Friday, March 16, 2012

New Arbor

I woke up with a headache.  I think it is because I have taken my diet to the Ninja level, so I could be detoxing.  I eliminated all the commercial products and the seeds and nuts.

Look what is in one of our garden beds....just in time for St. Patrick's day.  It's a shamrock!
Shamrock.
We went to some garage sales and some estate sales today.  We didn't spend much money, but we got some stoneware plates and three beer bottles I think I can sell.  We bought an arbor at the estate sale for $2.00.  Travis had me hold it in the back of the Odyssey and then he slammed the trunk door down on my arm.  It hurt like the devil.  We both cried.  My arm hurt for a couple of hours, but now I think it is okay.  It doesn't seem to be broken.  I guess that's what comes from writing about broken bones on my blog a couple of days ago. Here is a link to the post....Broken Bones.

We put the arbor up in the garden right next to the grape arbor.  There are a couple of grape plants that can train up over this new arbor.  Plus we plan to plant cucumbers beside it, too.
Travis holding the new arbor up for me to see if I like where it is.

The arbor is now installed.

Here is a carrot that came up.  Travis planted carrots last year and none of them came up.  But here this one is now.

One of the strawberry plants has a bloom.

I read in Gaia's Garden about a way to make a spiral herb garden that will take less room than the traditional way.  You need a mound of good soil that is 3' high and 5' across.  You put fist size or larger rocks around the mound in a spiral from the bottom to the top leaving a foot of soil between the spirals. You can plant herbs winding up the spiral.  I may have to try this.

To health and happiness.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Gandhi

My  Lifestyle Consultants course I study with Dr. John Fielder had a  lesson today on the History of Nature Cure about Mohandas Gandhi.  Everyone knows about Gandhi's non-violent resistance to England's colonial rule of India and his passion for the sick and poor, but my lesson today was about his practice of Natural Hygiene and Nature Cure.  He was very much influenced by Nature Cure pioneers, Louis Kuhne and Adolf Just.

Gandhi was a strict vegetarian who believed that observing the laws of nature would keep you healthy.  He established a Nature Cure center where the poor, who could not afford medicines,  could learn about health and hygiene.

Gandhi did not have faith in modern medicine.  He was of the opinion that good health required only proper diet, fresh air, exercise, clean environment, and a pure heart.  Modern medicine tempts people to break the laws of health and then seek a cure through drugs.  Gandhi tried to learn how to overcome disease without medicines.  Prevention of disease and cures are found by observing the laws of Nature.  Gandhi considered the laws of Nature and the laws of God to be the same.

Here is a link to Gandhi's short book called Key to Health.
Key to Health by Gandhi

In the garden today, I transplanted five Margold tomato plants and four lettuce plants from the greenhouse.  Travis planted a row of beets.  I planted a row with half romaine-like lettuce seeds and half green salad lettuce seeds.  I planted a row of half Red Creole Onion seeds and half White Lisbon bunching onion.  I planted four Snowball cauliflower seeds in a 4-pack and 18 Margold tomato seeds in 6-packs.
Transplanting lettuce plants.


Newly transplanted Margold tomato plant.

Newly transplanted lettuce plants.


The asparagus is coming up.

I had lunch on the deck in the sunshine.  Travis and Arthur went to visit Karl today for their weekly meeting so I fixed my own green smoothie.
Lunch in the sunshine today.

Lunch:  Green Smoothie (arugula, kale, banana, date, honeydew, kiwi, apple, water); grapefruit with honey; avocado; watermelon.

Dinner:  Romaine lettuce leaves, green onions, cucumber, radish and zucchini sprinkled with lemon juice; tomato; sauerkraut.

To health and happiness.

Broken Bones

Our friend, Karl, called to tell us that his sprained ankle included a cracked femur.  He is walking on a walker, but according to the doctor, if it does not heal he will need surgery.  What does Natural Hygiene have to say about broken bones.  Well, surgery is not always the answer.  Natural Hygiene treats fractures very different from the modern methods.  There are three main differences:

Instead of forcibly aligning the two ends of the broken bone in one manipulation under anesthesia, Natural Hygiene brings the ends together gradually without anesthesia.

