Halloween!

I woke up to the most perfect Halloween morning I believe I've seen in some years.  There is a storm front approaching our area, so the skies are overcast and an insistent breeze urges the leaves to take flight in showers of scarlet and gold.  Inky black crows occasionally pass overhead as they go about their mysterious duties.  Though I've always been happy to have left my childhood years behind, Halloween is the one holiday still able to conjure the spirit of nostalgia for me.  Keep in mind, Halloween when I was a child bears almost no resemblance to what occurs today.  At least, what I see.  We took great delight in making our own costumes or getting our parents to help a little.  Though we were right on the cusp of different times, children could still roam freely about their neighborhoods at night with little adult supervision, and it was okay.  There was no rampant paranoia, no PC and thank God, no Trunk or Treat crap.  You actually associated with your neighbors, although the one creepy house in every neighborhood was staunchly avoided, that night in particular.  All the houses kept at least one pumpkin alight on the porch, the universal symbol for available candy, but most of our decorations were simply the drying fields of corn silently watched over by real scarecrows, not the garden variety bought from Wal-Mart.  Swirling clouds of leaves against a twilight sky are remarkably hard to differentiate from hordes of bats.  At least, in a child's view of that night.  Maybe, because of those times, Halloween was the one night a kid could look forward to being freed from the oppression of, well, over-enthusiastic authority, let's say.  No matter how creepy a candle lit house was to approach with it's glowering black cats, those terrors could be easily outrun and laughed about later.  The fear and anxiety of what sometimes awaited at home though, was a different matter.  But for that one night... we were the wild creatures.

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I thought I'd also repost another Halloween edition from way, way back.  Most of you probably have not read this one.  It's an oldie but a goody, to me anyway.

In honor of Halloween I thought that I would post something a little different for you all. Most of you know I have been working on a restoration of this very large house in Birmingham. Some of my early posts show some details of the house. I've been so busy lately I have not put much up about it in awhile so, here we go. There is a very large room on the bottom level (it has 5 levels) of the house that is actually a hall taken from a castle in England and shipped over here and reassembled. The weapons and armor and other decorative items (there are some jousting lances in the corner) have all been authenticated to be from the Middle Ages. The man who built this house was a little eccentric and loved anything to do with England. Unfortunately, he didn't get to live in the house very long before the Depression hit and he lost his fortune. He tried to conserve his money by living down in these lower levels and eating creatures he caught on the property as he was a pretty good hunter and his trophies from his big hunts are still displayed all over the house. But, alas, it was not enough and he could not make his last payment, so the bank took the house and all the contents. Some say he cursed the house when he was forced out and something horrible has befallen every owner since him. Some say that the wife of the 4th owner haunts the house because she was murdered in her bedroom.

Let me tell you what I know and have heard. I haven't seen anything since working in the house but I have heard plenty that I cannot explain. I was working on the outside of one of the windows to this room one day. The room is half below ground so if you are outside you can walk right up to the windows. I had the window open to work on it and therefore I could see and hear what went on in the room. For the most part, we are not allowed in the house and the exterior doors are kept locked. Well, I was just working along and I distinctly heard someone walk across the room. The floor is limestone and so it's hard to walk across it quietly. It was so audible that I just casually looked down into the room to see who was in there, because it's a little unusual for people to be down there. No one was there. A few more minutes passed and I heard them walk by again. This time I leaned in the window all the way so that I could get a good view of the whole room. As before, no one was there. There is a back door to the room but you can't open it from the outside and it makes a horrible noise when it is opened so I would have heard if someone came in that way. About 20 minutes later one of the other carpenters came to help me get the window put back together and as we were working on it we both heard the footsteps again all the way across the floor. We turned, without saying anything to one another, and looked down into the room and of course, didn't see anyone. We looked at each other and I said, "You heard that too!" Stubbornly he said "I didn't hear anything!" but we threw that window back together and hauled our butts out of there.

Later, I was down in this room on another occasion with one of the masons cleaning up after a storm because the ceiling leaks some now. This is one of the items we are in the process of repairing. Most everyone else had left and the owners were not there. We suddenly started hearing this woman talking and just going on and on about something. At first I thought someone had just called and I could hear the answering machine from upstairs but I realized that is impossible. The walls are 2 feet thick for the most part and all the phones are way up on the top levels. It was so loud we thought maybe some neighbors had walked over so we went out the back door to see who was around. No one was there. It got quiet for awhile but then started back up after about 5 minutes. We looked all around the back yard and when we came up to the main levels we looked around to see if the people had come home but no one was there. Neither experience was really frightening, which is surprising to me because I can be a real scaredy-cat sometimes. When I went down this afternoon to get these photos though, I made one of the guys go with me. Halloween....in this house... I'm not taking any chances!

