So Much for a Catch Up Blog

Getting the pictures to load up was much harder than I had anticipated. As you can see I ended up re-posting the last blog again but with a couple pics. That was me trying to figure it out but with the help of a friend I think I got it. The other problem that I was having was time, exhaustion, and an over abundance of work. My brother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the end of August. I and his partner were trying to care for him along with all the regular things that I had to do related to a family and small farm. On October 14th it became apparent that she and I were not going to be able to care for him at home any longer. I moved him to Enso house here on the island. It's a beautiful place and I was lucky to find it and have the opportunity to get him in since they only take two clients at a time and that is if they have the staffing when needed. Follow this link for more info.http://www.ensohouse.org/overview.htm  I highly recommend this place and feel this community is very lucky to have this resource.

On top of that two days later I took her to the hospital because her back was so painful. She has a compression fracture in a vertebrae and is now in a nursing home.  I am hoping to find a solution for her and get her into assisted living.

My brother died October 18th. I was devastated but his passing was peaceful, I was able to get his partner there the day before and I was there for him all the way through. I miss him every day. Now I just have the stuff to do like closing accounts and moving things from their apartment to do. For those who are asking, a donation to Enso house is being requested instead of flowers and such. They are a 501 charity and get most of their funding from donations. I wish every community had something like this. Believe me it beats the hell out of a nursing home. Not only do they care for the person but they support the family and friends that need it as well.

So I am still overly busy but hope to get caught up on my own work around here and my blog. Thank you all for being patient. I hope my followers will still be following me when I am fully up and running again.

Back On Line: A Catch up Blog

So I am now the happy recipient of a hand me down computer. I can now cruise the internet, write blogs, and shop craigslist without feeling like I am imposing on the mans computer time. So lets get cracking on catching up.

First, we gave up the cable TV. This is a huge thing for the man cuz he loves his TV. Especially the news. He is a news fanatic. However, we were paying $120 a month for 300 channels and there was nothing to watch. Except news. Remember when TV was free? The kids stream movies to their computer from Netflix and we can rent a movie for $1 a night from the local store if need be but to tell you the truth there simply isn't anything worth watching. What happened to really good movies like Star Wars or Titanic or Romancing the Stone? I am really tired of "comedy" that thinks bodily functions are funny. I swear if I see one more movie where I have to see someone puke I am going to do it myself and that's not funny. So I canceled the cable. The man was not happy but I think he is adjusting. We are learning to stream TV shows that we actually want to watch to our computer and he is learning how to access news programs. I find we are a little behind on current events (a function of the learning curve) but I am less depressed about the state of our world and I don't have the exposure to commercials for big business pharmaceutical companies. All of a sudden I don't feel the need for Viagra or Cialis so I can take a bath outdoors in twin bath tubs with my honey overlooking a view of the sunset. Sheeeeeesh! And since I don't watch ALL the news stories that are hand fed to you via the big screen I don't find the need for anti depressants either! Wow!

The chickens, geese, and ducks all made it through the summer without getting eaten by the family of eagles, the family of hawks, and the family of Osprey that we had nesting just off of our property. They all had a great view of the farm yard and we had a few close calls. Including the owl that sat in the tree above the pond while the ducks took their morning bath. My smart ducks wouldn't come out of the water until I came and got them then that owl took off.

The garden had a rough start due to a colder and wetter than normal spring and summer but we are finally getting something besides lettuce and peas. No pumpkins but lots of zucchini. The tomatoes are ripening and although we aren't getting enough to can we are eating them like candy. I put in broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts for a winter garden and plan to try to grow lettuce and spinach in a cold frame.

The man built a cute little fence around our back patio and is putting in a large cold frame as part of the fence.  
Originally the fence was to keep the geese and ducks from pooping on the patio and back porch and as usual
that blossomed into a rather large cold frame. 8 ft. by 4 ft. to be exact and he is talking about putting in pipe heaters to keep the plants warm in winter. You know the kind that you use to keep pipes from freezing. Go figure. It will be cool if it works.

The potato towers worked like a charm. (See Fifteen days and counting 3/8/11) I harvested a five gallon bucket of purple spuds, two shopping bags of Yukon Gold, and the reds still need to be dug up. The potatoes never did bloom but I got potatoes. The man didn't like the purple ones. Guess the color was off putting so don't know what I will do with them. The Yukon Gold are crispy like a new apple and so yummy. There is a definite difference between a store bought and a fresh potato. I had people ask why bother and I guess that is why. Not to mention  commercially grown potatoes are loaded with pesticides.

I am reading a book written by the editor of Mother Earth News called Beautiful and Abundant-Building the World We Want. It is written to be the opposite of the doomsayers that we all seem to be hearing these days. More of a "what cha gonna do about it" type book. A hard read for me so I have to go back over pages  more than once to get the concepts but worth while.

It's been pretty much a none eventful summer. The chicks are old enough to lay pullet eggs. The ducks are old enough to lay. Kids are back in school and I am making jam,  freezing fruit and vegis and canning and stocking the freezer of course. I am very thankful we didn't have the hardships that the rest of the country had as far as weather goes. I will take cool and wetter than normal any day over months of temperatures over 100 and tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes.

So I have to apologize for the lack of pictures. I can't figure out how to get them to download on this dumb computer. They aren't set up right so when the man gets that fixed I will flood you with pics.