#19 Practical Matters for Physically Challenged Gardeners

Thank you, Melody.

Okay, ladies, behave yourselves. There are men on this forum. lol. I’m watching my way through old episodes of NCIS and Cote de Pablo doesn’t have a thing to do with it. Nope. Not one thing. Isn’t Vladimir Putin the one who is into ice bathing?

I’ve been going through Kay’s old books to see what is worth keeping. In a 1980’s book on journalism, I saw a comment that made me think of you and your professor, TTC.

Harold Ross, one time editor of the New Yorker, was very old-school about punctuation. James Thurber didn’t like the way the sentence “The American flag is red, white, and blue” Looked on the page. He said all the commas made it look as though the flag was being rained on. Ross insisted a comma before and after was needed for clarity in some cases and gave this sentence as an example of how meaning could be misconstrued without the comma. “Please give your name, address, age, sex and housing requirements.” I’m not going to start using a comma before “and” as a rule, but Ross made a good point.

Reading that book made me realize how far and fast we’ve come in the approximately thirty years since that book was written. There is chapter after chapter on doing research for articles and the computer is barely mentioned.

That’s ironic about the song stuck in your head, TTC. Flower Children are not very popular in San Francisco at the moment. They are scape goats for the water situation or that is how it reads to me.

www.city-jo

Duh, can we say over-population and agribusiness that concerned itself with nothing but profit.

The situation in California is what sparked Amargia’s locavore experiment. Most out-of-season fresh food comes from California.

You can’t force land and water to do what you want and expect it to work long term. The Earth is a living system that evolved over eons. You adapt to it. It is pure megalomania to expect it to adapt to you.

Yes, almond trees will grow in California, but the land cannot support enough pollinators year-round to successfully pollinate the crop. The solution was to bring in honeybees by the truckloads while the almonds were flowering. I’ve never seen a headscarf and hoop earring on a honeybee. They aren’t gypsies who thrive on moving every few weeks. There are people who caravan honeybees from place to place across the country for crop pollination and profit. I refuse to call these people either beekeepers or apiarist. They are more like honeybee slavers and I’m not convinced it is a necessary evil. The bees fare no better than their human counterparts, the migrant farm workers. Honeybees aren’t even the most effective pollinators. They are the easiest to manage. It is probably this practice that initiated colony collapse disorder. Migrant bees are subject to more stresses and diseases. Land is not an inanimate THING. There are more life forms in a handful of soil than people in midtown Manhattan. Honeybees are not pollination machines. They are living organisms with their own agenda and very sophisticated organisms when you view the hive rather than the individual bee.

Okay, exactly how did I get started writing about bees? My mind is meandering. I’ll close for now.

(Jim)

Note from Nadi: TTC, if you like the show Chopped, I think you would like the website My Fridge Food. You list the ingredients you have on hand and the site generates recipes using those ingredients. ~Nadi~

Photos: Early Fall Flowers

Oh, my, Jim. You are getting radical in your old age?

Agave, yes, bonding with kids and grandparents occurs when we least expect it. Thinking of Nixon resigning (I think it was 41 years ago this month) makes me think of my grandfather! He had something to say about Nixon every night when we watched the news and every morning when we read the paper. I don't think of my grandmother or my cousins or my mother and siblings....I think of Grandpa! He had er, um, a LOT to say about Nixon. I can think of him without thinking about August 1974, but not the other way around. I infer all those other people were there but I don't actually recall.

Hi guys: Good Morning!
Recovered with some water and earlier bed time. :D

Zoe has too. Slept like she was in a coma. Had to check for breathing since it gets so shallow and she sleeps with her eyes open on occasion and her tongue flops out of here mouth sometimes. Spooky. She looks like a carcass. It's like taking a kid to an amusement park. Run, run, run, run, run, run, drop, coma!

Bets:
STOP WITH THE 'MATERS! You're killing me! Do you know what we'd do out here for a REAL tomato? One that tastes like a tomato and not like red water? Are you some kind of sadist sending me those pictures and then telling me you're going to chop them down?

Ahh...tomatoes
I can make lovely chicken and cheese enchiladas in a gorgeous home made red chili sauce; Of course there's the pico de gallo to put over lovely fish tacos and glorious salsa with tortilla chips!

Perhaps a broiled shrimp with a spicy Fra diavolo sauce over angel hair pasta?
Maybe linguine with red clam sauce?
How about chicken cacciatori?

I suppose a spectacular fresh red snapper baked in a putanesca sauce (chopped fresh roasted tomatoes, olives, parsley and onions, and olive oil)?
Can't leave out that sloooooow cooked for hours on end marina sauce smothering home made perfectly season meat balls and served open face on real home made garlic bread rolls...My version of a "meat ball splash" that friends BEG ME constantly to make for them!

Maybe I'll pull out all the stops!
Let's travel to some place foreign and have braised Moroccan cumin scented chicken thighs in a tangine (stew) of tomato, chickpeas, olives, capers, onions and yams seasoned with an array of wonderfully exotic,heady and aromatic blend of spices and topped with golden saffron threads (THE most expensive spice in the world!) ?

Oh...Greek food? How about whole tomatoes charred ever so slightly to bring out the natural sweetness, simple skewers of grilled tender green and red bell peppers, red onions served with your shiskebabs of succulent juicy lamb that's still hot and sizzling? Have to have that side of beautiful rice pilaf and some toasted pita bread with a lovely black olive tapenade spread.

THERE...HOW YOU LIKE IT? Mouth watering? Huh? Huh? Coming to dinner? What time should I set the table? Shall I go on? I'm sure I could come up with more menu options. Want me to go through the wine list AND dessert too? :D
Now stop being so mean to me and teasing me with those 'maters!

Katiebear: Thanks! Yes, Richard Belzer. That's who played John Munch!
I always enjoyed his cerebral character. One of my favorite episodes of S.U.V. was when Richard Belzer left Ice. T. and Mariska Hargitay stumped and dazed looking when he explained the difference about inferred and implied and who does which one in conversation. I fell out laughing.

Hi Jim!
As for behaving ourselves we're not being bad! We're having fun. :D To quote the Brits, "Nothing wrong with a little slap and tickle." I prefer to call it eye candy. Besides the guys can take it for a change. After all we ladies have had to endure years of that dog and pony show called the Miss America Pageant, and Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue.
Sorry but the first is a dog and pony show. Like women should actually be judged on how they look in a bikini and evening gown, the fact they possess some talent and a college degree? WOW...I'M IMPRESSED! Considering a large part of the population can wear a bikini, and most women have some talent (singing, musical instrument, writing, dancing, artist, etc.) and almost all have a college degree I find it kind of laughable that we're still judged on and judging women on these things. Why aren't men judged this way?

Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue? What's that got to do with sports first off? I don't see them bowling or golfing? Illustrated is right!
Now keep in mind that I'm 5'3" tall. I weigh between 107 and 111 pounds. I have a size 7 foot. Considering a "short" model is 5'10" tall and weighs on average 110 pounds (Heidi Klum at 5'11" complained she weighed 135 after 5 kids) and has a size 10 foot, do you HONESTLY THINK they are as curvy and voluptuous as the magazine makes out?
Welcome to the "illustrated" part! Before they were airbrushed. Now days they're computer generated images. It's called fantasy not reality.

Again women understand this difference.
When I was at Neiman-Marcus before I worked in men's I was at the Lancôme counter. I worked with a girl named Regina. Regina was gorgeous but she was a BIG girl and I don't mean just tall. I mean BIG! Real BIG . She did some modeling for a clothing catalog called B.B.W. (Big Beautiful Women).

