Quarter Acre Weed Farm

You can call me Grandma - Anytime!

2012-01-04T15:32:00.000-05:00

Disturb us, Lord

2012-01-01T13:53:00.001-05:00

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true...
Because we dreamed too little.
When we arrived safely...
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess...
We have lost our thirst for the waters of life.
Having fallen in love with life...
We have ceased to dream of eternity.
And in our efforts to build a new earth...
We have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wilder seas where storms will show Your mastery.
Where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back the horizons of our hopes and to push us into the future
In strength, courage, hope and love.
This we ask in the name of our Captain, Who is Jesus Christ

Attributed to Sir Francis Drake

Minding my own Mitochondria?

2011-12-29T20:25:00.001-05:00

I just finished watching Dr. Terry Wahl's video regarding her magnificent healing from her secondary progressive MS. There are other websites that recommend the same protocol - the Paleo diet - and others have experienced similar results to Dr. Wahl's. Some questions I've been pondering about my own health have now been answered. I've made significant lifestyle changes in the two decades + since I was diagnosed and apparently have been co-incidentally reaping the benefits.

I quit (was healed of) smoking.
I started eating many more vegetables (especially broccoli, cabbage and kale) than the averageAmerican.
I started taking fish oil supplements ( try to eat fish but I don't eat enough of it).
I started taking co-enzyme Q10.
I use almost exclusively olive oil and some butter (for baking).
I've mostly dropped dairy - I use almond milk.
My naturopath has recommended deleting as much wheat as possible from my diet (it's difficult but it's greatly decreased and will be phased out after watching Dr. Wahl's video.
I'm a regular exerciser - usually vigorously 3 times a week and have been since before I was dx'd.
I eat a little cereal on my wild blueberries every morning for breakfast.

Have I been minding my own mitochondria without realizing it? I look younger than my chronological age and feel pretty good most of the time. I can't explain why my symptoms are lessening through the years and my neurologist can't explain it either. When I asked my neurologist why this could possibly be happening, his response was that I perhaps had a benign form of MS. That was a ridiculous comment based on the first 15 years of my experience with this disease. Dr. Wahl's video provides encouraging information and I can only hope it goes viral for all our sakes.

Advent

2011-12-16T18:03:00.000-05:00

We anxiously await the "Morning Star", the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father.

Christmas Treasures & Simple Pleasures

2011-12-12T11:31:00.001-05:00

A table set for the ghost of Christmas Present. His robe and ivy crown draped over a chair to the left. A horn for a wine toast, a table overflowing with Christmas puddings, fruits and nuts. A merry-maker on the right enjoying the house tour. If I'd had any idea that I'd be blogging this Dickensian scene I would have waited for her to move on.

White feather tree on a vanity table in the master bedroom.

German paper ornaments, white lights and white candles in the sunroom. Sweet and tranquil.

Simple Pleasures - Osborne Homestead Museum

2011-12-08T15:46:00.000-05:00

Not my kitchen but a simple scene created by a garden club in the Naugatuck Valley a few years ago. This kitchen is in a farmhouse in Osborndale State Park. The home was donated by Frances Osborn on her death and has been maintained in its original state. Twilight tours are Fridays through December 16 from 4 to 6:30. There is a minimal donation for the tour and it's one of my favorite holiday treats. I made up the dough for gingerbread last evening - gingerbread boys in their embryonic state waiting until I have the time to bake them off.

Something Sweet

2011-12-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

So it begins. It wouldn't be Christmas in our house without these. I made 6 dozen Swedish Spritz for a bake sale at church, 2 dozen for us. 4 dozen Peanut Butter Blossoms. The goal is to have enough for us, enough to share and enough for dessert on Christmas Eve with Eggnog and Candy Cane ice cream.

More Sweetness...

Grown up Christmas List

2011-12-05T19:59:00.000-05:00

Our Newest Little Guy

2011-11-18T15:48:00.001-05:00

What are the MS Researchers Missing? Vitamin D and MS

2011-11-17T21:10:00.000-05:00

I received my copy of MS Connection in the mail yesterday, a publication of the Connecticut chapter of the MS Society. There were a couple of very interesting articles in this issue. One described a massive international genetics study with a major breakthrough. Scientists have now successfully confirmed 23 previously known genetic links and identified 29 new ones and strongly suspect 5 others. They confirmed that a number of autoimmune diseases share many similar genetic variants. And 2 genes linked to vitamin D were also implicated with research increasingly pointing to low vitamin D levels in patients as a risk factor for developing MS.
It probably cost a fortune for these scientists to figure out what many of us already knew. I can't count the number of people with MS that I have met who have close family members who also suffer from various autoimmune diseases. My own father passed away due to complications from Crohn's disease. Has my neurologist ever asked me about my family history? Has yours? Has your doctor ordered a test for your vitamin D levels? Mine never did.
The second article really left me shaking my head. "Study: Bone Health a Concern In Early MS". Doctors at Oslo University Hospital have reported their findings to Neurology magazine. So newly diagnosed patients with MS are showing low bone mass compared to a control group without MS. What? Most of us get diagnosed in early adult-hood. Might this suggest a Vitamin D deficiency, probably since birth? Mine had not been checked until I visited a naturopath six years ago. My D3 was a 6....off the charts low. I take supplements, sun, calcium, exercise and eat a healthy diet and I'm still low normal. And surprise - I've just been diagnosed with osteopinea, a forerunner to osteoporosis. I'm not a scientist but my guess is that MS is genetically linked to other autoimmune diseases, including Crohn's, and that vitamin D (described by some as a hormone) has the ability to prevent the onset in at least some of us. With this limited knowledge, would it be wise for all of our family members to have their vitamin D levels checked once a year, including the kids?

More Joy in our Lives

2011-11-16T19:37:00.000-05:00

Our new little grandson was born this morning. It seems like yesterday that I was bringing his daddy home from the hospital. Of course it was almost 28 years ago to the day. Blink.

Any Moment...change again

2011-11-02T12:45:00.001-04:00

Change is change. Some good, some not so good. Some change is momentous. Some goes barely noticed. Autumn in Connecticut this year was going by barely noticed until a very big storm suddenly got our attention. There's a nicer way than shutting off the lights!
Change. My step-son started college in August. So far, so good. He seems happy, he's close enough to come home when he wants to. He's gaining the independence he's longed for. It's still out as far as his studies go. We're hoping he's doing well. We're semi-empty nesters and we've settled into our new status very nicely. I'm cooking too much but I have a freezer so nothing goes to waste. We're free to go to mid-week concerts or even farther if the mood strikes. Nice.
Change. We both got medical reports that weren't so great. We both have osteaopinea. My thyroid's a little wonky, my triglycerides a bit high, so is his sugar. Change. Not so good. We're getting older.
Change. We became Gramma and Papa almost 2 years ago and we love it. But he's changing so quickly we can barely keep up. He crawled, he walked and now he runs like a little elf, practically clicking his heels together as he hops around. He talks in complete sentences and remembers what we played with the last time he visited. He's changing way too quickly but we can't slow him down, nor would we really want to.
Change will come soon for even him when his sibling arrives in March. Wondrous, miraculous change.
Our world will change again any moment now. My youngest child is about to become a father. That's when you really know time's flying. When your youngest birthling marries and reproduces, that's big. I'm holding my breath in anticipation of the birth of this baby. He's going through the greatest change a human can experience and survive....his entrance into our world. And I can't wait.

Pumpkin Sale at the Church

2011-10-23T18:01:00.000-04:00

You don't have to go far in this little town to find someone re-enacting someone. Ben Franklin finished his graveyard tour and stopped by to purchase a pumpkin. We must have had the best price around - "A penny saved is a penny earned...".

Snips and Snails

2011-10-18T14:48:00.000-04:00

Life is so good right now...waiting impatiently for my second baby grandson to arrive. I know his mother is uncomfortable and can't wait to welcome our newest addition. The shower is over, the nursery ready. The baby will come when he's ready. In the meantime his cousin is keeping us constantly charmed. He won't be 2 until January but he's already full of questions and answers. Our love for this little one and the two that are on the way fills our hearts to bursting...

Another Great Reason to Plant Parsley - Vegetable Gardener

2011-10-11T13:32:00.000-04:00

Another Great Reason to Plant Parsley - Vegetable Gardener

Support

2011-10-09T19:41:00.000-04:00

A few years after I was diagnosed, I attended a support group for people with MS and our significant others. It had been established by two men in their forties and their wives and was scheduled to meet monthly in the recreation room of a local church.

At this time, I nobly (and mistakenly) believed that although I was doing fairly well, I could be of some support to others who were not. Of course, this was ridiculous. I needed support at least as well as anyone else. However, I found out rather quickly, that this was not the group for me. The broad spectrum of displayed symptoms and petty bickering over who was going to buy a missing member a get-well card, eventually sent me heading for the hills. The following are my personal recommendations when it comes to seeking support in living with the ups and downs of MS.

If you would like to try a support group, find one that has a qualified, professional leader with experience facilitating groups of individuals with serious illness or disability.

Find a group that specifically focuses on newly diagnosed patients if you are newly diagnosed. If you're numb and tingly, the sight of men and women with advanced cases of MS will scare you half to death. And...

when you complain about feeling fatigued, others with more serious disabilities may roll their eyes and rev the engines on their scooters.

