Looks like we ran out of June.
Ok it is July !
I think the hot weather cooked it!
What ever happened to NikB?
It's a shame that this forum is languishing; there are SO many ideas and projects we could share, and learn from each other.
Due to the 8X increase in electricity in 2015 for the 13 state region that includes my state, I'm giving serious consideration to solar hot water heat in my floors. There's just no way I can go from paying about $200 a month for elec. heat to more than $1600 a month.
http://generationhub.com/2012/05/21/gop-says-pjm-auction-shows-result-of-obama-war-on
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pjm-capacity-auction-secures-record-amounts-of-new-generation-demand-response-energy-efficiency-152088105.html
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/05/22/obamas-war-on-coal-hits-your-electric-bill/print#ixzz1vdg3N9AP
darius we are thinking of doing our barn solar . We plan on doing the house by 2018 all solar. great link you posted. sorry i have been missing in action.
i think we are all busy.
i had to let so many plants die. we are in a pretty hard draught. we are on well . so we are a bit worried with no rain in forecast.
Thanks for everyone chiming in - lets me know the link worked.
I would like to get as low consumption as possible with mypower needs. Then, work on alternative sources. Ahhh, so many things to do.
Its been so hot, but we finally got rain today. The trees are so dry the leaves are falling off.
I've been following this fellow's blog for about a year. He has implemented some great money-saving energy ideas and I hope to do some of them in the next 2-3 years.
http://www.builditsolarblog.com/
I'd like to get my power consumption a lot lower NOW, but my sis shares this house and she won't give up much of anything.
my FIL got my rain barrels a small pump that works off the battery of my little RTV . works like a charm !!! cut watering hrs in half !
i didn't mind the walking with buckets but it just took to long over 2 hrs and in this heat i couldn't keep up. but i have a slimming figure ROFLLL and built up some muscles in my arms
garden is doing ok. the pepper plants are small ? but loaded with peppers.
pulled the garlic. not very big :( so i guess its garlic powder this year.
tomato's are still holding strong
cabbage looks like its doing good.
did some fingerling potato's don't know yet . but one area is not doing much , it has died down pretty good. soooooo hoping with more watering i can get it up and growing again ?
Darius, I've seen that site before. It sure makes solar water heating look easy, especially if the components are purchased pieced out.
No time for new or old projects here.lol The garden is booming, it was really about time. I don't remember having weather this nice since 2007. Of course when we get nice weather that means everyone else isn't...sorry.
Sue, I can't imagine watering by a bucket! Congrats on the pump.
LOL thanks Lulu.
yep i guess the crappy weather is hitting everyone else.
man is it dry here.
i watered yesterday and the ground doesn't look like it got a drop in it ! yikes.
pototo's may need to be dug up. one bed is done i think ? foliage is gone. not eaten but just died down to lack of water. i watered but i guess it just didn't help much. ?
thinking of my fall crop of lettuce and greens . can't decide . may do the dragon mix
Hey guys. Whole lotta water under the bridge since I posted last. I've got a lotta catching up to do. I'll try to read everything as soon as I get time. Hope you have all been well.
DH had surgery on his foot. Took out 2 bones and he had problems. Ended up getting 8 units of blood and crit was still just 25 which is critical. They had overloaded him with fluids on top of it all and he nearly drowned. They started him on lasix and pulled off 16lbs of fluid in 24 hours. He is still having breathing problems from it but it is much better and will just take time to get straightened out. He is still taking lasix at home everyday. He was in the hospital for a week and has been home for a week today. Started back to infusion the day after he got out. Went to his regular foot doc yesterday and he stopped the infusion treatments!!!!! That is such a relief for many reasons. That everyday trip to town nearly an hour each way was very tiring and expensive. But the longterm antibiotic treatments have taken a hard toll on DH's kidneys. He is down to just 50% output. Please help us pray that as his body clears the meds, his kidney function will return to normal. Kidney doc says worse case scenario will be dyalisis or transplant in a year and a half to two years. We know God is bigger than that. The meds also supressed his bone marrow which was another reason he needed 8 units of blood. But he does still have nearly all the foot he went into surgery with!!! He has to learn to walk on the outside of his foot, which he has always done, but he has to stay off it for quite a while. Don't want to break open the stitches. It was an extensive incision but it is healing well even though it still drains a lot. All in all, things are pretty good at this point but he still keeps having chills without fever. Don't know what that's about and we forgot to mention it to the doc yesterday. He still runs a low grade fever at times too but is taking tylenol for that. We still need and appreciate your prayers.
They boys are with us and have been such a big help. Ray had the stomach virus 2 days ago so DH had to drive himself to infusion and Knock went with him. Knock went in and signed Paw up and brought out a wheel chair for him. Then he wheeled him into infusion and sat with him. After that they went for gas and Knock got out and pumped. He is really growing up. Then yesterday Knock got sick in the examining room at the hospital and started throwing up. They gave him a "pan" to take home with him and he threw up about 6 times before we got home. He slept for an hour and woke up hungry. He ate a bit and then went out to play. Hard to keep good boys down. They are both fine now. We will surely cry when they go home. Them being here has kept DH from sinking into depression from the bad news about his kidneys.
