So now, the challenge is to use a walker in a house that’s not set up for it. We’ve battened down (or removed rugs), rearranged furniture, etc. But lots of little things crop up.

Still  no weight bearing on the right foot, so there are lots of things she just can’t do, or are much harder than they normally are. So there’s an attitude adjustment, as well. I’m not sure if my experience being “differently abled” is of any help. But she’s sharp enough to figure out workarounds for most things.

The biggest problem is for someone used to doing for herself to stop & ask for help. And we’ve had a couple go-rounds on that topic.

But we’re both coming to terms with it (the magic words seem to be- this is for 2 wks out of your whole life!) And I’ve got a big shopping list for tomorrow, to do some quantity cooking that can easily be heated. No prepared foods- some things just aren’t negotiable.

Mom is doing really well with her walker & wheelchair, and even learning to do steps. Still no weight on the right leg; one of the fractures is in a weird place, so the surgeon is being conservative.

This Tues, they’re having a home evaluation (the Occupational therapist) and bringing mom along, so it’ll be the first time she’s been home since Nov 17. Even just a short visit will do her good. They’ll tell me what equipment & modifications she’ll need, and then I’ll get busy rounding it up. Then a “safe discharge” meeting, and we can actually set a date. I keep mis-speaking & calling it “safe release.”

After the comments we made about the food (honestly, you wouldn’t believe what they serve sick people!) I’m sure they’ll expedite things

Considering how independent Mom is, and how much she enjoys quiet, she’s done really well at the convelescent hospital. But she’s really looking forward to getting home.

Sophia the cat came through her spaying well, and is also eager for a safe release. But she’ll stay in the kitchen until she’s ready to play with the big girls.

Thank goodness Mom doesn’t sit by the window and yowl like Sophia does, but I’m sure there are times she wants to.

I’ve been waiting for the migrating robins to swing by, and it looks like today’s the day. The trees are full of them, and when the frost melt, the lawn will be full of them. They really are quite deafening. I guess they do this each winter.

That’s it for now…

The funniest thing I saw this week was my horoscope, from Free Will Astrology:

“People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home,” wrote philosopher Dagobert D. Runes. Your assignment, Virgo, should you choose to accept it, is to refute that assertion. In other words, I’m inviting you to travel to all of your usual haunts and treat everything that happens there with the attitude of a first-time visitor. Just assume that the familiar people and places in your life have stimulating gifts to give and lessons to impart. Remember, though, they can’t do that to the fullest unless you expect them to.

OK….

News:

1) Mom’s gained another 2#. Which doesn’t sound like a lot, except that she started at 88 & is now pushing 100. She looks great, and when else can you compliment someone on gaining weight? She’s looking (and says) she’s feeling a lot better. Tonight she discussed all the ways she could have used the same ingredients to make a much better & healthier meal, so you know she’s mending.

2) Almost all the paperwork for the B&B license is in. Everyone is really doing their best to make this happen. Big health inspection is Tues AM. Cross your fingers, light a candle… this WILL happen. I have a bottle of prosecco chilling & ready to sneak into the facility.

3) The rock band turned out to be 6 very nice young people who called me ma’am and didn’t stick tape on anything or steal or break anything at all. Ghost Child shot a video here today, based on a book called House of Leaves. If this has anything to do with a haunted house, please do not tell me. Even more, do not tell my mother.

That’s it for now…. Thank you all for the supportive messages, calls & wishes. I’m relaying them to Mom so she knows just how many people are rooting for her.

eggs of many colors, originally uploaded by woodleywonderworks.

Once again… sigh.

I’m lucky enough to have a friend who raises free range chickens. So when I eat eggs, they’re the kind with the deep orange yolks that only come from eating a variety of chicken-chosen goodies. Bugs, weeds- good stuff.

Battery-raised chicken eggs are, IMHO, a (very) poor substitute, and the recent salmonella outbreak makes that only too clear. Just reading the distribution list makes me shudder. 450 MILLION eggs, distributed from two “farms” in Iowa to 14 states?

Rebekah Denn has put together a reading list, if this is your wake-up call and you choose to do something more than moan about the current state of our food supply.

