Friday, January 7, 2011

Iceburg dead ahead, Captain

Hello everyone,
First a blog change.

Well, I am trying to change the look of the blog, and I will say, that I will have to work at it.  I did change the name of the blog, as this is the way I look at things through my eyes, whether good or bad, because of the place where I live, it can go either way, so it is through my eyes that life will proceed, and hopefully as best as it possibly can.

I am trying to find interesting photos of my area, since I live in a 3rd world trailer park, with 3rd world inhabitants, I do not have beautiful fields, or beautiful trees, or a beautiful area, period, so I have been taking short walks around the neighborhood to find things that may be alright to use on the blog, again, through my eyes. And also, it is winter here, and it is very brown, and snowy, and COLD, so I am limited to the day, what it brings as far as a nice day, or a blizzard., or anything in between.

Well, its going to be a COLD weekend and week ahead here,  colder than the last blast we had, and as usual, snow, though I really don't know how MUCH, but we are to have very bitter cold, with lows into the -20 below, and that's not with windchill either, folks, so if we have wind, it will be just downright cold. And I think I heard that the highs for daytime would be like single digits, 1,or 4 above. WOW.  Well this time of year, this is our cold period, we have had high 30's and yesterday it was 45* so it was for us, nice, but now its going to be cold again, and a time when you do not go out at all, or you will freeze body parts off that are exposed. So I think that potato soup is on the menu, and just hunker down and plan garden space and seed purchases.  I was going to dig out some of my cold frame pipes but I think that I will just wait until this cold crap gets out of its system and hopefully the end of this month or February, I can start doing that, and show everyone how I do my simple cold frames and hoop house covers.

Have been getting seed catalogs, and I think that like everyone else, I want to try some different seeds for my area, I am in Zone 5, not sure if its a or b, but some things do ok, and some things don't.  Then the next year, the seeds that didn't do good, do great and the ones that performed great, pizzled out.  Ah, the joys of farm'in.  I do know that I am planning on trying to utilize my space better, I wish I could spend money on good raised beds, and a better set up, but when you just do not have the funds to do so, you have to either recycle or use other methods for raised beds from things that you can recycle.  But its fun to find things that you can use until you can work a plan for a better set-up.

We have a new homeless shelter that was built here last fall, and they put a call out for help and information on how to put up a green house or hoop house.  I went over to the shelter yesterday and took some old seed catalogs, and a book that helped me start out in my cold frame adventures, it was Eliot Coleman's 4 season gardening book.  I gleaned everything that I wanted from it, and I feel that books need to be shared and someone else use it, so I took that over to the director.  The shelter wants to put this greenhouse up for several reasons, first, it will help feed the residents and second, it will help instill work ethic and hope for them and give job skills, and a chance to start over. They want to start a booth at the Farmer's Market to sell their produce also to help residents earn job skills and work with the public.  The director asked if he could call me for help, and I told him, I can help to a point, with my physical limitations, I can't work like a mule and help put up the greenhouse, but I can start seeds, transplant, and hoe, and do little things, but it will have to be up to  the males of the town to  tug and pull a greenhouse frame up and lay the plastic.  I have also been looking into starting a fund raiser for them to help them get seeds. I haven't done a fund raiser for many years, so if anyone has an idea for fund raising, or helping a non profit get seeds for their project, please contact me and possibly give me some ideas.
This homeless shelter was very badly needed here in town, and the sad part of it is, we have a huge number of homeless families here in this small community, and many are hungry, and go without.  This community has a bad side to it, and for its smallness, it harbors a lot of ills that a huge urban area have.  I have theories on this, as this community does not pay a living wage at all, it is way below minimum wage, and some have to work 3-4 jobs to make ends meet, and still it does not help pay the horrid rents that landlords charge here, for dumps that I would not let a dog live in.  I have several trailers here where I live, and the one has cockroaches in it, and mice and the stupid landlord rents it for $550 a month.  This guy is a slum lord anyway, and anytime I can tell people not to rent it, I do, especially families who have kids, who may have asthma or a immunity issue with their health, as cockroach poop is deadly to asthmatics.  Boy, ain't I a stinker.......I love being a pain in the butt sometimes, especially with people like this landlord, he deserves everything he gets, and its usually bad, what goes around, comes around, buddy.

Well, I had better get going, have a few things to do today before our weather gets here, I do not plan on going out anytime soon.  I wish everyone a wonderful weekend, where ever you are, and a great week ahead.  Send me some warm air and sunshine, please.  I wilting...wilting.....

Take care all.

9 comments:

  1. Good morning Denim ~ Your weather sounds so miserable, at least it would be to me. Potato soup sounds great. It's chilly here, so I've got a pot of black eye peas and sausage going in the crockpot.

