Accessible Gardening: #19 Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners , 4 by Agavegirl1

Agavegirl1 wrote:
Hi folks. :D
Back. One day had computer problem. Other day had errands and just needed to sleep. Small seizure. Not a big deal. Just a small one where I "spaced out" but didn't fall. Husband felt I wasn't resting enough so he made me lie down.
Wow, sounds like a lot of drama with that farm. No offense. I had directed the moving to AZ comment towards you guys. Sorry if it got mixed in with the message for Carrie about moving or does she reside with you too? I get a little confused still at times.
I just mentioned it because we have farms! Did I mention we have dairy farms too? Yep. Lots of moo cows. :D Lots of "agricultural fragrances" on certain roads when you drive by too (LOL). I've also drove by a place that had bee hives.
Do you have a copy of the original plans (whatever they're called) that show where the property line is? If so this may end the mail box dispute. If it's on your "property" the other guy can go kick rocks and shut up. Also if it is there for safety reasons for the U.S. Post Office he may want to take it up with them. The P.O. is a government office. Federal at that. If that is where THEY want it then your neighbor has NO CHOICE. If he gets nuts get a restraining order. I believe they're free. If not they're cheap. Either way they're effective!
In matters legal I have no advice to give. Things that do spring to mind is "Grandfather clause." Applicable in terms of your road? Eminent Domain is another. Oh well, those are my "stabs in the dark".

Uhmmm....keeping track of belongings, debatable. Keeping the bathrooms clean definitely! My bathrooms are never unusually dirty but as humans considering all the "usual" things we do in them and some of the more unusual rituals we indulge in at times I prefer to keep them hyper clean. It's just me.
Aside from cleaning up and being hygienic there's also corralling the ever multiplying grooming products that seem to occupy every inch of counter space daily. The wiping up spots and blobs from hair dye (occasionally). If you're like me not only do you paint your face you paint the everything else too. Scraping dried tooth paste off the sink daily and wiping the water spots off the mirror you sprayed on it while brushing your teeth vigorously.
I take a bath so I don't like "ring around the tub". I clean it (if nothing else) every 2 or 3 days. We won't talk about DH's bathroom and some of the more unpleasant tasks and the things in there that I chase around or find trapped in corners.
So yes, the bathrooms get a hyper manic, obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive cleaning! The kitchen is the other thing I'm insane about. The rest of the house I kind of have on a rotation schedule. And yes, I do scrub floors on my hands and knees. I'm old school. (BetNC you tell your Granny I said, "You go girl!") That's how I was raised.

The fact that I'm Buddhist also probably just add fuel to the cleaning fire. I basically live in a house you can lick the floor and drink out of the toilets. It's work but I find it rewarding and satisfying. It pleases me. As a Buddhist most of us view this "chore" of cleaning as a lesson in humility, thanks and gratitude for our blessing and good fortune/karma. It is our duty and obligation to maintain it in it's original state or keep it above and beyond what was given to us. It's just "our thing". We try to keep the dirt of the outside world from entering our inside one. Impossible but this physical act of cleaning is a reminder of the spiritual and mental act of "cleaning" ourselves also so to speak.
If it makes you feel better my family are a bunch of Eastern European immigrants. My mother thinks I'm a slob if I leave papers on my desk or my clothes out on the dresser (folded laundry to be put in the drawers.)
My 95 year old Great Aunt asks me what I do around the house now that I don't work. I tell her. She asks me, "What the Hell's the matter with you? Home all day and can't get the ironing done or your windows washed. What are you waiting for? When do you plan on baking so you have something for company or the neighbor when they're over? What do you put out? Have you canned anything yet? What do you do with your time? Sit on your ass?" Yep. Good old Aunt Ida. Feel better now that my house keeping gets criticized?

I also cook from scratch. Very little comes out of a can, box or jar in my house. Again it was how I was raised and what was taught to me. I'm always shocked at the amount of pre-packaged food. I find it astounding when I read recopies that are "home made" in magazines now. They all say open a box of this or a jar of that, or buy pre made deli chicken and add this to it and bake 20 minutes for a delicious home cooked meal! HUH??? That's not "cooking". That's warming up food.
As for my Aunt Ida and my mother who can bake with the skill of being able to run a pastry shop, uhmm...I didn't inherit that. I do bake. VERY RARELY. It's from scratch. It's a real struggle for me. My repertoire is limited! It also NEVER looks the way theirs does although it tastes the same.

As for cleaning, I'll gladly help others. I'll clean anything. Bathrooms are the one thing I don't do for all the above mentioned reasons and then some! More than hygiene factors it is just too far a private, personal and intimate space. Also the reason I don't care to do others laundry. It feels almost invasive or intrusive to me. Is that odd?

I'm glad my pictures don't bore anyone. I would love to see more of yours! Please post some if you can. :D
Here's some interesting ones and then I'll start sending some of the garden.
Pic #1 cotton in bloom pre harvest
Pic #2 the flower on the cotton plant; never knew it got one
Pic #3 cotton ready for harves
pic #4 me being a ham with the Saguaro ( me bottom left)
pic #5 nice mountain view and the "valley" below. Reason place is called "San Tan Valley"

This message was edited Aug 5, 2015 7:49 AM