Gardening as therapy.

GA, Thank you for the referral to a gardening website, page not found. However, I did peruse the website, interestibg, but that site is not working well using the drop-down menus. It's okay though.

This avatar is an actual photo of my bouganvillia, self-grown. That, and my accomplishment today of achieving level 10 on the brat thread: "Caregivers Behaving Badly" makes for a pretty good day.

Going to go feed the bougie soon, with plant food. March, then August= twice in 5 months-but the 105 f degree temps are causing loss of blooms-or an early fall.?

Christmas was an awesome time growing up. Without going into details, no extended family, my parents put themselves out extravagantly. It was magical and almost fairy tale like.

My post was erased. Be back Cwillie, to talk about about me tiny house avatar.
And about the biggest Christmas Redwood trees in the state park, where gardening was trail maintenace as camphosts. A retirement dream with a downside.

Rent a cabin when you get a yen to hibernate in one, a whole lot cheaper and more practical than owning one I think. I still like the idea of Send's tiny house on wheels (what thread was that discussed on?), then you can pick whatever climate suits your mood. All I would need is a driver!

Stacy, that post is awesome! What great memories. My Uncle used to dose the tree with Angel hair.. don;t even know if you can find it anymore?
As for the cabin in the woods.. that was Hubs and my dream when we were getting married.. to buy a cabin/house in WV and add a hot tub. BUT as there were no jobs around where we wanted to be that dream bit the dust! I am still dreaming of a retirement house in the country.. wish me luck with that as the family home in WV will probably get sold... I mean I do live in the county,,, but I want a small cabin style place with the river at the end of the drive and ,,,wait, that is what I will be losing!

Hi All! CHRISTMAS, a magical time, and yet it has become incredibly commercial too, sadly!

Growing up in a British household, or perhaps it was just my parents and our family, or maybe it was just a much simpler time back in the 60's, but we used to have Christmas Music on the HiFi, from Dec 1st through New Years, and our Mom was Baking furiously every day, and her Christmas pudding had already been made for months!

Ou Mam would always have us write to Santa, and then burn our letters up in the fireplace, as "the ashes" would magically transport our lettes to The North Pole, Lol unbeknownst to us, she had previously written Return Letters from Santa himself, and had them safely tucked up out of the way on a ledge right in the fireplace and she would wait just a bit, and together we would return to the fireplace where she would reach up to get the letters back from HIM , and they always had slightly singed edges from the "travel back", but that was always a hit, and a lifelong memory and tradition that she carried on with my children. She was a good Egg!

My Dad was an old fashioned Variety Store Manager, when I was a kid, and as the Manager, he did all of the store orders directly from the Sales Men, and went to a lot of trade shows. He must not have ever failed to mention that he had 6 children, so he was given A LOT of Samples and special goodies from them, which he would gladly receive and stock away for Christmas presents for us kids. Remember the old Variety stores? Everything from books, music, small appliances, radios, batteries to makeup, health and beauty, candy and toys, things for the home, cards and every holiday decoration you name it, they had Everything!

Plus every year the store itself was decorated for Christmas with all new stuff, so my Dad would bring home, all of last year's decorations, so our house was lit up, if you can imagine! We had a huge pink plastic Christmas tree for a couple of year's that after the lights went on, Dad would then cover/smother the whole thing Angel hair, that made the lights all hazy and pretty, then he put on all the bigh red balls, it was hideous really! Then of course we had the industrial sized red and green streamers and huge paper balls and bells running accross the vaulted ceiling and the beam of our living room, there wasn't a staple gun that my Dad didn't Love! But come Christmas morning, Wow! It was an event not to be missed as each of us got our one true gift that we had wished for, and then a Bagillion other little gifts our Dad had gotten off the sales guys! He was a Gem of a Dad, and Loved us kids to death!

Of course Santa didn't leave our stockings out on the mantle, nope, he delivered them right to our beds, so that you would wake up in the morning on Christmas day and feel the weight of that big ole stuffed Stocking againgst your leg! I know now, that it was a stall tactic, to try to keep us kids in our beds, just a little bit longer! Gosh, so many more things we did at Christmas, it was Brilliant!

