Becca_Anne

Littlesister hope you feel better soon. I can empathize with the aches and pains feeling my age lately lots of fibro flares because I keep overdoing it. Miki sounds like your new dog is adjusting well Jeepers glad you stayed safe from the storm. It poured here for a bit but we escaped the worst of it. Saw some footage near my hometown in IA and that looked fierce. Necie glad you had a chance to relax and crochet. I found my crochet hook bag the other day I had been looking for it. I had one hook but just the big afghan one that I could find and it was driving me nuts that I didn't know what I'd done with the rest. Today after work I reorganized our bedroom and put it back the way it was before, only angled the loveseat instead of putting it straight in the bay window, and made room for a small desk. My DH put the air conditioner in. I got my computer workstation set up and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Everything that doesn't belong in there is now out of the room except one suitcase which will go back in the closet under the stairs when I tackle that area soon. Ordered a chair. Hopefully this will help me when I need to have a quieter place to focus. It felt so good to get our bedroom back in order it's been a mess since we moved everyone around.

Not giving up just have to figure out workarounds and resign myself that things will take me longer and may have attrition of a few things that won't survive due to being delayed in being planted. I did manage to plant the Honeycrisp apple tree and one Stuart Pecan tree today. The trees were several feet tall, so I have a head start. I have one more Pecan tree I need to plant but I first have to find another appropriate spot that isn't fill/brick/gravel. The 2 lots we own next to us used to have houses on them and I think that most of the area that's open has old house fill under it so probably tough to find a spot for more trees. I will try to find another spot tomorrow for the remaining pecan tree, have two more of another variety on the way so crossing my fingers I can get the spots I need. These are the only trees I have space to plant and still preserve the areas I want to put the raised beds and and greenhouse. Seedlings in the basement are doing well. Pecan tree on the left, apple on the right. I will get some wood chips to put around the trees and after the photos I put the white trunk protectors around them to keep them from getting eaten.

Outoftheordinary unfortunately it's not the kind of arrhythmia that is caused by an electrolyte imbalance, I have a condition called Brugada Syndrome that can cause sudden cardiac death, so I have an implanted defibrillator. Luckily it's more a precaution I've never had a true ventricular tachycardia episode that wasn't triggered by the testing (they induced it on purpose to test the device when it was implanted). Once in a great while I get a run of tachycardia and feel lightheaded but it won't shock me unless my HR gets up to 180 beats per minute and luckily that didn't happen. But I was closer than I'd like this time. Have a suspicion bending over too long caused this one, so I'll get a rolling stool to sit on while I weed so I can keep my head above my heart. All this was discovered 7 yrs ago when I went to the ER for stomach pain and they did an EKG that came back abnormal. I just feel lucky I have the insurance policy in my body of the ICD so it can help if I have a lethal episode. It's hard though since I want to live my life normally and then this kind of thing happens and I'm reminded that while I can do things I have to remember I might have to adapt my plans around what my body will tolerate. I admit I cried yesterday more out of frustration than anything feeling like my dreams of making this place into a real garden and food forest for my family might be more than I can do and my family isn't really on the same page so I have to work hard to get help around here even for the most basic things. They aren't really preparedness minded except my mom and she's 82 and just had a stroke so not much in the way of capacity to help with the garden. I need to stop feeling sorry for myself though and just do what I can and give myself grace if I can't dig all the holes in time for the plants to make it. The things that live will be better than nothing.

Jeepers I'm trying, although after going outside and weeding tonight I'll have to be more careful and shorter sessions. Moved 3 blueberry pots to the place I want to dig the holes, planted the nanking cherry bushes in pots because I realized I had 3 not 1 and I need to rethink the location I wanted to put them. They get bigger than I thought so I want to put them somewhere they won't be in DH's way when he mows. So instead of digging holes I was hand weeding and bent over for awhile and then my silly heart started to act up and I had a run of tachycardia and had to sit down so I wouldn't pass out. I was just grateful it calmed down and I didn't get a shock from my ICD. So that ended that for the evening. Tomorrow I'll get some cardboard and have my son dig my holes for the bigger trees. Need to get some wood chips too so I can make a protected mulched area around each tree.

