problem with bulk compost.  It's cheaper than the bagged stuff but you've got to put some effort into getting it where you want it to be.  And this garden is now "officially" too big to toss it there in just one step.

Anyhow, as we were transferring the good stuff around, we're also talking.

"You know, for $28 a load this is pretty good stuff" I say admiring the crumbly blackness of the compost.  "I mean, it's a good investment, but some people would say that's it's not necessarily a smart one."

"What do you mean not a smart one?"  SM asks.  "We've chosen to grow our own for the taste and for the health of it.  Can you put a price on that?"

"Well, you can buy organic at the store...or just be ignorant for that matter and just keep buying the same ole, same ole like we do now."  I point out.  "It's not like we're there yet.  We still buy produce and fruit at the store and I don't shop organic.  Too expensive."

"True.  I did buy those grapes from Sams the other week.  They came from Chile so who knows what kind of chemicals and crap are on them."  SM reflects.  "They were good though."

"Well, even that's a matter of opinion.  How do you know that they were all that good unless you ate some grapes that we grew here at the house and compared.  Remember the lettuce?"  I ask.

(*One of the first things we grew here was lettuce.  I still remember how good that home grown lettuce was fresh out of the garden.  We rarely eat store bought lettuce (when it's out of season) because of the taste.  Or lack of it.)

"Still, even though this hasn't been a cheap thing to do right now, I still think in the long run it'll pay us back tenfold as the years go by.  We shouldn't have to keep tossing compost into this for much longer.  All we'll need to start doing is tossing in organics for maintenance."  I pause, thinking about the future.

"How much do you think we've spent?"  SM asks.

"You don't want to know..." I say, shaking my head.  "Tally it up. Trees, bushes, compost, wood framing, fencing, seeds...This is not a cheap thing to do at all.  That's why some people might consider this a pretty stupid thing to do.  We've probably dropped at least a grand into it so far.  Can you honestly say that we've eaten a thousand dollars worth of fruit and veggies?  Of course not.  That's why it's an investment in our future.  A transformation."  I say waving my hand encompassing the whole of the backyard.

This blog is named 500 Dollar Tomato because at the time, that's the amount of project money we had to start with.  As the years go by and we keep making improvements here and there, it all adds up.  And more to be spent still.  On the radar is getting the worm towers started, buying shade cloth in anticipation of the hot, hot scorching Summer and rain barrels.

It may have started off as a 500 dollar "project" but it will eventually turn into an actual 500 dollar tomato.

How prophetic...

In Praise of "The Beater"

It's no joke that we run our cars into the ground around here.  SM's minivan is the new kid on the block and even that's got 110K on it.  My 13 yo Jeep just hit the 240K mark. 

And then there's "The Beater."  So named cause we beat it up every chance we get and we don't care that we do!"

We live in a pretty normal suburban neighborhood and while you can mostly find practical, middle class vehicles like Honda's and a few upper crusty cars like Lexus's, there are plenty of working class people with pickup trucks here in the hood.  

But no one has a pickup quite like mine.

Our Beater wheezes and chirps like she's taking her last breath.  She pulls constantly to the right and badly needs an alignment.  One of the side mirrors is busted and gone.  She never gets a bath unless it rains and she's filthy inside and out and filled with tons of SM's work crap.

But everyone around us knows that if they need to haul something to or from their house all they have to do is ask.  "The Beater" is available to everyone.  No questions asked.  Smack it around.  Scrape it up.  We don't care.

The engine on this thing still turns over with the flick of a key.  That's all I ask.  Her tires flatten under the weight of a yard of compost.  We'll drive slowly back to the house at 30 miles an hour with far younger, flashier cars lining up behind us waiting for us to turn off the road.

She's 16 years old and has who knows how many miles on her since her odometer broke a long, long time ago.

I used to drive her to work back when gas was cheap.  She's too much of a gas hog to do that now.  I remember people always gave me a wide berth.  It didn't matter if I was chugging down the road or parking it in the lot.  All those fussy, fancy cars stayed far, far away from my beat up old truck.

That's right.  I'm big and I'm bad.  I'm not too pretty, but I get the job done.  I'm old and busted.

And I wouldn't want it any other way.

Hot Pocket

SM and I often fight over the covers.  You know, in bed.  It's often tug of war to be sure.  SM came out the other morning apologizing over the fact that he had hogged the covers again.

"No you didn't." I said accepting his good morning kiss.

"But everything was on my side of the bed."  SM protested.

"That's because I threw everything over on to you, I get so hot."  I replied.

"You don't look like you're hot now."  SM says noticing that I've got a pullover on.

"Yeah, that's what's weird about it.  I get the random hot flash here and there but I can guarantee that between midnight and 6am I'll be tossing and turning in a sweat."

"Glad I'm not a girl."  SM says making his coffee.  "Are you going to get on hormones?"

"I'm going to try not to, although Natalie (a friend) says it stopped her hot flashes.  I just don't think I'm miserable enough to want to consider HRT yet."

Since we'd had that conversation, I figured I'd better get educated so I googled the pros and cons of HRT.  Which said that you should try to stay off them unless your symptoms are moderate to severe. 

So I googled Peri-menopause symptoms and came across this blog. 

35 Symptoms of Peri menopause

• Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling
• Irregular heart beat
• Irritability
• Mood swings, sudden tears
• Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)
• Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; phantom periods, shorter cycles, longer cycles
• Loss of libido
• Dry vagina
• Crashing fatigue
• Anxiety, feeling ill at ease
• Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom
• Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion
• Disturbing memory lapses
• Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence
• Itchy, crawly skin
• Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons
• Increased tension in muscles
• Breast tenderness
• Headache change: increase or decrease
• Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
• Sudden bouts of bloat
• Depression
• Exacerbation of existing conditions
• Increase in allergies
• Weight gain
• Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair
• Dizziness, vertigo, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance
• Changes in body odor
• Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head
• Tingling in the extremities
• Gum problems, increased bleeding
• Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor
• Osteoporosis (after several years)
• Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier
• Tinnitus: ringing in ears, bells, ‘whooshing,’ buzzing etc.

