How Does Your Garden Grow

Before I leave for Rhode Island, I want to post some garden photos.  I’ve never had much success with gardening, but am quite pleased with this year’s results.

My cousin and neighbor gave me some morning glory plants, and, when I planted them, I hoped that at least one of them would produce blue flowers.  I got my wish.

I love this color, too.

The lasagna garden is coming along nicely.

So are the shade gardens.

The porch plants are thriving, as well.

This sweet potato ivy came back nicely after the deer did their dirty work.

I had a fair amount of success with vegetables this year, too.  These are my jalapeno peppers.

I pick a handful of cherry tomatoes almost every day.

The regular tomatoes were the big surprise.  I planted two small, sickly looking plants my cousin gave me and this is what they grew into.  They’re so tall and heavy, I had to prop them up with large sticks.

This is a rainbow broom corn plant grown from seeds my mother brought back from Hancock Shaker Village.

Last but not least, this is a fawn in my back yard.  (Thank goodness for homemade deer repellant.  I learned my lesson after the sweet potato ivy massacre.)

Song of the Day:  Secret Garden by Bruce Springsteen

Bring Out Your Dead

I finally saw Spamalot!  A local community college offered a bus trip to NYC yesterday for the unbelievably low price of $11.  (The train costs $30.)  I went with my mother, my aunt, my cousin, Kathy, and her friend, Bob.  When we got to the city, we split up.  My mother, aunt and cousin had already seen Spamalot, so they went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Bob and I headed for the TKTS Discount booth, and, fortunately, Spamalot was among the listed shows.

Before the performance, we had lunch at Bistecca Fiorentina.  It was the best meal I’ve had in a long time. For an appetizer, Bob ordered grilled octopus and squid.  I had a mixed plate of roasted polenta with Gorgonzola cheese, a stuffed mushroom, zucchini with béchamel sauce, eggplant Parmesan, and a roasted, stuffed red pepper.  It was way too much food for me, so I shared with Bob.  Still, I barely had room for my lobster ravioli entrée.  Even with Bob’s help, I couldn’t finish it.

After we ate, we headed over to the Shubert Theatre.  I was very excited.  The play certainly lived up to my expectations.   It was so much fun!  This was my favorite number.  Hilarious!

At present, Stephen Collins (the father on 7th Heaven) is playing King Arthur, and Drew Lachey (former member of 98 Degrees, along with his brother, Nick, who was married to Jessica Simpson.  Drew was also a “Dancing With the Stars” winner.) plays Patsy.  Marin Mazzie is the Lady of the Lake.   What a voice!  I had such a good time.

The only downside was the physical pain.  I’m really hurting.  Sunshyn and Texas Peach are right.  I most definitely should not have done all that backbreaking gardening, and, yes, I am crazy.  The pain is worse than it was when I was out on disability.  I keep hoping it will get better, but it hasn’t.  I don’t know what I’m going to do…

To add insult to injury, I’m not sure the garden will flourish.  The layers of compost, etc., aren’t as deep as they should be, but it’s the best I could do.  Please keep your fingers crossed.  It would be devastating for the garden to fail after all the hard work I put into it.

Song of the Day:  Not Yet Dead from Monty Python’s Spamalot

Grieve Reprieve

Incredibly, Bowie rallied enough to receive a temporary stay of execution. The Ex will keep an eye on Bo-Bo, and re-evaluate the situation on a daily basis.   (An aside about the nickname, “Bo-Bo.”  Oddly enough, I also call Penny “Pen-Pen,” and Ellie is “Bell-Bell,” which evolved from “Ellie Belly.”  When she was little, my daughter, Leigh, was “Lee-Lee.”  I wonder why I do that…)  Anyway, it appears that the grieving can be put off for a little while longer.

In other news, I had an appointment with Dr. Spine Specialist on Wednesday.  I only had to sit in the waiting room for about 15 minutes before the nurse called me in, but then I waited for another half an hour in the examining room.  After he finally got around to seeing me, the doctor expressed surprise that I had Epidural Steroid injections.  Apparently, he referred me to pain management for Sacroiliac joint injections.   HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! I went through that agony for nothing!

Unbelievable, huh?  Dr. SS suggested that I discuss SI injections when I see the pain management specialist later this month.  You bet I will.

He also recommended a “TENS unit (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator).  The guy who handles that was busy with another patient, so I was told to go back to the waiting room until he was ready for me.  I sat there for half an hour.  Finally, the guy called me in and said he had to go get a unit to demonstrate how to use it.  He said he’d be right back.  Half an hour later, I got up and walked out.  I left him a note with my phone number.  He has not contacted me.

