My last post.

I am closing out this blog. I have thought this over a few weeks now and decided that it was in my best interest to stop writing and get back to that simple life I longed for in the beginning of this blog. You see when you say I want to live a simpler life then write about it in a  blog, your life is not so simple anymore. It becomes a daily thing that then takes up your time you were suppose to be living. So it is time for this girl to put on her work boots and head out in the garden solo. I am grateful to each of you who have joined me for my sometimes sporadic chats about all kinds of things. I but it's time for me to get on with things . I feel a change in the air and it doesn't have space or time for this blog. Goodbye my blog followers what few I have . May you find a new blog to uplift you, educate you and make you laugh.
One last time, That's life as told by Ginger

Garden and knee update

I am starting to think spring is going to be bypassed this year. Our weather has gone from winter right into summer temps. Yesterday we hit 89 degrees and the air conditioner has already been turned on in our house. I didn't want to turn the ac on just yet but when it's 80 degrees in your house at 11pm at night you have to turn on the ac. I am happy that our mornings are still cool I have my windows open right now and the cool breeze and the sound of birds singing their song is filling my house right now. These moments ..they're the ones I love the most. The outside is spilling in my open windows and we are one with nature for that time frame. Sadly by 11am I'll have to go close all the windows and turn on the ac,but I'm going to choose to be excited and over joyed for the tiny bits of spring weather I can squeeze out of the early mornings.
Yesterday my water hoes ran for 8hours! I had to give the garden a deep watering as I had done some planting and needed those seeds to get watered and those already in the ground needed some water too. . This morning the water only had to run for 4 hours ..had to finish up the watering that did not get done yesterday morning. I only water in the early mornings ,I do not water in the evenings at all...it tends to draw in pests . After doing a few chores yesterday I sat down and drew out the garden on graph paper,I had to redo it because the original plan got altered when I was creating the garden .I did the new graph and numbered all the beds. On the back side of the proper I created a key and filled in what was growing in each bed .I want to keep track because I do not plan on doing anything next year to the garden other than watering it.I hope and pray that nature will take it's course and everything will pop up where it was dropped that fall and grow.I am liking my idea of permaculture..it might not be the proper way to do it,but you know me ..I rarely do things by the book or how I'm told to do them.I've got my own take on life and I live my way ...which is how I like it ;)
In looking over the graph yesterday I found I have so much more room to plant more seeds !! :D  You know that makes me happy!! So today after I'm finished chatting with you dear friends I'll be out in the garden planting more seeds and then I think I'll have to write a list of a few more seeds I'll need to buy on Friday. I think I'll head to Lowe's on Friday and pick up some organic seeds that they sell. I don't normally buy from anywhere else but rapeseeds.com ,but it won't hurt to try some new seeds but as you know they'll have to be organic or heirloom or both. I already have some kale growing in my garden that my hubby bought from the feed store that is not heirloom nor organic. So it got planted at the very edge of the garden and hubby was asked not to buy anything that was not organic or heirloom. He doesn't get it though ..so he might have his own garden growing at the end of the garden where his kale is if he keeps buying .

So you know my left knee has been messed up ,well the Dr called and told me I have osteo arthritis in it.So I'll be going to be a specialist and then hopefully onto physical therapy. I've goto get my knee back right so I can get back outside walking every morning. I have missed being able to walk every morning and my body has suffered from not walking.I've gained weight and become unfit again.. The good news is I'm a pro at restarting and preforming do overs on the whole weight lose thing. I've had too many years of practice with it.
On the brighter side of ,I did realize and correct what I think made my knee start to hurt in the first place. I am in the process of reprograming myself to stand and walk differently . It seems my posture has caused the pain. I was putting to much pressure on the is die of my left knee thus leaning towards the right. So I am working on standing straight with my body in perfect balance. Also working on not leaning froward or backwards with my weight as well. I have been doing this for two days now and my knee has felt so much better.I can walk with very little pain and I feel so much better now that I'm not limping and gimping with my swollen,hurt knee. It is amazing to me that my Dr. did not notice nor advise me of a good posture to help correct my knee pain. I won't get started on Dr's these days but my opinion is they just wanted to prescribe me some medicine ,instead of helping me find the cause of the pain and fixing it without medicine ... of course I did want the medicine at first because I was in such pain. But if my Dr had said no do this first ,I would of.  I think American Dr's need to change their approach on helping heal the sick.

Well the housework is not going to get done with me here chatting, so I'll chat with you more another day.Enjoy your beautiful day whatever the weather may be !!
That's life as told by Ginger

Recycle and Reuse

We had two box springs that have been hanging around our house for a few months now. Hubby wanted to throw them away and it hit me that we could use those ..well the guts of them anyway. So I drug the box springs out with some help from my oldest and we got to work deconstructing the box spring. First we cut the top layer away..the white top layer.

