![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helwenSlowly getting in better shape, despite the shoulder issues (the knees aren't so hot either, for that matter). Going for another walk today, probably over to the hardware store to get putty. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fitzw's been busy putting in the baseboard in the dining area, so time to fill in/cover the nails and hopefully even painting this week. Starting to lose some weight again, yay! The more I can lose, the happier my knees will be. And yes, doing my shoulder exercises, which are also good for the back. Hey, even if I end up having to have surgery, the better shape I'm in, the faster the recovery.
Allergies have been kind of a nuisance the past few weeks, off and on. Mostly controllable, but have had to resort to sudafed a few times (the real stuff), and also chlorophenaramine this morning. I'm allergic to pretty much anything that can float in the air - pollen, mold, dust & dustmites, animal dander, etc. Yes, a gardener with two cats and allergies... I had shots for about a year, my freshman year in college. Those helped some, and then for a while I was getting worked on by someone who combined massage, cranial-sacral, and reiki, and was really good at reconnecting and balancing things. Now I do self-accupressure and some chigong, occasionally reiki, among other things. Most of the time I don't even need the OTC stuff, and often the inhalers are optional. Which is good, considering I ran out of one of them a few days ago and am waiting for the refill to come in the mail :D
***
The lettuce is starting to look pretty good. I was able to pick a few leaves here and there -- wrapped them up in a sorrel leaf and had myself a little "salad roll". Pretty tasty! The chives have started blooming, as have the perennial flax.
The walk path in front is getting a little overfull with volunteer p.flax and some russian sage as well. I'd best move them before it's impossible to do so. The volunteer chives I don't worry much about - I just eat them when I'm out weeding, since there are plenty of them :)
Looks like we _might_ be able to clear a patch of land above the double-sugar house this year. We've been thinking of trying to grow some flax up there as well as down here, to see what the conditions will be like there. If this works out, I'll also bring up some other plants, so that some of the stuff I like is already up there. Chives, Echinacea, Sorrel, etc. And if it goes wild, that's okay. They're compatible with the environment in this area, even though they aren't growing wild there right now.
Chives for instance grows throughout New England. I remember finding one at a campground in Maine once... it was huge! Our domestic variety is only about a foot tall. I'm definitely interesting in furthering my wild foraging knowledge, but would just as soon it was a little easier in what will be home territory for us in the future. The diversity on the hill isn't bad, but it could be a lot better and will bring more balance to the area. And hey, it might save some of my future veggie gardens if woodland critters have somewhere else to get their food.
There's a gardening place on the road that Hampton Ponds is on, that specializes in native plants. At some point I want to go there and see what they have. Not all of it will necessarily be suitable to Ashfield of course, since Ashfield is at a higher elevation.
***
Plans for the summer for learning more active skills are kind of in limbo until I see the doctor next week. I suspect my original plan of backpack hiking is out, at least with the full kit. So, daypack only, more walking, and hopefully biking. As long as I can walk, I can practice orienteering, which should be interesting. My skills with maps generally are to look at the map upside down and find the place I'm looking for anyway... and of course, see what plants are growing in various places, edible and medicinal both.
Weaving will continue, even if I have to do it one handed. I'll probably be switching back to the table loom soon, to make some scarves and such for sale -- less reaching than with a larger loom.
Will try my hand at solar cooking as well, sun-drying veggies, and canning.
As long as the shoulder holds up, I'll do a bit of staff work as well, just to keep things limbered up.
fitzw's been busy putting in the baseboard in the dining area, so time to fill in/cover the nails and hopefully even painting this week. Starting to lose some weight again, yay! The more I can lose, the happier my knees will be. And yes, doing my shoulder exercises, which are also good for the back. Hey, even if I end up having to have surgery, the better shape I'm in, the faster the recovery.Allergies have been kind of a nuisance the past few weeks, off and on. Mostly controllable, but have had to resort to sudafed a few times (the real stuff), and also chlorophenaramine this morning. I'm allergic to pretty much anything that can float in the air - pollen, mold, dust & dustmites, animal dander, etc. Yes, a gardener with two cats and allergies... I had shots for about a year, my freshman year in college. Those helped some, and then for a while I was getting worked on by someone who combined massage, cranial-sacral, and reiki, and was really good at reconnecting and balancing things. Now I do self-accupressure and some chigong, occasionally reiki, among other things. Most of the time I don't even need the OTC stuff, and often the inhalers are optional. Which is good, considering I ran out of one of them a few days ago and am waiting for the refill to come in the mail :D
***
The lettuce is starting to look pretty good. I was able to pick a few leaves here and there -- wrapped them up in a sorrel leaf and had myself a little "salad roll". Pretty tasty! The chives have started blooming, as have the perennial flax.
The walk path in front is getting a little overfull with volunteer p.flax and some russian sage as well. I'd best move them before it's impossible to do so. The volunteer chives I don't worry much about - I just eat them when I'm out weeding, since there are plenty of them :)
Looks like we _might_ be able to clear a patch of land above the double-sugar house this year. We've been thinking of trying to grow some flax up there as well as down here, to see what the conditions will be like there. If this works out, I'll also bring up some other plants, so that some of the stuff I like is already up there. Chives, Echinacea, Sorrel, etc. And if it goes wild, that's okay. They're compatible with the environment in this area, even though they aren't growing wild there right now.
Chives for instance grows throughout New England. I remember finding one at a campground in Maine once... it was huge! Our domestic variety is only about a foot tall. I'm definitely interesting in furthering my wild foraging knowledge, but would just as soon it was a little easier in what will be home territory for us in the future. The diversity on the hill isn't bad, but it could be a lot better and will bring more balance to the area. And hey, it might save some of my future veggie gardens if woodland critters have somewhere else to get their food.
There's a gardening place on the road that Hampton Ponds is on, that specializes in native plants. At some point I want to go there and see what they have. Not all of it will necessarily be suitable to Ashfield of course, since Ashfield is at a higher elevation.
***
Plans for the summer for learning more active skills are kind of in limbo until I see the doctor next week. I suspect my original plan of backpack hiking is out, at least with the full kit. So, daypack only, more walking, and hopefully biking. As long as I can walk, I can practice orienteering, which should be interesting. My skills with maps generally are to look at the map upside down and find the place I'm looking for anyway... and of course, see what plants are growing in various places, edible and medicinal both.
Weaving will continue, even if I have to do it one handed. I'll probably be switching back to the table loom soon, to make some scarves and such for sale -- less reaching than with a larger loom.
Will try my hand at solar cooking as well, sun-drying veggies, and canning.
As long as the shoulder holds up, I'll do a bit of staff work as well, just to keep things limbered up.