DH was able to teach at Bible study Wednesday night. We took one of the tall stools from our pub table set for him to sit on behind the pulpit. It worked fine.
I am going to have to learn how to cook for him. He already has to stay away from sugar and carbs because of the diabetes. Now we have to stay away from sodium, phosphorus and potasium because of the kidneys. That does not leave much. I am studying and planting more garden. All those great tomatoes growing on the bushes and he won't be able to eat them. Such a shame. I don't think a slice on a sandwich now and then will be bad. We already use the low sodium salt. Mrs. Dash is out now because of the potasium. It's all complicated but we have to learn it somehow. No processed foods so everything has to be fresh. That will be expensive. I will try to grow as much as possible. Looks like I may have to raise a pen of meat birds. Hope eggs are not off the menu. I planted some more beans yesterday, Cherokee Wax and Contenders. DTM are 40 and 54 so they should do fine. We are finally getting some nice rain. We were having a drought. I dug the taters but they were a bust. Disappointing but such is the life of a farmer. We have been eating a few things but nothing in abundance. I pulled the onions and garlic. They did well. I replanted with some bulbs I forgot I had bought so they were pretty sad. I hope some of them grow. I see some of the elephant garlic is making a valiant effort.
My goats are milking good. I lost a bit from the first doe because I missed a few milkings while DH was in the hospital so she is producing less now but now I am latching the others doe's 2 kids and milking her in the mornings. That is a big help. Making lots of yogurt and cheese. Need to find out if I can freeze it. Making some killer icecream too.
Gotta get going. I am a bit lazy this morning since I did not have to go to infusion. Don't know what to do with all this free time. LOL I milked the goats early (have to stay on schedule with them) but I need to get them up on the hill to browse. They just love all those juicy weeds. And I love how they turn it all into juicy milk. And we all need breakfast!
Cajun, Thanks for the update. I worry about you and all that your dh is going through. All I can do is send my thoughts and prayers, for healing, lots of family time, and a garden full of healthy vegetables.
I've had the dairy ladies out running with the beefers. Thought we would have a calf in June based on some notes of the last/first time she was covered. Not the case, I called them up to the house yesterday and Sally Belle's (the eldest) udder is getting big. She still looks like she a few weeks to go, She has always hid her pregnancies well, she's naturally slab sided, and I can't tell when the calf shifts into position. All I'll have to go on is a daily watch of her pin bones. It's always excited around here knowing it won't be long for a baby:0)
Put up 30 quarts of tomatoes and 5 quarts of juice yesterday, but would appreciate some rain! For all!
How exciting! What breeds are your dairy and beef cows?
The dairy cows are Jersey with some Holstein in their background, I gets lots of cream so I think they have the best of the Jersey blood. The beefers are not ours, we lease our land out, and Brangus pairs is what they run.
However, there was a small gap between the Brangus being moved and us raising a Black Angus bull for a friend in exchange for beef. In other words..I have no clue who's the babies daddy.lol
I not all confident I could tell the difference between a Brangus and Black Angus offspring after being mixed with dainty dairy. I'll be expecting a guess from you soon, Porkpal :0)
Oh goody, I love guessing games!
The length of the ears should be a clue.
Caj, low sodium salt is full of potassium.
Just got home from a 3 day trip for medical tests, got good reports but I'm too tired to comment on most of the last few posts tonight...
Will try to catch up tomorrow.
Cajun i m sorry to hear of the medical issue's DH is having. I m wishing him a healthy recovery. Hope you doing ok also , you sound busy. GLad to hear the boys are helping out too. that is a good relief for you.
darius get some rest and take care. glad the test went well for you.
great cows cocoa. i think the ears are cute :)
pretty tired myself.
no rain in site
hard week at court last week. nothing until Aug20th when they get sentencing. we are happy with the out come.
Sue, is there a possibility they may get the death sentence? It's what they deserve.
Darius, what should we use instead? Glad your tests all went well. Do you know where I might look for a kidney, diabetic friendly diet?
Caj, check out this site... it includes ways to leach potassium from vegetables. It's easier to reduce the "taste for salt" slowly rather than "cold-turkey", and easier to manage than a desire for potassium-rich veggies and fruits like bananas.
I saw you posted salt restrictions too. I've noticed over the years that people tend to put a certain amount of salt on what's on their plate, and they do it mostly by sight, not by taste. Morton Kosher salt is less salty (NaCl, sodium chloride) by volume than regular Morton's salt, so if that's what is in the shaker, you get less NaCl automatically. The kosher salt made by Diamond Crystal is more concentrated so you get more salt than you think for the same visual amount.