Milk is political? You're kidding, right?

Saturday, I headed over to Sequim (pronounce Skwim) with a friend, who’d never been. There’s a lot to do over there, but we hit what were (for us) the high points. Sequim’s claim to fame is that it’s in the rain shadow of the Olympics, so although it’s in the PNW, they get so little rain that they have to irrigate (and proclaim it with an annual Irrigation Festival.) They also grow a LOT of lavender (and have a Lavender Festival, as well.)

On the way into town, we stopped off for a lavender mocha (well, I guess that’s not my drink of choice, but it was worth a try) & then stopped at Sunshine Herb & Lavender Farm, which is always terrific. The fields are just coming into bloom now, and the nursery is full of different lavenders and other herbs. Their gift store is amazing, and they make everything themselves.

Then on to the Co-op, which is always fun, even though I’m not really a farm girl. But they do have cute Farm Girl brand jeans & Bogs. And lots of good lawn furniture. Then down the street is Over the Fence, which is always fun. Lots of home-type things, and candles. By this time, I had tried about every tester known to mankind, and my hands were soft and… let’s say “fragrant.”

We had lunch at the Oak Table Cafe, just off the main drag to prepare for a hike on Dungeness Spit. Good homestyle cooking, and a lot of it.

Then off to the Spit, but we made two stops on the way. One was to the Dungeness Valley Creamery, which provides the Puget Sound area with raw milk. I hadn’t had raw milk before coming to PT, and was amazed at the difference. Raw milk is illegal in some states, and even in WA, where it’s legal, they come under all sorts of attacks. (Read their testimonials page to see what I mean.) This operation was spotless, and filled with people going about their work with smiles on their faces. The cows out in the field looked contented & well-cared for, which is quite a change from “normal” dairy operations that I’ve passed, holding my nose & despairing for the animals that have to live that way.

Another quick stop at Nash’s Organic Farm stand. It was amazing all the vegetables and fruit they can provide this early in the season. I’ve seen a lot of hoop houses, so that’s probably the secret. The store is very well-organized, and displays the work of local artisans, as well.

Finally, on to Dungeness Spit. The tide was coming in, which pushed us up onto the rocky parts. We may have walked a mile, but it was a rough mile. The weather was gorgeous, though, and mountains, ocean and big driftwood is a wonderful combination. Renewed my intention to camp overnight there sometime.

More pix here. And recipe for Lavender Lemonade…

Leaf-peepers

Well, after a very long day of travel yesterday, I woke up in VA.

While I was gone, the maple outside my bedroom window went from dark green to caution-light yellow. I’ve heard people complaining about leaf-peepers. Now I know what they mean. How would you like to wake up to this? I wish I could describe the quality of the light in the morning. (Kind of like regaining consciousness in a highway construction zone? Without the noise?)

Anyway, I’m taking it easy today. Went to the library & paid my fine. (Heck, they needed a new wing anyway.) Got some more books, and the soundtrack to My Fair Lady. Just wait, I’ll be in Mexico, all by my lonesome, learning all the words to Wouldn’t It be Loverly. (Have I mentioned that I totally heart Julie Andrews? I know, I’m hopeless.)

It’s chilly & rainy, but not nearly as deathly cold as it was when I left. A good day to dust off the crockpot & fill it with something yummy. I’ve been wanting to try Kalua Pork for a long time, and finally found Hawaiin Salt @ WholeFoods. So this time tomorrow, that’s what we’ll be eating.

After lots of angst & drama, resolution on a couple scores-

1. I have decent health insurance, that even covers pre-existing conditions, and I can actually afford it! Virginia can be my home base, although I still plan to be mostly nomadic. (And yes, I still believe strongly that we need a national single-payer system. I would not wish these last few months of uncertainty on anyone.)
2. We finally got rain, after a REALLY long dry spell. We could use some more, but at least it’s a start.

So, thanks to all who have been so supportive thru all my whining & moaning. I appreciate all the hand-holding (& patience!) Once again, things do have a way of working out.