Only 35?!?  Here I was figuring I had the classic 5 or 6 symptoms.  What the hell?  Burning tongue?  Itchy crawling skin?  Electric shocks?  (Oh wait...I already have those.) 

Well, crap.  I guess I'd better raise my expectations a bit.  It sounds delightful though doesn't it?

Anyway, I also went online looking to see if there was such a thing as cool sheets and pillows.  And there are!  Check this out.  Has anyone tried this stuff?

We sleep on a memory foam mattress that is supposed to already adapt to your body's temperature.  But I have a mattress pad on it.  I wondered if THAT was making me hot.  So I took it off and guess what!  I've slept better that past 2 nights than I have in months.  The heat from the bed drove me away and I would end up sleeping on the couch.  I still wake up warm from time to time but no sweats.

Coincidence?  Maybe.  Time will tell but it's been wonderful actually getting a couple of good nights sleep.

Beam Me Up Scottie

SM thinks that this Summer is going to be a scorcher.  He thinks we're falling back into a pattern like when we first moved here.  It's been about 14 years or so.  Do weather patterns fall into cycles?  We'll soon see.

NC was in a drought back in 98 when we first moved here and I came to understand that the dry, burnt and brittle country side was NOT the norm.  Since recovering from the drought, things seem to be pretty normal.  I don't really hear any of the locals commenting about the weather being unusual.

Except this year.  Everyone (and I do mean everyone) is talking about the early Spring.  Usually it's a slow waltz into Spring around here.  Certain trees and shrubs bloom in a certain sequence culminating in the hardwoods leafing out last. 

This year it doesn't seem to matter.  It's a mad rush to leaf out.  The holly bushes are covered in blooms and bees right now.  This usually happens in mid to late April.  I checked my blog journal from last year and my entry was April 10th for the holly's to be in bloom.  That's a good 2-3 weeks ahead of the curve.

SM noticed yesterday that our English Oak and our Crepe Myrtles are beginning to leaf out.  I felt like someone beaned me over the head...We were both shocked.

"Well, Beam me up Scottie..." I muttered to myself in amazement.

(*I know, I know...I tend to use some very interesting phrases and idioms here.  Let me digress here for just a moment.   It's my way of saying "Yeah.  I'm on board.  I agree with what you're saying."((Star Trek Geek here.)) 

What I'm trying to say is that I DO believe that Mother Nature has handed us an early Spring.  I would be very surprised if we were to get any destructively cold weather.

It's funny how much better you pay attention to the weather once you start to garden or farm.  I certainly understand our little slice of heaven much better after trying to get the land to produce something.  And I hate to waste a good opportunity.  It seems that Mamma N is prodding me saying "What are you waiting for ?" Hello...McFly?  Think!  (*another idiom we use around here) "I'm handing you the chance to start eating fresh veggies a whole month earlier than normal.  Be flexible girl."

I think that (like you) I've been very suspicious that this was a fluke.  But while I've seen the fruit trees get burned by popping out too early, I've never seen the oak tree leaf out until May.  Ever.  It's always the last to POP.

And to my way of thinking, if the Oak can come out to play than so can some of my summer veggies.  I went ahead and planted summer squash, cucumbers, loofahs and potatoes this weekend.  I'm holding out on the beans for another week or so.  I plan on planting a large patch of beans.

And if SM is right and we do get clobbered by a scorching hot Summer, at least I might be able to get a bit of a harvest in before the oven turns on.  And if Mother Nature has just handed us an early Spring than I'll reap the benefits of sowing a little early plus have a longer than normal growing season. 

Venus Fly Trap

You know how they say that men are from Mars and women are from Venus?   Well, this crafty Venus girl got what she wanted the other day.  And SM fell right into my trap.  Whaa ha ha....




Remember a few days ago when I posted about wanting some help with all the compost hauling?  I try to do most things without whining about it too much.  But when it comes to things that require a bit of muscle I'm not shy about admitting that my upper body strength sucks.  I'm a full fledged wimp.  I can get it done on my own but it takes me a L O N G time to do it.

Friday morning and SM is standing there with a cup of coffee at 7am.

"You're off today...what are you going to do?"  SM asks.

"What aren't I doing today?"  I sigh dramatically.  "Everything.  Look at this house, it's filthy and I've got so much work do outside."

"You going to weed and spread the mulch?"  SM asks.  (He's just full of questions isn't he?)

I sigh again..."I'm really torn.  I thought I'd have more time to get the garden going but look at this weather?  I really think I need to concentrate on hauling some compost today.  It's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow and you won't be here next week (Vegas)  And I've got strawberries shipping next week and no place to plant them..."  I fade off hoping I'll get a nibble.

Blink, Blink.  (*It also never hurts to flutter your lashes at your guy either, Girls.)

"Well, I'm free this morning.  Need some help?"  SNAP GOES THE FLY TRAP.

"Sure can!"  I say enthusiastically all the while thinking "Suck-er!  You belong to me now!"

"When do they open?"  SM inquires.

"7:30"  I say.

SM looks at the clock (7:18am)  "Well, you've got their hours memorized don't you?"

So off we go to get the bulk compost.  One yard for $26 and it's good stuff.

So that's how I got my man to help out with the compost hauling.  I guess the Ole Girl's still got it, huh?

Surprise, Surprise

Yesterday I had a Gomer Pile moment.





I had decided to get in the garden and weed it.  So I'm hanging upside down shuffling sideways when what do I come across?  Carrots tops!  They weren't very tall.  Could there be carrots underneath?  If there were I was pretty sure they'd be too tiny to harvest.

