The winter kitchen and plants.

It's July so why am I mentioning winter?

This is an easy answer. In July I start a very pro active back stocking for winter regime. I take advantage of my home grown vegetables as well as some of the best priced produce of summer, farmer markets and even big chain markets.

An example of this is that I scored 20 lbs of russet potatoes for $4 last Sunday morning. I could not pass that up. Unfortunately for me mother nature is having a hot flash this week. Canning is hot sweaty work never mind adding in hot weather. I long for a summer kitchen.

So this Kentucky woman got up at 4am to prep the kitchen, then prep the potatoes, then cook and pressure can them. Feel for me, I had to peel 20# of potatoes :)

 Pre pressure canning. Peeled, diced, blanched and put in the jar.

After pressure canning. 7 quarts of diced and quartered potatoes.














To add to that I picked, sorted and weighed my garden tomatoes. I have 15# of them and that is going to be tomorrow's project. I need to go get more lids. I do not want to keep my kitchen in a state of "hot and steamy", trust me it is not sexy in anyway :)  Will cut them up, cook them down and run them through the food mill and then they are going to reduce in the crock pot. Believe it or not 15# will only net me about 6 pints. Not a lot but I know where it came from.

Then it was time to play with the plants. I "saved" several herb plants last weekend at the farmers market. Poor root bound plants dying in their little containers.

 Winter Savory, Greek Oregano and Thyme.

This one has Basil, Sage and Rosemary.

And then I have added 2 more rescue plants to the household. One of the office managers is leaving and gave them to me. A Dracaena and a Peace Lilly.

The Peace Lilly gets no photo spot, she is embarrassed because she has no leaves. She does now have a new pot and soil. We will let her grow a bit before we show her off.

Dear Friends and Family,

Many of you probably do not know that Kord was diagnosed with DM back in Sept 2016. If you know anything of the disease you know it is not something that can be overcome. The course of DM ranges from about six months to a year before a dog is paraplegic, losing complete function of the rear limbs.

With this prognosis we had to set some milestone.

His age was the biggest factor. He had just turned 10. Part of what I put down to old age and arthritis was, while certainly there, not the big picture. 

With his age, health and the prognosis we had no choice but to put in conditions for his well being. The bottom line was dignity and no heroics.

Quality not quantity.

As we were told he became weaker in the rear. He was over compensating for this weakness by using the front end to support the back. Over the past few months his front end has started to show the strain.

We slowed his play down, we assisted with getting up on comfortable furniture, we took our bed and his settee off the frame and feet. Anything to make it easier on his body. We had to do this because, even at 10, even with a body that was letting him down he refused, flat our refuses, to heed the words…

SLOW…. DOWN.

Slow is not in his vocabulary. There are balls to chase, Frisbee’s to catch and keep away will always be the best game ever. Not to mention his obsession with having to be right there when I sweep a floor. I never did figure that one out.

On March 14^th, he reached that last milestone. He refused to go down the stairs, he fell eating his breakfast, he went off into another world where he did not hear me and growled at the wall. After calling his name softly for a bit he was once again my bright beautiful boy. And what I saw in his eyes was confusion. What I felt in my heart was excruciating pain as it broke. I left him comfortable with Kevin while I went to work knowing damn well what had to be done when I got home. I talked with Kevin and we agreed it was time. I made the phone call and the date was set.

We just hit the 6th month mark.

I cannot tell you how many times he has fallen since we made the decision on the 14th. This silent killer is taking over his body more and more every day. And while I am writing this knowing the time is coming I still spent the day terrified he is going to break a leg or a hip. He spent 80% of his day laying on the couch. We helped him up and down. He gets whatever he wants in terms of food. His allergies are no longer the problem they were so the heck with it. We will eat cake!

So this is it. In few hours I will be driving to the vets to sign him in for the time. Today we let him go.

This journey of 10 years was shared not just between Kevin, Kord and I, but with all of you, or most of you, as well. You shared the ups and the downs. You lent ears and advice. You supported both visibly and silently. And we thank you.

Jump for joy in the water, eat cake and chase frisbee's forever baby boy, we will miss you.

Love,

Dawn and Kevin

This winter is so FRUSTRATING.

Not that I am complaining but I am.

Since the temperatures are so high I am frustrated because I want to start seeds and it is to dang early. I know as soon as I do it will snow 100 feet and the temps will drop to -50 below overnight. The dilemma is real folks.

I am forcing myself to slow it down and taking my frustration out on houseplants. I am nursing Spider plant babies. I am finding new places for all the plants. I am giving some babies away.

On top of that I am planning what, where and when to start my seeds. Checking the calendar to get maximum out put at the right time. I am collecting cans and other vehicles of potential pots for plants. I am hogging my milk jugs to make a winter greenhouse. I want to garden and it is all mother natures fault. Every day I think of something else I can plant and where I can plant it outside. I needed a distraction.

So today I focused on Alexandria.

I do not talk about my mother Sandra very often. I miss her. Everyday. But I know she is here with me. I have proof.

This is Alexandria.