They made our childhoods magical and fun, they were the best parents ever and I miss them every single day! I thank God for my siblings, as they each carry traights from my folks, so its like I still have little pieces of them here with me! You can try to reenact your childhood with your children, but it's never quite the same, so I did incorporate some of our traditions, but made up new one along the way too!

Stacey, Whoops, I left instructions for making the comment box bigger on another thread. I knew I had read your request somewhere, but by the time I figured out how to, I was somewheres else. You will find it, soon, I hope. It was for you!

Cwillie, Was thinking of a winter vacation somewhere, Mammoth would be nice.
We can always count on you to bring back the reality of it all.
If I was in the freezing cold, I probably would not be able to walk, or even go outside. Gone are the dreams of wishing I could hike into a forest to find and chop down my own Christmas tree. My hubby and I are challenged to find, unpack, decorate our little used 12" tree yearly. This is my tradition, not his, so it is like being a pagan trying to celebrate Christmas around my home. It is just us.

GA, That's okay, it's only 40.8 degrees here today. Your visual of winter has really cooled me off! As far as the mindset about the summer heat is concerned.
When I changed the 105.6 degrees farenheit to only 40.8 degrees centigrade, that was intended to cool me in my mind too. So, winter is also cool.

Welcome, Arlene, from New Zealand!

My garden has roses in it, daphne plants, arum lilies, a camellia and lots of other things. I use my garden as time-out, I like to go and concentrate on something else.
Arlene Hutcheon, New Zealand

Aw, CWillie, I had such a nice little fantasy there for awhile...forgetting about the excessive heat this year, the dead or dying honeysuckle that never bloomed, raspberries and grapes that never fruited... (but of course the mulberries at the abandoned house next door fruited and left a purplish mess on my driveway).

But alas, "hope springs eternal" in a gardener's mind, and there's always next year.


Your description reminds me of the movie Baby Boom with Diane Keaton, especially the scene of a blizzard at her old rambling farmhouse when she stumbles back into the house with an armful of wood, only to be told that there are multiple leaks in the roof.


Stacey, I love the images you created of fall. I too love to see pumpkins, especially after the vines have died and the fat round pumpkins have a chance to take center stage.

In fact, I think maybe a trip to a cider mill would be a nice outing for Dad. I remember decades ago when I was a child (actually, that would more likely be in a previous geologic era) and we went to a cider mill, got fresh cider, and then went into a charming old stoned walled basement extension to get out bushels of apples. I can still smell the fragrance of apples in a cool environment.

Mom of course got her Northern Spies, best for apple pies and turnovers (my taste buds are beginning to crave one of her turnovers), and Dad got bushels of eating apples as well.


On the subject of fall and holidays, what are your special experiences, activities and visits during the upcoming holidays? What do you do that's perhaps a bit out of the ordinary? Are there communities where you go to see the holiday lights?

What special activities do you plan for your parents or relatives for whom you're caring? Do their AL, IL or other facilities have tree decorating activities? Christmas singing?

One of the local communities has one street on which all the neighbors make and put out luminaries, perhaps about every 10 - 12 feet. They're all lighted on Christmas Eve. It's absolutely stunning - I drive by that street and feel as if I'm transported to a magic place, a place of peace, beauty and serenity created by simple decorations.

(We know CWillie is going to be spending her time chopping trees, splitting wood, and hauling it into the house). Willie, if you weren't so far away, I'd send you a fresh apple turnover!

My apple mint didn't even sprout this year, the lemon balm isn't very healthy, so the only herb I have left to make wreaths is oregano. I do have some yews and arborvitae that both contribute to nice wreaths.

Stacey,

Did you have problems with the squash vine borers this year? Maybe that's whats sabotaging your pumpkins?

"I dream of a log home in the wilderness, warmth created by a fireplace or wood burning stove"....
Yup, hauling in wood, scraping out ashes. 95 degrees by the stove but icicles in the bedrooms. Miles of lane-way to plow and miles to the nearest store down icy, drifted back roads so every trip out is an expedition. Sounds like heaven on earth. LOL

My fingernails are getting too long, and I keep hitting the number keys, sorry for all of these typos! I sure wish we could get a bigger comment box in all of the new site updates, it would be easier to double check my work!😉

GA, Woe Nelly! Slow down there Sunshine! LOL! Take a deep breath and look about at the Wonders of this Beautiful Summer! Tomato vines bursting with heavy hanging fruit, blackberries ripening as fast as I can pick them, my Rhubarb plant, finally in its second year, and I can harvest, to make a blackberry Rhubarb pie, Yum! The gorgeous hydrangeas with big blue poms, now 5 ft high! The grass is brown however, but we've managed to keep the garden beds watered!