Attend free seminars/dinners put on by the pharma's. You may end up in a conversation with someone with whom you can identify, with similar symptoms, situations and experiences. Consider meeting in a public environment for coffee and informal casual support. You may be able to share information comfortably, without feeling like you're constantly unloading on your family and friends. You may even develop a meaningful friendship. If your new acquaintance turns out to be an emotional vampire, change your cell phone number.

If you attend religious services, try to continue even when you're not feeling your best. However, don't allow any well-meaning person try to make you feel guilty because you're dealing with a disease. You did not bring this on yourself because of a "lack of faithfulness" nor is God "testing" you.

If you don't participate in any religion, it's not a bad idea to explore spirituality at this time. Remember the mind/body connection. It's there. And when we're feeling our weakest and most down-trodden may be when we receive our clearest revelations and greatest gifts.

Last, and most important - if a friend offers help, try not to refuse. Don't be too proud and independent to ask for and take assistance. You may be able to give back simply by allowing another individual to feel helpful.

Where do you receive your greatest source of support?

I asked Santa for a swimming pool...

2011-10-06T14:41:00.000-04:00

This is not what I had in mind. At all.

But you look so good...

2011-10-05T20:53:00.000-04:00

So, I was diagnosed in 1986. I had a 2 year old baby and a nine year old child. I felt awful. I had suffered with a sinus infection that came out of nowhere, followed up by a strep throat 2 months later. The MS had been relapsing and remitting for a couple of years but returned with a vengeance in August of 1988.
We were invited to attend my husband's brother's out of state wedding to be held in October. I could barely hobble. I was numb in one leg up to my hip and the other up to my armpit. Cute pumps to go with the dress I had searched the mall for were not in the picture. I could barely pick my feet up and walked stiff-legged like Frankenstein's monster. I dragged myself to the local library and checked out a book called The MS Diet.
Now, I had just finished losing 30 pounds on Weight Watchers and was pretty much on a low fat diet anyway. So I decided that taking cod liver oil sounded like an idea worth trying. I also read some basic information about the neurological system and added Inositol to my daily regimen. I couldn't even pronounce it properly. I read that Inositol was required for the repair and restoration of myelin. I was self-treating.
My neurologist never recommended any vitamins or supplements, nor had he even mentioned physical therapy. But I got on my exercise bike when I didn't feel too sick and popped a few supplements. It was all I had. That and a little plaque with a bible verse from Philippians that my daughter had carefully crafted with glued-on alphabet macaroni...."I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I kept taking my vitamins and looking at that little plaque which I placed on the shelf above the kitchen sink.
And guess what? A couple of months later I wore patent leather pumps with my new dress to the wedding in October and I walked like a queen. I looked just fine so there was absolutely no appreciation of the trouble I went to just to be able to attend that event. My sister-in-law (now deceased) told me I didn't get a corsage since I wasn't an immediate family member (as she pinned one on my daughter and a boutonniere on my son and on my late husband). I was left out of a family group photo while I was taking my 5 year old to the ladies room. When that picture came in the mail, I threw it away.

Italian Chocolate Truffles

2011-10-02T14:12:00.033-04:00

I really like this recipe for truffles as it doesn't include eggs as some other truffle recipes do. I made them for my daughter-in-law's baby shower. They kept in the fridge in an air-tight container for over a week and the recipe was requested several times, so here it is:
Italian Chocolate Truffles

6 oz. dark chocolate 3 Tbsp. sweet butter

1/2 cup ground almonds 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 Tbsp. orange flavored liqueur 1 3/4 oz. grated chocolate

Melt the dark chocolate with the liqueur in a double boiler, stirring until well-combined.

Add the butter and stir until melted. Stir in the confectioner's sugar and ground almonds

Leave the mixture to cool until firm enough to roll into 24 balls.

Roll in grated chocolate to coat.

Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. You may substitute Amaretto for the orange liqueur.

Construction Themed Baby Shower

2011-10-01T19:46:00.017-04:00

My daughter and I hosted a baby shower for my daughter-in-law on Saturday. We started with a construction theme based on the decor of the nursery and ran with it. My son is an equipment operator so it was also with him in mind. I arranged buckets with mostly yellow roses and white, green and tan mums. Large bows of yellow caution tape we tucked in on picks. Little backhoes dug mounds of chocolate rocks. There was even a dump truck with pale blue and yellow rock candy. The mommy-to-be was radiant and received many nice gifts. A beautiful day for a beautiful girl.

I Promise...you will grow up to be beautiful!

2011-10-01T19:35:00.000-04:00

And so will you...

Eat your vegetables and be patient...

One of the things I will miss about Summer

2011-09-30T20:34:00.000-04:00

My Disease was Gone! Not.

2011-09-27T11:02:00.000-04:00

After I was diagnosed with MS, my initial response was denial along with depression. I went to three different neurologists hoping they'd tell me the first guy was a quack. I was actually hoping it was Lyme's disease. Of course, I now know that Lyme's is no picnic either. However, at the time, I believed I could deal with a malady that could be treated with antibiotic. I ~~quit~~ was healed of my cigarette addiction. I cringe when I talk about it, but there it is. At the time, I thought it was wonderful but sort of lame on God's part. I was praying for a cure to my big problem and that was the best He could do? About six months after the symptoms of MS began, they went away. The fog lifted, my energy renewed, I felt exhilarated. It was gone! Not.

Seashell Cosmos bee-ing Loved!

2011-09-25T21:04:00.000-04:00

Living Large - Gardening Small

2011-09-24T09:38:00.000-04:00

I grew as much as I could handle this year. We enjoyed several meals of green beans and froze some. We had a couple of meals of broccoli but probably could have planted fewer plants and still had the same number of meals - they were planted a little too close together. I had twice as many tomato plants as I needed as a result of a kind gift from my sister-in-law who had more than she needed. I think the crowding there also reduced the production of the original plants I put in. I enjoyed the beets tremendously but they were strictly for me. I wanted to put zucchini in but it's wandering habit would have choked everything else out and I would have had nothing but squash to show for my labor (as minimal as it was). Then along came Renee's Garden seeds with a container variety of zucchini. It appears they pretty much stay in the pot and stay small (just the way I like to cook with them!) I got so excited, I've already ordered seeds for next year!

I am not my disease

2011-09-22T11:58:00.000-04:00

I am not ms. I have been ms but I am not now, nor have I been ms in a long time. When I was first diagnosed I instantly morphed from being a woman, wife and mother to woman, wife and mother with MS. I didn't like it. I felt ashamed of having a disease as if it was something dirty, something that marked me as less than a whole person. I dreaded telling people, especially people in my church. I felt cursed and abandoned by God. I felt that I had slipped lower on His list for some reason, as if God keeps a good and bad list like Santa Claus.
I felt very sorry for me. I was dizzy every time I stood up. Pains in my face came in waves that made my eyes tear. My eyes crossed on their own any time they felt like it. My arms were too weak to hold a hairdryer to fix my hair in the morning. I was so exhausted I felt like I wore a lead suit all day. Then I went to bed, woke up the next morning and felt just as bad. Well-meaning folks sent me literature from the MS society that included information about wheelchairs, braces and techniques for sexual relations when normal relations were not possible. I had a 9 year old and a 2 year old baby and didn't know if I was going to be able to take care of them. I had visions of wearing diapers myself. There were no medications available - not much hope the neurologist could offer. I was 33 years old looking down a long, hopeless road of illness. It sucked to be me in 1986.

September Sunday

2011-09-18T19:04:00.000-04:00

Harvest Time!

2011-09-16T18:11:00.000-04:00

What fun would harvest time be without a little beet-blood letting?

They do look kind of nasty but they taste so good (steam the beets first, then add the chopped up greens). Add a little butter and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Yummy - I try to spread the word even if it falls on deaf ears!

Baby Sweater Finished (and before the baby!)

2011-09-10T13:23:00.000-04:00

Our second baby grandson is due in November and I actually finished the sweater before the baby arrived! It's an Erika Knight design and I made it in Rowan Milk Cotton in the color "Water Bomb". Most of it's knit on #1 size needles so I think it has as many stitches as most adult hand knits. I found the cute teddy bear buttons at Jo-Ann Fabric. I'm still a beginner so I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

The next grandbaby isn't due until March. I might have time to make something for myself!

Hummingbird

2011-09-07T20:48:00.001-04:00

Our hummingbird made his appearance today. It was rainy most of the day. We were having a glass of wine (husband prefers a light beer) and watching the rain, wearing sweaters and talking about how quickly the weather had changed from heat and humidity to a chilling, rainy afternoon. The hummer appeared at the feeder and we both froze, glasses in hand. He drank his fill from the plastic feeder of sugar water and lit on top of the shepherd's crook. After a while he flew down and took another sip. Then back to the crook to sit and watch us for a while. He sat for a very long time, looking around, craning his neck, sizing the place up. It's too close to migration season to be just hanging around, checking out the scenery. I bet if we keep a close eye on the feeder, he'll be back with wife and kids in tow. There are plenty of red and pink flowers left for him to enjoy - the impatience are healthy, the mandevilla a tempting red delight. We're going to take a ride tomorrow to get a bushel of some of the best peaches in Connecticut. I'm making a note to myself to make more sugar syrup for the feeder so it will cool off in time.

Frustrated Spring Gardeners - Now's your Time!

