Growing Her Wings

 Whew!!  I have been really busy lately!  Which is a great thing.  We are beginning the height of our growing season here and have lots of stuff coming in from the garden now.  So, you know that means picking, canning, freezing, drying and so on.

 Most of the garden is doing well but some things got off to a real slow staart, like the tomatoes and okra.  We've had plenty of rain!  But that's makes for not so much sunshine...at that slows down some veggies.  We are finally starting to get a little of everything now.

 I guess I put this up mainly for the little birds!  They are about the only ones that ever see it!  The little phoebes and bluebirds have been working their little hearts out this year though...catching lots of bugs for me.

 I think we will have a much better corn crop this year.  We added amendments to this plot all winter long and it seems to have helped a lot.  Can't wait for some fresh, hot buttered corn on the cob!!

 Just a little sampling of what we are getting so far. 

 We also did a bit of landscaping while we had the neighbor's backhoe.  This area was really lumping and horrible; filled with rocks and stumps.  It was about impossible to mow, so I had Allen dig up all the stumps and grade everything.  We also expanded the little wet weather stream bed and I am slowly lining it with flat rocks to make it more attractive when it's dry.  It looks pretty nice actually but this photo isn't very good.  The edges are lined with irises in places.
We also cut out several old, crappy trees and expanded the cleared area, which you can't really seee here.  We intend to plant another apple tree and possibly a plum and cherry.

My annual row of zinnias in the garden is finally  blooming!  There are a few other flowers mixed in but the zinnias kinda dominate.

Thank you for all the kind comments in the last post.  I wanted to respond here to a couple of the last ones made, so to be sure they would be seen.  And also, please, please note this:  my blog is set so that all comments made after 3 days of the post publishing, must be moderated by me.  I have to physically post them.  Blogger does NOT always tell me when some people comment.   I don't know why.  So....I don't always know that I a comment has been left unless I go to the blog dashboard and check specifically for that.  I forget to do this frequently because not a lot goes on here anymore.  I recently discovered a comment from last year!! that I never knew about and never published!  I would never skip a comment on purpose (unless the person was just being a total and complete, useless ass in their comment), so if this ever happens, please know it is not on purpose.  My memory is just not what it was and sometimes I forget to look.

Since March the doctor has had me trying a couple of different meds and dosage amounts etc. and it's had me all over the place at times.  But that's just natural.  They have to try lots of different things for each person to find the right combo.  Anyway, he doubled my dose of Mirapex lately and I had a very bad reaction to that and went I dropped back down to my low dose it seemed to throw me in a another horrible direction!  It was quite unpleasant.  So, after wrangling around with the cost of another drug (there was no way I could begin to afford it) he put me on a very, very low dose of Sinemet.  This is actually helping a lot and I feel much better.  I still have a lot of pain and stiffness but the brain fog is better and just feeling more like doing things and with a better outlook.  My skin has cleared up great and doesn't hurt all the time and I can swallow food easily now.

Tammy asked about a support group and I have looked into that.  Unfortunately, there is only one anywhere around me and that's at UAB, of course.  On a good day... UAB is at least 45 minutes away, usually 50-60 minutes, so that's not really something that would work well.  I still don't often feel "clear" or "on" enough to drive in Birmingham traffic. If you've ever been or lived here you'll know what I mean! lol!  So.  I did find a good online support group though, that I like very much and is very helpful.  So, that allows me some contact with folks that truly understand my condition.  They are very encouraging and a lot of them have some pretty wicked sense of humor, so it's fun.

So, that's part of what's going on.  Hopefully I will be back soon with some more activity!!  I hope you all are enjoying your summer!!

I Won't Back Down

 So, things are chugging along here.  We have almost all the garden in, except for just a few things, and it's all going gangbusters.  Should have taters coming in soon to join the radishes and lettuce.

 The broccoli plants are growing well but not showing any signs of heading up so far.  This has been such a weird year, weather-wise though, I'm not sure what they are going to do.  If nothing else they will become chicken feed and that's okay.  I'm always looking for fresh stuff to feed those bottomless pits.  We are also getting lots of lots of eggs!  The girls are in overdrive! lol!

 We should have a very good crop of blueberries this year and hopefully, cherries also.  Even my rhubarb came back this year and is really putting out the stems.  Remarkably, it has lasted several years here, so I might be able to actually cut some this year.

 Love me some Easter Egg radishes.  They are so pretty.  I also planted some of the "watermelon" variety of radishes but they have not finished yet.  They are about double the time as these Easter Eggs; which  are a very early type.
I'm not sure if we are going to try to sell at the farmer's market this year.  I did better just selling from home last year and advertising on Facebook when I had stuff available.