Wrack My Brain

I can so relate.

Well, before we even got home Friday the doctor had gotten my MRI and reviewed it and sent me an email to tell me that my brain looks great!!  No lesions or tumors and it was nice and full.  Of bullshit probably. haha!  Those last words are mine by the way, not his.  So, that's great and I'm thankful but it does leave me scratching my head still about what's wrong.  I'm not sure what to do next, if there is anything to even do or try.  You know, nobody wants to have something wrong with them,  but as bad as I feel at times it's kinda hard to believe there's not something outta whack somewhere.

So, I just wanted to leave a quick post to let ya'll know what the results were.  I'm especially glad my noggin is healthy because I never want to go through one of those test again.  I had the MRI of my neck you know, and it was no problem, but something about this one was very different.  It was all I could do to lay still and not freak out.  I was happy to build the structures for those machines way back but that's as close as I ever want to get to one again.

Someone Out There

So...I owe ya'll the story of just how I got in to see a decent doctor....Now, if you've been reading this blog for a bit, you know I've written of some fairly, umm, serendipitous events in my life and I know that some of them might have seemed a bit far fetched.  However, I assure you that they are all true, as with this story.  I honestly don't think I could make this stuff up if I tried. 

A few days after I had announced that I would be suspending my blog, I sat here in this chair one morning with a Birmingham phone book in my lap.  My tunnel vision had opened up enough that I could see that my kidneys probably were not the issue after all.  And I know that laypersons should never try to diagnose themselves, but I had to try something.  I mean, the doctors I had seen weren't battin' any higher.  Might as well do a little research and in the course of that I thought maybe I should try a neurologist.  What the hell?  It seemed the only thing left.  I know many of you have had your own wranglings with our wonderful health system and know you don't just waltz in to see a specialist though.  A few phone calls that morning proved that once again.  I sat at the kitchen table on the verge of tears trying to think of which doctor to beg for a referral and hoping I could get in before November.  I decided to take a shower, because that always makes you feel better, and on my way past my desk I saw I had received a new e-mail.  Half-heartedly I sat down.  It looked like spam because it started with "Edifice Rex..."  Spam usually does.  I opened it anyway and read the short email. .  This is part of what it said:
" I am the head of Neuro-oncology at UAB and a neurologist.  Don't worry, I don't think you have a brain tumor but I would be happy to see you or review your records to help get direction on solving your health problems."  I guess you never can tell who might be reading your blog.  He suggested I Google him to check his background, which I did, but are you kidding me?  I would have been tickled to get in to a doctor at Brookwood or somewhere but the head of the department at UAB!!... Yeah, I'll take that.  After I was able to pick my jaw up off the floor, I replied with the requested info and within the hour a very nice assistant called me to verify an appointment 2 days later at the Kirklin Clinic no less.  Now, for those of you who don't live in Alabama, being asked to come down to Kirklin is, in the medical world, like being asked to come to Carnegie Hall.  It was a totally different experience to me.  I was treated like a person and the doctor listened to me!  For a long time!  I know it doesn't take much but my mind was boggled.  I have hope again.

So now.  Another round of blood work done, 15 minutes or so of funny exercises to see if I could touch my nose, touch my toes and Friday morning I go let them shoot dye into my veins and take pictures of my brain.  So... we'll see.  Will these new tests reveal anything? .  Either way, I know that every once in a while we encounter an individual that teaches us not to despair.  There are good people everywhere.

Color My World

I'm not sure we are going to get much foliage color this year so I thought I'd concentrate on the other beings that lend their color to the autumn season.  I love mums.  I think probably because they are so tidy and they last a long time. 

 I think they prefer pumpkin sushi to baked pumpkin.  I thought maybe it would be easier for them to eat and enjoy a mushier gourd because raw pumpkin can be kinda tough.  They didn't seem particularly impressed.  The raw, squishy guts however, initiated a lot of squawking and feather pulling to see who could get to the goodies first.  I was proud to see the Americaunas are getting over some of their shyness around the older hens though.  At least when there are yummies to be had.

And they finally started laying their pretty aqua eggs!  They are not yet quite up to size but it shouldn't be much longer.  We'll take what we can get right now, as all the other hens are on molting strike.  Hopefully they will get over that soon.  We don't have enough eggs to sell right now!

It's been beautiful weather lately but we could use a little rain.  Funny, we had so much back in the summer and now just nothing.  I started to say the chickens are enjoying it but the past couple of weeks they stay holed up under the deck half the day.  Seems a large deer died over on the other side of the big creek and the buzzards have been frequenting the area more than usual and at a much lower altitude than the chickens are used to.  Poor things, they can't easily distinguish between a buzzard or a hawk.  They only know a large shadow from above can mean death, so the buzzard's careless meanderings over the yard sends them scurrying for any cover they can find, usually the deck.  Apparently the hens do realize that I offer some protection for them, however abstractly, so I try to sit out in the yard each day for a spell and that usually brings them out to graze and scratch.