2011-08-30T14:50:00.000-04:00

This innovative gardening style - I occasionally come up with a good idea - is perfect for someone like me with limited energy and heat sensitivity. I call it "Patch Gardening" and you can start right now! Clear away the old, dead, wilted and mildew-covered cuke and zucchini vines and get going! Reach back for all the excitement and sense of wonder you felt in March and get down to your local garden center. Grab yourselves a couple of bags of composted manure (preferably organic - although I don't know how they can really call old horse dung organic) and throw it right down where you just pulled all that dead plant material. Don't compost really bug-riddled mildew-covered vines - send them on down to wherever your town crew takes them.

Spread the compost around - don't get fancy but one large bag will make a nice patch about 3 x 4 feet. I planted some seedlings I started under lights to see if I could grow some brussel sprouts and kohlrabi but you don't need to go to that extreme. Simply open your packet of greens seeds - lettuce, mixed fancy greens, spinach, rainbow chard, whatever. Fling them around or make a nice row - it doesn't matter much - and cover them with about 1/4 " of compost and water lightly. Keep this all nice and moist by watering a bit every day and you'll soon have seedlings jumping right up out of your little fall garden patch. Here in Connecticut, since the hurricane passed, we've been having temps in the 80's during the day and down to the high 50's at night to about 60. I planted my greens in the shade of my fence and they popped up in only a few days. They're going to get a little sprinkle of bone meal and eventually some fish emulsion... but not much - they're only tiny at the moment and don't need much from me.

End of Summer Blues

2011-08-20T20:46:00.001-04:00

You can feel it in the air, even though it's still stinky hot in the afternoon. You can see it in the light. The plants know it. They're still pushing out blooms but you can tell it takes some effort. The tomato plants are all thrilled to be giving it all they've got and more. They even taste like it's now or never. Brilliant, tomato ecstasy, so acidy and sweetly in the moment. It's almost like they know they've only got today. One cold night and they'll be flat on the ground, dead. So will the impatience plants who finally look like they're enjoying the season. Summer only just arrived. How can it be on it's way out?

It's Keen to be Green

2011-08-17T03:30:00.000-04:00

Finally, the first of the broccoli - and we ate it all with our dinner. And, here's the big miracle, we ALL ate it. Some of us took a smaller portion than others, but the organic broccoli from our own garden was enjoyed by all of us. I pretty much cleaned off the beans, picked a lot of tomatoes (mostly small yellow pear tomatoes) and worked my way around the blackberry bush. With the rain, a lot of the berries that were perfect a couple of days ago are completely covered with mildew. I tried to remove the ones that were bad so they wouldn't contaminate the good ones that haven't ripened completely yet. If there's a trick to blackberry picking, I'd like to hear it. It seems that as soon as they're ripe and really taste like a sweet berry, they're almost too ripe and won't keep more than a day. Maybe I should pick them sooner and just cook them down with sugar. The berries on the canes are actually starting to smell like wine!

Gardening Take 2

2011-08-04T16:19:00.000-04:00

I wish I could remember what I put in these peat trays. I know I planted some brussel sprouts and kohlrabi. I believe I put in the miniature lettuce seeds that were kind of old because they were slow to come up. Then I planted another pot of basil and some newer lettuce seeds which all came up. Now, they're still under lights until I bring them outside to spray them lightly with the hose and let them hang out in some bright shade for a while. Today was a little less humid and a lot less hot so I started weeding the back of the garden bed to make room for all of these guys. I don't know what kind of luck I'll have but I'm going to give it a try.

The bees are really enjoying what's left of the hydrangea. I'm starting to trim some of the flowers back as they start to look fried.

Now, really, if you were a hummingbird, wouldn't you love to hang out here? Apparently after weeks of growing red vining things next to red hanging things (I even threw in my grandson's little chair) the hummers are starting to visit the feeder. The sugar water is starting to disappear and a tiny bird swooped in for a visit and swooped out just as fast when he noticed me sitting on the patio with the dog. I will catch sight of him but I really doubt I'll be able to get a picture with my point-and-shoot Nikon.

The Kids are Doing Amazing things this Summer!

2011-08-01T20:20:00.000-04:00

My step-son's acting debut playing the part of "Cameron"

...and my daughter's radio debut on a public radio talk show talking about a website she's involved with:

http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Commodore%20Skahill/Colin%20McEnroe%20Show%2008-01-2011.mp3

It's okay to live somewhat vicariously through your kids, right?

Around the Back Yard

2011-07-30T17:13:00.000-04:00

Hanging Geranium

Young & In Love

St. Francis

Coleus & Fan Flower

Sweatin' with the Sweat Bees!

2011-07-24T21:36:00.000-04:00

Just taking photo's around my garden in the evening after supper. I planted dill a few years ago so I'll never have to again. I really like gardening to be as easy as possible! I got in real close with my little point-and-shoot Nikon which made the tiny bees (about 1/4" in length) seem like average sized bees and made the dill look like modern art.

Summer Gardening & Fall Planning

2011-07-21T16:48:00.000-04:00

I had to post a picture of my black tea cup. The purple fan flower has been pretty but I really went crazy for the yellow daisy-like flower. It was the last one, sitting all by itself at the garden store. It was in full bloom (3 but the color made it seem like more) and the next day the blooms were gone. They close up at night and last a day or so longer and then gone. I've waited 3 weeks for another one to finally open. I have to find the tag because I don't remember the name. Kind of weird.
Anyway, everything that's going to come up is up. I'm waiting for the broccoli to flower so we can eat it. I'm picking beans and yellow pear tomatoes and also some red cherry tomatoes. I need to cover the blackberries before they really start to ripen. The strawberries are here and there. The spinach isn't doing much - it's too hot, I think. So now, I'm beginning to raise some seedlings - INSIDE - under lights. I mixed some seed-starting mix with some composed manure and planted brusselsprouts, miniature lettuce and kohlrabi and we'll see how it goes. I know they won't sprout in 90 degree heat so I'm trying the only alternative I can think of.

When I see something green happening, I'll take a picture!

Easy Summer Veggies

2011-07-16T19:52:00.000-04:00

MS tires me out. I admit it. The idea of cooking a farm fresh vegetable every night is about as appealing as running a 6 K race. However, since the small quantity of produce I'm growing will not keep us going, I found a local farm and took myself up there. I did not buy a CSA. I wanted to see what I could do with what they had. I came back with 2 large kohlrabi's, 3 nice yellow squash, a large head of green leaf lettuce, two cucumbers (they deemed defects because they didn't look nice and symmetrical like store cukes) , a bag of wax beans. I peeled the kohlrabi's, diced them up like potatoes, tossed them with chopped garlic, salt and olive oil and roasted them on a baking sheet at 450 degrees while the frozen french fries (okay, get real) roasted for my husband and son. They can't eat a cheeseburger without fries and I'm trying not to eat the fries. We all got some kohlrabi on our plates. It was nicely browned, slightly crisp from the head but would never compare to a french fry. That said, I ate the veg and not the potato and ate my hamburger without a roll. I like vegetables but I still can't convince myself they're better than a french fry. Maybe the 3rd or 4th time they appear at the table they won't seem so foreign - to any of us...

What's Growing? Seascape Strawberries

2011-07-04T10:03:00.000-04:00

So far, about 2 1/2 pounds of strawberries and really tall tomato plants. Mortgage Lifter has only blossoms so far but the cherry and yellow pear look loaded with lots of green tomatoes. The beets (which I got in a little late) need thinning again, the lettuce (old seed from 2 years ago) is coming slowly. It's the slow-to-bolt variety and it hasn't been that warm yet. The bush beans are up and I'll be planting another row this week. No blossoms yet. Spinach is coming and the blackberry bush is LOADED, finally. That will get bird netting this week after our son's graduation party. The herbs look pretty good. I put a self-watering drip hose through the herb bed and down the hottest side of the house. By August everything is dead otherwise. It's just too hot for me to deal with the south side. The only problem is that, although the water does run all the way through this double hose set-up, most of the water hits the herb garden and guess who really doesn't need all that water? Right, the rosemary, oregano and sage, who all love the dry Mediterranean type of climate. Haven't worked out the kinks of that one yet. I did attempt to finally rip out an old rose on the south side of the house near the front of the house. Very pretty but needy and fussy long-stemmed old girl. She bloomed vigorously every year and then went directly to black-spotted leaves and dropped them, looking ugly and thorny for the rest of the summer. She is now gone, but not without a fight. I hacked her down until I couldn't get any more of her out of the ground and then covered her with mulch. She'll probably try to come up again next spring, sprouting from old gnarly roots that should have been put to rest 10 years ago. She's just that kind of girl.

What Not to Weed!