 In some other good news, the university I attended recently purchased one of my sculptures for it's permanent collection.  It replaced another one of my sculptures that was supposed to go in the collection but the university wanted to give that one to a very generous patron.  This patron had bough the original sculpture at one of the alumni auctions on the premise she got to keep if for a year to enjoy herself before handing it over to the school.  Now, she gets to keep the one she loved so much, the school still gets one for it's collection, and I made a little money and have 2 more items to add to  my CV.

 I also ran my first official 5K and came in 2nd in my age group (45-49)!!!  Woooo!! I was so excited.  I was 4th overall amongst the women and if I remember correctly there was about 126 women in the run.  The week before my back had decided it hated me and became so stiff I could barely get around.  I was sure I would just have to forfeit the race and this thought was very, very upsetting to me.  I was very discouraged and heartbroken at that possibility.  I mean, the race was nothing; I knew I would not win anything but I wanted to be able to just do it.  I kept working, stretching, soaking and being very, very careful with taking my meds until I got to the point I thought, well, I can give it a try. Honestly, I wasn't even sure the morning of the run.  Thank goodness it was a late afternoon/ evening event because I do better at that time of day.  Anyway.  We went and I was just going to be happy to not finish last. LOL!  And amazingly, did way better than that!

Now, I'll tell you, in the same month, I've also been rejected from 2 art exhibits (one of which I really had my heart set on), passed over one run because of feeling bad and have hurt excruciatingly bad since running this one.  I guess the success/ failure rate is about 1:2 right now.  A number of things in my life have not turned out like I thought or had hoped.  Not even close on a couple.  But you just have to keep trying, keep going, and like I kept telling myself during that 5K....just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  And if I get to where I can't move my feet...I'll crawl if I have to.

Let Your Love Grow Tall

 The garden as a whole has done very well this year Some things, like the squash and zukes, have about pooped out at this point and are not as full as this photo shows anymore.  In fact, I've pulled up about half of them.  The corn there is much, much taller though.  The corn in the new expansion has not done as well but that soil is new and very lean, so that's not unexpected.  I am getting some corn to eat but it's not real full.

 The stuff in the concrete block is still doing well but must be watered often.  We were in a bit of a drought there for a while and were watering practically every day.  Fortunately we have gotten some relief lately and are not having to water as much.

 The cukes have slowed way down but are still producing some.  Maybe I should have staggered their planting a bit.  They have been very tasty though, not bitter at all and I've heard a lot of folks complaining that a lot of the cukes from the farmer's market have been very bitter.  Lack of water I guess.

 So, we have been getting a great harvest this year, especially with the blueberries. They have been fantastic! and I've kept them all to myself!  haha!  Actually, we have given some to my mom and other family but I have frozen a bunch.  The cucumbers are Marketmore btw.  I'll grow them again I imagine.

 The tomatoes have been a mixed bag, literally.  The Snowballs are great! (that's the cream-colored ones). Very tasty, mild flavor and I don't seem to react to them badly.  The Golden Jubilees are great also but I've grown those before and knew I liked them.  In fact, I've been so happy with these because they are from seeds I saved.  The Green Zebras....well...I'm not even sure if I got the correct thing.  What I think is the Zebras taste okay but I'm not real impressed with them either.  The Black Cherries are great as usual (old favorite) and I have some other red ones that honestly...I don't even have a clue what they are.  Every plant (that's red ones) looks totally different.  The tomatoes I mean.  One plant kinda looks like Cherokee Purples or Black Krim, one looks like giant Black Cherries and then one other is just a nondescript red tomato.  Who knows?

Anyway, they're pretty!  So, social media to the rescue!  Facebook certainly has it's drawbacks but I have found it's great for selling stuff.  So...I just put the word out on the weekends and so far I've about sold out every Saturday.  I'm not making a ton of money by any means but it's paid for some of the stuff I bought to improve the garden this year.

Of course, I am keeping most of the fruits of our labors for ourselves. In fact, tomorrow is a big canning day.  I've got peas, beans and salsa ready to go, so tomorrow morning will see the ol' pressure canner in action once again.  We still have a fair amount of jams left from last year so I don't know that I'll do much more of that but I might make some pickled okra to give away.  Sadly, I really can't eat it anymore but I know several people that enjoy it and we are getting a good bit of okra this year, so...!  It's an easy gift.
How goes your garden this year?  Or do you depend on the farmer's market?

Nothing To Sneeze At

 Since not a lot has been going on around here you all know that you are going to get either bird or chicken pictures!  Ha!  Actually, a fair amount has been going on around here but I don't think ya'll are really that interested in seeing my organized bookshelves, clean bathroom or piles of stuff going to a flea mall, E-bay, the recycling center or Goodwill.  As I mentioned in the last post, I have been feeling somewhat better and my little bit of new energy has been going towards cleaning, purging and organizing.  January is always good for that sort of thing.  And, it's the only thing I know to do when my future is uncertain and I don't know what my next steps are going to be.  By this I mean my job, or what I'm going to do now that I can't do pottery anymore.