I'd forgotten that I'd tossed a batch of seeds here last September.  It's in one of the back "double dig" strips that we'd made last year.  I'd already harvested all the carrots from the raised bed back in January.  Those carrots pulled up easily and were sweet and yummy.  So easy, I'd made a mental note to myself to always grow carrots in the raised beds.

I tried pulling these up with a yank and broke off the tops.  The clay we call soil around here had them gripped tightly.

SM handed me the pitch fork and "Shazam"...CARROTS!  And some were pretty good sized too.  Well how about that!?!  What a treat!  I considered pulling only what I needed and letting the rest grow some more but I was concerned about the quality of the carrot if I let them be.  They've been in the ground 6 months after all.  Would these even be any good?  We rinsed one of the bigger ones off and taste tested.  It was fine so I decided to just pull the whole patch.

And here's another surprise...Look closely.

Yep, there's life in that there soil!  Worms and tiny little micro-organisms.  Seeing THAT was even better than seeing the carrots.  We must be doing something right!

I swear I heard all the birds lining up on the fence line hoping to get in where I'd dug and get some worms for breakfast.  (I tossed some cardboard over the newly dug patch when I left.)  Sorry birds...those worms are an endangered species in my garden...None for you!

I went out front and tossed them on the sidewalk leading to the front door and sprayed them off.

Then I sat there in the early morning light and trimmed off all the tops.  Back to the garden they go and now SM and I have lots of carrots to munch on of the next few weeks.

My first harvest of Spring 2012!

Shifting Priorties

Lately I feel like I'm walking on quick sand.  One step in this direction...No, that doesn't feel right.  Lets try the other way...Ooo that's better.  But then 10 steps down that road, something else comes up and has me thinking that I'd better head over in that direction.

With this "Ka-Blam" Springtime weather we're having lately, I've been feeling like I need to shift my priorities daily.  I start off alright but by the end of the day I'm scratching my head wondering just what did I get done today.

I took a few days off this week as two of my Dr's are taking some much needed vacations with their families.  So given the option of twiddling my thumbs at work or taking some PTO and busting my double-wide here at the house, I opted to take Wednesday and Friday off to try and get a handle on things around the plantation.

Wednesday started off great with a 3am hot flash and me getting up to watch some TV hoping to go back down.  But then I made the mistake of watching some TiVoed Hot in Cleveland which has got to be the funniest thing ever.  I was laughing so hard I was afraid I'd wake up SM.  I just started watching HIC this year and I tell you...Betty White kills every time.  What good writing.

After my laughfest I walked the dogs, fed them, spent a hour or so on your blogs, another hour on my blog, (these posts don't write themselves do they?) trimmed Ginnys and Caseys nails, (Poor Casey was twitching like she was being electroshocked) loaded the dishwasher, ate some breakfast and once I saw that the sun was filtering through the fog, stepped out onto the porch to survey my domain.

"It should be pretty easy pulling weeds today after that rainstorm last night." SM decrees, already assigning me my tasks for the day.  

I hate weeding.  But SM hates it even more.  So shifting the twitches that rippled down my back in anticipation of another fun filled day hanging upside down, I headed out eyeballing the beds.  As I strolled around the wet grass with the dogs zipping here and there, I noted that the lawn needed mowed.  Again.  "But I can do that this afternoon." I muttered to myself wandering over to go look at the garden.

What a mess.  But not really.  The weeds are mostly suppressed by the cardboard.  But I'll need more.  I'm finding it most effective to lay cardboard in the walkways twice a year.  It may not look pretty but it's a cheap fix if you can find it.  I went cardboard hunting on Monday and mostly struck out.  Lots of little stuff but that's just a pain.  I want the medium to large boxes.  I even went in to talk to the grocery store manager who told me that Mondays are not a good day in the world of cardboard dumpster diving.  But I was welcome to come back on Wednesday and Friday as they are better for boxes.  So add that to the list of ToDo's for today.

Some of the beds and the new double dig area needs more compost, and I wouldn't mind going and getting a load today but we had rain last night so that'll make hauling it and shoveling it harder than it needs to be.  Besides, I'd rather wait until I can coerce SM into helping with that. 

Fencing needs moved after the compost goes in.  Do I want to plant some pears?  If so I'd better get a move on.  I ordered the strawberries on Monday so those will be shipped next week.  I need to back-fill the hole that the shrub came out of last weekend. 

This is where the new strawberry bed will go.  Do rabbits eat the strawberry plants?  If so, I'll have to delay planting them until the fence is moved which means compost is the first priority. 

Actually weeding first, then cardboard, then compost... 

Oh great, the cat just puked on the carpeting.  OK...clean the carpet first, then weed, then cardboard, then compost.

Geez, can you dogs try and wipe your feet before you come in the house?  The floors all tracked up and muddy.  Might as well get out the mop and clean up the floors.  But you guys look like you could use a bath. (sigh)

OK...Lets see.  Baths first, then mop, then clean the carpets, then go out and weed...

Oh Crap!  I've got a hair appointment today.  The girl I've been with for the past year made me so blond I'm starting to feel ditsy so I'm done with her.  I'm trying a different stylist who I hope will toss in some brown "low lights" to bring me back down to earth.

OK...Let's see.  Mop the floor first, then clean the carpet, then get my hair done, then dumpster dive for cardboard while I'm out, then come home and mow the lawn...maybe I'll give the dogs a bath later.

So the floor got mopped and then I got my hair done.  I dumpster dived to find a few boxes, not much though.  Came home and cleaned the carpets.  Hopped on the mower and did our lawn and sat back and considered my neighbors yard.

Yes I have one of those neighbors.  The house right beside the garden is occupied by a Mom and her 2 adult children.  We never see them which is sorta nice but also sorta weird since you don't know really know if anyone's dead or alive.  They hire out their yard work every year but wait to hire a service until their grass is impossibly high. 

I'm concerned about this because we're having an early season.  I'm sure that tall grass will attract fleas, ticks, snakes and mice.  Last year when she did this I actually found a copperhead in my garden.  (shudder)  And had fleas for the first time in years.

