Our Amazing Variety

Monday, June 08, 2009

I have been immensely enjoying really cool blogs this morning. Thank you each and everyone of you or as my Savannah girlfriend would say... all y'alls, lol : )

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

BELIEVINGISEING 6/8/2009 10:48PM

I have been renewing some subscriptions that keep getting unsubscribed. I have also been reading blogs. I have not been getting sparkmail for the last couple of days though. It does that off and on LOL. I guess I have to hunt down the blogs to see if anyone wrote them. Have a great day. Pam Report Inappropriate Comment

VALERIEMAHA 6/8/2009 2:57PM

It IS nothing short of amazing. I SO agree! And yours are among my favorites! xox R> Report Inappropriate Comment

Funky Chicken Farm

Friday, June 05, 2009

I visited a farm less than three miles from here yesterday and came away a few bucks lighter but with a growbox, a worm composter that makes lovely compost (especially worm tea -- a super nutritious liquid to feed the growboxes) and a wealth of information. What a bargain! I met my organic vegetable garden guru, I believe; her name is Suzanne of the Funky Chicken Farm.

Michael and I have talked of a vegetable garden here ever since we bought this place. For a long time it was delayed by all the house remodeling. But the last of that -- new windows -- went in last September just after we installed the new well and irrigation system (man... what a mother that was with all the tree roots here... which is another reason for raised beds).

Yet still all the how's and wherefore's of the garden were not exactly working out. Florida has challenging growing conditions, believe it or not. We have either too much rain or not enough and poor soil for how sandy it can be and how the heat evaporates good stuff out of it. Michael and I are slightly advantaged living in a hammock here (hammocks are a bit more fertile since they are believed to be old swamps that rose and drained) but then there are nematodes in abundance as a trade off for all that fertility.

We knew we wanted raised beds to help enhance control but still we were concerned about where to put them and the choices are somewhat limited given how not into cutting down trees we are. These growboxes end all concerns about nematodes and they can be easily moved. Now we're cooking!

Plans are full speed ahead for manufacturing eleven more growboxes and maybe another worm composter. We will be planting a dirty dozen *groans at her own corniness here* come fall. The recycler in me is just grinning ear to ear. We grow the food that makes the scraps that feeds the worms who make the compost/tea that nourishes the food we grow!

Pictures will eventually be forthcoming so stay tuned ...

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

AAQUWAA 6/10/2009 5:56PM

Catching up, reading your blogs. Love them all. You make me want to play in the dirt. I used to have 2 commercial greenhouses and a small nursery. I miss it so much. Hard to compete with the big boys. We grew a lot of herbs, medicinal and culinary, and a lot of heirlooms, and just a lot of cool stuff. Worms and compost are a good thing. Hugs, Carmen Report Inappropriate Comment

BEACHINN 6/5/2009 11:40AM

The big fight in my family was always Red Wigglers vs Night Crawlers where both fishing and worm boxes were concerned, so we had a box where we grew the little red guys and another box where we fed Night Crawlers. My grandparents were organic gardeners long before it got really popular. I think they were had charter subscriptions to both Organic Gardening and Prevention magazine. So..which side ya gonna pick? In reality both will grow in the same box and be perfectly happy. Report Inappropriate Comment

FLOWINGWATER 6/5/2009 10:08AM

Oh, goody, goody! A worm box!! I've always wanted a worm box! Can I play?! Hee hee. You'll have to tell me how it goes feeding the lil wormies. How exciting that you're actively participating in the natural cycle. It's going to be so rewarding eating those veggies! Nummmm..... Comment edited on: 6/5/2009 10:09:02 AM Report Inappropriate Comment

BELIEVINGISEING 6/5/2009 9:45AM

Good luck with your garden. When we were younger, my dad had a 3 acre farm. He rented out the house but we farmed the garden by hand. No tractors etc. I hated going out there and pulling all those weeds by hand. One time a garden snake crawled across my feet. I just stood there rooted to the ground and watched it. I hate snakes LOL. He also grew popcorn one year and we had to twist the cobs with our hands to get the kernels off. It is not a good memory LOL. I am sure your garden won't be 3 acres and will be a lot easier to handle. I can remember sore knees from getting down to weed and pick, and sneezing. I had an allergy to weeds. Funny what a blog entry brings out LOL. Have a great day. Pam Report Inappropriate Comment

VALERIEMAHA 6/5/2009 9:20AM

Ahhhh...the circle of life -- "We grow the food that makes the scraps that feeds the worms who make the compost/tea that nourishes the food we grow!" Or, as Thich Nhat Hanh is fond of saying, "Without the garbage there can be no roses." Blessed be! xox Maha Report Inappropriate Comment

IM_GETTIN_THIN 6/5/2009 9:15AM

sounds like you'll be busy and active. i gotta go and weed out my front garden (i have some lovely flowering perrenials growing in there now) after the rain ever stops here in new york! Report Inappropriate Comment

My Personal Trainer

Thursday, June 04, 2009

As many of you know, my personal trainer is a hound dog named Missy. She dutifully attends my workout sessions every morning -- guarding me against squirrel invasions and such.

She sniffs my face whenever I lay down on the bow flex and spurs me on when I don't get very far on the elliptical. But full disclosure be told here, for the most part she is lounging while I do all the work.