2011-05-16T21:28:00.001-04:00

I just finished reading a couple of articles about the 10 healthiest foods that nobody eats. They include (and some for good reason) cabbage, beets, guava, Swiss chard, cinnamon, pomegranate juice, goji berries, dried plums (prunes), pumpkin seeds and purslane.
Cabbage - Personally I don't get the problem here. I like coleslaw, I love stuffed cabbage. My husband turns up his nose at both. After he ate heartily of my cabbage gratin one night, I told him what it was. He just shrugged.
Beets - Again, not a problem. I peel and cook up the beets, add the chopped greens and cook them both until they're tender. Add a little salt, pepper, butter and balsamic vinegar, yum. Or roast them with a little olive oil and a few other winter veggies in the oven at 450 degrees for the better part of an hour until fork tender. Salt and pepper and dig in.
Guava and goji berries - Would take a little more effort and probably not worth the effort. I eat blueberries every morning so I'm probably covered.
Swiss chard - There's some beautiful looking Swiss chard in the market now (right next to the beets that nobody buys). It takes a bit of effort to make a fresh vegetable but chard is pretty benign. It's not tough like kale and it's not bitter like some of the other greens out there (include dandelion in that bunch).
Pomegranate juice - Tastes fine. Costs much. Again, I'm probably covered by eating so many blueberries.
Dried plums - Come on, this is grandma food, right? Sun sweet has tried to glam them up by wrapping them individually, covering them in chocolate and adding flavoring so you think you're actually eating cherries. Who knew that someday someones job would be marketing prunes. They actually taste pretty good and they even take the pits out for you. They warn you on the package that their pit removing machine might have actually missed some so eat with caution. The tooth you break may not be great for your health.
Pumpkin seeds - These are an under-appreciated snack food. Jazz them up with a bit of oil and seasoning, roast them in the oven and voila, one more hand-to-mouth addiction with extra calories (but much healthier than microwave popcorn). Buy them raw in the health food store and roast them yourself.
Purslane - What? Purslane. Otherwise known as Portulaca Olearacea. A lowly garden weed on steroids that I pulled out of my vegetable garden last year by the bushel basketfuls. It loves the heat and doesn't need to be watered. It even looks like it comes with its own garden hose. You can eat it in salad and you can cook it up and eat it as a vegetable. It tastes a bit lemony and a little peppery. Poor man's arugula. I don't call this blog the Quarteracreweedfarm for nothing.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-07T15:43:00.000-04:00

M.S. and High Heels

2011-05-06T11:14:00.006-04:00

I had a dream the other night that I was running and running and running. My arms were moving back and forth, my hair was flying and I could feel the cool air on my face. The best thing was that I was running with joy and not tiring. I wasn't out of breath, my chest wasn't heaving, no stitch in my side.
What made this especially weird was that I was never a runner. Would I have been running down this lovely, abandoned beach at sunrise? Not a chance. I liked to walk briskly and I really miss the bounce in my step, the confidence that when I put one foot down and picked the other up that it would actually go up and not catch on the pavement, causing me to fall or barely escape falling by flailing around trying to keep my balance.
But never mind that I was never a runner and never wanted to be. I always equated walking like a lady with being a full-fledged adult woman. Santa Claus (remember him?) would always leave me a sexy pair of plastic child-sized dress-up high heels in my stocking. One year sparkles with metallic elastic straps, another year a water and plastic seashell-filled number that I slipped onto my little feet before I even got to the bottom of my stocking. Ooh, Santa Baby!
As soon as I could get high heels (even those cute little kitten heels that were the "thing" when I was a kid) I wore them proudly. And boots with heels? What says "come and get me" like those?
High heels, be they sandals, boots or pumps, click with authority when a woman walks on a hard surface - you hear her coming and the sound they make can define her mood. Is she in a hurry or is she late? Angry or just in charge of the situation? A slow, deliberate heel-dragging slide could suggest she has a glass of wine in her hand and she's looking for a table (or a man). Heels click around a classroom authoritatively while students are taking their weekly pop quiz. And you know those dresses that can only be worn with a sexy little number with a skinny heel. Boy, I really miss those summer wedges with woven raffia covered loveliness.
Sneakers and mary janes with removable foot beds and orthotics don't carry the same authority. They do, however, usually keep me from landing face down in the parking lot of CVS as long as I remember to pick up that left foot. I started describing myself as "walking downstairs like an old lady" long before I approached middle age. I stubbornly refused to use a cane for years and even now, leave it in the car whenever I can manage without it.
But I do some things to help myself and here they are:
1.) I request physical therapy when I feel a lot of pain in my feet and ankles. For me, pain usually means I'm losing muscle strength in that area and need to get pressure off my joints and ligaments. I took a couple of months of PT before I was able to re-start the Curves for Women exercise program after a long absence.
2.) I have a foot doctor now and she helps me maintain the condition of my feet, usually on a monthly basis. It's not only diabetics who need that kind of care. I have bashed my toes more times that I like to remember because I could not tell where my foot was at the time.
3.) I went to a trusted shoe store that manufactured customized orthotics for my sandals, shoes and sneakers. The footwear isn't glamorous but I haven't fallen since I got the orthotics.
I've spent a lot of quiet time reflecting on the end of my first exacerbation, 25 years ago this month The relief I felt when the severity let up. The joy and temporary belief that the diagnosis had been a mistake. The frequent flair-ups of the first 15 years and relative quiet of the last 10, inexplicable but appreciated. I try to remember to live joyfully and thankfully, glad to walk in any shoes at all.

Easy Herb Gardening

2011-05-04T14:28:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks of ms symptoms that were getting me down have put me way behind around here. I'm not really stoic - not in denial either. If this were the first time I felt this unbalanced and fatigued I'd be running to my neurologist. It's interesting that the eye doc detected something brewing before I started to feel it...Anyway, I took my first trip to Moorefield Herb farm in Trumbull, which is just a short trip down the road for me. I didn't take really good care of my herb bed last year and some things aren't forever around here anyway, like rosemary. I was afraid I'd lost my lovely sage when it bloomed beautifully and I was correct about that. And it gets very hot where I plant my herbs and I wasn't faithful enough about watering when it got too hot for me to sit on the patio.

So this year I bought a short strip of drip watering hose which should help out with the watering. It looks ugly now but it will get lost in the greenery before too long!

I planted the basics, rosemary and sage, along with lemon thyme (so good for fish and chicken). And I added a couple of really interesting potential time-savers this year, based on the recommendation of Nancy Moore, the owner (along with her son) of Moorefield Herb farm. Nancy suggested I try Egyptian onions, also known as Walking onions, a name for them coined by President Thomas Jefferson when he experimented with them at his famous gardens in Monticello.

Egyptian onions form a little baby onion at the top of the plant by late summer. Up until the greenery gets tough it can be eaten like a scallion. The little bulbs at the top of the plant can be eaten as little onions (1/2 to 3/4" size), planted to make more adults plants or left alone to walk to the ground and plant themselves! How easy is that?

My second interesting discovery was Vietnamese Coriander, also known as Vietnamese Cilantro or Rau Ram. It's a member of the knotweed family (and looks very much like something I should be pulling out of the garden rather than planting it!) It tastes quite a bit like cilantro and the leaves should be used when they're young and tender since it can become bitter as it gets old (sounds oddly familiar). I think this plant will be a fine substitute for cilantro for me. I buy it in the grocery store, use it once or twice and it gets mushy. Or I grow it, can't harvest nearly enough, the heat gets to it and it's gone before I can snip it into your tomatoes for salsa!

The Eye Has it...

2011-04-10T19:51:00.001-04:00

I went to get an eye exam last week. My opthamologist asked me to return to his office for an OCT test (Optical Coherence Tomography) and a visual field test. I'd never had an OCT and hadn't had a visual field test since 2007 when I'd noticed a blind spot in my right eye while trying to read in bed at night. According to my doctor, what he can see of the optic nerve looks good. However, I've developed a different blind spot, this time in my left eye. I hadn't even noticed, possibly because it's in the upper left area in my peripheral vision, not the lower where I'd notice reading or driving. The one that troubled me four years ago seems to be gone.

Now, the optic nerve connects to the eye and runs to the brain. That's apparently where the real problem lies. It's similar to my ms related hearing problems. There's actually nothing wrong with the equipment - the problem is with the wiring as it runs into the brain. I can hear and see perfectly...it's my perception of sight and sound that are screwed up, if that makes any sense. My opthamologist suggested it might be a silent attack since there have been recent mri's and we know it's not a brain tumor.

I've had ms for so long now, I'd have to feel pretty crappy to notice a significant difference day-to-day. I'm overdue to see my neurologist and I know he's going to want me on some kind of meds (which have lousy side effects and involve some kind of injection). I'm thankful I'm doing very well for my age - for any age, for that matter. I'm resisting re-starting the shots and won't go for the chemo again. I sang in the church choir this morning and spread fertilizer on the lawn after lunch. I'm going to go knit and think about it.

Baby Hats (from Itty Bitty Hats)

2011-04-05T15:38:00.001-04:00

A second Marley hat finished in shades of pink...Knitpicks "Flamingo", "Pomegranate", "Peony", "Ivory" and discontinued "Lawn" which I had originally used for a baby sweater. I stuffed the hat with tissue paper so it would stand alone but it will be slouchy the way it should be. The Knitpicks "Comfy" cotton and acrylic blend was very soft, a little splitty, but really nice for a hat for a newborn.

I was originally going to make Susan B. Anderson's Rosebud hat but decided the pinks I had left from the Marley hat didn't work well with the ivory. I knitted a flower in finger weight yarn in "Lilac" with "Lawn" for the leaves. The violet and leaf pattern were free on Ravelry and designed by Paulette Lane.

Homemade Pasta and Jar Sauce (oh, marone!)

2011-02-25T20:16:00.002-05:00

I finally dug it out from the back of the kitchen cabinet. The idea of making pasta and a respectable sauce seemed daunting. I had nothing but Italian style turkey sausage and a jar of emergency sauce in the house. With only a couple of boxes of elbow macaroni in the house on this rainy day, I was left to my own devices for a pasta dinner. With a tendency to make a big mess of the kitchen when the creative juices start flowing, I considered the least messy pasta dough-making method. After googling bread machine pasta recipes and watching a couple of youtube videos, I was armed with information and enough confidence to begin the project.