So I sat and looked at her lawn.  Yes, I am THAT sort of neighbor.  A "busy-body" to be sure.  If I was going to intervene and mow it, I'd better do it soon.  That grass was already 2 feet high.

I went over and rang the bell.  Twice.  I walked around back and noted that a car was there.  (They never answer their door.)  I walked around the back yard making sure nothing would damage the mower.  I walked back around the front and noticed a neighbor across the street was out, so I went over and chatted with her.  Any news?  We discussed the yard, (I wasn't the only one concerned) she offered to help, I waved her off.  I knew if SM was home he'd tell me to leave it alone.  But I can't.  So for purely selfish reasons, I went over and mowed their yard. 

Dropping a hint?  I'm not subtle am I?

It was HIGH and on top of all THAT, I think I might have gotten poison ivy on my wrist.  (*No good deed every goes unpunished.)

So that's how my days have been.  All over the place.  Did the weeding get done? 

No.  But there's always tomorrow.

Sorry Bob...

Not you Bob...

The other "Bob". 

Handyman Bob. 

Handyman Bob is my "go to guy" for idiot things that SM and I just can't figure out on our own.

You know..."Call the guy".  SM and I say this around here all the time.  Is it something we can tackle or should we just "call the guy". 

Knowing that "calling the guy" also means "paying the guy".





Anyhoo...We have a slight tendency to overload the washing machine and the agitator stopped...well...agitating this weekend. 

A quick Internet search and we found out that these little plastic "dogs" have a tendency to get stripped. 

So SM found a place that had them in town. 

$4.20, one YouTube video and ten minutes later, TaDa!  Back in business.  Isn't the Internet wonderful

*SM wants everyone to know that he would have finished in 5 minutes except for the fact that his silly wife wanted to document the process with pictures.  He wanted to strangle me for slowing the process down.  "It's for the Blog, Honey!"

I also did my part this weekend.  Every year I usually get our AC unit serviced in the Spring.  I got into the pattern of routine maintenance on this unit when we bought it 8 years ago.  Brand new and it wouldn't hold it's freon.  Every year they would come out and "repair" it under warranty.  We asked them to replace it.  "Oh No...It's fixed now."  

The following year it would show a loss of freon.  I don't think I ever paid for a "service call" for them because of the warranty.  But I did have to pay for the freon.  Anyway, two years ago they got a fellow out here who actually DID fix it.  I watched how he cleaned the unit.  No big deal really.

So this year I decided not to "call the guy".  When I turned the AC unit on the air was very cold.  Good sign.  But we did have the usual "I haven't been used in 6 months "stinkies".  You know, that sour musty smell.  I went out and dismantled the AC unit, sprayed it down with vinegar and water to help eliminate "the stinkies" and put it back together all by myself.  Ha.  


"Sorry Bob!"

It's a good thing I got that squared away.  You would not believe how insane the pollen is right now.  Last night I finally decided to turn the AC on just so I could get a good nights rest without the congestion, sneezing and eye rubbing that I've been doing lately. 





I found this nice link to Pollen.Com that allows you to see what your area pollen forecast is for the next few days.  Just click on your state and enter your zip code for details. 

Around here we're at a 10 for the next 2 day with an 11.6 on Friday.  That's about as miserable as you can get.

It seems unreal to me that I'm running the AC in March.  But what can you do?

I Fought The Law And The Law Won

What have I been doing these last few months?  With the winter weather as mild as it's been I've been ignoring the fact that my landscaped beds have been taken over by weeds.  And I DO mean weeds.  I could just kick myself.  I could've been spending a few minutes here and there yanking weeds.  Now it's full steam ahead weed season and it's crazy out there kids!

The front yard wasn't nearly as bad as the back yard.  But that's because we've put mulch down every year so the pulling, yanking and tugging was easy.

These back beds haven't had any new mulch tossed onto them in probably 5 years.  Any extra cash we had was going into the garden.  So is it any surprise that the weeds have got a stranglehold?  I was shocked to see that it was pretty much bare dirt.  And yanking a weed from bare dirt is near impossible. 

In the past the mulch has helped to suppress any weeds and now it almost feels like I have to start all over again from scratch.  I told SM that I won't be creating any new "natural" areas around the shed and along the fence line like I'd hoped to this year.  Maybe this Fall.  Right now it's an emergency situation and the fabric and mulch are instead going in the established beds.  If I don't get control of these weeds now it'll be a free-for-all later. 

So I spent several hours bent over, blood rushing to my head in 80 degree heat.  I filled up 3 (count em) THREE  trash cans.  And  that's only tackling an area that's about 12x12.

Why is it that in early spring 80 degrees feels like 100?  My blood is still thick from Winter I guess.  All I could think of when I was yanking the weeds, hanging upside down getting delirious, was that song...I fought the law and the law won."  (The "law" being Mother Nature.  Ya gotta hand it to the old girl, she's certainly kicking my ass.)

SM asked what I planned to do with all the weeds I'd pulled.  Other than tossing them in the trash...any suggestions?  We're thinking of letting them dry out and then burn them.  I think the neighbors would notice if I just tossed them over the fence.  This is when living out in the country with a bit of land would come in handy.  I could just take it out to the woods and dump it.  Yep.  I'd be one of those folks with a "I don't know what to do with it so I'll just toss it here" patch.

Then again, if I lived out in the country I certainly wouldn't be fussing with a landscaped "suburban" yard so this would all be a moot point anyway. 

Where's that goat when you need one?

Spiffin Up

I'd noticed that our mailbox was looking pretty fugly lately.  It had to be at least 7 or 8 yrs old.  I mentioned to SM that, along with spreading some new mulch to the landscaped beds, I wanted to spiff up the mailbox area of our yard.

"Why?  All you ever get is bills in the mail.  That's nothing to celebrate."  SM points out.