I'll tell you what Regina never lacked for a date. Good looking guys were bringing her flowers to the counter! One even brought her a tennis bracelet! She was going out when I was sitting home! I would have given my right arm to go out with some of the guys that showed up just to talk to her! Some had money and some didn't.; they were varied in color and age.
When I asked her what she was doing she told me, "Honey I was named after a Queen and that's what I am. I am all that and a bag of chips too. I look like it, I act like it, I expect to be treated like it and I let them know it. If I'm not treated like the Queen that I am I don't go out with them again. I let them know I have high standards for my self AND for them."
Now that in my eyes is a beautiful, drop dead gorgeous woman.

All the airbrushing and silicone and face creams and capped teeth in the world can't buy what Regina had or an ounce confidence and conviction in one's self and the ability to make others see it. I have made it my mantra since the day Regina told me. It takes practice and sometimes you fake it until you feel it but it works.
My first week on the job as a corrections officer an inmate told me, "As little as you are you take up a lot of space. You don't say nothing but we know you're here." That is perhaps one the greatest compliments ever given me. The dude didn't know my knees were shaking and I could feel sweat running down my spine and I was about ready to pass out. My response was, "As it should be" followed by the 1,000 yard stare that says, "You've been dismissed". I think I creeped him out. He always avoided me.

When it comes to women we understand reality versus fantasy.
At least the guys we look at aren't computer generated. They're real, baby! Sorry men...you got REAL STANDARDS to live up to or beat! Yep...Putin likes to ice bathe with no clothes on, horse back ride with no shirt on, fish with no shirt on, hunt with no shirt on. Sorry, Putin does everything with no shirt on. ...Putin just looks good with no shirt on! I caught a picture of Obama with no shirt on. Guy looks good too! Welcome to my version of "Sports Illustrated". (LOL) :D My version of G.Q. is Putin in a suit, John Hamm in a suit....etc.

If you notice also, real or fictional these men all possess the same level of confidence and conviction in themselves (or at least are capable of acting it). So now you know our secret Jim as to what really turns our heads! And yes...looks don't hurt either. But truly I rather have a confident strong man than a good looking one. Looks don't last forever. Time is rarely kind to any of us. Confidence and the respect it earns never goes away.

Am I right ladies?
Now I know you men can cope with a little reverse sexism from us ladies and let us have some fun!
Ladies you been checking out P.B.S.? If not you're missing some goodies! The Borgia's, Poldark, etc.

Bumbly bees, Bumbly bees...I adore them. I like watching them. I like them a relatively safe distance away from me. We have regular bumble bees and bumble bees that have a red stripe on them. Haven't seen hornets or wasps.
I think they may be native here since we do have a huge variety of flowering plants. Almost all of the Agaves, Aloes, Yuccas and cacti have flowers. Obviously they were designed by nature to attract pollinators. I'm presuming bumble bees along with bats and bugs. My neighbor's Texas Sage bush get's them like crazy as well as our Red bird of paradise (ironic because it is yellow and orange; Mexican bird of paradise is all yellow)

We have olive trees out here. There used to be Walnut trees and Pecans but it seems the farmers have abandoned them. I don't see them grown anymore. We have cotton. Like I said I only saw one apiary...if you can call it that...that had probably 6 or 8 hives max. I think the guy probably did it as a hobby or to make a little money selling some honey. It wasn't a major operation.
It is sad how humans exploit, mismanage, misuse and abuse everything, including humans. Sigh...I could go on and on about it. Essentially I agree with you. Things are where they are in nature for a reason. They thrive best there. It saddens me that some people in suits behind desks don't grasp the idea that because they trash everything perhaps that's the reason things are so hard and now they're in dire straights and have to go to extreme measures or stoop to such exploitations. Like I said I don't think the Human Race has evolved all that far. Darwin is right. We are just better evolved chimps.

As for Mr. Ross and his commas here is a lesson from TTC:

--A comma MAY be used between two independent clauses which are joined by coordinate conjunctions such as: but, or, nor, for, yet, and, so.
"I smoke but I still condemn the tobacco industry.".
--DO NOT use a comma when the words in a series are connected with: or, nor, or and.
"I plan to fish from the pier and catch bass or trout or sunfish."
"I like hamburgers and French fries."
"I neither like spaghetti nor meatballs." (NEVER use "neither" without "nor" or the words "either" without "or" in the same sentence! Personal pet peeve of mine!)

Commas ARE USED to separate words and individual groups of words in a series:
"I plan to fish for trout, bass, walleye, grouper, and perch."
"The bait I use includes kernels of corn, minnows, bacon rind, larva and worms."

Now a semicolon is used to separate GROUPS of words.
"I packed a toothbrush, razor and deodorant; makeup, blow dryer, and under garments; shirts, a jacket and tennis shoes.

So the sentence, "The American flag is red, white, and blue." IS CORRECT. Mr. Ross is profoundly incorrect and erroneous in his thinking and editing. Shame on him and as the editor of the N.Y. Times for basing his decision upon aesthetics rather than the rules of proper grammar used in writing.
I know the rules. I do know how to use them. I don't use them simply because I don't want to. I'm not the editor of the N.Y. Times. When I become so I'm sure I will abide by them accordingly.

Peace. Out.
Agavegirl

I think you folks are talking about the Oxford Comma, red, white, and blue versus red ,white and blue. I use it; I prefer to say red, white, and blue. I forget the fantastic example but there is a fantastic example of why you should use it. OTOH you can just use it as needed!

I think Nadi meant to put on this link:
http://myfridgefood.com/
Why am I suddenly hungry? 
That’s it, Carrie! The Oxford comma. It is like wearing a belt and suspenders most of the time, but it does have its moments as in Ross’s funny example. I followed the Chicago Manual of Style when writing for pay because that was the reference book on most editors’ desks at the time.
Any day now I expect Jim to announce the formation of the Apis Melifera Liberation Movement. I am not worried about my husband’s roving eye since the ladies he most enjoys watching are fuzzy and have wings. I should not tease him today. The poor man had an allergic reaction to an injection he was given in the hip and is not able to sit.
Beth, I would be happy to make you a tomato cake for your party. lol. I forget what a convenience being able to have compost piles and a burn pile for garden debris is.
Yes, Virginia, there is a tomato cake. There are numerous versions in fact. Here’s one.
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/08/30/fresh-tomato-spice-cake/
I should go do something nice to help my old grizzly bear feel better.
k

Let's hear it for superfluous commas!!! :D , , , , , , , , ,

I tried to go back to school years ago in CA and finish my degree. I'll never forget my advance placement writing teacher's favorite comment on my paper. It was, "Superfluous use of commas!"
Every one of my papers had so many x's and o's on it you would have thought it was a football play book. YES...this spiteful butt took the time to either circle the little blank space where one should have gone or put an "X" over where the superfluous ones shouldn't have been.
There was a liberal peppering of words such as: Redundant, Unnecessary, Run on sentence and "Do you know what a semi colon is?" Other little gems were: "Reference cited incorrectly;", "Inappropriate quote.", "Find a better word choice." and "Be more concise."; "What is this?", "Explain relevance.", the phrases grammar or subject-verb agreement.
Then there was the one greatest unsolved mystery of all time ...just a big, huge red "?" over the whole front page of my paper with NO explanation except the words, "Rewrite please"!! Well, since he said, "please."
ARRRRRRRRRH !! Rewrite why? Rewrite what? What was wrong with it? Teeeeell me!! TEEEELLLLL MEEEEEE!!! I already wrote it and rewrote it and rewrote it and wrote it again. WHAT... IS... WRONG..WITH ..IT..NOW? TEEEELLLL MEEEEEEE!
Do you know I wrote that paper six...count 'em, 6 times! The sadistic little &%#$ had the audacity, the nerve, to give me a B and comment, "Acceptable, next time edit more carefully for an A." Edit? Edit? Edit more carefully? Edit......more? I thought I was going to have an aneurism.
I was positively hyperventilating when I saw it. The room was spinning. I could feel the blood pounding in my head and hear ringing in my ears. I was a literal heartbeat away from snatching up that dictionary on his desk and bludgeoning this odious spiteful little man to a pulp with it. I was then going to stab him to death with his red Bic. I'm sure I would have been given a standing ovation from the rest of the class but I didn't want to get blood on my clothes before work. Instead I excused my self from class for the afternoon. (One of his pet-peeves. Drove him bat crap crazy when his students showed up just for their assignments and new writing topics or to collect graded papers and then turned around and walked out.).


