Annarchy

Okay, challenge accepted. So, tomorrow I will take pics of my “Desert” experience. Celery had to go back in the spice garden, apparently, there is a nest of harvester ants in the pot…. The English thyme is in the kitchen, still being challenged by the ants, trying to get to that pot! Peppermint, had to be dug up & brought inside, it was failing in our 100° + heat. Next will be the garlic. Got, finger sized zucchini, from my 10 plants, most were pecked by the birds, with a pkg of two from the store , made a nice meal of calabash… fried onion, with diced tomatoes, seared. Add corn & zucchini + a tbs of tomato bullion, water to cover, simmer, sprinkle Mexican shedded cheese and done. One still on the vine. Cut the first Roma tomato, green on the bottom, spots of green & turning red today, except for the green bottom. I water daily , on a schedule, so, IDK. Probably, eat it on a sandwich.. IDK. Cut the parsley, camomile & alfalfa back, saving the seeds. Garlic is fading badly, need to dig it up & find out why. Onions seem to be doing alright, but this is year 1 from seeds… still have an 1/2 gallon of seeds from years past. Mung beans sprouted, it got too hot and all the plants died. Carrots, seem to be doing great, but, won’t be harvested until next year. Typical, it takes 2 years, in my yard to produce a nice carrot root. Beets, harvested the seeds from plants I left in the ground, last year. Didn’t glean them, the sparrows are loving the stalks I left. I got, at least a quart of seeds from what I did harvest. Some seeds grew, need to dig up the old and space the new, birds are fleeting the new growth. Camomile, flourished, I left it to spread seeds, until, the heat started to wilt it’s leaves. I got 2 pints of dried camomile for tea. Oh, I was reading my book on herbs & essential oils.. found a page on, ”Knot grass”. Definitely not grass. I’ve been battling it for years! Apparently, is great for tea! Stupid weed! I pulled some for a water glass in the house, and it is flourishing. Stupid weed. Plus, I found a patch of purslane. I will move it to the garden, where the broccoli and cauliflower didn’t sprout. DH really enjoyed the fried purslane. So…. That’s almost all my garden… except for the pot the Italian oregano is growing in. Had to pull a plant from the pot that was not one of the plants that sprouted from the package of seeds, 2 packages of seeds, only one package has survived…. Typical desert. Trial & error. Make due with what survives…………

DH woke up unable to put weight on his ankle. Pulled out the crutches from the shed. He’s extremely irritated that he’s been trying to walk every day, and now can’t. Sigh. Wednesday he goes for more heart tests, 4-6 hours…. I’m trying to do everything around the house… I’m beat, to say the least…..

My “Yeasty Beasties”, because, that’s what Westbrook called them. DH knows exactly what I’m talking about. … Even my friend calls them that, she knew Westbrook too.

I don’t use sugar in my starter, it’s never seemed to need it, plus, sugar doesn’t like me. The sour dough breads, I get from it, makes excellent breads, French bread, authentic regular loaves, pizza crusts, biscuits, pancakes, tortillas for burritos, (if I want the thicker type, but I’m not fond of them, DH likes them, so…), etc. Mother, have you tried some of these flours? https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/gluten-free-flours#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3

Oh, and Westbrook’s comments, are priceless and keeps me tending my “yeasty beastsies”…. Lol

I used an ancient recipe. Kinda sorta….. Flour, I use unbleached flour. 1 cup. Add water, preferably, without chlorine. I use the bottled water we have delivered. 1 cup of water. In a pint or quart jar. Mix well, no lumps. Put some cheese cloth over it. I secure the cloth with a jar ring. Set in a warm place, under 100°F. I use the top of our freezer, it’s warm, but not that warm. Every day, mix it. Every other day add a Tbs. of flour and 2-3 Tbs. of water & mix well. After 3-5 days, you will notice it beginning to bubble & rise. I use a rubber band to mark the height in the jar. You can take out a cup or two, and use it, it won’t be quite ready yet, but, getting there. I use the ‘take out’ for pancakes & such. I just couldn’t see discarding the dough/liquid…. Waste not, want not…. I keep my starter in the frig, pulling it out & feeding it regularly. It now grows double the quantity in the quart jar I’m using. Gave a 1/2 quart to my dear friend & she is still making bread weekly from it. Here’s where I got my starter instructions from: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe

Oh, my, haven’t heard from her in ages.

Did you flip the jars after processing? I’ve had that happen when I didn’t turn the jars upside down, immediately after pulling them out. IDK for sure. Most of the jams & jelly’s I process have recommended flipping the jars, let sit 20-30 minutes & flip right side up. They ping, even upside down, for me.

Joyfulled, try beet greens. DH likes them better than spinach. Less bitter taste,plus, you get beets. Great sliced thin, fried or boiled, among other things. Nice to see you have access outside Mother! I’m looking forward to seeing what else you do with that space.

