May 1, 2016, Overcast. 81°
►Canned four & one 1/2 pints of beets. They'd been in the garden so long, I thought they wouldn't be OK to can. But, after a night in the slow cooker, they looked just like any other beet I've canned, LOL!
►I washed and trimmed all the beet greens, too, then, put them on the dehydrator for ~6 hours. Turned it off and went to bed. When I checked them Sunday mid-morning, they had absorbed moisture again (from the humid garage?), so, I had to run it for another six hours.
NOTE TO SELF: Greens left on the dehydrator will reabsorb moisture...Remove and process immediately...
I ran batches of the dried leaves through a spice grinder, and 9 trays yielded almost a full half-pint of powder. It smells amazingly like gumbo file. Can't wait to start sprinkling it in my smoothies, and on dishes I cook.
►The overcast sky has been kind to the 13 transplanted eggplants. I have plans to bread thick slices of eggplant and vacuum seal for the freezer. I may try to dehydrate some, too, but, something tells me it's gonna take forever to dry them out...We'll see! Meanwhile, I just found a recipe for dehydrated eggplant BACON!!! Tah Dah!!!
NOTE: I found a YouTube video on refreshing the potting soil inside the EB. It was a total timesaver! I just have to find some flashing and my putty knife! https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
In the future, regardless of whether I'm using the boxes as a seed bed or not, they've got to have a bonnet or hoop over them to keep out the squirrels and the moths. Also, I need to be diligent about applying the Sluggo Plus for the snails. They are threatening a takeover!
Still didn't get to the green beans. And, either the plants are yellowing because they're shutting down from not being harvested, or, they're water-logged from all our rain...
May 9, 2016, OVERCAST with bright patches, 81°
Once again, life gets in the way. My beloved niece, who's spent the past two years battling a very aggressive, very rare cancer, has been diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Leukemia (MDS). The good news is that, in the past two years, the original cancer (tumor) shrank from 16.3 cm to 2.8 cm. over the course of 8 rounds of very powerful chemo, and she's out of the woods with that, for now.
The bad news is that this Leukemia, and the "Sweet" syndrome she's had for the past 4 months, are by-products of the powerful chemo she took for the tumor. The "Sweet" syndrome causes her to break out in painful lesions on her face, and now her neck and chest...She also experiences pain in her bones from that..
The good news is that the MDS is the same thing that ABC host Robin Roberts had, and she's good to go.
The bad news is there seems to be more chemo in my niece's very near future.
The good news is that God is very much aware of what's going on, and how the story ends...
The bad news is that He isn't telling us just yet...
May 10, 2016, Sunshiny and humid, 73°
Too much Google can be a bad thing, sometimes... I am much encouraged after speaking directly with my niece, to get the Drs. report. It helped to sort out all the Google info.
They're not overly concerned about the fungal pneumonia that's been diagnosed with a chest x-ray and CT scan. They'll hit that with meds, and move on to the more aggressive Stem Cell transplant. Moving fast, here, and that's much appreciated! Mom (a 5-point match) will be most likely donor, or search the gene-pool for a 10-point match. We are very encouraged, but sober enough to know the road ahead will be very bumpy. Drs. have said most likely a 6-month road....
May 11, 2016, Sunshiny & warm 80°
The wheels of progress move slowly, even when they're moving fast. Scheduled for a bronchoscopy at 10am today, but, wasn't seen until 4pm, after fasting since 10pm last night. Can you say "STARVING?" The food service (me) delivered her favorite fried chicken dinner and peach cobbler to her and mom, curbside. She managed to not go off on anyone in the bronchoscopy dept., which, in itself, is a minor miracle, LOLOL!
May 12, 2016, Sunshiny & cloudy, 86°
They are starting chemo tonight...
May 17, 2016, Clear, 80°
Had a way late start behind a muscle relaxer that had me extremely woozie most of the day..
Pulled the ratty Kellogg's Breakfast tomato vines. Left one that had only 3 sizable tomatoes on it. Cleared out the Contender green beans bed. Didn't keep any pods cuz the rain rotted most of them. I'll start fresh again next time.
Harvested all the remaining beets, and, cleaned and processed them to the slow cooker overnight. This second harvest yielded more than the first. Will can them tomorrow.
Mowed and edged the yard.
Direct Sowed 142 Pink Eye Purple Hull Pea seeds in raised bed (RB) #1; http://davesgarden.com/guides/..., and
Direct sowed "Betty's White" okra seeds in RB #2 where the beets were; http://davesgarden.com/guides/...
My niece went home late this evening. 10 rounds of chemo in FIVE days. No nausea, praise God!!!
May 18, 2016, Clear, 80°
No exact match on the Bone Marrow Registry. Several 9 point matches, but, we need a 10 out of 10...Plan "B" is a cord blood transplant...need much prayer...
May 19, 2016, Hazy, 80°
My eyes keep leaking today...feeling a little helpless. My Pandora "Halleluia Anyhow" Radio station is helping to lift my spirit...
Peeped outside. The eggplants are establishing themselves. Gotta top the pepper plants, soon, so they'll make sturdy "trees".
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