I am considering trying my hand at slip-cast pottery because you can better control the growth of mold in slip and drastically reduce your exposure to such things.  I have been playing around with it some but so far I'm not real enthused.  I think I need to make some molds of my own work and then it might be a bit more interesting to me.  Slip cast work can be just as durable/ usable as any stoneware, as long as it's made of stoneware slip and fired correctly.  So, the quality is there.  I mean, after all, all the CorningWare you buy is slip cast.  Heck, even toilets are liquid clay to start with!

 So for now I am selling a bunch of stuff through E-bay and Allen has gotten into the flea mall scene, so I'm sharing a booth with him selling collectibles and some handmade crafts and such.  I've been lugging around boxes and boxes of stuff for 20-something years that belonged to my brother and an aunt and something needs to be done with it.  Fortunately, my brother had excellent, expensive taste and I've made a fair amount off some of that stuff.  In case that sounds kinda harsh, I have kept a few things that were his.  Mainly I just wanted his photos and things of that nature.  None of my other family was interested in keeping his china or such and he had a huge sci-fi collection of books and all sorts of things that didn't really interest anyone either.  So, whadya do? 
It's also a good way to get rid of some of my pottery I consider seconds and make a few bucks.  This particular flea mall we are in has very high traffic and I've been selling a decent amount of old books, tableware and other collectibles I had from my first marriage that I have no interest in anymore.  I always feel better after I clean and get rid of stuff!  Even better if I make a little money!

  I have sold all my show stuff (tent etc.) and sold my big clay slab roller back to the guy I bought it from, so that gave us room to build some shelves in the basement for starting seeds with grow lights and such.  I have never really been satisfied with the veggie starts I buy at the local co-op or whatever and this way we can start the exact types we want here.  Because of my allergies now I am having to eat a little bit of a different diet, one that includes many, many fresh plants and not so much meat, so expanding on my own gardening is about a necessity.  For example, I cannot really eat red tomatoes but I may be able to eat white or green tomatoes.  And yes, there is such a thing as white tomatoes.!  I also need to eat a more diverse selection of greens and herbs and about the only way to do this sort of thing is to grow it yourself.
So, it's all a lot of change- out with the old and in with the new!!  But all you can do is just go with it and try to make it into something interesting and fun.

One other note:  JO, sorry if it looked like I skipped your comment in the reply section and that it took me so long to post it.  For some reason, a very few of ya'lls comments do not show up in my email and I don't know that a comment has been left unless I check either the blog or the blog dashboard, which I forget about and don't do a lot.  Trust me, I really appreciate ALL comments left here and don't mean to ever skip or overlook anyone.

Eat At Home

We had a gloriously cool morning today (66F at 7:00 a.m.) and it warmed up very slowly, so up until lunch was quite nice.  I felt well enough in fact, to do about 45 minutes of cardio exercise and then another 30 minutes or so of weights.  I can tell that I am feeling better since embarking on the no-starch but it's slow and the pain is very slow to move.  But hey, my mood and such is better and I realized today I had not needed to take a Claritin in about 2 weeks.!  Now, I am still getting rather tired and I crashed heavily this afternoon but I was pleased with what I got done today anyway.  Not as much as I'd like for sure, but I think it's improving.
It was still cool enough around 11:00 a.m. that I decided a nice brunch out on the deck would be good.  I love to eat outside if at all possible.  I made the new almond/ flax pancakes with fresh strawberries and some bacon.  They were very yummy and since a couple of you had asked for the recipe I thought I'd share that.
Now, this recipe comes from George Stella's The Complete Low-Carb Cookbook.
He developed the recipes in this book (and others) in order to lose a lot of weight but they work great for the AS low/ no-starch diet and some of the other diets for IBS, Fibro etc. because he basically uses no grains or other starches.  I think there are one or two recipes I would have to modify but for the most part the whole book is great and the recipes are truly good.  I highly recommend any of his books if you are interested in the low-carb, low-starch eating.

So, here is the recipe.  He calls them Silver Dollar Pancakes.
2 large eggs
1/4 cup water
1 TBS maple extract
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup milled flax seed
1/4 cup sugar or sugar substitue
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

Spray griddle with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium heat.  (I use coconut oil)
Stir together ingredients with a wooden spoon until a well-blended batter is formed.
Pour approximately 16 silver-dollar sized pancakes onto hot griddle and cook on one side about 3-4 minutes.  Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes.