"All the same, it is a reflection of the home don't ya think?"  I ask.

In our HOA free neighborhood mailboxes come in a shapes, sizes and price points.  From those boxy green plastic things to the fancy wrought iron posts and boxes, you can find it all in this neighborhood.  I didn't want to spend a lot and when SM priced mailboxes anywhere from $10 to several hundred dollars, I knew that I'd be re-purposing some things. 

We went to Walmart and bought a $10 grey metal "rural" (? what makes it rural?) mailbox.  I got out some of our beige house paint and slapped that on.  It looked better already.  What about the house numbers?  I looked up and down the street.  Some had the reflective stick on type, some had the nail into the post type.  All were hard to see.  So I decided to go big.  I took some of our house numbers as a template and used a magic marker to outline them and then painted them a deep green to stand out against the beige box. 

Meanwhile, SM pulled up the post and discovered that the bottom was rotting out so off he went to the big box store and paid $6 for a new pressure treated post.  He then salvaged some of the old cedar post to create a mount.  I painted the post the same color as our shutters.

I went out and trimmed back the Knockout Roses that were insanely out of control.  Keeping in mind that I'd like to be able to manage all this, I dug out one of the roses and all of the zebra grass. 

I had asked SM to dig out an evergreen bush in the backyard that needed to be moved in order to make way for the strawberry bed that we hope to put in soon.   I figured we'd try to salvage that bush and use it in the front yard instead.

Because the ground was heavy with wet clay, SM tackled this over 2 weekends.  He went out again yesterday and I saw him digging and straining.  "Why don't you just bring the truck back here, tie it up and yank it out."  I asked.

"I could strip it and kill it."  SM said.

"It's got to go one way or the other and you'll never be able to dig that entire root ball out and drag it around yourself.  Lets get the truck to do the heavy lifting.

Mission accomplished.  Was that ever easy!  SM then muscled the bush into the new hole he'd dug.  I gave it a good soaking and a haircut.  (We'll see what happens.)  Toss on some fresh mulch and it looks much better already.

Even KiKi seems to like it.

So while it may not be the fanciest mailbox on the planet I do think it spiff's up the front a bit.  Now if only we didn't have all those weeds in the yard.  (Although the dandelions do add a nice touch of color.)

Simple

What a mess! 

It's a hodge-podge weekend around here for sure...In my head at least. 

There is SO much to do that I feel distracted because every time I start on one thing, something else comes up and "oops" there's another thing that needs doing. 

I've started a list and boy is it getting crowded.  Everything is on it from trimming the dogs nails to looking at bathroom cabinets to cleaning the AC unit.  (Hard to believe that anyone is running their AC yet, but I've been tempted, let me tell you!)

So as distracted as I am right now, I looked up to find a moment of peace and serenity yesterday. 

The beauty of a peach blossom, framed against a pure blue sky with fluffy clouds. 

Simple. 

I could look at that tree all day.

It's a peach "stick" right now to be honest, but I know that a few years from now I just might take a moment from my busy day, lay on the ground and look up at a mass of peach blossoms against a blue sky and marvel that somehow, Spring has come once more.

The Path To Wisdom

My peri-menopausal symptoms haven't been all that tough to bear so far.  Skipping a period now and then, the restless, sleep interrupted nights, the occasional urge to rip SM's head off...

Yeah, pretty tolerable so far.

But lately a new player has entered the game.  I've noticed the past few months that I've been waking up hot and sweaty from time to time.  Then I get cold.  Then hot again.  Cold-hot-cold-hot...

The tempo has increased lately and now with the warmer weather that's come around I'm noticing that the "temperature tango" I've been dancing is moving into the daytime too.

Oh Joy!  Here come the hot flashes and night sweats!

I tell myself as I'm going through all these changes that "The path to Wisdom isn't easy."

Say what?  One of my favorite books that I read years ago is The Mists Of Avalon. 



I've always gobbled up books on Arthurian Legends.  MOA is told from the view point of the female characters surrounding Arthur and their religious beliefs.  Basically the old religion Pagan (Druid-Goddess) verses the new religion (Christianity)

One of the things that appealed to me when reading this book is the description of The Goddess represented as three women in different stages of their lives. 

In common Neopagan usage the three female figures are frequently described as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, each of which symbolises both a separate stage in the female life cycle and a phase of the moon, and often rules one of the realms of earth, underworld, and the heavens. These may or may not be perceived as aspects of a greater single divinity.

(*Now please don't think I'm getting all religious here.  I'm not.  I'm a student of life.  I'm not pushing Wicca or paganism or anything like that.  I do tend to worship Mother Nature though...@;)

Anyway, the Maiden and the Mother are self explanatory.  The Crone however, "Gosh" using that term makes it sound like a woman has turned into a witch or something.  Actually, in the book, the Crone is described as a wise woman. 

I googled a description of "The Crone" and found this. 

The Crone is a symbol of inherent wisdom that comes from experience. She has lived through love, sorrow, hope, and fear, coming out of it all a wise and confident spirit. Through these experiences she has learned the secrets of life and death and of the mysteries beyond this world. 

The wisdom of the Crone comes only after learning the lessons of non-judgment and compassion. Through these lessons the Crone becomes the balancing scales between light and dark and between life and death. She is selfless, yet she loves herself. She is kind, yet she knows when to be harsh. She is free, she is compassionate, and she is wise.

The Crone is full of power. Her body is no longer fertile, but her mind is sharp and able. She no longer bleeds, keeping her power within her and owning it without shame or fear.
She is often seen as a healer, working in tune with Nature to cure ailments and guide those ready to leave or enter this world. She is the Grandmother whose words are few yet priceless in their wisdom.

If this is the path that I'm walking down, than it sounds pretty good to me.  I just need to keep reminding myself of this as the sweat breaks out all over..."I'm on the path to wisdom"...