Hey, a question for other bloggers:  What is the easiest way to repost old posts?  I know many people come here (or did anyway) to read about home construction and building and due to being sick I just have not had anything new on that in a very long time.  Thought I might dredge up some old projects that might be of interest. 

Good Friday

Hello Everybody!!  (you have to read that with Grover's voice by the way.  You know, from Sesame Street).   Just a note from me to express my deepest appreciation for all of the sweet comments you left for me on the last post.  I'm sorry I did not answer each one like I normally do but it's not because I'm not grateful for them.  It's just that typing has been rather difficult for me lately and can be pretty frustrating.  I have to really concentrate and then I still make so many mistakes it takes me a while to correct them.  I can't quite tell if it is the brain fog not letting me think well or that my hand coordination is that off.  I do have some good news, although I can't elaborate on it much right now.  I can say that I did get in to see a doctor this past Friday, a specialist, and you are going to get a real hoot out of it when I tell you the story.  I am waiting for permission though, to know just how much I can tell you.  Many institutions have policies against blogging or social media stuff so I don't want to get anybody in trouble even though I have nothing but good stuff to say.

So.  I do also know that even though I think the nsaids did affect my kidneys, they are not the problem.  I was just stuck in neutral on that one as I can often do.  I have had more blood work and am awaiting my appointment for an MRI of my brain.  Or at least, an MRI of the hole where a brain should be.  I am feeling a fair amount better physically.  The shadow of exhaustion is slowly drawing back up into the cavern from which it came.  The malaise.  That's the word the doctor used and you know they love those descriptive terms.  It is a good one however.
Through all this lately my friend and neighbor Fred has had heart surgery for the second time, so I have taken time to go see him.  I was at the hospital some of the time anyway so it was no big deal to go up 3 floors.  Allen and I kinda look after Fred (he's 86) but Allen has done the greatest part of the work on this episode.  I feel bad about that.  They have released Fred to stay in a nursing home for awhile, so I was able to redeem myself today by going to purchase new bedclothes and such for him and getting him set up with all that.  Allen will hardly buy new clothes for himself and God only knows what he would have picked out for Fred so it was probably for the best.  Men shopping for other men often resemble deer frozen in the proverbial headlights.

So, thank you all again for all the well wishes and prayers.  Erin, your comment made me laugh out loud.  I love all of you too, in a non-touchy, non-creepy way.  Especially Pablo, who's a sweetheart.  Rita, I don't have any bowls made at the moment but hope to be throwing again soon, maybe tomorrow, and I will throw some.  Tell me what color you might want.  Oh, and thank you Bea for the card!  It was sweet and beautiful photo on it.  I will try to be back soon with another post and some photos at least.

Give Out

The continuing saga of Edifice Rex will now pause for intermission of an undetermined length.  For the very few of you that are still reading I apologize but I am at the end of my rope.  My health and energy has continued to weaken to the point I stay in bed a fair amount or just lay on the couch.  Yes, I tried a number of doctors but they are simply of no help.  They do a little bloodwork and then say you're fine.  The soonest referrals to a specialists are mid November.  I went through this same episode years back after an especially bad case of food poisoning and the docs were of no help then either.  Exact same symptoms but they just don't listen to me.  I don't know.  I don't want to keep yammering about how bad I feel, I've lost enough people so far over health issues, so I am just going to opt out for a while.  I'm having trouble thinking straight enough to write much and nothing going on to write about anyway.  The last episode took me about 2 months or so to get over so it may be the same this time, don't know.  I apologize to my few, new readers but there's 6 years worth of old stuff that may be of some interest.
I'll be back at some point I imagine.  Ya'll take care.

Fresh Aire

 I think it would be nice sometimes if you could just click a button and refresh our lives in a matter of seconds like you can your computer.  Instant download of new changes and upgrades, or downgrades as it may be.  Well, maybe things are fine the way they are....Sometimes whole new seasons must roll around before we begin to feel progress or contentment.  The past 2 weeks have brought a distinctly refreshing feel to the days and nights as the cooler air of fall rolls in, nudging out the stagnant, humid air of summer.  That bright, clear quality of light only fall sees has arrived also and I couldn't resist trying once again to capture it in a photo even though my view of the horizon is rather limited here. 

 The flowers of fall are jarringly bright and fresh also.  A welcome addition to the gardens as late summer had just about blanched everything else out.  Yellow is the predominant theme but there are some oranges and burgundys thrown in.

 The garden has also seen a refreshing as the old, ragged crops of summer have been torn out and replaced with the vivid green of new fall crops.  A few peppers and tomatoes remain and the fig trees eke out a few ripe fruits as the days pass but these things are winding slowly down.

