Down the Garden Path

Dear Mom,

The other day I was working at Timi's nursery and a tree service guy came by asking if she needed any mulch. They are very interested in dumping chipped wood wherever you'd like it out here so they don't have to burn gas taking it many miles to dump. Burning gas eats into their small profits. She pointed to her vast piles and said no thanks but I might want some. They delivered to my house and it was the nicest pine mulch you can imagine. apparently the tree was dead and it's lightweight and the pieces are consistent. If I remember correctly it ages to a pale grey color.

I've wanted a path from the front to the side door, there's little to no grass because it's heavily shaded. It's always a mess; if it's dry outside you bring in gritty dirt, if it's wet you bring in mud.

I had a pile of bricks I got last year so I made the borders yesterday and started filling in the path this afternoon. I called Timi and asked her how I could get a bunch of liriope (monkey grass) very reasonably, maybe really small ones. She could do better than that. A lady she's consulting with on landscaping has a boatload of the stuff she wants taken out. She likes it where she has it but it gets really big really quickly. Happy me, happy her. I just need to go dig up a bunch sometime this week.

Weird, I keep getting what I need when I need it. I spruced up the gravel garden a bit this week, but am not planting anything that I can't take in during a freeze. It's nice getting some of the heavier work done early in the spring before it gets too hot.

What a nice day.

I love you,

Lisa

Dirtgoddess is Restless

Dear Mom,

The Zinnia seeds I started 4 days ago are up and going gangbusters. I don't seem to be able to do anything wrong with plants but forget to water them. That's kind of a nice feeling.

Think I'll start some Texas Star Hibiscus, I've got a bunch of seeds but they're getting old so I don't know what the germination rate is. If I plant 50, I'll find out. They look rather a lot like marijuana plants, kind of amusing really.

Been working on the Llano Master Gardener site a lot today, it's my baby. Last year when I started the classes I felt sort of adrift, if I hadn't had Timi to kind of hold my hand I would have felt a little lost at first; you know how it is when you don't really know anyone. They're a real friendly group and I would have made friends in time, but being Timi's friend helped a lot, she was one of the founding members 2 years ago. I'm glad we have the website to make sure new trainees get more information up front, and it emphasizes the fact that we're all just here to have a good time and hopefully to contribute something to the community as well. A couple of weeks ago at the Officers' meeting some were a little nervous that we wouldn't get more than a dozen trainees. As of today there are 27 and one or two more that would like to join. We think that 30 is about the maximum class size we can handle and still teach effectively. I'm still knocked out by the quality of the speakers we're getting, it's amazing. If the current MGs attend the classes there are benefits; we get to learn stuff, the trainees feel more comfortable and it counts for our Continuing Education requirements for each year. And we get to go on the field trips! Yay!

Note that I say "we" as though I'm an Officer. No, indeed, they were smarter than that. At a meeting I didn't attend they voted me Web Director. An officer can only hold a post for 2 years and...an officer can quit. Smartybutts. Oh, well, since I'm the only one who can do this, it's a moot point. I'm really hoping someone in the new class can do web design and can take the baton if I get sick of it or can't do it anymore.

Don went to town today to get mom's meds and went shopping at Miiller's Meat Market and brought home some lovely pork steaks which we seasoned and put on the grill. That and lima beans and coleslaw made for a lovely dinner. Right now we're cubing and packaging the cooked pork into 6oz. packs for future meals. Yum. He also picked up a small boneless peppered ham to slice and package tomorrow. Lots of meals, lots of home-made fun.

I need to gather some links for the upcoming ezine due on the 15th. Don's in the other room making ominous computer-building sounds. God only knows...

I love you,

Lisa

Food and Flowers

Dear Mom,
There's just something so beautiful about the foods we love. There should be more food pictures, that's what I say! So, to put my money where my mouth is (!) here are some of my favorite alternatives to traditional foods, and quite delicious they are, too.

I've long suspected that oats give me problems and found that Bob's Red Mill carries Rolled Barley that's just about the same thing, only better in my estimation. We get all of our baking supplies and grain products from Bob's, they're wonderful. I've always liked oatmeal, but I pour the whole oats into boiling water and immediately take it off the heat to cook very lightly and not get "gloopy". If anyone stirs it or cooks it more and makes it pasty, I can't eat it. I can only eat it if the grains are separate and firm. Well, the Rolled Barley is exactly that texture and I love it.