She use to belong to my mother. My mom gave her to me many years ago because she felt that she could no longer care for her much loved plant. How do I know this? Because this plant has been around as long as I have. I remember it from my childhood. I remember it from the teenage years. I remember it from my 20's, 30's and she became mine in 2006.

One year after my mom passed away she flowered for the first time ever in her long life with us and I cried because I knew then that my mom was still with me. I love this lady and cherish the memories she holds.

I give her babies away sparingly. She currently has 4. I recently removed 1 from the pot to give to a very very dear friend of mine.  But this is a plant everyone should have. They are hard to kill. And in a study by NASA they do a body good.

Snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata 'Laurentii')

Also known as mother-in-law’s tongue, this plant is one of the best for filtering out formaldehyde, which is common in cleaning products, toilet paper, tissues and personal care products. Put one in your bathroom — it’ll thrive with low light and steamy humid conditions while helping filter out air pollutants.
You may also want to put a couple of these sharp-leafed plants in your bedroom, suggests This Old House. Interestingly, they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen at night (the opposite of the process most plants follow). Sharing your room with these plants could give you a slight oxygen boost while you sleep.

I plan to keep her healthy. She is getting Montgomery the cactus's old pot (bigger than her current) and he will be getting a different one since he bites and I need something I can handle better on my own when I move all  4'9" of him.

And here is the new baby ready for her new home:

.

 

Week 1. Updates to resolutions. The meaning of Dignity.

First finacial plan in place and will start with this weeks paycheck. Second one will start with the second paycheck.

The 3rd one will be ongoing since it means putting all my saved money from grocery apps in a separate savings account.

I need no permits to sell overage of garden grown items. Sweet!

Relearned an old hobby (showing my age here folks) and did it with my gardening in mind.

Macramed a new plant hanger to hold egg shell baby spider plants. I did screw up one set that I will try and fix tomorrow. It is now hanging between my windows so it will get the best light possible.

 

dig·ni·ty

1. the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect: 

    

 We have a 10 year old German Shepherd that was recently diagnosed with DM. For those that do not know what that it here is the information.

Canine degenerative myelopathy, also known as chronic degenerative radiculomyelopathy, is an incurable, progressive disease of the canine spinal cord that is similar in many ways to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Onset is typically after the age of 7 years and it is seen most frequently in the German shepherd dog, Pembroke Welsh corgi, and boxer dog, though the disorder is strongly associated with a gene mutation in SOD1 that has been found in 43 breeds as of 2008, including the wire fox terrier, Chesapeake Bay retriever, Rhodesian ridgeback, and Cardigan Welsh corgi.^[1][2] Progressive weakness and incoordination of the rear limbs are often the first signs seen in affected dogs, with progression over time to complete paralysis. Myelin is an insulating sheath around neurons in the spinal cord. One proposed cause of degenerative myelopathy is that the immune system attacks this sheath, breaking it down. This results in a loss of communication between nerves in lower body of the animal and the brain.

We are saddened. His diagnosis was first voiced almost exactly 6 months ago. It is progressing and there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can be done.

 He is a crazy, OCD, hyperactive, allergy ridden dog. He lives for the Frisbee, play sessions with his boy (my husband) and reading session with me. He does not respond to our plea to slow down or take it easy. I do know he does not understand why we do not let him do more outside. I do know that he  gets a little bored since the slow down factor is not one he is on board with. I do know that my heart breaks into pieces every time he falls. There is nothing we can do.

There will be no heroics. We will do everything possible to make his days the best they can be. We will be there when he falls to help him back up. We will play with him within the limits of his ability by our standards and not his since he is a little stubborn.

 We had two stages in place and now we have dropped it to 1 stage before we make the final decision. 

When he can no longer climb the steps on his own is the last stage now.  At that point we will assist, we will care for him and help him. We will evaluate and determine what the best option will be at that time. 

When the time does come and we know it is going to be sooner rather than later we are going to let him go with grace and dignity. He will go on to a better place and he will be standing when he does.

We love you Kord.

 

New Year, New Blog, New Resolutions. Old traditions.

Happy 2017.

Goodbye 2016, you were good but you could have been much much better.



Resolutions

New financial plan.
Bigger garden.
Finish all current projects before starting a new one.
Eat better.
Start yoga or tai chi.
Build up the spouses wood turning business.
Build up my own garden sell off business.
Discover a new hobby.


Old Traditions

Garden
Quilt
Can
Read
Coupon
Play with friends


Not a lot there but it is an important lot.

I already have the financial plans figured out, just need to implement them.

I sent an email to the city that I will follow up on tomorrow about selling stuff in the front yard. Since none of it will be cooked I should be ok without a permit.

Already have a weekend based plan to sell both mine and the hubby's work.
I have already designed and will order his business cards.

I found couple of new hobbies.  One I can do myself the other is a collaboration with the husbands work.

I am already saving things to plant in. Cans, jars, milk jugs and heck even egg shells.
I am already re designing the outside garden to get as much out of the small space we have. I am now into vertical gardening.
What we cannot eat, we will sell if possible.

Here is to a successful 2017.