On Losing a Loved One

Have you ever noticed that when you find out the news, that a family member has passed away whom you had known very well, even if you hadn't seen/talked with them in a long while, that it brings all the memories crashing back, and inevitably, regret. Today I learned that my paternal grandmother had passed away on Tuesday. My father apparently did not feel it to be a momentous enough occasion to inform me or my other brother directly, even though he was present when she passed, for which I am glad, truly. However he informed my eldest brother and left it to him to pass the information along to the rest of us. A bit cowardly in my opinion, though perhaps, just maybe, he was overcome with grief and was not able to make those necessary calls. I honestly don't believe it really.

Family strife aside, I miss my grandmother. Even though I hadn't seen her in a decade. Even though I had made the decision a few years ago not to seek her out for reasons that, at the time, seemed viable. Even though she had dementia and would not have recognized me anyway (decade of years aside and all). Even though I had seen photos of her before and had (selfishly) thought that I would not wish to taint my memories of her as I remember with those of her as she had become. I look back through my childhood and remember her idiosyncrasies. I developed my strong feminist attitude because of her. The cedar Hope chest behind me came from her and my grandfather as my 'coming of age' gift at 13.

My grandmother died from breast cancer. Now, this might cause me alarm except that she developed it as a side effect of certain medications she took when she was younger. She was still cognitive when she was diagnosed, she refused to allow treatment. So we all knew it was a mere matter of time. In all honesty, she lived much longer than probably would have been expected, given her condition. She also lived with cirrhosis of the liver for nearly 3 decades. I can only barely remember when my grandmother could walk unassisted. But I remember how much she loved me, her only granddaughter for a long time.

No Waste

I'm a frugal person by my very nature, always have been. It was ingrained in me during years and years of struggling by my mother to make ends meet throughout my childhood. However, I sometimes wonder if I don't go to much more impressive extremes. For example, I purchased half a bushel of apples. The first half of that batch was made into applesauce, the cooked 'pulp' remaining after having been strained was given to the chickens. Tonight I went farther with the other half of that batch of apples. I had my eldest daughter help me peel and core the apples. Then I canned those sections in spiced syrup (got 5 qts too), but what to do with the peelings and cores?! It seemed like such a waste! All that lovely flavored peelings. So I cooked them down with a couple cups of water and ran them through an uber-fine mesh sieve. I not have 3 cups of the loveliest natural apple juice. I will add another cup later and make jelly with it! Still not quite finished though, because I also have the remaining paste-like pulp that is left after squeezing every possible drop of juice from it. I put that aside and tomorrow I plan on mixing in some whole oats. I'll bake those 'apple biscuits' on low for awhile and hopefully I will have home-made apple crisps to feed to the rabbits! I wouldn't want humans to consume them as they may contain whole stems and seeds as well. However, that accounts for every bit of the apples I purchased, with no waste whatsoever. And gives me 5 qts of canned apples, 3 pints apple jelly, and a couple dozen 'apple biscuits' for the livestock. Definitely a thumbs-up on this one!

A few other no-waste recipes I use include one for peaches and one for watermelon. The peaches you peel them and section them, canning the fruit itself in syrup, and then boil down the skin peelings to make peach honey! The watermelon recipe, you eat the pink part of the fruit (it's best to cut it off though LOL) then peel the green skin off and use the remaining part of the green rind to make watermelon rind preserves!

I have other methods to reduce waste. I have a dog that frequently clears most of any 'plate' leftovers from the children, not to mention her special usefulness in cleaning up toddler food messes. In addition I have a pair of rat boys who stay fat on leftovers and bones. Not to mention the compost pile!

Stray Dogs

After literally weeks of housing one small dog, I've finally managed to find him a permanent new and loving owner. Interestingly when I had the dog advertised as being free to a good home, I had just a couple inquiries. The moment I placed a re-homing fee on him, even though I didn't really care about the money, I had over half a dozen people wanting to see him. What actually prompted my adding the fee was the second person inquiring actually left me waiting in a hot car with a dog and two small children for 30 minutes. Then simply stopped returning my repeated requests to meet to see him.

I admit, I feel better knowing someone had to put out money to adopt the dog. Even though it was just a minimal fee. At least I know the new owner is willing to spend some money on him.

Next Year's Gardens, a reconsideration

I keep changing my mind on what and how I intend to setup the gardens for next year. So at the moment, these are what I want to plant:

In the main original garden I want:
green onions
garlic (soft-neck)
tomatoes (Roma, Better boy, Early girl, Sweet 100)
peppers (Bell, banana, jalapeno, habanero)
lettuce
chard
collards
spinach
radishes
kholrabi
beets
sunflowers

Behind the main garden, just in front of the barn I want to plant:
sweet white corn

In the second part of the main garden:
pie pumpkins
butternut squash
yellow squash
cucumbers (pickling and burpless)
watermelon
cantaloupe
sweet potatoes (though I may put these closer to the house)
beans (either Blue Lake bush or Tenderette, maybe both!)

In the raised garden:
spinach
strawberries
carrots

In the front herb gardens or herb pots:
lavender
sage
lemon balm
oregano
sweet basil
thyme
dill

Fruit trees/bushes:
apple (Golden delicious)
fig
blueberry
boysenberry
cherry
black raspberry (wild and thornless)
rhubarb
pear
peach/nectarine/plum

I will also be seeing about obtaining tapping equipment for my Maple trees and a couple of the neighbor's trees this next winter/spring.

Finding Homes for Strays

About a month ago my dear David took in a small stray dog, a Shih Tzu. Fine, I'll take care of it, no different than any other pet around here. Except it is different, these are high-maintenance dogs. He requires a weekly bath and will probably need monthly clippings to keep him neat. He must be walked no less than 3 times daily, because he refuses to defecate in the yard anywhere. He's not a nuisance barker, thankfully, but he shows mild aggression towards the younger children. That alone nixes his chances of staying with us permanently.

So far, I have advertised him available on Hoobly, Kijiji, and Craigslist. I've gotten numerous nibbles, but no one really serious until a couple days ago. A man looking for a companion for his mother. We e-mailed back and forth a bit and decided he would meet me with the dog earlier in the afternoon yesterday. I loaded up the freshly cleaned dog and my two youngest children and carted them off to the meeting place where we then proceeded to wait in vain for over 30 minutes. Half a dozen attempted calls later, I left and went home. I did hear from him, but as of right now I am not prepared to be magnanimous toward him.

Instead he has prompted me to change the ad to indicate that a small re-homing fee would now be required. If I'm going to be traveling all over only to be stood up by people, I feel that I should be compensated! I'm doing them a favor, not the other way round.

The Fall Garden

Yes, that's right. I am trying to keep things moving along with a fall/winter garden. I've never tried it before, but I'm in a good region to give it a shot. I've turned the soil and had planted 3 rows of leaf vegetables including collards, chard, and lettuce. The lettuce is being stingy, but the chard and collards have come through. A bit farther down I planted a row of radishes and broccoli. The radishes are flourishing, but the broccoli is being hesitant. I've also got some spinach, kholrabi, and carrots that are being slow to respond. I want to plant garlic, but since that grows best in a cool climate, I have to wait until later in the fall to plant it.

I think next year I'm going to turn a plot just in front of the barn and plant a section of corn. Some stray pieces spilled by the hens took root and put up stalks and developed ears! However, with them being sporadically sewn, they didn't do as well as perhaps some purposely planted seeds might. It's worth another try anyhow.