The cool days have refreshed Chigger's willingness to play.  Frisbee is still one of her favorites.  She's pretty good at catching it if I can throw it right.  I got her to sit by the ferns so that she could serve as a sense of scale.  I don't know that these ferns are native but some of the native ones get as large as this one.

She does find the creek quite refreshing also, as do I.  That cold water will wake you up in a minute!  Every walk must include a wade through the waters for her to get a drink.  Sometimes I wade too, looking for "creek glass" or other treasures that get washed down by most of the large rains.

Our main flock has been refreshed by the addition of the young Easter Eggers into their midst.  They have not begun laying yet but it shouldn't be too far in the future.  I wanted them to get used to the main henhouse and nesting boxes well before they were expected to deposit their colorful eggs there.  So far they are fitting in well.  Not too many pecking fights.  As usual, the older New Hampshires hens are the first to warm up to the new girls and welcome them in their afternoon dust baths.

And in their normal autumn ritual, most of girls have decided to molt all at the same time.  This poor little brown leghorn being about the most pitiful looking of the bunch.  I can't help but think she looks like she had it out with a lawn mower and the mower won.  If you look closely you will also notice she's wearing a "boot".  She got a terrible case of bumblefoot, which required some surgery, and this is the only way to halfway keep their feet bandaged and clean while it heals.  I have to change it every few days.  Hopefully though, she will be refreshed in foot and feather before winter and back to giving us a few white eggs.  These 2 are not my favorite hens but in her condition it's very hard not to feel sorry for her, especially when she comes up begging for a few crumbs of treats in her nervous, fidgety way.

A little update on the health issues:  After taking the new NSAIDS for my foot I became quite sick after a few days and went to a clinic for bloodwork on Friday.  I explained my situation and the Doc was agreeable and sympathetic, so I go in first thing in the morning for a kidney ultrasound and should get the results of my bloodwork too.  I dug out some tests results I had from my yearly exam back in July and those counts showed the possibly of early kidney damage (I checked this several times with multiple sources btw).  I had not really looked at them before, trusting my doctor to alert me to anything and no, he never said a word about it.  That pisses me a tad, especially considering he continued to advise me to take the NSAIDs.  I'm feeling better tonight but still not great.  I assure you I will press this matter until I find out everything I need to know.  At any rate, no NSAIDs ever again and very little salt, etc. and hopefully all internal will be refreshed soon and chugging right along.

Wait For Me

We interrupt the regularly scheduled "word" posts to bring you this update on the current state of operations and shipping.  In other words, ya'll give me a bit more time to get those seeds out and such.  I got everybody's request for seeds and am currently working on pottery, so hopefully it won't be much longer before I'll either be contacting you with shipping costs or mailing your seeds. 
On top of everything else around here it seems I have fractured my right foot and so I have had to take yet more time for yet another doctor visit and all that.  My foot had really been throbbing for about a month or so and I finally broke down and made an appointment with a new podiatrist.  I couldn't recall a specific incident that might have cracked my foot, but after talking about it, he surmised I must have done it as I've been repeatedly squatting down so much over the past month or so because I have been unable to bend over at the waist due to my back.  Apparently the "catcher's position" is very hard on your feet.  For now I get very stiff shoes, some new meds and 2 weeks to get better.  If not, I get a bone scan and a cast.  This is all just a classic example of what a sick sense of humor Life has sometimes because it means I have to stay off my feet as much as I can.  But...due to KF I have a deformed tailbone and it is a literal pain in the ass to sit on it for long.  So, I have taken to laying on the floor like a slug.  It's my only defense.

The foot doc was a cool guy and we talked at length about things and after asking about my back etc. he was very curious about Klippel-Feil, so I told him a bit about it.  He was quite sharp and immediately inquired on whether or not I have both kidneys.  (no other doc has caught that connection)  He insisted I find out for sure because if I only have one, as about 65% of KFS people do, I really, really don't need to be taking all the anti-inflammatorys that docs seem to love to prescribe now.  Seems one kidney can't handle the load of those drugs.  So.  I spent half the day today trying to find a doctor or the one who diagnosed me, to give me a referral or something for those tests.  When it rains it pours you know.  But, while I am prone to moments of gloom, I'm generally the type that just gets meaner and meaner the more I get slapped down.
So, ya'll bear with me on all accounts.  I'm limping along but I'm still moving.

