Homesteader

Cute name, that Oreo. Over the years we took in a few dogs from the County Dog Pound. They were always our most loyal companions. Had mom come for the weekend to see fireworks at the local racetrack and help me snap some late season beans. She said that I worked her like she did me when I was a kid. I would give her small bowls to work on. She had given me turkey roasters overflowing with green beans. She forgot that part. All in all, we had a great time together and talked a lot about her childhood as we harvested a tiny part of the garden.

Theory has it that weak plants give off a substance similar to pheromones. Bugs detect it and go after the plant. I've never taken the time to test that theory.

This topic on sugar brings back memories of my univ sports coach. We were told (threatened) before each event not to eat candy bars or other sweets. She didn't want to pick us up off the court floor half way through the game when our sugar level crashed. My mom LOVES sugar and likes to include me in her pies, cakes, donuts, and giant muffins. She's an arthritic disaster and can hardly move her walker around her apt anymore (except to the refrig and TV). She's a living reminder that controlling my sugar may also help with controlling arthritis pain. At least that's what both of my chiropractor friends keep telling me. Sugar and arthritis have direct links. Gotta keep reminding me of that while walking by the dessert table at the church potlucks.

So sorry to hear about your tooth woes, Anny. I went through a tooth pull and a root canal this past year. I thought I was able to save one, which I did for almost a year, but out it came. The other one was damaged from a recent filling. Something wasn't right and cracked that tooth. It was already crowned. Got a root canal in the city and never had any more problems with it. The swelling, pain, and infections were awful, and yes, I lost quite a bit of weight over those two teeth. As I age, I'm slowly changing how much hard foods I eat. Have pretty much given up on almonds and hard candy. It's OK, though. I HATE toothaches! And the dentist reminded me that infections can eat away at jaw bone. That got me to the specialist the next week. Be blessed!!

We buy the heirloom seeds from MiGardener for .99 package. I only do it once and then resave the seeds myself each year. I only have a few left to try, but my garden is full, and I don't want to expand the fencing anymore. They all are doing great except for the tomatoes. I always buy hybrid sweet corn, though. I don't want to have a bad year with them gems.

Check around at some auto parts stores ... NAPA, O'Reiley, Carquest, Autozone. Many of them have a bunch of test gear and will install simple items for you. Sometimes batteries for women of you buy from them. My hubby does it all the time ... getting the test results and buying from them. It cuts out the dealerships that are about $75 hour around here.

Jeepers - do you like Asian food today? Our life in SE Asia made me hate rice at first. I longed for just one little potato! Even today, I don't do much rice (starchy carb), but do love the stir-fry foods. I miss the foods of Japan.

Love that oregano! I usually dry some each year for seasoning in our tomato dishes. Tomatoes have blossom end rot due to crazy drought then downpours. Mulch hasn't helped much. I'm going to head back to hybrids because the heirlooms just won't grow here anymore. Started drying kale, parsley and sage this week. Not sure how long it will last because hubby is drilling holes in the concrete walls again to install new windows in our kitchen/dining room. Trying to get the outside work done before it gets colder and all the bugs want to come in and live with us.

I feel your pain, Jeepers. I finally switched to the VA and do everything online. So much has changed with the current federal administration. We're actually treated like everyone else and the VA has really ramped up their marketing and customer service. I also like having all my meds mailed to me. Just order them online and have them sent out. If I'm running out of refills, I just contact my local provider and they rewrite the presc or have me come in for blood-work and office call (one hour apart). I'm SO BLESSED, and I don't mind the low co-pays! Makes up for the Vietnam war!

A new kind of pole bean for me. The pods are purple but turn green when cooked. They're so easy to see against the green leaves on the trellis. They also turn green when canned. They're a keeper for me. They're called Trionfo Violetto and do well up north after the soil has warmed up.

Took our grand-nephew to Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in Kentucky last week. Spent 7 days camping, fishing, and exploring. Had a great time and told him lots of stories about his Pepaw (my brother). He died four years ago and little nephew's world fell apart. Now we have lots of stories and laughter to share around the campfires. Fishing wasn't bad either. Will I EVER catch up with the garden????

Didn't work. Put away the hummingbird feeder as all the flowers are starting to bloom. The birds like them best.

The honey bees use GPS to find the pool. If you keep moving the pool around the yard, they will stay confused for a few days. Once they zero in on a good thing, you have to move the 'good thing'.