Instead of mobilizing the broken bone until it is firmly united, Natural Hygiene thinks immobilization is not necessary or desirable.  It uses splints to keep the bones from becoming displaced.

Instead of immobilizing the joints above and below the fracture, Natural Hygiene allows for freedom of the joints and considers immobilization to be unnecessary and harmful.  Immobilization causes the muscles to waste away and slows down healing.

It is better to focus on the whole body rather than only on the fracture.  A broken limb that is splinted can heal much faster than one set in a cast.

Even when surgery is essential, healing is quicker when the whole body is considered.  Fractures respond well when the blood flow is not restricted and the limb can be gently massaged and exposed to the fresh air and sunlight.  Fasting, when appropriate, can help the bones heal faster.  A clean body, inside and out, always heals faster.

People that live a simple natural lifestyle heal quicker than those who live like the majority.  The time to get ready for broken bones and other emergencies is now...before they happen.  Living the simple, natural lifestyle eliminates the need for most surgeries, but if surgery becomes necessary, a healthy body gives the best chance to come through it with good results.

Wednesday we put compost and mulch on one of the garden beds.  We left keyhole pathways on the beds to facilitate working in the beds without compacting the soil so much.  Travis planted three varieties of kale, three varieties of radish, and a row of seed potatoes.  I'm a little aggravated with Travis for changing the direction of the rows.  He planted the rows on one side of the keyhole going vertical, and on the other side of the keyhole he planted them going horizontal.  Oh well, I'm sure it will work out fine.
Travis planting kale.

The potato row.

The strawberries like their new home.

The keyhole pathway in the garden bed.

Horizontal and vertical rows. :-)

Lunch today was green smoothie (I don't know what Travis put in it, but it was good); watermelon, grapefruit with honey, orange, and goody balls.

I made a batch of trail mix today.  Recipe is here:  http://www.simplerawandnatural.blogspot.com/2012/03/raw-foodies-and-church-ladies.html

Ladies night out last night.  We ate at Ruby Tuesday and went to the movie to see The Vow.  Dinner was the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday....Raw salads plus potato salad.  At the movie theater I ate some banana chips and trail mix I had in my purse.

To health and happiness.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Cleaning the Garage

Switching to daylight savings time has left me sleep deprived.  No complaints, though, as daylight in the evenings is wonderful.

Today was a fabulous sunny day with temperatures reaching into the 80's!

Today was flute lesson day.  Harriet worked with me on the flute ensemble music this morning, and Jackie worked with me on my regular lesson this afternoon.

Travis and I cleaned out some of the garage today.  We found another van load of items for Molly and the kids to sell at the garage sale on Friday.  They are making money for Orlando.  And I love having less clutter in the garage, although there is more work to be done there.

Lunch today:  Green Smoothie (watermelon, banana, kiwi, apples, dates, water); Grapefruit with Honey; Honeydew; Mango; Goody Ball; and Pistachios.

Lunch:  Green Smoothie, Mango, Honeydew, Grapefruit with Honey, and Goody Ball.  Pistachios not shown.
At Kroger I bought organic baby carrots, cucumber, apples, oranges, grapefruit, kiwi and an avocado.  I bought commercial cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, and avocados.

Dinner tonight was leftover salad with oil and vinegar dressing, sauerkraut, avocado, and peanuts.