So let's hear it for Mr. Ross, J.G.P. , nit-picking to the nth degree and for the hoards of my superfluous commas I and others use so passionately and with wild, reckless abandon while reveling in the pure uninhibited, hedonistic joy of liberally tossing them everywhere on paper we darn well feel like!

I will definitely have to check out www.myfridgefood.com
Some days I just need to use up what's in the kitchen before it goes bad and I flat out refuse to throw out perfectly good food just because it is left over although to be honest I don't want to eat it 4 days in a row.

Sorry to hear Jim isn't feeling good. :( Yucky! Allergic reactions not good! Not being able to sit even worse!
Get a donut. They'll make you feel better. Oh, they also have the rubber donuts you can sit on comfortably :D (LOL) I think you can pick the rubber donuts up at the drug store when you go out to get the donuts that just make you feel good. Both donut shops have a tendency to be in the same plaza.

Peace. Out.
Agavegirl/TTC

I was reading something-or-other today, and it was a perfect example of when the Oxford comma would have come in handy. Sadly, I can't remember it! I was reading along and it hit me and I thought "that's a perfect example -- I have to copy paste that for the kids on the Accessible Gardening Forum!!!" And then it flew out of my head.

Your tomato cake reminds me that I made a cake out of the Joy of Cooking when I was a kid that had a can of tomato soup in it. I think it was called "surprise cake" or something.

Melissa (Kay), speaking of writing for pay, I need to finish another article. Actually there are a bunch that are about 75% done, but unfortunately you can only submit the ones that are at 100% or even 105%. I bid you lovely people farewell. Wish me luck.

Carrie,
Best of luck in regards to getting your articles published and finished. I'm sure they'll be wonderful!
You can always send them to me for prior editing first. I learned from the best! (Big lol) :D
, , , , , ,

Have a great day.
Agave

pic #1 I caught this little chipmunk playing around my cactus and ornament. He was so cute. I didn't get a good photo of him because he was hopping around but his butt is cute anyway. Oh, that is the same little Mr. Chipmunk that wound up meeting Mr. Hawk later. :(

pics #2& 3 The second Pachypodium gaeyii (Madagascar Palm) I put in. What's cool about it is that it is so young and has already sprouted 5 branches. Kind of hard to see in pic 3 but they're there. They usually don't do this until they're much more mature.

pic #4 A pic I took! Rather proud of it. Just thought it interesting and would be cool subject matter to paint someday when I have time

pick #5 My Agave Potarum. Yes the spines and leaves are as sharp as they look!

This message was edited Aug 25, 2015 3:09 AM

Agavegirl sorry, your descriptions / lists of what you could make with my maters didn't really tempt me: my "cooking with tomatoes" is rather plebeian and extremely limited, as I don't like cooked tomatoes (well, I DO like tacos and enchiladas filled with machaca and swimming in a thin tomato-y sauce. . .and spaghetti sauce - tho NOT lasagna). I like my tomatoes fresh and un-Dollyed up, usually in a sandwich (2 of my favorites: cheeseburgers and simple mater sammies) but I also like to make fresh salsa for my tortilla chips. :D lol

proper usage of the English language: that depends on WHICH version of the English language you use (British or American) and WHICH writing style is used / acceptable for the target audience. There IS a minor but important differencwe in spelling between the Brits and the Colonials, but the chief guidelines of the style manual usually addresses this.

Bottom line: the key to good writing is to write considering the audience! My last workplace had a shelf devoted solely to the style manuals for the different publishments. Yes, it was a pain to have to keep changing our writing styles, but the end goal was for our article to be published in that specific media. . . and it had standards that had to be met by all prospective publishers!

Bets,

Send my old A.P.. writing professor a copy of ANYTHING and I'll bet he'll find 900 errors in it. That's just how the dude was. He thought because he worked as an editor at Double Day Publishing at some past point in his past and was a journalist at the L.A. Times he was "God". The guy was just a PITA!

I do agree with you about writing to your audience. If you're writing a book for 5 year olds you're not going to use the word "behemoth". You'll say "real big". The actual mechanics and structure of writing, however, doesn't change. Punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc.

Yes there are variations among us and the U.K. (color vs. colour; tomato vs tomatoe, etc.) In German all proper nouns are capitalized. It isn't, " I went to the store with mom and dad.". The German would be, "I went to the store with Mom and Dad. ".

No matter what being able to write well is an art. We're all smart and edumacated...or is it edusamacated; is it edumascated? Oh well, it's nice to know we're all talking to intelligent people isn't it? I count my self lucky I can converse with individual who know what commas are! Refreshing change isn't it? :D

Is it tomatoes only you don't like cooked or has the tried and true recipes and your favorite comfort foods been more of a success?
I couldn't imagine not going into the kitchen and trying to whip up something new or not giving into the curiosity of some bizarre foreign food. I know certain cuisines don't appeal to a lot of people. I know a lot of people who don't like Mexican or Chinese etc.
I'm not a fan of a lot of fried foods, squash-beans-zucchini (all tastes like mush when cooked), I avoid potatoes 90% of the time, I like corn on the cob but hate it almost any other way or things made with it. I don't like kale, collard greens, and hate spinach when it is cooked. Don't mind it when it is raw. I don't do "parts" (kidney's, livers, menudo, chitlens, etc. Why eat this? There's "meat". )
I despise salad dressing in any way, shape or form (makes me literally gag), Can't stand the smell of vinegar (gag again). I have a hard time eating out when people get "strong smelling" dressings on their salad like Italian or Caesar use just o & v.
I substitute lemon juice for almost any vinegar unless I'm baking and vinegar is required then I'll use it. Mayonnaise, sour cream, guacamole, Dijon mustard and most condiments disgust me. Although I pour A-1 on French fries when I have them. A-1 is basically my ketchup. Hate black pepper. I use the red Cayenne pepper instead in everything.
But I'll eat and make so many different things. I've got spices and bottles of stuff out the yin-yang. My mom acts like eating a taco is the most exotic thing in the world. Having Chinese for her is off the charts and it is ALWAYS the same thing; Moogogaipan. It was a rarity if she made a "new" recipe for dinner. She was a "tried and true" dish person. Food was fantastic. Got most of my recipes from her. It just got redundant and stale after awhile.

Isn't taste and taste buds a funny thing?

I think I'm very cosmopoltan in my tastes, these days, but I don't actually like stuff I didn't already like when I was in my twenties. That's not terribly cosmopolitan of me, though. In other words, I haven't learned to like anything recently.