And now I’m going to take a nap…

George Bowers Grocery, Staunton, VA

Staunton (that’s “Stan-ton,” not “Stawn-ton”) Virginia takes pride in its blend of reverence for the old, with modern twists. Like the trolley car buses that minimize downtown traffic, while allowing easy access to landmarks and shops.

Not far from Downtown , New Town Staunton is also experiencing a renaissance. As old mansions and homes are being restored, so are some of the storefronts that served their original owners.

One of these is the George Bowers Grocery, originally founded in 1881. It’s been reclaimed to service by a young duo- Brian Wiedemann and Katie McCaskey- who stock the shelves with a variety of wines/beers, including many from Virginia and locally produced foodstuffs. They also grow some of  the produce they sell, in a rented city lot a few blocks away at Lush Farms.

Katie says that while they aren’t a one-stop shopping experience, the neighborhood has been very supportive of their efforts. And why not, when each item is carefully selected by the owners, who cultivate relationships with both their suppliers and patrons, and serve as a knowledgeable link between them.

In Downtown Staunton, there is another neighborhood grocery, with a slightly different slant. Cranberry’s is a natural foods grocery and deli (with juice bar, and gluten-free choices.) Like George Bowers, the accent is on local, and healthy.

While neighborhood groceries may not supplant the supermarket chains, the idea of a local grocery as a link, more accessible than a once or twice a week farmers market, and a gathering place for the neighborhood, may be an idea whose time has come- again.

Colchicums (Autumn Crocus)

Well, it’s been a long dry spell this summer. The ground is as hard as cement, and only a few things are blooming. The colchicums don’t seem to mind at all, nor do the sedums.

The quote of the week:

“If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, eternal life belongs to those who live in the present.”

– Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein

• You, too, can have a free meditation timer from zencast.org. They also have one for iPhones. Basically a starting sound, a sound in the middle and one at the end, with silence in the middle. Now you don’t have to estimate how long you’ve been meditating.
• A proverb for every situation.
• Casa Batllo in Barcelona, Spain. (Note to self… need to go to Barcelona)
• Twitter hashtags that didn’t make the cut.

]]> http://becomingsara.com/2009/09/tgif-3/feed/ 3 http://becomingsara.com/2009/08/starting-the-fall-garden/ http://becomingsara.com/2009/08/starting-the-fall-garden/#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:27:28 +0000 Sara http://becomingsara.com/?p=351

Gabalot Gardens

Well, I’ve been clearing out a couple beds for fall crops, in between peeling & freezing peaches. So decided that today I’d go get some stuff to plant in them. Fall things, like broccoli, spinach, radishes… the usual suspects.

So first I went to Southern States & messed around for a while. I did get some seeds there- lettuce, daikon radishes, etc. Also got lots of mouse & ant killer. (Whole ‘nother story…)

Then I headed for a little nursery the mater had told me about- Gabalot. As warned, Janet DOES talk a lot. But unlike many people, she actually imparts a lot of info. She’s “only” been running Gabalot Gardens for 16 years, and says she’s still learning.

Many of her seeds are heirloom (non-hybrid, which means you can save your own seed for next year) which is exactly what we’re up to here @ Mt Pleasant. Her two main suppliers are Landreth Seeds in Pennsylvania, which she also sells in bulk and Renee’s Garden.

I got some gorgeous broccoli & brussel sprouts seedlings, and then some things to dress up the planters a bit. But also got rainbow chard seeds, b/c I like them so much. (For those of you in PT, check the window boxes of the Silverwater Cafe. Those are Bright Lights chard)

What’s really exciting is that I asked her about whether she starts seeds for others in her fancy greenhouse. Not only does she, she has an interesting way that she does it. If you buy seed & send or take it to her to plant, you tell her how many plants you want. She keeps the rest of the seeds & gets the income from selling those seedlings. That’s it.

I don’t know if other greenhouses do that, but it sounds wonderful to me. Growing seedlings is really pretty labor & equipment intensive (My lettuce seedlings were a total failure… I was hardening them off & a thunderstorm hit & washed them all out. Starting over…)

Anyway, a very fun & productive day… and a new friend.