This is the layer we found a fairly thin layer of pressed leftover strings and such to form the padding ..that's what I'm calling it.The padding we decided would be useful for surrounding the rabbits next winter. As a wind break or insulation from the wind. So it got folded up and put away. I did not get a photo but there was a very thin layer of black material on the very bottom of the box spring. We kept it too.It would make a great weed barrier if we need some for a garden...so it was saves as well

Then we had this layer..this layer no lie took a really long time to work with. Each place the metal frame hits the wood there is two metal staples that I had to dig out with a screw driver and shear force. My hubby walked by and said it's not worth it, too much work to get that. I of course ignored his comment and kept on getting on.  I have one box spring deconstructed and one more wood and wire frame to deconstruct.

This is the wire frame ,my oldest holding it up 

The wire frame will be used in the garden to trellis beans or cucumbers or something up it

This is the wood structure and it will be used in the garden as well. It will either be broken down into tomato stacks of I might invent some kind of long "trellis" to stake the tomatoes to. 

I am thinking one wooden trellis on each side of tomatoes would help keep them upright.

I want to encourage you to use what you have ,recycle, reuse,repurpose everything you have into something new before going out and buying money for that item. Use your imaginations , get creative and save the planet while doing so. We need to learn how to live smarter and wiser than we have been. 

I'm heading out into the garden this morning to plant some seeds.It rained all day yesterday and my early morning walk thru found all my spring seedlings have popped thru the earth and are ready to grow!  I am going to get some summer seeds into the ground today. I will choose some cold hardy ones. It's still cold at night here but I have to get my seeds into the ground. I do not ,did not have room in our house to grow but two small trays of seedlings so that means everything else is starting directly in the ground this year. I figure it's been happening that way for ions now so I'll be fine doing it ,juts as nature does. 

That's life as told by Ginger

In the garden

 I'm heading out into the vegg. garden this morning and hope to be able to work out there all day today. I so need to get some work done all this rain and cold cold weather has slowed me down a bit ,but I'm still good and not behind ..just feels like I am. I need to see about finding out how to sharpen my hoe..it's do dull and of course I have to work twice as hard to get the work done because of it.
I walked thru the garden yesterday and I have seedlings popping up thru the earth. I've got my "salad bar tires" three of them have seedlings up and my spinach and peas are up in an other bed, I've got some kale that was planted last season popping up..the roots were not removed from the garden when I changed over my rows to beds and permaculture plantings..so those are coming back and I'm going to leave them. I'll plant some companion plants around it and get on with it.
I'll try to remember to take my camera out with me today and get some photos of the new design and some of the seedlings. The fun has begun and this girl is so excited!!

So I have these two box springs from our kins sized mattress. We don't need them anymore and hubby was going to throw them away and I stepped in and said no we could rip off the material and use the metal framing for a trellis ,so today I'll get those ripped apart and check them out and see what I can do with them . I'll snap some photos of them. I mention it only because I want you to think outside the box when you garden ...reuse what you have don't go out and buy what you need...create it!!
Well I need to get some breakfast in my belly and get some gardening clothes on boots on and get on with it. Hope you have a great day!

That's life as told by Ginger

Melted dress

I finally finished the piece I started a week or so back.  This beautiful wedding dress is made of records melted and stacked them up, drilled holes in them ,painted them and created this beautiful dress

vintage lace at the base of the bodice ,shimmering pearls at the top and bottom of bodice and three cream roses

The lighting is off on this last photo but I really wanted you to see the blue jewel and the train and you can see them better in this photo. 

That's life as told by Ginger

 

Garden talk with strangers

 I love it when I run into random strangers and we talk organic and heirloom seeds and vegetable gardening, and eating organic foods. I just walked in from my weekly grocery shopping trip and today I ran into three people and we talked all about gardening and organic and eating right. It really made my day to be able to spread the word of organic gardening, to encourage gardening and canning and growing your own foods. I also had a great conversation with my produce man at the grocery store I always shop at. They've started getting a few organic foods in and I asked if they could get more in. He told me they use to carry more organic foods but "they" (Not sure who "they" is) didn't like it in the stores and pushed the organic foods out. Funny how no one wants America to know about organic foods or organic farming ...why you might be asking yourself? Because it puts big corporations out of business when America starts to care about what they are putting in their bodies. "They" want you to be dumb and careless what is in your food... FYI it's not good stuff in your food!!
 I use to think art was my passion , but more and more growing organic food  and spreading the word has become my passion . I love eating fresh ,homegrown, chemical free foods that I can collect the seeds and replant the following year.

Well I need to go unpack my grocery bags.. I was too excited to unpack them and needed to chat with you before I forgot what I wanted to tell you. 

I hope you all get inspired this year to get some organic seeds and grow your own food !

That's life as told by Ginger

My spring and summer 2013 goal

  This Spring and Summer I will attempt to  grow enough food to feed my family and have enough to share with my community. I will be building a  Farm Stand in our front yard. I first need to check and make sure I won't be breaking any laws by doing so.  If all works out I hope to be able to offer fresh organic vegetables to those who could use it the most and I will not require payment, I will however have a box for those who want to make donations . All donations will be put back into the vegetable garden so I could continue to grow extra food for those in need.  I hope and pray I can grow enough to share ! I'd also like to share my passion for heirloom organic gardening, by teaching those who want to learn how to grow there own food. Both of my goals are not being made so I can profit off them monetarily , I hope to gain my profit by gained friendships and a closer community.
 
Get out there and make your community a better place to live!
-That's life as told by Ginger