Comparitively Speaking

 Comparison.  Countless ways that word can be interpreted or used to prove a point.  Undoubtedly, the way I choose to use the words ya'll gave me will not line up with what you had in mind, or maybe it will.  Either way, it's my turn now! 
I think whenever you are feeling bummed or discouraged it usually helps a great deal to compare your "now" to your "then".  Of course, this doesn't always work; sometimes "now" sucks.  However, in my case, to see how things used to be is quite helpful at times.  I've come a long way, baby.  But I also have a long way to go.  In the following photos I tried to arrange the before and afters right after each other.  The first pair may be hard to discern but I believe you can easily detect the following pairs. 
This first photo is truly the way this land once was.  Almost impossible to navigate without a machete.  I believe it was actually taken on what is now the left hand side of the drive and the second photo is taken on the right side, but other than that they are basically the same location.

 I'm sure, unless you've read the absolute beginning of my blog, you are not familiar with this photo.  The land could not even be accessed by truck or 4-wheeler due to creeks, beaver dams and undergrowth.  You could walk onto it though.  The first time we went completely across it we used a compass to make sure we didn't end up down the road somewhere.

 A fairly nice yard now.  Or the chickens seem to like it anyway.  Ya'll know I have always advocated and preached for people to do so many things themselves and building a house is one thing I don't believe is out of reach for many people.  However.... I fully understand why so many folks don't want to.  It is Freaking. Hard.  Fortunately I had a naive brain when I started this adventure and didn't realize just how hard it would be.

 Of course, it's a lot like that old analogy of eating an elephant.  It's just one bite at a time and then it doesn't seem so bad.  Certainly there are things about the house I would do differently now but I think absolutely everybody says that.  I really enjoying pouring the concrete here and hope to get to do some more of that before the year is out, maybe. 

I also can't help but long to build the rest of the house on this side.  I know everybody thinks the house looks so odd now, and it does in a lot of ways, but when it's all there it will be quite cool.
I do have definite plans to extend the roof on this end before too long so that it covers most of the deck.  Since the rest of the house is taking far longer than I hoped I need to do this to protect the front door and create easier access.  With the roof extension will come a small deck extension with stairs down to the front of the house.

 One thing that always amazes me about these old photos, which really aren't all that old, are how small the trees are.  And yes, I should have cut a number of them down when they were that small.

 So now there is a sweet little house that sits here and I am still plugging along towards it's completion.  Comparatively speaking, I'm doing quite well.  There are not many folks who can afford to take some time off their jobs for illness or injury as I have had to do.  Not many folks that can afford to work at home.  My life does not compare to most anyone I know, but I like it and it works for me.

Honesty Is No Excuse

I suspect I have been a putz on this blog for some time now.  Heck, a putz in real life too, I imagine.  Crabby, griping, bitchy, whining.  Hey, that's why I put that "pissing and moaning" category over there.  Here's Chigger and some funny chicken pictures to make up for it..........  Not enough, eh?....Well, I'll try to do better for the rest of the year.

Seriously,  I have not meant to be a crabby stick in the mud.  Or a muddy crab on a stick.  Either way.  This year just did not start out well.  It sucked and blew chunks both ways basically and it has remained........well......challenging, shall we say.  I hurt every day, all day and like a lot of people it starts to wear on you a little.  I do not mean to take it out on my loyal readers and I know I could have it a hell of a lot worse.

I just wanted to say that despite everything I am still thinking up and working on new or existing projects.  I am not being sucked down the black hole of despair.  I work in the garden every day just about.  I am back to doing at least a little clay every day.  This weekend I have enjoyed every minute of the wonderful weather we have had, staying outside until I just had to come in.  I added a few more feet to my rock flower bed.  I got almost all the winter crops planted.  I take care of my sweet chooks every day and take time to pet those that want to sit in my lap.  Chigger and I have gone for many walks.  She often has to wait up on me but she's patient that way.  I'm still here, I'm still me, the giant pain in the ass you all have known for years.

Y'all gave me such wonderful words and I will get to them all!  Please feel free to continue to leave them too, if you have not already.  I may sprinkle some other posts in between (or not) but will take them all in order.  Thanks for playing along. 