Flour (2 1/4 cups) and 4 eggs. Period. The headless chef in the video used a food processor. Too messy. I'd have to drag it out, rinse it off, assemble it, wash it. Nah...But the bread machine was clean and ready to go. Nothing to rinse. One little bucket to wipe out when the dough was finished. No-brainer. I put the flour into the bucket of the bread machine, then added the eggs, set it for dough and let it rip. When I opened the little door to check, it looked a bit like cookie dough so I added another tablespoon of flour, which was rapidly absorbed. So I added another. When the machine stopped and I opened the little door, it slightly smelled like a hot, over-worked motor. Maybe it always smells that way...I never open the door before it smells like fresh-baked bread.

I lightly floured my pastry cloth and set up the pasta machine while the dough rested under a mixing bowl. There are even differing opinions about resting the dough. Plastic wrap or mixing bowl? How can dough rest if it can't breathe??

Now, you never wash the pasta machine but it's fresh from the factory with machine oil and metal filings on the gears - you must run lots of dough through the machine to clean it. So, okay. That took time and lots of dough. But there was still plenty for the two of us. You need a place for all that fettuccine to hang out while it's waiting for you to finish all that cranking. The solution is will be a collapsible pasta drying rack. Those Italians think of everything. Even with lowly sauce from the jar, my fresh pasta was food of the gods. Two minutes in very salty water (pasta cooking water should be like sea water) and it was light, tender and exquisitely delicious.

Marley Hat Finished!

2011-01-24T16:28:00.000-05:00

The Marley hat from Susan B. Anderson's "Itty Bitty Hats". I used more blue than any other color and switched things around a bit because I was using mostly cotton yarn (Cream and Sugar) from my stash. The only wool I used was the green from a sweater I had made for my baby grandson last year. Knitting in the round is not difficult at all.

Bob Marley called - he wants his hat back...

2011-01-12T17:48:00.000-05:00

Knitting the Marley Hat from Susan B. Anderson's book "Itty Bitty Hats". It's a size 1 - 2 so it's going to be a little large for my grandbaby. I should have made a size smaller for my first attempt. I'm using yarn I had left-over and it's my first real go at knitting in the round. I'm doing better than I expected. I follow Susan's blog and she said it would come naturally after a while. She was right and I'm enjoying the process. I'm finishing off the topper now - really cute!

Goodbye Christmas - Overnight Snow

2011-01-08T17:04:00.001-05:00

We took the Christmas tree down yesterday but I wasn't ready for the season to end. My consolation was the pictures I was able to get, just by looking around the house and clicking. Terrible to drive in, beautiful and peaceful to look at.

Fig, Gorgonzola & Onion Pizza

2011-01-02T18:07:00.001-05:00

Received the Essential NY Times Cook Book from my husband for Christmas. I've been trying pizza recipes and this one's terrific! Next time I make it I'll make the crust as directed (for two 14" pizzas) and double the recipe (except for the dried figs - which were a bit too much when doubled). We had left-overs for lunch and it was really fabulous with the gorgonzola!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - No Resolutions, again...

2010-12-26T16:13:00.000-05:00

No new year's resolutions again this year. List-making, with the exception of shopping lists, was mostly abandoned by me in the past. Still not a resolution, mind you, I recently decided that daily list-making is a discipline worthy of adherence to. Planning a week, then a month, is a way for me to gain a lot more control of my time, especially the few hours in the morning that I feel a comparative energy surge. List-making will also allow me to add some projects that currently float along and get pushed back to the end of the day, falling off the edge of my day into oblivion as if the thoughts that created them and the desire to accomplish those tasks were worthless. If I don't put those ideas and thoughts on paper (with ink or digitally) they get overlooked, forgotten and abandoned and that really seems like a shame. If I made a conscious decision to edit and erase some of my list, that's okay, too.

Renew, Recycle, Re-use

2010-07-19T16:09:00.001-04:00

Here's the "before" photo (kind of dark) of a 20 year-old plastic table headed for the bulk pick-up

The same table after a coat of spray paint designed to use on plastic furniture. It's difficult to tell from my photography but, trust me, it's worth keeping now. This was an experiment. I'm planning to paint all the old, white, stained plastic lawn chairs.

Living Ocean

2010-07-07T11:27:00.000-04:00

   Think what you want about the "Jersey Shore" - but if it's negative, keep it to yourself. Sure, I remember going to Wildwood and Ocean City when I was a kid and I really wasn't impressed. My childhood memories of the "Shore" were lots of big, killer mosquitoes and huge, black, tarry globs of oil that stuck to my feet when I walked the Wildwood beach. I also remember seeing hospital waste roll in onto the Long Island Sound beaches of Connecticut. I've seen a seagull struggling with oil-slicked feathers in a harbor in Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, I know what a dirty ocean looks like.
   While I sat by the sea in Brant Beach last week, I couldn't help thinking back to the dirty water I remembered in the 60's. As each clean blue wave seemed to stretch toward the shore in an exhale and pulled back as if to inhale, I found myself becoming sadder and sadder. Are we, as a human race, absolutely insane? To allow an accidental oil gush like the one set off by BP is like letting your toilet water feed your drinking water supply. Or having the exhaust from your car piped into the intake vent of your air conditioner.
   I don't believe in scaring kids unnecessarily but I believe early education might help prevent situations like we have in the Gulf of Mexico. The tolerance level for carelessness with our planet needs to be zero. Let's get real - teaching little children to plant trees to provide oxygen is cute - but the bulk of our oxygen comes from plankton (small plants) floating in our oceans. The simple,frightening truth is that if our oceans "die", we die.
   Our family had a beautiful week, spent jumping in the waves and sleeping to the sound of them crashing to the shore at night. A gift unappreciated, too easily and casually ruined.

Robin's Egg Blue

2010-06-17T21:35:00.000-04:00

I scooped up the remnants of a robin's egg while I was planting strawberry plants a few weeks ago. It occurred to me at the time that there are people who haven't ever seen one. I made a point of showing it to my husband and snapped a picture. Little things like the color of this tiny egg shell make me wonder what the Creator's box of Crayola's looks like.

Inspiration without Perspiration

2010-06-07T17:22:00.001-04:00

The blackberry canes I planted last spring are in blossom. I finally can see what the growing guides means when they refer to lateral canes - the uprights are heading straight up and the laterals are where all of the blossoms are and the berries are forming when the blossoms mature. The name of the plant is "Chester" and it's a thornless blackberry. I can harvest the berries in a couple of months and it won't fight back. I'm really late getting the garden organized - I'm so thankful that the pain from the shingles is gone completely! More and more I see the benefit of planting fruiting plants and shrubs - if I can protect them from the birds, bugs and blight, my effort is minimal - enjoyment is maximized!

Attack of the Shingles!

2010-04-23T09:46:00.001-04:00

For anyone who isn't familiar with these devils, please do everything in your power to keep it that way. If you are over 60 (I'm not) or have a compromised immune system (I do) or if your doctor advises you to receive the vaccination, called Zostavax, (he just did) familiarize yourself with information about Shingles and take whatever precaution or preventative available to you.Shingles is the Chicken Pox virus which lies dormant in your body after you recover from your childhood disease. It hides in our bodies, quiet, smoldering and just waiting for something to trigger it to get moving - clawing its way along whatever nerve fibers in your body it chooses to invade and inflame.So now, my immune system (as it does after the rare occasions I've been stricken with illness in the past) over-reacts, so now the MS is kicking my butt around and I'm really feeling the effects of that. The Singles rash is better (the pain is manageable until the afternoon) and I'm not feeling feverish and sick all the time. I am getting better. This will pass.I will get on with it.

Gone in a Minute Jalapeno Appetizers

2010-04-05T18:29:00.002-04:00

These are from the "Pioneer Woman Cooks" website.

Wearing food prep gloves, cut the jalapenos in half and clean out the seeds and membranes.

Fill each half with cream cheese and wrap with bacon.

Bake on rack at 375 degrees for a half hour.

Get ready for applause. And complaints.
"Why didn't you make more?"

Pork Chops

2010-03-28T19:25:00.000-04:00

I can't photograph food. I give up. It all ends up looking like the dog's supper. I do want to document one of the best pork chop suppers I've made in a very long time. The chops were moist and succulent with a silky apricot sauce - and the recipe was healthy and light. It's from the Weight Watcher's Momentum cook book and you don't have to be on a diet to enjoy it. The name of it is "Pork Marrakesh". I seasoned (salt and pepper) and browned 4 center cut chops in a large saute pan in a little olive oil and set them aside. Then I sliced a large red onion with a bit more oil and a little salt until they were caramelized. I put half of the onions with some chopped dried apricots in the bottom of my slow cooker. The chops went in next, followed by the rest of the onions and apricots (12 apricots sliced, in all). I mixed 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon with 1/2 tsp of thyme with 2 tsp. of minced ginger root with 3/4 c. of apple juice and poured it over the chops. I set the slow cooker on high and let them go for 3 hours. I did not sprinkle them with chopped cilantro when I served them because I forgot. I thickened the sauce with a little cornstarch mixed with cold water. I served them over whole wheat couscous as the recipe suggested. According to the recipe, there are 281 calories without the couscous. Yummmmm.