When I got home, I got started on the “lasagna gardening.”  I was out there for three hours, working on just one side of the lawn.  The heat was oppressive, and I was so weak and dizzy I actually keeled over.  I didn’t black out, but I did fall down.  That was my cue to pack it in.  Stupidly, I went back out the following morning to work on the other side of the lawn.  Since then, the lower back pain has been excruciating.

Thank goodness for my sister’s swimming pool.

If I have to be resting, it might as well be on a float surrounded by refreshing water.  I’m getting too much sun, but that should take care of my Vitamin D deficiency, at any rate…

Reading:  Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Song of the Day:  Aching Back by Michael Pacholek (A parody of The Rolling Stones’ Paint it Black)

I see a line of pills, supposed to help my back
with aspirin and steroids, ease my coughing hack.
I pop ‘em in my mouth and wash ‘em down away.
Doesn’t work, my muscles ache, they hurt me every day.

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

First, the good stuff.  The Asian lilies I planted in the fall are blooming. This is noteworthy for someone like me who does not have a green thumb.

Sunday was my grandmother’s birthday, and she was so happy.  She said she hopes she lives to see 100.  I hope so, too.  Anyone who makes it to 97 deserves to  hit the big One Oh Oh.

Now for the sad news.  The ex called a little while ago to let me know that he made arrangements to have our dog, Bowie, put to sleep on Thursday.  We got him as a puppy almost 15 years ago.  That’s a long life for a big dog.   Unfortunately, the quality of his life has been declining.  He’s having trouble standing, and is in pain.  It’s time to put an end to his suffering.

This hurts.  A lot.  He was such a good boy, and I love him so much.

My heart is breaking.

Song of the Day:  Dog’s Life by Gentle Giant

4th of July

I don’t have any big plans for the holiday, and that suits me just fine. (The weather isn’t being very accommodating, anyway.) The only thing on my agenda for today is to go shopping for a birthday present for my grandmother. She is going to be 97 on Sunday. That’s NINETY-SEVEN.

My first week off from work was very nice. I didn’t have as many doctor appointments as I thought I did. I went to the chiropractor on Wednesday, and to the dentist yesterday to have some silver (mercury) fillings replaced with white composite fillings.

I was supposed to go for trigger point injections on Monday, but had to reschedule because I’m in the process of switching insurance companies. The person who handles insurance for the school district called a couple of days ago to let me know that, even though our contract states that we only have to pay a certain percentage of our insurance, MVP subscribers will now have to pay an additional $1500 for the family plan.

I was under pressure to make a quick decision about whether or not I wanted to switch to another insurance company. The fifteen hundred dollars made it relatively easy for me to opt to switch. I went to the district office yesterday and signed all the necessary documents. All medical appointments have to be postponed until I receive new insurance cards. What a PIA.

I’m scheduled to see Dr. Spine Specialist on Wednesday. Fortunately, that appointment doesn’t have to be canceled because it’s covered by Worker’s Comp. Other than that, and another trip to Albany with My Friend on Monday, next week is looking pretty leisurely, too.

One thing I want to do is try my hand at “a new layering system for bountiful gardens. No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding!” A while back, “Typewriter” left a comment suggesting “before you rototill, check out a book called Lasagna Gardening. Much easier!”

I didn’t have to buy the book because there’s lots of information about this style of gardening all over the Internet. Yesterday, I went to our local composting facility, which provides free compost to city residents. I loaded up on the stuff (and was a grimy, sweaty mess by time I had shoveled compost into four large garbage bags and a big plastic bin.) Next I headed to a garden center for peat moss, topsoil and plants. Step one will be to spread layers of wet newspaper over the areas marked with a black line in the photo below. (The white line indicates the spot where I tried to dig and was unable to break the ground, which is why I’m giving lasagna gardening a try.)

There is an area on the side of the house where I am able to do more traditional gardening. Last fall, I planted Asian lily bulbs. They should pop open any time now.  I’m so excited!

Happy holiday weekend!

Song of the Day: Independence Day by Bruce Springstreen

Garden Party

I got my camera back, so, as promised, here are the photos of the carrot cake (decorated with fresh flowers), and my new bed ensemble (It looks better in person, and you can’t see the bedskirt, which is striped):

I have some more pictures I want to post. These were taken at the Botanical Gardens yesterday. A little birdie joined us during our picnic lunch, and had the cheek to hop over and steal something from my plate..

Highlights of our visit included the rose garden:

the sculptures by Henry Moore,

and “Darwin’s Garden.” (The first shot is a recreation of Darwin’s window looking out on the garden.)

It would have been a wonderful day if not for the oppressive heat. It’s much too early for it to be so hot. According to the forecast, it’s supposed to be 97 tomorrow and 98 on Tuesday. I hate this weather.

Song of the Day: Octopus’s Garden by The Beatles