Okay, now I'll tell you what I changed.  I don't care for much maple flavoring so I left that out and used a little vanilla extract and a touch of cinnamon.  I also used just a tablespoon or so of coconut flour because the batter seemed just a little wet to me, although I'm sure it would have been fine.  I also made my cakes about 3-4 inches across.  I don't like teeny little pancakes.

It took just a little while to get the hang of cooking these because they do brown a little different than regular pancakes.  It seems that they are way too wet still to flip but they are not; they hold together amazingly well.  If you can get the spatula under them, you can flip them.  Also, you will not need much syrup at all with these.  They are very tasty.  I do use just a tad and also a little fruit juice from whatever fruit I top them with; which is really good.  You could eat them sans fruit but they are really good with strawberries, peaches, blueberries etc.  I bet bananas too, if you can eat them.

So, try 'em out and enjoy!

Things Can Only Get Better

 I'm hoping that I'm kinda rounding the corner on the starch withdrawal "flu" now and a couple of days after my last post I actually started to feel better.  No let up in the pain mind you, but my mood felt better and just kinda overall a little more energy or motivation to do stuff.  I will say that now though, when I do take nsaids I can actually feel them work some, whereas before there was no noticeable pain relief.  It doesn't last particularly long but it's something.

So, in other not really great news, the garden has about half crapped out this year and I can't say that I really care.  We should have lots of corn; it's doing really good.

 The green beans, which I can eat, turned out to be a BIG disappointment.  I don't know what these are but they are not Kentucky Wonder.  We've only gotten a few big handfuls to start with and when we finally scraped together enough for me to cook....well....they sucked.  They are almost instantly too big and knotty.  I mean, like you don't see the until they are these huge, lumpy things.  And the taste is bleh.  And they are very stringy.  I will order directly from a heirloom seed supplier next year.  So, no canned beans, no dilly beans, no fresh, sauteed green beans.

Now, the black-eyed peas are also doing great... And, my cukes died suddenly along with the zukes.  I think squash bugs got them both.  So no pickles.  However, the okra is doing great (when do es it not?) and I will pickle that at least..  My one little yellow squash plant is chugging along though and we have been getting a few off it.  I'm even starting to get a few tomatoes but after some more research decided that I should probably lay off those too, at least for a short while.  Along with the eggplant, which I can't grow anyway so, what the hell.  These plants are nightshades and many people have adverse, arthritic reactions to those, so I thought I'd give that a whirl too.  What the hell.

We should get several watermelons though, which I should be able to eat! and that's a first.  I've never done well with melons so I'm looking forward to seeing how they come out.  And maybe even a few cantaloupes.  The grapes are starting to ripen and they are really yummy and I still get about a handful of tasty raspberries every day, but I don't think they are going to last much longer.  They sure are good though.  It's still to be seen if we are going to get any figs this year though. So far it's not looking good.

After buying a cookbook on no-starch recipes I decided to try using almond flour as opposed to the coconut flour and that is a VAST improvement.  Much, much better.  In fact, these almond flour/ flaxseed pancakes are so good, I'd eat them even if I didn't have to avoid starch.  They are so tasty you really don't need syrup much, as the chef says in the book, but I do use just a little and they are super good with any fruit.  I've made several of the recipes in the new book and they have all come out well.

So, some things are improving and some things are still requiring a lot of adjustment to and some things still just remain to be seen.  I guess that's life in general.  haha!

Summer Fever

First off, THANK YOU for all the kind comments! and please excuse me this one time for not answering each of you in the comment section.  I appreciate all the good juju from you guys.  I still feel like hammered cat shit but I have done some more research and maybe have found some encouraging info.  From what I've read it's possible that I am going through a no-starch "flu".  At least that's what the popular phrase is.  And "flu" would aptly describe how I feel, down to even running a temperature.  Now, I don't think I am actually running a fever, I just feel that way.  And as one commenter suggested, I could be experiencing some bad gut bacteria die-off, which is the whole point of a no-starch diet for rheumatological issues.
Supposedly, the starch flu will last 2-3 weeks and in that time your body makes the transition from burning mostly starches for energy to burning mostly fats and healthier carbs, such as what comes from fruits and vegetables.  Most people would think, well, just don't eat potatoes, rice or bread and you'd be good to go.  Well, once you start researching things a bit you find it's not so easy.  For one thing, fruits like bananas (something I love) are starches.  So are most winter squashes, peas and beans.  And, worst of all, in our overly processed society, if it comes in a box or jar it almost certainly contains added starch.  I found out that even my daily vitamins contain rice powder or added potato starch.!  Most packaged seasoning mixes, some alternative milk (like soy milk), ice cream, yogurt, lunch meat (even whole hams) etc. etc., may contain added starch.  So, I've really had to read ingredients well.  Now, I have never been one to rely on packaged foods much anyway...but I do use yogurt some and things like that.  And one other thing...don't let anyone kid you...coconut flour sucks.  I've tried making various things with that stuff and so far, it's pretty hideous.
But, I am sticking with this.  Something's got to give eventually.