Bragging Rights

2010-03-19T21:34:00.000-04:00

I decided today that I'm not just seeing my grandson through a grandma lense. Even though I'm reallllly tired from baby-sitting for him 3 days this week, I still think he's beautiful - and even better - he's got a really sweet personality. He's got me wrapped completely around his tiny finger.

Here's Spring!!!

2010-03-16T18:48:00.000-04:00

The temps today were warm enough to work outside and clean up the garden a bit. Crocuses are starting to pop up everywhere (including in the lawn). I'm thinking Spring but knitting a long, gray vest. It will go with everything but I'm itching to knit in cotton in COLOR!

Kristin Nicholas

2010-03-06T12:59:00.004-05:00

Husband and I made a date out of my visit to R.J. Julia's to attend a presentation by guest author, Kristin Nicholas. What a wonderful inspiration Kristin is! I bought a copy of her newest book, "Color by Kristin" and can't wait to jump right in and give two-color knitting a go!

Unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, I already have a black (okay, Onyx Heather by Knitpicks) sweater vest on my needles. It's in the Rooibos pattern by Amy Swenson. It seems like it's a baby step up from the little green jacket I made for my grandson. If I really apply myself, I can breeze through the vest and jump fearlessly into COLOR, or COLOR, or COLOR!

Okay, less fearlessly...something for the house, maybe? I'd love to make one of her shawls or coats but I'm not the kind of girl who can walk into a room draped in gorgeous, multi-colored woolly loveliness and feel comfortable about it. I can't even wear red without someone making a remark about the "lady in red". Bright clothing evokes responses like, "I could see you coming a mile away!".....cringe, hide, leave...Even my darling husband asks me if I'm going out to bag a deer when I wear my red winter vest.

I do highly recommend a date night like we had last night. First we had a nice, light meal at the bar at Cafe Allegre in Madison, before which we enjoyed a lovely pasta dish at their Happy Hour with a glass of wine. Then, across the street for cappuccino and biscotti before Kristin's talk started at 7 o'clock. It was my (and my Husband's) idea of a lovely Friday night.

And I almost forgot, I won one of the door prizes Kristin brought - a pack of her cute sheep in dog's clothing postcards! Thanks again, Kristin!

Friday Field Trip

2010-03-04T20:14:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I dragged husband to the flower show. He was a good sport and pretended to enjoy the displays and the vendors. He bought me a mounted butterfly I wanted and I came home with 2 new Streptocarpus plants. I'm not into African Violets, but Streps flip me out. They're much easier to grow than violets and they should be happy on the thimble table I inherited from my mom. I've been babysitting the new grandbaby so my husband's treating me to an evening at R.J. Julia's bookstore with Kristin Nicholas tomorrow night. She's an artist and designer who has no fear of color - I can only dream of attempting her knitting designs!

Valentine's Day

2010-02-25T14:05:00.006-05:00

Valentine's Day comes at a perfect time....I never bought into the idea that it's just a commercial gimmick. It's really not about the roses but I'll never say "no" to a flower. I didn't say "no" to the gooey candy, either. But look through the window behind the bouquet to all the bare limbs and gloomy weather. News of the war in Afghanistan and the bad economy probably won't be much better when it stops raining and snowing. Life goes on with the bad and the good. A little hole pokes through the clouds when we stop to tell each other that we care about them and hand them a love present. Valentine's Day makes winter seem one day shorter and that's okay with me.

Grandbaby

2010-02-17T21:10:00.003-05:00

They're great - you just plug them in...

Something in the Oven

2010-02-11T19:44:00.006-05:00

I love to bake. I especially love to bake bread - almost as much as I love to eat it. I cheated and bought pre-made bread dough to make calzones. They tasted great (rated perfect the resident teen) but the dough was a headache to work with. It had a mind of it's own and snapped back every time I tried to stretch it out. Normally, recipes will instruct the baker to let the dough "rest" so it's easier to pull out or pat out thinly enough for pizza or calzones. This pre-made dough had rested plenty so that wasn't the problem.

Superbowl Sunday I made foccaccia with sausage, rosemary and sundried tomatoes. It could have used more of all three but the dough was a dream to work with. It rose obediently, filling the mixing bowl by doubling it's size. Rather than punching it down, I pushed the air out of it as I enfolded the sausage and rosemary mixture several times, then pushed it to the size of the jelly roll pan. It didn't fight me or try to snap back to it's original shape - the dough simply relaxed and complied. The recipe is in the "Pure Comfort" Weight Watchers cookbook. If you can stop at one portion, it's 4 points.

Ramdom Valentine Heart Generator

2010-02-08T14:18:00.003-05:00

I found a Random Valentine Heart Generator and couldn't stop playing with it. These candies were such a tradition in my house when I was a kid and then I always bought them for my kids. They were fun to play with but tasted like spicy chalk.

What's for Dinner?

2010-02-04T19:21:00.003-05:00

Mediterranean Chicken Casserole

I really never thought this luscious dish would actually go over in my house. I have a couple of meat and potato eaters that I'm trying to please. I tried making this recipe previously but didn't allow enough time for the chicken to marinate before I roasted it. When the flavors of the garlic and the raisins have time to blend with the capers and dates, the true exotic and tantalizing savory and sweet have time to slow dance with the artichoke hearts. The recipe is from Weight Watcher's "Pure Comfort" cookbook. I could have roasted a dozen rather than eight boneless chicken thighs and still ended up without enough left-overs for the amount of lovely sauce the dish produced.

More Flowers

2010-02-03T16:14:00.005-05:00

My daughter-in-law wanted to decorate her aisle chairs for her wedding last summer. I used some silk grape vine, vanilla ranunculas, purple mums and white tulle. It didn't take long to make six of them. The challenge was attaching them to the white Samsonite folding chairs. I scoured the net looking for something white and removable. I ended up using removable white medical tape. The nosegays held tight even in a little breeze.

Pining for Spring

2010-01-25T17:15:00.005-05:00

We're experiencing a 57 degree January thaw today. Unfortunately it's underwater. The good thing is that the gardening catalogs have been arriving. I spend non-knitting evenings browsing them, lingering on the strawberry plants. I'm even thinking about putting in a few blueberry bushes this year. I think I'll only plant fruits and vegetables that I would consider a treat at a farm stand. Enough with the green beans and squash...I'm posting some photo's from summers past and a beautiful tropical butterfly that I admired at Magic Wings in Deerfield, Mass a couple of summers ago.

Angel

2010-01-21T20:50:00.005-05:00

Vintage Baby Jacket

2010-01-19T19:18:00.007-05:00

The baby jacket I've been plodding along on (with love) was finished before the new grandson was born. I finished knitting it months ago but dreaded the sewing. This is only the second little sweater I've made and the first time I had to set-in sleeves. I now understand the appeal of top-down knitting.

I used a pattern from a vintage knitting book authored by Barbara Aytes in 1970 that I picked up for $2 at our town library book sale. The book is called "Knitting Made Easy" and I made it in KnitPicks Superwash Merino wool in the color "Lawn". I washed it by hand and dried it flat (although the label says it's machine wash and dry) and it came out even softer. It took on a lovely drape, even for a tiny sweater.

I'm going to work on a little hat to match the jacket but I can't wait any longer to present it to the new mommy!

My Baby has a Baby

2010-01-18T15:17:00.006-05:00

It doesn't seem possible...James arrived last week and gets cuter every time I see him. He looks like both parents but mostly Mommy. He's a big, healthy boy and we're truly blessed.

After I called my husband from the hospital, the next thing I felt was the urge to call my mom.

Before she passed away a little over a year ago, my mother gave me a baby blanket she had made to give to my daughter if she had a baby. I think when you spend time placing stitch after stitch, whether it's knitting or, in this case, embroidery, you put a little of your own spirit into whatever you make. I feel my mom's spirit when I visit my daughter - I felt it before James was born. If she could be anywhere in this world right now. I know that's where she would be.

New M.S. Medicine may be for the Birds

2010-01-11T03:43:00.008-05:00

I asked my neurologist about a new medicine for M.S. that was being "fast-tracked" through FDA approval. It's supposed to enable people with all levels of M.S. to be able to walk faster and see more clearly. He told me the medication had been around for quite a while and that I could get it immediately at a compounded pharmacy, off label. When I asked what "on-label" use would be he changed the conversation and wrote me a script. The name of the medicine is Aminopyridine (4). I shouldn't have looked it up, but I did. I consulted with my naturopath (I believe in holistic as well as traditional medicine) and she suggested that I speak to the pharmacist at the compounding pharmacy. Of course, by then, I already knew that the trade name is Avitrol and it's used (in large doses) for bird control. I used to work as an HR manager for a roofing company. My pharmacist advised me that it's been used in Canada for years and that folks with M.S. have been having quite a good result from it. Aminopyridine (4) is supposed to cause the nerve fibers to fire off more frequently allowing more impulses through the nerve regardless of the condition of the myelin. It can cause sleeplessness and nausea - so here I am, at 4 a.m., writing about it. The pharmacist told me that the only hold-up with the FDA is that big pharma is going to manufacture the drug in time-release form. He says taking it in low doses twice a day is a more effective way to take it. My neurologist says I should see noticable improvement in my walking in about two weeks. Hopefully the side-effects will subside by then. My motivation for trying the drug is to be able to exercise effectively enough to be able to control my weight and get a decent cardiovascular work-out. We'll see....