Word Play

Well, it seems I have descended, yet again, into the pit of writer's block.  Hhhm, maybe that's not quite accurate.  I can think of subjects to write about, I suppose.  I just can't muster the enthusiasm to write anything about those subjects.  Well, okay, so maybe that is writer's block also.  I know after 6+ years of publishing a blog that's hardly anything unusual but it's a bit interesting to me because I have felt slightly more enthusiastic about several other endeavors lately.  Maybe those things are drawing my attention way from here.  I guess it's just a combination of things going on with and around me.  I still go to the Doc twice a week for treatment and I often feel like poo afterwards, sometimes the next day also if he does new stuff.  I'm hoping that side effect becomes less and less noticeable.  Many world or U.S. events have had me quite bummed out lately.  Seems there is so much bad going on; it's hard not to get discouraged at times.  Seems to be less and less interest in the self-sufficiency/ DIY ideals these days.  I think a lot of people read such subjects just out of curiosity, not real interest in doing.  Maybe I'm wrong?  What do you think?
My physical diagnosis seems to have added yet another layer of why I'm weird, etc etc.  'Ah yes, you're that odd, opinionated woman that advocates for other women to do stupid things (like weld), grow food, not spend their life shopping and now you claim to have a condition that can't be seen and no one's ever heard of...M'kaaay, right.  We'll get back to you on that'.  Not.
And yesyesyesyes I know the mantra..Don't pay attention to other folks.  They're the ones who are crazy.  Live your own life.  And I do..but sometimes it's lonely.
So, any words for the not-so-wise?  I thought we might play a game also since I think most of ya'll like my blog and enjoy coming here.  You give me one word and I write a post from it.  And not something like "chicken" or "garden" either!!  Something a tad more removed or abstract from my normal subjects.  Your call will be answered in the order in which it is received so please remain patient.  Exclusions may vary.

Lately

New bird in town.

Old birds enjoying a cool watermelon slushy on a hot day.

Winding down.

Winding up!

Cardinal flower....?

Early morning walk.

Native fern #3

I hope you all are doing well out there.  Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  Just not a lot going on around here.  I did complete a successful firing and was able to take a small load of pottery into Birmingham the other day.  The stores are starting to call and express concern about dwindling stock though, so I've got to try to kick it up a little.  I've been trying to get the garden cleaned up and ready for fall too.  Got my seedlings ready to go in. Chickens, Chigger and Callie are all doing fine.  All spoiled as ever.

Loving You Has Made Me Bananas

I've tried a number of banana bread recipes but this one I think, is my favorite.  It's very moist and tasty and it uses no sugar, only honey and applesauce.  Enjoy!

Moist Banana Bread

2 cups whole wheat flour (or whatever you have)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup honey
2 eggs, beaten
3 mashed, over-ripe bananas

Mix the dry ingredients together.  Mix the wet ingredients together.  Pour the wet into the dry and mix.  Fold in mashed bananas.  Pour into a well greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for about 60 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 15 minutes or so and then remove loaf onto wire rack to cool.

I also add chopped pecans and a little cinnamon to the mix.  Yummy!!

A Pirate Looks At Forty (Five)

I didn't really want to continue to post about health issues but at the moment not much else has been going on and I did want to share what I've learned and been going through the past 2 weeks so that if anybody else is having similar trouble it may give you some ideas for treatment.  Now, ya'll know I'm not a doctor and don't even play one on TV but this is just what I've been doing and how it's worked for me.  I was fairly disgruntled after my last visit to my orthopedic doctor and only having more pills shoved in my face, so I decided to look around for other options and ended up making an appointment with a recommended chiropractic doctor.  The chiropractor did complete spinal X-rays, not just spots here and there, and that was an eye opener for sure!  Seeing my whole spine from 2 different views really explained a lot.  I have a small crook at my neck (below the fusion) and a small one way down at the bottom but I have a fairly significant bend right between my shoulder blades.  It's out about 3/8-1/2" actually.  I have had muscle spasms and cramps in that area for years but never really thought about my spine being messed up there.  My tailbone is a little wonky also, so basically, my spine zigs and zags all over the place and it ain't supposed to.  Now, the doc assured me he had seen worse, and I don't doubt it, but this may be what is causing me a great deal of pain and trouble and if I don't get it corrected it will just continue to worsen until I could become almost handicapped.  He also showed me a number of diagrams as to how all the organs of the body are connected to the spine via major nerves and if you are having trouble with an organ, say irregular heartbeats, it is often because the corresponding vertebrae in your spine is out of whack.  Now, I know a lot of people don't trust chiropractors and this would all sound pretty stupid and woowoo, but it makes perfect sense to me.  Maybe I'm stupid and woowoo but whatever.  When he pointed out every one of my vertebrae that are out of place it matched exactly with every organ that I am having issues with.  So, I have started going twice a week for adjustments and therapy to get my spine straightened back out.  As much as he can anyway.  He does know about Klippel-Feil and said of course, he cannot correct the fusions I have but can help with the spinal instability and crookedness.  Another thing he also said was that, the vertebrae around the current fusion, will over time also try to fuse together (which I didn't think would happen) and that could be very bad considering it's in my neck.  As you get older your disk tend to degenerate and calcium deposits form on the edges of the vertebrae.  Because mine are way ahead of most my age, those deposits could get big enough to touch and ultimately fuse together.  Regular therapy should prevent this though.
So...it will take some time to get straighten back out.  He said my spine has obviously been like this for years and even the muscles around it have moved and set to compensate for being out of plumb and out of square.  In my first treatment he said my spine would not even move in one area due to scar tissue and such but things have started to loosen up a bit and the pain radiating down my leg is pretty much gone at this point.  The adjustments make me very sore though and I usually feel like crap for that day.  The next day though I feel better and so it goes.  Hopefully, as my spine and muscles get straighter, I will get to where it doesn't hurt so much and things will move easier.
I guess I said all that to say also that these past 2 weeks have found me in a contemplative mood as I have spent so much time laying on ice packs and such.  There has not been a whole lot I can do lately and that leads to a lot of soul searching and wondering about the future.  I know a great deal of my back issues will get better but at some point I have to ask myself just how much strain I want to put back on it and what activities now hold precedent over others.  Just how much more can I do and still be able to reasonably enjoy what I've built when I really get old?  I've debated whether or not I should continue my pottery.  Many older potters I know have some serious back and arm issues and many eventually learn to throw standing up.  I may have to go that route.  I do know that major production pottery is not an option anymore.  I just can't sit (or stand) at the wheel for hours on end churning out a hundred mugs or what have you.  I never sold many dinnerware sets anyway due to the price!  Maybe I should switch to another medium of art all together?
I'm also seriously contemplating just how much more of this house I can build.  I think finishing the kitchen and other similar inside work will be no problem once I get going again but what about the other half?  Will I ever get to it anyway?  I was recently talking about at least extending the roof over the deck and expanding the deck itself.  How much roof framing can I do?  There's a lot of outside concrete still to pour also.  And a lot of stone to lay, patios and flower beds.  I'll admit I was fairly bummed when I thought about it all after first seeing those X-rays.  Several people have suggested that I should just apply for disability and forget it.  But....I just ain't ready to throw in the towel yet.  If I learned anything all those years in construction, I learned that there is always a way.  I may have to sit in a special chair while I lay one little stone at a time, or learn to throw standing up and I may even have to pay another carpenter to help on some framing or roofing but I think there is always a way.  All of life is just one step at a time.  Just keep puttin' one foot in front of the other.