Curse Of The Hoopty

Just when a girl thinks she needs to invest in a hoop house, Mother Nature comes along to show her that it just isn't needed.  But did you notice that the plastic is just pushed over, not removed?  I guess like many of you, I'm just not that sure that we won't get an April snowstorm before everything is said and done. 

Onions in front, lettuces to the right, a row of broccoli rapini, and carrots to the left.  (They are up but very tiny.)  If you look carefully all the way in the back the snow peas are up too.  Notice I have the onions and peas on opposite ends of the bed as they are NOT companions.

Damn it's hot!  83 outside and 75 inside.  Who needs hot flashes?

Bachelor Pad

SM and I love birds.  I tried having bird feeders around the backyard but not only do the seeds that fall on the ground sprout (making one more mess for me to have to clean up), it also caused Scooter to eat all the seeds he could making his digestive track a bit cranky.  So no feeders in our yard.  But we do have bird houses.

SM keeps trying to entice bluebirds to nest in one of our houses. 

Ha...Fat chance!

The sparrows always get there first.  SM had just put this new addition in and within minutes he had 5 or 6 male sparrows hanging out on top competitively jostling each other for a position.

"Hey Ladies...see my nice new digs?"

So far the ladies have come and gone and it's still a bachelor pad for now.

Pig Pickin

Back in the day when I was young and ignorant about the fact that gluten was sending my body into an inflammatory tail-spin, I would from time to time make cake.  My desert of choice was and continues to be ice cream.  But a good refrigerator cake was always in second place. 

I must have a thing about cold deserts.

Southern cooks have a different outlook on life than northern cooks.  They appreciate the fact that there's nothing better on a sweltering hot Summer day than a cold, fruit based, whip cream cake.  And since most of the US is having a heat wave this week, I thought I'd surprise SM with a refrigerator cake.

Enter the Pig Pickin Cake.

I'd never heard of this cake until I moved down here to NC.  Miss Susan, my genteel southern friend for the past 13 years gave me this recipe several years ago.  (*She also gave me something I call Susan's Cake that I make only once a year at Easter.  It's THAT good.  I'll try to post about that cake over the next few weeks.)

But let's get back to the pickin of the pig. 

I googled it to see if this cake is well known and boy is it ever!  Turns out that there's a whole page of recipes available that are similar enough to the recipe Susan gave me.  So go Goggle it and pick your favorite.  You really can't go wrong.

As to why they call it a Pig Pickin Cake it's because it's a cake that's often served during summer BBQ's where they would cook a whole hog over a pit.  Everyone would then "pick" at the pig.  I also think that once you start to eat this cake you just can't stop so you keep picking at it, making a pig of yourself.

Whatever.  It's cold and light and not too sweet and creamy and fluffy and .....

Oh, just go make it for yourself and see what I mean OK?

F-Bomb In Disguise

Now that's one big pile of...

Mulch! 

Yep, and there's a cute story I'd like to share with you regarding that huge pile of mulch.

Just down the road from where we live is a company that sells various bulk mulches and soil composts.  They bag them up and sell them to the big box stores but they also have a "drive up and load up your truck" service for us locals.  The have a front loader that scoops up the mulch and dumps it into your pickup truck for a fee.  So that's where I headed Saturday Morning thinking to spiff up the front yard this weekend.

This stuff was labeled "Pine Mulch" which looks like it's all shredded up to me.   Not nuggets, not chips.  That's what I thought we'd bought before.  I come back home, pulled the truck into the front yard and got to work. 

No sooner do I get a shovel or two of this contraband onto the front yard beds than SM sticks his head out the door and says..."Um, that's not the same stuff." 

"It's not?"  I respond, playing the stupid card.  (*I can be dumb as a box of rocks when it suits me.  Like when I make a mistake like buying the wrong kind of mulch.  I mean it's not like I can take it back.)

"No.  It's supposed to be the mini-chips.  That looks all shredded up to me."  SM observes.

"Well, does it really matter?  I'm sure it looks the same from the street." I say trying to sell it as I intentionally toss another shovelful onto the bed.

"I don't like it.  The mini's look better especially up front.  They're neater."  SM says.

I give the shovel the old heave-ho back into the pickup, bend over, sweep the mulch back together with my hands and grabbing the pile of mulch, toss it back into the pickup with an over the shoulder...

"I live only to make you happy."

Few things set SM off the way that phrase does.  And "yes" I use it to annoy him.  I freely admit it.  SM stomps back into the house as I move the truck into the back yard to use the "shredded" mulch elsewhere.

I eventually wander back into the house where SM and I start discussing something else.  After a minute or two I stick my finger back into that electrical socket and say...

"What...Don't ya like the fact that I live only to serve you?"  I tease him with a big grin on my face.

"That pisses me off when you say that."  SM responds.

"Oh yeah?  Kinda like how I hate it when you say "Yes, Dear."  I counter back. 

Now SM's got a big grin on his face cause he knows how much I HATE to hear "Yes, Dear" come out of his mouth. 

I've never heard a woman use that phrase...ever.  And yet men always seem to gravitate towards it.  Am I the only one who hates it?

"Lets call this what it is, OK?"  I ask.  "We're basically being polite by using these phrases when the simple fact of the matter is that we're saying "F-you".

"Yes, Dear...."  SM says with a grin.

(*Game, set and match to SM.)

A Letter

Dear Miss March,

I'm so pleased that you're here.  Mr February left with about as much drama as he arrived with, which is to say "not much".  His visit here was a snoozefest to be sure.  And on top of that he decided to extend his visit by an extra day this year...The nerve!

You on the other hand....My goodness!  What a contradiction you are!

You've always had a charming, flirtatious spirit.  I've always admired that about you!  You breezed in last week in a bit of a huff to be sure, not that I blame you.  It has been a year since we last had the opportunity to speak and I don't want to sound too demanding but I have a little favor I'd like to ask you. 

Is there anyway you might tone it down a little over the weekends? 