Some folks have a trainer who is far more committed, far more into it.....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lksf9iFpxPU&
feature=channel

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

JOPAPGH 6/5/2009 10:56AM

I have a contract with my dogs: I take them on a 2 - 3 miler in the morning and they are relaxed and pleasant throughout the day. If not, they are bitter and resentful with pent up energy. The non walking days are the days when I return home to find all the Q-tips have been eaten or some such thing. Report Inappropriate Comment

FLOWINGWATER 6/4/2009 10:36AM

Who's training who in that video? I'm sure Missy is laughing at that dog's inexperience. Any good trainer knows that you make the trainee do all the work! Report Inappropriate Comment

BARBARA_G 6/4/2009 10:27AM

Thanks for sharing and giving me a good laugh! Report Inappropriate Comment

BAREFOOT-LISA 6/4/2009 10:09AM

That's too cute. A great trainer knows, all we really need is their presence and encouragement! Report Inappropriate Comment

KUZINKEITH 6/4/2009 9:11AM

CAN I BORROW MISSY? I promise to return her after I lose 10 pounds! Report Inappropriate Comment

JAZZTAZZ 6/4/2009 8:57AM

You always find a way to make me laugh. Report Inappropriate Comment

VALERIEMAHA 6/4/2009 8:10AM

Read my lips -- Missy is your T.R.A.I.N.E.R. not your workout partner. When you truly understand that you'll begin to make progress. The youtube dog is a FREAK (just ask Missy)! Report Inappropriate Comment

A Puzzlement

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

I am observing how my feelings differ day to day in working out.

Knowing too well that in order to stop something, you need to replace it with something better -- I am trying to cultivate my "inner workout nut" ....



... to replace the days I feel like this:



Why is it so easy some days to get in there and give it my best and other days I am so resistant?? As the king in The King and I would say .... "is a puzzlement".

I know I could yield so much better results if I would be consistent yet consistency still eludes me.

I am not even sure if I am chipping away at it since I am not paying that kind of attention. Perhaps I should be. At the writing of the word "trying" here in this very post, I already hear my inner Yoda. "Now Susan... you know there is no puzzlement, there is no try -- there is only do and do not!"

LOL "Okay okay" I say....... *trots off for some doing*

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

JOPAPGH 6/5/2009 10:50AM

Like the pictures! I have found with biking, I make it about the destination. I pick somewhere I want to go, or errands to run that can be accomplished with my bike. Then the exercise is a bonus. If I need groceries, and not many perishables, I may ride to a store in another neighborhood that may have hills along the way. Once I am outside and moving, it is no longer a fight. I'm free to rack up the miles and minutes. Report Inappropriate Comment

FLOWINGWATER 6/5/2009 9:59AM

As you know, the mind is a powerful thing, and it's all about attitude. Watching your thoughts around exercise is a great start!!! Why the mind plays those tricks to get you out of something you really WANT to do, is indeed a puzzlement. You know I love riding my bike, but it still hurts, it's still hard work, and sometimes I'm not in the mood. When I find that happening, however, I trick my mind (who's in control here, anyways!?). Instead of letting myself think about how much I'm tired, and my legs hurt, and the weather is nasty, and, and, and..., I think about how good I feel when I'm done with my bike ride, and how good it feels being physically fit. That usually changes my mind. Somewhere on SparkPeople, I read a great line that I often go back to: When thinking about exercise, ask yourself: "Do I ever regret it afterwards?"". The answer for me is always "no". Take THAT mind! One other trick that I play on my mind, is not even letting it get a foothold on the excuses, because I treat exercise as something that MUST be done - on the same par as going to work or brushing my teeth. There is no discussion - it's just part of the routine. Hope this helps you put your mind in its place! Report Inappropriate Comment

SIRIRADHA 6/2/2009 3:29PM

If you find that cure for inconsistency please share it! There are days, and there are days. Heck, I vary from hour to hour. I started out slowly today, got jacked up on a cup of green tea, buzzed through some things I needed to get done, and I'm ready for a nap now! If I were the kitty in the poster, I'd just spray the cat gymnasium and head for a nice warm spot to settle in for a couple of hours! Report Inappropriate Comment

BARBARA_G 6/2/2009 12:03PM

When I have a difficult time exercising on a regular basis, I make myself a chart/calendar where I can mark off the days I exercise. I hang it up somewhere obvious like on the refrigerator. This works really well for me. It gives a lot of satisfaction to see all of those days crossed off that you exercise! The other "trick" is to do it first thing in the morning before you have time to talk yourself out of it. I hope this helps. Report Inappropriate Comment

Room With A View

Monday, June 01, 2009

In between the penciled in nutrition minding and foodfixing, the workingout, the dogwashing, the kittytickling, the doingactualpapaerworking, the errandrunning, the filecleanouting, the routinetrudging -- I hope to squeeze in a bit of a back deck cumulus show. Cloud watching is so good for the soul.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

BARBARA_G 6/1/2009 12:34PM

you sound incredibly busy. Good for you to take time out for yourself. Report Inappropriate Comment

JAZZTAZZ 6/1/2009 10:30AM

Yes it is. Cloud discovery and star watching are 2 of my favorite things. I will make time for both today and tonight. Thanks for the reminder! Report Inappropriate Comment