What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another. - Gandhi

From the book Perennial Vegetables...Perennials, especially trees, moderate micro-climates, making the areas around them cooler and moister.  The root systems of perennials catch and store water and nutrients that would otherwise be washed away.  They provide critical habitat to animal, fungal, and other life forms that are highly beneficial in gardens.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Tennis Tournament

The Annual Meeting at our church was good.  It was a lot of work, but worth it.  We had our meals at the church on Friday night, Saturday lunch, Saturday dinner, and Sunday lunch.  Over the course of the week-end, I took potato soup, green salads, crackers, salad dressings, trail mix, goody balls, raw milk cheese, cashew butter dip, melons, and fruit salad.  My sister brought my Mom to the meeting on Saturday.  We were happy to get to host the visiting preacher and his family in our home.  
Mom having lunch at church.
My plan was to work in the garden this morning, but I never got out to do it.  Instead, I had to package up a shipment for a watch case we sold on Ebay and a book we sold on Abe Books.  Once I got into that mind-set, I listed some china plates on Ebay and an old book on Abe Books.  Travis, in the mean time, put the minerals and fertilizer on garden bed #1. 

The POA is selling off the lots that are in arrears in their assessments.  There are two across the street that are for sale for $1000 each.  We walked around on them and talked about buying one of them.  I would love to have more land for planting fruit trees and veggies.

The forsythia and petunias were really pretty today.


 Lunch was Green Smoothies (leftover fruit salad from church, kale, banana, and water); grapefruit with honey, mango, watermelon, trail mix, and banana chips.

I went to visit Mom today and took her a lot of the snacks she likes to keep in her room.  Then I went to Otter Creek to watch grandson Zac play in a tennis tournament.  It was a great match, and a perfect afternoon to sit outside and watch tennis.

Zac and his opponent at the tennis tournament.

Zac playing tennis.
 I had dinner at Molly's house.  I took a little cooler with my food in it, so I had green salad, oil and vinegar dressing, sauerkraut, goody ball, and baby carrots with cashew butter.  Braeden sauteed some bell pepper in lemon juice.
Braeden sauteing bell pepper in lemon juice.
From How to Grow More Vegetables I am learning about a method to make compost that is simpler, uses no manure, and uses no herbal solutions to stimulate microorganism growth.  It uses no rock powder, fertilizers or nitrogen supplements (usually).  This type of composting is easily feasible for backyard gardening.

I decided today to make a keyhole type path in my three garden beds to make it easier to work the center of the beds.  In Gaia's Garden they show circular beds with a keyhole design.  Since my beds are already built, and they are square, the idea of the keyhole pathway will still work, I think.  It's worth a try.

To health and happiness.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Eat More Kale

Today I wore my t-shirt my nieces gave me at Christmas.  I love it.  It says "Eat More Kale".
Here I am posing with the melons and papaya in my Eat More Kale t-shirt.
I operated in slow gear all day today.  The coffee I drank last night kept me up until after 1:00 a.m. this morning.  It definitely operated as a stimulant.  I don't need to do that again.

Lunch today was grapefruit with honey, avocado, and trail mix.  The trail mix is really good.

Dinner was salad (romaine, mushrooms, sprouts, and tomatoes) dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, Bragg's seasoning and a tiny bit of sea salt; avocado, sauerkraut, banana chips, and trail mix.

Tomorrow will be a busy day.  Our annual meeting starts at our church tomorrow evening and goes through Sunday.  We will be hosting people in our home and feeding the people that attend the meeting.  It will be a lovely week-end, I'm sure, even though it is raining.

More from Quintessence about surgery:  Surgery has become a way of suppressing disease symptoms without addressing the causes.  Organs are removed to "cure" disease.  Surgeries have become routine and popular.  Millions of people elect to have surgery rather than to change their lifestyle.  Millions of tonsils, adenoid and appendices have been removed.  These are important lymphoid tissues.  The body's line of defense is left weaker.  There is a higher likelihood of chronic disease later in life.  Removing the gall bladder and ulcers does not remove the cause of the problem.

To health and happiness.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Raw Foodies and Church Ladies

First job of the morning was to go to Walmart to stock up on food to take to our church meeting this week-end.  I bought salad fixings, lots of beautiful melons, papayas, organic potatoes for potato soup, organic crackers, butter, orange juice and grape juice for my company.