During the week I hear you've been all smiles and sunshine, warming up to people so much that that's all I hear about is how wonderful you are, that you've broken a few records lately.  You're on a roll to be sure!  Your sunny attitude is bringing out all the best in everyone! 

But then Friday night comes and I know you tell me that you're going to behave yourself over the weekend but instead I wake up Saturday morning to find out that you've decided to party again this weekend!

I know, I know...you're young, you've been stuck in a rut since last year but all this partying on the weekends just can't be good for either one of us! 

You do know that we have a time change this weekend right?  We've SPRUNG FORWARD you know, so your frosty attitude the past few days has not been very welcoming.  I mean, I know it takes a little while to warm up in the mornings but really...Do you need to be so chilly even at lunchtime? 

And the way you breeze on about every little thing.  Don't you realize that I have things that need to be done outside and only a short time to do them in?  Between your cold shoulder and your huffing and puffing over every little thing...Well, I just can't get anything done on the weekends with your unpredictable behavior!  Last weekend it "cry me a river".  So many tears, you could have washed us all away!  Isn't there anything you can do to try and tone it down a little?

Yesterday is a good example.  I really wanted to get some work done on the front yard.  Spruce it up a bit.  But besides being cold until noon you decided to blow on and on about your springtime allergies.  You created quite a dust storm over it.  Do you think you're the only one who suffers?  Between freezing me out and making me cry with irritation I'm starting to wish you would pack it up and leave!  It's only been 11 days since you came to visit and yet I'm already over all your drama.

Come on, fess up...Why so cranky?  Is it a man?  Is it just that time of the month?  Is it your Mother?  I know that you and Mrs Nature have your moments.  Who doesn't?  No? 

Is it your sisters? Yes, that's it?

Oh come on... You and I both know that April and October are very popular but you could be too if you just put some effort into it!  I think it's high time you put your big girl panties on and just face facts.  Yes, your sisters are colorful and even tempered which does tend to make them very popular in certain circles but you could have that admiration too if you'd just learn to moderate your own behavior just a bit.  You're swinging just a bit too hot and cold if you ask me.  Take a breath.  Slow it down.

You see?  You're starting to feel better already aren't you?

That's right just give me a little time on the weekends.  That's all I ask.

Hugs and Kisses,

Tami

Somewhere In The Middle

A few weekends ago SM and I were doing some backyard clean up.  After a few hours of hacking away at things we took a little break and sat on the edge of our porch, feet dangling, looking out over our domain.

We talked about how we wanted to minimize the grassy area, expand the garden area and started evaluating some of the trees and bushes. 

We decided to dig up a crepe myrtle bush that had always grown funky.  (SM hated that bush.)  We talked about moving another bush to the front to make way for more garden space.  We considered an evergreen tree that was not growing as well as we'd hoped.

"I think it has wet feet, see how the water runs past it?"  I pointed.  "Why don't we move it over to where the crepe myrtle was."

"I'd rather put it back there in front of the rose bushes by the raspberries."  SM countered, pointing to the area he wanted.

I made a face.  "I don't really want to crowd the raspberries.  Once that patch gets up and growing I'll need room to move around back there."  So we sat and thought...considering.

"Isn't it weird how we're always having to make adjustments to things?  I mean, it's strange having to think about how this is all going to look in 20 years."  I said.

"I doubt in 20 years we'll be interested in doing any of this?"  SM replied.

"What do you mean?  I said, shocked by his comment.  "What else are we going to want to be doing 20 years from now?  Crap!...We'll be in our 70's by then!"  I sat stunned by the thought.

"Well, think about it.  We go through stages in life.  Remember when we bought our first home?  How excited we were to have a lawn to mow?  Bushes to trim?  Walls to paint?  Are you really going to be interested in doing all that stuff when you're 70?"  SM asks.

"Maybe."  I said swinging my feet, feeling a bit like a little kid whose been asked to do something she doesn't want to.

"What happened to your RV dreams?"  SM prods me gently.

"Well...I thought we'd be doing a little bit of both.  You know, RV in the Winter and garden here in the Summer."  I hedged.

"You really think you'll want to be doing all this when you're 70?"  SM asks again with a wave of his hand.

"Well, you may have a point.  Maybe not.  But think how great the garden will be in 20 years, all that cheap food we won't be growing."  I asked.

"Oh, in 20 years I'm sure you'll need a permit from the government to grow all that.  Besides, by that time we'll be in our Depends on a liquid diet, probably in a nursing home."  He teases.

I laugh. 

"God, I hope not.  Just shoot me now.  So this is our 20 year plan?"  I ask him.

"As good as any..."  SM responds.

I've thought about that conversation the over the past few weeks.  It's funny how we always try to make plans.  Short term plans are easily predictable and achievable.  It's the long term plans that screw with your head.  Really.  Who knows what the world will look like in 20 years let alone what SM and I will be up to in 20 years.

But SM does make a good point.  We hope to RV.  But that depends on if we can afford it.  Who knows what gas prices will be like in the future?  What our health will be like?  If we'll even like RVing once we start.  Will SM and I like that lifestyle or will we miss our "stick and brick" home and gardens?  Who knows...

Whenever I try to make future plans for anything, I always consider what's the best possible scenario and also consider what's the worst that could happen.  And I've found that the truth can usually be found somewhere in the middle. 

That's the way it works for me.  Nothing is as bad as you think it will be and likewise it's unlikely that it's going to be "pie in the sky" either.

So we'll keep doing what we're doing for now because we're happy doing it.  Someday though, we'll be looking for a change.  And then we'll toss that into the mix and see what happens.

But still...

70?  In 20 years I'll be freakin 70!!!!

Holy CRAP!

Times "10 Ideas"

I try to keep up with current events same as you do I'm sure.  I go through "spurts".  Sometimes I'm very interested in what going on in the world today.  And sometimes I just can't take it anymore and like to hide with my eyes and ears covered and avoid all the crap that's out there.