On the other hand, I am only JUST recovering from the loss of appetite that came from the pleural effusion. (I think there's a concommitant loss of energy from not having enough calories to burn.) I managed to eat an entire tiny bowl of cereal for breakfast today and yesterday. Then I devoured my caprese salad (with balsamic vinaigrette, thank you). This is huge! For almost a month I had been having half of a bite and then saying "no, thank you" to the meal. It's a bad way to lose a lot of weight in a hurry, although I did lose 12 pounds. I managed to keep going on Cokes, which is not a good thing to drink if you're going to pick only one thing.

I like citrus and I like ginger. I like nuts, almost any nut (including peanuts, which are legumes), including coconut. I like seeds (sesame, sunflower, et al) and I like raw vegetables (although not broccoli, which I think should be cooked). I mean I like celery, peppers (green, red, yellow), I like tomatoes, I like lettuce, I like carrots....I can't think of any more but it's probably just late afternoon torpor.

HI Carrie,
Still not eating much? Bummer :( Want me to write out some more dinner menus and make you hungry? (LOL) Coke shouldn't be your only sustenance. But then again I won't lecture since their is either a Diet Coke or a Coke Zero permanently adhered to my palm. O.K....maybe I'll lecture a little because I eat. My meds deplete my appetite too but I just force a few forkfuls down here and there. I try every meal to eat at least 6 -10 forkfuls. If I do that then I do good. It's weird I can feel and hear my stomach rumble but I don't want to eat or get full very, very quickly.

Like you, I lose weight too fast and too much. I've been maintaining and the Dr. been pleased with me for this. I used to dive into food and at times over eat if something was goooood. Now I have to sit there and count the bites I take. Maybe that's why cooking got to be a hobby. I figured if it was good enough I'd eat it.

And yes...you can eat your Caprese salad any way you like it...just not in the same room with me. (LOL). Seriously though it isn't even the taste it's those smells. Something about "smells" get me and I don't know why. It isn't with just food either it is with everything that "smells" or I think "smells" offensive. Weird. I attribute it to that Epilepsy thing kind and the fact I can "taste" everything now too and how I zoom in and get focused on color and pattern and design. Oh, well.

I pretty much everything you listed; and yes I like broccoli it doesn't matter to me raw or cooked although if cooked it must be very lightly steamed. Again it is one of those vegetables like spinach that if it gets OVER cooked just takes on a nasty flavor, ugly color and horrible texture.

From your list of ingredients you got going up there sounds like you can make a great stir fry.
Add some peanuts and maybe some shrimp or a little bit of chicken (Kung Pao dishes have peanuts) ) and you got dinner!
Quite tasty and nutritious and probably better calories than a coke. Also it's good cold! :D
Do you love cold Chinese food?

I have to confess I haven't added as many new taste experiences to my 40s as I did in my 20s and 30s but I'm still trying. I adopted a new fast food place...finally! I was a McDonald's junkie forever if I had to have fast food. Now it is Whataburger. Makes me wonder what I was eating at Mc.D's (although they do have the best fries) . Still loyal to Taco Bell.
I also learned how to make more Mexican food.
Outside of that I've been pretty food limited lately. I need to get back into trying 3 new dishes a month like I used to. It just when it is 108 nobody wants to have the oven on or every pot on the stove going. I shouldn't use the heat as my excuse for being stunted in the culinary creativity department.

Only a few more days of those and then it will finally cool down! Yippee. (103 -99).

Talk to you later.
EAT!
Hugs,
Agave

Thanks, you all gave me another possibility to explore. I slept all night and all day again. Perhaps, I am simply not eating enough for the work I am doing. I do not feel hungry, but that may not be a reliable indicator in my case. It came as a surprise at the hospital in January when the ER doctor told me I was dehydrated and they needed to keep me a few days to pump me full of fluids. I was not thirsty then either and drinking all they wanted me to was hard.
If it is something so simple better I discover it for myself than sit through the lectures of a doctor half my age. Protein is probably the place to start. I have been a vegetarian in the past and would probably still be one if it were not for Nadi and Jim. I do not eat much meat and I have not been doing the careful food combining one has to do to be a healthy vegetarian. Protein deficiency is virtually unheard of in this country, but a semi-vegetarian diet is probably not the best choice for a person lugging around 40 lb. bags of soil and 80 lb. bags of Portland cement. None of the vegetarians I know are in heavy labor jobs. There may be a good reason for that.

Let me know well ahead of time if you decide to come for a visit, Agave, I will air out the house. We use distilled white vinegar as a cleaner and disinfectant in the bathrooms and kitchen. One of our heart and hearth children would only use natural cleaning products and we got into the habit of buying those for cleaning. That is also how the scent for the bathrooms came to be evergreen (pine and cedar) and the scent for the kitchen came to be citrus. They worked well with the cleaning products. Could it be sharp smells you dislike? People seem to either love or hate those. Musky is the class of scents that make me wrinkle my nose. Jim had a ferret while we were dating, she was adorable, but I disliked her smell. Ferrets are not in the rodentia family, but they certainly smell like rodents. Musky must bother other people too because there is a product called Ferret Fresh on the market. It allowed me to keep Marnie, the ferret, while Jim was TDY in the Middle East. If only musky scents were limited to animals. Jim is looking forward to the flowering of the night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum). I wish I still had some Ferret Fresh around to spray the shrub with.
If males, as a general biological rule, have a less developed sense of smell than women, why do they dominate the fragrance industry?
A big part of what we think of as taste is actually smelled. Hold your nose while you eat something and you will see how much is actually smell. The Japanese say there are only five tastes. They are salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami (a pleasant savory taste). Everything else is smell and eating with the eyes. That may be part of your eating issue, Carrie. I seem to remember you saying your sense of smell was not very strong. That would diminish some of the pleasure of eating. Try tempting yourself with something raspberry. Isn’t raspberry one of your favorite scents? It is coming into raspberry season.
Unbelievably, I want to go back to bed and sleep until 5-o-clock. A.M. this time. Sweet dreams, Everyone.
k*

Good Morning everyone. Been busy so got late start on computer.
Hi Kay.
Would love to visit! Always love a change of scenery and any place near water
Kind of ironic considering I live in a land locked state and a desert! (LOL) I'm not a swimmer but water is my sanctuary. The beach. The tub and my hot bubble baths). The hot tub when I have access to one. Even spells in a sauna (usually my bathroom from hot baths). I can't get enough of aquariums and sea life/creatures. Absolutely spell bound by them. Maybe it's my "thing"/fixation with shapes, colors and textures?
It gets embarrassing and awkward sometimes. People think I'm staring at them or being weird. I'm not. I just "zoom in" on something they're wearing, or maybe a pattern I see in their socks, or a color of nail polish, or visually find my eyes tracing the vein in their hand or the wave/texture of their hair and I fixate a bit on it fascinated by it. I try to train my self not to do this around or to people.
Not that there's anything unusual, wrong or extraordinary about it or them. It is just this "thing" I got going. It makes people uncomfortable sometimes and I always have to explain which makes me feel weird. (eye roll, sigh)
Fish and plants and animals and artwork don't mind if I stare or get fixed on them. :D

As for smells not quite sure if it is just strong or sharp or what. It wasn't there before the Epilepsy and I've often wondered if it has something to do with the meds although it hasn't changed with the amount I take or different ones. I just think something in my brain got turned on while something else got turned off.

I love the smell of garlic when cooking but sometimes it just becomes GARLIC...then I don't like it.

Picking up after the dog never used to bother me. Uhm...we'll just skip that reaction now.
Stale, stagnant "dead" smells that hover around unmoving water bother me. If it is a fresh smell from a pond, river or lake fine. But you know what I'm talking about when I say that "dead smell" they can get?