Now!!  How about some flowers!?  One reader had asked me where I got the seeds for my zinnias and I honestly can't remember that far back.  I have no idea.  Mama may have given them to me or maybe I bought them.  At any rate, I would be more than happy to share these zinnias seeds with anybody that would like some.  They procreate well!!  Just email me your address (ann.beaird @gmail.com) if you like and I'll send you a packet of seeds from these very plants.  I assure you I have plenty to share and don't mind at all.

Cruel Summer

Cruel because it seems that it's ending way too fast!!  This is only mid-August; we're supposed to be hittin' the 100's by now, or at least the 90's.  Not wearing a long sleeve shirt at night because of the chill!
The garden is still producing well though, so I can't complain too much.  The corn, cukes and part of the tomatoes and cantaloupes have pooped out and been pulled up but now a new wave hits.  I shelled the first mess of purple hull peas tonight along with more green beans and we harvest a cantaloupe or two every few days.  Still waiting on the watermelon to ripen.

The okra forest grows slow this year but it is growing. 
We should have plenty to pickle and freeze so he can have some during the winter though.

New bare patches in the garden to make way for fall crops.  Still a bit more weeding to do.  Oh, the figs are starting to pour in now also.

We didn't have a great corn harvest but did get some and now that area has been cleared for fall stuff or maybe a cover crop.  The zinnias explode in their abundance.

I really like these scarlet hued sunflowers.  I am going to try to save seed from them this year.  Not big but so pretty.

The raspberries have caught their second wind and keep me picking every day.  They grow right next to the pullet's run and they love when I come out to pick because they know they'll get the discards.  Man, how they love those raspberries.  Funny because the big hens don't much care for them.  The pullets however have no qualms over trampling each other to get them.

I know.........more zinnias.  But I just love them.

These are vibrant also..and so HOT!!  Salsa peppers indeed.  Very prolific as most peppers are around here.  I roasted a few to use in my salsa this year and it seemed to come out well..  Time will tell though when I open a jar a few months from now and get a fresh taste.
 

The Easter Egger pullets are getting so big and pretty!  I just love their colors and patterns.  They have funny little personalities too.  It won't be too much longer that we'll be integrating them in with the big flock.

A new sign I bought off Amazon for the girls.  I thought it was cute and it's very well made; just like a real traffic sign.  Not that we get much traffic here.  As far as most of society is concerned we are the crazy ol' hermit couple that lives out in the woods eating weeds and talking to the chickens.  It's funny and sad, all at the same time, how far most people have gotten from the real earth and how they regard people like us so strangely..
Well, back to snapping beans and shelling peas......

