WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

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Greetings Gardeners. Trip last week was great. Food excellent. I did indulge my carb cravings just a little, but only ate half the cheese cake, omitted potatoes altogether except for a cup of clam chowder, and only ate one bread roll and two crackers.

However, I did have a biscuit and gravy and two slices of bacon every morning to go with my eggs. The rest of the time my carbs were something green: asparagus, salad, or broccoli.

Returned from the trip, to find Hubby on crutches, and had to make an immediate trip to a nearby town to get his Rx filled at Walgreens, since all the pharmacies in our town were closed. He stepped on something, it got infected, and he hadn't been home from the ER for very long when I returned.

So we went through the Steak and Shake there for supper, and I had a double steak burger with cheese, no fries, and no sugar iced tea, but I ate the whole bun. In spite of some pretty high fat intake and lots of meat, that week, my blood test on Monday had the best lipid profile for 15 years. All cholesterol and triglycerides normal. Trying to remember what I have done differently as there was a big change in just a month. LOL.

Spent the rest of the week running hubby to various doctor's, including podiatrist consult and MRI today. Surgery is a possibility. I also woke up with a cold today. Made some chicken soup broth to sip, and took some Vitamin C. Anyone have a favorite tea, soup, or food for a cold?

Started a strength training program on Thursday, and can hardly sit down or get up. Walking down the hallway and my quads just gave out several times today, but I was able to avoid falling. Had to do some stairs and used a lot of arm assistance with the railing.

I only did 10 squats(no weight), 10 military press(just the bar-no added weight), 10 dead lifts(bar only). I can't believe that such minimum effort made me so sore. LOL

I got some bags of potting mix on sale at Walmart for better than half price. Walmart employee loaded it, and I haven't unloaded it yet. I will just drag it out onto the wagon and then drag it off the wagon on the patio, and under the patio table till next spring.

I haven't been strong enough this year to handle the large bags, and that's one reason behind the strength training. Hope to be able to do what I used to be able to do next by next spring.

Have a few tomatoes. Picked a few ears of corn. Will process those tomorrow. Garden is pretty much done, and I still haven't had a chance to get the garlic in the ground. It's been pretty chilly here the last few days. Housework is stacked up too. Hope I am less sore and feeling better tomorrow, as I have a lot to do.

Hope all is well with you. Prayers up for all. Have a great weekend. God Bless.

Sorry for you and hubby’s woes. If you get muscle cramps, try a tablespoon or two of mustard- French’s or any brand..smoosh the whole glop around your mouth, and under your tongue, then swallow it. Works for hand cramps, too when I get them.

For colds, I am a jalapeno eater..don’t think I’d want a cup of it brewed up as tea, though. Feel better.

My cucuzza which only produced two cucuzza all summer have gone hog wild. I have some peppers, and a few tomatoes. Need to get to work figuring out what I want to grow in the greenhouse as days, and nights cool down.

Picked a watermelon from the compost heap today. Tendril nearest stem was brown so I’m hoping it is ripe. I think it’s a Blacktail which was bred for cold Montana nights.

Ginger tea with honey and lemon - you can make it with a couple of slices of fresh ginger, or candied ginger, or used powdered ginger but you might want to run it through a paper filter after it steeps.

Look up Tom Ka Gai - Thai coconut chicken soup. Chaokoh coconut milk is by far the best brand I’ve found.

On the last week’s cooking thread I gave a recipe for Chicken Pozole.

Or Hot and Sour Soup if there is a good Chinese takeout near you - when we were students my husband would walk a mile each way, in the winter, to bring me Hot and Sour Soup when I was sick with a sore throat or stuffed nose - yes, he’s a keeper. Still is thirty-five years later.

Hope you feel better soon - there’s something nasty going around here in NJ - a mild quick cold for some people - bad chills and fevers for others in the same family. So far I have escaped - one good thing about getting older - a wider immunity bank.

Interesting about the mustard. I haven’t had any cramps from the exercise, but I did have some in my calves and upper left quadrant of abdomen after my operation. The surgeon told me I might have some, and to take 2 extra calcium supplements up to 10 extra a day.

I only had to do that a few times, and I paired it with almond butter on crackers and a glass of milk. Last blood test, my calcium and sodium were slightly on the low side.

Jalepeno sounds good. Maybe I’ll have a few on some nachos later. I still have a few carbs left for today.

Not a fan of hot and sour soup, but I love egg drop, and I can make that using some of the broth that’s cooking in the crock pot.

I had some ginger wellness/probiotic tea, but used the last of that today. Thanks for the reminder - need to put it on my list. Making do tonight with lemon lift and adding some rose hips to the pot as it steeps.

I do have some candied somewhere, I think. So far I don’t have a fever or sore throat-that usually comes later, but sometimes, taking vitamin C and chicken broth soups seem to knock it out before it gets bad.

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