And to top things off, as if I didn't feel bad enough, one of my girls died this morning.  It was very unexpected and I'm not sure what happened.  Fortunately, I woke up early this morning so I was with her when she passed.  I feel especially bad that I have not been out and about with the girls as much lately and if I had felt better I might have noticed she was not feeling well in time enough to do something.  Or not.  I don't remember seeing her acting ill not one time recently.  But still....I normally check them all at bedtime to make sure they have been eating good, no cuts or injuries etc. but I just missed this one.  At least it seemed quick.

So, that's the news from Dragon Valley.  Anybody got any good news from your parts?

Honey Bee

 Not a lot to report on around here lately....other than I am still on the very low starch diet and so far I have not gone to jail.  It was looking kinda iffy there for a while but all I can say is thank God for chocolate and coffee, otherwise I'm not sure where we'd be.  This diet is a special kind of hell in case you're wondering or would like to get back at someone at some point.  The first few days I was sure I could, and possibly would, chew the siding off the house but things have calmed down now.  I guess it was just my body adjusting to getting part of it's energy somewhere else but for now at least, I am able to go for several hours without having to cram any non-starch food I can get my hands on into my face.
I have even been experimenting with baking with coconut flour!  and I managed to make some "biscuits" tonight that were.....not horrible.  With a little pat of butter they were actually fairly edible.  Chigger on the other hand, seems to really like coconut flour .....creations....errr....eggy things.  She also had to stop and poo about 3 times today on a 15 minute walk, so I guess maybe I should spread the "love" between her and the chickens a bit more.  So far I have not felt any particularly noticeable pain relief but they say it can take 3-4 weeks before you notice anything.  If it works...it will be totally worth it.  If it doesn't....well...I'm gonna be one pissed @#^%*&*(%&^$%!!.

 In some wonderful news though, the honeybees have been massive this year!!  There are just tons of them on my corn (which I can't !$%&*^*% eat now!) and on the catnip.  Yay!  Just hundreds of them it seems.

 I don't think I have seen this many honey bees the whole time I've lived here.  I know these pictures don't seem that impressive but I assure you, there are scads of them!  I missed getting a really good shot of about 6 on one tassel of corn when the battery in my camera went dead but I did manage to eek out these few on the catnip.  I wonder if somebody on the area has added or started hives?

 The little bitties are not bitties anymore..they are well on their way to young adult chickens.  This is Wingnut, one of the little pullets, enjoying some overgrown cucumbers from the garden.  She has one feather on each side, in exactly the same spot, that appears to grow wrong side out, so that's why I call her Wingnut.  That's what she looks like from the front.

 These three stick together like peanut butter and jelly.  I don't know why they were picking on this little dead tree in a pot but for some reason they found it interesting.

 I tried to get some new pics of the dragonflies but they were not in the mood.  I managed to get this one mediocre shot however.

The little Silkies are still doing fine and the broody one FINALLY got over herself and gave it up.  Now she goes outside everyday with the other one and they pal around together.  My big hens don't bully these two but the little silkies are still kinda scared of the big hens so they stay to themselves.  I don't know if you can see or not but here one had caught her a vole and was trying her best to eat it.  I think she finally gave up but I have seen the large hens eat a mouse in one big swallow.  I take them various treat during the day though, so the little girls get plenty of nice things to eat. 

Another Sunday In The South

We celebrated an early Independence Day on Thursday of last week, so that left the weekend open. Well, we just mainly worked around the house and in the garden to be honest.  But by Sunday I was getting a bit of cabin fever, so we decided to have a day on the town for a change.
Our first stop was this little Vietnamese restaurant in a suburb of  Birmingham.  We hardly ever go to that particular area because of the horrendous traffic but it wasn't too bad on a Sunday and we had a great lunch!  These spring rolls are absolutely to die for!  I could just eat that until I was a big balloon ready to pop!

These are actually photos from another time we ate there but what we had was similar, so it's close enough! ha!  To me, Vietnamese is very different from other Asian food; I guess kinda how Thai is different flavors and such.  Very distinct.  I enjoy it though.

 So, we stuffed ourselves good (or at least I did) and then went a few doors down to do a wee bit of shopping.  Which means I bought a bar of fancy soap and some popcorn.  Yes, I know...we live right on the edge.
We did go to Whole Foods and do some real grocery shopping though and they had some of their chicken on sale, which meant we could actually afford to buy a little.  ha!  I don't shop there much but do get some stuff I can't buy anywhere else, like non-gmo canola oil and decent coconut oil and a few other things.