Who am I kidding, I'm with you! Enough of this Hot weather, lets move it along into Fall, my personal Favorite time of year! Great big pumpkins on the portch, from the farm this year, because our vines got crouded out, and didn't flourish. I don't know why our luck with pumpkins is hit and miss, when everything else does Great? The kiddies are headed back to school soon, and Halloween is fast approaching, with the excitement of choosing their costumes! Thanksgiving, Yummm, a big fat Roasted Turkey, with Pumpkin Pie, my Favorite!

Mainly, I guess, I'm juzt not quite ready for Christmas, as it's way too damn expensive anymore, so I'm figuring out a way to do it differently, 3now is a good time to discuss this with the famil6. I know that all of the adults will agree, so perhaps we will set limits on spending, as the children all have So Much, and spoiling them further makes no sense. Maybe a Santa Train Experience, or some outher outing all together right close to the holiday, would be a better way to enjoy each other to celebrate the Reason for the Season!

But now I'm back to closing my eyes, and enjoying the lovely images of Winter you set forth GA, and I'll put that stress on the back burner, and try to go pick some of those blackberries later today, after the sun passes over and it's not too hot! I do Love to dress in layers on a Cold winters day with a nice plaid scarf! Brrrrr!

The talk of wood stoves is creating images of winter scenes, gently falling snow, that fresh scent of winter, cool and crisp. I see evergreens frosted with light snow, tracks of the local 4 legged critters, holiday decorations in the stores. I smell hot chocolate, cookies baking in the oven.

I dream of a log home in the wilderness, warmth created by a fireplace or wood burning stove, and that nice, homey, cozy, and relaxed feeling of being at peace with the season.

Our wood stove is just for heating,, but it has a big flat top you could use to heat water, etc.

Garden, if your considering a generator for your fathers place I'm thinking it would have to be the automatic type. No one has to start anything or flip any switches or breakers. With installation, a small system would start at around 4 grand.

The most basic generator are the small suitcase type. Very quiet and easy to move around. You would store in in a shed, basement or garage, it runs on gas so it has to be outside when running. Honda makes very good ones that start at about $500. It would run an oxygen unit and some lights. You just run a common extension cord from the generator, into the house and plug in whatever you need to keep alive. You are not re-feeding the house electrical panel. For a little more capacity you can get a larger construction site type unit for about the same money but they can be harder to start and very noisy.

If you need to keep the furnace, well or other hard wired (stuff that is directly connected to circuits and cannot be unplugged) appliances going you need to have an electrician hook up an essential circuits panel for the vital stuff in your house and get a much bigger generator, either portable or stationary.

Here is a pix that I took of those conifers, before the squirrels get to the rest of them, he's actually up there now, munching away, then every once in awhile, a great big bunch of his tailings coms spraying down, causing my dog to go crazy!

The subject of living "off the grid" temporarily during power outages and storms got me thinking about ways to segue into relying less on everything - power, grocery stores, etc.

I was reminded of when we used to make ice cream. I still remember the laborious hand cranking ... but the thought of dipping spoons into the freshly churned ice cream, not laden with all sorts of chemicals and whatever, was enough to keep us going.

Is anyone making homemade ice cream these days?

Pam, is your wood stove a wood cooking stove or heating stove? Some years ago I met a woman who cooked entirely with a wood burning stove. She ran a country B & B.

It was through an online forum, best I've ever found, but has since been closed down to cede its readers to one of those social media sites.

My father of course used a woodburning stove on the farm, and my brother learned to use one when he set up housekeeping. I've often wished I had a wood burning cooking stove, but the issue of the odor would be problematic as I'm allergic to smoke.

Veronica, thanks for sharing your experiences with a generator as well. What caught my eye and made me realize I need to get one for my father is the issue of oxygen.