Oh, and…in my garden, no matter what carrot seeds I plant, it takes 2 years to develop a healthy root. 4 years to produce seeds. Next year I’m planting zucchini in December! Planted in February, will be blessed if I get 4. Plants are wilting daily, perking up at night. I picked one, two more hopeful on the plants now, out of 8 plants, all the flowers are male. Sage & thyme sprouted and looked promising, died. IDK if it’s the seeds or the miracle grow bag of soil, beginning to think so. All the seeds I’ve harvested from my garden are thriving. Hopefully, I can harvest tomato & zucchini seeds for next year. Heat resistant. Tomatillos volunteered a plant, it’s flourishing, I will keep one of its fruits for my seed bin.

Ambergris, mine do the same thing! Don’t beat yourself up. IDK, maybe the crop dusters, wind borne poisons from neighboring homes. Makes me feel like I failed! Gave the city guys a tomato, I’d planted next to the ally fence, to support it…they were poisoning the alley…. Told them, you eat it! They’ve never sprayed my alley or yard since. Planted corn, 5 years of trying…every single year, I got miniature stalks, & blight. Quit trying. Indian corn, multi colored, gave me miniature ears…fantastic for decorations…lol. I’m very thankful, that the 2 packages (one hasn’t even sprouted), of Italian oregano has sprouted and seem to be flourishing. (thank you God!). I cook a lot of Italian, Mexican and Greek foods. No broccoli or cauliflower sprouted, marigolds sprouted & died. Onions sprouted, most died, hoping for the best with what survived. Jalapeños sprouted & died, two patches of carrots sprouted & died. I can tell you countless gardening stories, but what’s the point? Some grow, most don’t. Yeah, what’s wrong with me!?? I’ve put so much additives to my soil, and still am lucky to harvest…but, I live in the desert… every thing around us is dried, dead, or in hibernation, until the heat eases… mid November…. Lol

Joyfilled Redhead, I promise to keep a better eye on our new arrivals. I’m very grateful you are interested in making sure you have supplies & are trying to prepare for the rocky road we have entered. DH says, “one is none, two is one, three is better”. So very true. One roll of TP. One can of soup. One onion…. etc. What we purchased a year ago, preserved, now costs 3 times as much, if you can find it. We are still trying to add to & rotate what we have stored….. Looking forward to your thoughts and sharing your wisdom with us….

I hadn’t checked..my bad. Forgive me..please.

I do have shade screen, but, I need to build something to hold for the garden. I haven’t had much time lately. My spice garden is located between a pine tree & a chaste tree, all but 2 hours of the day, it is shaded. The north side, is almost completely shaded by the Mexican & Greek oregano plants and the Chinese garlic. That celery plant seems to like that area more and hasn’t faded since.

Even the shingle shot can not prevent them. “Might” reduce the occurrence. Being no “cure”. I’m not taking it. MIL got the shot and got shingles! Sigh. Please do a LOT of research, before considering the shot. Seriously, I’ve used the Doco Shield for a few years, it seems to have a light sunscreen in it also. The company also makes one with L-Lysine, which seems to work on the small shingle blisters. I gave one tube to MIL, she told me the next morning her ‘spot’ had completely healed & quit hurting & itching. It’s the itching that is a concern, you scratch, it breaks the tiny blister & you risk getting an infection in the open sore. Of course, once you itch it, it seems to itch more…catch 22. Many people say it’s the pain, I’ve found the area is sensitive to touch, but, otherwise I don’t notice the pain…again, it’s the itch… I scratch, it hurts. The only other noticeable symptom, the fatigue. 6 hours after taking the oregano oil, it feels cooler already, no constant burning, hardly any itching from the large patches that erupted. I’m used to the dosage of oregano, I have been taking, for 10+ years, I started with 300 mg/4 x a day. Taking it regularly, I never get a cold sore, even being in the sun, but, I forget to take it, quit for a while, and, spend too much time outside and notice the tingling in my lips…. Yup, forgot, now have to pay the price. Now, I can take the 4,000 mg 2x a day & never notice any side effects. I don’t take prescriptions, only vitamins. Tonight I will try the ACV with mother & see how that works. With our diet being drastically changed, after his heart attack, most fats have been eliminated, plus, I do NOT eat sweets, they knock me out rather quickly. Lol. Oil of oregano combats viruses and other infections. Please do your own research. As, Mt_Rider & others have said, please check with your doctor to make sure it doesn’t have any side effects with any other medications you may be taking.

Absolutely, try them! Delicious! Every year, Thanksgiving & Christmas, I buy a bag of apples to make one or two apple pies. I slice the leftover apples, coat with sugar and cinnamon & dehydrate them. Then, jar them. I suppose you could vacuum seal them, never tried. DH loves them in his cereal.