Then we went by the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.  I have posted about them before and I always recommend out of town folks to stop by there if they are looking to see the sights.  It was a cloudy day and the lighting was just not right for many photos but I did get a few.

These were some of the most exotic water lilies I had ever seen.

I know I look horrible but it was a very warm and very humid day.  You trudge your way through a July day in Alabama after a week of heavy rains and see how you look at the end! And besides, the rabbit was the main focus anyway!

We were excited to see that the Gardens have added a good size bee colony to the grounds.  These were right near the extensive vegetable gardens they grow there.

This is on the path to the Japanese Gardens on one end of the property.  Those gardens are my favorite as you all probably know.

Not a lot going on down there though; didn't even see many koi in the pond, which is unusual.  We did see quite a lot of  turtles though....which may explain the lack of fish....

So, we had a very nice day but I was hurting rather extensivly by the time we got home.  I really was a bad girl this past weekend.  I went on a bender the likes I've not done in a while, eating sweets and bread, corn and fries and all kinds of starches.  Something I rarely do, especially the sweets; I don't know what got into me really.  Even finished off a small bottle of Knob Creek and had some wine, later of course!  And let me tell you....I am paying for it now.  I hurt so bad.  I hurt so bad I finally broke down and took some Diclofinac for the inflammation.  I don't like that stuff because it really affects my kidneys but I was desperate. I was doing okay this morning, and even worked out yesterday, but by this afternoon I couldn't sit, I couldn't stand and laying down even hurt.  So, I learned my lesson on that one.  I had read a little while back where a number of people advocate a starch-free diet for the treatment of AS, and I really didn't put much stock in it to tell the truth.  Well.....I changed my mind today when I realized just how much starchy stuff I stuffed the past few days!  I know it's going to be hard but I'm going to give the starch-free thing a whirl.  The sweets are no problems really (cakes, cookies, breads) but I love popcorn, potatoes in all forms and stuff like that.  I've got to get off my ass and make that big jar of kimchi tomorrow too.

So, I may not post much in the next few days or I might come here and tear us all a new one as I go through the DTs!  I've also started a new herbal regiment for inflammation that my herbalist friend is guiding me through.  I'll keep ya'll posted on how it's all working.

Tea For One

Well, in all my moanings and wallowing lately I totally forgot to tell ya'll about my latest adventures in tea making!!  So, I finally got the nerve up to actually pick the tea and attempt to process it.  I have 3 bushes that survived out of six.  I originally bought 3 white blooming camellias and 3 red or pink blooming.  The pinks died.  They apparently did not like it here.  The whites are doing pretty good though.

Now, when it's time to pick, which is generally in the spring, you pick the last 2 leaves and the bud on the tip of the new growth at the end of the limb.  It's very easy to determine new growth because the stems and leaves are a very bright green.  This is the "first flush".  Supposedly there is a "second flush" sometime in the summer but I'm not sure about all that.

My shrubs are still kinda small so yeah, I didn't have a huge haul of leaves but that's okay.  I just wanted to have enough to process for a cup or two to see if I could even do it.  So, the first step is to wilt the fresh picked leaves in the sun.  I'm not sure how long this normally takes but I let mine sit for maybe a couple of hours.  Then you take the leaves between your hands and roll them so that you are crushing the leaves and releasing the juices.  Then you put the rolled leaves, still in a single layer, in a cool, dark area for a number of hours for the leaves to oxidize.  In this process they turn a bronzish color.  I think I left mine over night.

Then you take the leaves and spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and put them in a warm oven (about 250F) for about 15 minutes.  This is supposed to turn the leaves a dark black.  As you can see, some of mine did and some of them still stayed the bronzy color.  I turned the oven up and let them stay in for longer (about 30 minutes) but they never got any darker.  I think my mistake was that I did not roll the leaves hard enough or maybe wilt them long enough either.  At any rate, they did look very much like loose, gourmet tea that you buy so I was happy that it seemed close.

Finally, I brewed one cup using about 1  1/2 teaspoons of the leaves.  I was hoping for a dark breakfast type tea but that didn't happen.  However, I did get a nice, bright and pretty tasty green tea!  So, it wasn't all bad, I just need to do a bit more experimenting and research on how to get that dark, black tea flavor.  I really think crushing the leaves more is the key.  And maybe drying at a slightly higher temp.

It's pretty cool though, because you can get three types of tea from the same leaves just depending on how they are processed; either white, green or black!  And, in doing some more research, I also discovered that there are actually small tea plantations in Fairhope, Mobile and Andalusia, Alabama!  There's a big one in Charleston I think, or somewhere up there. lol! 
So, I think it was successful to a certain extent and I definitely learned a good bit from it.  And proved to myself and a number of other folks that you can grow tea in the United States! If you can grow camellias where you live, you can grow tea!