Windy,

Few questions:

1. First model: would storage be in a garage, preferably attached, or can a generator be out in the open? I would think it should be in a garage but if the garage is detached, is there a voltage drop for, say, a 30 foot distance of the generator from the house?

Dumb question, but what does the cord plug into? Is there a special outlet installed for the generator? I'm trying to visualize how the generator connects to the house's power supply to provide electricity when the power is out. And what actually powers the generator? Gas? Battery?

2. Re the second model, how does the electric start operate if the power has failed? Is there a battery backup that would power the electric start?

Our generator came on for three hours last night after a heavy thunderstorm. It is an 8kw and sits outside with it's own propane supply. When the power goes off it waits 10 seconds then kicks in automatically.
8 kw does not do the whole house just the essentials, fridge, freezer well pump,furnace, a few outlets and bathroom lights. We have used it a surprising number of times, usually for just a few hours. We could easily manage without it as we have a wood stove and camping cook stove but would have to be sure to have sufficient water stored.
It was not cheap but for older people especially with oxygen a sensible investment if you can afford it. No TV, phone or Internet but we have cell phones. Hubbies electric car can't charge but I hate that thing anyway.
We did have our generator professionally installed because you have to have a separate sub panel installed for the equipment of your choice to go through.
When we owned a farm the whole house could be switched. There was a big plug that connected to a large tractor with a switch on the main panel. Never used that one though.
Explored the use of a hand pump for the well but it takes a lot of strength if your well is over about 100 feet. I imagine there are battery powered pumps now the lithium batteries are so good for tools etc.

About generators:

It's great to have one for power outages. There are 3 levels.

The simplest is a small 2000 to 3000 watt (2KW TO 3KW) which is easy to start, run a cord in the house and operate the tv, fridge and a couple lamps.

Next step up is 5 TO 8 KW, on wheels that can be rolled out of the garage and plugged into the house panel. A qualified electrician needs to wire up an ESSENTIAL CIRCUITS panel for lights, heat, pump etc. I recommend an electric start model. Pull starting one this size is for the very able bodied.

The best and most expensive is a stationary, whole house generator which will start automatically when the power goes out. These are usually 12 to 20 KW. Depending on the location of your existing electrical panel, installation can be expensive. They are usually hooked up to your natural gas or propane service so you need a plumber and an electrician.

For most people generators are seldom used but it is a great luxury to have. I feel very smug when I roll mine out and power up the house while my neighbors are trying to eat up everthing in their freezer before it goes bad.

Want to thank Canada for leasing the giant scooper planes to California during the difficult fire season. Just thanks, neighbors to the North!

Where I live, a lot of movies are filmed and the movie production companies use these great big tall, white generators, taller than a refrigerator. Nice looking, sleek and modern-if I could have one of those, that would do. It is also interesting that t.v. series like NCIS are filmed here, and some buildings, houses, and roads are easily identified--Oh, look, there is our old senior center, etc.

Pammzi is right, generators would be wise to own in emergencies.

We have a portable back up gererator, the kind you can plug things into, and have considered a whole house type as we lose our power during storms for up to 5 days ( blah) We can run the fridges and freezers and the main kitchen area. But not the well pump and water heaters... We have a woodstove, but have not really used it for the last few years as the additional smoke is bad when you start it going. We use our gas fireplace.. works when the power is out and heats the main level pretty well. And no smoke!

Oh Sure Send, I'll get right on that! Lol!
I definitely do keep an eye on my Charlie-girl when we are outside, she's so little, she can easily get into trouble when she gets up into the wooded area of our backyard, and I don't know what might be lurking up there! Little trouble maker! Lol! An eagle could swoop in and carry her off, as she isn't even 5#. It really could happen!

Very hot today! Barometric pressure is on the rise, making my arthritis hurt, especially my hands and knees! Ouchy!

Stacey, Can you harvest the pine cones (tree surgeon), lay down a bed of pine needles, place the pinecone supply on top, like decorative mulch. Add a tiny border fence-5-7" high, around the pine cones. Put this cute squirrel garden far away in your yard. Squirrels can attack, even a dog. Keep Charley-girl and you safe. Just don't go out during their feeding times, twice a day, morning and dusk.

My favorite flower is the stargazer lily. I love all the flowers, I like to mix them in pots and in the gardens so there is a lot of color.