On 6/29/2017 7:01 PM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Thu 29 Jun 2017 03:32:26p, George Shirley told us...
>
>> On 6/29/2017 4:49 PM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>> On Thu 29 Jun 2017 06:17:43a, George Shirley told us...
>>>
>>>> On 6/29/2017 12:04 AM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>>> On Wed 28 Jun 2017 12:14:34p, George Shirley told us...
>>>>>
>>>>>> We're making spaghetti sauce from out bucket of mixed
>>>>>> tomatoes. Already have it getting ready for the pressure
>>>>>> canner. Only made four pints but that will be four different
>>>>>> meals for us this winter or sooner.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Didn't get enough green beans to can this year, some sort of
>>>>>> blight got the beans. Pretty much the same with the cukes. But
>>>>>> with the cukes it may have been a blessing. We had a deluge of
>>>>>> cukes last year so put up lots of relish and pickles.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I suspect the problem with the garden this year is the extreme
>>>>>> heat we've been having followed by the January back to back
>>>>>> freezes. Hitting 90+ most days and not a lot of rain. Plus we
>>>>>> need to amend the whole raised beds again. Most likely will do
>>>>>> that this fall and then let it lay fallow until spring.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> We have a new composter, bought on line, and is working well
>>>>>> at this time. With just the two of us there's not much garden
>>>>>> waste or otherwise to fill a composter. Mowing every two weeks
>>>>>> helps though. I see neighbors putting their mowed grass in a
>>>>>> bag and send it off to the dump. If I knew what they put on
>>>>>> their lawns I would high jack the bags. <G>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> George
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> As you know, we can't have a garden, but we do buy farm grown
>>>>> tomatoes at a local stand. I make spaghetti sauce with ground
>>>>> beef, sausage, and mushrooms. I freeze our sauce in 2-portion
>>>>> containers, as it's usually just the two of us when we have
>>>>> spaghetti.
>>>>>
>>>>> We have a good source for kirby cucumbers and periodically I
>>>>> make a few pints of bread and butter pickles, and also a few
>>>>> ints of garlic dills.
>>>>>
>>>>> We don't really like either frozen or canned green beans, so I
>>>>> buy fresh whenever we want them.
>>>>>
>>>>> That really too bad aboaut the blight you've had this year.
>>>>>
>>>> If you're a gardener you will attempt to grow something even if
>>>> it's on a window ledge. You and I have probably been gardening
>>>> since we could walk. Keep it up Wayne.
>>>>
>>>> We live in Harris Cty, TX and the weather for the last year has
>>>> been horrible. I think all the bug and blight problems are due
>>>> to the way the HOA takes care of the drainage pond and, I
>>>> suspect, they are using some sort of bug killer that is not good
>>>> for gardeners. There's only about four of us, mostly older
>>>> people, that garden. The rest are folks that are gone all day to
>>>> work and then come home and sit in front of the TV.
>>>>
>>>
>>> For the first two years we lived here we tried gardening in large
>>> pots on the patio. We have no soil or grass areas. Things would
>>> get a good start in late April or early May, but by the end of
>>> July everything had died. We did our best to keep everything
>>> properly irrigated and misted as each type of plant required, as
>>> well as using the best soil and fertilizer, and we just got
>>> tired of failure.
>>>
>>> The only plants that have grown successfully on our patio are
>>> cactii and palms.
>>>
>>> When we lived in Queen Creek, about 28 miles SW of Phoenix, we
>>> had a very large bck yard where we had mature orange, lemon, and
>>> lime trees, as well as various palms and cactii. The perimeter
>>> wall was planted with ever-blooming bougainvillea. We had the
>>> landscapers installed a 21 x 20 raised bed, and everything had
>>> automated drip irrigation and misters. We were able to grow
>>> tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkin, summer squash, green onions, and
>>> radishes. I know there were a few other things, but can't
>>> remember. We never tried corn. The overall atmosphere seemed to
>>> be perfect for growing almost anything. We even had sever red and
>>> black currant bushes scattered around the yard. When we left
>>> that house, nothing ever grew for us again. :-(
>>>
>> I can understand that, we lived on ten acres for the first sixteen
>> years of a now fifty-seven year marriage. Then we moved and had
>> about a quarter acre in a subdivision that was covered with large
>> trees. When we moved to Corpus Christi we had a large backyard but
>> we were to busy to put in a garden. Now we live on 6500 square
>> feet with a 1960 square foot home. The backyard is crammed with
>> "stuff." 32 feet of four foot wide raised beds, a two foot wide
>> garden around the fence for flowers, fruit, etc. Since I can't
>> bend over anymore I can't do a lot but do the canning, cooking,
>> etc. as needed. Doctors say there's nothing they can do about the
>> severe arthritis that loads me down. I guess I inherited from my
>> mother, she had severe arthritis for years but lived with it until
>> she passed at 89. I also inherited Dad's heart disease, he left us
>> at age 71 and I'm running up on 78 already. You just have to do
>> whatever is needed. At our age I don't think we could handle 10
>> acres plus critters, big tractors, etc. We had young kids back
>> then who loved the farm too. Now they're successful fifty plus
>> working folk. Daughter is an assistant principal in a large grade
>> school, son is assistant director of Texas Children's Hospital and
>> his wife is a realtor. Everyone is busy at something but we try to
>> make a holiday occasionally.
>>
>> I'm just happy to be alive and close to our kids, grands, and
>> great grands.
>>
>> George
>>
>
> I totally get it, George. I'm now 72 and David is 68. He has had a
> quadruple coronary bypass, a total knee replacemet, and just recently
> had a complete shoulder reconstruction. I have had 4 coronary artery
> stent implants, and now have spinal stenosis in both the lower and
> upper spine. I'm not supposed to bend over from the waist or lift
> more than ten pounds of anything. All that being said, we really not
> in such bad shape. I have no children and close relatives. David
> has 5 siblings who all live in Cleveland. He also has 3 children
> from whom he is estranged, but it's all for the good. We're lucky to
> have a small but close circle of friends here in Phoenix.
>
I can see what you're saying. 42 micro strokes, four major strokes, have
a stroke, have another one thirty minutes later. Five stents in my
heart, several heart attacks, cracked my chest some years ago and put a
tube around a clog in my heart arteries and five years later the old
clog bypassed itself. It's weird how your own body can try and correct
the problem. I've been on insulin for many years now, shoot 45 units
every day, have a large pill box and most of the pills have names I
can't read plus doctors have me on all kinds of fish oil, vitamins, etc.
I could afford a new car if I didn't have to buy pills and pay doctors.
Getting old is a bitch but it sure beats the alternative, been there,
done that. I'm still grinning but walking a lot slower. Getting old is
much better than the alternative. We have two children, five
grandchildren, and, so far, six great grand children and we enjoy them all.

George