    I bet there are some bits and pieces of loveliness in your neighborhood, you just might have to look harder for them.

    Glad you are able to help out the homeless shelter. I hope the hoop greenhouses etc. will help these people with skills and some self esteem also.

    Slum lords are so awful! They shouldn't be able to get away with what they charge for rent on such rat holes, but they do. They should be made to live in what they rent.

    I look forward to seeing your gardening projects as you get ready for this season when it's a tad warmer. Have fun looking through and ordering seeds from the catalogs.

    I hope you have a warm, safe and cozy weekend.

    Hugs ~ FlowerLady

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  2. My county has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state of California. I started a Community Garden and a Certified Farmers Market three years ago to help build community. I have pounds of seed. Some are hybrids and others are op's. My family grow seeds for Seeds by Design, Terra Organics, Seminis, Northrup King, and I save from my own organic market garden. I would love to share. contact me with an address and I'll send you a bit of everything: plenty for your garden and enough to pass on.

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  3. Check your SPAM box...I sent an email to you...but my address is funky and sometimes gets dumped in the SPAM folder. Here's my email:
    L8885@aol.com or csaveggies@hotmail.com or lyndareynolds@frontiernet.net

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  4. I'm puzzling over NE being in zone 5--supposedly KY is also. My memories of driving through NE during J.'s trucking years of a place where the wind blows constantly and winters are bitterly cold, summers hot and dry.
    We are now in south-central KY--the summer was hot and humid, but winter has thus far been mild. I think these ag zones must take in quite a variation of temperatures. Every place has its particular challenges for gardeners and, as you point out, what works one year, doesn't the next.
    I have the Elliot Coleman book also. We hope to build a small greenhouse here to start vegs earlier in the spring or have our own plants ready to go into the garden when it warms up. We'd also like to extend the fall growing season, even by a few weeks.
    Its harder to find beauty in winter, I think. Our eyes want to see green and growing. The harshness of winter and cold can make a marginal place look more dismal. It is easier to be optomistic on a sunny day!
    Glad to hear the cats are doing well--what would we do without them!
    RE changing the blog: I tinker with mine occasionally, but with great caution. I have this feeling it could all disappear if I do the wrong move.
    Potato soup is so good--we're having hamburger/macaroni soup today, with home canned tomatoes added.

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  5. Hi Denim! I LOVE the new name. LOVE IT!

    It is great that you reached out to the homeless shelter. I think what they are doing is fantastic. I hope it takes off well. Stay healthy and don't over do it, your community and this world need people like you.

    Unfortunately, I think the way your community is is going to become the norm around the country. Things are getting pretty bad here in NJ. I live in an area with a lot of rental duplexes and they are starting to sit empty because no one can afford the rent.

    Keep warm and cozy with your kittys and potato soup.

    Many blessings to you my friend.

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  6. You live in such a world of challenges my dear, but you are not afraid of stepping up to the mark. Bravo!

    I hope that the homeless shelter and the gardening project is successful (I was so pleased to hear Linda's offer, above). How desperate some folk must be, when wages are so low and work so hard to get. I can't believe the exploitation of that slum landlord - how do these people sleep at night?

    BTW, I still smile at your brilliant photo of "how to dry a cat"!!!!

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  7. I like the looks of the new Blog design and the direction you are taking with it.

    I think that is what is special with these blogs; that we can share our lives, styles of living, the good, the bad and the ugly with others who live a very different lifestyle.

    I admire how you make the absolute best of what you have. Others should take lessons at your feet!

    The garden project sounds super. I know you will be a great help to them. Gardening provides not only food, but food for the soul.

    Lynda, what a generous person you are. Bless you.

    I won't complain about our little cold front.....lows of 6° highs of the teens....I won't be getting out either.

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  8. I just left a long comment, but it vanished!

    So, I will just say that I like the new direction and look of your Blog.

    I also want to thank Lynda for being so generous with the seeds for the Shelter's garden.

    Stay warm.

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  9. I make potato soup this way: Boil potatoes, cut into chunks, in water till they are soft enough to mash with a potato masher. After mashing the potatoes in the water, add thinly sliced carrots, onions, celery. When they are cooked, add enough powdered dry milk to turn the water to milk. If you have kids you're trying to get extra milk into, you can add more. Then add some margarine, about 1/2 cup of it. Simmer till the butter melts and stir it in. Add salt and pepper. That's all. We often ate it with grilled cheese sandwiches. We ate grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup, too.

    You might tell the homeless shelter director to go to GardenWeb and join, then go to the seed-trading forum and post a request for seeds, explaining the mission. People there are very generous when they know it's for a good cause. The link you will need is this: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/exseed/

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