I don't mind musky smells but the scent of musk its self used in perfume I don't like. I don't like patchouli oil either or cloying sticky sweet scents like vanilla (although I like the taste of vanilla and very sweet smelling flowers).

I don't mind Earthy smells for some reason. Actually I like the scent of grass and straw and hay, outdoorsy things. (Hysterical considering I have allergies). I like the scent of woods, fall leaves, rain, salt air, humidity, "moist wet" days.I don't like anything musty/moldy/rotten around but I don't find it repulsive unless it is really rotten, decaying and stinking.

I don't know, I like ginger and citrus and other sharp cents but something about vinegar and black pepper specifically bugs me.

A lot of chemicals and cleaners don't bother me. I actually LIKE the smell of hair dyes and perm solutions and don't mind the nail shops.

I'll be outside working and then come in. My husband claims I'm dirty and need a shower but I don't smell. I claim I'm dirty and I CAN smell myself. I smell like livestock! How can anyone not smell this?

I don't shop in certain stores. I'll like the way one grocery store smells but not the other although they're both equally clean and have the same demographics and merchandise. One could even be "dirtier" or carry less or even be higher priced but if it smells better I'll go there. I'll go out of my way to go to a different mall, Home Depot, Target, McDonalds, etc. for the same reason.

What do you call this? It's like I only have two scents. Really pleasant or Ewwww literally makes me sick to the point of avoiding it.
Its just so weird!

Never fear about a visit from me.
I don't have anyone work around me in regards to it. I just kind of work around it.
Have can of Fresh Scent Lysol. Will travel. :D
I'll send you some for that night blooming jasmine.

Now for the health lecture:

No protein is bad! Doesn't necessarily have to be meat. There is milk, cheese, eggs, fish, shrimp, all shell fish, tofu, beans and nuts and seeds and dark leafy greens. I know vegetarians have varying degrees of strictness but if you have health issues and ones that cause weakness and/or muscle loss sometimes flexibility needs to come in. B12 is imperative! I can't stress it enough! That is probably the most important protein you can ever have.

Without it your whole body will shut down if deprived long enough. It was happening to me.
Even in perfect healthy "normal" persons severely low levels can and will cause muscle loss, fatigue, sleepiness, constipation, broken splitting and peeling weak nails, hair that falls out (I lost quite a bit), loss of the last half of your eye brows (me), irritability, moodiness, irrational emotions, aggressiveness, loss of appetite, Hypo/Hyper thyroidism, unusual weight gain or loss; SEIZURES, ATAXIA, and yes eventually ...cause mental faculties to break down!

My regular M.D. told me I wasn't his only severely B12 deprived patient. He had others whose levels were so low they were having seizures when they weren't Epileptic and one was so bad off he was ready for a one way trip to the nut hut! It was no surprise to the doctor. While B12 deficiency is most prevalent in vegetarians especially strict ones,it isn't uncommon in "regular" eaters.
He wasn't surprised when my CMP (comprehensive medical panel 13 blood test) showed it. Bare minimum to function like a human is 250ML/pg. My level was at 280ML/pg! Optimal level is 380-450 range.

If you at a 350Ml/pg or lower range start taking B12! Although not AMA defined deficient you most likely have symptoms and/or some problems associated with a deficiency. What's scary is 30% of the country is B12 deficient and doesn't know it! YIKES!!! (Explains all the nuts we got walking around today?)

High dose B12 is easy to get. It's in the drug store. Comes in liquid or tablets (sublingual.. and tastes yummy because they have cool fruit flavors). You can also get shots but why? Ouch! It's super cheap. I get a buy one get one free for $12.00 and it lasts me a month.
It is a maintenance drug though. If you're B12 deficient then you're B12 deficient your whole life. Your body can't absorb or process B12 naturally from food. You have to take vitamin B12 pills/liquid. Big whoop.

From the foods we all seem to like, things like soups or Thai and Chinese foods, Fajitas which are grilled veggies and minimal meat/chicken or seafood, beef or fish tacos would work.

Hydration...well won't preach there since Diet Coke/Coke Zero is an appendage when it comes to me and it is high in sodium. But if you can, fruit juice with no sugar/HFC added; waters (I like San Pellegrino or Perrier). Club soda or seltzer. (mix with fruit juice) :D
Fresh squeezed lime or lemon ades!
Ice teas. (Peach iced tea is one of my favorites)
Coffee (lattes...Mmmm)!
Teas!

So that is the lecture from TTC today on medicine & health!

Hugs to all.
Peace. Out.
Agave


This message was edited Aug 26, 2015 9:58 AM

By the way,
thinking of mold (above mention brought it to mind) how is that poor little prickly pear doing?
They like sun and heat! Love it. One of the few plants that sucks up 108 degree days and thrives. Is it in the ground or potted? Is it moldy on just a few pads or all over? It probably can be saved.

Agave, I saw a meme on Facebook that said "a video game where all you do is take care of succulents" and I had to copy it for you! Haven't read all of these posts.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/67770/there-video-game-where-you-just-take-care-succulents

Wow....that's not a video game that's my life.
Do they have one for needy dog and overly dependent spouse? Speaking of which it is time for me to go make dinner. I'll definitely check it out and report back though! Should be interesting!
Hugs,
Agave

I didn't click (I know nothing about succulents or video games and was in a rush), although I was very excited about bringing it over! Does a cactus count as a succulent? I guess not; that's more like a jade plant.

I was thinking about my daughter (whose 25th birthday was yesterday) and I remembered that I got her a cactus once. She has ADD; would forget her own name if it wasn't such a common name. I kept getting her easy-care house plants and she kept forgetting to water them and thus, killing them. Finally I got her a cactus, figuring that could stand it if she forgot to water it. Figures; she remembered to water that poor cactus EVERY SINGLE DAY. It died too, of course.

Good Morning! :D
Thanks for the video game. It's cute. I checked it out. I down loaded it. Not a whole lot of high power energy but relaxing and cute. Pick your pot and "name it", pick your succulent/s, can pay a few pennies more for special ones, plant them. You decide how often/when to water. If you over water they die, etc. Really amusing.
Little snail that circles the rim of the pot. Just watched the demo but didn't play. Husband's ready to choke me as it is. I've been monopolizing computer and haven't got the office cleaned/organized as promised (eye roll, sigh). Need to do that first! Have been taking half hearted stabs at it though.

It is "clean". You know me. It is just disorganized. House sold in 10 days! We had to FIND a home AND move. Needless to say things like "office stuff" kind of got tossed in boxes, and desk drawers, etc. Still have a pile 'o junk to shred, etc. Files need better organized and cleaned out. Still got chaos going in 1 closet (sigh).

So, it will be a little before I sit down to a video game. BUT...I did down load it. (*grin*). Also been manically taking care of the garden since it has been Summer; helping my 81 year old neighbor with hers; had a writing gig that I didn't expect (WOW!), and my MeetUp group has suddenly taken off.Do you guys know the MeetUp.com "find your people website" web site? NO not the over 50 dating one or religious one, etc. It's the "find your people" one. Since I have time for this, I no longer have an excuse for the office or closet...sigh. I guess laziness and/or "I can find it" doesn't count as a legitimate excuse right?

O.K. Carrie, as for cacti versus succulents here's what I remember......

Cacti are cacti. Succulents are succulents. ALL cacti are succulents BUT not all succulents are cacti. Does that sound like Dr. Seuss?