Waiting for Baby

2010-01-08T18:24:00.004-05:00

We had a Christmas theme'd baby shower for my daughter. I decorated a tree with powder blue ornaments and pastel-striped candy canes. One of Kate's friends made a diaper wreath, another a diaper cake. I get too busy to take many photo's. I think that's my biggest problem keeping up with my little blog. I do - I do not record what I do....and I think that's the whole point in the blog. I will take my camera with me when I get "the call". The baby is fully cooked, just not delivered. I feel like I'm the one sitting on the nest...

I Knows Bows

2009-09-25T17:57:00.004-04:00

I've been taking a course in basic floral design since the first of September. The floral design part hasn't been turning out half bad. I've been paying rapt attention to the lectures, reading the text book and studying review material. I've really been working hard! Through post-menopausal brain farts (combined with who knows how much ms-related mental fog) I've been keeping up fairly well. With one major exception - the damned florist bows. I couldn't get the simple concept through my brain. When it finally got through the brain, it wouldn't go to the hand. Then I'd make a perfect bow, then five minute later, I'd forget the entire process. It was gone like a puff of smoke. I felt like my brain was completely letting me down and I got mad about it. I came up with slogans - "Bows Blow" was my silent mantra as I quietly made loop after loop. I had a "bow support group" form around me as the teacher demonstrated the process... yet once more. I watched bow-making demonstrated time and time again on the internet. I gained new admiration for people who work with their brains as well as their hands. I felt inadequate for not being able to perform one of the most basic tasks of an entry level floral designer. Then I felt like an idiot for caring so much about something so insignificant in a world where there are so many truly important things to worry about. But...the ability to perform this task was important to me. It was important because I really wanted to pass the exam at the end of the course. And I really needed to pass this course for my own satisfaction. It was a personal challenge and I needed confirmation that I hadn't lost more than I'd feared. Since I was diagnosed with ms in 1986 I've lost mental and physical abilities, retrieved them and lost them again so many times that I can't really compare my disabled self with my original healthy self. I know that sometimes I have to stop and retreat when I'd rather push through - give in to the fatigue and rest when I'd rather keep going. Last night, not only did I produce an acceptable bow, but I also passed the written exam. My arrangements didn't appear to be any better or worse than my classmates'. I have 2 more arrangements to create next Tuesday night to finish my exam. It's been a huge challenge for me but also given me a wonderful sense of accomplishment - that I haven't completely lost the person I used to be.

Hot Lady Roses

2009-09-23T15:13:00.003-04:00

This was the second piece we arranged in my floral design course. Who knew you could actually make long stem roses look "bad"? After we constructed a grid on the top of the vase, greened it and arranged some very expensive long stemmed beauties, we were asked an important question by our instructor - "Would you pay $80 for these?" I think we all took them home, re-cut them and started over. I use a knife for my stems but I think I'm the only one in my class who still puts tape on her thumb. I may eventually get over pulling a sharp blade toward me but 30 hours of class time hasn't done it yet. I didn't think to take a picture of my hand-tied bouquet before it was torn apart and rearranged into a round-shaped centerpiece. I need to buy myself some flowers and re-try that one.

Baby, Baby

2009-09-11T19:50:00.006-04:00

The mystery of the womb is a mystery no longer. My daughter is gestating a grandson. Due to the miracle of science, we can see the little guy and know that he's a boy with big feet who sucks on his hand. So I can't call him "my future grandchild" any longer. It's just that he's in his own little watery world for now, where he's warm and comfy and on schedule to join us in January. Grammy loves him already.

Tomato Harvest - "Radiator Charlie" Declared the Winner!

2009-09-01T14:52:00.008-04:00

I cleaned off most of the tomatoes from the heirlooms last night and delivered some to my neighbor. They were coming on a couple a day but finally, it was harvest or lose. The largest "Radiator Charlie" I grew this summer was 1.7 pounds. A tangy slice of "Charlie" on a cheeseburger is a wonderful thing. The "Williams Striped" produced more tomatoes per plant but was bland in comparison. The German tomato (Granny Cantrell) was pink rather than "tomato" red. It was tasty but not noteworthy. "Radiator Charlie's" interesting history was not just a nice story. "Charlie" tomato sandwiches brought back summer memories from my childhood. "Beefsteak" got off to a slow start, having been attacked by aphids. I sprayed once, as soon as I discovered the invasion of small ants that followed the aphids. There are small tomatoes on the plant but I'm not counting on it producing much before it gets too cold. "Radiator Charlie" was the winner in my garden by far!

August on the Weed Farm

2009-08-14T14:08:00.027-04:00

It's warm, humid and the flowers are blooming and busy with bees. Tomatoes are ripening, hopefully the melons, too, and my daughter's feeling lots of life inside. I'm knitting a baby sweater for the ripening grandchild. I have all the pieces of the sweater finished but it's going slowly because I'm learning to pick up stitches and I'm a bit unsure of what I'm doing. It's August - slow is good.

Eggplant Topiary Revisited

2009-08-13T17:01:00.006-04:00

Decorative and edible. Some of my gardening has been reasonable this summer. Eggplants and strawberries in patio planters are reasonable. I can handle fruit and vegetables that are restricted to their own pots. The melons, however, are completely out of control. For the space they're taking, they'd better taste really good. I trimmed (hacked) them back today. We enjoyed our first ripe tomato last week. It weighed almost 2 lbs. The tomato vines were looking blighted but I trimmed the yellow leaves and the fruit looks fine. So does the basil I planted a few weeks ago and couldn't find between the tomato plants.

Beautiful Day for a Wedding

2009-08-11T12:15:00.006-04:00

My new daughter-in-law, her daughter and my daughter this past Saturday moments before the wedding. The weather and the day were just perfect.

Beautiful Bride-to-Be

2009-08-10T12:55:00.004-04:00

I've been too busy and distracted to post pictures to my blog. It's time to catch up. Victoria's bridal shower was July 12. We had a perfect (breezy) sunny day. It was difficult to keep my grandmother's silver from blowing off the tables. The flowers were arranged in vegetable cans scrapped with paper and embelishments. We served finger sandwiches, chocolate cupcakes with lavender sugar roses, quiche, teapot cookies and punch. The bride was pleased and received lots of lovely gifts. The punch was the hit of the party:

Bridal Shower Punch

2 qt. sherbet 1 - 12 oz can lemonate concentrate thawed

1 1/2 c cold water 2 ltr. bottle carbonated lemon/lime soda

fresh fruit cut up (strawberries)

Spoon sherbet into punch bowl. Add all ingredients except soda and fruit, Stir to mix, then add soda slowly and stir. Float fruit just before serving.

Bathtowel Wedding Cake

2009-07-13T18:13:00.004-04:00

Here's a picture of the bathtowel wedding cake I made for my future daughter-in-law's bridal shower yesterday. I used the towels she registered for, some silk calla lillies (she's including some real ones in her bouquet), white seashells, topped by a pair of bride and groom rubber duckies. I saw them in a gift shop and just had to make one for the shower!

Take me Back

2009-07-07T23:02:00.004-04:00

Our family enjoyed a lovely week at the Jersey shore last week. I popped out of bed at dawn (or earlier) every morning so I wouldn't miss a second of the day. This week it's back to the rain, black spotted plants and my out-of-control garden. I wish I had time to pull more weeds but now I'm getting the house ready for my future daughter-in-law's bridal shower. I'm making goodies and decorations and trying not to panic. Everything's in the wrong order - the vacation should have been scheduled for the week after the shower. Poor planning...

Jersey Boys

2009-06-23T20:05:00.005-04:00

This is what was waiting for me when I asked my daughter-in-law to set up for dinner last year at the shore. I thought she was going to melt the butter.

Alpine Strawberries

2009-06-20T20:01:00.014-04:00

If I'm quicker than the catbird I'll get my share. I'm growing a few baskets of Alpine Strawberries this year. They're no larger than the end of your finger but the I found the idea of prolific romantic blossoms, combined with the sweet allure of their tiny fruit, completely irresistible. So far, I've only eaten one berry. I know I should cover the plants with bird nets but can't stand the look of them. I'm thinking about stopping at the baby box store to see if they still sell carriage nets. I'll cover one plant for me and let my feathered friends have the rest!

Grandma in 1905

2009-06-13T12:21:00.005-04:00

Sometimes it's difficult to believe that I'm the oldest woman in the family. How in the world did that happen? My grandmother and I still spend time together in the garden even though she's been gone for 10 years. She was right there watching me plant thornless blackberry canes this past spring. I hear her voice and feel the soft skin of her arms when I touch my own. My mom hangs over my shoulder as well. I see her every morning looking back at me as I put on my make-up. She recently helped me identify the butterfly weed seedling I planted in the vegetable garden last year. I almost pulled it, thinking it was just another stray weed. She's there too, though she passed away the day after Christmas. I wish they both had stayed long enough to teach me how to be a grandmother when my daughter gives birth in January. I guess I just have to call them in from the garden.

No Cake for You!

2009-06-12T19:14:00.018-04:00

Sandy turned 4 years old today. We celebrated last night by watching a few scenes from "Lady and the Tramp" together. She apparently thinks the t.v. is a window. After running back and forth for a while, she settled down to watch the movie, cocking her head side to side, listening intently. It's a good thing she played last night since she had to work today. We had a contractor working in the house who needed to be kept in line...