The other day I grabbed some lunch (Trader Joe's snow peas...I need veggies in a bad way right now...come on garden!) and saw a Time magazine on the table and decided to thumb through it.





Time is not my favorite magazine.  I find the articles poorly written and while they to give you some information, the articles tend to fade away if you know what I mean.  You almost have to take the information they've given you and go research it again yourself because you know they haven't given you the full scoop.  (Just my humble opinion...)

Anyway, I poked through the magazine and actually took the time to read a few of the articles.  

1. Living Alone Is The New Norm
2. Your Head Is In The Cloud
3. Handprints, Not Footprints
4. The Rise Of The Nones
5. Food That Lasts Forever
6. Black Irony
7. High-Status Stress
8. Privacy In Public
9. Nature Is Over
10. Niche Aging


Now you have to subscribe to read Time magazine articles online.  I tried to find the Time articles at other sites (which you can sometimes do) so you could link to them.  No luck.  But that's OK.  You can go to the library and pick it up.  Or you can research even further and get better articles than the ones that Time teases you with.

The articles I found most interesting?

"Nature is Over" which discusses the idea that MAN is now controlling nature.  The term "Anthropocene  (New Man) Epoch" is tossed out there which is the theory that we have entered a new geological age.  The Economist has a good article explaining this a bit better than the Time article.  (But this really isn't anything new to us is it?)

"The Rise Of The Nones" which discusses the increase of Americans who are still spiritual but reject organized religion.  This is right up my alley.  I've felt this way for most of my life.  SM was raised Catholic and IMHO still carries around a lot of that "guilt" if he doesn't go to church.  I don't push him one way or the other and will attend Mass with him when he feels like going.  But I just don't feel connected.  I feel that most everyone there is just "going through the motions."  I realize that I'd likely feel differently if I found the right church.  But the last time I felt "connected" to a church was 25 years ago when SM and I attended a Catholic church whose priest gave outstanding sermons.  Once we moved away from the area we never found another church that grabbed us that way. 

So if the messenger can't deliver is the message still lost?  Not for me.  Not at all.  I found this blog post which asks some good questions.

"Food That Lasts Forever" which discusses Man's attempts to increase the shelf life of food.  It talks about the additives that we put in food to help things stay fresh.  (SM had bought some grapes at Trader Joes and the package said that the grapes had been sprayed with sulphur dioxide to "preserve freshness".  Ummm, I'm sensitive to sulphur, gives me tummy aches, so no grapes for me.  At least they bothered to label it!!!)  What I found interesting was that NASA is experimenting with non thermal high pressure techniques that kills bacteria.  I found this article that sites the Journal of Food abstract...this is WAY over my head to understand.  But interesting to think about.

"Niche Aging" which discusses the trend of older people who are retiring in communities with "like-minded" people.  Again, something that's right up my alley and I applaud these communities that are springing up, taking control and creating  their own system of caring for their elderly.  This AARP article discusses this trend very nicely. 

Anyway, I thought I'd share some of these with ya'll.  (Another slow news day I guess.  Won't you be happy when all I blog about is garden stuff?  Come on Spring!) 

Wordless Wednesday - Spring Is Popping Out All Over

Nibbling Away At The Yard

Last week Lynda over at Cortina Creek made a comment that stuck with me.  She said that

                "It's costly to take care of something that doesn't give back..."

Never have truer words been spoken. 

Look at that lawn.  We don't fertilize it at all.  And still it grows.  Now I like some lawn in the yard.  It's nice to walk around barefoot in the summer and feel the grass between your toes.  And of course it's handy to have for the dogs to do their business in but we've got way too much of it.  I even have a $1200 riding lawn mower dedicated just to that patch of green stuff.  (Not to mention the $3.79 a gallon gas I need to pour into it in order to make it run.)  Nope.  If I didn't live in a subdivision I wouldn't have a lawn at all.  Or not much of one.  So what can I do to now to minimize the yard I have and still keep the neighbors happy?

The backyard isn't a problem.  It's funny that front yards are open to public evaluation and even ridicule but the backyard?  Do what you want.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Sheds, pools, kids swing sets, grills...to each his own. 

Our backyard borders the backyards of three other houses.  The home owner directly behind us has a privacy row of cedars that I just love.  (We'll see how much I love them when my apples are diseased with cedar rust spot but I digress.) 

The neighbors on our right installed a pool last year.  They graded their lawn to guide the water away from their house and pool and guess where it ends up?  Yep.  We now have an area around the shed that has standing water.  (I might be able to grow rice there during the rainy season...@;) The grass will grow but not very well so I plan on turning that whole area into a natural area with wood chip mulch and flowers/ shrubs/ trees etc. (*Side note: I had originally wanted the veggie garden over on that side of the yard.  SM pushed for where the garden is now.  Good thing I listened to him!)

On the side where the veggie patch is are our neighbors that we never see.  Ever.  They run from car to house so quickly that we're not sure just who lives there.  But we do know that they don't spend any time outside so their yard is looking a bit poorly.  The porch is starting to fall apart.  They let the grass grow to about 4' high before hiring a lawn service to come in and mow.  KiKi found a hole in their fence and is now wandering over there no doubt doing "kitty business" under their porch.  

The garden is expanding again this year so some of this luscious green stuff will be gobbled up to make way for the green stuff we can eat.  So the backyard isn't the problem. 

The front yard is.

I really don't see anyway around it.  I'll have to have some kind of a lawn patch.  Now we don't have an HOA here so if my lawn is filled with weeds and dandelions I don't get any push back.  But there is a bit of psychological pressure when the yards beside you are artificially green and lush in March (...just you wait till the Summer burn out).  Still it's money up in smoke...(more like gas fumes I suppose.)

First things first though.  The backyard and garden are my top priorities.  The money goes there first.  But it is nice to start thinking about a Xeriscape front yard.  Someday.





Little nibbles, Tami.