Latest Mom Update

Well, got an email update from my mom Saturday, which I read today followed up with a call. She was having pressure on her chest (she learned that this is one possible symptom of shortness of breath), and went to the hospital Thursday night. Ended up getting checked in for tests and stuff. Lungs and heart are fine and she's back home again (hence the email on Saturday). Like as not the 90-95F weather they've been having contributed to her not feeling/doing well. Also she's having trouble regaining the weight she lost. My mom's a tiny person anyway, so her proper weight's around 94-95 lbs. Currently is at 82.5 lbs. I suggested she get some Ensure to add in some extra calories without too much strain, as she's been having trouble eating a lot still, since the surgery. She also got some more useful information this time around, including the medical types are supposed to get her info on course for people adjusting to changes in how they live and what they can do.

On the accomplishments side, she had a lady from the Library of Congress visit with her this past Tuesday, and take some of her research materials back with her -- the beginning of the Elizabeth Lee Abbott Collection (Asian American Studies/Research). The rest will follow once she's done using the materials for the book. Another person in the field of Asian American Studies had urged her to do this after reading a chapter from book and realizing that many of the primary sources my mother had found weren't commonly available or known about, even by other people in the same or overlapping fields of interest.

I think she's finally getting the idea of how much she needs to pace herself, especially during the summer. Hope so, anyway. Will probably have to keep talking through some things with her, to help her keep to the new habits she needs to develop if she wants to finish writing her book this year...

Independance Days Update

Haven't done one of these in a few weeks... part of one of the latest 'challenges' from Sharon Astyk/Casaubon's Book.

Planted: Tomatoes, more Bloody Butcher corn, lemon verbena, hyssop, creeping time. Transplanted a few sunflowers - they don't generally transplant well, but since I had to thin them anyway, might as well try.

Harvested: A few strawberries. Also yarrow, horsetail, red clover flowers, mullein, tall cinquefoil (medicinals).

[EDIT] Also got grass and accompanying bugs and fed them to the chickens.

Preserved: Hung up herbs to dry.

Prepped: L (last week) moved the newest batch of dandelion wine from the large cooking pot into a bottle with a waterlock.

Managed: (last week) Inventoried dried fruits and nuts and acquired more for the pantry. I don't excel at drying cranberries, and I'd rather buy some right now than see if I can turn more food into little dry hard things :p Surveyed freezer contents and have been defrosting and using some of the older stuff (which still tastes pretty good, yay!).

Also mulched more.

Cooked something new: Yes and no. Nothing with a named recipe, just having fun seeing what we have that sounds like it'll taste good together.

Reduced Waste: Not exactly. Chaff is kind of unavoidable in hay storage. Used a bunch of it in the garden, some around plants, some to get the potatoes to grow taller and form more tubers, some to cover ground that isn't getting planted just yet but it keeps the dirt from blowing away on dry days (which helps keep CO2 levels down, btw).

Learned a new skill: Not this time around, unless you count learning that feeding the chickens so far means that they don't peck at your feet.

Spreading the News (Sad, Bad, then Good)

RIP, George Carlin. A unique person who was a great comedian and who got people to think and not just go through life with blinders on.



***
A view on the oil bubble (link compliments of ellid):
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/21/18184/5170/89/539948

I found Michael Greenberger's testimony to be particularly interesting. Generally speaking I dislike reading about financial dealings, but following the process of how Phil Gramm and his wife Wendy Gramm used their positions to help with de-regulation, etc. was an attention-getter for me, plus how Gramm is now McCain's chief financial adviser (and McCain's previous advisor was a paid lobbyist for United Banks of Switzerland, which is currently in financial trouble).

***
Meanwhile, sort of good news, the Mississippi is supposed to be cresting finally, for which many folks are definitely thankful:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25314967/

The article goes on to talk about the losses many towns have taken.

A lot of top soil, agricultural chemicals (fertilizers, etc.), animal waste and bodies are in the river and spreading into other water supplies, contaminating the river and its surrounds and devastating already over-stressed farmland. Also all the standing waters are breeding grounds for mosquitoes (West Nile) and E.Coli
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25287816/

Expect food prices to go up a lot this year, as much of the Midwest farmlands have taken anywhere from 20% to 100% losses in crops for this year: corn, soybeans, pigs, cattle, etc. Feed for livestock is already going way up, having already at least doubled several weeks ago.

Oh, and the dead zone in the Gulf may grow because of the floods, with all the chemicals and stuff washing down into it: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24777955/

***
Two of the 8 drugs that physicians would avoid are ones I currently take, although not on a daily basis: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24777955/

If I weren't working on herbal and accupressure alternatives I'd be taking more of them. Guess I need to step up the changeover away from them.

***
***
So, any Good News?. Yes, although it seems to require more digging than usual this week... I liked this article on farmers using green manures: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25242888/

In some of our gardens and of course the hay fields we have/use cow manure, but unlike what factory farms use (per the article), ours is from cows who get to be in pasture most of the year. Western Mass.'s geology doesn't really lend itself well to factory-farming with all the hills and rocks, and the flat parts of the Pioneer Valley are mostly used for people (cities, towns), and plant crops. Happily one of my garden beds doesn't have cow manure in it because it isn't good for potatoes or parsnips.

***
In other good news, it would seem that the campaign against plastic bottles is gaining ground. Even the feds are admitting that Bisphenol-A isn't good for people to ingest. There was even an article about it in Reader's Digest (my mom got me a subscription).

Me, I've been enjoying using our stainless steel thermoses -- having the choice of bringing along hot or cold beverages has been nice, plus even water tasted better in them. Not that we _always_ remember to use them, but we're getting much better about it as time goes on.

More cheerful news!

I was reading about this project earlier this year, but looks like the kids at MIT (with some help from a Washington researcher's work), have created a highly efficient and much more affordable solar collector than any on the market. And apparently not too hard to build either... (which is to say, it doesn't have to be built in big fancy factories)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25285030/

And here's their web site: http://raw-solar.com/