The Cherry Pancakes were made using our standard pancake recipe, with 1 cup Garbanzo Bean flour (no it does not taste like beans) and 1 cup brown rice flour. Half a bag of frozen cherries was chopped into it and Don made the pancakes and tossed the rest of the cherries in a blender with a little water, sugar, vanilla and thickening-tapioca starch. Heating it just to boiling made a fabulous cherry syrup. Outstanding!



I'm desperately allergic to corn and have been craving fried grits forever so we got some Millet Grits. I made up a pot and made little patties fried in butter and oil. Once again, I outdid myself in tastiness and ingenuity. Ow, my arm hurts from patting mys...um...they were really good.

I took these pictures in case I ever have time to start an Alternative Foods blog or website. There are lots out there, most people with serious sensitivities are looking for help and when they find it, they're motivated to share. Me, too.

I started some Zinnia seeds today, they'll look great in the raised bed in my Gravel Garden. NeeCee knows I'm dirt-hungry so this morning she gave me some packets of seeds. Last year I planted some Zinnias that she gave me and people in their cars slowed down to look every day. It's a nice feeling.

I love you,

Lisa

Arnica

Dear Mom,

Just a rather ordinary day, spending rather a long time in "the chair"-the dentist's chair, this morning. Replaced a filling and have another one to get done next week. Then I hope I'll be done for awhile.

I asked him if there was a way to get my front teeth straightened and he got real animated. Yes, there are a couple of ways to go about it. He can put custom veneers on my teeth or do orthodontia, either way costing about $6,000. I have resigned myself to being satisfied with my crooked teeth. It's a bit of a disappointment, though, I had braces for 4 years and retainers for 2 and they moved back over time. He said now they're finding out that retainers are forever-too bad they didn't know that back then, 35 years ago. Ah, well... I do think that if I ever had the money to do it I would not get them in that very white color everybody seems to want. I kind of like the color of natural teeth, that creamy ivory color. That's the color of my crowns and filling and I'm quite fond of it.

I took the homeopathic Arnica with me to the dentist, took it right away and once since then and have had no problem with soreness at the injection site. That really gave me a fit the other times I went. Once again, though, I was extremely tired this afternoon and took a nap. The dentist said his wife does the same thing, she's a dentist at the same office and she's exhausted after any procedure in her mouth.

Don made a nice brisket stir-fry for dinner and then made a chocolate cake this evening. What a good boy! *smile* Then we did the dishes and settled down to play with our respective computers. It's so nice having someone who shares your interests (and who understands your quirks). Don just loves it when I 'geek out' on something, he's soooooo tolerant-and proud of me. He's been getting into trouble for his geeky propensities his entire life and now he can settle down, stop feeling picked on and enjoy the rest of his life. That's all we really need, room to breathe and someone to love us the way we are-how simple is that?

I love you,

Lisa

Flowers by Mail

Dear Mom,

What a nice surprise! The 10 African Violets arrived today and I'm more than pleased. Each little plant so perfectly wrapped for shipment that they were clean and fresh-looking right out of the box. The company that sent them, The Violet Barn packs them in fiberglass insulation so they're guaranteed even for winter shipping. Here they are just 4 hours after unwrapping from their little newspaper sleeves after they'd been watered and had some fresh air. Today the buds that were already on them are starting to open. Perfect for a flower nut with serious Spring Fever.

I found out our Postal Carrier is an African Violet aficionado, so that opens up an opportunity for a new gardening buddy! How's that for an extra bonus? Through a series of 'life issues', she lost most of her plants. The same thing happened to me so I can relate.

Here are the babies in all their petite glory. That's like saying, "What a cute little kitten, I'll just take him home, he won't eat much..." Right. They'll each get to be 10-12" inches wide. Twelve (I have 2) African Violets can take up a lot of space-I used to have about 30. First you have to get all the colors, then the fancies, then the minis, then the trailers. And *then* there are those beautiful variegated...*sigh* It's a sickness.

One for which I hope there's no cure.

I love you,

Lisa