In The City

The weather decided to be kind to us these past 3 days to make up for all the crap of the past 2 weeks, I guess.  So, I decided that a day out on the town was in order and there were a number of errands I needed to run that could only be done in the "big city".
I started my journey by stopping off at my favorite sushi place to get fueled up for the day.  This is a seafood roll and very, very yummy.  I made a couple other stops in the general area and then headed to downtown Birmingham.

Birmingham is actually a very nice little town.  Lots and lots of great restaurants, a new baseball stadium, parks and other attractions.  My stop here was the downtown recycling center to drop off some old computer parts, batteries, plastic and shoes.  They recycle practically anything there and are very nice and helpful.  The center is also right off the interstate and in between two of the places I sell my pottery so it's pretty convenient for me when I come into town.
I stopped off next at a really cool coffee house that sells my mugs and was pleased to see they owed me a check!

From there I went to the larger store (pictures above) that sells the majority of my pottery and dropped off a few new pieces.  This store is actually in a suburb of Birmingham and it's a very nice, kinda upscale area.  My pottery is on some shelves underneath the "Alabama Made Pottery" sign but you can't see it very well in this shot.  If I can build my inventory up quite a bit the owner wants to put me back out on one of the center table displays.
I did a little window shopping in the area at some other stores and just generally enjoyed being outside.  Then I headed over to the real pricey side of town to pick up a few things at Whole Foods.  (I only buy anything if it is on sale!) Coming out of there I realized I locked my keys in my truck!  Dang it!  Luckily, I learned years ago to keep a magnetic key holder with an extra stuck to the underside of the chassis, so I was back in my truck in a couple of minutes.
Things went better after that and I went on back in the direction of home but stopped at several places on the way.  I got a new tank top and socks for the gym and perused the big book store for quite a while.
So, overall it was a real nice day.  I probably should have been working in the garden but I needed a day out something fierce.  I'll explain more about that in a later post.

One other thing I wanted to post was a question that a longtime reader had and hoped that another one of you might have an idea of how to solve his dilemma.  Here is the comment he left for me:

I am hoping to tap into your knowledge (or the brains of all the people reading your blog), to see if I can find a humane cat deterrent for our yard. 
This winter in Toronto has been very harsh, and we have had many feral (and local outdoor cats) getting into our very well fenced yard. We have lost chickens and seen many several wild birds that visit our feeders fall prey to cats.
Yesterday our beautiful mixed lab rescue dog Midnight, killed a local cat in our yard.
I had the unfortunate task of calling up the person (many blocks away I might add) that their cat, wearing a nameplate "Zach de Cat" with phone number (no bell on his neck) was gone. As we have had many coyotes in the area this frigid winter, I admit I did not reveal that I was pretty sure I well knew who was responsible for "de Cat"s demise. I wish no bad things on any animals, but cannot understand why people let their house cats roam freely. Sorry for the long comment, but I want to do what's best, and don't care to make Midnight's 2nd life one of a full time enforcer.

Now, I gave the suggestion of the Haveahart trap and garden hose technique that Florida Cracker uses but couldn't really come up with any other ideas at the time.  Anybody else have any ideas??  We also keep a lower pressure BB rifle and pistol handy for strays of all kinds.  A pop or two on dat ass will usually discourage any dog or cat from coming back.  Of course, you have to be present and actually see the varmit for this to work.  They do make very high pressure BB guns such as the .22 types but we avoid using that on anything but the most aggressive and large dogs, as you can actually kill a small animal with one.
So, anybody else have anything??

Sour Girl

   Some of you long-time readers may remember that the blogger, who shall remain nameless, over at Rurality has been a friend of mine for some time and you may also know that she is a big instigator.  Haha!  But in a good way.  In fact, she is the one who talked me into starting this blog so long ago and then abandoned us all a couple of years ago...ahem...but anyways...heehee.  Well, she also talked me into going to this fermenting workshop a few weeks ago that was held at a little intentional community not far from here.  I've made several posts here about some fermenting I had done using the crock method, and I thought it came out well, but this workshop was going to be using a more modern method (I guess you'd say) so I thought it would be interesting and a fun thing to do.  And I tend to be a little reclusive so it was a good thing to get out and meet some new people.
  So, basically the workshop provided information on the health benefits of raw fermented foods, such as kimchi, saurkraut, kefir etc. and how to make them.  And by raw, I mean not pasteurized, because the heat required in the pasteurization process kills all of the beneficial flora (bacteria) that you are creating by fermenting the food in the first place.  I am especially interested in eating more fermented foods because I've read that it is very good to help reduce inflammation in the body and that's seems to be what I've been having trouble with lately, for the most part.  Plus, if you make your own it is substantially cheaper than buying it already prepared.  I had tried some raw kimchi and liked it, but the only place within an acceptable driving distance that carried it was the Whole Foods in Birmingham and, as you can probably guess, it was quite expensive.  At least to me.  And, if you grow your own veggies for the mix it can be made for just pennies.