Congrats on the new furbaby Miki! Just finished work, and I had my pecan trees and apple tree arrive today so now I need to go figure out where to dig holes this weekend I have 5 blueberry bushes in pots to plant (they can wait if needed), a nanking cherry bush, 2 pecan trees and 1 apple tree to plant this weekend. I checked and my peas are growing and my grape vine is starting to put on some growth too. Super happy about that. Seedlings are coming along nicely in the basement under the grow lights too. Tomorrow taking my mom to meet my quilt guild

We were in the path of the totality as well. Got to watch in the backyard. Was a memorable experience for all. My Camera didn't have a polarized lens so I didn't take any photos but we did take a video of what the daylight looked like. It got cooler and the streetlight came on. Pretty neat and made for a fun homeschool day where we talked about the different types of eclipses.

Thanks for posting Darlene! I need to get myself some bread flour. I have a KA sourdough starter in my fridge I've been feeding whole wheat, but want to bake my bread with bread flour. I haven't yet made a real loaf of sourdough, just used the discard in my regular bread machine recipe. One flopped spectacularly (I think my machine had the wrong setting selected) and one loaf turned out great. I just haven't had the timing right to remember to start the process when I can pay attention to it. But I'd love to make it part of my routine.

Spent my day relaxing, did get out and trimmed the boxwood hedges along the front sidewalk they had grown a lot and looked like they might be encroaching too much for the postal delivery and package deliveries to get through easily. Then we had a tornado warning so had to go down to the basement. DH brought chinese food and carrot cake for my birthday dinner and flowers which was nice. Then had a fun video call with my daughter and grandson and 2 of my husband's sisters, our 3 nieces and mom who were visiting them which was lovely. I also treated myself to some more plants. Ordered 2 more pecan trees (so I'll have a total of 4), 3 bush cherries, 1 lilac bush, 1 apple tree and more strawberries. So that was fun.

Thank you It's been a lovely birthday so far!

Hope your Birthday is the best one yet!

Glad your DH could rule out that problem Mt Rider I hope you feel better soon. Miki glad you got to visit with family Jeepers and theMartianChick, good call on letting the things go that aren't for you anymore. I chuckle at myself when I go through my closet sometimes, wondering what I was thinking when I thought I should keep some item. Lots in my closet need to go I don't wear them and won't so they should benefit someone else. Littlesister hope you got some good deals at the store! Necie hope your soap all sells well! Today just work, take mom to OT/PT, and seedling care, no real plans to do anything else today

Mt Rider Does your DH have a stethescope to listen to your neck? Does he know how to listen to your carotid artery? Sometimes people have what is called a cardiac bruit and are hearing the sound of blood in the vessels due to a partially blocked artery, just want to be sure you don't have something like that going on, or super high BP right now causing the noise. You might want to get it checked out I am worried for you.

Ugh rats! Hope they don't come your way Littlesister! Jeepers glad you got your hair cut I really need to do the same. My hair is halfway down my back and I haven't had it that long since I was 12. I just keep forgetting to make an apt... Necie that cherry almond soap sounds lovely I can see those scents would go very well together. It is super chilly here today high in the 40's, huge swing from the other day when it was mid 70's. I have been cold all day and headachey now so hoping I'm not coming down with something. I aggravated my hip (bursitis) so I'm a big whiney mess today. So I'm babying myself and took some ibuprofen and calling it a day. Seedlings got checked on but that's the only homestead stuff I got to do today. It was too cold and wet out anyways to do anything. Can't wait for when it warms back up again and dries out. I really want to get my blueberry bushes in the ground so I can repurpose the pots for my basil and flowers.

Yes thank you Littlesister! I put them on my household wish list. Will have to consider how to put one in, I might look into a gutter for the shed, and put one there, the main house is so exposed it might stick out too much and be obvious whereas the shed it could be hidden under the bushes more and also help re-direct the water to the garden. We had a big storm come through last night so it's all fresh and green outside. Noticed we have a dead tree though. It needed to come out anyways it's too close to the house so we'll have to plan that out soon.

Littlesister can you share which rain barrels you bought? I'm interested in them as well