Cacti are cacti in that they are native ONLY to the all of the Western hemisphere and Western coast line and parts of the desert. (Desert is any arid region...not necessarily hot.) Alaska and Canada and South America all have native cacti that can live in the cold!
Outside of this Western hemisphere/coast line and desert areas (me) there are NO "native" cacti anywhere else. So if you see them in landscapes, or in European gardens (Italy/Spain,etc.) They are not native plants.

Succulents, like the Jade plant, Semperviums, Sedums, and all those cute little ones you see in rock and container gardens are not natives of where the cacti grow. Most of these will meet swift and sudden death out here unless babied! Yes they like light and "warmth" but they don't like heat and laser beam sun. Thus they fry and die.(Voice of personal experience speaking...oh and repeated attempts to resuscitate with water results in black sticky goo.)

Most of these are mild climate U.S. or Mediterranean climate type of plants. I'm not sure where they are all natives of. Maybe I'm wrong but I haven't heard of too many surviving frosts or wintering outdoors successfully. Cacti can up to a point and it can be possible to get them to regenerate if frost bitten if the roots aren't rotten and most of the plant is alive. Some cacti are designed to live part-time in cold climates. (Our Saguaros live up in the mountains where it snows. They're happy.) No succulent is really designed for frost or below temperatures that I know of. I could be wrong.

Both are survivor plants capable of storing water for a long time. They both have plump fleshy stems and leaves. They both store juice or sap and water in their flesh which is part of the reason why they're plump. You can see it in succulents by looking at them. (aside from the "rock garden" variety, think Aloe Vera Plant.)
As for cacti that's what all the rows and pleats are for. They store water in them and it expands plumps up when full and when it dries out and gets really water depleted the pleats contract and their flesh gets a "shrively" look. They cacti pleats work like an accordion. They have this expanding/contracting thing going on.
Cacti and succulents are both survivor plants but use different means. (color, spines, branches, hair, shape, textures, how they taste to animals, poisons, etc.).

The one super distinguishing feature and the whole reason succulents ARE NOT cacti is because they have NO areoles.
When you look at any cactus there's a little round "dot/spot" from which the needle protrudes (most easy to see on pole or Saguaro cacti). Out of this grows the cactus spines, branches, hair, prickly pear pads, and sometimes flowers (like the picture of the little round cacti that bloomed for me).
Succulents do not have these areoles. So this is why succulents are not cacti but why all cacti are succulents! (There's something also about their root systems being different also and I can't remember.)

Main point is NO areoles = no cacti; yes succulent
It HAS areoles = yes cacti
BECAUSE cacti meet all the succulent requirements + having areoles. All cacti are succulents.
Succulents are succulents but are - the areoles. All succulents are not cacti.

So putting it all together: Cacti are cacti. Succulents are succulents. All cacti are succulents BUT not all succulents are cacti! So said the cactus in the hat!

In regards to either one it is always better to under water than over water! When in doubt let the soil dry out 100% then give it some.

So that was the wonderful mini tutorial I learned about cacti and info I gathered through plant homicides.

As for Aloes, Agaves and others most (not all) of those are natives of Africa and Mexico. I'd have to check on the AZ/Sonoran desert native ones. Truly AZ's "native" plants are really unexciting: Saguaros, barrels, prickly pear, hedge hogs, century plant, Joshua Trees, Mesquite & Palo Verde trees and a few other shrubs.
I'd have to check but I think most of the "pole types" of cacti come from Mexico. I know the pine cone cactus is from South America. I'm not sure if palms are natives. I'm thinking they may be. I don't know about our "Red" Bird of Paradise (which is actually yellow and orange). I'm thinking Yuccas are native of Mexico but maybe here too. Like I said our list of "natives" aren't real exciting. All the cool stuff we have is from somewhere and just grown here in a similar climate to their native places. :D
It makes it challenging. Weather and climate has changed so much also. It isn't like it used to be or what we were used to a decade ago or what the plant was evolutionarily engineered for even though this is "supposed to be" the same native climate. It isn't anymore. Our climate and weather pattern in the U.S. has changed where as maybe Mexico's and Africa's hasn't shifted as much.
A lot of us S.W. gardeners have been having problems with sun damage on our normally sun loving/tolerant plants and have been using shade screens and tents to protect them. I've had to rethink a lot of the types of plants I want to put in my yard to avoid plant homicides and throwing away money!

Tell your A.D.D. child not to feel too bad. I've had my share of plant homicides (eye roll) :[ I have a tendency to love them to death and kill them with kindness (too much sun and/or water). They're not as easy to grow as you would think.
If you're looking for something fun and relatively easy try Aloe Vera. A.V. is a great indoor or outdoor plant that loves the sun and warmth and can take a watering once a week if moderate; not a drenching every day!(Also if you use a leaf take the whole leaf not just part. It will keep in the fridge although it will change color from being cooler it is fine.) Most likely since you're in MA you'd probably want to keep it potted indoors.
It grows fast. It'll do great in pots in sunny rooms/green houses with strong light and good heat. They can be taken outside in Summer. They make good window sill plants (winter move them out of the window; it gets cold/drafty).
They like humidity NOT getting rained on constantly. They can take occasional over waterings (occasional....not drenchings; not watered every day). They can stand periods of some drought (not indefinite/eternal).
They grow relatively fast, and are easy to care for and reproduce quickly making "pups" on the side of them. When about half the size of mom you can take them and pot them on their own for a whole new plant or just let them keep spreading out next to mom and let the plant get "bushy".
If potted use a pot with drainage holes! The roots aren't super deep and they can root rot easily. Use cactus soil and mix in some pumice and some pebbles for drainage and to prevent root rot.
She just may have fun with this one since A.V. does grow fast and thus are rewarding. They also flower when mature! :D They're also really cool to watch inside as they grow and the arms unfold. Basically an unfussy plant. Not sure I it is poisonous to any house pets. Please check on that one! Mine are outdoors and Zoe has shown no interest in them.

Hugs,
Peace. Out.
TTC (yes cactus & succulent) :D

That was about 5-6 years ago that she killed that cactus. Now she has an apartment and two dogs and lots of plants. (Even I don't have lots of plants indoors!) She even washed her plants with insecticidal soap because they have aphids or mites or something. She thinks I'm a really good gardener but she's wrong. I've read lots of books and websites but I can't actually grow anything inside.

But she is truly a different generation from me. She gets most of her information online, and follows it to the letter, the way we used to do with recipes and dress patterns. I think I have always taken recipes and instructions as suggestions, though.

The first time Nadi preps a new recipe; she follows it to the letter. By the fourth or fifth time she makes the dish, it may not bear much resemblance to the recipe she started with.

Yay, I can sit up again. I’ll buy Kay the liquid B12. I would not wish injections on anyone. No one is coming near me with a hypodermic any time soon. I can’t believe this. I bet I had close to 100 injections in my lifetime including risky ones like gamma globulin. The military once gave those before sending a soldier into high risk areas. I never had a problem. This one was routine and I’ve had it before. For a day or two it hurt worse than the back surgery. I’ll never be nonchalant about injections again.

My Lady of the Night isn’t blooming yet, but I’m still out on the deck huffing sweet air. The Mexican tuberose and deep sea crinums are blooming at the same time. It’s the first time that has ever happened. Smells like the perfume counter at Neiman-Marcus. A double helping of nose candy and I don’t gain an ounce. Someone posted a comment on the tuberose page of PlantFiles describing them as “Gardenias on a stick.” Kay describes tuberoses as gardenias all grown up and wearing a little black dress and spike heels…whatever that means. The variety of crinum blooming has a haunting sweetness. The two scents don’t clash at all. That is something we have to think about with this many fragrant plants growing in a relatively small area. Bloom times have been off this year, but we have been lucky so far. I wish I could capture the scent and send it to everyone like a postcard. It’s relatively cool and there is a soft breeze churning the two fragrances. It’s so peaceful.