Piel de Sapo melon from Costa Rico.
Papaya

We had our first raw foods meeting today here in Hot Springs Village.  I am excited about this group of ladies.  Cindy, Gabriel, Peg and me had a great time.  I made green smoothies in my Vita-Mix and Cindy made a smoothie with greens, apples, lemon, carrots, celery, and ginger in her Blend-Tec.  We had these for lunch along with papaya, watermelon, avocado, banana chips, goody balls, and an assortment of raw organic nuts that arrived today from Nuts.com.  We plan to meet on the third Wednesday of every month.   They all took flyers to help publicize Dr. Fielder's visit on May 16 and May 17.  I took some great pictures of the ladies making smoothies only to discover later that the memory card was not in the camera.  

The box from Nuts.com today came laden with about $400 worth of organic nuts and dried fruits.  I buy in 5 lb. bags so this will last quite a while.  I made a big batch of trail mix using 2 cups of dried cranberries, and 1 cup each of sunflower seeds, pepitas, almonds, walnuts, banana chips, brazil nuts, cashews, and pistachios.
Trail Mix
I met the church ladies (Deb, Melinda, and Linda) at the theater tonight.  We went to see The Secret World of Arrietty.  I liked it but some thought it was slow.  Then we had dinner at Chili's.  The food I had tonight was movie popcorn, fried onion and jalepeno appetizer, house salad, steamed broccoli and coffee.   I would have been better off without the popcorn, appetizer and coffee.  

I read this morning in Quintessence of Natural Living about surgery and Natural Hygiene.  Constructive surgery is good.  It can save a life and restore parts to normal.  The downside is when surgeons ignore the essential nature of disease.  They use surgery to do away with the effects of diseases rather than addressing the cause.

The Cannon of Medicine was written in China over 2000 years ago.  The Cannon emphasized prevention rather than cure.  It said curing disease is like digging a well after one has become thirsty or like forging weapons after the battle has begun.  It advocated Hygienic principles of regular habits, cleanliness, proper diet, a combination of hard physical work and leisure, fresh air and sunshine, and a calm mind.  This seems elementary, but when it was written most people in the West knew almost nothing about disease prevention.  

To health and happiness.








Monday, March 5, 2012

Amy's Birthday

Today is the birthday for my favorite daughter-in-law, Amy Hopper.  Happy birthday, Amy.  The card is in the mail and we'll go shopping when I get to Philly.  I got to talk to her last night to wish her a happy birthday.

Yesterday we had church at our little church in the country.  My sister came from Little Rock and brought my Mom.  Our pastor preached about how important it is to be grateful for what we have.  We had lunch at church.  I took some of the raw soup I just learned to make, some goody balls, raw cauliflower popcorn, steamed broccoli, and honeydew.  After church we cleaned the kitchen and got everything ready for our annual meeting coming up next week-end.
Mom at church yesterday.

This morning we finished putting compost and mulch on bed #3.  We weeded bed #1.  I harvested all the kale out of bed #1 and pulled up the plants.  We are going to plant kale in bed #3 this year.  The transplanted strawberries look very happy.
Putting compost on the garden bed.

This is the kale I harvested today.
Weeding one of the garden beds.

The harvested kale.
New York here I come.  I am so excited to get to go to NYC with five girl friends.  It will be so much fun.  We bought our plane tickets today.


After much changing of plans (thanks, Amy) we have rescheduled our Philadelphia trip to later so that we can go with our daughter, Molly, and her three children to Universal Studios in Orlando for spring break.  Molly has booked us a condo at Orlando.  We bought two day passes to Universal Studios.  We are doing this trip on a budget.  We plan to go to the state park in Pensacola and spend an afternoon at the beach on our way.  We'll only eat out a couple of times.  Once at Rain Forest Cafe and once at Three Broomsticks in the Harry Potter Theme Park.  Grand-daughter, Ashlyn, has just discovered Harry Potter and she is a big fan.  We will watch Harry Potter movies on the way and play Harry Potter Trivia.