I've changed to the harvested sea salts from the coast of France... they taste saltier, but really aren't, and they contain lots of minerals.
Every kidney doc I've even known (I used to sell dialysis equipment so I knew a lot of them) said bananas were helpful for the kidneys because they are high in potassium.
I don't understand why they suggested limiting phosphorus...
Phosphorus:
The primary use of phosphorus in the human body is to both form and strengthen your teeth and bones, and it works closely with calcium to accomplish this. In fact, roughly 85 percent of the phosphorus in your body is located in your bones and teeth. The rest is located in your tissues and cells, all of which require phosphorus to grow and repair, as well as to maintain their functions. Your genetic material, known as DNA and RNA, also depends on this mineral for formation.
Phosphorus assists the kidneys in getting rid of waste, and it also aids in muscle contraction, heartbeat regulation and nerve communications. The body's usage and storage of energy is highly dependent on this mineral, and it also helps balance the other vitamins and minerals within the system, such as iodine and vitamin D. Phosphorus can lessen muscle pain after exercise, and it also assists the body in making use of the carbohydrates and fat you eat.
It is rare for the human body to become deficient in phosphorus, unless you have a condition such as diabetes.
I have a cousin who is a brittle diabetic and is in renal failure. He can eat hardly any potatoes, no bananas, very little fruit actually, he is limited to about 32 oz of fluid a day. Pastries, dough, pasta, big no nos. A lot of salads, chicken and fish.
no he will not get the death sentence. sorry to say. but life in prison.
well i may have to give up to the garden gods. with no rain hand watering is just not making this garden produce enough to make it worth it :(
cherry tomaot's are not even a dime size , no beefsteaks to see yet and the ones i did have fell off the vine .
fingerlings may be the only thing i will keep. I need to add more soil and straw to get another layer going , a bit behind on that. too.
hope everyone else's gardens are doing good.
My garden is non-existent. with the move to the new house only got a couple of tomato plants and a couple of squash in the ground - no time to work with either.
The squash darius dropped off to us on her way through was a blessing. CTA - D
Darius, did you forget to add a link with your post? Thanks for the info. I may have been mistaken about the phosphorus. We see the kidney doc this week in her office so she will give us more info.
Sue, are they prosecuting the others that were involved? I wish they would all get the chair. So sorry you are having to go through that. I cannot even imagine how hard it must be. You are in our prayers and thoughts. I wish there was more I could do.
Hate your garden is not doing well. We have been getting a good bit of rain the last week but I was watering with a bucket before that. It had gotten so very dry here and my outside spigots were not working. I was dipping water from the creek and found myself thankful that my garden was no bigger than it is. Mine has been a mixed bag this year. I planted some beans a couple days ago and am hoping they do well. My cukes are looking pretty good. My maters look good but I am afraid they may be getting the blight. Some of the limbs are turning yellow and then brown and shriveling up. I had blight bad last year. Hope it doesn't happen this year too.
Angie, I feel so bad for your cousin. That is a hard life.
Dyson, have you gotten moved in yet?
Caj, yes I forgot the link, glad you reminded me...
http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/potassium.cfm/
edited for typo
This message was edited Jul 14, 2012 9:34 PM
Same here, Sue. You are in my thoughts daily. I've pretty kept silent on the other threads, just because I can't think of anything to make you feel better. I can't think of of a single say about those involved that would sound remotely ladylike. I know last year with our drought it was depressing and felt like the end of world. We have 30 dead old oak trees in the yard! Sheesh! Literally and metaphorically, wishing you some rays of sunshine and healing rain.
Cajun, did you plant your tomatoes near where they planted last year? I had some problems early in the spring, I still don't know exactly what the issue was. Just to be safe I'm going to plant other crops in that area for 4 years, before planting tomatoes agian.
Podster put together a wonderful list of water conservation and tips to help us out last year. The best tips are just the first few posts, the rest of the posts are mostly us Texans freaking out ;0)
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1196163/#b
Hard day here. It looks like my Momma has metastatic brain cancer. Doing more tests to find out where it originated. I have not seen her in over 2 years. We were making big plans to be together for Thanksgiving.
Caj, so sorry to hear that. Life seems so unfair too many times.
News may be a bit better this morning but we can't be sure. The doc only talked to my Momma and she has been confused lately. Going to try to get her doc to talk to our nephews who are also doctors. Then they can let us know exactly what we are looking at. Tests showed no lung cancer. I am thinking it may have originated as breast cancer as her older sister had breast cancer and my Momma has fibro cycstic breast disease so she would not have thought much of another small lump.
T's and P's going your way, hoping for the best.
Momma is a bit more confused tonight that when I talker to her this morning. She was getting her callers and her visitors mixed up. But her head is not hurting tonight and for that I am greatful. My SIL is staying with her until the doctor comes so we can get an idea of what is going on.