Still exhausted…. Darn, someone came over…had to help get his wheelchair over the curb, into the back yard & then back to his car. He had a bandage over an area on his other leg, not the one that he broke…hence the chair, (Why not crutches? IDK, big old man.), wife prodded him to secure it…. I didn’t think much about it, until…. Shingles…. Sigh…. It sucks…. I’ve broken out big time…I’ve never ever had such large patches! ... I’m down & out, because they are contagious and I refuse to spread them to anyone else, ever. I had chicken pox & measles at the same time when I was 3…. MIL occasionally gets a small patch, but, contact with her, usually, it only causes me a very small break out, one or two itchy blisters. I’ve used Doco, http://www.docoshield.com/ which knocks them out in a day or two. Here’s an article about shingles…. https://www.healthline.com/health/shingles-natural-treatment#4.-Soothing-lotions-and-creams …I headed to my medicine cabinet, only to realize, I was out of Oregano oil! I’d asked DH to re-order it, but he didn’t. I take it regularly, due to cold sores. Too much sun exposure, 15 minutes, unprotected, I can guarantee my lips will break out. I use a lot of sunscreen, wear hats & cover my exposed skin, anytime I am outside doing work. Must! Been dealing with it since I was a small child, 5 years old and got 2nd degree burns on my upper torso, from playing in the hose with my sister, in AZ. But, ordered more oregano oil yesterday, delivery to be Monday. So, I’ve been kicked back, doing much of nothing all day, even sent him to the post office…. (Contagious…don’t wanna spread it!) PTL!!!! Overnight shipping!!! And for a reduced price!!! $9.99 for 150 @ 4,000 mg. Believe it or not, I can actually feel a difference already, 4 hours later. Itching, burning, and pain are almost gone! I will continue to wash & sterilize the affected areas. Bandage & cover them, during my waking hours, wash my hands frequently, to avoid contaminating anything in the house, etc. Tomorrow is house cleaning day, and I intend to wash everything in Lysol. I would be devastated, to think I gave it to anyone, including my DH! So, I bared my soul, in hopes that this info, can help anyone else, who might have to deal with shingles…no cure…..

Garden thyme seems to be perking up, need to trim off the fried leaves. Celery…. Perked up, day one. I trimmed the dry leaves, for my dehydrated jar. Then…. noticed tiny black ants on the kitchen table, where it was sitting next to the window!!! Yup, you guessed it, they have a nest in the pot!! Can’t/won’t use poison, it’s an edible. So, back to the spice garden it went, except, in an area with more shade. Seems to be doing ok, for now. However, I did start another, used up, stalk of celery in a cup of water, JIC it can’t survive outside. ANTS!!!!!

I’m exhausted, waiting for the tomatoes to ripen, zucchini to grow big enough to harvest & watering the yard daily…. Transplanted the peppermint to a pot & brought it inside. Too hot…

The time before last, I went to WM, the boy asked me to get him some for little Missy. 3 cans cost me over $100.00. I left 3 on the shelf, sign said 5 per day per person. Last time through, all that was left were some small cans of Similac. Empty shelves all around.

Reminds me of a cross between pinball and mouse trap.

Tired…. Worked on financial books, P.O.run, market, bank, panicked when I saw his med bill….one day in the hospital…….$122,000! We have to pay $8,000….. sigh, sigh, sigh…. Hope they take payments.

Depending on the area you live in. I might recommend, earth tones, highlight the trims a complementary color. Nothing too bright or dark. Dark colors absorb heat…. Unless you want the heat. I’m not a fan of yellows for houses.. ours was pink, inside & out! A couple of rooms were over painted cream & green.. yikes Our choice, here in the Deep South AZ desert, was a light sandy color for the house and a very light olive green….. we had to cover the pink it was before, so the light green really helped. Our next door neighbor, went with a dark grey…we actually can feel the heat radiating off of it, in the summer. Their AC runs 4 times as much as ours. Hope that helps you decide on your colors, maymayms.

Gosh…. And to think I really loved my Win. 3.1. XP came out, I got a Sony laptop. It went everywhere with me… I was doing the books for 2 companies, had an extra battery base and Word, Excel, and so many other great programs, photo editing, etc… After 3 hard drive crashes, in 2005 I got 2 Mac books for us…. I was able to do everything on them, they upgraded fantastic. They actually still work, only plugged into a charger. Both batteries swelled and almost exploded… they hit the recycling center. I use mine regularly for pictures when I am painting. DH got a Win 10 desk top, for his games. I got one too, specifically for the business. That’s usually all I use it for. When MIL is here, she watches her local TX nightly news on it. Then, DH decided he wanted an apple tablet, we got two. I have my kindle on mine… he’s on his almost all his waking hours. I use mine to surf, check emails, read my kindle and play a game or two a day. I have waaay too much other stuff to do, than, to spend my time on it.