I've never thought of DE for ants. I buy it by the bag. I think the last 25 pounds came from a pool supply house. I have lots of carpenter ants heading for the hummer feeder. Cinnamon hasn't deterred them. I also need to try some in the garage, at least until we get those honey boxes harvested.

So good to hear from you Dogmom4. Our neighbor had general anesthesia surgery and never fully recovered, mentally. The surgeon explained that it takes some people longer to come back "to the baseline" in their reasoning. Maybe that's one reason they don't like to work on 'older' folks. Just a heads-up when your mom begins to recover from hip replacement. Then again, her head may clear after all the pain subsides. I LOVE your fruits and veggies. I never visited Northern California. I decided I didn't like the southern area after few trips I made on business. I probably missed the most beautiful part of the state.

When we lived in Scotland, it rained all the time. We still mowed but didn't catch the clippings. Sometimes we had to double-cut the stuff. Take your time and cut it several times and in different directions. Let it dry. Check to see if it needs to be raked or in mower catch baskets. Dry grass is much lighter to deal with the next day.

Yes, I have been following Michigan Gardener for 3-4 years. His YouTube vids are a bit too long for me, but he has excellent heirloom seeds. I like to support the little guy.

I haven't done this in eons, and seed tape is too expensive these days. I was listening to Tony Evans on the radio and decided to transfer my parsnip seeds to a wet paper towel. I find presoaked, small seeds, too difficult to distribute evenly in a trench. I think it will work well if the seeds sprout.

I have specific instructions from mama to buy ONLY MEGA rolls of TP for her. I guess when you get old, mega rolls don't take too much time to refill the holder. Time is of the essence in her 90's. I worked the June Dairy Breakfast in Wisconsin this morning. They must have made close to a million pancakes for the crowd. They came in by the bus loads. I volunteered at the beekeeping tent. It was lots of fun showing the little kids the observation hive. It's only two frames of bees inside of plexiglass (with lots of ventilation). We had the kids practicing the art of finding the queen. I found many of the kids are well schooled in honeybees. They seemed to know more than their parents. We passed out coloring books for any of the kids who wanted them. Many of the folks said they don't like bees, they're allergic to them. I said I was too so I only keep 120,000 to 180,000 of them at one time. Love the reactions.

Those walking onions are fun to grow. I brought a few bulbs from Indiana to Wisconsin. They survived the -38 F last winter. A great go-to for onion lovers.

DH has outdone himself AGAIN! Our woodshed grew because of the free power poles from local neighbors. We didn't realize just how BIG they were, and the shed is on a rock shelf. We decided to go with a three-section woodshed. The first two are for 10 cord of wood and the last section for our farm tractor and some small implements. I keep thinking about the TEN cord of wood that needs to be cut, split and stacked this year. We have several cord already under cover so will only have to work on eight cord. That guy is going to kill me with work!! Whatever you do, don't retire. It is a lot of hard work that I don't remember doing when I worked full-time.

We wanted to use the same split wood that was on the old pallets. I hate moving wood twice, but the pallets were needed. I hope hubby isn't planning on filling the entire 8' x 30' woodshed THIS YEAR. Mama seems to like her new digs. The great-granddaughters came over and enjoyed all the stories about the Great Depression and WWII. They also like her gorgeous view of the pond outside her patio door.

We decided to take the power poles our friend gave us for FREE. Little did I know how BIG they are up close. DH cut them in 11-foot lengths and hauled them home in a trailer behind his tractor. I don't know how he did it!! We started building the woodshed yesterday and collapsed into bed last night. This is too early in the season to work all day. We need to sneak up on it. I prefer the ground work and DH handles the tractor. About three more days of hard work and the roof will be ready to build. I think he said that it will be 30-feet long. Then we can start filling it.

Got mama moved into her new apt at the retirement center. The food down in the cafeteria is GREAT. She can pick from lots of dishes, or choose the special of the day. She fills out the menu and the workers deliver to her. All drinks are included. I finally found her bathroom scales and she has lost several pounds. She also wants her heat turned down a bit. It seems moving around is still good for the body, even if it's lived for over 90 years old. The lady in the apartment next to her was a teacher in the local school system. She had my mom's two grandsons in her class. God sure is leaving his fingerprints all over this move.

I was telling my mom this week that she taught me the love of reading as a child. Whenever I have medical appts, I take my backpack with reading material and snacks. I can't stand the trash at the offices. I also carry a headset so I don't have to listen to the daytime soaps, either.