I made up my traveling grocery list of foods to take with me:  melons, avocados, bananas, grapefruit, apples or pears, lemons, baby carrots, romaine, cucumber, sauerkraut, sesame butter, honey, herbal tea, olive oil, popcorn and popcorn popper, coconut oil, sea salt, Bragg's seasoning, organic gummy bears, trail mix, goody balls, and water.


I am now a member of the National Flute Association and have submitted my registration form to the attend the National Flute Convention.


Lunch today was green smoothie, watermelon, avocado, sauerkraut, and goody balls.

Dinner was veggie cocktail (carrot, beet, celery, sweet potato); salad (romaine, mushrooms, sprouts, tomato, lemon juice, olive oil, and Bragg's seasoning); almonds, and goody balls.

My Philosophy of Nature Cure lesson today was about Crises.  It was such a rich lesson.  I enjoyed it very much.  What allopathy calls the disease, we look upon as the cure.  The Law of Crises is evident in  nature and in the world. It is a universal law.  Wars and revolutions are the healing crises of nations...Heresies and reformations are the crises of religion....Strikes and riots are the crises of commercial life...rainstorms cool and purify the air and charge it with life-giving ozone..healing crises purify the disease laden bodies of men.  This great law of crises dominates the cure of chronic disease.

"The cure always proceeds through the darkness and chaos of healing crises to the light and beauty of perfect health.  There will be periods of marked improvement alternating with acute eliminative activity until perfect regeneration has taken place."

To health and happiness.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Alko Shredder

 It was chilly this morning, but I got out and worked a bit in the garden bed that had the strawberries moved out yesterday.  I fed it with the mineral supplement and fertilizer.  I started putting on compost, but ran out of time before I finished.  We are going to plant some kale in this bed.
Bed #3 weeded, minerals added, fertilized, and partly composted.

Travis and I went to an estate sale today.  First thing we saw was a garden shredder.  We bought it for $60.00 and brought it home.  There are lots of leaves in my yard that could be shredded.
Our new used Alko shredder...made in Germany.   
For dinner tonight I made a soup.  The inspiration came from Dara Dubinet on her You-tube video, but mine was different because I used what we had.

My vegetable soup recipe:  Juice a beet, 6 carrots, 3 broccoli stalks, and a sweet potato.  Then heat a pot of water on the stove, but do not boil.  In the Vita-Mix, put 3 medium tomatoes, 2 zucchini, and the juice.  Blend well and add hot water to make the soup warm.   Pour into bowls.  Season with a little olive oil and a little cayenne pepper.  Travis ate organic crackers with his.

I served it with a salad (romaine, mushrooms, olive oil, apple cider vinegar) and avocado.


A garden falls apart if left untended; Nature doesn't.  Design a garden that will inherently become more fertile, healthy, and well-watered and have the dynamic stability, resilience, and exuberance of natural ecosystems. - from Gaia's Garden.

The emphasis will have to be on perennials rather than annuals in order to do that.  Many annuals can be replaced with perennials such as Good King Henry, perennial kale and collards, French sorrel, perennial onions, root crops, herbs, asparagus, artichokes, berries, fruits, and nuts.  It's a fascinating subject.  Some of the perennials grow wild in our yard already, such as dandelion.  There is a lot to learn.

To health and happiness.


 It was chilly this morning, but I got out and worked a bit in the garden bed that had the strawberries moved out yesterday.  I fed it with the mineral supplement and fertilizer.  I started putting on compost, but ran out of time before I finished.  We are going to plant some kale in this bed.
Bed #3 weeded, minerals added, fertilized, and partly composted.

Travis and I went to an estate sale today.  First thing we saw was a garden shredder.  We bought it for $60.00 and brought it home.  There are lots of leaves in my yard that could be shredded.
Our new used Alco shredder...made in Germany.   
For dinner tonight I made a soup.  The inspiration came from Dara Dubinet on her You-tube video, but mine was different because I used what we had.