This is a Pickl-It jar in the 1 1/2 liter size.

  The new jar they use is the one big initial cost but after using it I think that it is well worth it, IF you think that fermenting is something you will do regularly.  Rurality was kind enough to let me use an extra of hers for my initial batch and so I could try it out before actually buying it!  HERE is a link to one type of jar now used for fermenting instead of the crocks.  The type shown in the link is not the same brand as what we used but it is the same basically.  I could not ever get the link to our jar brand to open so that's why I'm using this other.  Anyway, research it yourself if you are interested.  You can find a lot of different brands and such but the one thing that the lady teaching the workshop stressed is that the jar and lid should be entirely glass.  If you look around you will find some with a glass jar but a plastic lid and she was adamant that those will not airlock like the glass lids and your food can spoil.  Now, the little airlock gadget that sticks up out of the lid is plastic but it doesn't touch the food.  Some jars even come with a glass weigh or specially shaped bowl to push the foods under the liquid and that is nice.  We just crammed whole cabbage leaves on top to where they were pushed down by the lid and that held the fermenting food under the liquid.  You simply discard (or compost) the cabbage leaves when the product is ready and that worked fine.
  So, basically we shredded up a bunch of cabbage, green onions, ginger, radishes, carrots, garlic, peppers and then mixed that with the appropriate amount of sea salt and whatever spices you wanted.  I keep mine simple and only put in dill and parsley.  Using a wooden or ceramic stomper you pack the jar tightly and wait about an hour.  If the mixture is mostly cabbage it will release a fair amount of water which will form a natural brine but if it doesn't you can mix a little brine yourself and pour over the veggies until they are just covered.  Any little bit of research online or at your library will turn up tons of recipes and the exact amount of salt etc. that you need to use, so I'm not going to go into a great deal of depth on that.  But believe me, it is very easy to make.  Deciding what you want to go in it is the hard part.  Then you just wait a minimum of 2 weeks and the taste test it to see if it has aged to your liking.  If it has then you transfer it to a clean jar or jars to keep in your refrigerator and eat at your leisure.  The cold stops the fermentation process so it will last for about 6 months stored that way.  I can go through a pint of kimchi in about a week so mine doesn't last that long.
  After using the glass jar method I have to say it is really great and I will buy one now.  The crock method is very easy also but you have to check it every day and skim off any mold growing around the top.  No big deal but this way is just so simple.  The airlock top keeps any of that from forming and you just check it every day or two to make sure there is water in the little plastic hicky.  This initial batch of kimchi I made was good but I think next time I will cut back on the ginger and radishes.  I've never been a big fan of radishes.  And, I think I might make the next batch a little more spicy.  We used some pepper but they were the sweet type and I think a little heat would be a good addition.  As far as spices go, well, I just like the fermented taste.  Garlic is always a good addition and I might try a little mustard seed next time.
I hope this inspires some of you to try it and if you have any questions feel free to ask away!

Supper's Ready

I haven't done a food post in a while, and I have been meaning to show my method for making a pot roast for some time, so...here ya go.  It's not exactly a recipe but more just a technique I guess.  I prefer pork roasts over beef but whatever you like works.  I rub a variety of seasonings into the roast and then place on a hot grill.  You are not cooking it here but just leaving it long enough to sear both sides well and get the fat caramelizing.  Then, just put in a crock pot on low and cook for however many hours.  I add some potatoes and onions that I have covered in olive oil and seasonings.  They don't dry out that way.

And, a few hours later you have a tasty meal with almost no effort.  I usually serve a salad or some type greens or veggies with this.  A nice glass of wine is good too!

We have an abundance of sugar snap peas right now so I stir fried them with some stray asparagus spears and  mushrooms.  Very tasty!  I'm only getting a little asparagus every few days now so a stir fry is a good way to use it when I don't have enough for a whole dish.  Of course, I added some fresh garlic and then, right at the end, toss a little sesame oil on for flavor.  Or.. a splash of balsamic vinegar would be good too.

I let about half of the peas mature and then shelled them per my experiment to see if the chickens would like them.  Well, they didn't.  A few of them ate them but most just mashed them up and spit them out!  It's just as well though because it would take a crap load of these to make enough for any substantial amount of feed addition and I just don't have the stamina to shell that many peas!  I'll just freeze them for us.  I like them in pot pies and soup.  What about you?