We must have missed a bulb when we were moving bulbs and perennials closer to the house. I found the crinum growing in a wild area. It is doing so well there I decided to leave it and plant some wildflowers to compliment it. There is a white yarrow growing nearby and I like the contrast between the long, wide , strappy foliage of the crinum lily and the ferny foliage of yarrow. I have seeds for some pastel colored yarrows. I will ask Nadi to plant them there tomorrow. Many perennials do best here planted in the fall.

I’ll let Kay write about the native cacti and agave. I would have to look up all those plant names. Kay carries them around in her head. Enough sitting for now. Catch all of you later.

(Jim)

Photo: Deep Sea Crinum

Hello all. This enforced idleness is NOT making this blood clot situation better! True, the original ones are getting smaller and 2 have completely been resolved BUT...3 more have appeared! So , net-wise, that's plus one!!

I guess when I see the vein specialist next week, he'll be proposing the next level to deal with this problem. Hoppefully, it won't be as BORING!!! and long as this is. . . . but be much, much! more effectivce!!

Beside thinking deviolishly about ways to demolish my Tomato Jungle at the end of their season, I've been idly planning next year's plantings . . . . AND deciding which tomato plants will be in my Tomato Jungle next year!

Cacti and succulents I think I remember another major difference: their method of photosynthesis (carbon fixing,) I think cacti are C4 plants, while succulents are C2 , , , depending on times of respiration and physical changes to accomodate that difference. It's pretty hazy for me from there on.

Are the northern neighbors leaving y'all alone now?? I think it was a wise (and delishishly, devilishly counter offensive) proposal to casually bring them & their bizarre activities to the attention to the Post Office and the local constabulary!!!

ADD child My MIL gave me my first plant (some kind of hanging down plant), which I neglected to water regularly. On one of her visits, she "rescued" this almost dead thing, took it home and nursed it back to health. . .and kindly declined to return it or give me any more plants!! My next plant (several years later) was a Venus Fly Trap; I reasoned that I was being kind to put it outside next to the garbage dumpster where it could eat alot of flies. . . .it gorged itself and died!! My THIRD plant (aagain after several years) was one of those cute spiny little cacti in a little pretty pot; I triumphiantly thought THIS was MY kind of plant that I couldn't kill with irregular watering or over-feeding! It promptly died of fright!!! Between then and now, with my thriving gardens and Tomato Jungle,its been several decades before I got brave and advenureous enough to attempt green, growing things!

Wow, Beth, so you didn't overwater your cactus, you frightened it to death? Interesting.

Good morning all. :D
Hi Jim. Wise cactus and I are glad to hear your back is feeling so much better. I'm with you. I'm a big baby when it comes to shots. Hate them. Funny though. Don't mind acupuncture in the least and they've used some pretty big needles on me. I guess it is all in the way it is done and where they're putting it. I'm a strong believer in acupuncture. It has helped me a lot with flexibility and muscle problems. I'm a virtual Gumby. My husband calls me a freak because Pilates was never hard for me to master even in the beginning. Having direct access to Chinese, Korean, and Japanese areas was a coup while I lived in L.A.

I believe in acupuncture simply because it was invented, practiced, and used for treatment long before Western medicine ever was. Ever look at their Physiology charts of the human body that correspond to it? They're not quacks. Amazingly they knew this stuff and could map it out while we were still using leaches and bleeding people and not taking baths regularly. Acupuncture is worth looking into. Only problem with it is because this country is so limited in it's thinking in regards to medicine and thinks the only thing that works are pills and cutting you open, most insurance does not/will not cover it. It is a cash only thing if you want it.

Had a great doctor in Korea town. Practiced both Eastern and Western medicine and always asked you which one you wanted today! I had a beast of a sinus infection one time so I tried Eastern out of curiosity. Guy mixed together a bunch of "stuff"..I dunno...and made "tea" for me to take home. Knocked that sucker right out after 5 days. By the 2nd I was feeling better. By the 3rd I had almost no symptoms. By the 5th I was done with my "tea" and there were no remaining symptoms. I was cured. Beats 10 days of antibiotics and the impending doom and dread of the ensuing side effects (I'll let your wife tell you about antibiotics and women).

Only bad thing..UGGGGGH! EWWWWW! YUCK! All the sugar and lemon in the world couldn't make this stuff palpable. The best possible description I can give of it is that it looked, smelled and tasted the way I imagine wet, muddy, rotting tree bark could. Probably what he used (LOL). Uhm...we'll skip descriptions of the amazing mucous, kidney and bowel clearing capabilities of this stuff. Let's just say you better have no social plans for 2 days. Never, ever felt better in my life or since though AND the sinus infection was long gone.

Speaking of body functions...B12, forgot to tell you...perfectly normal thing happens. Your urine becomes some kind of super charged fluorescent yellow!
Nothing to panic or worry over. Nothing is wrong. Everything is normal. It is just what high dose B12 does that isn't absorbed by the body does when it gets released by the kidneys. "Normal" people who can process B12 don't have this issue. For those of us on B12 that put it into us via pills/liquids some of it doesn't get fully metabolized and thus comes out this way. That's why they recommend super high doses so the majority of it does get metabolized and used by your body. Nothing to get excited or worried about. It is just odd when you see your urine this color. After awhile the color should taper off or stop or sometimes stop-start again when your body gets used to the dose or metabolizes it more efficiently. It is also impossible to o.d. on B12 for this reason too. Body simply flushes out what isn't needed.

I've been using Nature's Bounty brand. It is their Sublingual Liquid Super Strength Energy Metabolism Formula B12 at 5,000mcg. Has dropper with a marker already on it for the right dose. Squeeze the dropper cap top into the liquid, unscrew from the bottle, deposit dose under the tongue, wait 30 seconds, swallow. All done. Repeat tomorrow.
There's tablets too. There's some at 3,000 and 1,500 pg. For some reason I don't think these dissolve as well and the dose is lower. I'll take 2. I don't know Kay's B12 level or how much she needs but she will find her energy and metabolism shift to "more"! She should be feeling much better after 30-60 days if not sooner.

Glad to hear Nadine is a "chef" and not a "cook". Cooks follow recipes. Chef's own them! They master them and then make them uniquely theirs by putting their own signatures and twists on them. Wait until she starts "experimenting" and making up her own recipes or dissecting things she's eaten in restaurants and trying to recreate them. :D
Oh, you're in for a treat then. I'll give you Whataburger's phone number. (LOL)

Your Deep Sea Crinum is lovely. It would be nice to have flowers here that lasted a little longer than a few days or a month. Not to mention that smells of sweet things. Ahh...that lovely perfume. Know just what you're talking about and no bottled fragrance ever captures it. Besides I don't mind sneezing if there's some kind of reward like a pretty scent in the air. Here, all I do is sneeze just because the pollen is blowing around on a breeze and nothing else!

Gardenias, Tuberose I know. I'm not familiar with the Lady of the night and the Deep Sea Crinum. Two of my favorites though were always Peony and Star Gazer Lily. Whenever they have Star Gazers in the grocery store floral I'll buy them. Lilly of the Valley I love also but I'll never see them here. They used to grow wild in Ohio. I'd pull up bunches and plant them at home. Iris is another favorite of mine. Some have a scent. Lilac trees! See what you started now! I can't have these here. They'd die in a second. :[
I never was a huge fan of roses.The only ones I really like are pure white (not cream) long stem ones. They're hard to come by. I like the look of roses in general and don't turn them down when given but never was a huge oooh and ahhh person over a bouquet of roses. I'm not a huge fan of them in the yard either. I just don't like the thorns, the fuss growing them, the constant pruning, the beetles they're prone to.