Misery Loves Company

Hey Everybody!  I just wanted to do a quick post to let ya'll know I'll be back to real posting as soon as I can but it may be a wile yet.  Maybe I can just put up some photos until then.  I'm hurting a good bit these days, from more than just my back, and it makes sitting for more than a few minutes rather painful.  I did have the thought that I could use my laptop and stand up to write my posts though! lol!  At any rate, I'm just in a rough spot at the moment but I'm sure I'm not telling ya'll anything new.  I hope all of you are doing well and having a productive and fun summer though!
So, that brings me to the real subject at hand.  I've been kinda curious since my last posting and all where I was talking about the massive amounts of rain here.  Just how is the weather where YOU are?  I know it's getting harder to say what is normal anymore but, on average, how are things?  Colder? hotter?  Flooding or drought?  And believe it or not, I do have a reason for asking as I would like to do a related post when I can sit long enough to do some research.  But I like to hear form real people too.  So, leave me a comment if you are so inclined and I would be immensely grateful.  Don't forget to include your location even if I know you.

Here Comes The Rain Again

I tell you what, I don't ever remember a time of so much rain that lasted for so long.  I'm beginning to wonder if Alabama is going to turn into the rainforests of the future and are the chickens going to start growing webbed feet! The photo above was taken from my bedroom window as I peered out, watching yet another afternoon thunderstorm rumble over.  It either rains like hell, just sprinkles a little, stays cloudy and threatening all day or just pops up showers on and off all day.  About every 3 or 4 days it seems we get a nice sunny day or two.  And it's unusually cool.  Now, for us in August, that's 80's you know.  We have only hit just over in the 90's maybe 4 or 5 times this summer.  Normally we'd be in the 100's by now.  The garden is still plugging along pretty good though.  Between my back and the rain though, I just haven't been able to get much done other than a little canning and pickling, so I don't have any photos of new progress or whatever.  It was partly sunny on and off today though, so I was able to get some photos while I was picking tomatoes and such.  I don't have a lot of flowers blooming right now but there are a few things and I thought I'd show ya'll some of what I saw.  I know it's not very exciting but I'll come up with some more interesting stuff soon.

I transplanted part of a humongous hosta from my grandmother's old place and this is one of it's blooms.  I did not have to bend over or anything to take this picture; it is that tall. (I'm 5'-6" btw).  The hosta is in a giant pot on the deck at the moment until I can make the permanent bed for it to reside.

The lantanas are beautiful as usual.  I got nothing to do with that.  These have to be one of the easiest, most zero requirement or effort of any plant.  Stick 'em in the ground and forget it.  I knew they did well in dry conditions, which is why I always have at least one.  (If I forget to water it, it doesn't mind.) But I never knew how they would do deluged with water.  Well, apparently they are okay with that too.  And the butterflies love them.  What's not to like?!

Allen gave me some sunflower transplants and they are doing pretty good.  This one got broke by the dang rain but I tied it back up.  Maybe it will live.  I want to try to save seed from these if I can remember before the birds eat them all.  They are already working on some of them. These are not the really huge ones.  The seed head is maybe 4 inches across.

When I was picking corn and admiring the lovely zinnias today I noticed that the bluebirds are raising batch number 3 of babies for the season!   I wasn't sure if they would go for three this year but they sure did.  I guess they really like the house location.  They ought to since it's inside the garden fence and protected by hot wires at night.

I love zinnias!  They have really gone wild in this area; I never sow these anymore.  They just volunteer every year.  However, I made a bad mistake ever letting them grow here because they are in my grape vines and they are getting so they are smothering my grapes.  I have been tossing the old seed heads over in another area where nothing grows much in hopes they will take up there, as I will have to ruthlessly purge them from my grapes next year.  I think I can probably convince them to move over.  I love having them in the garden border because they attract so many pollinators and birds and such.  And they make great cut flowers if I get the urge.

See!  I actually have a few grapes this year!  There are about half a dozen or more clusters like this on this one vine.  The other vine is too young but I believe it will bear next year.  These are a seedless variety and are quite tasty but still a bit small.  I hope they improve a good bit next year.  Over the winter I must build them a proper arbor with all those cedar limbs we saved from the tree from my Moms' house.

The rain does not deter the snake doctors (dragonflies) from their appointed rounds, thank goodness.  We don't have much trouble with deer fly anymore thanks to these sweethearts.  There are so many varieties here now I've kinda lost track but I might be seeing the same species at different ages and thinking they are a different type; I don't know.  I have been very happy to see quite a lot of the really large ones this year.  Those buggers are about 5 inches across.  For here that is big although I know in other areas of the world they can grow even larger.

The native mountain mint is in full bloom and has a wonderful smell.  The bees must agree because they are all over this stuff.  Bees, wasps, flies, everything.

Lots of the blue dragons this year too, and the green ones, but they are not as friendly and won't let you get very close.
So, maybe I'll have a halfway informative post next time or some progress on something to show ya'll.  Until then, we'll try to stay dry and I hope the weather is agreeable where you are.