What a day....Planting and Planters...

Well, decided to go shopping for more flowers, mulch, soil & fun....(pretty much in that order... LOL) --- :)

Found an amazing Drake Elm and thought, "This would look awesome in the yard, good price, 20 gallons, let's get it." Got my trusty old simple, wooden handle shovel and went to digging. I say that because as I was checking out later in the day, I spied a truly amazing looking shovel --- it had a titanium spade, with diamond steel plating, heavy-duty frame and even a reinforced fiberglass handle. It looked mighty impressive, but a hole is a hole and at the end of the day, it doesn't dig itself.... :)

Dug the 3 wide by 4ft deep hole and set the tree in place. Being top heavy and large, I needed to go pickup some stakes, rubber hose and wire for a proper support system.

Here is a pic of our new Drake Elm tree:


Drake Elm - Planted 3/28/09


And if that wasn't enough, I decided to grab about 12 cedar fence boards and some 2x2 wood and build a nice vegetable garden planter. Nothing that my nice Dewalt compound miter saw & drill sets cannot handle! A few rust-proof deck screws & some pre-drill holes to avoid wood splits and we are done. This project properly took me about an hour at least. I had to pre-drill all of the cedar and double them up. (We don't have available rot-resistant natural wood like large cedar planks, or redwood here and I don't want to eat from pressure-treated wood boxes) --- Kinda defeats the purpose of growing healthy...spinach with a side of cyanide and arsenic....YUMMY! ;)

Pic of the Cedar planter box: (5'x3')


Cedar Planter - Built 3/28/09

Veggie Time!

 

What is that you ask in those orange plastic seed containers?

Ahhh, nothing but the finest Sugar Snap pea seeds that a quarter will buy.

Germinating, growing and producing organic goodness.

YUM, YUM

Your handmade bamboo trellis awaits your arrival into proper seedlings!

Organic Life - Back to Basics.

After my recent digestive issues, I have decided to renew my commitment to keeping my body healthy and strong once again. Even though my "usual diet" was pretty good, I have opted to remove all fried, greasy, fattening & simply unhealthy foods from my consumption. This also includes red meat, for my own personal reasons. I enjoy fresh chicken, fish and turkey just fine, but I am making certain that I get at least 3 servings of fruit/vegetable/nuts per day. Of course, I only drink water and have not consumed caffeine since 1999 --- so nothing lost in that dept.

In reality the once a day morning yogurt/probiotics has done wonders for me and has alleviated at least 90% of all of my symptoms and problems. Not sure if it just the cultures or perhaps coupled with my diet regime, it all is finally working together.

For the workout side, I am back in the gym and when I cannot make it to the club, I do my 50 pushups, 50 pullups and 100 situps routines along with running on the treadmills and doing dumbbell curls, shoulder shrugs and lateral raises. Most of the prior routines are done in anaerobic superset circuit phases without any rest. The only that I wish that I had at home was a Smith machine. That way I could safely and easily do squats, bench pressing, military presses & more without any issue.
(Maybe for Christmas!!!)

I digress...

Good week of work, very hectic...very rewarding as I am balancing a lot of projects and yet everything is still making it through and getting done....on time & on budget.
It is a very stressful role, but I am committed to being a good leader and ensuring the success of the team. I am thankful...

On the home front, Katey was inducted in the National Junior Honor Society this past week and I am so proud. Her GPA in Honors 7th grade is 3.9 and she is a great daughter who I know will be a true success in life....inside and out. I just hope that I continue to be able to be a positive influence on her and that I make the right decisions to help her move forward into becoming an honorable, respectful, independent and confident young woman.

Nick is coming to visit week after next and I am actually taking some time off (3 days!) to spend time with him and hang out. He is a great little boy and I miss him dearly. :P

Well, off to make breakfast and enjoy the dreary, wet day with a smile. :)

SpringTime....

I love the spring...my favorite time of the year. New growth, new start, clean slate.
I am feeling much better (decided to heal myself with probiotics and so far it is working pretty well --- who knows if it is the ultimate cure?) I digress and return to the gardens of spring! :)

We planted a ton of new spring flowers, replenished the soil, and remulched all of the beds. I even got to plant my first vegetable plants (in about 4 years) since I used to disc, plow and sow at least an acre of home growth veggies on my 10 acre property in Hammond. I miss the land and the enjoyment of eating truly fresh produce on a daily basis, at least during 10 months of the year. :)



My Restored 1948 Ford 8N Tractor - Hammond 2004


This year I am growing straight-neck yellow squash, zucchini, sugar snap peas for starters. My space is far more limited (whole property is 1/2 acre in a subdivision - but luckily I live on a pond and I have no neighbors behind me to worry about!) I am excited about the potentials of growing vegetables again...it is making something amazing, healthy and natural out of something so basic.

I mostly enjoy getting back to basics & clearing my head of all of the work & busy life nonsense --- getting my hands dirty, feeling the warm wet natural soil between my hands and under my nails, it brings me back to a simpler way of life, a simpler place in the past, my farming ancestry, the history of mankind when "living life" wasn't an advertising slogan, it was way things were...



Katey back when age 6 - Hammond crop!

SPRINGTIME is good.... life is good. :)

The results, please....

Good News - the upper GI endoscopy was completely normal.
Bad News - don't know what is causing the abdominal issues/pain.
Really Bad News - test to determine scheduled for 3/25 will be a colonoscopy.

Feeling?

A little humor about my colonoscopy:
“Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!!!"

I am OK about it. As more of my tests come and go, including ultrasounds, abdominal CT X-rays, blood work, GI endoscopy work....at least I am getting the picture of what is "good & healthy" about me, so I think that is the bright light on all of this.

We shall see what the future brings...
Ahhhhhh....

See what's wrong?

Well, I have been suffering from a chronic stomach illness/issue for approximately 12 days now. The acid, cramps, soreness and nausea have been harrowing at times, but I have a upper GI endoscopy scheduled for tomorrow. Ulcer, Acid Reflux, Virus, Gastritis, or something else?

Well, I should know something in quick order. The operation is for 10am and probably by noon will have the news. At least, I am getting the answers...I am so relieved to finally figure out what has been the source of my recent severe stomach issues.

Not the most exciting update....no pithy comments tonight, just life. :)

Being Myself

Another couple weeks have gone by and through it all I am realizing some important things about life. You never know how much time you have, nor what will happen tomorrow to change your world today. You simply have to live, you have to believe that you are truly being yourself in a world that cherishes the opportunity to stereotype, label, pigeon-hole and define the masses into a homogeneous herd. For some, blending in to the background, choosing to be another unremarkable Angus in the cattle pen, that is just fine and preferable.

For me, I want to be uniquely me. (LOL) --- I want to be myself. For the most part honestly, I am myself. I laugh alot, poke fun at myself and others and just simply love life. Sure I have my moments of puppeteering, where I need to be someone else, I need to more than I am today. I pull some strings and BAM --- my alter egos tend to shift me into high gear sometimes and I follow simply to fulfill the past, or some higher image I had of myself that made me "so much more interesting" than who I am. I think we all identify ourselves with other people and in some ways try to mold our image, our character, our lives in that image.

That is OK --- but at the end of the day, be yourself and never lose sight of what makes you feel like yourself, what makes you smile.

We are all moving forward and what a wonderfully happy place it would be if we all just be ourselves. Well, maybe not everyone...... :P

Off to go hiking in Louisiana....I mean walking across flat, marshy bog land. :)

UPDATE:

Lake Ramsey Trail 3/8/09