Labels: Pets

Heirloom Tomato History

2009-05-25T13:53:00.007-04:00

I planted my tomato plants this afternoon. I used a totally unscientific method of selecting varieties to grow. I chose 'Granny Cantrell's German' tomato, 'Williams Striped' tomato, 'Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter' and 'Burpee's Beefsteak' tomato. I chose the heirloom varieties simply because I thought the names were interesting. I chose the 'Beefsteak' because, tried and true, cut into half-inch delicious slices, it compliments a hamburger perfectly.

It turns out, the varieties I chose have interesting backgrounds as well as funny names. 'Granny Cantrell' was grown by and named for Lettie Cantrell of West Liberty, Kentucky. She had obtained the seeds to this particular tomato variety from a soldier returned from Germany after World War II in the 1940's. She liked this variety so much it was the only type of tomato she ever grew. Granny died in 2005 at the ripe old age of 96.

'Williams Striped Tomato', is a red and yellow variety striped inside and out. Georgia and Rene Emonds received some tomato seeds from an elderly neighbor who had saved them from a variety he had grown, having stashed the seeds in a pill bottle. The neighbor couldn't remember why or when he had saved the seeds. The Emonds started some seedlings, grew the plants and passed some seeds along to Merlyn Niedens. Niedens grew and submitted the variety to the 2005 Heirloom Garden show where it was named favorite of tomatoes that year. That's my motto - "Save Everything". You just never know.

Last, but not least of my heirloom varieties, is 'Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter'. This tomato was developed in the early 1930's in Logan, West Virginia, by a (car) radiator repairman, M.C. 'Radiator Charlie' Byles. Charlie had no experience breeding tomatoes, yet he made a successful cross of the four largest tomatoes he could find. Byles sold his seedlings for $1 each in the 1940's to gardeners who would drive up to 200 miles just to buy his famous plants. No wonder. This variety is reputed to bear tasty fruit that averages 2 1/2 lbs. each. Charlie was able to pay off his $6,000 mortgage in 6 years by selling his plants.

Bride & Groom

2009-05-18T21:34:00.003-04:00

It's time to plan a bridal shower for my son's fiancee. We're thinking finger food like quiches, chicken salad in tiny croissants, baked Brie en croute with raspberry jam, raspberry iced tea. Maybe a pitcher of beautiful fruit water as shown on the Vegetable Gardener website this week. I think cupcakes, too. I can start baking and freezing as long as I don't try to ice them until just before the party.

Gardening within my Ability

2009-05-16T16:14:00.011-04:00

I have unlimited enthusiasm for gardening. I try not to let my physical limitations get in my way. I'm not adverse to taking credit when something beautiful happens accidentally. These Aquilegias are native American wildflowers and were apparently the offspring of plants that were here when my husband bought the property in 1999. Aquilegias are normally short-lived and only transplant well when they are very small. I'm leaving these alone and planting some vegetables around them. I hope to end up with some seedlings that I can move in the future.

Love, Good Wishes & Prayer

2009-05-15T13:43:00.007-04:00

I received a chain letter today from a beloved friend. It had been a forward to her from her daughter-in-law. My friend's daughter-in-law prefaced the mail by stating (in essence) that she doesn't usually pass these things along but that this one was worthy of a chain because of the positive message it carried. The message requests that I make a wish or say a prayer before I read the quotation and that I pass it along to twelve women who are important to me because (effectively) through a group like-minded women, all things are possible. After passing the message along, chain, unbroken, something good will happen on the fourth day. Okay, I admit it. I'm dying to know what's not going to happen to me on the fourth day. I have the e-mail addresses of twelve women, but I know, without a doubt, that most (if not all) of these women do not want a chain letter from me. Chain letters carry a certain burden of responsiblity that most of us simply do not want to shoulder. I don't know what happens when I break a chain because I always break the chain. I've been chain-breaking since I was a kid and got a "snail mail" chain letter in my mailbox. I thought it was a burden then but I was afraid not to break the chain as there was a veiled threat implied. So I fearfully wrote and mailed all those letters. Then I was told by my mother that chain letters were against the law. (I guess it was the threatening component since was there was no cash involved.) So I was between a rock and a hard place. Either way I was screwed. Bad things (whatever they were) would happen to me if I broke the chain (which had been unbroken by everyone in the world). If I didn't, well, actually, nothing happened. But technically, I had broken the chain-letter law. I guess that was bad. Truthfully, I didn't need to add one more thing to the OCD tendencies I was dealing with at the time. For heaven's sake, I was already maneuvering sidewalk cracks to avoid breaking my mother's back. So, this chain and every other after it will be broken and I'm at peace with that. I know my friend only sent the chain letter because 1) she had to keep the chain in one piece and 2) she was sending me love and good wishes and I wish (and pray) the same for her.

Old Kitchen - New Kitchen

2009-05-14T14:45:00.006-04:00

It's not a nice day...again. Rainy and cold and I don't feel that well so I'm staying in. It's a good time to sort through paperwork, throw away the old and file the rest. I found some bills from the kitchen renovation while I was filing. Sometimes I forget what a change we made until I pull out the before pictures. The plumbing under the sink was leaking and the oven was too small for a turkey. The update took 40 years off her looks.

Eggplant Topiary

2009-05-13T19:19:00.005-04:00

I bought two Black Beauty eggplant seedlings and then decided to investigate their "care and feeding". It really sounds like they're more trouble than they're worth. I think it's going to be a case of the $1,000 eggplant. Barbara Damrosch writes in The Garden Primer, "eggplant is tough to grow in any climate" and "a certain amount of eggplant-growing is sheer luck". Basically, get them started as early as possible, watch for bugs, worms, wilt and blight. Don't let their roots touch the ground, don't pull weeds around them because they don't like it. Harvest your little, tiny eggplants as quickly as possible before something attacks them. Baby eggplants are very "au courant" so nobody will know you're coming home from work on your lunch hour to catch them at the peak of their perfection. In other words, snatching them from the mouths of bugs and disease that are waiting patiently for you to turn your back. I couldn't resist planting my eggplants in the classy urns they so richly deserve. The Alyssum was also Barbara's idea. I think it adds that little something...

Basic vs. Sexy Support

2009-05-11T12:49:00.010-04:00

There was a lot of chatter this week-end about "lingerie". My soon-to-be married son wanted to know what the big deal was about bridal showers. I answered him with three words: Pots, pans and lingerie. I visited a lingerie shop on Saturday. There were lots of frilly underthings in tiny sizes (appropriately) and some body armor of the more basic design. Now here's where I can make the gardening connection. Last week I hammered some heavy-duty stakes into the ground and erected a nylon trellis to support some sugar snap peas I had planted. I hope I sewed the peas on the right (correct) side of the trellis. When the seeds sprout, I expect them to reach out toward the direction of the sun so I planted them on the north side of the trellis. Anyway, the pea trellis is "basic support" to say it in the kindest way. It really is ugly and utilitarian. I don't know what the trellis company was thinking by manufacturing it in white instead of green. Now the garden totem I stuck in behind the Annabelle hydrangea is what I call "sexy support". Annabelle will never really need much in the way of support. She's young and perky and will still be lovely at the end of her blooming days in the fall. We all should be so lucky...

Square Inch Gardening

2009-05-10T07:53:00.007-04:00

Last month I planted a few lettuce seeds in a container before it was too early and too cold to play in the garden. Each tiny head of buttercrunch lettuce is supposed to mature to the size of a soft ball. This variety was developed for the "Japanese luxury market". I planted according to the directions on the packet. Five to seven of these little babies are supposed to fit comfortably within a 12 to 15 inch pot. Somebody's going to get transplanted. They remind me of little birds in a nest. All this coddling and each little head will barely make a salad for one.

Tuesday in May

2009-05-06T20:00:00.013-04:00

Robert Lewis Stevenson said, "A friend is a gift you give yourself". I gave myself a gift yesterday in the form of a four hour lunch with my friend, Kathy. If a whole afternoon at Rainbow Gardens restaurant weren't enough, we topped off the day by going shopping at Coldwater Creek. To make that even better, Kathy gave me a $25 coupon to use at CC. Every girl needs a friend like Kathy.

Getting More than I Paid For

2009-05-04T13:58:00.010-04:00

I continued my autumn ritual last November. For the last few years, I've delayed my puchase of fall bulbs to take advantage of clearance sales. I've had to check the display a couple of times to get the best deal, but I've never paid more than half price for my bulbs.

Of course, this results in a very limited selection. Basically, I end up with what nobody else wanted.

So far, the tactic has worked just fine. The result of my thriftiness is that I buy twice as many bulbs as I would have purchased at the full price. I throw the bulbs in a pile and mix them up. Then I dig large holes and plant five or seven bulbs in each hole.

Last year I planted red triumph tulips, yellow darwin hybrid tulips and mixed lily flowering tulips.

I treat them as annuals and never expect them to flower a second year and they usually don't. Popping up around the highlighter-yellow spurge (inherited from the previous owner), dutchmen's britches (also inherited), and lion's bane (my addition from Walmart last year), I think the results were well-worth the $15 I spent last fall.

All Heart

2009-05-03T17:01:00.009-04:00

Our little Cocker Spaniel is 99% heart - not much in the brains department - but Cocker Spaniel love is enthusiastic and unconditional. You can always tell where you stand with my puppy girl. The only time the tail stops wagging is when she's asleep or involved in one of her favorite pastimes - people-watching...