I've come to appreciate our flowers though. They're rare but when they do appear they're breath taking. Huge spots of wild color in the desert. You've seen some of the ones I've posted of the cacti. Spectacular, unique and awe inspiring as the variety of cacti, aloes and agaves themselves. There's such a variety of colors and shapes and sizes of blooms too. The way these clever plants go about doing it is fascinating especially in an environment where you would think flowering would be impossible. It really is quite a show. They flower on stalks and stems and branches that are as freaky as the plant. I guess the "eye candy" side show makes up for the lack of "nose candy".

Pic #1 Aloe ferox and it's magnificent red plumes (each plume is made up of tiny red tube flowers ). It is a huge humming bird magnet. The color of the plant and the teeth on the leaves are gorgeous! One of my favorites here!

Pic #2 & #3 Century plant. Lives approximately 30-40 years. Grows that stalk only 1 time in it's entire life! Does it right before it dies :{ All those little "pad" things growing off the arms of the stalk are individual tubular flowers that have nectar for humming birds. When the plant its self dies it falls over and uproots. Seeds loosen. It isn't a small plant! It gets about the height of a 2 story house! It reproduces by making little babies right next to it and they spread! The mother plant "sits" over them to protect them until she dies and then usually there's about 90 "pups"/babies under it!

Pics #4 #5. My little cactus. Just wanted to show you the size of the flower stalk and flower in comparison to the actual cactus. The little cactus is about 2 inches tall and about 4 around in diameter. The stem was about 5 or 6 inches long and the flower about 5-6 inches across.

Like I said, plant freak show! I'll take some of the Ocotillos when they bloom. Really cool plant!

Peace. Out.
Agave/TTC

Hi Bets,
Didn't mean to neglect you. You came in as I was writing and I saw that when I finished my post. I'll get with you later. I've monopolized enough here. But did want to say I hope your leg feels better today and very soon.
Talk to you soon.
Agave.

Beth, all is quiet on the northern front. Nadi mowed the “road” today without an audience.
Those are not good results for the “work” you are doing. Jim thinks the being still work of healing is harder than the other kind.

There is only one botanical name one has to remember to talk about native cacti in this area. Opunctia (prickly pear) is it. All the native cacti of the coastal scrub land are varieties of prickly pear. Georgia cholla is actually Opunctia humifusa x puscilla. Only three kinds of agave are native to Florida and none are the showier varieties. (I reference Florida because we have more in common with N. Florida as regards soil and climate, than we do the fertile black belt of Alabama. I assume the humid conditions with its accompanying plant diseases shorten the life span of agaves. Local gardeners jokingly call agaves Decade plants instead of Century plants. A life span of 6 to 15 years is average. They do not reach the impressive size here they do in the southwest.
The cacti with powdery mildew Jim was worried about is a small, volunteer stand of Opunctia humifusa, low prickly pear or, commonly, devil’s tongue. I call them common prickly pear because as far as I know, they are the widest ranging. I have seen them as far north as coastal Connecticut and as far west as Oklahoma. I am told they grow even further northwest. Calling a plant “common” is probably a path to confusion. I imagine the Noppals variety (Opunctia cacanapa (Ellisian) is most COMMON in the southwest? It grows for us, but it is not one of the native Opunctia.
The low prickly pear is native to the dry grassland. It does fine in those conditions. The problem is they often pop up in other terrain. The fruits are very seedy. Turtles are fond of the fruit and turtles are messy eaters. . Curing Jim’s cactus will just be a matter of cutting off the infected pads and moving it to dry grassland. The windswept northeast corner will be perfect. In fact, I would like to add some of the more visually attractive Opunctia and yucca to that area. Devil’s tongue is only showy when it is in flower, but Opunctia aestavalis has steely blue-green pads with touches of lavender at the base and Opunctia stricta has elongated pads that lay flat in the winter and stand up in summer. Jim wants to encourage prickly pear at Amargia because the honeybees swarm them when they flower and they do not need supplemental watering. We need to wean the land from the water hose while maintaining good groundcover to prevent erosion. With the exception of the trunk-forming variety, the native Opunctia are relatively small with heights from 8 inches to a couple of feet. A few imported cacti from families other than Opunctia such as chainlink cholla will grow in the ground , but for the most part homesick Okies grow cacti in pots with overhead protection from rain. We probably have more cacti in this immediate area than is usual for the region because there are so many Oklahoma transplants. Okies are more accepting of cacti including the ubiculous prickly pear.
Succulents do much better here than cacti. We can grow a wide variety of those. I was a little surprised to learn how many of our plants are classified as succulents that I had never thought of as such. Ohio spiderwort is a succulent as are the garden Tradescantia. It seems obvious when I really think about it, but I had never put them in that category before.
Nadi made me what she calls an energy sandwich for breakfast. Grilled feta cheese and roasted red peppers with a bit of hot sauce. Energy taste good. Jim replaced a wobbly ceiling fan with a simple light fixture today. One of the young ladies from CA is coming home when she gets the money together for the trip. Having someone living at Amargia full-time will be good. We are simplifying everything to make upkeep easy. If she needs a fan for the room, box fans are cheap and no climbing is necessary to keep them clean. I worry a little about a woman living alone, but as the young lady pointed out I lived here by myself for years and, unlike me, she sees and hears just fine. She is a tough cookie. I guess she will be okay. Agave has a good point; someone needs to give her something to care about and she loves Amargia more than anyone. A common trait I have noticed among alcoholics is a lack of hope for the future. As a group, hard core alcoholics appear to be hard, realist where their poison of choice isn't concerned. Inventing hope is to alcoholics I have known equivalent to self-deception. Maybe, alcoholics need something tangible to rest their hope on. The idea is worth experimenting with.
Okay, here we go. It is time to refresh the thread. I will see you all at:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1404438/

This message was edited Aug 29, 2015 9:15 PM

I'll get with you guys tomorrow.
Went to Banner Medical urgent care yesterday.
Had 6 sutures put in my head due to a fall from a seizure. I dunno.
vertical slash too not horizontal.
Checked kitchen this a.m.. for the life of me can't think of what I could have fallen and hit that would leave a vertical cut that deep or even just a vertical cut.
thank goodness husband was 10 minutes from home. He had finished work and was on his way home. Found me on the floor with blood by my head, matted bloody hair and unconscious.
Oh well....hey, did I tell you I have a splitting headache today? (LOL..I know bad joke right?)

Anyway talk to you all tomorrow. Today just kind of wore out and brain a little rattled and in low gear.

Agave.

Hope you feel better TTC will pray for you recovery. We have moved the thread to # 20 use Amargia's link just above.

Hello friends, Please forgive my long absence.

My physical challenges continue. I have had MRI's to numerous to mention, and now am scheduled on Thursday for full body bone scan with contrast.

For those who do, prayers would be most appreciated.

Your friend, Sheri
BirdieBlue

Sheri!!! (She shrieked!) Sorry you're not feeling better! think of you often because my husband now has VA health care too.

This forum is open now to paying subscribers and to non-paying members, you should know. We are onto thread #20 but Jim (was it Jim?) forgot to put the link on the end. I'm really glad to see you back. Sending positive thoughts your way!

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1404438/

This message was edited Sep 5, 2015 8:46 PM