My vegetable soup recipe:  Juice a beet, 6 carrots, 3 broccoli stalks, and a sweet potato.  Then heat a pot of water on the stove, but do not boil.  In the Vita-Mix, put 3 medium tomatoes, 2 zucchini, and the juice.  Blend well and add hot water to make the soup warm.   Pour into bowls.  Season with a little olive oil and a little cayenne pepper.  Travis ate organic crackers with his.

I served it with a salad (romaine, mushrooms, olive oil, apple cider vinegar) and avocado.


A garden falls apart if left untended; Nature doesn't.  Design a garden that will inherently become more fertile, healthy, and well-watered and have the dynamic stability, resilience, and exuberance of natural ecosystems. - from Gaia's Garden.

The emphasis will have to be on perennials rather than annuals in order to do that.  Many annuals can be replaced with perennials such as Good King Henry, perennial kale and collards, French sorrel, perennial onions, root crops, herbs, asparagus, artichokes, berries, fruits, and nuts.  It's a fascinating subject.  Some of the perennials grow wild in our yard already, such as dandelion.  There is a lot to learn.

To health and happiness.


Friday, March 2, 2012

Garden Secret

Hot Springs is famous for its water.  Yesterday, I went downtown and filled up my water bottles at the Happy Hollow Springs.  The water that comes from this spring is not hot, but it is our favorite.  It is free to anyone that brings their bottles.  It is always fascinating to see the people there getting water.   It's quite international.  People from all over the world show up there to get the water.
Getting water at Happy Hollow Springs.  My water bottles are in the foreground..all filled up.

We have a vegan restaurant in Hot Springs now, Garden Secret.  I met Travis and Karl there for lunch yesterday.  The food was amazing.  We met the owners, Clarence and Deborah Reddick.  I hope people will go there and help them make this into a big success.  We need them to be here.




Lentil Soup- beautifully presented.

Garden Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Lasagna - The daily special.

Here I am with Karl and one of the owners, Deborah.

Garden Secrets Restaurant
 We had an interesting afternoon with Karl.  We visited St. John the Baptist Catholic Church to get information about the history.  Karl is convinced there was a Catholic orphanage here at one time.  St. John's is 100 years old, but they started as a school.  The church was built a few years after the school.  None of the people at the church were aware of an orphanage ever being there.  One lady called over to St. Mary's to see if they knew which church had an orphanage in their history.   So far we have not found out anything.  We got to see the sanctuary at St. John's.  I had never been inside before.  It was very beautiful.

Next we went to the A.M.E. Church near the convention center. It is an old domed church that is in disrepair, but it is being refurbished.  According to the sign, the pastor is Reverend Angela Brewster. Karl wants me to call her and find out if there was a children's home ever associated with the church and if it is possible to get inside the building.
A.M.E. Church in Hot Springs

Karl failed to gain entrance to the building.  It was locked.

We went to visit Alison Parsons at her art gallery, Alison Parsons Gallery.  She is a friend of Karl's.  She gave us a set of eight note cards she has done of the Hot Springs Bathhouses.  Then we went to visit Blue Moon Art Gallery and visited with Dishongh.  It was a fun afternoon.

I got the strawberry bed completely weeded so we can find the little strawberry plants and move them to their new bed.  Travis got all of them transplanted today.  They got watered in and tucked in with mulch.   I hope they like their new home.
The bed is weeded and the little strawberries are ready to be moved.

Transplanting strawberries.


Tuck the babies in.
Lunch today:  Green Smoothie (kale, banana, dates, kiwi, apples, water); mango; grapefruit with honey; avocado; honeydew; goody balls

Dinner tonight:  Leftover green salad; lemon juice and olive oil salad dressing; leftover steamed cabbage; baby carrots;  sauerkraut; avocado; goody balls; almonds

To health and happiness.